guzzi bro

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.