And Norge Is Pronounced How?

The check is in the mail. Or, more accurately, the bank check is in a Fed Ex envelope on the way to a motorcycle dealership in Ohio.

This tale begins roughly two weeks ago when friend Bob Rosen mentioned that he’d been looking online at a red Moto Guzzi Norge that was for sale in Florida. Bob wasn’t really in the market for another bike. He’d just purchased a used 2011 Suzuki GSX1250FA  last fall from a guy in Brooklyn, NY and then spent some more bucks modifying it to suit his needs.

No, he didn’t need a Norge, but he was doing what many of us do during the cold months – searching online for what’s out there and dreaming, in lieu of riding.

Caught up in his enthusiasm, I found myself suffering from Norge-induced insomnia a night or so later. I grabbed my iPhone, opened Safari, and inquired in the dark about any used Norges for sale in the U.S. Up popped a 2011 model in white at All Seasons Sports Center in Wooster, OH.

The price looked good, which I later confirmed with a check of the N.A.D.A. website. What I should have then done is just tip off Bob and forgotten about it. But, no, having taken a fancy to the Norge when it was first released in 2005, I began obsessing about how it might look in my garage.

I blame it on Bob. He’s been pushing me for some months to consolidate – get rid of the two bikes that I currently own and get one all-around machine that’s a little newer. Currently in the garage are a 2008 Suzuki V-Strom/DL650 that I’ve owned for four years and a 1994 Moto Guzzi California that I bought 13 months ago.

Being a man of little willpower, I called the dealership and inquired about the Norge. Steve Foote supplied the details; great shape with fewer than 10,000 miles, ABS, heated grips, hard bags, electric windscreen. Next was a quick trip on Feb. 13 to Moto Guzzi dealer Hamlin Cycles in Bethel, CT to sit on a new one, which has an MSRP of $16,290.

There were also in-depth chats with dealer Jim Hamlin, who owns a white one himself, and Norge owner and friend Scott Kegelman. Scott’s is also white. Do you sense a pattern? Making the bike even more attractive was the fact that the 2011 model was the first year of an 80-percent redo of the Norge, which included a shift to an eight-valve engine. By Norge standards, it’s state of the art for well less than half the price of a new one. The planets were certainly starting to align.

Selling the V-Strom and the Cali would pretty much cover the cost of the Norge, provide me with one reliable mount and free up space in the garage. But the Norge was in Ohio. How to get it? Drive to Ohio and throw it in the back of the pickup? Fly to Ohio and ride it home? Find a motorcycle transport company?

Hiring a hauler seemed prohibitive, but another friend soon came up with a name of an affordable company. At that point, to quote the Borg from “Star Trek: The Next Generation,” resistance was futile.

As I mentioned up top, the bank check is in a Fed Ex envelope. I’m now excited over the prospect of the Norge and dismayed that I can be swayed so easily. I have two bikes that need to be unloaded and I’m dreading another trip to the D.M.V. to register it.

It may take a couple of weeks to get it here during which time I hope to learn how to correctly pronounce “Norge.” Here in the U. S., the common pronunciation seems to be Norge as in “gorge,” a place with tall canyon walls and a river at the bottom. Or just like the Norge appliance company.

But it’s also possible to hear the model pronounced “nor-jay” or “nor-gay,” depending on who’s saying or butchering it. Norge is Norwegian for “Norway.” The Norge is named for an old Moto Guzzi model that managed a 4,000-mile test ride in 1928 from company headquarters in Italy to just inside the Arctic Circle of Norway’s Capo Nord.

I do have an old friend who is Norwegian. I’ve emailed him seeking an answer. With luck, a reply will arrive before the bike does. Bob’s still speaking to me, too. I wouldn’t blame him if he wasn’t. If I hadn’t have bought it, I think he might have…