https://www.kiwibiker.co.nz/forums/blog.php/26614-guzzi-bro Kiwi Biker - New Zealand motorcycle community en Wed, 08 Apr 2026 17:30:12 GMT vBulletin 20 https://www.kiwibiker.co.nz/forums/images/BP-Brown/misc/rss.jpg https://www.kiwibiker.co.nz/forums/blog.php/26614-guzzi-bro https://www.kiwibiker.co.nz/forums/entry.php/1238-The-Good-Itchy-Scratchin Thu, 17 Dec 2009 11:07:27 GMT There's this thing with bikes and me. I look at my mates big Beemer and it's kinda nice....
I stand and admire my other mates Buell, sorta.
Then there's all types of Hondas, Suzukis, Triumphs and Massive Harleys, but I just dont get it. Well I get some of the Triumphs, and the Ducati thing is pretty obvious to me, but I don't want one. I want the Guzzis, even the really ugly ones. It doesn't matter if almost everything else has more horsepower. I don't care if an old 1990's 250 Honda zips past my 750. I don't go much over the speed limit anyway.
I can listen patiently to some guy in the cafe boasting about their 900 Kawasaki, but inside I'm thinking "poor bastard" and hoping he stops soon. Somehow though I can spend hours listening to someone drone on about anything Moto Guzzi. I take a huge interest in everything about Ken's California and admire it's easy style and comfortable riding position. The big motor is quite a statement, and it sounds good too.
I'm not big on tech stuff, it just doesn't stay with me, I have read all the spec's on my bikes gear ratios, can't recall a thing about it. My bike has electronic fuel ignition and I've read up on that too, couldn't explain how it works to save myself. So I don't know what it is about the Guzzi's that scratches my itches, but it works.
The Guzzi is a great ride, passing is such a pleasure I'm tempted to do it too often. Just click down a gear, point it in the direction I want to go, wind up a big handful of throttle and it gets the hell out of there. Wooeee, there's nothing quite like it. By the time I select top again the stinkin camper van or whatever is barely visible in the mirror. Chugging along doing 4000 rpm at 100 k is relaxing and the scenery flows past. In the curves it's predictable, but fun.
I had no problem deciding which Guzzi to buy, a two year old 750 Breva was the newest I could afford and the biggest I felt confident I could handle. Everthing I read about it seemed positive, and the parts were supposed to be easy to get.
It was also damn nice to look at especially in red, and when I put the staintune mufflers on, it sounded great too.
Sometimes though I think an 850 Griso would be nice to have, and the classic old 850 Ambasadors were particularly magic machine. Financially I might be able to afford an old 650 Lario in a year or so for a project bike. So me amassing a collection of Guzzis is unlikely to occur anytime before I win lotto, but that doesn't stop me wishing. Have you seen the new 1200 Sport, man what a machine. ]]> guzzi bro https://www.kiwibiker.co.nz/forums/entry.php/1238-The-Good-Itchy-Scratchin https://www.kiwibiker.co.nz/forums/entry.php/1176-Yesterday Sun, 15 Nov 2009 03:56:42 GMT The Greymouth ACC levy protest saw over 100 bikes turn up. I missed out on riding in with the guys from Hoki as they went past before I expected them. I was in plenty of time to meet up at Mobil though, and was pleased to see a good number of bikes there. We rode through town in a semi orderly two... The Greymouth ACC levy protest saw over 100 bikes turn up. I missed out on riding in with the guys from Hoki as they went past before I expected them. I was in plenty of time to meet up at Mobil though, and was pleased to see a good number of bikes there. We rode through town in a semi orderly two abreast line with the odd car or three that somehow got included. Local police thankfully made sure traffic stopped to let us through intersections in one column.
The sound of all those bikes together was really cool and it was good to be in amongst it.
Considering the number of bikes I was surprised that a few guys I was looking for didn't show up. There was another event on apparently.
