Gino Rondelli
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Posts posted by Gino Rondelli
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He has an ad in Gambalunga, call on 0208 857 7777 during shop hours tues - fri 09.30 - 18.30
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"Marked" 100,000 miles on the Sport following a couple good friends on a sweet little curvy road on the way to get another Guzzi ready for next weekend's South'n Spine Raid. Success on both counts!
Beautiful photo, Gino! And fabulous to be riding with Fiona!
Congrats Docc, impressive, and thanks
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I lent mine to my wife who after a short trip announced I may not get it back, I was on the T3, she came charging past me having fun. V11's are addictive.
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Try to plan it in with the Scottish Guzzi Rally at the beginning of May, always a good weekend! PM me if you need any advice or help for Scotland
Gino
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Weekend at Applecross for a Norton meeting but took my V11, lunch at Lochcarron Friday, sun and great roads
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Sh*t never checked my tail light but then again my V11 is almost new compared to the impressive almost 100k miles Docc! But then again Fiona is my tail light checker I suppose (although when I'm on the Norton she is the "something's fallen off / smoke out of the exhaust/ it stinks of petrol /oil checker)
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I've been watching the V11 forum, and we need a refresh to this topic more than ever.
I'm sure thats a Norton Commando Crankcase filter spanner.............
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What happened to the gearbox?
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Thanks for the kind comments guys, appreciated and makes it worthwhile.
Bill
My dad did his national service in the Alpini. I bought a nice bottle of Grappa in Bassano but its 52% and a bit like fire water
P.S. You clearly "married up."It's the only way
Gino
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And that my Guzzi friends is it for this trip, it was a blast, enjoyable and surprising just how comfortable a V11 can be on a long trip. It's not great for trail riding but we managed ! My parts (Breather hose and oil switch) arrived today so all that stress for around £20 worth of parts! Kiwi Roy's diagram helped me in my electrical hour of need so thanks for that! This story was taken straight from my Blog so it may read a bit strangely but I sure as hell wasn't re writing it again.
I hope you enjoy!
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So as I said previously the plan was to make steady progress home, the problem with that is as soon as you leave the South of France it gets colder, I don't like cold!
We also to begin with decided to stay in bigger cities in case my Guzzi needed to go to the Doctors. The temporary repair was holding up well and we made it to Dijon, nice municipal campsite near the town centre (walking distance in fact) The old town is nice but really just a collection of shops selling crap you don't need on a motorbike or in a tent. A meal in a city centre café was a bit more expensive than the Italian / Croatian side the petrol as well was as much as 1.56 Euro on the highways. We had a beer stop at a café obviously used by the locals, fun pub full of mainly men and all seemed half pissed, a collection of characters, no different from a Scottish pub really apart from the better suntans and they were speaking French!
Another day another service station 
Dijon, another church 
Nice square 
Another photo to add to my exotic telephone exchanges collection 
Very old methinks 
We eat in a café that used to be a printers, so for all you printers out there an old Heidelberg 
Don't know why? 
No campfire just TUC biscuits and whisky in a tin cup There was a weather front moving in so we played it safe and had an early night. The following day was cloudy, very cloudy, we headed up the road and then the rain started, some of the heaviest rain I've ridden in, we were down to 40mph terrified we'd get shunted as visibility was almost nil. At one point the Gendarmerie were behind us with their blue lights flashing, they followed us for miles but I wasn't stopping in that weather, they eventually passed us which is when I realised they weren't tailing us but escorting a military truck, the shame, overtaken by a wide load. We stopped to get our bearings, my Interphone F5 which we use to speak to each other on the move was doing strange things and turned out to be completely beyond repair due to the rain, bugger, more stress then as we set off my oil light came on, remember I had a split breather pipe earlier in the trip, I thought "bugger that'll be the engine knackered then!" but a stop and check it seemed to be circulating oil and the level was ok so I did what any Guzzi rider would do, I pulled the wire of the switch as I was too nervous riding with a big red oil warning in front of me. We stopped that evening in a hotel to take stock and try and fix things. The Interphone was not fixable, the oil switch I only replaced 3 months ago seemed to be faulty but I was at least confident the bike was fine. We taped up Fi's waterproofs which had melted on my exhaust earlier when her hands turned white with the wet and the cold and she was trying to use the heat of the Guzzi cylinder heads to restore feeling. Not the best day we'd had and challenging for many reasons but hey ho, that's life on the road, you can take the odd bad day as long as there's no one hurt and the sun eventually returns.
