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Until you reach the margin of adhesion, the age of a tire doesn't make a difference in handling. But I've found that Italian bikes- 2 Tontis, the Sport-i, and a '74 Aermacchi 350- are all exquisitely sensitive to tire profiles. I ran 30psi in the front Bridgestone T30 because it had a nebulous, imprecise feel in hard cornering and I wanted more rubber on the road to maximize traction. (it never slipped even once in it's life) The Pirellis I replaced them with had much sharper cornering, but felt drifty on fast straight bits where the Bridgestones were boxcar-stable. I did notice with the Pirellis at the Spine Raid (Tail of the Dragon) that higher pressure, 38psi made fast corner dumping and transitions easier and didn't affect traction at any speed I ride. Also, any new tire has a perfect profile so replacing a tire with any visible wear will make handling changes you can feel. There is some ethereal feel to brand new rubber that defies description, something you sense but can't isolate. Maybe just in the head.

Had to find a safe place to pull over and bump the idle another hundred rpm after the latest Tune-up . . .

I'm at 8,300 feet. It's snowing. I have a dirt bike. I'm on a mission from God.

I've dealt with MG Cycle since '06, and never had any complaints. That said, All I ask of parts sources is that they send me the correct parts- and in that regard, MGC stands at the top of the hill, in MG specifically and a world apart from the dismal world of classic cars, trailers, and pedestrian transportation. I run a business too (trying to, anyway) and since the COVID ****, it's been infinitely more difficult. I assume MGC is no different, and I thank them for being there.

I will counter: During Winter, I ordered a V11 oil temp gauge/dipstick with a white face, to match the white gauges in my dash on my 2001 V11 Sport. They sent me a black faced oil temp gauge/dipstick instead. I contacted them, they apologized, and sent me the correct one, with a return label for the old one. This isn't a 750 Honda Nighthawk. I am deeply grateful I can get parts for my obscure Guzzi. I've spent probably $500+ with MGCycle for misc parts, and have always had great service, so YMMV. I'm just a guy who owns a V11 Sport, and don't work for MGCycle. I'm just gratful they and AF1 Racing exist.

Right, I forget I have the barhopping/10 laps tank. Sexy tho, ain't it? FWIW, I keep about 30psi front/ 32 rear, my bridgestones lasted 7500 miles and gas mileage was average. I don't think it matters much, or at all, with radial tires. I'll explore these Dunlops more deeply once I get somewhere with a curve.

Clearly not, but the chops look good.

All true. A 10 min warmup!! thats not good for fuel economy. Remember as I've mentioned before and most now know stopping and starting the engine especially from cold chews fuel in a major way due to the cold enrichment mapping. So 10 cold starts commuting to work and back will see the fuel economy dip alarmingly on that alone never mind the suburban traffic. Also every time you shut it down and start it hot it also goes onto the rich 3986 revolutions start mapping. So a 10 cold start week commuting with a few hot starts thrown in there for buying milk or whatever and the economy is going to suffer big time. Ciao

So, 270km/17liters = 168 miles/4.5 US gallons = 37.3 mpgUS. That's some smooth riding.

G'day fella's I seem to be only able to squeeze 17 litres into mine. With this I consistently get 270 kilometres before the low fuel light comes on and if pushed could get 300 but don't for fear of having to literally push it! This is on my commute so a mixture of conditions. On a ride/trip would be a wee bit less if ENJOYING the ride and would normally look for gas after about 220 ish kays. My mate Dave with the MV has a small tank and has smaller range so I don't have to think about it too much just refuel when he does, consequently not sure about mileage when out and about but would be less than the the commute. Cheers Guzzler Ps I look at gas as being a small price to pay for the pleasure of exercising these fair maidens.....

Important to note @Pressureangle is not on a V11, but an earlier Sport with a different tank.

@VtwinStorm I have been recording my refuels since I got the bike, last year in April 2021. Below is a screen shot of the application I use to track all my trips and refuels. The two last refuels on April 18th shows the following: 32 miles per gallon is more or less what I do when I run errands in the city. 40.7 miles per gallon is a run from H'town to Navasota, with Ethanol free gas refueling at Buc-ee's Waller. The 37.1 average miles per gallon is current. I usually do 150 miles and I refuel. Although I have pushed it to 200 miles with the reserve warning lit.

Well, like my UJM riding shopmate always says, these Guzzis are “real men bikes”… and we all know real men don’t need instructions…

All good thinking. I struggled with LED being very unidirectional, becoming alarmingly less visible from even slightly reduced visual angles (read: inattentive driver from the rear, off-center to the lane of travel). I updated the link in this thread. This simple LED tail/brake unit has been awesome. It was like ten bucks US . . . I remember learning that LED color must be matched to lens color for maximum effect.

