todd haven

Staedtler's right, Everything is bigger in Texas

Mattress, The waranty situation is nowhere near as dire as you describe. It has improved greatly in the last 2 years. Do I wish it paid more?-- yep. Am I satisfied with the way it currently operates?-- yep. We do a pi$$pot of warranty work on bikes sold elsewhere. Sorry, I can't do nationwide mail-order warranty. I'm sorry your local dealer sees it differently.

Functioning as designed, in my book. The intended target being a snake, a deer. a possum or an armadillo. Or a paper target, or a milk jug, or a can filled with water. Or an intruder. A burglar, a thief. Or a crackhead. A .357 Magnum barrel in your face can serve as a highly effective deterrent to anti-social behavior. I have this on good authority. A machine/ tool performing as designed. Guzzi-like, even

Wow, Dlaing, Seems spending a few years in Austin has the same effect on a whole buncha folks. University of Texas Marching Band: I have several friends who were members. they never told me about the "other side". Heavy mystery time-- Madeline Murray O'Hair was from Austin, too. Now, she's disappeared. Coincidence?, you be the judge. Is GWB a Bible-thumpin', fundamentalist right-winger, or a Satanist. Or both? Hook em Horns I once got horribly. violently, ill drinking 151 proof rum in the dorm pictured in the background. Reagan was prez at the time. To this day, the smell of rum makes me gag. I would have sold my soul to the devil, but no offer was forthcoming. I dislike GWB as much as any here. I voted against him early and often, at least 10 times. But the "sign of the devil" thing is pure crap.

Skeeve, You ask a good question. Problem is, there is not a good answer when it comes to Guzzi. Parts microfilms are notoriously bad for not showing updates/supercessions. Even when diagrams show a part swap as feasible, there remains infamous Italian "parts-bin" swapping. Things are not always as they should be, even when they leave the factory. Rumor has it that previous owners have also been known to swap bits about, be it for technical or financial advantage. In short, you never really have a firm idea what you started with, or what you have to work with. Enter Mr. Richardson of Moto International in Seattle, and his book Guzziology. Invaluable, for all the reasons I mentioned and more. Even stilll, a seemingly straight-forward project like adding tubeless EV wheels to an 03 Stone required considerable, fabrication, fallback, and parts scrounging, even after exhaustive research. We get into something like this, and it becomes a headache. Spacers,washers, etc are used, fabbed, or discarded as needed to achieve the desired result. Dave R seems to be able to take the time to scribble notes, or has a photographic memory. Bless him. What you ask for becomes a "take it apart, size up what you have, figure out what it will take to get where you want to go" approach. If Pete, Greg, or Carl have other insights, I kneel at the teachers' feet.

Coz, Please take all I say with a grain of salt. The fact you are coming out of the Navy(thanks for your service) tells me you are already a step ahead. We have seen 2 MMI grads. Both young folks, who thought they were "buying" a career. It does not work that way. I don't know what you did while in the Navy. We run two businesses at our place. One automotive, working on Mercedes and BMW cars. Been at it 24 years, pretty good at it. Been a motorcycle dealer, selling Guzzis and fixing a huge number of BMW's, since 2000. Seems to be above average at it. We have had a few ex-military guys as automotive wrenches in the past. They excel far beyond the norm. Electronics is a huge plus.. Did you say Navy More points for you with a military background. Never had the chance on a bike tech. Would love to find out. I don't know your age, or background. My advice would be as follows: Carefully avoid a huge student loan/personal obligation until you know know what you want to do. I know more than 1 guy paying off a huge loan, while he works in another field. If you were the type of kid to take apart Mom's toaster, Dad's lawnmower, or your worn bicycle at a very early age to "find out what's wrong", you probably have what it takes to be a top-drawer technician. Many guys who never did such things, still make a good living at it. Both are vaild careers. Comes down to the difference between wanting to know "how" something works, vs. being happy with it being working again. Big difference to some guys, not so big to others. The schools are supported by the big manufacturers. They pay the schools big money, and want techs turned out to work in big dealerships. Not a bad thing, but guys who are into Guzzi already tend to be a little--, how shall I say-- Different Please feel free to PM or e-mail privately to discuss further. In the car biz, UTI is referred to as "un-trained idiots". MMI is the bike equiv of UTI for cars.. I haven't heard a witty phrase for MMI yet, but you get my drift. We have seen 3 top-flight, good grade UTI grads crash and burn out of our place, while trying to fix cars. They had no real world smarts. Unable to handle a stripped bolt, or a helicoil, after 2 years in school. Zero "problem-solving skills"- I hate that phrase. The military gives you a big leg up. Please don't sign any big contract, until you have talked to folks who have been through the program. Who are still working at it. Don't buy into any "tool program", either. How'd I know that? Disclaimer,--- we are FAR from the typical motorcycle shop in the US. For better or worse, MMI will not even recognize us as a blip on their radar screen. Please let me know if I can help. Best of luck, whatever path you choose.

