Baldini

'kin hell great shots of the feet - man at work!

How you getting to Morocco - Santander thru Spain to Gibralter, France/Spain? Have any of you been before? We took ferry to Santander, rode thru Spain to Gibralter then ferry to Ceuta. Rode S to Fes - Er-Rachidia & Erfoud, W to Ouarzazate & S to Zagora, then back through Marrakech/Casablanca & back up to Santander in (I think) around 3 weeks. N has a bit of hassle - avoid contact with drugs, or following strangers up blind alleys... I'd recommend getting down to the South if you can - S of the High Atlas - it's where the desert starts; the colours, the people, you get a sense of being on the edge of Africa. S of Erfoud you can find dunes (Erg Chebbi). Marrakech is quite a place. Todra Gorges worth visiting. In May I guess there may be some water running in the mountains, we went later in the year & had none. KB Built for looks - wouldn't go near sand or loose stuff with those open intakes....& you'd be on the cords before you got half way...

oh. So that's what happened to ....

"Push" start is push or push & jump - in gear & dumping clutch .... "Jump" start is stationary, using leads from remote battery... Crazy video Hubert, what country? KB

When UJ goes it's quite a distinct vibration from around right hand footrest - as you'd expect! Is it more noticeable on right? Have you tried getting it up on a stand & listening around UJ tunnel, engine off, rotating rear wheel? Is there excess backlash in drive line, knocks? KB

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LmVfrS8OEVw Yehaaayyy! Thanks Belfast! KB or for a longer, better version... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=whjviUck9G0&feature=player_embedded

Once more the descent into pedantry...it's always more complex than that - I guess if your riding is just sitting on the back of something that goes it's own way, then it might be passive (& possibly more accurately described as "steering" ?) - but if you are making a m/c do what you want, not what it wants (minded or not), then you are RIDING it & that is anything but passive. Riding & driving can be passive or aggressive. Guess there's all sorts of rides (& drives). But maybe most times anything inherently stable you DRIVE, anything unstable ...you RIDE... Tazio Nuvolari: Mert Lawwill: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LmVfrS8OEVw KB PS. BFG - how do you do that so that the utube pic + play icon comes up instead of just the written link? Thanks. PPS. - did you get my pm?

Why the preoccupation with soft sand? There's loads of offroad going in Morocco without having to do soft sand... ...and it's not as if a lardy great 1200GS is ideally suited to the stuff either, so I don't expect it'll be a priority target unless ScuRoo's mates are some kind of masochistic bodybuilders? There's none til you get down South anyhow & I reckon most people are only tackling it cos it's the only way to get to the other side - ScuRoo:How long you going for & what route you thinking of? A consideration re tyres: Depends on route you're taking but whatever, there's some road miles to be done & dedicated offroad tyres/heavy bike/hot tarmac = lots of wear. Long time ago I did long distance trials on R80GS on Michelin T61's, involved motorway treks front & back - great off road tyres but you could see them disappearing before your eyes every stop. I went to Southern Morocco 2-up w/camping gear, did loads of offroad no problems - on a bog stock T3 on road tyres - had a great time, but then I was just pootling around - didn't go to race GS's! It's a fantastic country. Sights & sounds I'll never forget. North can be a bit heavy duty - South is more relaxed & "foreign". That was 20-odd years ago, dunno how it's changed. I'll dig out some pix. KB

This was buried in an unrelated thread & deserved it's own - hope that's OK with you ScuRoo? What's your route? How long you going for? River crossings? KB

Where you planning on going? Tyres, wide bars, crash bars would be a start. Any river crossing? I rode T3 to Southern Morrocco, plenty off road, 2 up w/camping gear - had a great time - on normal road tyres, no special preparations but then I kept out of soft sand ...& ...I wasn't racing knobblied, duel-purpose bikes.... Not saying don't go - I think it's great idea - if you're just out pottering around you could do it on a stock Scura - it's a motorcycle, they'll go most places, but if you're thinking of matching GS off road, you're either very good or your mates are crap... or you're totally barking...& sump is the least of your worries. Are you serious ScuRoo? If you are, I think this merits it's own thread - why not start it as a New Topic - "Off-roading a V11"...??? Happy New Year & Good luck! KB

I'm surprised this has not aroused more discussion here....

Probably make the RC feel like an animal! KB

Have you ridden one of the new Guzzis - a Griso or Breva? I think some of the difference between RC/Scura might be faired/unfaired & set up, but Guzzis feel smoother & more refined model by model over many years....relatively speaking! You might find latest Carc models even further down same road? KB

I dunno current CRMC Regs, but last time I looked I thought same - about 72, disc brake Tontis were marginal... Most likely they have a class for 80's or air-cooled twins? KB

Part two...

Looks like Jim Blomley's bike. He's a long time Guzzi man & knows his stuff. I'm guessing it's a later version of this bike (write up from UK club mag many years ago): A bit of a history; Part one...sorry about quality... KB

As said already the 2003> bikes are (reputedly cos I haven't ridden one) better sorted from factory. The Scura is a 2002 bike (reg presumably in 2003), whereas the RC is a 2003 bike including changes later model had. Ohlins on Scura had famously soft springs from factory & took some setting up inc often stiffer springs by owner. Not sure what RC came with but Ohlins are reputed to be better set up out of the box. Tyres can have a huge effect on feel (light/heavy/precision/subtlety etc) according to type & amount of wear. Is it possible RC has PC/FI set up slightly better than Scura (by you/shop) ? KB

Thanks Hubert! Too much to look at just now but I liked some of these:

Why's it gone so quiet round here? I always liked this forum cos of the widespread experiences that it encompassed - an interesting, disparate group of characters - I like to hear how someone the other side of the world sees things, how life is where they are, what the country looks like, the roads, the weather, the people, whatever... & the way people of clearly differing views managed to get on...or perhaps ultimately they don't? Other sites seem to encompass a pretty narrow worldview - cliquey, clubby, insular, dull - small core group recycling the same guff, moaning & groaning about everyone but themselves. My mother-in-law used to tell my kids: "if you're bored you're boring". So is it just me, or has the nature of the Guzzi forums changed over the last few years? Has the format just got stale? Nadolig Llawen! KB

This one? http://vintagemotorcyclesonline.com/community/forum/10-general-talk Motorcycle books: http://www.merlinbooks.com Have you tried "advanced" search on here - it works better. Not so simple as it used to be - least I don't find it so. Be quite specific with parameters for search. KB

What tyres are you on? Some tyres steer much quicker than others. KB

So that's where you are...funny, I only just now posted on MGCGB forum asking after you, not seen you around on MG forums for a while... KB

...I see the bike... has your mind become a little befuddled perhaps after too long viewing the Hooters thread? Congratulations LuckyPhil & welcome. Tapered cans look good. KB

Thanks for posting this info Buzzard

conniption?