gift idea

Dear Santa...

I quite like these

Guzzi

My local Italian bike specialist have taken delivery this week of a V7 Cafe Racer. To say it polarised opinions when pictures were released would not be an understatement, plenty of enthusiasts but for others a 'factory custom' is a contradiction in terms that lacks authenticity.

The finish is generally high quality - according to Andy the mechanic it's certainly better than the bike that did the rounds at shows which was let down by some rough details. Another difference is this production model doesn't wear the exhaust wrap that the show bike had. To my mind an improvement, the bandage smacks a little of 'this year's hip look' if you know what I mean and inspired some of the haters... without it the styling is calmer and more refined.

I'm disappointed by the tailpiece, just like a Triumph Thruxton it is a cafe racer style plastic moulding sat atop the large frumpy regular mudguard except on the Guzzi the moulding incorporates number boards (hope you like the number seven). It's a shame that Moto Guzzi couldn't design an all new back end for this single seater with a trim elegant look, but my guess is that the extra expense involved in going down that route would mean a sticker price too salty to make sense - so perhaps better this compromise than nothing at all.

Speaking of plastic, the fuel tank isn't actually metal, it's a plastic tank with a chrome finish. Very nicely done for sure whatever you think of the leather strap adorning the tank, but I wonder how this tank will age... what kind of patina does a plastichrome tank attain after a decade or two of belt buckles and low speed drops? Or should that be dropped MacBooks and spilt Mochafrappucinos...? A genuine alloy item would of course age beautifully but again Moto Guzzi need to build this to a cost.

Doubtless for some this is an excercise in style over substance, replies along the lines of 'buy a £2-3k bike off ebay, sort it out, make it your own' abound whenever a manufacturer makes a modern retro but plenty of people lack the time, ability or fortitude for such a task. They do have the green though... and an open faced lid and fashionable jacket to go lane-swinging... and who am I to judge them. The Cafe Racer is a handsome bike and looks like a slice of fun.

The dealer was unwilling to let even a long time customer, and I'd like to think trusted friend go for a spin through the snow and slush to find out how it rides, that pleasure can wait awhile. Besides do you know what road salt does to plastichrome?

Silverstone trackday pics

impressive tool

One of the benefits of running datalogging on my bike during trackdays is the post match analysis... in the heat of the moment you can lose sight of what you're actually doing - so when you do something right it can be hard to know how, why, or how on earth to do it again. It's a tool that racers and teams have benefited from for a while now, I'm just lucky as a intermediate plodder to get some of that sweet sweet insight without laying out muchachos simoleons (I guess it's who you know :). Oh and it also settles who went faster on the day between you and your buddy *cough*.

The frankly awesome Circuit Tools now allows the data harvested by the Video VBOX to be expressed in multiple ways synchronised with the video playback so you can see exactly what's going on, compare laps and find those vital seconds (vital for bragging rights at the Dog & Hammer later on). Hopefully it'll also help me to keep the bugger upright and out of trouble for the next time.

This screenshot shows the point where I'm just about to take a gravelly excursion and the same moment on the previous lap where I managed to go round the corner without screwing up... the laps seem reasonably consistent, although on the wrong'un I'm slightly on the gas but mostly I got out of the brakes and then grabbed a gert handful - to the tune of 1.1g! Adding in trying to steer and that dog won't hunt monsignor, no sireebob. In fact on reflection I was lucky not to chuck it down the track in spectacular fashion, generous friends have suggested that this implies some measure of skill. More candid ones might suggest a skilled rider wouldn't make such a bollocks of it in the first place.

click for biggety

For more on the awesomeness that is Circuit Tools check out this vid showing just what can be done... mmmmm techpron....

Silverstone Arena GP Circuit April 22nd 2010

With the new infield section Silverstone is now 3.66 miles making it one of the longest circuits about - it's also very bloody quick! They've moved the grandstands back quite a way and filled in the gap with FIA spec kerbs (nasty looking buggers) extra run-off tarmac and oodles of kitty litter. The spectators loss is our gain though, it means they can get rid of the annoying bus stop chicane before the pitlane - Copse comes up v. quick indeed!
The down side of such a long lap for trackdays is that an incident on track can take a long time to clear - getting everybody off track at red flag pace can take 5-7 minutes easily so a 20min session can get eaten into sharpish.
It's still Silverstone - flat, windswept, wide and featureless and very dusty off line whilst still under construction - it's a shame they didn't/couldn't put in some kind of elevation changes that would have made it absolutely belting... ho hum.

Your intrepid reporter was determined to sample the full range of new appointments at the circuit though, so in the spirit of vigilant investigation I took a trip into a new gravel trap to discover if they work properly... I am happy to report they do (see the end of the video). Luckily with a push from a helpful marshal (thanks fella) I was able to return on track without ruining too much of the session for everybody






In conclusion - its a belter! I look forward to more visits, learning the track, going faster and staying on the black stuff.

Here's a view from the pitwall showing the extra run-off and gravel