Kev's new Guzzi (sharing the garage with the Duc)

[Curmudgeon]

Kev,

Missed your edit because you didn't do a fresh post, so I got no notification. 

A pal of mine (complete loon) with a similar setup on a T-100 uses that rig for touring. I don't need anything that substantial as my range on that bike is 200 miles tops, even with all the mods I've done. I'd also hate to hide my chrome Ikon shocks and the bike looks so clean and "period" as is. I agree it's a good solution. No idea why my pal did it as he has a 955i Sprint with mods already for those duties. Anyone who'd like to see what your suggestion looks like can see it here though. BTW, my Forest Green / New England White gets more attention from all onlookers than any of the 30+ other bikes I've owned, including exotics! Weird... http://www.triumphrat.net/twins-talk/189001-leather-lyke-bags-on-bonneville-se-inquiry.html#post2042062

Wish I had a better pic of mine for you. This'll have to do. http://gallery.leica-users.org/d/291755-1/DB-Brewery-T-100.jpg

A small, tasteful Triumph bag would be dandy if it tucked behind the shock and didn't leave any brackets behind when removed. Demand must have been low though because Triumph currently only offers the big bags. Even the little Speedmaster slants are no longer on their site!

Add pix here though as you customize your Stone!

[Kev M]

Ah, nice ride.

I would think there would be a market for a quick detach tail bag that connects to some small, innocuous bracket or connection that mostly hides under the seat.

Anyway, I'll be sure to post updates.

Snow is here, so I might not complete break in until spring, but hopefully we'll get a clear day or two.

RIDE SAFE!

[Kev M]

 





Just got my Hepco & Becker topcase and sidecase racks back from powdercoat AND it hit 50F today!


Life is good.

[Curmudgeon]

Ahhh..., youth!  50 F would still see me bundled up like the Michelin Man. It's 61 F here currently but windy as the blazes, so I won't be digging out one of the bikes from the back of the garage. If there were no wind, I probably would because then my lunch wouldn't be blown off the table if I rode down to one of my favorite pit stops and sat on the porch in the sun. Maybe soon as I heard some Canadian geese this AM heading north, although the forecast for the weekend is a mix of rain and snow. We still have a TON of sand on the roads down here in VA which it will take a lot more hard rain to remove. Very weird mix VDOT drops on the roads and they never sweep. Even your roads may be clean before ours! 

Thanks for the update. Which bag is your wife's?  The Stone looks good and "normal" with the bags attached. I still have an issue with the tubes on the bare bike which is the reason I never bothered installing them on my /6 or /7 BMW's. On the later K bikes I had, the mounts were essentially invisible with the bags removed.

Where are you planning to tour?

[Kev M]

Thanks for the update. Which bag is your wife's?  The Stone looks good and "normal" with the bags attached. I still have an issue with the tubes on the bare bike which is the reason I never bothered installing them on my /6 or /7 BMW's. On the later K bikes I had, the mounts were essentially invisible with the bags removed.

Where are you planning to tour?

LOL - if she wants to travel on the Duc, then she'll just have to go minimalist. 

I know what you mean about the bag racks when no bags are attached, which is why I powdercoated them black - they blend in a LOT better than the dumb chrome in which they come from HB.

But I generally keep the bags on anyway - and I don't think the topcase/luggage rack looks bad.

Anyway - as for touring - probably not all that much in the next couple of years. Mostly just some long weekend rallyes or the such - anything from New England to DELMARVA or maybe the Carolinas.

We'll probably run the Blue Ridge again in the next year or two.

And if I can pry her away from the baby we'd like to do a run down to Barbers and a trip to the big easy.

All depends on vacation time and baby sitters.

[Curmudgeon]

Minimalist? You're a brave guy!

100% agree vs the chrome and figured you'd just leave the bags attached which looks dandy.

