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After being sorted a bit, she’s back to daily rider. An Ohlins shock, Racetech springs, and Road 5s (160 rear) are really working well. 95 is the new 80! That’s MPH, not my age.

I recently found this Youtube video on suspension valving, it clearly illustrates & explains this nebulous topic https://youtu.be/dRekn0iRiRs

One of the best gear investments I have made in recent years..A buddy of mine told me about his and loved it, I bought one 4 years ago and it is worth every penny..Where I live in the San Francisco Bay area the riding temps can fluctuate 20 degree's or more from the east bay to over the mountain on the windy, foggy coast..I wear it year round with my Summer textile jackets..it blocks all the wind..but breaths nice. I bought one for my wife as well. I HATE to be cold when I ride...ruins it for me. They make lowers to go with it if you choose. https://www.dainese.com/us/en/motorbike/technical-layers/d-core-no-wind-thermo-tee-ls--201915957.html?dwvar_201915957_color=BLACK%2FANTHRACITE&cgid=motorbike-technical-layers#start=1

Sew... you have the races out and the bores in the frame are slightly bigger than the outside diameter of the races? And possibly oblong? Sorry I don't have and advice to contribute, but I'm curious to see how this can be addressed.

Daudadur, yep Icelandic moon shine. Many stopovers, but usually prefer going east or south from here. They do enjoy their Formula Offraod stunts, VERY recomendable. 9miles of road and chilly scenery, just me . Cheers Tom.

p6x, NO, I'm getting cold when riding. Windchillfactor is for real, and so are temps, and the Rukka Amaros is SO airy My friends woud call me calm when riding, usually on the quick side. I ride alone alot,, hmm wonder why. Cheers Tom.

Does anyone have a damaged fuel tank who can bear to part with the fittings on it? I have a spare tank with a different color, and hope to equip it with the parts needed so I can swap tanks easily. That is the reg, low level, and tap, with bases, and the nipples for the vent & cap drain. Edit: early tank with external pump. Thanks Docc.

FWIW, the fork trees are something like ~45mm offset, and equal top & bottom. Give me a mm or so for accuracy.

I wouldn't worry about the added complexity of the shimming the Loctite will tolerate that gap from memory and has the psi rating to deal with the loads. Ciao

There's no evidence of a crash, I've measured the alignment best possible with straights and levels and it all appears to be square. It tracks perfectly, not as if it's had it's rake reduced. Without any specific reason, I'll attribute it to Italian tolerances; the major diameter of the bottom race bore is *not* along the frame axis. As you said, I'll take up what space I can with some shimming, and add bearing mount to perfectly clean surfaces. With the clunk identified and corrected, and the brakes working properly, perhaps I can keep up with Docc at the Spine Raid.

Italians, probably ran out of Ohlins dampers and used what they had. Ciao

I would expect some variation due to the distortion created by frame welding but yours seems to have more than I've experienced of would expect. Has it ever had a front end crash? I'd just use some Loctite bearing mount and if you ever need to remove them then you can just run a bead of arc weld around them on the inner face and they'll fall out even with the loctite. Ciao

In a perfect world, I'd completely disassemble the frame, clean it, spray weld the bores and resize them in the machine shop. In this world, I've put ~15k miles on it as it is and I'm not ready for a complete restoration yet. So the options are *all* sorta backyard shadetree answers. I'll clean it up and play around with the bearing races and feeler gauges, to see how much clearance I have in what areas; then I'll average out the clearance, use feeler gauge blades to bring the size back to a reasonable tight fit, put everything back together with a hard bearing bore adhesive loctite product and run with it until the day comes when it gets ripped to the last fastener. I'll take the forks to the local KTM/WP center and have them give a look, but these forks may be older than their technicians...nothing wrong with them really so if they can't or the price is too high, I'll renew the fork oil and clean them up myself. The springs as is are good for my weight, and they don't leak so...meh. On to the brake caliper rebuild.

@Tomchri It looks like your Nero Corsa has a Bitubo steering damper. Do you know if that was the original that came fitted to the bike? Mine also had a Bitubo and I assumed that the Ohlins unit had been removed. As far as I knew, all bikes with Ohlins forks also had Ohlins dampers.

Front end day

I do know the tank fuel tap fitting has been unobtainium new for quite a few years. Ciao

Pretty sure the Mille is a small valve engine. I had a Strada, which is similar, has the great medium valve engine, and when naked and unafraid looked very much like my LM5 in the same condition.

Someone needs to step up and part with their nipples. Heh, wait . . . For real, we are talking the bits for the early (1999-2002) "short tank" with chin pad and external filter/pump?

Good luck with the sale. My 1989 LeMans is a lot of fun to ride, makes a good stable mate to the V11. I assume the Mille would be similar, isn't it basically the same as the LeMans 1000 except for the fairing and the more upright riding position?

My 1989 Mille GT.I bought it on a whim as a spare for visiting friends, who never appeared.Fresh tune-up, top end disassembled and inspected-rings, seats and guides in great shape.New spring cam chain tensionerNew points & condensersNew OdysseyCarbs completely cleaned and reconditioned, synced properlyAll fluids serviced with premium synthetic, including forksCharging system works greatIntegrated brakes work great, new EBC or Brembo pads (don't recall)Instrument cluster replaced with NOS, not disintegratedMistral mufflers, stock alsoSpoke wheels, have a set of Red LM III wheels & Michelins to go with if the price is rightCustom touring seatNeeds a proper detailing, not as pretty as it could be. Looks like every other 5 owner 'Guzzi with 3 different keys.Rides great, needs nothing. I just don't use it and need the garage space.Stuart, Florida. I can facilitate shipping, or you can ride it home.Best offer, won't bother with eBay. I know I won't get close to my cost, but please don't insult me. Ask for more pictures if you like.

The leathers are stunning and interesting, but rarely useful . . .

What a great thread!! It is so important to recognize the visceral nature and emotional impact of the bikes. I was immediately attracted to the V7 Sport, but did not own a Guzzi until 1977, when I purchased a T-3. I rode that for a year and then traded it on a 1978 Lemans 850. That may have been the best motorcycle I have ever ridden, but sadly I crashed in 1979 and then took a wrong turn toward BMW ownership. 5 bikes and 20 years later I returned to my true love when I purchased a V11 Sport in 2000. I put 60,000 blissful miles on that bike until a women yacking on her cell phone ran a stop sign and totaled her out. I spent the next 10 years searching for a replacement and luckily last year I found her in Missouri. I am once again experiencing motorcycle bliss and I intend to ride this incredible machine into the sunset!!

What's not to like, and Davis since 1928. Found a bag with coffe beans in my mothers house, soon 99 , phone # 42 to the store. When was a 2 digit #' normal around ?. = Old beans. Front Luigi part left. Cheers Tom. Sent fra min SM-A525F via Tapatalk

Ha, yeah, I bet those place-names have "local pronunciations" out there. They just seem to fit so nicely in the sequence (as much as Tucson to Tucumcari) . . . "Of travel, I've had my share, man! "

Sew... Today the front end came apart, and I found what I suspected but didn't want- the steering head bearings are 52mm, and the holes in the frame are between 52.20 and 52.65mm. This thing's had a clunk under braking since I bought it that I couldn't reproduce by hand or rocking, only shows under braking. I guess I'll clean it up and see if I can drive it all back together with some shim stock or a speedi-sleeve, or I'll have to use heavy loctite bearing retainer and deal with the results.