We pressed on through Luxembourg (Shite drivers) and camped in Belgium for a couple of nights at a nice campsite not far from Namur. The site had a high proportion of residential vans and was obviously an escape for people from Brussels. A day off on the Friday and we were horrified to see the news about the lunatic in Nice the previous night, we've been there often, it's such a nice place and not one you'd expect to be associated with this level of violence.
Saturday we awoke to find out about the Coup in Turkey, we were thinking the world is going mad.
Unloading the bike while I relax in the tent 
Dinner Al Fresco 
Clear sky it was going to be cold 
Colder 
Fi has been in Italy too long, speaking to our neighbour with full hand gestures We headed to a small seaside village near Ijmuiden for the Saturday night, problem was the tunnel is closed and our Dutch is non existent so at one point we were 5 miles away from our destination but after several u turns, much swearing, a couple of laps of the town, a few rides up and down the A22 we finally made it haven done over 20 miles going round in circles, Mr Garmin can be such an arse at times!
Sunday we reluctantly took the DFDS ferry back to the UK, the usual shoddy treatment by DFDS, they are masters at pissing me off, they use cheap Filipino labour (unlike the ferries in Croatia and Italy which appear to be staffed with friendly and helpful locals) and you get the feeling the dour faced European staff don't really want to be there and probably spend their time off having meetings about how to make it more difficult for motorcyclists! I think in future we'll use the Chunnel more. We arrived home after a dry final leg, bikes away, washing machine filled up and a decent cup of tea. 4000 miles, 3 minor (but worrying) mishaps with the Guzzi, the Kawasaki as always never missed a beat although I did adjust the chain once, it also passed the 60,000 milestone so only another 40K before Fi retires it and buys a new one. Fantastic trip, nice people, nice food and I proved to myself you can easily tour on what many think is an impractical touring bike, just got to get my physio sorted and I'll be ready to do it again.
What do you mean we're lost again? 
Just hanging around 
Watching stuff 
BMW Wasp outfit, Germans on tour of Scotland, now with a better route planned, an ignorant cyclist knocked a bit off his handguard as he cycled up his inside to get on the boat, I was too slow to boot him off, never stopped, never saw him on the ferry, I hope he suffers terrible saddle sores! 
