guzzler

Thanks Doc Ha ha yeah they are tongue twisters eh... And the cold,I'm usually pretty good with it but that bloody freezing fog was starting to get to me I must say. Glad you enjoyed reading it mate as we had a blast eh... Cheers Guzzler You know I did a test photo earlier and no dramas with posting photos but you wouldn't read about it, I can't for the life of me get it to work again to post the few shots I did take???

Did you get the Eye of Newt...? Nah! How'd you go with the Stoats toenail..? No go! Yeah and Blackie ( the black cat ) sensed it wasn't a great time to be about either! So no offerings to the Gods then?? Nope we're on our own.....! And so it was come 9.30 ish on a damp single digit and overcast Saturday morning we set forth from Drouin ( aka Dodge ) on our quest for the border. Nice open twisty road on the way up to Noojee let both bikes and blokes warm up,but come the short-cut thru Nayook to Noojee-Launching Place Rd we ran into the first of the fog for the day.The road was tight twisty and damp so concentration needed. All good though and popped out onto the Nooj/LJ rd and great open sweepers through the dense forest / bush, up and over the pass and dropping down for the run into Launching Place, then more tight damp twisties thru the Yarra Ranges that ring Melbourne's East and North.Great fun and even got a wee bit of sunshine for a bit! After an hour or so of this we finally popped out thru Toolangi onto the Yea road and gained a bit more elevation.It was here we ran into the FREEZING FOG...! Oh dear it was also about here I started to think that fate and the gods hadn't finished with us just yet, and WHY THE HELL didn't I pack let alone wear my THERMAL underwear??The temp was about 3-4 degrees and after about 80-100 kays...I was feeling the cold. Finally after what seemed an eternity we rolled into Yea and parked up in search of warmth and coffee! Rich you're bleeding says Dave Shit so I am says I. My hands are that cold I can't feel them and cut myself on my jacket zipper... Anyways we had a great cuppa in a nice and WARM cafe and thawed out over the next 30mins or so.It was about here that Dave starts regaling me about the virtues of electrically heated gloves/jacket and long johns ( with booties none the less ) and how nice and toasty he was and how cold was that last stretch? I can't believe you're not wearing any thermals....! Don't go there. I think it was about Molesworth 30 or so minutes later that the fog cleared and the sun came out and we got to see a bit of the scenery.Pulling into Mansfield later Mt Buller in the distance looked great covered in snow. We fuel up and just as I was about to leave realise shit I haven't paid for it so rush back in and pay for my gas...Idiot. From Mansfield we decided to push on to Whitfield for lunch.This road reaches 1000metres so we thought we'd do it whilst the sun's out and relatively warm so to speak.Great 62 k run up and over, very tight & twisty at times and open and flowing in others then dropping down to Whitfield and a bloody good ham cheese and tomatoe toastie at the cafe whilst basking in the warm afternoon sun. It's now about 2.30pm ish so headed off on the last stretch and not long after the winter shadows start appearing as the sun drops lower likewise the temperature.It all held together as we went through the towns of Beechworth/Yackandanda/Tangambalanga and finally round Lake Hume to Tallangatta and home base for Sat and Sunday nights.After checking in, getting changed and freshened up at 4.30pm we headed down to the bar for a few quiet drinks and a meal after a longish day. All was well till someone fired the juke box up then the shots started appearing on the bar* ( we wisely gave them a miss ) and the place was JUMPING....It ended up being quite a LATE night but a GREAT time ha ha . *( turns out it was the publican....ha ha ) Sunday The plan was to ride round the lake and follow the Murray River along the border and loop back, but hangovers meant up late / late brekky walk round the town and come 12 ish what now...? Lets go for a wobble round the lake for a couple of hours? Great idea so we did and yep this road was every bit as good on a bike as I thought it'd be...Brilliant.Come 2.30pm we stopped at Walwa for a cuppa / toastie and warm up at the fire.As the shadows were starting and it was getting cooler again we took local advice and headed up Guy's Forest / Shelley road short-cut and found a ripper of a road! The part where it goes up and over the ranges was new and fantastic fun!This dropped us back to the main highway ( saving about 100 or more kays ) and after a brisk ride back to Tallangatta and a shower hit the bar again for a QUIET sherbet and meal... Monday Bloody good nights sleep and heard Dave next door heading for the shower, so up cuppa and pack up @ 7.00 ish . We didn't get any frost thankfully as temp about 6-8 degrees and sunny so headed off after air in the tyres to Yackandanda for brekky.Lovely in the sun at Yack but headed off about 9.30am for the run home. We pretty much repeated the trip up except for taking the Black Spur into Healesville.As there was talk of storms in the afternoon we pretty much pushed home asap stopping only for gas again in Mansfield ( remembering to pay before trying to leave this time ) and a brief stop for a bite in Healesville so about 6 or so hours pretty much straight home. Ha ha I really felt it when I got home but we did need to get a wriggle on to avoid the coming weather/storms. All in all about 1100 kays and a Bloody great time was had and looking forward to the next getaway hopefully not as long a wait this time eh! Cheers Guzzler Ps The storms came through about 3am so we could've taken a bit more time in getting home but sure as hell if we did the gods would've decided that we'd gotten away with enough already....

