Noob on the forum...

[blacktruck]

Hey all:
In the process of getting my first Guzzi. Been riding for more than a couple decades but never once on a MG. Not sure how that worked out like that. I'm away from home so I don't see all the magazines or news. Only recently I stumbled across two bikes I would like to own. No idea how I missed seeing the Norge or Californian but I did for too long. I'm a long time HD rider and if all goes well, I'll have an 11 Norge just after I make it home. Any good comments or discussion on them? Not sure which thread they go under. Didn't see one for those.
Stay safe out there.
Ken

 

[pyoungbl]

Hey all:
In the process of getting my first Guzzi. Been riding for more than a couple decades but never once on a MG.
Ken

Ken, welcome to the zoo. You will find the Norge to be a very different riding experience after years on HD. For one thing, the Guzzi engine loves to rev and is running best when over about 3500. Yes, it will pull from lower revs but you will find the sweet spot is much higher in the rev range than with your HD. Oh, and be prepared for brakes that really get the job done with only a couple fingers.

Peter Y.

 

[GTM®]

Ken, welcome to the Forum, and in advance on your Guzzi purchase. Be forewarned, it's more of an addiction then your HD is. Norge chat is under the Breva/Norge/Sport heading here; https://www.guzzitech.com/forum/188.html -- see you there.

 

[Rafael]

Welcome Ken. Congrats on the Norge. Depending on the kind HD rider you are, you'll love the bike or hate it. The fact that you pick it tells me you'll do the former.

Once you find some twisty roads you be glad you bought the bike. I ridden guzzis for a while and find the new guzzis a big improvement or the old ones and pleasure to drive. To my surprise, I found my skills improved with the new guzzi too.

good luck,

 

[Bill Hagan]

Congrats.

Where are you getting it?

I have an '07 Norge; my brother a '12. Very fine machines.

Best wishes for miles of smiles ahead.

Ferrying mine and my Griso back to Virginia from Quad Cities in mid-May. On back roads whole way, including your area. Maybe you can escort us for a few a few miles through known law-enforcement spots. :laugh:

Bill

 

[jiltedjohn]

I was a long time HD rider, and still have a tube frame Buell, as well as a Griso 1100, can't understand why i didn't get into Guzzis years ago.

 

[GTM®]

I was a long time HD rider, and still have a tube frame Buell, as well as a Griso 1100, can't understand why i didn't get into Guzzis years ago.

