John, how was your trip?
 

To see your brother? Knowing you I'd think that if the weather was good you probably took Millie the Goose, instead of the truck. Hope your 300 mi one way trip went well. The weather map looked like a good day for a ride.. How is he anyhow?

John, how was your trip?
 

Not bad! Round trip was 660 miles, got 45mpg going down, at 65mph mostly. Coming back, traveling
75mph mostly, the bike got 40mpg. That ten mph made a difference. The trip down was mostly rainy,
but not hard, and chilly - temps in the 40's. At the last minute I decided to throw an electric vest
into a saddle bag, and I was sure glad I did. I put it on about halfway down and what a difference.

My brother is doing as well as can be expected, I guess. The radiation and chemo has him looking
pretty bad, but his disposition is great. He's very weak and shaky, but he's hoping that'll get
better once he's done with the chemo and radiation.

The trip back was great - until I got to Fredericksburg, VA. From there to Alexandria took about two
and a half hours - a distance of about 45 miles. Stop and go, mostly stop. The bike and I got very
hot. The bike would idle fine, but one cylinder would die when I opened the throttle. I'd have to
twist the throttle back and forth and finally the dead one would kick in. Finally I pulled off the
road and shut her down. While there, a very nice young black lady offered me a coke as she was
stopped on the road. She was an angel. After about 20 minutes I took off again, and the bike ran a
lot better.

Got home about 4pm, after leaving Winston-Salem around 8:30. Moto Guzzi's do not like stop and go
traffic. I actually felt sorry for the poor bike, Milly, after overheating her the way I did. I gave
her a lot of tank pats after the stop on the side of the road. Hell, I felt as bad for the damn bike
as I have for my dog when I've walked her too far in the heat of summer. Now I carry water for the
dog, but that doesn't work on the bike!

There, that'll teach you to ask a simple question!

John, how was your trip?
 

On 4/22/14, 10:11 AM, Poquito Loco wrote:


The trip back was great - until I got to Fredericksburg, VA. From there to Alexandria took about two
and a half hours - a distance of about 45 miles. Stop and go, mostly stop. The bike and I got very
hot. The bike would idle fine, but one cylinder would die when I opened the throttle. I'd have to
twist the throttle back and forth and finally the dead one would kick in. Finally I pulled off the
road and shut her down. While there, a very nice young black lady offered me a coke as she was
stopped on the road. She was an angel. After about 20 minutes I took off again, and the bike ran a
lot better.


Sometimes the Jeff Davis north from Fredericksburg works...usually less
traffic if you are running counter to rush hour. Nicer ride, too, than
the stinky interstate.

John, how was your trip?
 

Yeah, I got myomeres worth out of my question. So sorry for your brother, and hope he can get along ok. Anyhow, glad the trip went good!

John, how was your trip?
 

On 4/22/2014 10:11 AM, Poquito Loco wrote:
Not bad! Round trip was 660 miles, got 45mpg going down, at 65mph mostly. Coming back, traveling
75mph mostly, the bike got 40mpg. That ten mph made a difference. The trip down was mostly rainy,
but not hard, and chilly - temps in the 40's. At the last minute I decided to throw an electric vest
into a saddle bag, and I was sure glad I did. I put it on about halfway down and what a difference.

My brother is doing as well as can be expected, I guess. The radiation and chemo has him looking
pretty bad, but his disposition is great. He's very weak and shaky, but he's hoping that'll get
better once he's done with the chemo and radiation.

The trip back was great - until I got to Fredericksburg, VA. From there to Alexandria took about two
and a half hours - a distance of about 45 miles. Stop and go, mostly stop. The bike and I got very
hot. The bike would idle fine, but one cylinder would die when I opened the throttle. I'd have to
twist the throttle back and forth and finally the dead one would kick in. Finally I pulled off the
road and shut her down. While there, a very nice young black lady offered me a coke as she was
stopped on the road. She was an angel. After about 20 minutes I took off again, and the bike ran a
lot better.