Well, not today, but have made a few mods on the rear - to save my rear. First an LED taillight. Came with a smoke lens, but I wanted something a little brighter. So, I found a $10 eBay Ducati Monster rip-off taillight and used the clear lens. Then fabbed up brackets and added a cheap universal LED brake light atop the license plate. I have this strange aversion to being killed by a somnolent driver. Anything will help, and I have a couple or three LED flasher units (flash 3X then steady) that I can connect to either of the brake lights.

I also had no idea what this was about... Thanks for the explanation and mine are open as well. Cheers

Agreed. Any supplier with parts is a miracle at this point.

Hollow spokes. Some plug the casting holes to exclude dirt and debris.

You weren’t struck by lightning? Must be that clean living. And raw oysters. And bourbon.

My 2010 Chevy HHR gets ~31mpg highway with the tires inflated to 44psi. It doesn't change any, until you get down to about 35- then the mileage slips down to 28-29. It's possible that this is also an artifact of weather, since the only times my tires have been so low on pressure is in cold weather which is rare for me. For both cars and bikes, I tend to the pressure that gives the greatest mileage rather than road feel. I've never had a street bike (that is, never ridden one so hard) on which the pressure had any effect on traction. Anecdotally, Metzeler gave a few of us 'cheater' tires at Daytona '96, after proving that Dunlop was using F1 compounds in DOT molds for their contracted riders. On a 65hp, 450lb H-D 883, there was no physical way to slip those tires; the engineers had us all the way down to 17psi to get them up to the rubber temps they wanted. Simply amazing. And probably not as good as the store-bought tires we all use today.

Mileage is definitely low, and combined with other recommendations, I'd also double check that you're running the proper tire pressures...everyone has their preference, but I like to run 40/40 cold, some like it a bit lower, but that will eat into the mileage also. Just a thought in case it hadn't been reviewed already. I assume also that you don't have any brake drag either, wheels spin freely with no drag?

I'm not home, but I brought my courtesy phone. I cannot ship a spring for a couple weeks. I know that several of all y'all have stashed a spare one. Anybody already in BC, or elsewhere in Canada have a spare to help out a crippled V11?

G'day Doc Yep the commute is 70-80kays one way mostly country and open road with 15 ish of suburban traffic included, so yeah reasonably smooth. It's probably less on the return ( longer ) leg when hitting the 35 kays of GOOD twisties especially if Mr Plod isn't looking... We have rather DRACONIAN attitudes to speed here in the Socialist Republic of Dan ( aka Victoria ) so need to be vigilant.... Cheers Guzzler

In other news, I finally landed on a center tank pad to cover up PO's crookedly applied pad and subsequent discoloration. The new pad hasn't completely resolved the problem, but it's better than how it was. Another benefit is that we know for certain what gender this bike is now.

Right on the money. Best I saw on my 10k was ~40, riding 55-65mph. Worst was crossing New Mexico at 85mph, ~30. My fuel light comes on right at about 100 miles with 60 to go. Barely less than half. Annoying and easy to forget after a while.

Right, tank volume is more an actual, usable volume of 5.1 US gallons. (Don't make me reveal my method of proving this . . . ). The rest is trapped as fuel is returned to the right side of tank the away from the fuel tap. Probably the most commonly reported fuel economy in US gallons is 33-38 mpg. Agreed that dragging along at 2500 rpm is ungood. As is idling for 5-10 minutes (!). Get on, start up, ride off. Just keep the rpm and hard throttle under control for 8-10 miles. And, yes, the odometer (and speedometer) are "optimistic."

Buttoned up the Scura late last night and took it for a run - all working perfectly. Over the last couple of weeks I've managed to replace quite a few items, let me see if I can remember them all: 1. Replaced fuel petcock - old one was crusty, leaking and when I pulled it out of the tank had quite a bit of sediment accumulated about 1 cm high. I had this item on my bench for several years, finally decided to replace it. 2. With the tank off, it was obvious I needed to replace the fuel sending solenoid - prices had doubled on this just recently, but the wires on mine were broken and not repairable, it was crusty also, so a fresh one was installed. A bit tricky at first to install it so gas wasn't leaking, I put a little white grease in a thin layer on the threads...no more leak. 2a. Flushed tank out with extra gas to ensure no more sediment stuck anywhere else in the tank. Happy to report the tank went back on with no issues, just a slight push, and back in place, so no swelling to report. 2b. Fresh button hex head screws and washers on both the petcock and solenoid mounting brackets, as they were a mixed batch I believe from the prior owner. 3. Replaced all rubbers, fore and aft of the throttle bodies/airbox...snugged up easily. Replacement was quite easy. 3a. Thorough cleaning of the throttle bodies/butterfly valves, got a lot of crud removed from the walls of the throttle bodies and flaps closing snugly and completely. 4. Cleaned the airbox, small amount of oil at the bottom (normal), replaced air filter. 5. Installed new green shift lever that I had bought several years ago, love the feeling of the new shifter, feels a tad more precise. 6. On back order is the clutch extension line recommended by Scud to make clutch bleeding easier (like on my Norge/Griso) with a speed bleeder. 7. Changed spark plugs - right one had a bent electrode, how does that happen, both plugs looked quite decent, but fresh ones are always good. 8. Disconnected all electrical connectors, sprayed, cleaned and dried. Ensured plug wires properly and deeply connected in, rubber boots in good condition. 8a. Removed battery mounting bracket tray, scrubbed, sanded and painted it Black Cherry just to add some hidden color in the bike. Fresh rubber battery tray as well installed. 9. Have to put some Vaseline on the battery connectors and do a Carbtune TB synch now to fine tune it. 10. Late last night I saw that something is loose in my headlight, looks like a hexagonal piece of plastic, I assume it's the light deflector, but will see if that's possible to fix, or if I need a new headlight, I hope not. 11. Removed valve covers, replaced gaskets with the upgraded rubber REAL Gaskets from Tennessee, did a valve check, no adjustment was needed. Well, that's all I can remember, looking forward to more miles...always feels good to do the maintenance and get into the guts of the machine. I'd like to thank all of those who have helped contribute to the Tank Off Checklist, maintaining it, and also for those inventors on the site who make good replacement parts that are better than OEM (Upgraded Fuel line, green shifter, bleeder line). Much appreciated.

