Long-distance relationship with Guzzi resumes
MARK HOLMES The Moto Guzzi T3 Mark’s had since 2014 continues its rehabilitation back into a reliable road-going thing...
Since last month’s update, the T3 has been up to see Guzzi guru Big Nige at NBS (01889 271818) again – this time in a van. Nige fitted a new regulator/rectifier (£100) and a pair of throttle cables (£20). So now the charging system works and the carbs get messages from my right wrist more smoothly.
To celebrate this resumption of reliability and rideability, I took up an invitation to visit the New Forest to try out the new Tomtom Rider 550 satnav and Schuberth R2 helmet. It would mean a 350-mile return trek, but it’s what the Guzzi was made for and the weather forecast was promising.
By mid-morning the Guzzi was stomping along the A43, doing its snarly, grunty thing when accelerating off roundabouts that always makes me smile. The sun was shining and the bike had been forgiven for its recent misdemeanours. It turned into one of those days that reminds you what a great experience it is to ride a motorcycle for miles on end.
I’d planned to take a stopover on the way, but was enjoying reacquainting myself with the Guzzi’s open-road prowess so much that I ended up knocking off the 160-mile trip in one hit. Then, after a quick bite of lunch and a bit of a briefing on the new satnav and helmet, it was off on a set route – a lovely, lazy bimble round sunkissed New Forest roads.
The Tomtom satnav links via Bluetooth to the Schuberth, so you get ‘voices in your head’ from the built-in speakers in the helmet. It works perfectly for me – my sense of direction is pretty dire and being able to hear spoken directions means you don’t have to look down at the satnav screen so much. I’m hoping to use the system to do more long-distance stuff this year.
On the return trip, the sun was kissing the horizon as I neared home at 9pm. It was a perfect ending to a perfect day.