Rare White SPIII on Craigslist MN

[Chuck in Indiana]

Does anyone have experience with an SP3 as a 2 up bike?

Mike

Check with ccoli. He and Judi just spent 3 weeks touring the northeast from Wisconsin. He has well over 100000 miles on his.

[Groover]

Do the wheels off the SPIII fit tonti frames, like the T-3 and such? I know there would be a swingarm issue, but if it weren't for that, would the rest of the items fit? (Axles, Disks, Final Drive)

Thinking about buying this one and tearing up to pieces...

(Joking, I love that bike!)

[fotoguzzi]

Do the wheels off the SPIII fit tonti frames, like the T-3 and such? I know there would be a swingarm issue, but if it weren't for that, would the rest of the items fit? (Axles, Disks, Final Drive)

Thinking about buying this one and tearing up to pieces...

(Joking, I love that bike!)

MOSTLY YES BECAUSE IT IS A TONTI FRAME.

[John A]

Sold, a fly and ride from Arizona. Don't know who but he got a nice bike!

[John Ulrich]

Sold, a fly and ride from Arizona. Don't know who but he got a nice bike!

Thanks to the new owner 
Saved me from myself!

[Tom]

Fly and ride.

[dxhall]

For me, it turned out for the best.  I ended up buying a '76 R90S this week to fill the last remaining shop space.  I took it into the mountains yesterday and really liked it.  I may be going to the dark side ...

[Scud]

I ended up buying a '76 R90S this week to fill the last remaining shop space.  I may be going to the dark side ...

An airhead S-bike is the beginning of the slippery slope... After my R100CS I got an R1100RT. Took me a while, but getting back on a sporty bike (V11) made me wonder why I ever got a big-fairing touring machine.  R90S is a special bike - enjoy it.

[Travlr]

I'm the lucky guy who purchased the bike.  My intent is to fly to Minnesota and take a 10 day "fall color tour" back to my home in Arizona.
I'll probably head south down the Mississippi River and explore some old river towns and scenic byways.  I love that part of the country.  Then head west to visit my family near Kansas City.  Perhaps stop at Harpers and see if they have any cool stuff.  Then west again across Kansas to Colorado.  Mid-September should be a good time for Aspen Gold and mountain passes.  Then south to Durango and home to The Valley Of The Sun.

But first I'll have my old friend Marty Mataya give the bike a checkup in preparation for the trip.  Mostly make sure all the consumables are fresh: oil, tires, battery etc.  For you old time Minnesota riders, Marty was the Guzzi dealer at his shop in Anoka.  Then service manager at TrackStar when they were the dealer.  I bought a Centauro from them when they were on Bloomington Ave.  He is now the Royal Enfield dealer, but has done service work for me on Guzzi's.  I rode my Scura home from Minnesota several years ago and Marty prepared it for the trip.  The SP3 will be my touring bike and the Scura my hot rod.

In any case, I'm thrilled to get the bike and rest assured it will live a pampered life here in Arizona.   

 Mike

[Irn]

What a wonderful adventure, and the perfect trio for your garage.  I looked at the ad before it was posted here, and thought what a special bike. enjoy!

[Chuck in Indiana]

Congrats to the SP.. sounds like it has found a good keeper.. 

[dxhall]

Mike, if you come through Denver, send me an email and we can meet for coffee or a beer.  I'd like to see the bike.  Dennis

[Travlr]

Mike, if you come through Denver, send me an email and we can meet for coffee or a beer.  I'd like to see the bike.  Dennis

Thanks Dennis!  I'll be fleshing out the route in the next week or so.  Love to have some coffee if I end up in your neck of the woods.
(FYI: I lived in Denver for a couple of years.  Near Washington Park.  I hear it's pretty upscale these days.)

Mike

[fotoguzzi]

Marty is as good as they get in the motorcycle world!
and he got totally screwed when Trackstar went down..that's a whole nother story..
Have we met?
your a lucky guy, hey I live just a few miles from the MSP if you need a ride somewhere. we could get coffee or drinks.. or do a local shake down ride around the area..
I could even drive you down to Red Wing to pick it up if you don't have a plan yet and the timing works out. send pm for my #

[rboe]

Cool Mike! Hope to see that bike at breakfast some Sunday, oh man, gotta check it out!

