Getting ready to tour (someday)!

I ordered 40-liter hard saddlebags and electric heated handgrips for the Moto Guzzi today. I’m still undecided about the windscreen versus touring fairing question and I don’t have any long trips planned in the immediate future, so I held off on ordering one of those. I’ve proven I can do an overnight trip just with bungee cords and webbing on my fender and passenger seat, and my messenger bag, but getting the weight off of my back and eliminating some of the uncertainty of tying items down will be welcomed the next time.

http://www.motoguzzi-us.com/accessories/stone/windshields.html

plus there are thousands of windscreens not sold as “genuine Moto Guzzi parts” to choose from. I don’t like windscreens or fairings but I suspect that the more opportunities I have to ride freeway speeds for hours on end the more I’ll want to have one of these things installed.

I may never need the electric handgrips in the Bay Area, but my experience on the bicycle tells me that hands are the hardest thing to keep warm and not something that can be relocated to a warmer location (pockets, armpits) while riding. Call me an old man if you like, but the electric handgrips sound totally excellent to me.

And yes, this means that the Moto Guzzi is home from the shop, with a clean bill of health.