The Ugly Duckling, or, My Life with an Old Goose

[bizarro]

Sometimes a bike comes your way that takes you back to the beginning. Remember when you first thew your leg over a motorcycle? Maybe your dad, or your brother, or a friend showed you how to work the controls, how to turn the fuel on, how to work the choke, and sent you on your way? That initial terror and then that life-transforming joy as the motor picked up and you felt the thrust pulling your head back? The sound and the fury of that motor you were sitting on top of? The Goose has brought me back to that elemental moment. I will never forget when my brother lead me on the freeway for the first time, just maybe 1/4 of a mile on I5, from the base of Cap Hill to the 45th St exit on I5, and I looked at the speedo and I was doing 60 miles per hour, and I looked down at my foot and the pavement speeding by, and I let out a woop for joy that would have shaken Olympus. I was doing it! I was riding a motorcycle!

The Goose, my Moto Guzzi 850 T3, is that bike. I almost feel like I've never ridden a bike before, as if going around corners and laying on the throttle was some sort of innate knowledge waiting for expression, waiting for a moment to happen. I have a sense of mechanical wonder every time I ride it. What's that sound? Is that the valves tapping that I hear over the thrumble of the exhaust? When will I know they're getting too tight? Pulling up to a stop, get the the bike into second and do my best to find neutral before coming to a full stop. If I don't manage it keeping the throttle and the front brake going enough to keep the motor spinning. The satisfaction of the simple act of finding neutral and just sitting at the light, waiting for it to turn green so I can give the Goose the goose and thrumble off on my way.

I've never read a manual so avidly, never wanted spares so strongly, never wanted to know a machine so throroughly. This is a machine that inspires desire: desire for knowedge and know how, for competence. It inspires total involvement. Desire to ride and to know.

I've owned and ridden a lot of bikes in my short riding life. In all but a few cases they've given me that forehead through a locker door sense of headbanging joy, one way or another, but this bike gives me that and so much more. It's a measured mayhem. And I have to say, having ridden some of the finest sprung bikes of the last twenty fifteen or twenty years the suspension and frame on the Goose is an absolute wonder. Every time I take it out I'm gobsmacked when I remember that it was originally sold in 1976, when I was but four years old.

So this thread is about my life as an ugly duckling, a newby Guzzi rider. It's going to be ugly for a while, as I learn the ropes of daily life with a Goose, but as I learn maybe some useful information will filter through. So there you have it. Until next time.

[Dr Gil]

Oh my, you've got it bad man!  

Heh, welcome to the group.    

(You) "Ciao, il mio nome è Bizarro.  
(Group) "Ciao, Bizarro.  
(You) "Guido un Moto Guzzi."

 

[farmer fred]

If you're having difficulty selecting neutral with the bike at rest, it's probably clutch and input-hub time.  You'll learn a lot!

[1KPerDay]

Congrats, man. Sheer poetry.

[RexRider]

Who knew the boy could write like that?    Well done!

[WitchCityBallabio]

Oh my, you've got it bad man!  

Heh, welcome to the group.

I was going to say the same thing.  I reminds me a lot of my first drive on a Guzzi. Couldn't have said it better myself.

[RexRider]

So I guess I REALLY shouldn't take it out for a test ride, then?  

[cworley5150]

Simply Fantastic!  

[dr_sean]

Awesome!  You may want to go with "Ugly Gosling" instead of DUCkling.  

[strider]

Good read Bizarro.  Welcome.

[bizarro]

Awesome!  You may want to go with "Ugly Gosling" instead of DUCkling.  

True.... but I was thinking about... swans... or something. Anyhow....

So here is the new Valeo started I installed. Thanks to those who helped out (Daniel, Farmer Fred, et al).



And here are a couple of pics from the maiden voyage, taken with DD and Req (and his fairer half).

[steve.ski]

Suh-weet! It looks even better in the mix with some of it's 2-wheeled friends!

Enjoy!

[Mookie]

I still can't believe how big that freakin starter is.  