First dibs if you sell! 

[Travlr]

Marty is as good as they get in the motorcycle world!
and he got totally screwed when Trackstar went down..that's a whole nother story..
Have we met?
your a lucky guy, hey I live just a few miles from the MSP if you need a ride somewhere. we could get coffee or drinks.. or do a local shake down ride around the area..
I could even drive you down to Red Wing to pick it up if you don't have a plan yet and the timing works out. send pm for my #

I don't know if we have met.  I left Minn. almost 10 years ago.  I had gone to some Guzzi breakfasts when I was there.  George ???? was the president.  I would have been riding a yellow Centauro.  (FYI: I'm still on the email list and love getting the Minn. newsletter.)

I was thinking I might be there for the Guzzi breakfast in Sept.  But it doesn't look like timing will work for that.  As plans develop we'll see if we can do coffee instead.

Mike   

[blackcat]

Mike,

Good luck with the bike. Don't know how long you intend to keep the SP but there are some parts (mostly fairing) that are hard to find if needed. Reboot Guzzi seems to always have a SPIII or two sitting around. The belly pan is one of those parts and it looks like they have a recently acquired bike which might have a pan but its hard to tell from the photo. The lowers are clearly gone but those were available a few years ago from regular sources but who knows now. Having had a SPIII and currently a 1000S and now a Daytona, I tend to keep an eye on parts even if I don't currently need them.

http://www.rebootguzzispares.com/sp3grey.htm

I only had my SPIII for about three or four years and it never gave me any problems.

[jackson]

For me, it turned out for the best.  I ended up buying a '76 R90S this week to fill the last remaining shop space.  I took it into the mountains yesterday and really liked it.  I may be going to the dark side ...

Of the many motorcycles that I've owned since 1969, the one that I truly regret selling was my first BMW; a new R90S in Daytona Orange.  It was a great motorcycle.  Enjoy your new Beemer.

[ccoli]

A bit late to the party, but I am on my 2nd Rich Mound seat on the SPIII. Over 140k miles a day still lovin' it. I agree that it is not a good hot weather bike, your gonads will bake. Great spring, fall winter though. I have other bikes I can ride when it gets really warm.
Should you ever need spares, I have some.
Judi uses a sheep skin cover on the seat which minimizes her sliding into me.
Enjoy!

[Groover]

Congrats Travlr. Sounds like the bike has gone to a great owner. It was causing me a lot of stress knowing it was available, so now I can finally relax and stop checking the CL ad daily to see if it's was still up for grabs

[John Ulrich]

Congrats Travlr. Sounds like the bike has gone to a great owner. It was causing me a lot of stress knowing it was available, so now I can finally relax and stop checking the CL ad daily to see if it's was still up for grabs

Amen!  I have too much "garage art" as it is but what a sexy beast!   

[Tom]

Is the SPIII going to the Phoenix area?  Yowza hot!!! but great area to ride in.

[Travlr]

Is the SPIII going to the Phoenix area?  Yowza hot!!! but great area to ride in.

>Is the SPIII going to the Phoenix area?  Yowza hot!!!

I do live in the Valley of the Sun.  It's abit toasty right now.  But I did play golf yesterday. Probably play again Friday.
Just start early and be done by noon.  By the time I get back in mid-Sept. it should be getting nice for the next 9 months.

>but great area to ride in.

We've got 2 great Guzzi groups here.  Phoenix and Tucson.  A really nice community. 
We ride year round.  But less in the summer.  In January I can have a nice breakfast ride.
Then drive 3 hours and ski in the afternoon.

The SP3 is headed to a good home.

Mike

[Tom]

I lived in Mesa for about 10 years.  Know the area well.  I was out there in July and hung out with some friends.  They moved from Hawaii via Texas.  They're old time Guzzi members.  You're probably run into them eventually.  Fay and Richard.  Richard has a 1400 Cali Touring and Fay has an Indian Scout.  Took Richard over to Canyon Lake and South Mountain. 

