LowRyter

I went back to the shop yesterday and chatted with Don. I haven't seen him since before I picked up the bike from his sidekick. Apparently a big part of delay were backordered parts for 6 months. I think he cannibalized his Scrura and silver red frame to get all the parts. One being a seal.

Since I get all my bikes farmed out work at the same place, and have been a squeaky wheel for 20 months with the Greenie, I've seen a lot of work being done in the shop. When I see V100 engine sitting on the floor, kind of shakes my confidence. Worse, when I meet a fellow that purchased a new V7 there and he told me the swingarm came loose while riding out of town. I don't know if the swingarm is a set up item or factory install. Oddly, he got rid of it and bought a 35 year old Duc with a newly welded steering head. That guy has problems with both ends.

As a Ducati owner, it's ironic that I'm afraid of Beemers and Guzzis due to scheduled maintenance costs. The R bikes require valve checks at 12k miles and require cam removals for adjustments. These are meant to be touring bikes. The K bikes have 24v and known to lunch their timing adjusters. Now Guzzis with visible valve covers are just an illusion of simplicity? As a rider with limited expertise, unwilling to purchase special tools and not subscribing to whatever data service, new Euro bikes seem a big ticket headache. I didn't even mention KTMs. Hondas and Yamahas might have the same restrictions, but frequency is twice as long and half as much. Edit: I just got the newsflash why the dealers are bailing. Why carry all that inventory of slow selling bikes, when you've already sold enough to load up on shop repairs for several years??? And you can tell the factory to screw it for warranty work.

I have to say in N America Guzzi, and perhaps Aprilia, does not have a visible strategy other than running off dealers. It's not just a local thing, WG ran a thread listing several established dealers kicking them out.

I think Guzzi has a limited and aging product line, questionable reliability, and many promising but orphaned designs (CARC and 1400 series). The dealer network is dissolving before our eyes. This board is dedicated to a bike that's been out of production for 20 years. The V100 is a nice bike that hasn't quite caught on. The V7/850 series sold well but they've sold one to everyone that wants one. There's nothing new or exciting and few dealers left to sell, market and maintain them.

Both left and right eagles face forward on my EV and V11 Sport.

In for a penny, in for a pound. I was disappointed that it took so long, and of course the cost. It was beyond my skill to do any of this. I'd guess considering labor and parts, the cost of finding a used transmission, taking the risk and verifying its service, remove and replacing the tranny from the bike, would've been about the same. I think there were some Guzzi peculiar parts that contributed to the costs as well. At least I have the same transmission as it was delivered. I'm a person that keeps stuff a long time. Perhaps getting something repaired more than it's worth. OTOH, I don't incur the cost of buying something new, like a $15k motorcycle. It's really not a cost consideration if you really like the product and lived with it for years. So I "bought the ticket and took the ride", wow. I'd forgotten of riding this brute. Yep, it has just a bit more torque and go that I remembered. I might have to work on my upper body to get this big gal to dance with me in the corners. Maybe the tires need to gain some flex too.

Update Delivered to me. Rode it 30 miles. Shifted great. 70 degree weather. The bike is red & green... having a Merry Xmas and BTW Merry Christmas to you all!!!!!!!!!

I'm happy to say I rode the Greenie for the first time in a year and half. Fixed transmission with new bearings sets and a clutch throw out bearing. Seems to shift fine ridden for a few miles. The shop is checking it for leaks, needs a clean up and air in the tires. Hope to get it Monday. The forecast calls for 70, pretty nice for Dec 22.

I like to marinade beef with a small bit of soy sauce (a little goes a long way) and Montreal steak seasoning. Works on steak and hamburger, add to crock pot roast. If your beef is well marbled, try smoking a chuck roast. It takes 3 hours, get the meat temp to 195f. Won't work with dry beef. Unfortunately, I haven't found quality Chuck in the supermarket in years. The last two times, had to order from butcher. It's better than brisket. I just use Montreal rub alone. It's better and more convenient than brisket. Another dish is to cook meatloaf on smoky grill. I prefer steak sauce rather than Ketchup. I use a gas grill, but have smoke pellet box and a perforated cylinder that can be lit for cold smoking. My wife makes a great Chicken Fried steak as well, use round steak and tenderize it. She makes great Chili too- her secret is to blend to Chili powder with Cumin, also use a course ground rather than hamburger grind.

I just picked up this 4 CD Box set. BBA, supergroup power trio. I like the live version better than the studio LP I have stashed away. BTW- I read that the group broke up after Tim Bogert punched Jeff Beck in the face.

In my case I had no choice wearing glasses. Lens Crafters has a warranty allowing for free changes for 90 days or so. But I couldn't drive. I'm about 20/40 and double vision without correction .... Not sure what I was before.

He had gone to the eye doc, that's why he was dilated. I personally had a retina tear several years ago that followed an ocular vein occlusion a month earlier (starburst). Not a pleasant thing, I have a permanent "floater" from the tear that can be an annoyance. Actually, we spent most of the discussion talking about vision issues, rather than my bike. I just recently had cataract lens surgery in the same eye with some complications just hours after my surgery. Tremendous pressure that required "burping" (i.e., opening the incision and dripping the fluid- yep, really). The resulting eye drops made me quite weak, preventing my usual work outs. Pressure was normal after a couple of weeks. My vision is still changing after a couple months and very sensitive to light now. I hope to get my final prescription checked in a few weeks, this after a couple of interim changed to my glasses. Sorry- more info that was required.....

I was actually hoping that I'd get the bike this week. After (additional) weeks in storage, it was back at the shop. But the bike was off the lift and the tranny was on the bench. Don said it wasn't shifting right into 3rd and was messing with the shift fork. Went back yesterday, his eyes were dilated from retina tear. Said he had trouble seeing when working on my bike. He had previously ripped his bicep working on my bike a few months ago.... not my fault.

One of the saddest songs of all time.