todd haven

Q:Wattaya call a 14 year old girl in Arkansas, who just happens to run faster than her brother?? A: A Virgin I hope you guys realize what you have started here. Knowing Tx, I feel a need to hang around, just to watch. Kinda like slowing down for a car wreck, just to see the blood.

Greg, The H-B bags use a total of about 6 different keys. Take home a handful from the shop, and figure out which one fits. Ilco makes a perfect blank. L6S

That is good to hear. Glad to hear you remember him and applaud him. Sad that a stand-up guy is so rare in this business.

I've seen your truck. I'm telling you as a friend, let it go. A Race-tech sticker has proven helpful in hiding rust in the short term. Yer pal,

DrGil, The 02 Lemans wrinkle cover, p/n 01001440 is over $220.00 list price. the 04 Nero Corsa semi-gloss, p/n 01001490 is $132.00 list price. I have no explanations. I presume the only difference is the finish. I can't swear to it. MGNA/Piaggio parts is still in disarray. Enquire to the Germans, confirm the 39 Euro price, and pay a little extra for express freight. Get that thing back on the road!

It's your time, and your money. Think again about how little you want to de the job over, and how you wil kick yourself if leaks "just a little bit". Then order the cover. And no, I don't have one.

It's Here... Details at this link(all in jest, except the presence of the bike) http://wildguzzi.com/forum/index.php?topic=992.0

Undo the bolts, flip the endcap over. Done.

I normally make it a rule not to talk numbers on a site such as this. Exception to follow: A normal set of tires(Battlax, D208, Mich Pilots, etc), mounted and balanced on a V11, runs in the neighborhood of $350-400..00 USD. $700 would be outrageous in our business environment, if the guy in your neck of the woods actually gets this amount, ,maybe I should take lessons. We are talking $25-35 markup per tire, plus $35-45 per tire to remove from bike, dismount, mount and balance as well as mount back to the bike. Wheel bearings and brake pads are getting checked at the same time. I don't have a slew of qualified people standing around waiting to toss a set of tires on your bike, so you may need to leave it with me a while. I understand this is an inconvenience. I apologize, but for us, I would rather not do the job than do it half-assed. It's not worth our time doing it for less than this. Not trying to sound high and mighty, pure business. If you can do it yourself-- more power to you. No hard feelings. Have a nice day. Perhaps my comment above was misconstrued. I apologize if this was the case. p.s.-- for $700/set, we'll drop everything the minute you get here, put 2 guys on it, and skip lunch to get you done. Hasn't happened yet. There's a place across town that sells tires $20 cheaper than me, and mounts and balances for $7.50/wheel. They don't know how to spell Moto Guzzi. If you are in a rush, you might get them to put both Jose and Hose-B on the job.

Any accountants in the group? Tire machine-- $3500.00 Electronic balancer $1200.00 Can you say ROI? An unknown concept in most bike shops. The guys who do our tires are the same guys who do our new bike set-ups, trans recalls, engine building, and FI work. It takes longer and costs more than some other places. I'm OK with that. There truly is not much money to be made on tires. There are situations in which it is not worth the trouble. I dismissed 2 BMW riders this week who wanted Internet tires mounted on loose wheels. No thanks, I said. One was rather taken aback when I let him know that Dennis Kirk sells tire irons, as well as tires. DIY means DIY. We don't mount customer supplied tires. Nor do we install customer supplied parts, except in very limited circumstances. We don't take 8 days. And we don't scratch rims. And we don't take American Express YMMV

Don't know if that's a good or bad thing, Al. BMW V-12's since 1988 used 2 throttle motors from Bosch (Drossel-klappers, or DK's for short) They are crap. As are the ones used on Mercedes 4,6,8,and 12 cyl. cars since 92. Made by VDO. $800-$2000 each, no Harley substitute available.

We popped open the crate on a Coppa last Friday. Ti pipes and Race ECU were in the crate, along with the faux carbon standard cans. Technically, the pipes and ECU are "off-road use" only Unless your dealer bought the bike uncrated, he's got some explaining to do.

Gil, I will speak in generalities only. The parts situation at MGNA has gone from poor to pitiful in the last year. -Large turnover in Atlanta among the parts dept. -Switch to a warehousing service, after moving inventory from N.C. to Ga. -close for a 6 business day inventory in late October. -return to shipping orders for 1 week, and then another 2 week closure to convert to a new system. That's where we are today. Another week before anything can even be ordered. The current on-line parts availabillity/inquiry system is a bad joke. It is hopelessly inaccurate, rendering it useless. Even parts prices are not accurate. Ludicrous!! We have been promised on-line ordering, and real-time parts availability info, for 4 years now. Still no movement in this area. Aprillia screwed the pooch, to point that the dog can barely walk. Parts in transit from Italy enter a foggy limbo, with no ETA, no quantity information. (Does MGNA have 1 or 20 coming to the country, e.g.) Piaggio is revamping top to bottom, and I hold real hope for the immediate future. They performed a similar update to the warranty system , and were up and running this am. Faster, better, stronger operation. As pissed as I am, I remain optimistic for the future. Not much solace for someone awaiting routine parts which should be readily avaliable. Rant mode off.

