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Thats Motogp these days. WSBK is heading there tyre wise though. At the Phillip Island round this year about 3 weeks before the event Pirelli the tyre supplier announced that their tyres wouldn't make the full race distance and both main races would require a mandatory pit stop. This totally ruins the whole meeting turning it into 5 sprint races with confusing minimum pit time requirements and disadvantages riders that can conserve tyres and come on strong at the end of the race. Even the riders after a day of practice were saying they had zero issues with tyre wear. Money, technology and stupid officialdom and manufacturers fearing litigation no matter how remote rule racing these days.

Bev gave this album to me for B-day.

Just beeing polite. What I realy meant . Cheers Tom.

I miss the good 'ol days of consequences.

Talked to Jim Hamlin. Got some good info. He's the man!

I sure don't like the way those hydraulic lines are routed . That looks pretty sad.

It is the old story, something is only worth what twp people are willing to pay for it. If one of those people is you, either accept their offer or you can get to keep it a bit longer.

As Phil said, those hairs won't cause anything. You may want to adjust the air pressure in the tire(s) that feel "squirmy". I would guess lowering the air pressure would be the way to go, but it could also be you need to raise the air pressure a small amount. If you adjust the air pressure, you would typically do it in small steps, maybe a pound or two (not sure what the Bar equivalent would be, likely a tenth of a bar or two). A good way to tell if your air pressure is right is to measure the tires pressure cold and then ride the bike as normal. Stop the ride and check the air pressure while the tires are "hot". That increase in temp causes an increase in pressure. That increase in pressure should be around 10% - 15%. If the tire pressures don't increase enough, lower the tire pressure. If the pressure increases too much cold to hot, add pressure. It could be the tires simply need to bed in, as mentioned tires generally have mold release to help them come out of the manufacturing molds that give the tires their tread pattern. That mold release tends to be slippery.

As mentioned, they do have minimum pressure, in particular (the one that gets all the attention) is the minimum front tire pressure. Michelin set this minimum, in theory, to stop front tire failures that result from running air pressures too low. It must be said, however, that in the era of Michelin being the spec tire supplier there has not been a tire failure from running too low air pressure in the tire. On the other side of that coin, it turns out that best performance of the Michelin front tire occurs at a pressure below the minimum pressure set by Michelin. That makes no sense. Why would you design a tire that performs best at an air pressure you claim is below safety limits? To further complicate things, whether you are running out in front in clean air or behind another racer has a large impact on how hot your front tire gets, and how hot a tire gets directly affects the air pressure inside that tire (as temp goes up, air pressure goes up). So, racers are left trying to guess what front tire air pressure they need to start the race with to keep their front tire pressure above the minimum set by Michelin for at least 60% of the race. It is a balancing act, too much air pressure and they will be slow. Too little air pressure and they will get a penalty. It is not as simple as set it here or above and you are fine, as your front tire pressure will vary depending on whether you are out front or directly behind someone. This was famously shown recently when Marc Marquez pulled over to let his brother by so he could run directly behind him to bring up his front tire pressure. Once he had done enough of the race with his front tire pressure thus elevated, he passed his brother and ran off in front using a tire with air pressure below the minimum value. The rules are so stupid that what Marc did was perfectly legal. Had Vinales paid better attention to his front tire pressure, they typically have a display on their dash telling them what their front tire pressure is and / or whether it is above the minimum value, he may have avoided leading the laps he led to stay in behind Marc to keep his front tire pressure higher. We don't know the details, because they don't tell us things like how low his pressure was and for how much of the race it was. All we know is that his front tire pressure was below the minimum for more then 40% of the race. What was messed up the most was, they should know all this real time, but they only announced the penalty for Vinales around two hours after the race, after he already stood on the podium and got his second place trophy. The rule is stupid, but that was incompetence.

I have a pair of Staintunes for the V11 that someone would like to purchase. The trouble is I don't have a clue what they are worth. Could anybody place a price on a pair that would be fair to both buyer and seller?

Michelin set the minimum pressure rule, because if underinflated, the tire may suffer a catastrophic failure that could put the rider's life at risk. They have since come up with a new tire that no longer has that constraint; however Dorna did not authorize its introduction. This was a safety measure that was a stop gap while developing a front tire that did not require it. Everybody agrees that it is plain unacceptable to have race standings established after it has ended. Tech3 said they had not expected Maverick Viñales to race at the front, hence why they had set the pressure too low. Maverick himself said that front tire pressure was not his problem, even if there is a warning on the dash. Why is Dorna not allowing the front tire?

It looks to me like the front end has been rebuilt/repaired from parts, silver wheel fender, prior fork comments, so maybe has a crash history.

I also found out that nobody pull the dipstick out any longer. Now, my 911 has an electronic oil level indicator, but I don't rely on it. I physically check the oil and other fluid levels. I am told that you no longer need to worry about oil changes mileage, since cars tell you when it is time to change it. No need to check your rearview mirrors either, you have radars. Soon, no need to watch the road since cars are going to drive themselves... or maybe not?

They've constrained tire pressure...? I'm not a follower of MGP, but I'm stunned stupid by this.

I've actually thought that through. There are a couple main components; First, people are significantly less knowledgeable than they were in the past. Watching Grampa split wood with hammer and wedge is 50 years gone; greasing the farm implements isn't something most people ever heard of. So they really don't know you can do it yourself. Then, there is the tire issue. Cars don't have spares that match anymore. If I can't just leave it there after I change it, why not just have it towed to the tire store? Even if I can change it, there's hardly more time involved than in towing. Plus I don't have to unload all the unnecessary crap everyone carries in their trunk. Lastly, Women. There are far more Women drivers than ever before, and I can't think of any reason a Woman should change her tire on the side of the road- seriously, there's no good reason for a Man to do it anymore unless it's flat where you simply can't get help. I think the towing rider on my car insurance is like $30/year? Why would I get my knees dusty and fingers pinched, sweat in the heat or suffer the cold, probably endangering myself for $30? So at the end of the day, it's simply convenience. I won't write a thesis on why it seems that only people who cannot change their own tires have flat tires, or why people who don't change their own oil lose engines to low oil level.

A carpenter's "draw knife" is just what you need. It would slice those nubby bits off right quick.

No seat cowl or sidecovers. Important stuff to have. Maybe it's included, maybe not.

The hairy bits won't have any influence on the feel of the tyres Mick. Phil

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