Subject: MSF ERC Coversational Piece
Author: Keith Ruff
Date: May 9, 2002, 6:52 AM
Post ID: 1710224919
Good Morning All,
I took an MSF Experience Riders Class yesterday at work - needed to take
it the class in order to get a sticker for the Ambo to get on base where
I work. Definitely beat out being in the office! I tell ya, it was
absolutely amazing to see the attention the bike got. When we pulled up
to the track after the morning lecture/test, people gathered around.
Comments from "I've never seen one of these before", to "what year is
this??" to the instructor (a Harley softail rider) "that's a NICE
Guzzi", but then he followed up with "isn't that a French bike?" (No
Ernie it's Italian). One of the guys in the class was a cop and rides a
Harley cop bike and was absolutely enamored with my Ambo. He spent most
of the afternoon lining up next to me asking me questions about the bike
and just ooo-ing and ahh-ing over it. I asked him if he wanted to sit
on it and he said, "no, cause I'll want it if I do". At the end of the
day, he wound up asking me "So when I get one of these, is it worth more
restored or original".
Another MSF intructor came by after a few riding drills to assist our
intructor Ernie with the addtional riding tests. After completing a
swerve and stop drill, he proceeded to ask me, "what year is this" and
continued on with a list of questions as my classmates lined up behind
me and waited to take their turn as this instuctor continued to inquire
about the Ambo, eventually saying "you did a nice job restoring her,
NICE bike" - oh, he was also riding a Harley.
It was great getting a good feel of the Ambo off road on a track doing
all types of manuevers, slow turning, and especially braking. I was
surprised that she was easier to handle than I thought. Also, I have
fallen in love with these drum brakes! Can you believe it! I gather my
Ambos brakes are set up near perfect, because the 2 instructors were
highly impressed by the short distance stops I was making saying "thats
incredible for a dual drum brake setup". The best thing I found was I
could grab a fistful of front brake and heavy application of the rear
brake and they would not lock, but get me stopped super fast. Love
these brakes! Had another classmate on a Harley Sportster that kept
locking up his rear brake, never had this problem on the loop, in fact
had a hard time skidding the rear tire during the rear brake skid test.
I'm sure higher speeds will make a big difference, but at the lower
track speeds, I loved grabbing a fistful of brake and stopping quick.
Was a great day and the attention the Ambo got made it only better.
Keith Ruff
71 Police Ambassador - NJ