If you head down the BRP midweek on a nice day, I'll ride out there and meet you for lunch. It's ~ 190 miles for me on mostly decent riding roads which I enjoy. I'll PM you my cell if you're interested. Not a bad little brewery with good food and an entertaining detour. If you ride south from there on the local road to rejoin the parkway, the uphill on a secondary road could be VERY entertaining. I just don't enjoy it going down AT ALL. http://binged.it/ZmUR7n

As for Barber, my son did the color announcing for the last independent bike auction they did before RM bought the rights and rode his (at that time R1150RT) bike down for that week and said that the ride was mostly a drone. No doubt he averaged 80 on the Interstates trying to stay clear of the trucks.

[Kev M]

I'll PM you before we take another BRPKWY trip for sure. 

Honestly, Jenn always packs lighter than me - I always tell her it's cause my clothes are twice the size of hers. 

 

[Curmudgeon]

And..., how's THAT working for you? Agreed though, in summer, clean u/w, socks and polos take up little room if your day wear is full leathers or similar. When my son was small, we did 8 - 9 day tours with two bags and a trunk which mainly contained the rain gear and spares. No issue.

Just time your arrival for ~ 1 PM during the week. (It's jammed on weekends.) Your cell will work when you cross I-64 and most anywhere down in the valleys, but not much on the BRP as you've probably learned.

[Kev M]

And..., how's THAT working for you? Agreed though, in summer, clean u/w, socks and polos take up little room if your day wear is full leathers or similar. When my son was small, we did 8 - 9 day tours with two bags and a trunk which mainly contained the rain gear and spares. No issue.

Just time your arrival for ~ 1 PM during the week. (It's jammed on weekends.) Your cell will work when you cross I-64 and most anywhere down in the valleys, but not much on the BRP as you've probably learned.

Works just fine - she's not your average prissy girl, she's got a sense of humor (like, ya know, she married me lol).

I've actually had pretty good luck using my cell on the Blue Ridge - broke down on the lower portion of the Virginia run back in 05 or 06 and was able to contact the Guzzi BB and get some help. Most people who stopped to help didn't have a signal, but I did (Verizon). But yeah, it can be spotty.

[Curmudgeon]

Verizon is CDMA and owns the old GTE network. Guys on GSM are screwed in BIG countries as CDMA has X5+ the range. I've found this to be true in remote areas of Idaho, Nevada and Colorado too where I had the only signal.

Point taken. Too bad I didn't meet her "older sister" 40+ years ago...

[Kev M]

About 2k miles on her now - she's breaking in/loosening up nicely.

No need to use 5th until at least 60-65 mph (65 is about 4k in 5th, 70 about 4.3k, 80 about 5k).

Motor is a smooth as can be right about at 4-5k.

I'm averaging about 48 mpg, and over 240 miles to a tank, and that's pretty much all localish/backroads/lots of twisties per tankfull.

Latest addition is a new set of mirrors off a Guzzi 1200 Sport, much nicer and more useful than the original V7 mirrors, or the V7 mirrors with the extensions I was using.

How she sits currently:

[Curmudgeon]

Thanks for the update! That bike looks right to my eye, as long as you leave the Hepco's on, which I know was your intention.

Saw those mirrors or similar on a big Guzzi last summer but he was just leaving the restaurant as I was arriving. Even wondered how they'd work on my 796. Just had no time to study them and there's no M-G dealer within 125 - 150 miles.

I'd like a classic high-quality chrome mirror for my T-100 which was lower and created less turbulence than the stock mirrors. The one's on a few larger Guzzis might work on my perches too, but not sure of thread sizes. Triumph make good bar ends for Bonneville and would look OK if I had a fly screen..., but I prefer to leave mine naked. The stock mirrors aren't functionally horrible, that bike just sounds like a hurricane at 70 MPH compared to my 796! http://gallery.leica-users.org/d/353092-1/Workshop-T-100.jpg

How's the fork on that thing? I see it's only 40mm but has good travel. My T-100 needed a LOT of suspension tweaks as they come with really punishing KYB on both ends. How plush is the rear? I highly recommend the Ikons I'm using which look classic AND work very well with the recommended damping and preload adjustment. I see they make essentially the same for '09 - '11 V7, which I presume is the same length as your '13? They come in chrome too, (scrool down), like mine, if that rings your bell. http://www.mgcycle.com/product_info.php?products_id=2632

Coming down the Blue Ridge Parkway anytime soon?