[rboe]

They have stopped in for our monthly breakfasts, good people. She rides a very nice Indian Scout (another Guzzi guy has a girl friend that just bought a Scout - in black); if this keeps up the Scouts will be known as ladies bikes. :)

[Tom]

The Scout isn't a "Ladies" bike and Fay can push her bike around in turns better than a lot of guys I know.  It's got more hp than a Sporty and will fly through tight turns.     The only problem is the angle of the rear shocks.

[Lannis]

The Scout isn't a "Ladies" bike and Fay can push her bike around in turns better than a lot of guys I know.  It's got more hp than a Sporty and will fly through tight turns.     The only problem is the angle of the rear shocks.

Well, it'll get known as a "ladies bike" the same way Sportsters have gotten known as "ladies bikes", whether they really are or not.   

How many times do you see a pair of Harleys going down the road, with Buck in the lead on his Big Twin and Momma behind on her Sportster ....?  It's almost a formula these days ....

Lannis

[Tom]

I got the analogy a long time ago.  Looks like we're all riding "Ladies" bikes here with the exception of the Cali 1400.     I don't know what that guy was riding at the National.     I should have took a picture of it.   (The U.S Army wannabe with the fake ammo and grenades)

[Travlr]

Guzzista: 

The Spada is safely tucked away at my home in Arizona.  After 2,000 miles in temps ranging from the 40’s to the 90’s, in rain, in sun, on interstate highways, lonely back roads, mountain passes and city streets you get a pretty good read on a motorcycle.  As Spadas are somewhat rare, I thought some of you might be interested in how it performs in todays world.

The bike feels like a BMW R100RS.  Short stubby bars and a narrow riding position that tucks you in behind a fairing.  Not the more high and wide riding position of todays touring bikes.  I’d forgotten that “sport touring” style.  But I found it quite comfortable and did several 500+ mile days.

The fairing is excellent.  It provides good protection putting the rider in a fairly large still air pocket.   I’m 5’9” and larger/smaller riders experience will differ.  On a windy day on I-70 the bike remained stable in heavy cross winds.  No doubt the result of good design in Guzzi’s wind tunnel.

The bike hits a real sweet spot at around 4,000 rpm with very little vibration.  That translates to a cruise of 70-80 mph.  I averaged around 50 mpg at those speeds.  The gas tank holds 5.9 gallons.  I usually filled up at about 220-230 miles with a gallon or so left in reserve.

One area in which the SP3 excels over BMW airheads is handling.  The Tonti frame is  superior to BMW’s “hinge in the middle” airheads.  At what I would call a “quick street pace” the SP3 remains composed.  Turning up the pace thru the mountains was fun, not frantic.

The SP3 uses Moto Guzzi’s linked brake system.  It’s capable of some very good performance.  But it was hard for me to learn.  The linked system uses the foot brake, not the hand brake.  The hand brake only operates one front disc.  I had to teach myself to step on the foot brake and not pull the hand lever.  IMHO a system better suited to a California than a sport touring mount.

While I’m gripeing, the other issue I had was the side stand.  It’s long.  To deploy it the bike must be leaned to the right while the left foot pushes the stand.  It was unstable, especially with a loaded top box.

In short, I wouldn’t hesitate to do it again.  The bike was tougher than the rider.  The only mechanical issue I had was a leaky fork seal.  Probably inevitable on a 20+ year old motorcycle.  Not everyone wants a motorcycle that is run by computers.  With it’s excellent fairing, good brakes and stable handling the SP3 is still capable of continent carving while being serviced in the owners garage.

Mike

[Lannis]

Sounds like you just described an ideal sport-touring motorcycle.   A reasonable amount of simplicity, excellent real-world performance and comfort.    If my knees only fit behind the fairing ..... 

And there's no reason NOT to use the front lever every time you stop.   I do it on my SP just so that, if I NEED more braking at the last second, my hand's already there ....

Happy trails!

Lannis