Bought a Guzzi tonight

[NC Steve]

...a 2000 V11 Jackal, to be exact, although I won't pick it up until Saturday the 20th. The seller's meeting me mid-way in Knoxville, TN.

Does this mean I have to turn in my keys to the executive washroom here at  R65.org??  :-/

[Ed Miller]

No, I think it just goes by how many times you've posted.  Can you post pics of the new bike so I don't have to Google it, as I have no idea what that model is, much less what it looks like!  I bet you're going to have fun....

[NC Steve]

Here's Old Yeller, aka, "Blue", in her current incarnation, minus the matching saddlebags.



and here's "Jackie"   , the new Italian Stallion Goot-see.





More power, more weight, way comfy, notoriously scalpel-like Italian handling despite the cruiser looks.
If I don't F up, Ed, you're right, I hope to have lots of fun!  

[Ed Miller]

Wow, I didn't know Guzzi made cruisers!  You should find some sparky material to attach to the underside of those floor boards, both for the pyrotechnics and to save them from being eaten away.  

It looks like the hand grips are in a comfortable position on it; on my brother's cruiser (a Yamaha) they are angled toward the rider, forcing your wrists to bend.

Congratulations!

[nhmaf]

Very nice bike !!

Also, another fairly 'owner-friendly' design with respect to maintenance, valve adjustments, etc.

I've looked at some of these (and used California models) as well.   While they're not an
R1200C, I think that the experience would be similar, and probably easier to fit a sidecar to it,
should you desire to do so, in the future !

Congrats on the new stable-mate !

 

[Rob Valdez 79 R65]

'nuff sed  

[msbuck]

Wow, Steve!  Congrats!!  Pat up at Willville was asking if I knew you as you were interested in buying a Guzzi.  I know you met Joe, her husband, but I don't think Pat was around the weekend the Urals were there.  I had no idea you were really that close to finding one.  That's a great looking bike and I know you'll get much pleasure from it.  The Guzzis have their own 'mystique' about them and have a close knot group of owners, a lot like out little R65 outift!

Now everytime you ride you'll have to..."Now which one do I want to take out today???" !!!   8-)

HAVE FUN!!

[NC Steve]

Well, thanks guys, it's nice to have the blessings of such a League of Distinguished Gentlemen (and Ladies!).

Yeah, I'm thinking the Guzzi's gonna open up a new world of longer distance, high-speed travel, much like the RS and RT BMWs would. This sucker's got Oilhead horsepower and even greater torque, yet is still a 2-valve air-cooled twin, pretty simple mechanically and all-day reliable (I hope). Ultra-tall 5th gear to just loaf along at 80+ mph too. Despite the appearance, the V11 California bikes are really more "standards" than "cruisers", with good ergos, ground clearance, brakes & suspension.

The plan is for me to pick it up next weekend, in the company of our Esteemed Modulator SC John J, who offered to ride along and point and laugh as I wobble home from Tennessee. Barring rain of course, which it will no doubt do even though it's barely sprinkled in months, just because I don't need it to : then, she goes in the truck.

Wish us luck! [smiley=thumbsup.gif]

[SCJJR65]

Yeah, I'll be the one following behind, cursing him under my breath.........

But if all works out the way my lovely wife and I hope it will, I'll also be riding a Goose myself in the next few months, a new Breva 750!  (And also my "dream bike, a 2004 R1200C Classic!)

Then Steve will have to ride with me to pick up my new Breva! (nyuk, nyuk!!)  

[dewjantim]

I saw a really cool Guzzi at the RA rally at the Biltmore estate 8-). It had a chrome gas tank and was a cruiser. Anyone know what model it was.....Dew.

[thrang]

I adore Guzzi's and have been trying to talk the wife in to swapping her Kawazki for a Guzzi but she won't play! The only thing I would say is to make sure you water proof all the wiring loom connectors around the head stock and battery if your likely to ride it in the wet.

Its not so bad on the later models but since the first thing my mate Ruth (who been riding Guzzi's since she bought a v50 Monza because it was different 20 years ago) did with her brand spanking new 1100s was proof evey connector with tent seam sealent, it probably worth bearing in mind.

[SCJJR65]

Well, it's Saturday morning, Steve made it down here last night from Winston-Salem in a luxurious (and huge) 2007 Toyota Tundra SR5 Quad Cab Long Bed pickup truck he rented for this special mission to bring back a Guzzi.  We'll be leaving out of here at 8:00AM for Knoxville to meet the seller (who's bringing the bike from near Nashville) at a Harley dealership on the outskirts of Knoxville (how ironic).  I'm bringing along the old digital camera to capture photos of this historic moment, and will post upon our return.

Oh, the thrill of buying another bike....I'm all atwitter! (And it's not even mine!)  

[NC Steve]

788 miles later, me, the Guzzi, and Enterprise's Tundra are safely hope, but pretty much wiped out.
Thank you, John J and Mrs. J, for your hospitality, assistance and company on this long weekend!
Post that pic if it turns out worth a d*mn, ok?

My magical theory of unloading said Goot-C had proven itself unfeasible, though, so now I have a rent-a-truck with a 500 lb. motorcycle sitting in my driveway and no way to unload it. And tomorrow's Sunday.

Hmmmm, need to put on the ol' thinking cap here. :-/
There is the huge local hospital with their airlift trauma helicopter about 1/2 mile down the street...  :-?

[Bob_Roller]

Need to find one of those angled loading docks that they pull trucks up to, to unload them. Should be something around you like a grocery store, or the like.

[NC Steve]

All is well in the world.
The Jackal was successfully unloaded and mercilessly flogged this afternoon, with most excellent results, and she's a keeper, for sure.
She's now resting comfortably with Blue, her older, smaller sibling.   [smiley=thumbsup.gif]