G'day folk's Just a wee test to see if could remember how to post a photo... This shot was 11 years and 75,000 kays ago in the courtyard of our previous home. Cheers Guzzler

Thanks mate Ha ha this morning is the first time I'm able to have a cuppa without a heap of cold water in it....! But best of all is NO PAIN !!!! Didn't get many photo's whilst away I'm afraid but will try and post what I did and a wee review sometime over the weekend if I can get a chance

G'day folk's Well despite fates best attempts to thwart our escape... ie in the middle of a dose of the lurgy I break another large chunk off an already damaged tooth which was just starting to abscess and turn VERY PAINFUL!This being Tuesday I thought best get this sorted so can getaway at the weekend.Emergency extraction on Wednesday wouldn't stop bleeding so possible stitches...?Thankfully it did stop! Come Thursday of course the weather hasn't improved much and get drenched heading to mechanic for last minute check up ( bike not me this time ha ha ) but hot shower afterwards and no more pain from tooth cheered me up quite a bit. Friday weather begrudgingly on the improve and forecast is for a window of opportunity from Saturday with more crap Monday arvo...! So with accommodation already sorted from the other week and spirits running high, come Saturday morning..... We got the hell outa Dodge before fate could reconvene and have another crack at us!! To be continued... Cheers Guzzler

G'day mate. I know full well the healing power of the V11 ( mental healing )! Having only ridden half a dozen times this year am desperate to get out for a decent ride eh. My problem is that when I were a mere slip of a fool back in the eighties,I ( and girlfriend at the time ) hopped on the GPZ900 and went up into the hills for a weekend getaway.This was winter and unbeknownst to me on the Saturday morning when we set out I was developing a cold. Well after ripping up over the Spur got to Marysville early so decided to have a bit of fun blasting up the Buxton rd at $2.00 +! Now this was all well and good and a great time was had until we got home Sunday arvo.Gee not feeling crash hot but a hot bath will do the trick followed by an early night.Next morning up and away to work but come smoko at 10am I was in a hell of a state.Wandering ( and I mean wandering ) across one of the busiest roads in Melbourne to the medical centre to see a Dr, who upon examining me went nuts WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING / I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU'RE UPRIGHT AND MOVING...! Oh dear this'll be good I thought in as much capacity as I could think and he tells me to go and sit over there and I'll see you again in 30 minutes.If your temperature goes up another half a degree I'm calling an ambulance and you're being admitted to hospital asap.I'm in my own wee world where not much except breathing matters but was relieved when said temp stayed put.He was still all for admitting me but I swore I'd go home and take it easy. So wobble back across the road to work hand them the note from the Dr and I'm driven home. That was me for a month ( Pneumonia ) and it bloody near killed me! I swear I've never been as ill in all my life,and in those days I was fit and pretty strong as worked very physically in a VERY PHYSICAL industry! Anyways I survived ( obviously ) albeit some 2 x stone lighter ha ha not that I needed to lose weight by the way. Only once since have I made the mistake again bloody hell I even knew I had a wee cold this time but thought ah I'll be ok it's only a few hours... Well no Pneumonia this time ( Thank God ) but it turned a wee cold to a NASTY Flu and blew an eardrum which took Months to come good... So needless to say I'm a little wary of riding when crook... Anyways we've re-booked for next weekend and I'm off-work ( hence this rambling /bumbling mumbling discourse ) trying to get well enough to ensure that we do indeed get away next weekend.... Take care folk's Cheers Guzzler Ps As I sit here in the study typing this the F...ing sun has just come out......!! If I see that Black cat in the yard again I'm gunna kick it's arse over the fence!!! Pps metaphorically of course ( I do like the wee blert and anyway I'm in no shape to kick anything at the moment lest it's me and it involves a bucket