[bizarro]

Yeah, it's got a lot to crank to get the Bird started. More photos:

[Mookie]

Can't wait to see it in person  

[steve.ski]

Yeah, it's got a lot to crank to get the Bird started. More photos:

Hope to see it at WCRM 4.5 which I will ACTUALLY be attending!!!

[Orson]

wow!  

the previous photos din't do it justice.

that thang is gorgeous  

[stromgal]

Geeze-louise, that gosling would give me wood if I had same.

I'm so glad you're back on two wheels.  

[dr_sean]

That is one sharp looking bike!  Stock up on those rubber carb boots, they tend to rot and split at the most inconvenient times.

[Nimh]

Sheer poetry Biz.  I completely understand.    The more I see it, the more I like it.  

Damn you.  Like I need to be looking for another bike.  

[bizarro]

Pushing the Ton
What is pushing the ton? On a motorcycle it's hittng 100 miles per hour. On some bikes it's nothing to take notice of, on others it feels as though you've broken the sound barrier. My Guzzi and I broke the ton tonight. I've never felt so connected to a machine. I'm a bit broken down, I'm approaching 35, my bike is 31. Someone else might say our best days are yet to come, but physically speaking they're past, but the time comes the ability arises.

I'm new to Guzzis, and new to adulthood, but perhaps like a good wine it takes some time to mature. The bike, I think, is in that stretch of life where it's completely broken in, nothing surprising is going to happen, the only things will break are things that need to maintained, things to be diligent about. I'm in the same place. My body is not what it used to be, I've broken down, but I've been rebuilt, and from here on out, so long as I change the oil and maintain the cable, I should function for a good long while.

And like my Guzzi's motor, my mind is just hitting its stride. Being back in school, with a goal and a mission and a vision everything is working and I'm at top form. I've never done so well or been so committed.

Hooks Are Set, or whatever I titled the new tune I put up, sums it up musically, and appropriately enough, it's loose, and the timing is bad and it's not very tight, but that's as it should be. I don't have the space in my head for music that I had only a month ago, but it continues and its who I am. I don't know how it will all shake out. I know that I'll be in Ghost Lobby until Tara says she needs more, she needs better, she needs different. I'll be there as long as she'll have me.

I'm breaking the ton on 30+ year old machinery. Sometimes it's scary, it's not smooth, it's not plush, it's not easy. But the shakes and inconsistencies of the past are gone, going into a corner, going into a change, it is what it is, and I can only keep my eyes open to what comes next and trust the bike underneath me and trust what I have between my ears and behind my ribs. It's a maiden voyage from here on out. I'm feeling it in ways I've never felt before.

Tomorrow I'm taking the Goose out for a good long ride. I haven't been out of Seattle on a bike in a long time and it's far beyond time to blow out the cobwebs. Nothing clears the mind and settles the soul, at least for me, like a ride. The zen of motion makes everything go away that's not essential in the moment. Just motor, throttle and break inputs, body movement to get the bike in line in the corners, the wind pushing you this way and that, the sound of the motor, gravity and momentum pushing, pulling, settling you and the bike. The exhaustion at the end of a good ride can only be compared to one other kind of exhaustion, and they're still different.

Anyhow, that's the boozy rambling for this evening. Be well.

* I might edit this later, but probably not. It's a moment.

[Dr Gil]

Anyhow, that's the boozy rambling for this evening. Be well.

* I might edit this later, but probably not. It's a moment.

Nice "boozy rambling"...I'd suggest leaving it alone."  

ciao,

-gilberto

[bizarro]

For ksann:

http://media.putfile.com/Farmer-Fritz-and-the-Guzzi

Both I and the Goose exist.  

[steve.ski]

For ksann:

http://media.putfile.com/Farmer-Fritz-and-the-Guzzi

Both I and the Goose exist.  

That thing sounds sweet.

 

[Mookie]

I passed somebody going the other way in Wallingford on an old Guzzi, the sun was in my eyes so I couldn't make out what color it was.  

