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Picked my Rosso Corsa up from Twiggers in Loughborough today, following throttle body balance & fixing a slow puncture that was due to a leaky valve. Great ride back home, with the bike more responsive than ever

I unloaded this new companion to my good old black buddy. Hope we all age gracefully together Black buddy will get some nice carbon parts and a new Lightscreen to feel proper next to T078.

I got a nice set of spare wheels for the Café Sport - Thanks @KINDOY2 - Originally from a Scura which has a different front axle configuration even though they both have Ohlins forks. The Scura front wheel has the two size bearings - 20/25mm ID - with the sleeved and shouldered spacer, the CS has two 25mm bearings with the spacer sandwiched between the two inner races. I pulled the bearings out and was looking for the latter spacer (GU01615290) and found it is still available from most usual suppliers but at a premium, ~$130+. Ouch! So, what are my options; 1_ Trying to find a used one is the simplest and most obvious solution but my Google-fu didn’t yield any result so far. 2_ Have one fabricated which give me the choice of material (more options here, suggestions welcomed) and probably gonna end up with a similar price tag as a new one. 3_ Cough-up the mulla and be done with it... Anyone here with a spare spacer gathering dust on a shelf?

yep Back to Black lasts about 2 days

Many thanks. I put that on order last week with a local auto store, as no one around had it in stock, but “supply chain” and other issues make it several weeks away. All fine, but i was looking around at other options, and sure enough the aluminum paint that i picked up did seem more shiny than i prefer, so i grabbed a can of satin finish clear, and thats the next experiment i was going to try. But all while awaiting the VHT. I did grab a bit of “tool box red”, for the little area of nasty rust that I’ll be cleaning up and prepping on the frame. Low risk of issue there, for while its visible, its somewhat tucked in under things and not as obvious, and will have a weld joint as a border.

There is something special about the sound of a V11 through a set of Mistrals.. That chug....

I have that itinerary planned; I like to capture the Eiffel Tower in the evening, when they have the lights on, or in the morning when the sun comes up! This week-end, they have the Le Mans Grand-Prix....

You are correct.... 87 it is. I read the wrong label. I am positive the V11 runs better on EFree gas. I am running a test at present, exclusively city rides to verify, but I am convinced it makes a big difference. I hardly get a protest from the Le Mans and I run it at low revs. The area where I live is 30 mph limited. Spring Valley Village. I am going to push my refuels from 150 miles to 200 miles. I have noticed and reported there seem to be a lot of people complimentary of the V11s. We saw that at Buc-ee's too. Everywhere I stop I often get compliments (for the bike only, unfortunately....)

Back in the 80's, Northern tool used to sell the barrel stove kits made by Vogelzang and I actually believe they were an asian knock-off. We built one for our shop and used mostly pallet wood , and it worked great. 3500 foot shop area and we mounted a pedestal fan behind the upper barrel and would heat up the whole shop in a hurry. Nowadays your right, they make stoves but back in the day they only had the kits for DIY'ers. Paul B

You mean the wood stove? Isn't Voglezang a brand of stove, or is it a style? My stove in the shop is just one of the double barrel stoves, where the kit with the door and feet is purchased cheap, and you add the barrels and a chimney. But heats fast and strong. Lot better than the propane options i've tried out there over the years that leave strange humidity and not enough heat. Inside the house is my hat-tip to the couple good Norwegians on this forum, as that's where I have my beloved big Norwegian Jotul stove. It's other title is my task-master. I spend too much time cutting firewood when i should be working on the motorcycle! My old house is too old and drafty, so the Jotul demands to be well fed. But in fairness it also keeps my 85 yr old father active, as he runs that chainsaw all summer... For those so inclined, the book "norwegian wood" is a quirky and interesting read. Yes, the multi-play on words is intended. figured it was just a coffee table book with nifty pics, but ended up being an interesting read.

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

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.

Not from where I'm sitting:( Ciao

G'day That's much better mate...! I had the same issue with mine when I first got the bike and it really annoyed me. It just made the whole bike look a bit rough. Cheers Guzzler

Took the “grape ape” V11 for its annual MOT roadworthyness test today. A pass so it’s back on the road after the winter hibernation. Oil & filter changed, but it needs a good tune up,

We had a southern jet stream driven heat wave role into the Bluegrass country, temps got up to 77 by afternoon. Took the opportunity to pick up my bike and air out any carbon buildup. About halfway home noticed the rear brake was sticking, heated up the rear disc. So we pulled over and pried open the pads with a pocket knife, looks like a rear master cylinder rebuild kit and brake pads are the next items on the parts list. It was a nice ride on curvy roads, bike ran brilliantly besides the brake hiccup.

Today I talked story about my V11. You see, I rent my TWee200 on RidersShare and had a renter today. He asked about all the cool bikes in the garage (which are not for rent). He's in from Ontario, Canada for a workshop on dental implants. He's a dentist. So of course I tell him the Scura's frame was invented by a dentist. "You should read up about it and get yourself a spine-framed Moto Guzzi." I say. We need more dentists to get into Moto Guzzis. Good things could happen. Maybe an electric Gambalunga. FYI, Gambalunga means "long legged" in Italian. Gambe lunghe e facile da convivere.

Took my silver Sport for its annual MOT test today (this is the annual UK roadworthy test, equivalent to the German TUV). First time out on 2 wheels since Nov last year. I generally get bikes back on the road towards the end of March when the road salt has gone