Off topic, and maybe this can start a new discussion/thread, but lets start it here. I'm a third generation rider. My Mom's Dad was the true/core motorcyclist of the Family. He rode and raced Harleys and Indians in the '30s. By the time I came into the world, he had surpassed ownership of many-a-bikes, including a Vincent Black Shadow. When I was still in diapers, Mom's recollection was that she'd carry me in the front door, and he'd carry me out the back, riding me around town on the gas tank of his R50/2 BMW for hours; Angering Mom because he didn't take any necessary care items for me apparently, and who can fault him. He was an electrician by trade, and garage engineer of impressive wonderings as I remember, with a full machine shop in the garage. He was perched at one time to be the sole importer of the German Wartburg 311 two-stroke car. He had one in the garage as I remember, having been sent to him to sample.
He passed away (mis-diagnosed brain tumor) at the age of 62, I was 10. I do remember spending every weekend in his garage (trying to "help," I'm sure angering him in the process of moving things around and breaking others) with tons of guys stopping by on the weekends for fixes; Triumph and Norton choppers, Harley's galore and a few Japanese bikes starting to creep in. I can't recall ever seeing a Guzzi, but I certainly could have.
Both of my parents rode until a few years ago. My Dad spent his youth on BSAs, and my Mom of course on BMWs per my Grandfather's direction I'm sure. Dad moved into the UJM craze, owning a myriad of I4's of almost every big-4 brand. I rode with Dad on the back of his bike up until I got my license. Riding with my Dad's friends, they always had an eclectic mix of bikes from memory, small Honda V-twins (VT500 & NT650), a Virago XV920E then also onto HD in the mid-80s. One of the riders worked at Triumph USA in MD, and was a (Triumph) factory supported trails rider (imagine that these days!). He always spoke of owning a Guzzi. That was my first exposure to the brand. He never did before passing away in a street accident in the late 90s.
In '93, I ended up at a Rider Magazine Rally in Pittsburgh. I got to ride the entire Guzzi demo fleet at the time, including a 1000S, which I loved... though I really went hoping to ride the Daytona 1000 Dr. John Replica. It was there and ridden, but not by anyone outside of the Staff there. Since it was the same year I started road-racing, I left the thought in my head that I would own one at some point. A good friend sparked the thought in letting me ride his '96 Mikuni flat-slide modified carb Sport. Beastly as I remember it. This was also the same year I turned Pro and started racing several bikes, including a Buell X1 Lightning.
Fast forward just three years, and I was back to school in Boston, full-throttle in classes and tinkering my weekends away racing at Loudon.
But, I missed street riding. In '98 CW named the Cal EV Sport Tourer of the year. That sparked my interest, and a good time in life to finally get a Guzzi. A short time later, my friend (then staffer at Cycle World magazine) sent me the soon to be released Jackal ad that was going to run in the magazine; $500 off the MSRP of $8495 on the first 100 in the country, for a simplistic de-chromed Tonti cruiser. I was hooked and sold. I printed the ad, took it to the dealer (North River Cycles) in Salem, MA, who when I showed (Dennis) the owner, he promptly responded "What is it?!" - I left a deposit, and a few weeks later, was riding away into my future. I'll never be without one (OK, or many). It's an addiction in a very good way. The people that the brand has introduced me to, and continues to, has made for a wonderful ride.

This is how I remember him... Godspeed Bill Balsis. Below is during a slow-ride competition of the Baltimore Ramblers Annual Field Meet, for which he was the founding member of.
Click pic below for more pics.



Dad:

Mom:

 

[Bill Hagan]

Nice tale, well told, Todd.

Bill

 

[tonUPRacer]

OK, since Todd got my memories going, I'll chime in. My first "motorcycle" experience came from my brother who is 14 years older. Of course I idolized big bro' and he just brought home a rolling basket case 1949 panhead that he would transform into a chopper of course since it was around 1971. I "helped" him everychance I got in garage polishing things (lots of chrome) and of course just being a pest I'm sure. I'll never forget those rides on the bike from when he first brought it home to when it was finished and he would take me to the gas station to "fill er up". My mom insisted I wear a helmet and of course we had one, it was an old football helmet about 5 sizes too big. Just think Jack Nickleson and Easy Rider, only I was 6 years old. That gave me the bug, I then graduated to a "booniebike" a heathkit bike that I promptly rode straight into a stump on our property. I later got my first "real" motorcycle, a Kaw 100 dual sport. I then set my sights on a HD and eventually found a 1979 HD XLS Sportster that I rode, re-built, rode for about 8 years until I took a "break" from bikes and eventually got back "into" bikes (I knew I'd get another HD) but instead found a Ducati Monster calling my name. I immediately fell in love with Ducs and evetually got a SuperSport and then sold that when I needed money for a house. Knowing I'd get another Ducati eventually and then discovered the Moto Guzzi Racer and now that is my current bike love!

 

[pokeyjoe]

There is a history in my family of motorcycles (motorcycle races at Sturgis, hill climbs, etc), but my father did not get a bike until I was a toddler. He came home with a basket case Jawa. Well, it was in several boxes. I remember riding on the tank when I was very small. He sold it and bought a BSA Goldstar. I remember the warnings about the compression release. One of my sisters took a hose to it when it caught on fire in the driveway. The vibration was so bad that my father had to put a steel backing plate behind the license plate. He sold it when the chain broke and he had to push it two miles to get home. He bought an R50 that didn't run in a town 360 miles away. We trailered it home and pulled the engine out over the winter. We didn't have a garage so I helped him carry it down into the basement. He replaced a couple bearings and started riding it at about the time I got my first bike. It was a Yamaha 80. I was 13 and I spent all of my time riding it in circles in the back yard. When I couldn't keep up with my father on the highway, he decided we both needed new bikes in 1968. I got a Kawasaki 175 "Bushwacker" and he got a R60US (telescopic forks!). He continued riding until he was 85. The R60 was traded for an R90 at some point, but that was his last bike.

