Just Ride.

The first Corvettes had the Blue Flame Six, basically a hopped up version of their Stovebolt motor, they were GM's answer to the growing popularity of British sports cars. My older cousin had a Vette similar to the one in the picture when I was a kid, I thought it was the coolest car on the planet!
 
The first Corvettes had the Blue Flame Six, basically a hopped up version of their Stovebolt motor, they were GM's answer to the growing popularity of British sports cars. My older cousin had a Vette similar to the one in the picture when I was a kid, I thought it was the coolest car on the planet!

Correct. The first Corvette was the 1953 model. It came in white with a red interior, and had the "Blue Flame" six with 3 one-barrel side draft carburetors and a Powerglide automatic transmission. The '54 was essentially the same car, but with other colors avaialble.

The '55 offered the new for '55 265 V8 and even the late year addition of a manual (3-speed) transmission.

The first generation had no roll up windows or outside door handles!


This is starting to get bigger. A lot more bikes and some very cool cars yesterday. A guy showed up with an all original 1962 Vette that his father bought when it was new. Loved the pic of his Dad and Mom in front of the car while she was pregnant with him.

I drove my (then) girlfriend and I to my Senior Prom in my father's 1961 Corvette.

Not the actual car, but dad's looked essentially the same (Roman Red with an Ermine White cove and a red interior.

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Thanks! Well, it took me a while to get used to it. It drives a bit like a steam locomotive, not least because everything is different. Brake on the left, gearshift on the right, even the gears are reversed. The engine doesn't exactly respond like a silky-smooth Japanese sewing machine. Downshifts require double-declutching. But after the first year of "marriage", it all became ingrained enough in my spine that I regained an eye for the scenery 🤭
 
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Similar with my RE Bullet - right foot gearchange, one up and three down. Grown so used to swapping between bikes that I never mix up which foot to engage for changing gear. And like your Guzzi, the gearchanges need to be slow and careful.

But sometimes when I ride the W800 after a few days of chuffing around on the RE, I find myself debating about which side the rear brake is. So I've adopted a new habit - going along the back lane as I set off, I use the rear brake. Don't really need to slow down but the idea is that doing that every time will hopefully imprint on my mind.
 
Just to add to the confusion the Norton I take out for a pleasure cruise "now and then" has rear sets so it's right side 1 up three down. If I get the 74 850 going it'll be RH 1 down three up. and the 75 850 will be LH 1 up three down, Aye yai yai!
The Africa Twin is up and down levers on LH handlebar, shifting optional.
On that rear set bike, kick starting is EXTRA tricky. First you gotta fold the foot peg, then You kick through slowly til the lever's on compression at about 10 O:clock (viewed from the left) Launch up and heeave to get it through, BUT: you can't follow through to the bottom of the stroke or your shin nails the shift lever. :eek: If the stars align the third kick brings it to life. Single Mikuni so no tickling on this one. Fold the footpeg back down and off you go.
KIMG7073.JPG
No turn signals, one blurry mirror, a "sort of stops" drum front brake.
It's all for fun.............
 
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Just to add to the confusion the Norton I take out for a pleasure cruise "now and then" has rear sets so it's right side 1 up three down. If I get the 74 850 going it'll be RH 1 down three up. and the 75 850 will be LH 1 up three down, Aye yai yai!
The Africa Twin is up and down levers on LH handlebar, shifting optional.
On that rear set bike, kick starting is EXTRA tricky. First you gotta fold the foot peg, then You kick through slowly til the lever's on compression at about 10 O:clock (viewed from the left) Launch up and heeave to get it through, BUT: you can't follow through to the bottom of the stroke or your shin nails the shift lever. :eek: If the stars align the third kick brings it to life. Single Mikuni so no tickling on this one. Fold the footpeg back down and off you go.
It's all for fun.............
Too much mental gymnastics for most folk. Must keep you alert and paying attention though.
 
After a few hot weeks, the Hessian landscape slowly changes to its typical July colours..

View attachment 353308


Having seen Your Yamaha I Suspect this to be a very beautiful machine ..
Please some More Pictures and story .. year model . not sure since it has blinkers
Engine having a bullet proof reputation .Please give more info.
 
Just to add to the confusion the Norton I take out for a pleasure cruise "now and then" has rear sets so it's right side 1 up three down. If I get the 74 850 going it'll be RH 1 down three up. and the 75 850 will be LH 1 up three down, Aye yai yai!
The Africa Twin is up and down levers on LH handlebar, shifting optional.

Good grief! I’d never remember all that!
morph kubler ross GIF by weinventyou
 
Just to add to the confusion the Norton I take out for a pleasure cruise "now and then" has rear sets so it's right side 1 up three down. If I get the 74 850 going it'll be RH 1 down three up. and the 75 850 will be LH 1 up three down, Aye yai yai!
The Africa Twin is up and down levers on LH handlebar, shifting optional.
On that rear set bike, kick starting is EXTRA tricky. First you gotta fold the foot peg, then You kick through slowly til the lever's on compression at about 10 O:clock (viewed from the left) Launch up and heeave to get it through, BUT: you can't follow through to the bottom of the stroke or your shin nails the shift lever. :eek: If the stars align the third kick brings it to life. Single Mikuni so no tickling on this one. Fold the footpeg back down and off you go.
View attachment 353328
No turn signals, one blurry mirror, a "sort of stops" drum front brake.
It's all for fun.............
 
