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Cold road travel


docc

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Yeah. That's the one. As I recall, this was one of a series of photo's. One was of the Sport lying sprawled out on its side in the parking lot like a beached whale, spewing steam from under a valve cover hard against the packed snow. I reckon the one above is a shot of where it got stuck in its tracks, where it more'n likely remained until dragged out. :whistle:

 

If there's such a thing as Guzzi abuse, this has to be a prime candidate. <_>

 

Gotta wonder how many were "inspired" by this photo to fit knobbies and wound up in the exact same fix (or worse).

 

Enquiring minds. . . (well, you know) . . . :huh2:

 

Yeah, but it looks really friggin cool. Sometimes, looking the part is enough. ^_^ That monstrosity is probably just as effective as a Quota.

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I love that look. I thought that shot came out of Sweden or Norway.

 

The V11 will always be hampered by its short suspension and rear set footrests as a big trailie. And it may be heavy, but it's lighter than a Quota!

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Practical winter riding advice for V11 owners:

 

"place gloved hands firmly on top of the handy and very warm valve covers at every stoplight/opportunity in an attempt to get feeling back into fingers"

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Funny! I thought about this as I warmed my (left) hand on the valve cover: If I was riding a VFR or Concours or such, there would be no way to 'lay hands' on the motor. And at every stop, I rested my gloves on the heads as I fueled and such.

 

The ride ended 280 miles with temps in the 40's. With the wind chill at 60-70 mph, it was, well yes: COLD.

 

Arriving home I discovered all the plated parts were terribly corroded, either from the deep crushed limestone gravel of "Hawkins Hill" or the salt on the descent from the plateau, or the careless application of S100 cycle cleaner. It has been a long afternoon applying various solvents and Scotch to clean up the Sport. :drink:

 

The dense air and clear roads gave the Sport some sense of flight as it devoured the way home like a Supermarine Spitfire eager to recross the channel.

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I can ride mine on the freeway at temps over about 28 or so. I will not ride if the road is salted or wet in any way. Cold air doesnt hurt anything, but icy pavement is nothing to play with. Salty roads are just too much cleanup work. I havent even started mine up since Dec 26th here in Ohio, its just been to nasty to ride since then. I've been looking at the 7 day forecast & I'm still out of luck.

On a side note...has anyone been to the CycleWorld bike show this year? Its going to be in Cleveland next weekend.

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