I waved like a crazed madman and didn't get much of a wave back.  It wasn't you  

[bizarro]

Nope, I would have waved back.

[bizarro]

BTW, I now know what happens when a plug wire comes off while going through a corner: First, as one might expect, you lose a cylinder. Think a Guzzi is slow? Try going up a hill on only one piston. Secondly, when the wire touches the bike you get the crap shocked out of your hands and feet. Makes it interesting trying to ride long enough to find a place to pull over and reattach the plug wire. Character!!!!  

[Mookie]

Oh shit!  

[atadaskew]

Noice bike!  Question re. DD... I see she's wearing leathers.  What, she's dumped the Nikwax label and is now pushing Lexol?....
 

[Dr Gil]

Crap, crap, crap...for the life of me I can't get the Putfile working.  Buffer, nothing, ads for other vids, play, buffer, nothing, ads, etc.

What's the trick here.  I WANT to see/hear this video!

[bizarro]

You might try going to the Canal ride thread and click the same link in Colleen's post. Might not make a difference, but you never. These intertubes are surely strange things.

[Bryan]

"and I looked down at my foot and the pavement speeding by,"

 That small statement made me feel like it is now 1979 and I can get in to my 34 inch waist jeans and ride that Honda CB175 all over my homeland again.

[bizarro]

"and I looked down at my foot and the pavement speeding by,"

 That small statement made me feel like it is now 1979 and I can get in to my 34 inch waist jeans and ride that Honda CB175 all over my homeland again.

 

[dangle]

My Guzzi was a 98 EV11. I had just quit (retired) after 30 years at 52. I hadn't been on a bike since 89 when I sold my 83 Interceptor. I flew into DFW to pick it up and ride home in the middle of winter (feb 2001). After bout 30 minutes riding around this guy's subdivision getting a feel for my new machine, I followed the previous owner a few miles to get to the freeway leading directly into Dallas Tx. With a final via con Dios, I  headed  up the onramp in traffic with only a vague idea of where I was  and where I wanted to go. Took me two days to get back home to NM  up thru Amarillo and  Wichita Falls. It felt great rumbling into some half dead Texas cow town half frozen on that EV.

[bizarro]

Right on!


Well, I put Pirelli Sport Demons and new tubes on the bike and man, she likes to turn now, just falls right into the corners. I'm still scrubbing them so I won't know for a bit longer about grip but so far I like them.  

[Blaufeld]

Try going up a hill on only one piston.  

Blew a sparkplug last year when I was returning from Mandello on my V65C. It was a sunny Sunday, no spares, no open shops, 490 kilometres from home. I made it back in 8 hours... and I enjoyed every minutes of it.
Sometimes I think I'm a bit strange.  

[Black Ice]

Man, you can write like nobody's business.    

And you suck, because now I want a Guzzi and I'm having enough problems just keeping up the payments on Diana.  I'm buying you a round when we meet.

[Gaolee]

And you suck, because now I want a Guzzi.

   Me too, and I have seen his bike.  And heard it.

[bizarro]

 

It really is kinda fun. Needs some clutch work though.

[bizarro]

The Goose is back from Moto International and is in great shape. Man, I can't believe I was riding with the clutch the way it was before, it's like buttah now.

Here's the list:

Oil seal distributor cover
rubber cap throttle/choke cable
timing cover gasket
1-plate clutch kit
rear main seal
transmission gasket/seal set
intake sleeve
bearing clutch throwout
2 fuel filters
muffler clamps
kevlar brake pads
cable boot
some electrical tidying

labor: 9.25 hours

Total: $1550.75

Not bad for the amount of time they put into it. Micha gave me their winter rate because I wasn't in a hurry. I really, really dig that shop. Just a bunch of great people who truly are enthusiasts. There is no one there, except maybe the new parts guy, for whom it's just a job.

And they really dig my bike.

According to Micha I also got a great deal when I bought the bike. He said in the summer I could easily sell it for $5000. I have about $4000 in it now, including initial purchase. Not that I'm even remotely considering selling it, this is a keeper. Micha also thinks that it's probably been bored out to 1000cc, so the V1000 badges are staying on.  