Road Trip! I have no choice, Dear. It's the Law!

Serious editing: Hi Jon, We're here for you!! You will get through this. Buell signals seem to be the answer for most folks. They will chime in, I am sure. Any garage incident that does not involve a police report, a divorce lawyer, or a criminal record, is a good one..

Paul, We have a customer who rode a Concours for years. He bought an 02 Lemans in 2002. In 2004, he bought a used California Special Sport. In 2005, his wife bought a Nevada. He always thought the Concours did all he wanted. He still has the Connie. It seems to have stopped wearing tires as quickly as it used to. Dive in, the water is fine.

I'm all for profit. Profit is good. The $16K machine referred to above is a Siemens unit. A customer and friend in the computer biz sells identical Siemens units for $1500, plus software. Makes Exxon/Mobil look like pikers. We use the TechnoResearch software. Have not found anything the latest software won't do on any new bike. Breva 100 and Griso included. We have asked Piaggio Technical for an explanation of what additional functions can be performed with an Axone. No added benefit equals No Sale. I think the TR software was ~ $500. No tall grass. I don't expect Marelli to offer up detailed internal ECU info. Bosch never has, in the 25 years we have been working on those systems. Even as a Bosch Authorized Service Center, we cannot get the info. It is proprietary. I can live with that. Ditto Siemens or VDO. Emissions control, ABS, body and climate control systems should not be proprietary. Right to repair is as much about the consumer's right to have his/her car worked on by the person of their choice. It seeks to provide access(not a gift) to the same information provided by manufacturers to their franchised dealers. Internal ECU schematics, etc, are not available to your local Chevy dealer. Therefore, this information would not be made available under RTR. Believe it or not, there are some people out there unhappy with their local franchised dealers who would prefer to either fix it themselves, or pay an independent. BTW, Right to Repair Act does not apply to motorcycles. We, along with another combination BMW car/bike shop, nearly had the EPA officer investigating BMW convinced. She was reassigned, and her replacement canned the idea. This information is becoming available. Kia and Hyundai give it away for free. Seen the CSI numbers lately?-- I see a connection http://www.aftermarket.org/Government/Reso...EM_Websites.asp Scroll down the attached link and see what info costs. No more Porsches for us. No ROI-- ther's that ugly word, profit, again

Wow, Dave, I didn't expect to see right to repair here. Are you opposed or in favor of repair technicans having access to the information required to repair a vehicle? You will notice Guzzi tech info is readily available on the web. This is as it should be. No secrets. Not so with some manufacturers. BMW has been the worlds worst in providing this information. We own a $16,000 GT-1 tester for working on BMW cars. The precise same tool is sold to BMW M/C dealers in the US. A different cable and software are required to access M/C info. Said cable and software are not available to the aftermarket. At any price. No how, no way. Sound Fair?

Long running joke: Guzzi put the Vatican in charge of rubber products== ergo, they don't hold up real well The part number has changed, I can tell no difference in the new vs. old. I don't like silicone as a preservative, either. You folks in Europe, specifically avoid silicone, it does bad things to O2 sensors. If it was an ozone problem, why would the TB to intake boot outsell the airbox to TB boot 6 to 1?(pulling numbers out of my arse, but you get my drift)

What else can we let the govenrment protect us from? I have a long-felt fear of clowns, badgers, and Beanie Babies. Goes back to some horrible scars from my youth which I would rather not discuss. I challenge anyone here to present a reasoned, articulate argument to justify the ownership of anything as harmful as clown make-up, rabies-infested badger teeth, or those godforsaken Beanie Babies. Please speak up. I can no longer tolerate the carnage. Anyone not seeing my reasoning is obviously delusional. Please seek professional help at once. Now, about those tags on the mattress, pillows, and sofa...... And, don't you dare try to tell me Beanie Babies are harmless... Them's fighting words.. And, I've got a gun

