I have my Son on the back and we’re out for a good old cruise around the lanes. After all, its an adventure tourer. The power of said beast is great. You can hoon along the lanes and a good rate of knots, slow down and take a corner at a pretty good pace and then relax for a nice slow ride through the villages… Then I take a left and at the end of the road is a Ford that needs traversing… No problems I say after all, we’re on a bike that can do anything…. Well as it happens, the bike was fine. The ford was deeper than expected and flowing pretty fast be we thought bugger it.. Off we went, I was standing up and in 1st gear. The Guzzi just cruised through it creating a nice bow wave from the front wheel just tall enough to cover my boots and trousers.

Up the road we hit a load of horse crap. Not a problem… The bike just cruises on leaving a nice streak of arse grass for me to clean off over the weekend…. Respect Moto Guzzi! Respect…

Well impressed…

Sorry its not exactly a tour but its a start… Hoping to tour later this year…

Having ridden it like its meant to be ridden I now know that it’ll do approx 44mpg which is pretty tidy for a big bike. I was not driving carefully or stupidly fast, instead I was just doing what needed to be done to get me there and back…

Tomorrow Haywards are fitting my panniers for me and are going to adjust the headlights a smidge… All in all, im really pleased with the latest purchase…

So let talk about cruising around the country lanes… I have not owned a tall bike like the Stelvio before so can only assume that all long travel suspension bikes ride like this over the lumps and bumps. Its so smooth that I can ride the local lanes faster than I could on my Buells. They were fast on smooth roads but on a bumpy lane there was no chance of pushing on. Not the case with the Stelvio. Impressed again. What about motorway speeds and over taking…? No problem. I’m not the tallest of chaps at 5′7 but the screen offers so much protection that high speed riding is no problem. I can even ride visor up. This afternoon it was raining. My boots and legs were getting wet but the screen did a really good job of keeping my upper body dry.

MPG is not good though. I suspect it’ll improve no end once I am used to the bike Know what I mean wink wink? I’m getting 31mpg at the moment. This is Us gallons though so its not all bad.

Storage is good for me. The glove box on the right side of the tank is so handy. I was out tonight adjusting the lights down so the screw driver and torch were stowed in there instead of going in to my pocket. Imagine crashing with a screw driver in your pocket. It could do all sorts of damage. Under seat space is good too. I have managed to fit my helmet bag in to there. Its one of those wired ones that secures your helmet to the bike when you’re on walk about after a ride. I do not have the panniers at the moment. My dealer is sorting out the mounts but when I do I will be able to tour in style. No longer will I need to carry a ruck sack around for 200 miles at a time. For your info, the seat pads are wide enough to be very comfortable AND that also means that a bag will be easily strapped across them. I suspect it wont budge until I want it to…

Right then, that’s enough for now. Here’s some pictures.

First ride. Not far from home… Checkout the side lights.

Comfy yet still fast enough to get in to trouble

Good being back on a shaftie again….

Stelvio

Originally uploaded by Fat Biker

Behold…

First pics of my Stelvio. More to follow

The guys at Haywards will do a full service on it and bring it back in to good condition with a bit of skill and TLC. I’ve managed to get a set of Guzzi fog lights fitted to the bike as part of the order. This will make sure I’m seen when out at night.

Its a shame to see the Buell 1125r go but saddle space has become a bit of a problem for me and my Son and the bikes proving to be a bit too fast if you know what I mean…

Ive been thinking about a Triumph Street Triple but having sat on one with my son as pillion I reckon its going to be a bit tight for a day trip. I also have concerns about the amount of rear wheel spray when the weathers bad. My old City X had spray issues and it was a total pain for me. Sooo, today I went down to see the chaps at Haywards of Cambridge. They are my local Guzzi garage where I purchased a 2007 1200 Sport from a while ago. I know them well and trust their spannering. They have a couple of Stelvio’s going at the moment. The one of interest to me is an x press bike. Its got a couple of marks on it but it seems to ride OK.

Son and I took a 20 mile or so ride out on it this morning. The space the Stelvio offers over the Buell is lovely. It allowed my Son to sit back a bit and relax whilst we hammered around the local country lanes. The sound track the exhaust offered was pretty fruity and very different from the Buell and my old 1200 Sport. The step in performance around the 5000rpm mark was pretty addictive. It allows you to potter around at low revs without the bike running away from you and then when required it’ll hitch up its skirt and take off. Motorway cruising was good although I needed to lower the screen right down to its lowest setting to stop the wind buffeting my helmet around. The weather was crappy but we managed to cruise at 70 and still chat to each other through our bluetooth helmets.