Waiting for another crap DFDS experience -
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We stayed in Palermo two days and did a lot of walking exploring the old town, there are some amazing bits of Architecture and history but I’m afraid its a bit dirty and down at heel, the heat makes some of the city’s less appealing smells more pungent. From a tourist and outsiders point of view there needs to be some education or cash put into the rubbish and graffiti problem but i suppose if you’re constantly paying the mob its difficult.We left our digs for the ferry at 6pm with a hint of trepidation having watched the trffic insanity for two days, the ferry terminal less than a mile away, to say we got the run around was an understatement, i was beginning to think we were back in the Central American republics, when we eventually got to the ticket office to collect our boarding cards, the very fat, rude surly guy was as helpful as a dose of diarrhoea when there’s no toilet and your wearing a white suit! He started shouting at me then calmed down when I gave him a round of the guns with my best Italian abuse and actions. The Ferry queueing seemed and was chaotic but at the end of the day we were boarded with no drama and left the guys to tie the bikes down, we met some fellow UK travellers so that was good to realise Mr Fat smelly guy was universally rude.The Ferry was huge, clean and much better than the crap we have to put up with going to Europe, it was good to find out we arrived in Genoa at 5pm and not the 9pm i thought it was. Genoa at 5pm is a stressful place to ride a motorcycle, not good at all. We arrived in Calice Liguria around 6.30 and called our host for the next two days Steva who we met at the Elefant Rally and runs a bikers B&B. He met us in the square and warned us the road to his place was a bit steep and had gravel, no kidding batman, I’ve ridden easier trials sections, but the V11 and Kawa made it with only a couple of dabs ! Martin and Sue form the UK (also Guzzi folk) were already there so we spent the next two days partying including a night in Finale Liguria watching Steva’s band and getting seriously pissed!Saturday Martin a Sue left early to get a tyre fitted and we had a tour of the old town with Steva. When I returned to my bike there was a load of oil under it, It seemed to be coming from the breather but couldn’t see properly, we pushed on for about 50 miles and pulled into a service station to check, it was pissing oil everywhere, further checks revealed the main engine breather had split. I took the tank off but didn’t have a long enough screwdriver to get the clamp off. An Austrian guy in a car offered tools and encouragement but had to go, meanwhile two Bulgarian truck drivers on their stop came over and got stuck in, I couldn’t get near the bike and half an hour later we had nipped the bad bit off the perished hose and got it together again. Bizarrely a Chinese guy who spoke no Italian or English appeared having ridden his GS12 from China with his young son on the back.We set off to my old village I lived in when i was a bambino, stayed with my cousin Bruno in his B&B for a couple of days eating, catching up with the locals, drinking and chilling. We did get a bite freaked out I admit when we encountered the snorting wild Boar on the way walking to Bruno's house with only the phone to see the way, no harm done , I think it was more scared than we were! Today we set off and rode the route Napoleon which is outstanding normally but for now there’s mega roadworks so after a long day we quit just an hour short of Grenoble, Every time i stop i’m nervously checking the breather as it’s a very temporary repair. The plan is to make progress every day and hope it hangs out
Palermo 
Where are we? 
Rubbish everywhere 
A wedding car, seems to be the fashion 
Nice though 
More stuff 
One of the gates into the old city 
waiting for a ferry 
Lets take a selfie 
Steva's drive, not for the faint hearted 
Old Guzzi's in the garden 
Not so old Guzzi's in the garden 
Steva and one of the other visitors on Friday night 
Good food, good crack 
Hear no evil, see no evil , speak no evil 
King of the castle 
Getting messy 
I liked this shot 
Steva in full flight 
And the girls in full dance 
My Bulgarian helpers 
The view from Bruno's house, not too shabby 
Guzzi looking into the village -
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We left Dubrovnik and Croatia on Friday night. The very efficient ferry (take note DFDS!!) deposited us in Bari, Southern Italy on Saturday morning. We had a few missed turns out of Bari, very stressful as I'm sure mot of the people have comedy driving licences although its not funny! We latched on the a GS1200 rider who was heading part of the way and said we should tag along, we did and it worked out well, turns out our temporary guide was Roberto, a lawyer from Bari, plenty business there I suspect!
After about 100 miles we parted company and Fiona and I ran along the foot of Italy from East to West before getting the ferry to Sicily, it all seemed chaotic but they sure turned the boats around quickly for the 25 minute trip to the island. We stayed in Taormina, a very hilly town in the shadow of Mount Etna. We had an outstanding view from our hotel which made the challenging ride up the narrow streets worthwhile.
Sunday we rode past Catania which looked incredibly busy then took the small and less crazy roads to Punta Secca, the biggest issue down here is the road surface is very slippy so its with much trepidation that you tip into bends, the locals though have God to protect them obviously so drive and ride in such a way that beggars belief. A couple of days in Punta Secca in Inspector Montalbano's house was a superb way to relax but a short trip to Ragusa to see more Montalbano set's (Italian detective series) kept our blood levels high. I haven't mentioned the heat, it varies between a cool 30 and a hot 40, excellent ! We've just arrived in Palermo following a nice ride part of the way across the sun baked centre of the Island, photos as always to give you a flavour and to save me writing more nonsense.