Well folk's looks like the curse continues... This bloody cold/flu has worsened and set in for a bit so any thoughts of getting away on the bikes this weekend have been shelved! The last time I rode with a cold it didn't end well so everything postponed for another week. Bugger, but come hell or high water we're off then! Cheers Guzzler Ps Maybe I shouldn't tempt fate as I did mention on Tuesday in the office that it would be my luck to get crook this week and lo and behold it started Wednesday and may not be a good idea to tempt the weather gods either as they seem pretty pissed off lately too...! So to the deities of health and weather ... How about a break?

Indeed it is Doc. Between one thing and another just haven't been able to get away either at summers end or even bloody autumn! Now that the planets are aligning in winter we're being hit with a second polar blast of weather again this week with single digit daily high's and 0 to 3 overnight, snow down to 600 metres means the usual stomping grounds ( the high country ) is out! And it hasn't stopped raining for 2 weeks! Been a bit windy too...! Just to add to the litany of woe, I think I'm coming down with a cold ( not Covid thankfully - so far anyways!). But bugger it we've hatched a plan! Stay away from the snow and Ice of the high ground by skirting round them and up to the border ( Victoria /NSW ) on Saturday where we have a room in the Tallangatta pub booked Sat and Sunday.Then on Sunday ride the Murray river valley loop/circuit with maybe a wee diversion or two and dinner and drinks with the locals again Sunday night, then head for home Monday.I've ridden the southern part several times but only recently driven the northern part which actually follows the river ( which is the actual border ) and thought holy shit this would be a ripper on a bike.In fact a couple of well known bike magazines have used these roads to test bikes for many years so should be good....If all goes well. Now just gotta hope this cold doesn't get any worse! ( or the bloody weather too for that matter) Cheers Guzzler Ps camera is ready to go and hope to take a couple of shots

Ha ha I struggle with my native New Zealand English..... Cheers Guzzler

G'day folk's Well negotiations have taken a startling turn for the better.... We have a long weekend coming up in a couple of weeks and the minister has given her approval for a 3 x day getaway! WooHoo And you wouldn't believe it we are currently having significant weather issues down here for the first week of winter just to rub my nose in it! So we have a week from Saturday for it to ease up so we can get away.The high country is definitely OUT but we have an alternative if Good ole Mother nature comes to the party.... Fingers and Toes are crossed.... Cheers Guzzler

G'day I had issues like this with mine early in the piece too. Having the lever sorted out made a huge difference. Still get the odd one but mostly my fault... ie tired/ foot position blah blah Cheers Guzzler

Good news Cheers Guzzler

Yep, I tend to think the same mate... ie it should fit. Cheers Guzzler Ps then again it is a Guzzi and Italian so there may be some arcane ritual to be performed prior to installation...?

