My bike

This is my Moto Guzzi V1100 Breva. The name 'Breva' comes from the name given to the perfect sailing wind that comes to Lake Como in the late summer. It drives the boats briskly over the water, but is not strong enough to be a hazard, and is welcomed by the lake shore residents as much as the sailors. The name conjures up a feeling of freedom, which suits the bike well, I think, as it is such a pleasure to ride :-)

I'm not really sure about the screen: it makes the bike look too much like a cruiser from the front. I might take it off again next spring, and see how much I suffer from wind-blast. If I was to go touring on it, I'd put it back on; but for commuting, I could probably live without it. It's a long time since I've had a bike without a fairing or screen. That would have been my old Suzuki GN400. Since then I've had the Yamaha Diversion 600, Honda VFR750, and the lovely Moto Guzzi V11 Le Mans Tenni. So this is the second Guzzi in a row that I've had. I fell in love with the original LeMans 850 back in the seventies, before I actually rode, and now Moto Guzzi are back to making fabbo bikes, I have become a serial owner!

The only other marque that I've had two in a row of is Yamaha, back when I was riding 100cc learners: a YB100 (which was nicked and dumped in the canal in Warrington) and an XS100; both of which were very tidy 2-strokes.