I bought my SE in 1994 from a guy in Virginia. Said he needed to sell it to buy a lawn and garden tractor. Hmmm...I thought, not much difference, really. While it was extremely low-tech, compared to the crotch rockets coming out of Japan, I loved it´s sound and the lazy, muscular feel as that heavy flywheel turned. I´ve loved this bike ever since and am in need of a few parts. Wonder if anyone knows of where I might find the aluminum cylinder head guards to fit this machine? It also needs a new wind shield. These items were recently damaged during a lowside crash as I approached the apex of a lefthander at about 65mph. As I throttled on, the bike just disappeared out from under me and I slid about 160 feet down the road and onto the shoulder on my elbows. All the while watching the Big-Jugged Mistress slide, tumble, and ricochet for another 275 feet before it came to a grinding rest on its side smack dead in the middle of the road across the double yellow. I got up and was amazed at how good I felt and actually how much fun that actually was! I turned off the ignition as the motor it was still idling, and got BJ up on her wheels, straighten out the Napoleons, rotated the throttle/ hand brake so I could work them, and started her right up. She got me home with no problem. Thanks to the First Gear S-Pilot jacket and pants, I didn´t have a scratch. What really amazed me, though, was how the low-side crash "just happened". I actually had to search for what appeared to be a slight patch of oily substance on the roadway where the tire and footpeg marks began. After 25 years of riding, ten of them on the Guzzi SE, I was starting to feel pretty smug about my invincibility as a rider. Whew, was I brought back to reality. That´s the thing about the SE, no more than 69 or 70 hp., but with a ton of torque, delivered precariously throuth a shaft drive that literally tends to spin the ass of the bike clockwise under revs. Something which must an SE rider must be constantly mindful of. It´s a fun, but full-time job.
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