Toad On The Road

[Toadride]

First the comment.
It concerns me reading some of the replies I have been getting about Guzzi. Particularly about steering clear of Guzzis because of my experiences. I don't think I have ever said 'don't buy one of these bikes'. My case is probably one in a thousand and I just happened to pick the short straw. My previous ride was an F800GS that I had over 50000 kms of near trouble free riding. But, on the F800 site there were constant examples of other F8s with many warranty problems. Beemer was always quick to do recalls and warranty stuff and with their three year roadside assistance it was quite an attractive package. As a matter of fact I first looked at the 1200GS as my replacement ride. The several thousand dollar price difference was one of the deciding factors for me. The other was height and the NTX better fitted my 30 inseam frame. Plus I felt it looked and sounded a Helluva lot better. And then the big bonus, quickly discovered. After five years of butt numbing seating on the F8 I was and am treated to the lap of luxury. Literally an all day ride comfort seat. Cruising all day at 80 to 90 miles an hour (Texas I-10 is 80) with the wind going right over me on this big steady bike is a pleasure.
But it wasn't like I didn't know what I was getting myself into. My best friend Pete has always been the proud owner of over a dozen Italian motorcycles and his shrug was "They're Italian." As a gear head I was really pleased to see the simplicity and uniformity of the bike and ease of maintenance. If I had a TB sync unit and the VDST tool with me, I would almost be good to go.
The unfortunate part is the necessity of having a sealed exhaust which definately effects the O2 sensors which, in turn effect the ECU. and you all know I had the ECU flash done at Redline in Virginia. I am not sure but I feel that my present idle stalling may be directly linked to that. This after getting a reply from Pete Roper stating that he felt the present factory ECU firmware was working quite well with the 2012 NTX. I did feel that it improved the low end smoothness but if it was at the cost of low end stalling then I'm not so sure. I will have this matter addressed at either Tuscon or San Diego when I get over there.
But, I digress. Bottom line for me here is I do love this bike. So much so that I am even entertaining of unloading this bike for a 2013 (which I would scrutinize thoroughly). I would prolly take a big hit on a trade in because of mileage and the fact that there's now a lot of publicity out there on this one but still, I am entertaining that thought.
So, do not, I repeat, DO NOT base your ideas of purchasing Moto Guzzi on my reports. I am only writing my experiences as honestly as I can as they happen to me.
A couple of pointers: Buy from a 'trusted dealer' with a good rep, stick close to home for the first several thousand miles, read the forums (Hell, read my forum) and check for all those reported problems.
On a lighter note I am now entertaining the thought that Big Gal was abducted by Aliens dissected, badly reassembled and returned to the container without anyone knowing.

[Redhed]

Hey Doug
Tough sledding with the bike issues, but at least you can fish. I can´t see the water for the sand dunes down here. You shoulda come, bud.....I would be glad to come down again, if you are into it.

I am thinking strongly about ordering up a new F800 as Blondy has been good to me.

Glad to see you are back online, and if you really wanted to, you could ride north from Ushuaia with me, just have to fly Big Girl down here...

[Toadride]

So, yesterday was a marathon. 25 Degree start with some concern of starting but I got her going. Putting on most of my travelling close I was almost popping the zipper on my Oly gear. Looked like the Michelin Man as I headed out. Thank God for the heated grips that were on high for a good half of the day. Also very thankful for 0 wind which allowed me to cruise all day at five grand or 85 mph. I think I was looking over at Mexico when this mountainline appeared.

I knew Texas was nearing an end with more hills appearing.



This one here obviously indicated some great hill climbing, Texas style

Mid afternoon had me running thru a time zone and gaining an hour and I made it to the very busy town of El Paso and another great Microtel motel with a good rate. Planning todays ride I can see that the route to destination is prolly again 30 miles longer than yesterdays. Still I-10 for three quarters of the way but not sure of the speeds so I will prolly opt a shorter ride today (maybe wait for it to warm up a bit) and finish up tomorrow morning. We will see.

[CharlestonADV]

A PARABLE:

There once was a man who was involved with a woman who had many of the same characteristics of your Moto Guzzi. She was a beautiful Italian...but...required a lot of attention, was moody, quite unpredictable, and expected a lot of expensive things to keep her happy.

