How I came to be the custodian of Tenni # 122

[badwolf.j]

I’ve been an admirer of the V11 since first seeing a Nero Corsa on the road about 12 or 13 years ago. After years of looking at photos, lurking on Guzzi forums, and reading all the reasons why one wouldn’t want to purchase a 2002 V11, I was smitten once I saw a Tenni in person. Unfortunately, I missed Hang Tenni’s classified ad here on the forum. I discovered his bike for sale when it was listed on ebay. Hang Tenni was local – only about 30 minutes from my home in the Chicago suburbs. I went to check out his Tenni one morning before work. Unfortunately, I was outbid in the closing minutes of his auction.

 

Tenni # 114 (not mine)

 

I felt awful over missing out on this one, and my search for a V11 escalated. I visit Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin several times a year, and have frequently spotted a gorgeous and super clean Coppa Italia – usually there for the AHRMA vintage motorcycle races. 2017 was no exception. I stalked the parked Coppa until the owner came by and I offered to buy it – but he declined, saying he couldn’t sell the single most beautiful bike in his collection. Fair enough.

 

Coppa Italia at Road America (again, not mine)

 

So, I posted a wanted ad here, and got a few responses, including Phillip in San Louis Obispo California with Tenni # 122.

 

After exchanging many emails to hammer out the details, I decided the timing was perfect, as it coincided with vacation time I already had scheduled at work, so I quickly assembled a plan.

 

Fly to San Luis Obispo, purchase Phillip’s Tenni, ride it up to the Monterey area, spend the weekend attending the US World SuperBike round at Laguna Seca, and have the bike shipped to me back in Illinois – an unfortunate necessity, as I couldn’t get the two consecutive weeks off to ride it back home cross-country myself.

 

So – on to what everyone is really here for – the ride report and pics.

 

Getting there.

There are no direct flights from O’Hare to San Luis Obispo, so I had a very short stop in Phoenix. Even though my flight was early in the morning, temps were still scorching hot.

 

Fortunately, not hot enough to ground my flight.

 

Taxiing at PHX

 

 

Departing Phoenix

 

American Eagle Bombardier CRJ-900 safely landed at SBP

 

Phillip picked me up at the airport and we went to his home to exchange my cashier’s check for his V11. Everything looked as he described, and after repacking my things to fit in the Tekno luggage and OEM tank bag, I installed a mount to use my phone for navigation, and ran a power lead from the battery up to the tank bag for a 5 volt USB charger.

 

 

Off I went, learning the quirks of the Tenni along the way. It took me about two and a half days before I really started to gel with this bike. Initially, I was thinking I had made a big, costly mistake and considered asking Phillip if he would like to buy it back! Engagement of the dry (assuming single plate) clutch felt foreign – very different than the dry clutch I had on my Ducati 900Sport, and worlds apart from the wet clutches I had experienced on every other bike I have ever owned or ridden. I had become really spoiled with the vacuum assisted PPC clutch on my Rotax powered Aprilia, and the close ratio gearboxes of every other bike I’ve had experience with. The wide gearing, combined with the relatively slow revving nature of the V11, took some getting used to, requiring a good whack on the throttle to rev match on downshits. The weight was more than I'm used to. Steering took more effort, and required a heavier hand than I'm used to. But like I said, after a few days we started to gel fairly well and I was chuckin' the Tenni into corners with confidence.

 

Unfortunately, a good portion of Highway 1 was still closed due to the mudslide in May. Trying to seek out more interesting roads and less traffic, I stayed off Highway 101 as much as possible. I took Highway 1 out of San Luis Obispo up past Morro Bay, and then started heading Northeast on Old Creek Road.

 

Old Creek Road turn off of Hwy 1

 

This looks more promising than the 101

 

I took 46 East, then North along Vine Street (101 frontage road), and followed G14 North past Lake Nacimiento, through Lockwood, Jolon, and King City.

I finally hopped on Highway 101 for my last stint up to the hotel in Marina after stopping for fuel at the Chevron on Jolon Rd in King City, CA - just over 100 miles from Phillip’s home, where I was sent off with a full tank. It took just under 2.5 gallons to top up – so about 40 mpg.

