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Here, in Moto Guzzi's centenary, there has been much anticipation, discussion, and hopefulness about the direction the company is going and what the current ownership has planned for this impressive, and pressing, time. EICMA, in Milano, has long been the venue of introductory products and vision for Moto Guzzi (among others). With no EICMA 2020, this year is even more important to present this vision and direction to Guzzisti, and to the world. So, next week: EICMA 2021 ! Please share your links and images and comments here! I am so very hoping our man on the scene, @v11_meticcio, will have first hand reports for us!

The key part in your post is "back in the 80's". Back in the 80's they thought anti dive was a good thing for a few years as well when in fact the opposite was the case and it was actually regressive and that's why it was abandoned 35 years ago. I made a mechanical system back then when I didn't think too much. Same for frame flex in the pitch axis, if it's flexing in the pitch it wont be stable on the brakes as the steering head moves the trail around like flexy fork stanchions. Controlled frame and swingarm flex is a massive and complex topic but one thing is certain, you need "some" lateral or roll flex. This is why modern GP bikes don't use cylinder head forward frame mounts anymore and use longer arms from the steering head area to the crankcases, the head mounted frames with no arms were too ridged and didn't allow any lateral flex. It's also probably why the Ducati Panigale isn't a more winning WSB. It uses cylinder head mounted box assembly for a steering head/frame support and there's not enough flex there so it works on some tracks but not on others because it's not rider friendly enough with less feel from the front tyre. This system was originally designed to use carbon as the material and you can tailor the flex with carbon but Rossi made Ducati abandon it. So we are stuck with the alloy beam frame for the most part. I'm actually wondering if wire spoke wheels will make a comeback on GP bikes in the future. In a much higher tech form than the past. You could possibly have different wheels with different stiffness depending on the track requirements and tyre carcase stiffness. You read it here first. Ciao

Ciao a Tutti. I just recently became the new owner of a beautiful 2004 V11 Café Sport and I'm very excited to be here amongst fellow enthusiasts. I've already started to gather as much knowledge as I can from you all and looking forward to more. I started my love affair with motorbikes back in the seventies growing up in the south of France and always had a ride of some sort, mostly japanese bikes then a stint with a Triumph Trophy 1200 wich I toured 2 up all over southern europe. After a 20 years hiatus, the sight of a Griso rekindled my lust for motorbikes and in 2017 I purchased a Griso and became a new(old) Guzzista. The journey continues... Hervé

I'd still clean the grounds first. And the battery terminals, once I swore they looked perfectly clean but after scuffing up the contact points all was good again.

Imagine the bad things that will happen when "conducting" grease gets spread between contacts inside the switch. Most conductive greases are designed for static voltage control or slip rails. They are not for ignition switches. Ordinary non-conductive (dielectric) grease is best. Vaseline is a good dielectric, but gets thicker in cold and could hold contacts apart. Lubriplate DS-ES grease is designed for switches, but any white lithium based grease will be good. Most connectors benefit from liberal application of dielectric grease. I wrote about this here: https://www.v11lemans.com/forums/index.php?/topic/19693-aircraft-piloting-analogies/&do=findComment&comment=259237

Highly recomended to install an extra relay feeding starter solenoid to avoid any stress to the ign switch. Cheers Tom.

It's a nice letter but the MV of today has zero connection to the MV of the past with exception of the name. So the side by side historical building of an industry is a bit of an overreach considering the modern MV has only been around for about 23 years or so. MV marketing taking the opportunity to bathe in a bit of reflected glory me thinks. Ciao

In case you didn't see this - a very nice letter from MV Agusta to Moto Guzzi commemorating their 100 years. Great stuff. Sent from my Pixel 4a using Tapatalk

Agreed... but it takes passion to revive a brand, and the new owners do show respect for the legacy, despite their specious claim. Same story for Triumph and Indian.

Cleaning out my garage, I still have this fairing in good condition, with mounting hardware, FREE to good home, just pay shipping.

And a couple good hammers...😅

I love that Carson Peters track! It sent me down the rabbit hole . . .

I love the idea of MV Agusta. I love the helicopter connection. The Agostini, Hailwood, and Magni connections There have been modern MV Agusta I've lusted after. But they scare me. My Moto Guzzi just pesters and annoys me, but doesn't scare me. The artful little street singles of the late fifties into the sixties are also delightful, to my eye. Easy to agree that today's MV Agusta is not what it was in the days of The Count. Can Moto Guzzi be said to be that much the same as the days of Carlo and Ing, Carcano?

it's a good possibility this is a coincidence. I wouldn't give it much credence till the connections are cleaned up.