[SpikeC]

 If they made that Goose with the power characteristics of my old BMW R1100S I would be all over it!

[Kev M]

Saw those mirrors or similar on a big Guzzi last summer but he was just leaving the restaurant as I was arriving. Even wondered how they'd work on my 796. Just had no time to study them and there's no M-G dealer within 125 - 150 miles.

Yup, precisely, they are OEM mirrors from a Guzzi Breva 1200 Sport. Reasonably priced too at $25/side. They're high quality with what I presume is rubbermounted glass as it remains pretty much blur free at most rpms.

They would probably work well on a 796 as well.

I'd like a classic high-quality chrome mirror for my T-100 which was lower and created less turbulence than the stock mirrors. The one's on a few larger Guzzis might work on my perches too, but not sure of thread sizes.

If the bars are wide enough the stockers I took off the V7 might work on yours. They're decent quality it's just they were a tad too short and I could pretty much only see shoulders. I BELIEVE threads are the same. I know they are the same as MOST Metric bikes and want to say M10 x 1.25.

If that's what Triumph uses you're welcome to try the take-offs from the V7. I could take some measurements to see if you think they'd work, or I can just send em out to you. If you keep em give me $20.

How's the fork on that thing? I see it's only 40mm but has good travel.

How plush is the rear? I highly recommend the Ikons I'm using which look classic AND work very well with the recommended damping and preload adjustment. I see they make essentially the same for '09 - '11 V7, which I presume is the same length as your '13?

I've got no solid plans to change suspension yet. I'm maybe JUST beginning to push the front end hard enough to feel the tiniest bit of front end chatter in a really hard corners. But it's fine for about 99% of my usage. I wouldn't call the ride plush, but it's firm enough without being harsh.

Same is true for the rear, though perhaps I could use a tad more preload when picking up my daughter from school (she's just about as tall as dad now).

I might eventually consider upgrading the shocks, especially for something with simple-quick preload adjustments (as oppossed to the double-locknut arrangment), but again, it's just not a need.

Coming down the Blue Ridge Parkway anytime soon?

Not looking good right now, but we'll see. Wife's call and on-service schedule didn't turn out as requested and our September trip is cancelled. We have to decide if we'd want to try one in October, or risk the tourists and heat of August. Kinda up in the air right now.

If they made that Goose with the power characteristics of my old BMW R1100S I would be all over it!

ACTUALLY - Piaggio teased us with a single close-up tank shot of something that might be like that. I.E. an 8V big block with classic lines. There are a few dealers in the US who have been read in on some of the new concept bikes but sworn to secrecy. A few of them expect a 1200c 8V Big-Block Lemans or the like in the next year or two. But time will tell.

[Curmudgeon]

Kev,

Thanks for the offer!

Just had a look at the T-100. Seems the mirror stems are threaded and retained in a collar from beneath. No point in taking off because I have no thread gauge here but the thread on the stem "might' be M10 because the collar on the bottom is a 6mm Allen.

Surprisingly both the T-100 and the Rizoma bar on my 796 are 28 1/2" wide. As you can see in the link above, my stock "'lollipops" sit above my hands and one of them is usually clear to the rear but I do get some shoulder. Something a bit wider and with the wide end outboard would be nice. It still needs to be "classic" chrome though and high quality.

Triumph make a high-quality bar end which fits. Just didn't want to go with a Dart screen on this bike which I feel might be needed. The bike looks quite classic as delivered. You'd hardly believe the draw this bike gets when parked! Weird. http://shop.triumphmotorcycles.com/Mirrors/id-A9638056/Bar_End_Mirrors

For reference, the Ikons are really updated Konis. They have a 3-position preload adjustment with the little, flat Koni tool you could carry in your pocket. The damping adjustment dial is under the upper shock mounting bolt if necessary. Know the feeling with your daughter. My son was always large and could put his chin on my head when he was ~ 11 ! My old K-RS had a fancy 3-way Koni and that was turns of three dials to set up for a 150+ lbs passenger and full luggage!