Keerist I love this bike.  





It's a properly northwest Guzzi: green, black, and wet.  

[Mookie]

Fuck yeah

[Nimh]

How are the brakes now?  You mentioned they were a little passive when you bought it, and I see new kevlar pads on your list.  Better?

Great pics, Biz.  There's just something so right about naked and all wet.  

[bizarro]

They feel about the same right now, but they haven't really beded in yet. What it really needs is a bigger master cylinder, so that'll happen at some point.

[bizarro]

Went out for a spin today despite having a nasty head cold (got my flu shot last week and I'm wondering if it lowered my resistance to the bug that's going around right now). Nothing major, just a toodle out to Alki in West Seattle and then to Lake Washington on the east side of Capital Hill/Leshai. The brakes are starting to feel quite nice and the clutch, as mentioned above, is great, but the throttle pull is herculean (I think Fred may have predicted this with the change in carb tops) and the twist grip itself seems pretty tight. I'm going to call Micha on Tuesday and see if there is anything I can do at home to mitigate that. Either way I'm going to source an extra large throttlemeister to ease things when just cruising at a steady speed.

[farmer fred]

Went out for a spin today despite having a nasty head cold (got my flu shot last week and I'm wondering if it lowered my resistance to the bug that's going around right now). Nothing major, just a toodle out to Alki in West Seattle and then to Lake Washington on the east side of Capital Hill/Leshai. The brakes are starting to feel quite nice and the clutch, as mentioned above, is great, but the throttle pull is herculean (I think Fred may have predicted this with the change in carb tops) and the twist grip itself seems pretty tight. I'm going to call Micha on Tuesday and see if there is anything I can do at home to mitigate that. Either way I'm going to source an extra large throttlemeister to ease things when just cruising at a steady speed.

Actually, the switch from the bell-crank tops to the flat tops should have made the throttle effort easier, but it will take more rotation of the throttle to achieve the same amount of slide lift at the carbs.  You might want to see if MI changed the springs in the carbs.

[bizarro]

That's right.... easier pull but less actual throttle. Hmmm..... Well, I'll find out tomorrow.

[1KPerDay]

post a sound file! STAT!

D'oh! you did! Post another one!

[bizarro]

Unfortunately, either my Olympus Camedia either doesn't have a microphone or the microphone is borked. Vid, but no sound.

[bizarro]

You now, it seems like every couple of weeks I'm up late after drinking. Maybe it's a problem but that's a subject for another thread. I'm hear to talk about the T. This whole thread is about life with my Moto Guzzi.

The Goose really is my bike. It doesn't make a whole lot of sense. It doesn't get particularly good gas mileage, it's loud and could be considered obnoxious, especially in the wee hours of the morning, it can be difficult, it requires special, though infrequent, care. It has a lot of miles on it, though it still isn't forty. It's only medium cool, above average, but nothing flash-bulb worthy. It's a fair bit of work to hustle and get to go quickly but man does it respond to the right touch.

When it's cold and rainy and I get up to go work I know it'll be there though. It'll start. I have to charge it up now and again, but it'll get me where I need to go. And if it won't quite give me enough juice to warm up my Gerbing I know if I just hold on and hunker down it won't leave me stranded somewhere. It's a gutsy bike, a workhorse. Not flash at all, but a little stylish. Exactly what a bike should be. There isn't anything on it that isn't useful, that doesn't need to be there.

And that's all I need. When I have the time and the money I'm going to ride this bike across this country on two lane roads and nothing but. Just my Guzzi and me and whoever I meet along the way. Maybe I'll strap my bass on the back and play where I can. Maybe not. The Goose, the road, and music. That'd be alright.

[c_galardi]

She really is a beauty in an understated way.  Clean, classy lines and that wonderful motor on display for everyone to admire.  Congrats on your Guzzi.  Someday I hope to add maybe an 850 T or the like to my garage.