Cypress is my home address, just about 7 miles north of the shop. I've never seen the "Cypress Stunters" on the roads. I'm OK with that. LBJ is the county charity hospital. Thrilled to see that Einstein chose to buy an R6 instead of health insurance. My tax dollars at work.

Jaap, Shouldn't that be : You people decide yourself through Paypal? Chicago-Style!

Early morning group leaving from the shop: Jackal, Green V11 Sport, 3 modern BMW (yawn) Mid-day departure group: V7 Sport, R90S, Daytona RS 2 EV's I'm stuck in town

Who are you gonna get to translate into English for you, Pete?

So, You want to learn to defend yourself against someone armed with a pointed stick, Eh? Try that with a pineapple down your windpipe....... Simply pull the lever, and the 16-ton wieght will fall on top of him.

Mr. Praline: 'E's not pinin'! 'E's passed on! This parrot is no more! He has ceased to be! 'E's expired and gone to meet 'is maker! 'E's a stiff! Bereft of life, 'e rests in peace! If you hadn't nailed 'im to the perch 'e'd be pushing up the daisies! 'Is metabolic processes are now 'istory! 'E's off the twig! 'E's kicked the bucket, 'e's shuffled off 'is mortal coil, run down the curtain and joined the bleedin' choir invisibile!! THIS IS AN EX-PARROT!! (pause) Owner: Well, I'd better replace it, then. (he takes a quick peek behind the counter) Sorry squire, I've had a look 'round the back of the shop, and uh, we're right out of parrots. Mr. Praline: I see. I see, I get the picture. Owner: I got a slug. (pause) Mr. Praline: Pray, does it talk? Owner: Nnnnot really. Mr. Praline: WELL IT'S HARDLY A BLOODY REPLACEMENT, IS IT?!!???!!? Owner: N-no, I guess not. (gets ashamed, looks at his feet) Mr. Praline: Well. (pause) Owner: (quietly) D'you.... d'you want to come back to my place? Mr. Praline: (looks around) Yeah, all right, sure. And don't forget, the palindrome of Bolton would be Notlob.

Tx was down today, got a generator to use for as long as he needs it. 2 coolers full of ice. A few bags of food, a few cases of water and soft drinks. He and his wife took showers at our shop. Their first in 5 days. He was truly stunned at the generosity of the Guzzi community. The phone rang twice more with donations after he left. I will see him this weekend, and pass along the additional funds. The FEMA people told him yesterday that 4 trees on his house, and 1 through the roof into the master BR don't qualify him for full governmental assistance. Seems he lives 6 miles into the wrong county. Next county over gets full assistance. He, his wife, and his mother-in-law were given 2 MRE's and a gallon of water. Anyone wishing to help out Tx and his family can call me at the shop with a c.c. # . Or see post above with secure arrangements. Full dollar value will go straight to him. MPH will absorb processing costs. Full accounting available to anyone who asks. Todd Haven, MPH Cycles 281-647-6557 16510 Park Row Houston,TX 77084

Tx and his family are o.k. His Guzzi is o.k. His back is not after loading it in his truck. He insisted we call off our relief mission. U.S hwy 59 is closed just South of his place, so a million people returning to Houston are being funneled across the little state hiway by his place to I-45. Huge traffic delays and fuel in short supply. He will come to town to pick up a generator when traffic permits. I'm guessing sooner than later (99 F today, 37.5 C for you foreigners.) No fans, no A/C, no refrigerator. Tx has no paypal account. I will accept credit card charges and pass all proceeds to TX with full accounting to anyone who asks. I despise fund-raising scammers, this is all for TxR. All processing charges absorbed by MPH. Or mail a check. My idea, please tell me if it is secure: First 12 digits of c.c. number, along with exp. date and amount to charge, in a PM to me here. Final 4 digits, the 3-didt code on the reverse of the card, and a repeat of the amount to charge, in an e-mail to me at Todd@mphcycles.com. If this is not secure, please let me know, and offer an alternative. Thanks, Todd Haven MPH Cycles 16510 Park Row Houston, TX 77084 ph 281-647-6557 fax 281-579-9035

We lucked out. Winds, a little rain, and some tree limbs to pick up. I spoke with Tx this evening, he is in better spirits than I would be in similar conditions. Power lines down all around, he even has a telephone pole lying on it's side in his front yard. 2 blocks in either direction reveal no missing phone poles. No idea of the source. His phone still works. He expects 2-3 weeks without power. Mike and I will head his way tomorrow with a generator to use for the duration. Along with whatever food/water/gas, etc we have left. Pretty sparse around these parts, lately. Supplies are funneling back into Houston. It willl take longer in the outlying areas.

Just got a voice-mail from Tx Redneck. (Cell service is still sketchy due to the storm) He and his family are safe. But, 4 trees on his house, 1 IN his house. shed/workshop also wiped out. No word on his bike(not really a Solex). Will pass along details as I can.

Tx, you don't have to feed her, do you? Looks like sho could even skip a few meals. Hang in there, be safe. Winds picking up. I'm outta here.

I've had one personalized plate in my life. On a Mercedes 240D, standard trans, Great car, I had only one problem with it. It was: 2FNSLO. The state renewed it the next year. After that the fee went from $25USD to $55USD. The joke had worn off, so now it hangs on the wall. They asked me to surender it. But it got "lost" (another $5)