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I know it’s not a V11... (someday someone will) But dammit - it’sa mental TWIN TURBO GUZZI!! 🤪

Don’t know if it’s been said yet, but happy Father’s Day to all you good and bad daddies out there! I had some nice quality time with one of the kids today. Cheers, Daddies!

So, I go to get an O-ring for the brake pedal stop on the Sport and the conversation turns from "What's this for? Something weird?" to "Are you a player?" to: check out this steel player and how these things are tuned . . .

Update: I am the original poster. I used a clear siphon to drain (most of) the fuel tank and the fuel flowed out with a beautiful blue color with no visible impurities. This emptied approximately 3.8 gallons. My plan to then carefully examine the "dregs" of the tank was ruined when I failed to correctly turn off the fuel petcock and spilt the remaining pint or so of gas on my (cold) engine and onto the floor of my garage. I removed the tank at that point and emptied out the final drops of fuel. The fuel spill prompted me to clean the engine, which I have not done in some time. I then reinstalled the tank and added a pint or so of new fuel taken from my Honda (which has a higher gas tank) and the Guzzi fired up nicely [as is usually the case]. I only added a pint so that I was definitely using the bottom part of tank (tank was emptied so this was a moot point unless there was something really gummy in the hidden crevices). I have yet the take the bike out for a proper spin as I had to deal with the garage floor and smell of fuel. That is the real test and I will report back later.

OK, after replacing the fuel I did a test ride today and the sputter is not fixed. Symptoms: The bike will start fine. It will run OK for about 30 seconds after which there is a gurgling (underwater sound) sputter / misfire that occurs first at 2000 RPM and then seconds later at 1500 RPM and finally the bike if left to idle will die after about 3 seconds. This does not require load - is repeatable in neutral. Bike will start and show same symptoms (idles fine at 1st etc.) after 5 minutes rest. Bike history: Always been a strong runner, has approx 60K miles and is ridden at least every 2 weeks. Bike has always had a weak elec system, I have replaced regulator 3-4X over 20 year period. Bike suffers from a parasitic elec leak, I have to put it on charger before a ride if it has not been ridden the day before. This has resulted in long periods of the bike being on a charger. Bike has always had a rough spot at 2800 RPM - never could fix it. The 2800 stutter is exacerbated by hot weather but I can typically throttle "thru it." Minor note: Temp shielding on fuel lines to avoid fuel boil has had no effect on temp stutter. What I have checked / recently touched: a. Bike exhibited the sputter for 1st time week ago when Reserve Light was indicating low fuel level. This was at 60 MPH / 4K RPM. b. Adding fuel allowed bike to get home fine (approx 3 miles). c. 3 days ago fuel tank drained*, new fuel (from working Honda bike) added. I was careful to get fuel into both lobes of tank - me not being sure which side sucks the fuel. Still, the fuel tank is not full. I would estimate there is only 3/4 of a gallon in the bike. d. *When tank was drained it was removed. Upon installation of the tank I turned the rod on right side all the way counterclockwise (see pic). The knob on the left is fully turned clockwise. ***Is this correct?*** Elec connectors were mated under tank as per usual. e. Bike started fine after fuel tank installation w/ pint of fuel. Fuel reserve light was not lit (but it is unreliable). f. With 3 addit. quarts of fuel added, a test drive --in warm but not hot hot weather --showed symptoms above. This stutter is far worse than the temperature stutter noted in history section. LED showing battery level showed the battery was near fully charged during test. g. 6 months ago I replaced main battery cable with new, super conducting 3rd party cable. Prob has 500 miles on it - no issues. Fuse on new cable is intact. h. Main Guzzi fuse box today revealed a burnt 30 amp fuse. I replaced the fuse but symptoms continued. A 20 amp fuse was replaced with the correct 15 amp fuse. No effect. i. One of the battery terminal screws was not fully tight. When tightened, symptoms remained. j. Spark plugs changed 100 miles ago. Spark plug wires have not been replaced for over a dozen years. k. No change in exhaust smoke noted (exhaust not visible). <pics below> Thanks for your advice Bob p.s. Air filters removed for pix

Simply to plug the vacuum tap. After removing mine repeatedly too many times, the threads became damaged. I went back to the brass nipples and a cap (silicone caps hold up better than rubber).

Nicely done, Sir! It will be awesome to hear what you find after simply baselining the TPS and zeroing the CO Fuel Trim. Balanced the throttle bodies? (I was thinking about Meinolf's map while riding just today . . . )

A comparable H-D (aluminum, post '85) Sportster 883 has no problem making as much power as a Moto Guzzi with nothing more than a change of camshaft and replacing the EPA noise-restricting intake and exhaust with something that works. Our racing 883's limited to valve jobs, air cleaners, jetting and exhaust changes *always* made 61rwhp, and with careful attention to details could make 65rwhp with the razor-sharp narrow stock camshaft. So the ultimate answer to your question is, H-D traded HP for sound and road feel, and paid a price to the EPA for noisy valve gear as well.

Yep, that is low fuel on an early Sport (chin-pad, external pump/filter) tank. The right "lobe" holds up to 0.8 US gallons of "fuel." Or is it half (or more) of accumulated detritus, water, and "binary azeotropes?" Draining the fuel from the regulator return hose will only drain the left side "lobe." The right side lobe will have to be siphoned from the filler at the top, or the regulator removed, or the tank removed and turned on its head. Fully draining your tank should be properly shielded from the public eye . . . @czakky knows how I wait for these moments . . .

Like milking a cow!

Vince Gill mostly wrote his for Keith Whitley and his younger brother who had passed away from alcohol abuse not long before...but dedicated it to George Jones

I must agree with having some disregard for the "donor bike" mash-ups being called "customs" these days for the sake of showing off someone's design and fabrication ideas. Especially when the donor was something I admire (read: V11). Yet, in an effort to steer Kane's original topic back from our (interesting) detour(s), here is, bar-none, my favourite V11 Custom built, and ridden, by our treasured member @knumbnutz :