Getting back on to the Buell felt very strange. The engine obviously has a lot more grunt low down but comfort does not come close to the Stelvio… I know they are completely different bikes and one would expect an adventure tourer to be relaxing to ride.

The bike on offer comes with panniers. Its a 2008 bike so is one year older than the Buell but its only done 3000 miles and will have a full service before delivery to me….

We’ll have to see what the coming days brings… No decisions made just yet.

Anyway, waffling… So I’ve left my town and I’m on the local quiet roads and what can I feel…? The throttle is still notchy. Its bad enough that the throttle wont close without me giving it a gentle nudge. This isn’t a nice experience on a bike that’s pushing out 146 horses so I’ve got to call Blackbear when they open and get it sorted. I’m a bit disappointed really coz I really wanted to get a good ride out, instead I only did 20 or so miles before pulling back in to the garage. My wrist was sore from the extra friction of the twist grip.

Once home I stripped down the top of the bike to investigate the throttle bodies and unfortunately there’s nothing obvious. It doesn’t feel like its the cables that are stiff. I think its the throttle mechanism which will be a warranty job I had exactly the same thing happen to my last Buell, the City X. Cant believe its me or the way I’m riding the bike…

So to round this entry off, it was lovely being back out on the bike. My new thermal liners bought from Ultimate Bike Gear were great but they’ll have to wait a bit longer before I can get out for a long ride.

Bring on the Spring…

Really missing the bike at the moment. Reckon I have got cabin fever. I spoke with the brother the other day and we may try and sort out a short trip sometime in April when the weathers a bit more predictable. Nothing Ewan & Charlie style, just a short trip to somewhere in the UK for a long weekend…. Our trips are about the ride out more than the destination if you know what I mean.

During this little down time I’ve been cleaning the Buell up and its still looking as new. I know its only done 4500 easy miles but I am still pleased with the way its holding out.

My trusty rex marsee tank bag is holding out well too. It just clips on and sits there doing what it needs to do without getting in the way. When I get to work off it comes until home time. 10 litres is a good commuting size. If you guys are interested in a Rex Marsee bag go and google mission motos. Bill will sort one out for you….
The bikes sitting in the garage connected to a battery tender and the metal parts are coated with ACF-50 ready for a winter ride out when theres a break in the weather…

Once home I dismantled the throttle grip on the right bar and gave it a clean out. It only took 15 minutes to clean and lubricate the cables as they enter the throttle grip assembly. Now its nice and smooth again.

This morning there’s more snow on the ground so I wont be getting a new years ride out for the coming days

Happy new year to all you bikers out there. Lets hope 2010 is a good one for you all

I know, what type of biker am I becoming I hear you shout. Well I have to admit it Im going soft in my old age. I dont like the cold 5am starts and I dont like sitting on a train holding wet gear. My other problem is that I dont really want to trash the Buell now that its an endangered species. I’d love to get a maxi scooter or something like that. I could then leave my wet gear with the bike and I would not care so much about it getting trashed with road salt and grime.

Enough moaning, lets talk about the Buell and how its going… I’ll say now, its flying. I’m at approx 5000 miles now and the bike is relaxing nicely now. The ECM maps (currently 06z) as of writing is really smooth at commuting speeds. The 3000-4000 rpm range is full of torque and can now be used without feeling like you’re sitting on an expectant horse. As always Blackbear apply the latest ECM updates… Everything else on the bike is just perfect. Its really good in the wet and its even better in the dry. My 2nd rear tyre is now nicely scrubbed in and will se me right for another 3000 miles before changing both ends to something different. Saying that, I am getting on just fine with the Pirelli Corsa 111’s so maybe I wont change. We’ll see whats about when its time.

I’m thinking of purchasing all of the required parts to turn the front end of my bike in to a CR – naked model. This will give me a change of bike in a way AND force me to drive at a more relaxed speed if you know what I mean. I find it very easy to cruise on a long trip at the higher end of acceptability so could do with a change to make it uncomfortable when pushing on… Blackbear have approximated the parts cost at £600 plus a few hours labour to complete the change. It is a lot of money but will give me two bikes for the price of one…

My bike kit is holding out well and there have been no changes there with the exception of a rider branded neck gaitor. This is a fleece based neck tube with a wide cover around the shoulder area. It creates a nice warm gasket between jacket and neck line.  Realy has improved cold weather comfort and for less than £20 I recommend everyone with a leather jacket gets one.

Apologies for the total silence recently. Autumn has taken its toll on my inspiration