In spite of the occasional thrill she gave the man , He ultimately realized that his friends were much happier in their relationships with less exotic women. They also had more money to spend on travel and other things that brought them pleasure. After much thought...the man ended his suffering and sold his exotic beauty to a passing band of Gypsies.

Toad, maybe it is time to end your suffering and replace your difficult Italian beauty with something that would make life more pleasant.

[sandgroper]

thanks for the pictures and story, picture #3 looks like a great place to have a beers etc.

[Toadride]

Originally Posted by CharlestonADV

A PARABLE:

There once was a man who was involved with a woman who had many of the same characteristics of your Moto Guzzi. She was a beautiful Italian...but...required a lot of attention, was moody, quite unpredictable, and expected a lot of expensive things to keep her happy.

In spite of the occasional thrill she gave the man , He ultimately realized that his friends were much happier in their relationships with less exotic women. They also had more money to spend on travel and other things that brought them pleasure. After much thought...the man ended his suffering and sold his exotic beauty to a passing band of Gypsies.

Toad, maybe it is time to end your suffering and replace your difficult Italian beauty with something that would make life more pleasant.

Ummm...Not quite yet.

[Toadride]

Originally Posted by sandgroper

thanks for the pictures and story, picture #3 looks like a great place to have a beers etc.

Yep. This is the area I fell in love with thru the last few years. And when I get back I will be actively looking for an acre or two around this group of lakes. Time to build the mangarage. Double garage with the two bedroom loft above.

[Toadride]

That morning in Lordsburg got me an all time low of 23 degrees. Waited till the sun was up for an hour and went out to the bike.
If Big Gal wanted an excuse to pout, it was now,

She was a frosty female.

I was ready to pull all the grounds and hot leads and reattach for a better ground.
The crank gave it usual one turn and continued on to start on the second try. Yaa hooo!!!
Wearing most everything I had I took off for a good quick ride to the state line and into Arizona.
Stopped at the Cool Rocks rest stop.

And down into the Texas Canyon. (Damn, thought I was done with Texas.

Maybe an hour and a half later I arrived at Benson and turned south on 90. It was a straight line south but only maybe 30 odd miles. Then right on 82, a great secondary. Past Nogales airport and a right on S.River Rd to Pete's

And into the warn garage for BG. Think she was pretty happy cause I sure was.
So, Pete's. The weird part is I started distance signs in Kms. And speed in mph. Go figure. Aparrantly the kms are a holdover from the seventies when the States tried metric. And this county is the only one in the US that kept it.
Pete's house is new and comfortable.
It was a foreclosure auction at a great price.
Pete's Grand Canyon that I hope we will be riding together around here on.

Right now it looks like snow so We will be waiting on something warmer.
Cheers.

[pyoungbl]

Toad, good to see that you are settled in a warm and dry spot for now. I just cranked up my big girl (31F) to see if the cold made any difference...none at all, she fired up on the first try. You mentioned having heated grips, are yours the OEM ones or aftermarket? I just installed the Moto Guzzi grips but have not tested them on a chilly ride.

Now to get ready for the local New Year's Eve activities.

Peter Y.

[CharlestonADV]

The 'frost on the bike' photo reminded me of a December trip I took across I-10 a few years ago. Stayed in Sonora, TX and woke up to a real cold day and snow along the highway. Heated grips and an electric vest made riding quite comfortable.

FWIW, I always travel with a lightweight, black cover for my bike that packs up in a small stuff sack. In addition to providing a bit of protection from the elements it also makes the bike less conspicuous when parked overnight.

[Toadride]

Originally Posted by pyoungbl

Toad, good to see that you are settled in a warm and dry spot for now. I just cranked up my big girl (31F) to see if the cold made any difference...none at all, she fired up on the first try. You mentioned having heated grips, are yours the OEM ones or aftermarket? I just installed the Moto Guzzi grips but have not tested them on a chilly ride.

Now to get ready for the local New Year's Eve activities.

Peter Y.