Got home about 4pm, after leaving Winston-Salem around 8:30. Moto Guzzi's do not like stop and go
traffic. I actually felt sorry for the poor bike, Milly, after overheating her the way I did. I gave
her a lot of tank pats after the stop on the side of the road. Hell, I felt as bad for the damn bike
as I have for my dog when I've walked her too far in the heat of summer. Now I carry water for the
dog, but that doesn't work on the bike!

There, that'll teach you to ask a simple question!


Vapor lock maybe?

John, how was your trip?
 

Vapor lock was what I was thinking too.

John, how was your trip?
 

On 4/22/2014 11:37 AM, wrote:
On Tue, 22 Apr 2014 10:11:25 -0400, Poquito Loco
wrote:

Moto Guzzi's do not like stop and go

Shoulda bought a Harley ;-)

It does sound like a nice ride before you got jammed up.
Maybe it would have been better to cut over and come up through
southern Md. Once you get across the bridge there are several back
road ways to get up to Oxon Hill and those are great rides. Then you
just pop over the Wilson and you are home.

Southern Md was a great place to ride a bike. You almost needed a
county road map to find all the cool roads although I guess Google has
that covered now.



The big Harleys are a pain in stop and go traffic in hot weather ... at
least the two I had were. The exhaust system design where the
crossover pipe connects causes heat to burn your right inner thigh in
hot, stop and go traffic. Had a few experiences with mine with that.
It's fine if you're moving but extremely uncomfortable in hot weather in
traffic.

I was heading to the boat on the Cape one hot summer day and weekend
traffic had the highway backed up for miles just before you cross over
the Cape Cod Canal. The state troopers take advantage of this to catch
people driving in the breakdown lane and are positioned every half mile
or so to catch you. My leg was on fire after a while and I finally
said "screw it" and started down the breakdown lane ... slowly, but at
least I was moving. Got pulled over but explained the situation.
Fortunately the trooper also rode and understood. Let me go.

John, how was your trip?
 

On Tue, 22 Apr 2014 11:37:40 -0400, wrote:

On Tue, 22 Apr 2014 10:11:25 -0400, Poquito Loco
wrote:

Moto Guzzi's do not like stop and go

Shoulda bought a Harley ;-)

It does sound like a nice ride before you got jammed up.
Maybe it would have been better to cut over and come up through
southern Md. Once you get across the bridge there are several back
road ways to get up to Oxon Hill and those are great rides. Then you
just pop over the Wilson and you are home.

Southern Md was a great place to ride a bike. You almost needed a
county road map to find all the cool roads although I guess Google has
that covered now.

I bounced over to Rt 1, but it was even worse than the interstate. Apparently a lot of folks had the
same idea. I waited for four iterations at one stop light before moving just far enough to get to
the back of the line waiting for the next light. This was in Stafford. Bounced back over to I-95,
for a couple miles and then back to Rt 1. I eventually got home via Rt 1. Miserable traffic.

I think next time I may cut up 17 and come in on I-66. One thing's for sure - I'll start carrying a
map of northern Virginia!

John, how was your trip?
 

On Tue, 22 Apr 2014 12:13:54 -0400, "Mr. Luddite" wrote:

On 4/22/2014 10:11 AM, Poquito Loco wrote:
Not bad! Round trip was 660 miles, got 45mpg going down, at 65mph mostly. Coming back, traveling
75mph mostly, the bike got 40mpg. That ten mph made a difference. The trip down was mostly rainy,
but not hard, and chilly - temps in the 40's. At the last minute I decided to throw an electric vest
into a saddle bag, and I was sure glad I did. I put it on about halfway down and what a difference.

My brother is doing as well as can be expected, I guess. The radiation and chemo has him looking
pretty bad, but his disposition is great. He's very weak and shaky, but he's hoping that'll get
better once he's done with the chemo and radiation.