And Norton too...

Yep. I've owned 3 MV's remember and I wish sorely I still had my 1000F4, the first model with the TIG welded frame. It was a thing of beauty and an engineers delight with the bodywork off. It lived in my lounge room next to the sofa. Royal Enfield are another company which has legitimate claims to it's 120 year history I think. Thankfully the Indians had the need for cheap and easy to make robust engineering to keep the production rolling along. The new bike is very very good, not fast but a very enjoyable ride none the less. Ciao

The better Yuasa batteries are made in the same Pensylvanian factory as the Odyssey's. I recently bought a brand new pc545 for a customer's Vincent in which i was after fitting an electric start. That battery would not charge above 12.5v, would discharge in 3days down to 11.7v and give only 120 amps under test. So a Dud could appear amongst the bests

Already gone.....!

Pass on the dialectic, you already know why. Dielectric grease, or tune-up grease, is a silicone-based grease that repels moisture and protects electrical connections against corrosion. ... The grease does not conduct electricity, so it shouldn't be applied directly to the mating surfaces (pins and sockets) of an electrical connection

That is what I feel too. It is a relief that VR46 has finally stopped, I am now going to let MotoGP go and switch to World Superbikes.

Only Marc Marquez knows what he did in 2015. Although I do not want to open (again) that can of worms, my rationale explanation was that he (Marc Marquez), was not thrilled for Valentino to win another Championship; I think Marc's ultimate objective is to supersedes some of Valentino's records. We will always wonder what would have happened if Rossi had not been ultimately penalized. Would he have won 2015, to make it 10?

Yes I did have the forks stripped down with the damping units out etc and drained the damping units for days. I've still had issues reassembling other forks with the measured amount of oil so I always use the air gap method now.

Mostly Richard Thompson and Frank Zappa, but anything with Rhiannon Giddens and Hubby Jenkins lights me up well...

Thx VS, I've started gathering already!

Manufacturers go through different phases - often times choosing less desirable routes just to survive. We all love the glory days of Guzzi and MV legends of the 50s - 70s. But I'm also glad they are still here today (unlike Laverda and others). I don't think the current state for either marque is the final one, and am hopeful for more glory days for both. Sent from my Pixel 4a using Tapatalk

I am also a big fan of VR46, although he put a lot of energy in his image and PR which gave him advantages in many cases. He is one of the greatest in the line of Mike Hailwood and Agostini. I saw him win in Assen and also consolidate when he was actually hindered by a shoulder injury. Fighting with Gibernau, Pedrosa, Lorenzo(very refined style), Stoner(very skilled rider), Haiden. And finally brought somewhat out of balance by Marguez in a way that had at some point an analogy with a style of riding he(VR) felt sympathy for with Simioni. I gained respect for the exceptional skills of Marguez, though. His slides with knee, elbow and hip down are the highest level. This talent makes it possible to take risks that were never acceptable because it would not be profitable for the championship. But this season Marguez is not as effective as other years. Probably also because of the supremacy of Ducati, although this Quartoraro on a Yamaha ended up as 1st of the season. Also exceptional tactical strong rider. I think the MotoGP is more like a Moto3 nowadays, the competition does not have one hero, but a lot of them that are very close to eachother.

https://imgur.com/a/hqNJmFE

My PC545 would do that. Rode one hour/40 miles at up to 120kph and park for 30 minutes - 2 hours. Come back and RRRRRrrrrrr. Would eventually start but... I dumped the ODD odyssey and installed a ghetto Yuasa AGM. Now it's humming along like a rotary (remember those Mazda commercials?).

I would start with a little sand paper on all the ground connections. Especially the battery to frame ground mentioned above. And I'd clean and sand paper the battery terminals too then coat with Vaseline.

With our V11 both needing a "jump start" within a day of one another, if we are not now brothers, our V11 are (at least) sisters. [ . . . sometimes, she stabs me for no reason at all . . . ]

I like the racing and competition in MotoGP. I'll continue to watch it. The last year(s), no Americans, Rossi hasn't done better since I saw him run 2nd in Austin, I know few of the newer riders, despite that, I still watch it.

It wont be the same for me..I'll watch and Hope Pecco continues to do well, and wish Luca luck...but not much interested in the rest at this point. Its pretty obvious what Marquez and his brother are imo...Valle has too much class to go there.

Rossi was ripped off in 2015. Dorna allowed Marquez to screw up Rossi's contention for the championship. One of the biggest screw jobs in sports IMO.