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Vinales only performed because his front tyre pressure was illegal. Same as other riders in previous years and have gotten away with it "sometimes" due to the one time only get out of goal card for previous seasons. Thats how stupid MotoGP is getting. Start with slightly lower front tyre pressure and you can go from a mid packer to the rostrum and even win as Bastianini did in Malaysia 2023. Out of the blue win due to front tyre under pressure. When you see an out of the box performance don't go celebrating until the race pressures have been reviewed. KTM have got a hide whinging about the infringement as well as they gave themselves an unfair and major advantage but were caught out and Vinales penalised as he should have been. same as starting with a bike 10kg under the minimum weight or with a litre or 2 of extra fuel, big advantage. What we now have is F1 on 2 wheels unfortunately. It's all about the technology little to none of which translates into better road bikes. They went down the aero path instead of the electronics path. Aero is pointless on a road bike but electronic suspension and dynamic control is a major leap forward whose developments are slowed down due to being illegal in racing. Meanwhile money is poured into pointless aero which is what causes the overheating and front tyre wear problems. This is what happens when the "business model" considerations overrides the "racing" Phil

I was shocked to find out that here, nobody changes their tires themselves. You call for help... Maybe there aren't any spare tires any longer?

I'm not so enamored, nor prefer the early ones. But hey, *something* has to be there and get to all the attachment points...form follows function. I haven't looked close enough to ask whether the later style are cast or forged...I'm guessing cast. It appears by the picture that the earlier porkchops had a narrower swingarm through the pivot. I can't recall on the 'Sport whether they're flat, or widened, or in between. Ah, pic says wider;

SSR XXI = five months out. More like twenty weeks. But, who's counting . . .

The original Moto Guzzi (spine) Frame Side Plates were on Dr. John's 1987 (2-valve/square fin) ProTwins racer. That first SpineFrame was hand built in Pennsylvania and the side plates (which Dr. John was quoted as saying, "They are a great place to stuff a sandwich " [paraphrase] ) are inscribed "HOLLOWAY" on the left and "DR JOHN" on the right. Get the book, you'll love it . . . reference courtesy of https://www.motoitaliane.it/en/prodotto/dr-johns-moto-guzzi/

I like them. They have their own "form follows function" charm.

For me, I find the cast Frame Side Plates ("stilettos") of our V11 Spine Frames, and the Centauro/1100 Sport-i, to be objects of absolute beauty. The original Daytona/ SPOrT 1100 side plates? "These things are industrial grade. Almost indestructable" -Starlord

They're called "wreckers" in Australia. They exist in Germany too, with names like "Autorecycling" or "Autoverwertung". "Verwertung" means things like "utilisation", "recovery", "reutilisation" and so on.

"Rough as guts" was my thought on that...

I still have two you-pull-it junkyards nearby. The best one is "Snake Road Auto Salvage". Snake Road in South Florida wasn't, and isn't, a joke. My first car was a beat-up '66 MGB I bought for $35 in 1978. I shod it with bias-ply junkyard tires, and they really got attention drifting corners on the wire wheels.

My 'Sport is living in Georgia at the moment, so I don't have them side-by-side to compare. I'm going north shortly, perhaps I'll bring it home to answer some questions authoritatively.

Yes. A bit special routing for hoses,wiring me think. Cheers Tom.

Just pushed the forks up you mean? Yeah, I think so too. This picture from the facebook advert shows forks that appear to have compression damping in the left leg, and rebound in the right. As far as I know, that would be the 40 mm forks from the earliest models with the clip-ons under the triple-clamps, wouldn't it?

Here's a picture: What the arrows are pointing at are the remains of the almost completely scrubbed off row next to the the groove in the centre. The dots that are visible are the stumps of sprues that are gone. When it was new, it had stand-up-and-be-proud sprues all over, four to each tread block, more or less. Not very elegant, but as I wrote further up, it is a small manufacturer, and the tyres are relatively cheap for the more than adequate performance they offer. Looking at it again today, I can't imagine that the sprues have absolutely no effect. There are so many of them. How much effect is, however, difficult to guess. What @Grant mentioned is something I am aware of. The coating is a silicon compound that is put in the mould (sprayed in, I suppose...) to allow the tyre to release easily from the mould. The shops here, and in Australia if I remember correctly, generally tell you to take it easy for 100 km or so. I had already done about 100 km on the tyre, but nearly all of it at in-town speeds, and temperatures below 10°C, so the tyre wasn't likely to have been really warm. I'm thinking the squirming was likely a combination of the remains of the sprues and some still not quite scrubbed off remains of the silicon stuff. I'll take it a bit easier next time out, and give the tyre a chance to scrub in a bit more.

Looks like it. Bet she is a little nervous in low speed. Comparing to what happened to my Greenie with different tripple clamps a few days ago. Cheers Tom.

I see the clip-ons have been moved to above the triple-clamps. Has he just pushed the forks up to do that, or changed them?

Well, I woudn't be suprised to know some earlier squareheads had another Vallhall in KY . Cheers Tom.

Full ester; I actually had a long conversation with a Motul chap of Motul USA, unfortunately over the phone. He did say that oil was perfect for my V11 (he surprised me by saying he knew the bike). This oil is perfect for Texas, since we are already in the 80's at top of the temperatures. No need for a 5W here. Strangely, when you use the Motul oil selector, with the V11, Motul does not suggest the V-Twin 20W50. If you have an HD, it does. Motul proposes the MOTUL 300V 4T Factory Line 5W-40; if you read the recommendation, this is an oil for competition engines... An alternative is the MOTUL 7100 5W-40 4T. Both oils being synthetic ESTER base. I will probably use the 300V on the Quota for the next oil change.

Heard this ol' jewel on Aardvark Blues

Betty Davis (as in Mrs Miles) This is even more incredible knowing it was recorded in 1969 and it's only been on radio for 10 years or so. She was way ahead of her time Down Home Girl

The only time I did both at the same time was when I had new tires mounted and balanced on the Alpina wheels and I swapped the tire/wheel combo out one at a time from the bike. I do not recommend having both wheels up in the air/off the bike at the same time. we were doing something one time and had one wheel off the bike and had the bike on a jack w/the bars connected to an o/head hoist for safety. Came back in the next morning and the jack had leaked down COMPLETELY . If we did not have that secondary holding the bike we would have been upset. IF you live close to the shop doing the work , do one wheel at a time and do your work slowly and deliberately. Check all wheel bearings and apply a small amount of grease to the seals , shafts , etc. when you reassemble.

someone grab it!: https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/1320194999168741

Both wheels off at the same time? Best practice is to tie it off ("chain fall ") from the joists, above, in addition to your jacking method. Belt AND suspenders? Definitely. It's worth for that ONE time that one fails without a backup. Don't ask me how I know . . .