GuzziTour 2016

After a week back in Thailand and the effects of jet lag mostly gone, I now find the time and peace of mind to look back at what has been an amazing 5 weeks holiday in Italy. It's been especially memorable because there was my "new" Moto Guzzi G5 waiting for me.
Let me say it right from the start: the G5 is an amazing bike! The level of comfort, the handling, the majestic stance...it performed far beyond my expectations and I couldn't have been happier. I wish and hope MG will start producing such gorgeous bike again in the future.

The very first ride on my G5 around South Tyrol

On the 9th of May, my wife and I started a 5 day journey through Northern Italy.

The first day took us from Bolzano to Mandello del Lario (260km), the birthpace of Moto Guzzi and still the only place manufacturing MG. We arrived right in front of the MG gates at 3pm. That's the time the museum opens, only for 1 hour, every day. 95 years of motorcycle history is a lot to take in in only 1 hour, so we had to rush through it a bit.

Passo del Tonale

Lake Como

Carlo Guzzi at Mandello del Lario

Antica Officina

Some highlights at the Guzzi Museum

Taking orders for new Guzzis

This really reminded me of a pharaoh taken over by the Borgs

For our accommodation I chose Antica Officina (Antique Workshop). This is where Carlo Guzzi came to build his first bikes with the current owner's grand uncle. Giuseppe and his wife were great hosts and made us feel welcome right from the arrival. Giuseppe gave me a tour of the whole workshop, the cellar and even the attic.

The next day we rode to Biella, to the beautiful Castle of Montecavallo (170km). Montecavallo is a B&B and a vineyard. The owner and only person living in the castle came right up to us and started telling us stories of her extensive bike travels throughout Europe. What a great start, I thought.
The accommodation was absolutely top notch and in retrospective, my favourite place during our trip.

So far we got miserable weather and the third day was no exception. 60km took us from one castle to another. Castello di Pavone was quite different from Montecavallo, though. It was more upscale and maybe because of that, we felt a bit detached from the whole experience. The scenery was breathtaking nonetheless.

Thursday we rode to the nearby mountains, where the 8th Wonder of the World lies underground. Damanhur, a spiritual commune founded 40 years ago have continuously been building the Temples of Humankind, crafting a truly unique place, full of artistic mastery and spiritual energy. Our jaws dropped when we first stepped in and only closed after we came back up. Taking pictures inside the temple was not allowed, so I took some from the net. I wholeheartedly recommend visiting this place!

In the afternoon I rode on a motorway for the first time in my life. Not the most exciting of rides I have to admit, but riding my G5 makes even the most boring stretch of road a great experience.
After about 260km we arrived at the shores of lake Garda, the biggest lake in Italy, to the farm stay La Filanda, where we spent the last night of our GuzziTour.

15km from home we finally got the first rays of light and a stretch of dry road. Better late than never I guess

Obviously there would be much more to say and tales to tell, but it would take up too much space and a lot of your time.
If you have any comments, feel free to say something below.

See ya

MOTO GUZZI V1000 G5

Ever since riding my brother's LeMans MKI, I've become a big Guzzi fan. The handling, the steering precision, that amazingly smooth engine with its cylinder heads coming up from below, just waiting for a pat on the head. And don't get me started on the sound...especialy if it's amplified by a pair of Contis.

Ahh Guzzi, mon amour!

But this post is not about my brother's LeMans. It's about my very own Moto Guzzi, specifically a 1981 V1000 G5. The 81 model is the second series, which differs from the first series for the cast alloy wheels and the black side bags.
The G5 is almost identical to the I-Convert, but has a 5 gear gearbox (hence G5) instead of the automatic 2 speed gearbox, and has conventional footrests instead of the floorboards of the Convert.

The story goes that I've been infected by the "Guzzite" and it has been lingering in my head for months. The fact that my brother just bought a much bigger garage to store the bikes, encouraged me to search the classifieds for my very own Guzzi. The smaller V35, V50, V65 were too small and the various modern Guzzis were too.....well, too modern.
My final choice was between a T3 (beautifully restored, but with over 100.000km) and an equally pristine G5 with only 37.000 original km. Needless to say, the G5 won.