 

 

I stayed at the Howard Johnson Marina at Monterey Bay on Reservation Road. First impressions may leave you underwhelmed, sharing a parking lot with a Valero gas station, but the rooms are large, clean, modern, and well appointed with a microwave and mini fridge, along with plenty of USB charging ports in the bases of the table lamps. Perfect for the few days I’ll be spending around Monterey and at Laguna Seca. I really like having the gas station right in front of the hotel. You can easily walk your bike over to the pumps and top up your tank without having to start the engine. You can also just run into the convenience store to grab a snack or drink. The owner of this property is extremely friendly, always offering free bottled water and cookies, curious about your travels, and eager to offer local insight and make sure you’re enjoying your stay. She eagerly welcomes motorcyclists and race fans visiting Laguna Seca, and even remembered me from my visit for World SuperBike 2016 exactly a year earlier! Check out the photos on their Facebook page - showing off the beautiful nearby Monterey scenery.

 

Hotel and fuel station in one!

 

Easy to keep an eye on the bike

 

Drawbacks? There's not much choice available for local delivery when looking for food around the hotel, and you're not in downtown Monterey - which is also a good thing, because traffic is much less congested, you're not getting gouged too badly on race-weekend inflated room rates, and you're extremely close to the Watkins Gate North entrance of Laguna Seca. It's seriously just a few minutes down Reservation Road.

 

...more to come...

[badwolf.j]

I checked in to my hotel Wednesday evening July 5^th, so I had all of Thursday the 6^th to ride around and explore the area before heading to the track Friday through Sunday. My first stop was Pinnacles National Park near Soledad. I love getting out for a good hike, and spend a sizable portion of my vacations - even “riding” vacations - on foot. The trails and caves of Pinnacles are beautiful, teaming with wildlife, and can offer a good challenge with decent grades to climb.

 

 

 

 

 

 

At breakfast this morning, I learned from the always delightful and helpful owner of the Howard Johnson that Hwy 1 was open from the north down to Big Sur! I knew what I was doing Thursday afternoon! I really wanted to stop at Point Lobos on the way down Hwy 1, but the small parking area was full when I arrived, with traffic backed up to the end of the entrance road. Maybe next time. 

 

Heading down Hwy 1

 

 

This Mazda was intolerably slow and dangerously braking mid-corner. There may or may not have been a pass executed across the double yellow. 

 

Mazda dispatched. All better now.

 

Unfortunately, there is still a long stretch under construction. Fortunately, it's the boring straight bits.

 

Lunch stop: Big Sur Roadhouse. 

[badwolf.j]

Thursday, July 6th cont'd...

 

Since Highway 1 is closed at Big Sur (just South of the Roadhouse above), I headed back North and took a ride along Sunset Drive through Asilomar State Beach.

 

 

 

 

Before I had a chance to be overwhelmed by the sun setting into the Pacific looking out from the Monterey Peninsula while perched atop my new V11, I was visited by the local wildlife. Fortunately, I had some trail mix and a bit of cheese in my tank bag.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

...more to come...

[Scud]

Great adventure and a great bike. IMO the Tenni is far better looking than the Coppa Italia. Congratulations. Glad you had a few days on fabulous roads to get used to her. I've ridden by Pinnacles many times (on 101 as you did, but the better road to other entrance is route 25) but I've never been into the park. Gotta get there one day.

[guzzler]

Congratulations on joining the fold

She's a beauty, but you're buggered now mate!

Once they get under your skin there can be  no going back!!!

Cheers and enjoy it eh

Guzzler

 

[badwolf.j]

...at the track...

