Topica Loopframe_Guzzi Archive
 

Subject: RE: I've finally joined in!

Author: John Engelhard

Date: Jan 22, 2002, 8:02 PM

Post ID: 1709458893

Kevin,
I finally pulled the battery out of mine last weekend when I went out to
the shed to get out the snow shovel. I can reverse that procedure with
very little prodding. I'm more likely to strip off the fenders, tank,
side covers and tool boxes and give them a new paint job. A guy I work
with has a paint booth in his garage and said if I buy the paint and
prep the parts, he'll shoot it for free. Well maybe a few beers after he
paints, or before if it steadies his hand.
I didn't realize your bike was renovated 3 years ago, I thought when I
saw it, you had just completed reassembling it that spring. Must have
been the other Kevin's bike, the one who's last name escapes me at the
moment.
What performance shop are you talking about? What part of town is it in?
I've been coresponding with Darrell Dick, he's building a Looper too,
says he knows you, and there are plans involving beer in the near
future, let me know I'd like to join yous, I'll dig up some pictures of
my bike through the years, it shows how the bike managed to stay more in
style than it's owner. It's also neat to see different vintage Guzzis,
no two batches ever left the factory spected out exactly the same way.

Kevin Graf wrote:
 Hey John,
I was wondering where you got off to. Glad to see you signed on. I'm
right
with ya on the whole protocol for the internet. I just end up saying
screw
it. I can sit here for days trying to word something so someone I might
meet someday won't get bent or just spew it out.

How's that Ambo anyways? Never really got around to putting mine up with
the
mild winter. It does need a new battery and rr main seal though. I guess
over 3 yrs of no maintenance will do that. Poor thing sittin, over in my
ma's garage, cold, lonely, and neglected. I have to find out where I'm
moving to before I tear into her. Hopefully that will happen soon. I
also
plan on starting my Under $1000 Guzzi this year. I got lucky in the way
that
a good friend of mine is opening a shop. Asked me to go work for him,
All
H-D performance stuff but.... I'll have a full machine shop at my
service,
and a Dyno. We both want to see what the Guzzi will do. We'll run the
Ambo &
the Eldo. Should be a fun year. I'll be doing alot of experimenting on
the
Under 1000 Guzzi, have to to keep it cheap.

Hope to see you out and about this year.

Kev



-----Original Message-----
From: Robert Hawkes [mailto:haw-@frontiernet.net]
Sent: Monday, January 21, 2002 8:45 PM
To: Loopfram-@topica.com
Subject: Re: I've finally joined in!


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Cool story John - welcome - Bob
----- Original Message -----
From: John Engelhard <meb-@yahoo.com>
To: <Loopfram-@topica.com>
Sent: Sunday, January 20, 2002 10:29 PM
Subject: I've finally joined in!


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Hi everyone! I've been reading this chat room for months now but not
figuring out how to join in. I've finally got on board without really
understanding just what it is I've been doing wrong. Let me introduce
myself, I'm John, I live in the Detroit area, and actually sat on my
Guzzi in the showroom before my dad bought it new in 1969. I've grown up
around this bike. (I was 12 when my dad bought it) Done most of my
touring on this bike in the '70's and 80's and commuted with it since. I
took my girlfriend on our first date to the cider mill on this bike,
later we went on trips as husband and wife and took our last tour when
she was pregnent with our first dauther. Now days I ride it to work
daily (weather permitting) and spend evenings and wekends having my wife
and dauthers (2) fight over who's turn it is to go for a ride.
I met Keven Graff and his friend Keven ____? outside of Mt Clemens last
summer. They told me about this sight and I saw Keven write about that
encounter in this chat room. It's funny, I've been working on the
computer since 1988 using various design programs (MicroCadam, Cadam,
ProCadam, AutoCAD) plus Lotus, Excell, Word and PowerPoint but the
protocall of the internet is a whole different thing. None of this
computer stuff really agrees with me, it's either instant axcess or
total shut down. Guzzi's arn't like that, Mine likes cool weather better
than hot. She likes to run fast on the highway, but doesn't much care
for banging through the gears from stoplight to stoplight, but at least
she'll go into "limp mode" when somethings not right. Most anything that
causes problems on my guzzi is easy to figure out, and easy to fix.
Parts haven't been a problem because she so seldom needs any, and when
she does, my dealer in Lansing (160 miles away) can resight the part
number over the phone (without looking it up) and send it to me in two
days. I've experienced much worse repair problems with current model
Japanise bikes under waranty. Following along in this chat room I've
come to realize what a great group of people there is in the Loopframe
relm. All the years I've had my Guzzi (I traded my dad a 1974 Yamaha
XS500 for it in 1976) I've felt alone. If I saw another Guzzi once every
two years, I felt lucky. I figured the marque only appealed to loners.
But from checking out this sight and some of the great sights people
here have showing the work they've done with Loopers, I realize there is
a community of Guzzi people out there. The thing I like most about what
I read in this chat room is that there is no putting on of airs, no
attitude that to own a Guzzi is to be above all others. From what I can
see people like the basic motorcycle for its ride, handling and
character, but if they can cobble in some component from the auto parts
store, junk yard, or a newer Guzzi and it improves their bike, it's
prefectly good. Did you ever see "The Book" from HD, it's bigger than
most phone books and it's full of stupid things like caps for bolts that
mount brackets for covers to hide the starter. After about ten minutes
of looking through that thing, I lost all intrest in that motorcycle
company.
Put another pin on the map. This group's found another Ambasador. I'll
fill you all in on some of the things I've done with my bike over the
years.



John Eneglhard
St. Clair Shores, Michigan
1969 Ambasador V750A

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John Engelhard
St. Clair Shores, Michigan
1969 Ambasador V750A

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