Peter,
As some have mentioned I may have a failing battery. I am becoming more and more centered towards that as I pulled all the leads and reconnected with diaelectric compound. And a 42 degree start was not good. I have mentioned that the bike was reading 12.5 and 12.4 after sitting for a day. The charge is great, up over 14.2 so I know the stator is good. It has slipped my mind what the voltage readout was when new but could it have been in the upper 12s or even 13? What doesyours read?
And does anyone know a battery number for a Walmart battery? There's one close by.
Plus it is time for a service and I was wondering if anyone has the scoop on the MG dealer in Tuscon. 80 kilometers (yes, you heard me, kilometers) from here.

[pyoungbl]

Toad, it would not surprise me to hear that the battery is going south on you. My little BMW caused me a bit of heartburn in the first 6 months I had her, suddenly dead as a doornail a few times. The dealer did a load check per BMW USA and it passed. Still left me on the side of the road again. Frustrated, I just bought a new battery from Batteries Plus and everything has been golden for the past 18 months. BMW seems to ship the 650 with a crappy battery. As for getting another battery from Wallyworld, a battery shop would be a better bet. All you need is the exterior dimensions and orientation of the battery posts, then find what fits (maintenance free). There are three Batteries Plus locations in Tuscon. I just checked the BP site and they list a battery for the '09~'11 Stelvio, don't know if it's the same as on our '12 but I suspect it is. For grins I'd have BP do a load check before you write the check, seeing it fail would make me feel better about thinking that I have solved the problem rather than just throwing money at parts and not actually fixing an underlying problem.

[Toadride]

Peter. Saw your readouts on GuzziTech and will do a comparison when I get back to Petes. Ya, I know. You all thought I was at Pete's. I was but now I'm down the road at a Nogales hotel. You see, Pete's three bedroom place was pretty well stuffed with relatives for New Years. Pete and his great gal, Debbie, daughter Mel, brother Joe and gal Lucy, sister Mary and hubby Scott. With me in the living room on an air mattress it was still all good. And with Debbies daughter and husband arriving just for the night New Years we still would have made do, somehow.
But, a few days ago I was commenting to Pete how plugged up I was and I thought Arizona was supposed to clear you head. Not! For me anyways. I was also starting to sneeze. Then the night before New Years it hit. One nasty flu. Picked up I'm sure by one of those coughing restaurant or gas station attendants on the way to Peter's. So they made preparations to stick me into on of the bedrooms till everyone retired and I would switch to the living room. I was getting progressively worse by the minute and decided I wasn't going to ruin their New Years and got a great room down the road.
So, New Years for me was one of the sweatiest fevers thru the night I've had for years and a hacking cough that actually hurt my lungs. On the road, of course, I didn't get any flu shot. Compounding it was prolly my near isolation the last few years being on my own fighting the divorce. contact with few people and no kids I had no sicknesses. I brought with me Advil cold medicine and 1000 mg vita Cs. I became convinced years ago that pounding a lot of these really cuts down a cold. I took up to about 8 a day and it seems to have knocked the fever way back. I am hoping to get back up there today and am praying that I don't find a room full of sneezing people.

[pyoungbl]

Doug, I can't think of anything much worse than having the flu while in a house full of visitors and on New Years Eve/Day. Smart to check into a motel where it is nice and quiet. Let's hope your malady is short lived. It usually takes me a week to get over a bout of flu (knock on wood) but maybe your system is tougher than mine. Drink lots of fluids.

FWIW, it's 38F and raining here in Portsmouth.

Peter Y.

[CBBaron]

Originally Posted by Toadride

And it had me remembering the debaucle our government had got itself into trying to buy F35s for,like, a gizillion dollars when, perhaps these would be available for a lot less? Or even the Superhornet. I mean, really!
He even did a flyby with his little WW2 buddy.

Not to argue but that is an F22 Raptor which also costs a gazillion dollars and it is not allowed to be exported. The F35 is designed to cost less to operate, so if you find the F35 overpriced then the F22 is really overpriced.

Also I believe Cape Canaveral has always been named that. The Kennedy Space center is nearby an is sometimes referred to as Cape Canaveral. Popular jargon vs official names :)

Great ride report. I'm really enjoying. Sorry to hear your bike has been giving so many fits.

Craig