I won't speak for Greg. He is more than capable. Darn few agree with me on everything... I would wager a large number agree with me on nothing.. I believe I go far in separating politics/internet ramblings from business dealings, whenever possible. I have prided myself on this for years. I can rant, rave, cuss and drink with friends/acquantances/ hell, even family members. I agree to disagree with folks all the time. My politics defy easy categorization. Mainly Libertarian, with a strict adherence to Constiituitional gidelines. I don't care what you do. I truly do not. You have no right to tell me what to do, either. I don't want your tax dollars to support what I like to do, feel I need to do, or like to do. Ditto my tax dollars for your interests. Let's remain consistent. All that aside, if you want a set of Aaron's crossover shims(order in the works for a second batch, they are selling like hotcakes), a manual petcock to replace the elec. version, or other Guzzi needs, I am ready, wiling and able to help. No poll tax, no "litmus test"( Damn, I hate that phrase) no delays for Franken or Limbaugh fans(both of whom I disagree with vehemently). Greg is also fully capable of handling your parts needs, I have turned to him for parts from Europe on more than one occasion, and have 1100cc stock air filters on a "lend-lease" from him untill Piaggio pulls their heads out. Re advertising:-- I stand giuilty as charged. Originally primarily a Euro site, I have lurked from the sidelines, particulary in light of Greg's and MIs' Teo Lamers tie-in. Time to pony up. I will contact Jaap, and get that underway. MPH Cycles supports Guzzitech, Wildguzzi, and others. No problem to add another., Can't promise a big banner-- but we will do what we can.

FIRST YORKSHIREMAN: Aye, very passable, that, very passable bit of risotto. SECOND YORKSHIREMAN: Nothing like a good glass of Château de Chasselas, eh, Josiah? THIRD YORKSHIREMAN: You're right there, Obadiah. FOURTH YORKSHIREMAN: Who'd have thought thirty year ago we'd all be sittin' here drinking Château de Chasselas, eh? FIRST YORKSHIREMAN: In them days we was glad to have the price of a cup o' tea. SECOND YORKSHIREMAN: A cup o' cold tea. FOURTH YORKSHIREMAN: Without milk or sugar. THIRD YORKSHIREMAN: Or tea. FIRST YORKSHIREMAN: In a cracked cup, an' all. FOURTH YORKSHIREMAN: Oh, we never had a cup. We used to have to drink out of a rolled up newspaper. SECOND YORKSHIREMAN: The best we could manage was to suck on a piece of damp cloth. THIRD YORKSHIREMAN: But you know, we were happy in those days, though we were poor. FIRST YORKSHIREMAN: Because we were poor. My old Dad used to say to me, "Money doesn't buy you happiness, son". FOURTH YORKSHIREMAN: Aye, 'e was right. FIRST YORKSHIREMAN: Aye, 'e was. FOURTH YORKSHIREMAN: I was happier then and I had nothin'. We used to live in this tiny old house with great big holes in the roof. SECOND YORKSHIREMAN: House! You were lucky to live in a house! We used to live in one room, all twenty-six of us, no furniture, 'alf the floor was missing, and we were all 'uddled together in one corner for fear of falling. THIRD YORKSHIREMAN: Eh, you were lucky to have a room! We used to have to live in t' corridor! FIRST YORKSHIREMAN: Oh, we used to dream of livin' in a corridor! Would ha' been a palace to us. We used to live in an old water tank on a rubbish tip. We got woke up every morning by having a load of rotting fish dumped all over us! House? Huh. FOURTH YORKSHIREMAN: Well, when I say 'house' it was only a hole in the ground covered by a sheet of tarpaulin, but it was a house to us. SECOND YORKSHIREMAN: We were evicted from our 'ole in the ground; we 'ad to go and live in a lake. THIRD YORKSHIREMAN: You were lucky to have a lake! There were a hundred and fifty of us living in t' shoebox in t' middle o' road. FIRST YORKSHIREMAN: Cardboard box? THIRD YORKSHIREMAN: Aye. FIRST YORKSHIREMAN: You were lucky. We lived for three months in a paper bag in a septic tank. We used to have to get up at six in the morning, clean the paper bag, eat a crust of stale bread, go to work down t' mill, fourteen hours a day, week-in week-out, for sixpence a week, and when we got home our Dad would thrash us to sleep wi' his belt. SECOND YORKSHIREMAN: Luxury. We used to have to get out of the lake at six o'clock in the morning, clean the lake, eat a handful of 'ot gravel, work twenty hour day at mill for tuppence a month, come home, and Dad would thrash us to sleep with a broken bottle, if we were lucky! THIRD YORKSHIREMAN: Well, of course, we had it tough. We used to 'ave to get up out of shoebox at twelve o'clock at night and lick road clean wit' tongue. We had two bits of cold gravel, worked twenty-four hours a day at mill for sixpence every four years, and when we got home our Dad would slice us in two wit' bread knife. FOURTH YORKSHIREMAN: Right. I had to get up in the morning at ten o'clock at night half an hour before I went to bed, drink a cup of sulphuric acid, work twenty-nine hours a day down mill, and pay mill owner for permission to come to work, and when we got home, our Dad and our mother would kill us and dance about on our graves singing Hallelujah. FIRST YORKSHIREMAN: And you try and tell the young people of today that ..... they won't believe you. ALL: They won't!

