After supporting the revolution at the picket line early this morning and since I now have not much to do today I took the Stelvio for its first 'proper' ride after our get to know you rides. I can report that it has an exceptionally fierce inner beast... snaked the back end accelerating firmly from 4000rpm in third. The throttle is a little on/off, quite sensitive, which may be due to the two gigantic pistons or possibly the remap of the ignition circuit by the PO which eliminated the flat spot they are known for. Its exhaust is what I can only describe as 'boomy' although fine once you are at about 40mph. The forward urge when required is exceptional, as if you have accidentally lassooed a passing steam locomotive. Best of all, a couple of screen mount mods now mean that there is very little buffeting. This has been the bane of my touring life and the Stelvio is the best tourer I've had in that respect. I enjoy riding it a lot and I can certainly see why many owners think it will attain cult status. Of the Adventure-type bikes it definitely wins the ugly prize but it has lots of really great riding points too.

In more interesting news, my brand new (it appears) £30 standard silencer is now on the Enfield Classic and beautifully muted. That means I have a nice, loud Hitchcock's Gold Star type silencer on the bench. Boy, do I hate loud exhausts. The neutral light, which failed to light and hence prevented the bike starting unless the clutch lever was pulled in, is also fixed. I undid it and did it back up - a truly classic fix. If I was doing a solo tour I think I would probably take the Classic. Very gentle chuffer and relaxing to ride. The Guzzi is immense in every aspect (it's about seven feet high: great for me) but it feels like you need to keep an eye on it or it might just charge off at the scenery if it suspects you aren't paying full attention! However, as Lannis suggested, I think it will be excellent for taking my wife out for the occasional countryside ride.

Anyway, a happy morning's riding. Now to sandpapering the bookcase I made last weekend...

Simon