I have ordered parts from MG Cycles in the past and they are a great vendor, in fact, I still have a running wish list with them. I also order from AF1, TLM and Stein-Dinse as well as Ebay vendors for used parts and I am glad for ALL of them to exist in supplying the bits needed to keep our steeds running. As for the purchase of the Becker stand, the savings were a bit too substantial to ignore, not only the base price at MG was almost twice that of S-D, they wouldn’t even disclose their shipping charges before purchase. To me, operating my moto passion on a limited budget, not knowing how much I’m gonna be charged before I order doesn’t make me want to pursue that particular transaction.

I have ordered a bunch of stuff from MG Cycles recently, and all three orders have been promptly shipped and arrived as quick as I could expect. And they had a surprising collection of parts in stock. I am happy to support people that are semi-local and keep this stuff in stock.

I communicated with Becker-Technik about selling directly to the US; they said there is a liability issue. This liability does not exist for third party vendors. Too bad your suggestion to use Stein Dinse to purchase came too late for me. I added the link to my original post. I know that MG Cycles is more expensive, but I don't mind paying a little bit of extra so they continue to thrive and sell V11 spares in the USA.

Aha, that's better. Sorry folk's been a while not only between rides but posting photos.... Cheers Guzzler

I hope the V11 does not succumb to "skin suffocation" . . .

Tioga Pass... 9,943' elevation at the West entrance to Yosemite on Hwy 120, on street-oriented tires. Then swapped wheels for some fun single-track, which was nice and damp from the recent rain. Having two complete wheel-sets, one with aggressive knobbies, the other with TKC80s, makes this by far the most versatile motorcycle I've ever had.

Today I circumnavigated and summited the island of Maui on a Honda Africa Twin that I rented from Riders-Share.com. About 225 miles in total, including the famous "Road to Hana" and some less-travelled, twisty, one-lane, two-way roads on magnificent cliffs. Haleakala, the summit in the National Park, is over 10,000 feet elevation, While some of the road is at sea level - and by sea level, I men including wet pavement from wave spray. Some pics... At end of the ride, I checked my MPG: Mango Pineapple Guava Shave Ice. So I can report excellent MPG for this ride. I've been curious about the Honda Africa Twin for a long time. This was a DCT model. It was comfortable and I had a great day. But I don't think the DCT is for me. I'd like to try one with a manual transmission. While I applaud Honda for trying something new, I got really frustrated with the DCT. It would upshift automatically when I was trying to pass uphill... and upshift when I let off the gas to corner (meaning I was constantly either bogging the engine to exit, or hitting the manual downshift button with my left thumb. Sometimes it would downshift mid corner, which I found unsettling (especially in the dirt road sections). The DCT was kind of nice on straight and level, and small grades with easy curves - like a giant scooter. On the rough pavement and dirt, when I stood up, I kept doing "phantom shifts" with my left foot... but of course, there was no shifter. I suppose we will all have to get used to stuff like this as we move toward electric motorcycles. But I still like manual shifting. I think it's part of the fun of riding.

Dammit Google maps... the link still works for me. So here are the roads, starting in Paso Robles: Highway 46 (Get gas here, If you follow this route you need to have 160 miles range) South on Golden Hills Road Creston Road La Panza Road CA 58 East Soda Lake Road. This is the most direct way through Carrizzo Plain National Monument, it's a graded dirt road, but if you have more time and a riding partner, there are tons of side roads and other more interesting ways through the monument. 166 East/33 south (if you need gas, you can go North to Maricopa from here) 33 South (there is a small privateer gas station on this road. Sometimes it is open. You can gas up for sure in Ojai.)

Reservoir lid turned out great, right? Actually, the above pic of the lid is from just the right angle that it doesn't look like someone spilled a jar of raspberry jelly on it. This is what it really looks like: This coating will be stripped.