Some garage time with the Guzzi Stelvio

I spent a little time today in the garage performing some maintenance/tuning on my Moto Guzzi Stelvio.

The goal today was to check adjust and the balance of the two throttle bodies (one per cylinder) and then reset the throttle position sensor(TPS) to ensure the two cylinders were running in concert with each other and as efficiently as possible.

So the tools I use are a device called a TwinMax, which is an electronic device which measure vacuum. It performs basically the same function as a set of carb sticks, which some folks are familiar with. Additionally I use computer software called VDSTS, which allows me to plug into the computer in the Stelvio and view/diagnose/adjust various settings and functions on the Stelvio.

It turns out I had to make fairly significant adjustments to sync the throttle bodies. The bike seems to be running quite well after the adjustments but I will find out more tomorrow after a more extended ride.

Guzzi 4 valve head

Today I took the day off to relax a little and recuperate from my motorcycle ride to Ohio/Pennsylvania.

This morning I spent a little time in the garage checking/adjusting the valve on the Guzzi. Here are a couple pics of the new 4-valve head, as opposed to the old 2 valve head on the Breva. Note there are two intake and two exhaust valves. Checking and adjusting is the same as on all Guzzi's for the past 4 decades, a simple screw and locknut system that even a monkey can do in their own garage at home.

One of the many things I love about these bikes...I can do all my own normal maintenance, saving big $$$ it would cost at a shop.

Day 3 of my motorcycle trip to Ohio and Pittsburgh

I left Pittsburgh about 7 a.m. this morning, hoping to get about 500 miles behind me by the end of today, which would place me somewhere in South Carolina.

Starting out I decided to let the lil Garmin Quest GPS find me an interesting route for a while, and by did it ever! I was taken along some very narrow backroads over little one lane bridges and along roads with awesome curve after curve! But those great roads come at a price...it takes a long time and does not cover many miles.

After about 45 minutes of that I got back on track and picked up I-76 south, which then connected to state highway 19, a road with fantastic views! At one point I stopped at a scenic overlook and saw 4 folks trying to get pictures in front of the beautiful scenic mountainous backgound.

So I moseyed down to them to see if they wanted me to take a group shot of them and they were very grateful. A couple of them were from Argentina and one was from Canada. When they saw my bike from afar they first asked if it was a BMW. When I told them it was a Moto Guzzi one fella, I think his name was Jack, got very excited and in his accent said "Ah, Italia, MOTO GUZZI!" The he explained how he owns an Aprilia scooter. Very nice folks and I am glad I stopped and talked to them.

I talked to another fella later at a rest stop who spied my Guzzi and came over to talk to me about his 1976 Honda Goldwing project he is working on. You meet a lot of nice folks when riding a motorcycle!

It was a particularly tiring day though, as I was experiencing a goodly amount of discomfort in my upper back/neck sector, I think it is the trapezius muscle? Not sure but it was causing me some grief. I had to stop more often to stretch my neck and back.

Anyway I( pretty much accomplished my goal as I now sit in my Courtyard by Marriot Hotel, after a ride of about 480 miles today. Tomorrow I think I will have about 450-460 more miles and I will be home in the early evening.

Not many pics today but here are a few...

Trip day 2

Today was a lotta fun. I got up pretty early and was on the road to cover the 250 miles from Beckley, WV to Steubenville, OH where I met up with my friend Paul Miller from North Canton, OH. I had a nice visit at the southeast Ohio Moto Guzzi dealer, Speakers Cycles. After lunch we headed to Pittsburgh, PA to meet my friend and coworker Lew.

Lew was kind enough to pick Paul and I up at the hotel we were at in Pittsburgh and he taxied us around, showing us many cool sites in Pittsburgh. What a NEAT city! Thanks Lew!

Tomorrow I am back on the road home and I will cover ~500 miles Sunday and then again Monday.

Here are some pics from today.....

Trip Day 1

I type this as I am resting on my comfortable bed at the Hampton Inn just north of Beckley, West Virginia. ~730 miles on the road today and I am kinda beat.

I got on the road at 5 a.m. today and made good time in the morning, making it past Columbia, SC where I stopped for a late breakfast at Waffle House...mmmmm mmmm good!

North Carolina and Virgina passed by rather quickly in the afternoon but just as I entered Virginia I caught my first glimpse of the Appalachians. The ride through the Appalachians has been fun so far, a nice change of pace from the flatness of Florida.

I took Interstate 77 most of the way as I needed to cover miles today but since I was making such good time I peeled off onto state hwy 19 for a while and man that was a BLAST! Curve after curve!

Tomorrow I have about 250 more miles to cover to get to Ohio where I will meet up with my friend Paul and then we will head to Pittsburgh to hook up with my friend Lew.

Here are a few pics from today....

On the road again.....

Friday a.m. (9/4) in the wee hours I will be back on the Guzzi Breva 1100 for my first kinda long ride in quite some time. I guess my last sorta long ride was in October of 2008 when i rode to Birmingham, AL. That was about 550 miles to B-ham.

Tomorrow's trip takes me on a journey to southeastern Ohio and then to Pittsburgh, PA. I will be meeting up with my pals Paul from Ohio and Lewis from Pittsburgh. My goal for tomorrow is ~700 miles to Beckley, WV, some of which will take me through the Appalachian Mountain chain.

Saturday a.m. I will ride ~250-275 miles in the a.m. to meet my friend Paul in SE Ohio in the late morning. From there we will both head over (me by bike, he by cage) to Pittsburgh to meet Lew.

Lew promises to show us the finer parts of Pittsburgh and then take us to lil Italy in Pittsburgh for an nice Italian meal Saturday eve.


Pittsburgh's Lil Italy

Sunday a.m. I am back on the road toward home. I will arrive home Monday late in the day, the good Lord and the Guzzi willing.

I am hoping to blog along the way so keep an eye on this space in the evenings for possible new posts.

Football day at work today!

Today we are having a fun football day at work, including a big cookout outside and some football related games and such. I wore my Bo Ruud Cornhusker Jersey and my boss Mary wore the dreaded Colorado Buffaloes jersey!