Having seen Your Yamaha I Suspect this to be a very beautiful machine ..
Please some More Pictures and story .. year model . not sure since it has blinkers
Engine having a bullet proof reputation .Please give more info.

Thanks, it's a '69 V7 750 Special that originally ran in Italy, where it was actually delivered without blinkers. I got it three years ago. It's original and, unlike my XS1, unrestored, which means you can see its 56 years. But I really like that about this kind of motorcycle, so I wouldn't change anything here.

The old V7 has been kinda childhood trauma of mine ever since I saw it in a well-worn book about Italian motorcycles at a friend's house. In the '70s, you could see everything in my area ... all those beautiful, great Japanese bikes, also the Tonti Guzzis, but never the old Loopframes.

Half a century later then, I suddenly spotted it in the classifieds - exactly as I remembered it from the book. It was a long way there, almost in Denmark, but the rest was history. As always in such cases, my wife pushed me to at least take a look at it. So we spent a night in the car, which - purely by accident - had a trailer attached :whistle: And what had to happen happened:

121baaa.jpg

The irony of the story is that this is the first and only V7 I've ever seen "live" 🤭 But the sight and test drive of this raw, shaking fossil simply catched me, just as it did back then. At first, I left it in the Italian version and, let's say, "carefully approached its riding technique", see my last post ; )

20231011_193137(2).jpg

Later, I switched to the Eldorado handlebar and the Italian solo seat as a test. So this is the current version:

20250509_221507pk.jpg

I picked up pair of old, worn leather bags on eBay for €15, which probably date from around the same period, and I refurbished them while preserving their age. You can see them on the bike in my post above. I've also found a perfect replica for the worn long seat visible on the trailer, so a switch to the Italian delivery version is possible at any time.

Technically, I can't say too much yet. It behaves like an old dinosaur and requires a correspondingly proactive approach. Which was probably already the standard condition when it left the factory. But if I find the time, I'll tackle a complete technical overhaul next winter.
 
Thanks, it's a '69 V7 750 Special that originally ran in Italy, where it was actually delivered without blinkers. I got it three years ago. It's original and, unlike my XS1, unrestored, which means you can see its 56 years. But I really like that about this kind of motorcycle, so I wouldn't change anything here.

The old V7 has been kinda childhood trauma of mine ever since I saw it in a well-worn book about Italian motorcycles at a friend's house. In the '70s, you could see everything in my area ... all those beautiful, great Japanese bikes, also the Tonti Guzzis, but never the old Loopframes.

Half a century later then, I suddenly spotted it in the classifieds - exactly as I remembered it from the book. It was a long way there, almost in Denmark, but the rest was history. As always in such cases, my wife pushed me to at least take a look at it. So we spent a night in the car, which - purely by accident - had a trailer attached :whistle: And what had to happen happened:

View attachment 353332

The irony of the story is that this is the first and only V7 I've ever seen "live" 🤭 But the sight and test drive of this raw, shaking fossil simply catched me, just as it did back then. At first, I left it in the Italian version and, let's say, "carefully approached its riding technique", see my last post ; )

View attachment 353335

Later, I switched to the Eldorado handlebar and the Italian solo seat as a test. So this is the current version:

View attachment 353334

I picked up pair of old, worn leather bags on eBay for €15, which probably date from around the same period, and I refurbished them while preserving their age. You can see them on the bike in my post above. I've also found a perfect replica for the worn long seat visible on the trailer, so a switch to the Italian delivery version is possible at any time.

Technically, I can't say too much yet. It behaves like an old dinosaur and requires a correspondingly proactive approach. Which was probably already the standard condition when it left the factory. But if I find the time, I'll tackle a complete technical overhaul next winter.

Yes Sir very nice have good reputation .. Being an old firm done it many years good handling .. reputation having a solid motor some being rather quick in real use.
If one wish very low idle on some,
Is it aftermarket exhaust. Not really big sales here but some. I know 2 Guzzi owners.
 
Thanks, it's a '69 V7 750 Special that originally ran in Italy,

Back in the 70’s , Moto Guzzi’s were the standard mount of the Arizona Highway Patrol, you never wanted to see those guys in your rear view mirror, but man I loved the way those bikes looked and sounded……still do!
IMG_8641.jpegIMG_8640.jpegIMG_8639.jpeg
 
This shot is so nice I had to set it as my background. Would love to ride out there!
Thank you, that's an honor :) Yes, my volcanic homeland is a paradise for motorcycling. Small, winding, well-maintained roads with sweeping views are typical here. I was born and raised in an urban area with high traffic density, so I'm glad life brought me here : )
 
Yes Sir very nice have good reputation .. Being an old firm done it many years good handling .. reputation having a solid motor some being rather quick in real use.
If one wish very low idle on some,
Is it aftermarket exhaust. Not really big sales here but some. I know 2 Guzzi owners.
There are plenty of Guzzis here, but almost no Loopframes. At least, I haven't seen any on the street yet. The mufflers are the Lafranconis from the 850 GT, Eldorado, and the following Tonti T models of the mid-70s.
 
To be honest, I don't know for sure, since I haven't opened the engine yet. But I haven't heard of it in connection with the V7. At least, according to the workshop manual, that's not the case...
I don’t recall what model years it applied to. It’s my understanding that if it has chrome it’s far better to fix it before it breaks.
A friend of mine has a good story about that. He attempted to ride to Alaska on a loop frame goose. He bought a 1959 El Camino to get it home. Otherwise, those bikes run to the end of the earth. I once met up with a V7 Sport with 400,000 miles on it.
 
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