The trip back was great - until I got to Fredericksburg, VA. From there to Alexandria took about two
and a half hours - a distance of about 45 miles. Stop and go, mostly stop. The bike and I got very
hot. The bike would idle fine, but one cylinder would die when I opened the throttle. I'd have to
twist the throttle back and forth and finally the dead one would kick in. Finally I pulled off the
road and shut her down. While there, a very nice young black lady offered me a coke as she was
stopped on the road. She was an angel. After about 20 minutes I took off again, and the bike ran a
lot better.

Got home about 4pm, after leaving Winston-Salem around 8:30. Moto Guzzi's do not like stop and go
traffic. I actually felt sorry for the poor bike, Milly, after overheating her the way I did. I gave
her a lot of tank pats after the stop on the side of the road. Hell, I felt as bad for the damn bike
as I have for my dog when I've walked her too far in the heat of summer. Now I carry water for the
dog, but that doesn't work on the bike!

There, that'll teach you to ask a simple question!


Vapor lock maybe?


Great minds must think alike. You, Tim, and my friend in Holland, an absolute expert on Moto Guzzi
mechanics, all thought the same thing. My Dutch friend says, "Leave it alone."

That's good. I was thinking maybe it was a coil. It acted similar to my boat engine when the coil
went south. But, cooling it off helped. And, a new coil costs $149 to replace what I have now.

John, how was your trip?
 

On Tue, 22 Apr 2014 12:23:18 -0400, "Mr. Luddite" wrote:

On 4/22/2014 11:37 AM, wrote:
On Tue, 22 Apr 2014 10:11:25 -0400, Poquito Loco
wrote:

Moto Guzzi's do not like stop and go

Shoulda bought a Harley ;-)

It does sound like a nice ride before you got jammed up.
Maybe it would have been better to cut over and come up through
southern Md. Once you get across the bridge there are several back
road ways to get up to Oxon Hill and those are great rides. Then you
just pop over the Wilson and you are home.

Southern Md was a great place to ride a bike. You almost needed a
county road map to find all the cool roads although I guess Google has
that covered now.



The big Harleys are a pain in stop and go traffic in hot weather ... at
least the two I had were. The exhaust system design where the
crossover pipe connects causes heat to burn your right inner thigh in
hot, stop and go traffic. Had a few experiences with mine with that.
It's fine if you're moving but extremely uncomfortable in hot weather in
traffic.

I was heading to the boat on the Cape one hot summer day and weekend
traffic had the highway backed up for miles just before you cross over
the Cape Cod Canal. The state troopers take advantage of this to catch
people driving in the breakdown lane and are positioned every half mile
or so to catch you. My leg was on fire after a while and I finally
said "screw it" and started down the breakdown lane ... slowly, but at
least I was moving. Got pulled over but explained the situation.
Fortunately the trooper also rode and understood. Let me go.


On the older Guzzi's, the clutch is one of the first things to go. The constant starting and
stopping soon has the clutch grabbing and not releasing when the clutch lever is engaged. I've done
the same thing you did, but haven't been stopped. Glad to hear they'll listen to reason.

John, how was your trip?
 

On 4/22/2014 12:27 PM, Poquito Loco wrote:
On Tue, 22 Apr 2014 12:13:54 -0400, "Mr. Luddite" wrote:

On 4/22/2014 10:11 AM, Poquito Loco wrote:
Not bad! Round trip was 660 miles, got 45mpg going down, at 65mph mostly. Coming back, traveling
75mph mostly, the bike got 40mpg. That ten mph made a difference. The trip down was mostly rainy,
but not hard, and chilly - temps in the 40's. At the last minute I decided to throw an electric vest
into a saddle bag, and I was sure glad I did. I put it on about halfway down and what a difference.

My brother is doing as well as can be expected, I guess. The radiation and chemo has him looking
pretty bad, but his disposition is great. He's very weak and shaky, but he's hoping that'll get
better once he's done with the chemo and radiation.

The trip back was great - until I got to Fredericksburg, VA. From there to Alexandria took about two
and a half hours - a distance of about 45 miles. Stop and go, mostly stop. The bike and I got very
hot. The bike would idle fine, but one cylinder would die when I opened the throttle. I'd have to
twist the throttle back and forth and finally the dead one would kick in. Finally I pulled off the
road and shut her down. While there, a very nice young black lady offered me a coke as she was
stopped on the road. She was an angel. After about 20 minutes I took off again, and the bike ran a
lot better.