Dubrovnik Port awaiting the ferry 
Bari, 8am Saturday 
Roberto, our Bari lawyer guide 
Mount Etna from our digs, not too shabby 
Panoramic from the restaurant 
Nice by night 
And nice by day 
Even the bikes had a view 
For you Montalbano fans, the famous balcony! 
Sunset, drink, food, perfect 
Ragusa, a well know church shown often in the series 
Pretty trees 
More Churches 
The ancient portal to the City (not Fiona) 
Blah blah 
Enjoying a drink on that balcony 
A Fisherman returns home in the sunset 
Meanwhile the locals dance in the street 
Heading over the hills 
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We left home Thursday 23rd June, referendum day after Fiona finished work and blasted down to Durham our culinary needs refreshed by what I though was a bizarrely placed Indian restaurant at a service station on the A1. No dramas and up the following morning to find out collectively we had voted to come out of Europe, this may make for an interesting (and slightly more expensive) trip I thought.
We followed the A1, busy as hell and then when we just got into London it pissed down, torrential rain! as always it stopped as we got the waterproofs on so we were now a pair of boil in the bag rice really. We struggled to find the Ace cafe but after several detours and asking directions we finally got there. First impressions were that it was great to be at this motorcycling mecca but after eating the food served mainly by non uk staff I was left feeling underwhelmed , another box ticked though. We left at 5pm to be led right through the centre of London City by Mr Garmin (GPS) what a fantastic experience, 15 miles took 2 hours, I saw places in London I'd previously only seen on a monopoly board or on the TV, the cyclists, scooter riders, despatch riders, taxis and others tried their best but despite 2 close shaves we survived. I was glad to get to our digs in Maidstone for the night.
Saturday the channel tunnel, a new experience for me and not a bad one i have to say. A blast along Northern France to about 50 miles short of Verdun saw us stopping for the night and having some issues with the Guzzi but thankfully fixed reasonably quickly. Sunday a long ride through to the south of Zurich, still pissed at the Swiss ripping us off, we paid 80 Euro for our vignettes to allow us to use their motorways, we should start reciprocal charging these jokers. A basic hotel room for luxury prices didn't help.
Monday a fantastic blast across at least 5 passes, from ice covered lakes to 30 degree heat, fantastic day which ended near Garda to meet up with Hacko and Lorraine, the evening as expected ended in a bit of a drunken mess and Ian showed us his breakdancing skills or at least thats what I thought he was doing as he rolled around on the ground.
We parted on Tuesday and headed to Bassano del Grappa to meet Dan and Sara, now on year 4 of their Round the World trip (www.worldwideride.ca) A nice evening relaxing in this old town catching up with travel stories.
Wednesday we set off through Venice, Slovenia (luckily we avoided paying the toll for their very short motorway system) and through Croatia to just north of Split, a small town where we got an apartment near the beach for £30, superb, food and beer was also cheap.
Thursday we arrived in a very sunny and hot Dubrovnik, 2000 miles since we left home, its nice here but tourist hell, this is Friday as I write this and we've just returned from the old town, super pretty but my god busy busy busy. Tonight we get the ferry to Bari in Southern Italy to begin week 2 of our adventure, some pics to keep you amused; Apologies to Mr & Mrs H for not putting a caption on but this got screwed up and my patience with poor wifi is wearing this , you'll recognise him, he's wearing a KTM and a beer
Ace cafe 
Manx Norton, cool! 
Waiting for the eurotunnel 
First night in France, post breakdown! 
Chilly at the top of this pass 
Superb motorcycling 
Another pass another photo 
Nice 
You get the picture, it was cold but nice 
Monument to the Alpini 
Bassano del grappa, wobbly bridge 
Fi & Sara 
Grappa museum 
One for the road! 