 

I love motorsports. I've never been a fan of traditional "stick & ball" sports. Total snooze-fest... except for maybe hockey. But heading to the race track in the early morning is a magical experience. Watching the teams begin their day, the sounds and smells of the machinery coming to life, the sense of urgency swelling in the paddock as the beginning of the next session draws nearer, and intensifies over the weekend going from practice, to qualifying, to the race. The diversity of the players involved - from the full factory teams stationed in permanent garages to the independents running what looks like a track day effort deep in the paddock under a pop-up canopy. The hives of activity that are the Pirelli and Dunlop tents as technicians hustle, getting new rubber mounted and ready to be sacrificed to the gods of speed. The best part - the accessibility. Being able to just walk into the middle of it all. Mechanics darting through the paddock, gracefully dodging each other and spectators. At lunch time, you could be in line with FIM officials or sharing a table with a pair of grid girls. You could shake hands with the editor of Motorcyclist Magazine, or see one of your favorite riders having a casual discussion with a living legend of MotoGP, or literally bump into the CEO of Ducati and find yourself in the middle of a media scrum flanked by professional videographers and photographers.

 

Nothing beats a weekend at the track.

 

Getting there.

 

I much prefer entering Laguna Seca from the North off of Reservation Road instead of from the South off of Hwy 68 - where traffic is usually much more congested. The North entrance offers a solitary ride along Fort Ord.

 

The folks at the gate were excited to see me and asking if I spotted any other riders coming in behind me, as I was their first spectator of the day!

 

 

Top Tip: Placing your ticket in the clear pouch on your tankbag with the barcode visible makes things quick and easy.

 

Seeing the medevac Eurocopter EC135 just inside the gates reinforces that these racers are modern day gladiators, putting their lives on the line for our entertainment.

 

Heading down the steep incline of Perimeter Road - Sunsirse over the dry lake for which the circuit is named. Visible are turns 2 through 5.

 

Always fun seeing what other bikes show up.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hard core SPORT-touring from Ontario to Laguna Seca

 

 

... more to come ...

[badwolf.j]

The marketplace. Where to go between sessions to meet riders, see new bikes, and spend some money.

 

 

The Suter MMX500. (Caution - Motorcycle Pornography ahead)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

At the MV Agusta display.

 

The Brutale 800 America was unveiled at Laguna Seca.

 

The Reparto Corse editions of the F3 and F4

 

I got to meet MV racer Leon Camier. As a 6'2" (188cm) rider myself (Leon and I are the exact same height and within 2 kg weight of each other), I always cheer for the tall guys - as they seem to be an oddity in modern top-tier motorcycle racing.

I also met Dale Schmidtchen (right) with MV Agusta USA - the new American distributor taken over by Australian company Urban Moto Imports. Hopefully MV can get their act together. I got a really good impression from Dale that as the new US distributor, they will help strengthen the US dealer network, increasing support and hopefully instilling confidence in customers.

 

Assuming I could learn to cope with the upright riding position, I can easily see myself on a Turismo Veloce.

 

Ducati unveiled the 1299 Panigale R Final Edition at Laguna Seca

 

 

 

 

... more to come ...

[badwolf.j]

One of my favorite things about World SuperBike is the fan interaction and accessibility. As in 2016, Michael Hill hosted this year's Paddock Show. It's a great place to grab a seat in some shade and enjoy interviews with racers and team bosses. The public can participate in Q&A sessions, there are raffles (with some great prizes), and you can keep tabs on everything going on around the circuit with two big monitors - one showing live video from the WorldSBKTV feed, and the other with live timing and scoring from race control. The MotoAmerica riders also participate!

 

MotoAmerica SuperBike riders Toni Elias, Roger Hayden, and Cameron Beaubier

 

 

 MotoAmerica SuperStock 600 and SuperSport riders Jason Aguilar, Garrett Gerloff, JD Beach, and Benny Solis, Jr.

 

 

 

World SuperBike riders Chaz Davies, Jonathan Rea, Tom Sykes, and Jake Gagne riding Nicky Hayden's Ten Kate Honda.