Got home about 4pm, after leaving Winston-Salem around 8:30. Moto Guzzi's do not like stop and go
traffic. I actually felt sorry for the poor bike, Milly, after overheating her the way I did. I gave
her a lot of tank pats after the stop on the side of the road. Hell, I felt as bad for the damn bike
as I have for my dog when I've walked her too far in the heat of summer. Now I carry water for the
dog, but that doesn't work on the bike!

There, that'll teach you to ask a simple question!


Vapor lock maybe?


Great minds must think alike. You, Tim, and my friend in Holland, an absolute expert on Moto Guzzi
mechanics, all thought the same thing. My Dutch friend says, "Leave it alone."

That's good. I was thinking maybe it was a coil. It acted similar to my boat engine when the coil
went south. But, cooling it off helped. And, a new coil costs $149 to replace what I have now.



When I was knee high to a grasshopper my parents had an old Ford "Woody"
station wagon that would vapor lock on hot days, especially when
climbing a hill. My Dad carried a bag of ice in a cooler and would lay
it on the fuel lines when it happened. It fixed it until the next big hill.

John, how was your trip?
 

My dad did a bit better than that ,Richard .he did what racers did at the time and made the fuel line go through a copper coil wound inside a large coffee can. When it locked he'd put ice in the can and spray the carb with cool water via a windex bottle to get it started. Yeah, the good old days

John, how was your trip?
 

On Tue, 22 Apr 2014 12:55:06 -0400, "Mr. Luddite" wrote:

On 4/22/2014 12:27 PM, Poquito Loco wrote:
On Tue, 22 Apr 2014 12:13:54 -0400, "Mr. Luddite" wrote:

On 4/22/2014 10:11 AM, Poquito Loco wrote:
Not bad! Round trip was 660 miles, got 45mpg going down, at 65mph mostly. Coming back, traveling
75mph mostly, the bike got 40mpg. That ten mph made a difference. The trip down was mostly rainy,
but not hard, and chilly - temps in the 40's. At the last minute I decided to throw an electric vest
into a saddle bag, and I was sure glad I did. I put it on about halfway down and what a difference.

My brother is doing as well as can be expected, I guess. The radiation and chemo has him looking
pretty bad, but his disposition is great. He's very weak and shaky, but he's hoping that'll get
better once he's done with the chemo and radiation.

The trip back was great - until I got to Fredericksburg, VA. From there to Alexandria took about two
and a half hours - a distance of about 45 miles. Stop and go, mostly stop. The bike and I got very
hot. The bike would idle fine, but one cylinder would die when I opened the throttle. I'd have to
twist the throttle back and forth and finally the dead one would kick in. Finally I pulled off the
road and shut her down. While there, a very nice young black lady offered me a coke as she was
stopped on the road. She was an angel. After about 20 minutes I took off again, and the bike ran a
lot better.

Got home about 4pm, after leaving Winston-Salem around 8:30. Moto Guzzi's do not like stop and go
traffic. I actually felt sorry for the poor bike, Milly, after overheating her the way I did. I gave
her a lot of tank pats after the stop on the side of the road. Hell, I felt as bad for the damn bike
as I have for my dog when I've walked her too far in the heat of summer. Now I carry water for the
dog, but that doesn't work on the bike!

There, that'll teach you to ask a simple question!


Vapor lock maybe?


Great minds must think alike. You, Tim, and my friend in Holland, an absolute expert on Moto Guzzi
mechanics, all thought the same thing. My Dutch friend says, "Leave it alone."

That's good. I was thinking maybe it was a coil. It acted similar to my boat engine when the coil
went south. But, cooling it off helped. And, a new coil costs $149 to replace what I have now.