[sagerat]

Sweet bike and I know what you mean about riding older naked bikes.  My '75 Slash Six doesn't have the panache of your Goose or its brakes (damn you for your twin rotors!) but it's in many ways the most fun bike I've ever ridden.

Glad to to hear life is going well.  

[Black Ice]

It doesn't get particularly good gas mileage

Odd.  What does it get?  AFAIK, it should be up around the high 50s at least.

it's loud and could be considered obnoxious, especially in the wee hours of the morning, it can be difficult, it requires special, though infrequent, care. It has a lot of miles on it, though it still isn't forty. It's only medium cool, above average, but nothing flash-bulb worthy.

While it may be considered a more-than-accurate description, I'd like to point out that I am not Biz's Guzzi, and he has never ridden me.


(Well, not that I can remember, anyway--I was chemically insane for most of my younger years, so it could have happened.    )

[ol Rocket]

Finally have had time to read through some threads I've wanted to read for some time.  This is great insight, Fritz, and I'm stoked for you.  I like my Sprint and marvel at how good it is, but I've not really bonded the way you have with the old Goose.  Perhaps I should stick a few Gootsie stickers on and mutter in Italian while drinking a glass of cheap chianti.

I just wouldn't want anyone to confuse me with Dr. Gil.

[atadaskew]

Sometimes a bike comes your way that takes you back to the beginning. Remember when you first thew your leg over a motorcycle? Maybe your dad, or your brother, or a friend showed you how to work the controls, how to turn the fuel on, how to work the choke, and sent you on your way? That initial terror and then that life-transforming joy as the motor picked up and you felt the thrust pulling your head back? The sound and the fury of that motor you were sitting on top of? The Goose has brought me back to that elemental moment. I will never forget when my brother lead me on the freeway for the first time, just maybe 1/4 of a mile on I5, from the base of Cap Hill to the 45th St exit on I5, and I looked at the speedo and I was doing 60 miles per hour, and I looked down at my foot and the pavement speeding by, and I let out a woop for joy that would have shaken Olympus. I was doing it! I was riding a motorcycle!

The Goose, my Moto Guzzi 850 T3, is that bike. I almost feel like I've never ridden a bike before, as if going around corners and laying on the throttle was some sort of innate knowledge waiting for expression, waiting for a moment to happen. I have a sense of mechanical wonder every time I ride it. What's that sound? Is that the valves tapping that I hear over the thrumble of the exhaust? When will I know they're getting too tight? Pulling up to a stop, get the the bike into second and do my best to find neutral before coming to a full stop. If I don't manage it keeping the throttle and the front brake going enough to keep the motor spinning. The satisfaction of the simple act of finding neutral and just sitting at the light, waiting for it to turn green so I can give the Goose the goose and thrumble off on my way.

I've never read a manual so avidly, never wanted spares so strongly, never wanted to know a machine so throroughly. This is a machine that inspires desire: desire for knowedge and know how, for competence. It inspires total involvement. Desire to ride and to know.

I've owned and ridden a lot of bikes in my short riding life. In all but a few cases they've given me that forehead through a locker door sense of headbanging joy, one way or another, but this bike gives me that and so much more. It's a measured mayhem. And I have to say, having ridden some of the finest sprung bikes of the last twenty fifteen or twenty years the suspension and frame on the Goose is an absolute wonder. Every time I take it out I'm gobsmacked when I remember that it was originally sold in 1976, when I was but four years old.

So this thread is about my life as an ugly duckling, a newby Guzzi rider. It's going to be ugly for a while, as I learn the ropes of daily life with a Goose, but as I learn maybe some useful information will filter through. So there you have it. Until next time.

I'm not sure what happened to this bike , but these sentiments are mine exactly.  I'm lovin' my Goot-sie..

[Orson]

in a word...engaging  

[sagerat]

Wonder if ever penning that paen, if he hawked the Goose and got a Honda?    

[atadaskew]

Wonder if ever penning that paen, if he hawked the Goose and got a Honda?    

Did he lose a bet?