Fi enjoying a beer on the beach in Croatia 
Panoramic entering Dubrovnik 
The Old town 
George is even famous here 
This guy had a unique way of removing ear wax 
The old harbour 
The town from the top of the city walls -
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Just back from the 7 country Euro tour, 4000 miles, starter relay issue in France (thanks to the forum for pointing me in the right direction), breather split in Italy (2 Bulgarian truck drivers helped me with tools and support to repair it temporarily) Newish oil pressure switch failed (in a rainstorm on the motorway in France, major panic having recently had an oil leak with the breather issue) I'm glad I took it, you can tour with clip ons. I'll do a write up when I get my breath back....... or my Blog explains most www.ginoontour.blogspot.com
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Thought I'd ressurect this, I ended up taking a Breva, there was one begging me to buy it in my local dealers window, recession hit so it was a good price (Trip story here http://ginoontour.blogspot.co.uk/p/turkey.html ). My V11 has been in a big poly bag since then in my brothers garage. However I have liberated it and intend doing a Euro tour (Scotland to Dover, France, Germany, Switzerland, Italy (of course) Slovenia, Croatia, Italy again , Sicily , France (as long as they stop blockading gas stations) Belgium, Holland then the Ferry to Newcastle and home. This time there's no going back, I still have the phase sensor and gearbox spring I bought from Roberto Tenni in 2009. New tyres , wheel bearings and I'm off in a month woo hoo! May take my airhawk...........
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Thanks Scud, let me know what I owe you for shipping to Scotland when you know :-)
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Gino be careful when you arrive at Ancona.
Avoiding Ancona, riding the Stelvio pass then to Croatia , Dubrovnik, ferry to Bari then Sicily. I take it the polizia are hot on speeding?
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Just in from giving mine a brake service, got a 4-5k mile trip planned around Europe in 7 weeks, getting nervous now, double checking everything
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I'm in for 1, Scotland
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No electric petcock?
If you took it off, serves you right LOL
I figured out why my Speedhut gauges weren't working, I tapped into the Ignition switch feed so the
gauges don't reset when starting, the spade connector had pulled apart.
I took some nice pictures, thinking about selling her My financial adviser is starting to object as
I have 3 other Guzzis
Later on I found I forgot to put the chip back in the camera before taking the shots, you'll have to trust me
they were nice pictures.
Nope it's a 2003 burgundy, still the mechanical one
Get another financial adviser , you can't have too many Guzzi's or bikes
Enjoyed the imaginary pictures Now get the real ones up, no excuses
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Pushed it 200 yards to the gas station thinking I'd run out (first ride on it in 7 years) then after I fuelled up it was still cutting out after 10 seconds. Had a think and realised I hadn't put the fuel tap full on. Doh! After that I had a sweet but cold 90 miles, great to be out on a V11 again (although my wrist hurts tonight, need to toughen up)
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Oil change...and thank goodness I didn't have a 27mm anything to remove the access plate. Had a heck of a time getting the oil filter it to budge as it hung there in all its glory after removing the lower sump!
Funny I changed mine 2 weeks ago, never seen an oil filter soooo tight , and that was after buying a socket for the filter pan, from now on sump removal every time because it's easy enough and you get to check for shit in the pan
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Cheers Scud, we had a bearing puller but one of those suckers was tight! I'll check that out though thanks
What was I thinking?
in 24/7 V11
Posted
I last used my V11 3 years ago to ride to Sicily from Scotland, I pretty much parked it up after that trip and have just repatriated it from storage, I was thinking of selling but as always after spending the week servicing, greasing and cleaning I stood back, looked at it and thought "what was I thinking?" Flashbacks to the good times and the grin factor means I don't think I'll be selling it too soon! I have other bikes which I use more but I reckon for all round fun the V11 is up there.