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Moto Guzzi Factory, Mandello del Lario 1999

And, finally, luhbo will give us more of his stunning images, again!

Try searching "tank strap rubber". There is a local company over here that makes EPDM extruded sections in many sizes. https://www.rubbermark.co.nz/product/tank-strap/ Let me know if I can help with ordering some.

Didn't exactly use the right tools all the time, but you use what you got

Thanks ScuRoo for the message, thought it would be nice to give an update from my project Everything is back together, and the bike (seems) to be running great. It turns out it was the pushrod button that had fallen out causing me to not have a clutch. As I mentioned in my post, the heads seem to have been ported in a previous life so I didn't need to do that. All of the modifications and work that's been done to my Le Mans are: Megacycle 620x9 cam, Roper plate, cleaned the carbon buildup on the pistons/ head and valves (and re-lapped them), ported heads (don't know who though), new rings and gaskets, K&N pods, Mistral headers and crossover, and Staintune exhausts from a Guzzi Daytona. I kept the original valves, springs and pushrods, though I would like to find some chrome-moly pushrods at some point. The ECU is stock to my knowledge. It did have a dyno-jet, but I took it off as the engine fumbled between 1.5-3.5k RPM, though I may but it back on and play around at some point. My goal from the beginning was to give the motor a refresh and add a little more power without sacrificing reliability. I seem to have done that; it pulls harder and faster then before and is intoxicating to accelerate out of a corner. I haven't had it on a dyno, don't know who (if anyone) in the Bay area has a motorcycle dyno. I've only put about 1000 miles on since the rebuild so long term reliability will remain to be seen, though I think issues might be due to my own meddling rather then something wrong with the parts/ modifications. I'm very glad it's so easy to work on the Guzzi! For the most part, a decent mechanics tool set can get most of the bike apart, and parts (including the specialty tools) are surprisingly available online. I would just add, make sure ALL bolts are properly tightened! I've run into so many issues with loose/ loosing bolts because I was so exited to have the bike running again.

Unexpected outcomes!

Since cooling is an issue with LEDs, I did a little experiment with an "Infitary" fan-cooled H4 bulb mounted in a Kawi EX500 headlight. Forget which beams I used, but after 1/2 hour and then 1+ hours, the IR thermometer read 80ºF - with no physical airflow except the fan. I think that most of the car-type LED cooling features may be intended for those units which reside close to automotive transverse engine exhausts and heated radiator air. Being fairing mounted, the EX headlight essentially hangs in the air - lots of cooling. Those in a shell or bucket might warm up more, but I just did not see the heat issue on a bike. I would have used the undoubtedly HQ Japanese PIAA unit on the Goose, but the driver will not fit inside the bucket and I did not feel like boring holes into it.

Am thinking cooled intake charge more than any velocity increase. Cool air, like me, is dense. While I might make less cognitive HP, the bike will should make more. Reciprocal aircraft engines use cooled air to great advantage. Except for carbureted aircraft. Then, heat is your friend, as ice-makers should be confined to refrigerators, not intakes. Anyway, I am glad for theories.

Fun! Seems some others have done similar. Certainly, drawing the intake air from right above the exhaust side of the cylinder heads makes for rough running sitting in traffic in high ambient temps. Here is a bit of the fun I had bellmouthing my intakes . . .

The best airbox investigation has to be that of PhilA from 2006. Bellmouth those intakes, boys&girls!

po18- there is thread here about airbox mods. Mainly three teardrops across the top of the box.

JB might be an overkill docc, even without bonding of any kind with the switch assy put back together it would operate without coming apart the spring pressures are so small. might need to be careful putting the connector on and off,time will tell I guess. Ciao

Not looking to buy any longer, too old, too tired to wrench a lot (so why do I have a V11?), too little available garage space. Just look on them with nostalgic fantasy, kinda like the prom queen.

meticcio wins the internet today..

Congrats on getting it back together and running properly. I do think that one of the cool things about a Guzzi is that you can get more out of it with some basic tried and true mods. It is hard to get the same amount of improvement out of a modern Japanese engine, they are already pushing out most of what they are capable of. But a Guzzi engine isn't nearly as on the edge. So porting, a cam, more compression, better flow in and out, and you can feel the difference pretty clearly. Anyway, congrats. Enjoy.

Here ya go: http://www.ghezzi-brian.com/en/tuning-moto/tuning-moto-guzzi/v11-1100-sport-daytona-centauro/fenders/

On more occasions than I care to admit, I've warned an upcoming turn of my arrival.

I just push buttons until I get what I am looking for .

These are, in fact, the correct part number for '97 1100 Sport.

Finally got rid of the crappy stock brake rotors. New T-drive Brembos with Braking pads. This combo should be smooth as glass and one finger braking...mostly lol Looking at the stockers, the Galfer green pads didn't love them, either. Pulsing, jerky, pull-to-one-side, inconsistent lever bastages. Can't wait to try these out, maybe tomorrow.

Google Adel clamp.

I had to strip a black painted triple clamp when I converted to handlebars. Pull the triple and strip the paint, starting with a chemical stripper, then using a gentle blast media. I had a friend do it who has a blast cabinet. Polish it, then clear coat. Before and after:

Taking off the transmission cover wont get you access to the clutch push rod. Did you reinstall the clutch push rod button in the clutch when you re assembled it? If you mean the slave cylinder securing screw head is chewed out then you really should fix that by drilling the head off and then removing the other 2 screws ,pulling the slave cylinder and then extracting the remaining stud. If its the thread stripped then you can remove the slave and timesert or helicoil it. Either way you should really do it. It just requires swing arm removal for access which is fairly easy. Ciao

So I realised why the new caps sent with my andreani kit wouldn’t screw on- the thread pitch doesn’t match the stanchions.... Have I been sent a kit for the Ohlins forks by mistake I wonder? Bit of a long shot but can anyone confirm whether the stanchions (marzy + ohlins) have differing threads? Also, if I were to obtain the correct caps for the marzy tubes, would the internals still be suitable for them (lengths etc)? I went from excited to unhappy rather quickly as i’m sure you can all imagine!