There was one of everything there. An old BSA 500 single from the early fifties made it, and lots of Triumphs spanning the decades, probably the most popular brand here. Quite a lot of BMW's and Harleys, I saw at least two Buells and a couple of other Guzzis as well. Hell, you name it there was probably one there. Our local MP showed up, which was reasonably brave of him. He spoke well really, seemed to be willing to listen, and answered questions where he could. Anyway The petition was presented, points were made and just when I was getting impatient to be off it finished.
The weather which threatened to turn to crap at any moment actually improved and I ended up riding around most of the day visiting etc.
I definitely wouldn't have got the bike out on such a dodgy looking day if the protest hadn't been on and would have missed a good days riding. ]]> guzzi bro https://www.kiwibiker.co.nz/forums/entry.php/1176-Yesterday https://www.kiwibiker.co.nz/forums/entry.php/1164-Lusting-and-fulfilment Wed, 04 Nov 2009 11:36:48 GMT Well it's like this, I used to ride bikes - starting with a borrowed solex moped. Then I bought my NSU 250 Max, what an awesome (if slightly heavy and old by the time I got it) machine that was. I still want it back if you've got it.
Then on to Triumphs, I had quite a few. The 70 500 trophy was another stand out ride. It handled like a dream and was often found zipping past much bigger machines along the summit road on top of the Port Hills near Christchurch. I tried one of last BSA lightnings that was ok to ride, but terrible to work on as it had been put into a Triumph frame and the tappet covers could not be removed without undoing the engine mounts. Anyway someone solved the problem for me by stealing it from outside a nightclub I was in.
I had a year of car only motoring, then went to Sydney and bought a CB 450 Honda twin. Wow electric start! The wee Honda and I went here and there around the eastern states. The warm weather and well maintained roads were great. Road trains and mad aggresive country bumpkin Aussies, were effin terrible.
I will always have good memories of scraping the bends up the Great Ocean Road, winding through the Snowy Mountains and the road to Bathurst and others in the Blue Mountains.
Anyway, I eventually re-crossed the ditch and had a family. I managed to own a series of off road XL and XR Hondas during most of the next thirty years and enjoyed going bush on them.
Some of my mates managed to keep a road bike, but I thought I was over them. Just a few years back though, several of the crew bought road bikes, even one or two who had not owned them in their youth.
I Laughed and said "No way mate them roads are too dangerous for me."
But then a year ago I started to notice I was browsing the Trademe bike adds, and wondering which one I would go for if I was buying a bike, (which of course I wasn't) nothing really appealed. Then I saw it, it was lust at first sight. I lay in bed at night thinking about it, drove up the road wondering what it would be like to ride it. A beautiful red Moto Guzzi Beva 750. I read everything on the internet about them. Went for a virtual ride on one on Utube and the fever took hold. So I bought it. Damn, that is one nice looking motor sickle.
My first ride was a fine mix of pleasure and terror. The shaft drive effect I had read about had me worried, ACC statistics made me nervous, all in all I wondered why the hell I had bought it. Then the shaft drive effect proved to be so minor as to be hardly noticeable, and ACC seemed to be mainly trying to justify robbing me.
I really started to enjoy it, leaning into corners and powering out of them. Two months and a thousand k's later I'm out whenever I can. I still say I'm off for a wobble rather than a ride. The skills are slowly coming back, and while I don't think I will ever ride like I did years ago, it's still a damn fine way to spend an hour or two. If it wasn't for the aching wrists as the old carpel tunnels give me grief I would have done a lot more k's.
The Guzzi is an awesome machine, and so comfortable. I got a set of higher bars to take weight off the wrists, and a set of Staintune Mufflers so it no longer sounds like a Japanese 250. The power is low down and smooth and more than enough for me.
I've been for a ride following and watching a mate on his California and am working on my riding skills whenever I can.
The summer ahead looks like a lot of fun and the coffee tastes better after a few twisties. ]]> guzzi bro https://www.kiwibiker.co.nz/forums/entry.php/1164-Lusting-and-fulfilment