Latest Report
Hello again everybody, Happy 2008
I hope your 2007 season went well and that you don’t have to do too much work in the “maintenance season” to get ready for a great 2008.
I managed to put on a little over 8,000 km on my Quota in ’07 with trips to 5 rallies, starting off with the New Cumberland rally in West Virginia, the rally that just won’t quit. Bucky Bush, who organised the rally for about 26 years died in early 2005, but the town likes having us there so much that the Volunteer Fire Department decided to keep up the tradition and we still go there to kick-off the rally season every Memorial Day weekend. Unfortunately, a few months after last year’s rally, we heard that Betty, the moving force behind Rebecca’s Lounge had passed away from cancer. Her bar was one of the favourites for rally goers and THE place to have a “Barnyard Buster” breakfast on Saturday morning, so it certainly won’t be the same this year, but many of us will be going to blow the cobwebs out of the carbs and have a good time with old friends. I also went to the Western New York rally in early June. This rally is on the shores of Lake Erie, just this side of the Pennsylvania border, so it’s within easy reach of southern Ontario and a good rally. Keith Smith used to be the Eastern New York club rep. and he has a little get-together at his place in the Adirondacks National Park in early August. Another beautiful area with great roads. My starter motor seized when we were out riding from Keith’s, but a bump start got me back to Keith’s and then we fixed it enough to get me home. A call to Euro Moto Electrics, 305-526-0901, helped me find the problem and fix it at no cost, so I was happy with that outcome! These guys really seem to know their stuff, so give them a call if you’ve got electrical problems. Also, if I had needed new parts, their prices are about the best that I’ve found. After that there was our Ontario rally, see the report on this site for more details, and then the Michigan rally in mid September. This was the first time I’ve been to the Michigan rally and we had a good time, even if it did rain all day Friday and we had to scrape the frost off our saddles before we rode home!
I also passed the 100,000 km mark on my Quota in ’07, let’s hope the next 100k is trouble free.
The Canadian Scooter Corporation, the Guzzi and Aprilia importers, are still adding more dealers to their network and at the time of writing, early February, there are 22 dealers nationwide. That’s more than BMW dealers, just to give you some idea. I asked them about parts and service for the older models (pre 2000) and they say that at the moment their hands are full with getting everything set up for the current models, but keep on asking. If you visit their website at motoguzzicanada.com you can see the list of dealers and the current models, although the last time I looked I think they still had to add the Breva 1200 Sport, but it is in showrooms. Just announced (I guess in Italy) are the 8 valve Griso, the Stelvio adventure-touring bike with the 8 valve motor and the V7 Classic, a V7 Sport look-a-like based on the small-block 750 engine. No word on if/when we can expect them on this side of the pond though.
The ’07 Ontario Rally was a scaled-back affair for reasons you can read in the report, but we still had a great time and we will be going back to the same place this year but we’ll be a lot more organised this year and we’ll be offering more. In ’07 Morey Chaplick, the president of the Canadian Scooter Corporation, the Canadian Moto Guzzi importers, visited the rally on Saturday afternoon and promised lots of support for this year’s rally, including demo bikes and door prizes, so we’re hoping for great things. We’ve advertised a rally fee of $45 on the flyers, but it looks like the CSC may be willing to underwrite the costs of the Saturday dinner, so hopefully we’ll be able to reduce that fee. Just one word though, if you do decide to come, please pre-register, or at the very least, call or e-mail me to let me know you’re coming. It really helps us to get the food and other stuff organized and make everything better for you.
This years National Rally is going to be held in California, just up the coast from Malibu, in late June, the 24th to 26th. Yes, that’s Tuesday to Thursday, Californians are different! The previous weekend will be the Colorado Rally, I believe somewhere in the Denver area. So you’ve got two days to get from Denver to Malibu. With all the great country in between, it wouldn’t be hard to fill in two weeks on that same trip, but I guess we can do that on the way back! Let’s hope the disastrous floods of last years National in Minnesota won’t be repeated, but I’m sure they’ll be talked about. I’m planning on making the trip this year, hope to see you there.
There are a few local rallies listed elsewhere on this site, but if you want the full listing, or more details, use the link to the MGNOC site. Of special mention is the rally being held up in Lavigne, on Lake Nipissing, by Guy Fortier. If the thought of riding 1500 miles is enough to stop you going to the Colorado Rally, check this one out.
This year we’ll be having a stand at the Spring Motorcycle Show at the International Centre on April 5th and 6th, so drop on by and say hello. If anyone out there has any new ideas for how to make our stand better this year, or if you just want to volunteer yourself and/or bike for the show, please get in touch, we’ll be happy to hear from you.
Happy riding everybody,
Phil T