Which Gods did you anger in a previous life to deserve such punishment? You should have gone to the beach. I am told it can be refreshing.

Knowing Tex, I hope it got a god scrub with hot water, some disinfectant, and maybe some UV before it was installed....

Had the same thought about Mr. Lovett's lyrics.

Send some of that 70 degree water down, would ya? 1:00 pm, 8/5/2006 Observed at: Galveston, Texas Elevation: 3 ft / 1 m [Clear] 90 °F / 32 °C Clear Humidity: 59% Water temp: 86.2 F Dew Point: 73 °F / 23 °C Wind: 9 mph / 15 km/h from the SE Pressure: 29.99 in / 1016 hPa Heat Index: 98 °F / 37 °C Not my idea of a good time. Sand in the crack of yer ass, lack of shade, crowds, traffic, rip-off tourist pricing- sounds great. Oh yeah, it's friggin hot, too! Enjoy the beach, glad you like it. I'll pass. There are tarts in bikinis on the rivers in the Texas Hill Country, too. I must have missed the national headlines about the large number of heat-related deaths in Texas and the South. Declarations of "States of Emergency" because it is hot outside. Please forgive, I should know East Coasters have the answer for everything. Stupid me.

Get outta town!!

Jon, I really don't mean to come across as an ass, but I amazed by this. I understand eldery folks, locked up in their houses, afraid to go outside... happened in Chicago a few years ago. Is that who dies in this sort of thing? Community centers, churches, courthouses are used here. Busses go door to door, medical folks help the infirm. But you don't go the the friggin beach! When's the last time 120 people froze to death in Michigan or Wisconsin in a blizzard?

Ummhh... I am not normally one to toss out suggestions to others on how to live their lives... But I saw news articles today of New Yorkers and East Coasters at the BEACH. You do not escape heat by going to the beach.. I am the worlds biggest wienie when it comes to cold. I admit it, I realize it, and I deal with it. If there is ice on the streets(every 6-8 years or so) we stock up on booze and wait it out at home. Kinda like hurricanes. From a transplanted Texan, where it is hot for months at a time... a few clues: If it is hot,.... do NOT go to the beach. It will be very hot at the beach. Go to a mall, a movie theater, a grocery store, a clothing store, a library, city hall, the county courthouse, or a friend's house(use his A/C ) Drink LOTS of water. Iced tea is also good. Weak Iced tea, lots of water, lots of ice, not much tea. (caffeine dehydrates), Yes, you Europeans, ice in tea . (Spend a summer in Texas, you will understand) Iced tea comes in BIG glasses. 32 oz. minimum. Only Yankees serve tea in liitle "cups" Mason jars are acceptable(32 oz. size) 8 ounce glasses of iced tea are a sick joke. The waitress will be asked to leave the pitcher. If the iced tea does not come out of a pitcher, a BIG pitcher, it is not iced tea. Unacceptable. Avoid alcohol while you are exerting yourself. You will find yourself passed out in the yard(hopefully under a tree) This is strictly second hand-- (guys talk, and you hear things ) Beer is for when you are done with the days work. The cool-down phase. Back porch, under a fan. Cold beer. Nothing better. Carry a big gun, to keep a Yankee from taking away your water/Iced tea/ cold beer The last one is a joke, sorta It is hot, deal with it. It has been a mild summer here. We have not hit 100 degrees. Where's my parka???

Tex, With Marines like that on the job, they better order up more virgins.

Good thing the "climate suits your clothes" Glad you had a good time.

GO BILL. BEAT ARMY!! I noticed Wildguzzi shut has been shut down. Immediately after a similar post. Care to explain your involvement? I thought not. I might have expected as much. Your silence speaks volumes. You sly, Imperialist pig-dog