 

 

 

 

Johnny Rea nabbed the fastest lap in both Race 1 and Race 2 - earning a pair of Pirelli Best Lap awards. Which leads me to one of my favorite stories of the weekend. A good portion of the front row of seats at the Paddock Show were reserved for a Make A Wish family. A wheelchair-bound kid who happened to be a huge superbike fan was brought up to meet all the top riders, shake hands, and get some photos. Tom Sykes gave him a pair of his gloves, Michael Hill gave him a "1st Place" Pirelli Podium cap, and Johnny gave him his Best Lap trophy immediately after it was presented to him. Afterwards, the kid was also getting a tour of the Kawasaki garage to meet the team and get some up-close time with the ZX-10RR. He was absolutely over the moon and half the Paddock Show tent was filled with choked up and teary-eyed grown men watching this kid meet his heroes.

 

These MiniMoto kids were all over the place too, eager to meet the top-level pro riders that are their literal role models.

 

 

 

And you never know who you'll bump into at the Paddock Show! I was waiting for the next program to start, when a thin guy in blue jeans and a fitted white shirt brushes against me. He's flanked by a group of people wearing VIP all access passes. Yeah... it was Ducati CEO Claudio Domenicali, at Laguna Seca this weekend for the unveiling of the 1299R Panigale FE.

 

A few minutes later, I've got a pair of videographers practically in my lap shooting an interview with Claudio just a few feet in front of me.

 

 

 

 

... more to come ...

[docc]

"I can easily see myself on a Turismo Veloce."

 

Yeah-huh!

[footgoose]

great write-up, pics, trip, and bike. "got the world on a string.. sittin on a rainbow....."

[badwolf.j]

I had to pack extremely light for this trip, which meant no big lenses or bulky cameras. Everything here was shot on my 4 year old mobile phone or my ancient slow-to-focus Panasonic Lumix with 4x zoom and clunky manual controls. So I don't have much in the way of action shots of the pro racers on track. Here is some of what I was able to get from around the circuit.

 

Standing with the marshals at turn 11

 

Jake Gagne on the run from Rainey curve down to turn 10.

 

The Corkscrew "Holywood" sign

 

Chaz Davies out of the Corkscrew heading down to Rainey curve

 

Overlooking the dry lake

 

 

A real highlight of my trip - Not only did I ride my new V11 to Laguna Seca - but on Saturday July 8th, I did two parade laps of Laguna Seca.

 

About an hour and a half before we went out on track, participants were required to be checked in and sign a release. Each rider was issued a wrist band and a sticker to place on your bike's windscreen. We were given a short rider briefing with safety instructions (which were all but ignored once we got out on track), and we staged our bikes to enter the circuit at turn 5.

 

During the lunch break in the race schedule, we were released out onto the circuit behind the safety car, heading under the bridge into turn 6, beginning the climb up to the famous corkscrew.

 

 

Turn 6

 

Corkscrew

 

Rainey Curve

 

Turn 11

 

crossing the finish line

 

Andretti Hairpin

 

Turn 4

 

Everything went fine. I was taking it easy on the V11, but still managed to get up to an indicated 90mph across the start / finish line. I did witness one close call in which the guy on the Aprilia Falco (wearing shorts and a T-shirt) was passed on the inside of the Andretti Hairpin by a two-up couple that nearly made contact.

 

The Incident

 

I was a little hesitant to do this, as I've seen riders take each other out doing lunchtime laps at Road America - but figured what the hell. It's probably a once in a lifetime opportunity for me to take a V11 Tenni around Laguna Seca on my birthday. 

I may or may not post the full video to YouTube at some point. My riding is crap, and so is the audio - nothing but wind noise.

 

 

... more to come ...

[nobleswood]

Great story & photos.

Thanks for sharing !

[Scud]

Great story & photos.

Thanks for sharing !

 

+1

[badwolf.j]

Chaz Davies' epic return and remembering Nicky Hayden.