What makes me write this post is the fact that in 5 days I will fly to Italy for my yearly holiday, and rarely have I been so excited to go home. So excited in fact, that I've planned a 5 day GuzziTour around north Italy and this is what I'd like to share with you today.


https://www.google.com/maps/d/edit?mid=ztuV0IqbfCPU.kQyE-NO73qiQ&usp=sharing


The first day will be the longest ride (274km) and a Guzzi triumph, with a visit to the Guzzi HQ in Mandello del Lario and the Guzzi museum. 5 minutes away from there is the Antica Officina B&B, where Carlo Guzzi, one of the founders of Moto Guzzi built his first motorcycles almost 100 years ago. Antica Officina, which translates to 'ancient garage' is now a B&B and a small museum.







The second day we'll ride about 170km to the Santuario D'Oropa, a monastery in the piedmontese mountains. We'll pass the night in Castello di Montecavallo, a farmstay/castle in the vicinity of Biella.

Santuario D'Oropa

Castello di Montecavallo

Day 3 will be another special day. It will start with a visit to Damanhur, a commune, ecovillage and spiritual community. They gained fame in 1992 through the disclosure of their secret excavation of an extensive underground temple, the Temples of Humankind, which was begun in 1978 under complete secrecy. The Italian authorities ordered construction work to stop because it had been constructed without planning approval, although artwork could continue. Retroactive permission was subsequently granted. (Wiki)
The cherry on the cake will be a night in the famous and utterly beautiful Castello di Pavone.

D'Annunzio's abode

Day 4 we'll ride on the motorway for 250km to the Lake Garda to another farmstay and some relaxing hours on the banks of Italy's biggest lake.




On the last day, we're going to visit 'Il Vittoriale', a stunning estate of D'Annunzio, one of Italy's most famous writers, a poet, journalist, playwright and soldier during World War I.



5 days of riding, nice food, culture and spiritual renewal. I could be the best trip of my life or a giant flop. Reality might be very different, but this is the plan at least. Hopefully it won't rain (too much) and hopefully my trusty G5 will live up to its reputation of being a reliable touring bike.

Fingers crossed!

DBS full exhaust system for Honda NSR150SP

I really like my NSR150SP. It takes me back to the times when at 16, I used to ride my Gilera SP02 in the golden age for 125cc 2 stroke racing bikes in Italy.

Maybe it's due to a distorted perception after all these years, but I wasn't quite convinced with the power output of my NSR. I expected more... and I wanted more!

So, the obvious first step was to look for an aftermarket exhaust to free the bike and let all those 30+ horses run unrestricted. After some 'window shopping", I found a full stainless steel exhaust system with aluminium muffler made by DBS for an acceptable price of 5.700Baht (shipping in Thailand included).
Communication with Mr Visit was smooth and straightforward and after about 10 days I got my exhaust.

Packing was sufficient.

Straight away I was impressed by the overall quality of the pipe.

Very nice welds!

Soundcheck with the original exhaust

The first thing you notice when taking off the original pipe is the weight. The DBS weights probably a 1/4 of the Honda exhaust!

Soundcheck with the DBS pipe.

Verdict:

The DBS stainless steel exhaust and aluminium muffler is a very fine piece of equipment and performance is on a par with its good looks. Installation was pretty easy. The holes on the flanges were a tiny bit too small, but it took only 5 minutes and a dremel to enlarge them enough. Fitting my NSR with this pipe gave it back its vigor and spirit. Going up the RPMs feels easy and smooth, especially around 7.000 to 10.000rpm. This is how my bike is supposed to sound and perform. Recommended!

EDIT 1:
After about 30minutes of test riding the bike, the color on the back tip of the muffler started to peel off. Mr. Visit offered to get it repainted at no extra cost.

EDIT 2: The exchange was done fast and painlessly. I now used the new muffler for several months and it's just like the first day.
I can now say the pipe has improved midrange and dramatically increased top end power. I'm very happy with it!

A bit of fun

Sunmaster 14: seat cowl ready

It took a while, but it is finally finished. Designed by me and built by my aluminium parts supplier, it now got a custom made leather seat made by famous Thai custom builders "The Sports".

They did a great job with this brown leather seat with diamond stitching and a classy "Yamaha" aluminium tag.