When I was knee high to a grasshopper my parents had an old Ford "Woody"
station wagon that would vapor lock on hot days, especially when
climbing a hill. My Dad carried a bag of ice in a cooler and would lay
it on the fuel lines when it happened. It fixed it until the next big hill.

Yesterday I'd have dumped the ice down my back. I'd dressed in the morning when the temp was 38F.
When I got home the temp was over 80F, don't know what it was on the interstate, but I was hotter'n
hell!

John, how was your trip?
 

On Tue, 22 Apr 2014 12:27:35 -0400, Poquito Loco
wrote:

That's good. I was thinking maybe it was a coil. It acted similar to my boat engine when the coil
went south. But, cooling it off helped. And, a new coil costs $149 to replace what I have now.

===

I'll bet that Tim can get them for a lot less. One of the 454 big
blocks on my old Bertram 33 had a flaky coil that would go
intermittent when it was hot. Some genius had configured it about
two inches from the exhaust manifold.

John, how was your trip?
 

On Tue, 22 Apr 2014 13:12:36 -0400, Wayne.B wrote:

On Tue, 22 Apr 2014 12:27:35 -0400, Poquito Loco
wrote:

That's good. I was thinking maybe it was a coil. It acted similar to my boat engine when the coil
went south. But, cooling it off helped. And, a new coil costs $149 to replace what I have now.

===

I'll bet that Tim can get them for a lot less. One of the 454 big
blocks on my old Bertram 33 had a flaky coil that would go
intermittent when it was hot. Some genius had configured it about
two inches from the exhaust manifold.

Now that's a thought!

John, how was your trip?
 

Only thing I didn't like about my amf 1340 was that horrible air box hanging out where I had to wrap my leg around it plus the vibration and eventually blowing oil out the back jug. Otherwise it was great!

John, how was your trip?
 

On 4/22/2014 3:41 PM, wrote:
On Tue, 22 Apr 2014 12:23:18 -0400, "Mr. Luddite"
wrote:

The big Harleys are a pain in stop and go traffic in hot weather ... at
least the two I had were. The exhaust system design where the
crossover pipe connects causes heat to burn your right inner thigh in
hot, stop and go traffic. Had a few experiences with mine with that.
It's fine if you're moving but extremely uncomfortable in hot weather in
traffic.

The sportster design pipes are not that bad in that regard. That is
what I had on my super glide.


Harley offered a radiation shield in their overpriced accessories shop
that clamped onto the exhaust pipe, holding it an inch or so above it.
Problem is, it was black to match and blend with the leather seat. A
black color is bad for this purpose, having a high emissivity so instead
of reflecting the heat, it absorbed it and eventually the shield became
almost as hot as the exhaust pipe. It helped, but not much.

Harley then came out with a running mode whereby the rear cylinder would
not fire when the bike was stopped, throttle at idle and clutch
disengaged. The rear cylinder would just pump air, helping cool the
engine down a bit. Once you blipped the throttle and started moving
again, it would start firing again.

Fortunately the number of times I was caught in stop and go traffic in
the summer were limited. Didn't happen that often.

John, how was your trip?
 

On Tue, 22 Apr 2014 16:00:25 -0400, wrote:

On Tue, 22 Apr 2014 13:40:21 -0400, Poquito Loco
wrote:

On Tue, 22 Apr 2014 13:12:36 -0400, Wayne.B wrote:

On Tue, 22 Apr 2014 12:27:35 -0400, Poquito Loco
wrote:

That's good. I was thinking maybe it was a coil. It acted similar to my boat engine when the coil
went south. But, cooling it off helped. And, a new coil costs $149 to replace what I have now.

===

I'll bet that Tim can get them for a lot less. One of the 454 big
blocks on my old Bertram 33 had a flaky coil that would go
intermittent when it was hot. Some genius had configured it about
two inches from the exhaust manifold.

Now that's a thought!

This is an interesting Harley I saw today.

Wonder how he keeps this one cool?
http://gfretwell.com/ftp/harley%20trike.jpg

The front is probably an open grill, and there's vents on the sides. He probably never goes more
than five or ten miles per trip, so no need to worry a bunch.