I rode the 175 into my 20's. Sold it, bought it back, and sold it again. Life, the Navy, marriage, and a family sort of kept me away from another bike for 30 years. I think one of the biggest reasons I didn't have one was that I didn't have any place to put one. About six years ago I bought a Triumph Scrambler. Riding it home through city traffic was a nightmare. I had to learn to ride all over again. Not the best bike, either. Heavy and the turning radius of a bus. It just didn't want to turn. A couple years later, I bought a Triumph Street Triple R and sold the Scrambler. The Triple is a very nice, quick, and nimble bike. It will do anything you want it to as soon as you think it. But...it's not me. Naked sport bikes belong to a younger generation, I think. I've gotten to a point where I want to enjoy the ride. I could never really relax on the Triple. Too easy to make a mistake, maybe. At any rate, enter the Moto Guzzi. I went to the dealer to check out two bikes, a Tenni Griso and and the new V7. I liked the Griso, but it was as heavy as the Scrambler. The V7 weighs the same as the Triple. I had the dealer go fetch the V7R from the warehouse and I fell for the red frame. It's taken me about six months to get it set up properly (you learn things riding a sport bike), but it's a very nice ride. I still miss the instant throttle response of the Triple ocassionally, but that's only out on the freeway. That's no fun no matter what bike you're on.

I wish I had some pictures. I'll see if I can dig some up.

 

[SgtCrump]

Love the histories!!!

I'm a hardcore Guzzi fan....among a few other bikes, I've had 7 Guzzi's.....still have #3 and #6....hoping to add a Griso soon.
I started on the usual little Japanese bikes in the 60's....after high school I got a 120cc Suzuki single......but I was bitten by the travel bug , having met a guy in college with a '65 Harley, that he rode to Costa Rica and back...
In the Navy, I worked up to a 450 Honda...considered big in those days....had to ride from SoCal to the Bay area to visit my parents....no small feat on that Honda...back then you either rode a Harley, or a BMW if you really traveled....
Then one day, I went into a Suzuki dealership in Sandy Eggo, and discovered this beautiful black bike....white striping, and yards of polished metal....a fairing and hard bags...it only had a few miles on it....a 1970 Ambassador....it was instant love...my dad cosigned a loan, and that was it....been in love with them ever since...
One of my best memories was when the Ascot flat track races were over, everyone would come down to look at the bikes parked outside.....always ignoring me. The first time I took the Ambassador, I was warming it up, getting my gloves on, when I realized I was surrounded by a group of guys. When I acknowledged them, they began with the questions....How far had I ridden?...what was my longest trip?...had I ridden in other countries?....I was laughing inside, thinking "I'm the same dork who was here last week, and nobody asked me anything...."
That Ambo had a bad crank, and I left it at a dealer when I went to Viet Nam. when I came back, I was going to buy a Harley....even signed some papers....but I had to ride my now repaired Ambo from El Cajon to Long Beach to sell it to a shipmate....I loved that ride so much, I cancelled the Harley, and bought a very early Eldorado....

 

[quota]

I've been riding since about 7 years of age. After a few bikes (still have most of them), and in early 2001, my wife said "A nice Italian boy should have a nice Italian motorcycle". Since my grandfather came from Italy, I figured that it was a hint to me. I found a nice Quota and brought it home.

There are now 2 Quotas in the garage. 2 other Quotas have come and gone, although one only made it as far as the next door neighbor's house.