G'day I have a Hyperpro damper on my 01 V11 Sport but can't comment on it fitting a LeMans though mate. All I can say is that it is way better than the crap Bitubo std unit eh. Anyone else got one on a LeMans...? Cheers Guzzler

Not today but yesterday... Took the bike to work at one of our suburban branches again to help out..... Uneventful drone down the freeway on the way in but about 11am the bloody rain starts, then it clears then it's on and off rest of the day and cold and windy too! So the best laid plans of a run thru the fun stretch from Lang Lang to Drouin out of the question at knock off time ( 2.30pm ) and back to the Freeway it is! Wet/ windy/roadworks everywhere/ very heavy traffic/lane splitting to get away and just when I get to clear open road, the heavens decide to really let rip.... Of course being the eternal optimist regarding the weather I only put my wet weather leggings on ( I hate getting togged up in them as takes ages ) and of course I've got dry legs and feet BUT just as the water threatens to get into my leather jacket it stops and I dry out in the cold wind jeez even my glasses have stopped fogging up and I have clear vision again! Ha ha I couldn't care I'm bloody well enjoying it eh... Bike's running great and although the roads are drenched the bikes handling is just planted and secure hell I'm even warm and it's just one of those days where it should be CRAP... but it's not. As I approach my wee town the weather looks like it's got one more surprise for me and the rain gets harder again, you bastard I thought here we go a soaking in the last 2 kays from home. Ha ha whoever the weather god is he/she was on duty in Drouin yesterday arvo and it held till I got home.I would've been home 10 minutes and down she came BIG TIME. After I peel myself outa my riding gear have a nice hot shower and tea ( Dinner ) I retire to the lounge with a cuppa and stand by the fire looking out the floor to ceiling windows at the wild weather and chuckle to myself...ha ha this time I won! There's a certain pleasure in cheating the elements eh.. Cheers Guzzler

I also had no idea what this was about... Thanks for the explanation and mine are open as well. Cheers

G'day folk's I run the Pirelli Angel GT 11 at 35 f and 37/38 r on mine and happy with them in the twisty bits and the straights. Cheers Guzzler

G'day Doc Yep the commute is 70-80kays one way mostly country and open road with 15 ish of suburban traffic included, so yeah reasonably smooth. It's probably less on the return ( longer ) leg when hitting the 35 kays of GOOD twisties especially if Mr Plod isn't looking... We have rather DRACONIAN attitudes to speed here in the Socialist Republic of Dan ( aka Victoria ) so need to be vigilant.... Cheers Guzzler

G'day fella's I seem to be only able to squeeze 17 litres into mine. With this I consistently get 270 kilometres before the low fuel light comes on and if pushed could get 300 but don't for fear of having to literally push it! This is on my commute so a mixture of conditions. On a ride/trip would be a wee bit less if ENJOYING the ride and would normally look for gas after about 220 ish kays. My mate Dave with the MV has a small tank and has smaller range so I don't have to think about it too much just refuel when he does, consequently not sure about mileage when out and about but would be less than the the commute. Cheers Guzzler Ps I look at gas as being a small price to pay for the pleasure of exercising these fair maidens.....

Ha ha true But you can't complain about the weather yesterday mate... An absolute beauty for this time of year, 28 degrees and sunny no wind...perfect So for only the second time all year dragged the cover off the ole girl and got out for a ride. Gassed up in Warragul and backroads through to Yarragon,Trafalgar up into the Strezlecki's ( Ranges ) a coffee in Mirboo North... Great riding through here and down to Meeniyan and on to Port Albert on the coast ( supposedly the best fish and chips in the state).Well being Easter long weekend and stunning weather it was packed! So we decided to head on into Yarram and lunch at one of the pubs. Headed for home back over the Strezlecki's via Gormandale and into Traralgon. Weather too good to drone down the highway so more backroads to Tyers /Yallourn Nth/ Willow Grove and home to Drouin. Left home 9.30am and got back at 4.30pm LOTS of great twisty roads, bike went well and the rider wasn't too rusty either! Cheers Guzzler Ps only downside is not having ridden much I really started feeling the bumps in the last hour.. Only cure for that is to get out more....ha ha

Aha, that's better. Sorry folk's been a while not only between rides but posting photos.... Cheers Guzzler