 

This has been a very emotional time for the motorsports community. As most here are probably aware, America's last MotoGP world champion, Nicky Hayden, died in May of this year after a bicycling accident near Rimini, Italy. He was only 35 years old. Nicky has been dearly missed by everyone involved in the sport. Nearly every fan has a story about meeting Nicky and what a great guy he was. A hard working, dedicated sportsman who achieved his goal of becoming world champion through persistence and unrelenting commitment - a genuinely nice guy who always played fair and appreciated everyone in his life that made achieving his goals possible - whether it be his family, his team, his sponsors, or his loyal fans. Nicky always had time for us - his fans. I'm no exception. I had the pleasure of meeting Nicky twice. Once at our local Dainese Store a few years ago during his stint at Ducati, where he sat down for an intimate long form Q&A session where he was frank, funny, and endearing, I've had an autographed photo of Nicky from that day framed and hanging over my gear closet for years. When I learned of his passing, I was gutted and in shock for days. Even now - two months later - I can barely get through typing this without having to take a break to calm my emotions and gather myself. The outpouring of remembrances and support for the Hayden family from all members of the motorsports community has been amazing. Seeing Nicky's number appearing everywhere from young fledgling racers' MiniMotos to Formula One and NASCAR has been both heartening and heartbreaking.

 

Nicky's funeral was on Memorial Day, Monday, May 29th. Four days later, his brother Roger was racing at Road America. I was there on that rainy Saturday in Wisconsin. I cautiously walked by the Yoshimura Suzuki paddock, glanced in and saw Roger. We had a brief moment of eye contact in which we just exchanged solemn looks. He didn't need to hear yet another fan verbally extend his condolences. I was there to watch Roger circulate Road America alone on what must have been the longest, most heart wrenching lap of the 4 mile coarse - a lap of honor on which Roger carried a flag emblazoned with his brother's number - a flag covered with remembrances of Nicky penned by fans - myself included. I was there to participate in the 69 seconds of silence, surrounded by fans, mechanics, marshals, track personnel, MotoAmerica officials, and team principles. I was there to watch Roger take pole during qualifying that same day. I was there to watch what appeared to be half the field set off from the starting grid wearing a Nicky Hayden replica Arai Corsair.

 

Of course, This weekend at Laguna Seca was the first time World Superbike was back in the United States after Nicky's death. Laguna was such an important track in Nicky's career. 2005 was the first time MotoGP had been back in the United States since 1994. Not only did an American win that day - Nicky absolutely dominated the weekend.

 

For those who have never watched it or would like to relive that epic weekend, MotoGP has put the entire race up for free on their YouTube channel. Please also check out The Doctor, The Tornado, and The Kentucky Kid - the feature length film documenting that weekend was made available for free on MotoGP's website on Memorial Day.

 

Nicky's presence still loomed large at Laguna Seca. So many camp sites flew his number 69 flag. The giant billboard advertising the event prominently featured Nicky in the foreground - obviously printed months in advance - were still up on display. And then there was Chaz. I've been a fan of the 6 foot tall Welshman for a long time. I remember watching him race Aprilias and Kawasakis ten year ago in the AMA when he was number 57. At the previous WorldSBK round in Misano, Italy - Chaz had a crash in race one. It was a simple low-side in which he crashed out of the lead only a few corners from victory on the final lap. But Jonathan Rea - closely following Chaz in the battle for the race victory - had absolutely no where to go, and couldn't avoid running him over, leaving Chaz with a broken back. That was on June 17th. Only three weeks later, on July 8th, Chaz took victory in race 1 at Laguna, still suffering from the pain and discomfort of a broken back - but recovered enough to not only race, but win. I was absolutely elated for Chaz, and on his cool-down lap, he pulled over to pick up a very special flag.

 

 

 

Saturday evening, Laguna Seca hosted a Nicky Hayden memorial track walk in which fans were invited to make a voluntary donation to the Nicky Hayden Memorial Fund. I'm at a loss for words to adequately describe what it was like to be on what could be considered hallowed ground of motorsports - twice in one day. First on my new V11, and then on foot, surrounded by hundreds of like-minded fans, circulating cathartically in remembrance of our fallen friend, hero, teammate, sportsman, and gladiator.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I generally don't do "selfies," but...

 

 

 

 

 

[bbolesaz]

Got to see that 2005 event.  Truth be told, being a Texan, I was rooting for Colin.