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Day three! After a 500 mile day I'm a bit exhausted so ignore the bad grammar and whatever. Haha I left Oberlin, Ks at 7:00 am and pounded pavement on hwy 36 towards Colorado. Once I hit Colorado it was open interstate on hwy 70. One stop on my list was Erico Motorsports in Denver they are a Moto Guzzi and Ducati dealer so I figured I'd swing by and check them out. Once I got off the highway and to my first stoplight I had troubles... All I could do is shift from 1st to 2nd so of course I'm thinking shift spring and first thing I think of is I have a spare from Scud! So boom I take it apart and replace the spring (the old one was bent funky but wasn't broken) get the new one in and it still shifts bad, found out I needed to adjust the freeplay? Or that bolt near the starter... Anyways three hours later I was on the road, had a beautiful ride on 70 thru the Colorado mountains and ended up getting a room in Grand Junction. Next stop tomorrow is the Utah/ Nevada border. https://www.dropbox.com/s/8fearoeikxhe85k/pxl_20220916_142357277.jpg?dl=0 https://www.dropbox.com/s/ctvih5oh1zhgwa3/pxl_20220916_184932309.jpg?dl=0 https://www.dropbox.com/s/qckv2gxmatfmxw6/pxl_20220916_214251682.portrait.jpg?dl=0

The "South'n Spine Raid " has always been a hopeful model for "SpineRaids" wherever you are and whenever you can gather SpineFrames. OhioRiver SpineRaid? Surfin' SpineRaid? Varsseveld SpineRaid? Bungendore SpineRaid? Spinal IceRaid?

FWIW, I found this distributor in the UK with fair pricing & shipping to US. https://www.diycarserviceparts.co.uk/intermotor-crank-sensor-18783.html

Sounds like a proper adventure. Enjoy that ride through Utah today. For future reference (and for anyone else) when the spring breaks you cannot shift at all. Other types of shift misbehaving are most frequently remedied by cleaning and/or adjusting the external linkage (especially the long shift lever pivot bolt).

I also used vaseline. Lately it was not really necessary so no recent experience. I do have a nice anekdote on this however. I had done the righthand switches of my LM2 before going to Mandello a few decades ago. All worked fine and I parked the guzzi outside Il Giardinetto (it was a hotel back in those days) on the side where the ramp to the lake was. Two days later we were about to return home and everything was packed. I pushed the starter and nothing happened. Kill switch was in RUN, so I pushed again and smoke and a smell of burn came out of the switch. Immediately after a large bunch of ants were evacuating the switch. Be carefull with vaseline in your switches when parking in Mandello next to Il Giardinetto. There are vaseline eating ants.

South East Ohio has some great roads, we did some of the Zanesville rides, won't be anything like the Dragon, but fun, just do the south of Zanesville rides. West Virginia is another ride rich state. Bristol TN/VA is another good area, 421 to Shady Valley and Mountain City is an excellent road.

I finally noticed the Air Hawk, wise move. I love those things. When you get home and have time to decompress and go into fine details; please share the model and type of tank bag you have. Including pros/cons fastening accessibility etc. I'm old school and love a paper map on a tank bag in front of me, but with the plastic gas tank it's the one change and improvement I haven't made to my V11. Kudos & props for doing the spring job on the road on the fly in 3 hrs. Even if it wasn't the problem, you are now just a little more intimate with the bike and it's off your "to do" list when you get home,lol. Loving the adventure and the updates. Safe travels home

Good to see he left the stock exhaust

Haha They don’t have coffee ever at that location, but we rounded some Java up elsewhere. I made it the rest of the way home dry. No more than two minutes after I walked in the door a sudden downpour began. Perfect timing !!! Thanks for the escort to familiar territory.

Getting close to steep, twisty, high elevation stuff. That's my favorite.

Good to see things are under control with the rev sensor, and good pricing. And now is the time to make a simple tool like I did to set the clearance. Cheers Tom.

Fiberglass, and thick fortunately.

https://motoradunomandello.com/en/

That weekend sounds good to me Docc. Maybe group of riders could meet you back in McMinnville, then take the hay bale state road tour back to Tellico?

It's a Magneti Marelli SEN813. Kiwi_Roy posted this in 2017 - The link is still good: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/CRANKSHAFT-SENSOR-ALFA-ROMEO-145-146-1-4-FIAT-Tempra-Tipo-1-8-LANCIA-/251703577340? This is the exact same part mine arrived quickly direct fit £24.96 as opposed to over £130 from Guzzi I had to really look hard for it I have told the seller and he is going to add the Bike OR SEN-813 to make it easier to find this sensor is fitted to a whole load of Guzzis V11 series and all these Fits Moto Guzzi Quota 1100, V11 Sport ALL, 1100 Sport IE, 1100 Sport Corsa, Bellagio, Breva ALL, Bellagio, Cali EV, Cali Jackal, Cali Stone, Cali Special, Cali Vintage, Centauro, Daytona RS, Griso ALL, MGS-01, 1200 Sport ALL, Norge ALL, Stelvio, V7 Classic, V7 Cafe, V7 Racer, V7 Stone, V7 Special, Nevada 750 (2004-2013) http://www.gutsibits.co.uk/pr/img/HelpIcon.gif Phase Sensor

We are talking timing/cam/phase sensor? http://www.miparts.com/detail/rpm-sensor-engine-management_15598#.WotM7qinGUm

^^^^ made it to the gas station.

Bill, A lot of Global Warming has transpired in the 18 years of the SSR. Nicole & I rode down to Tellico Plains in May I think 🤔 & ran into 88 degree days(we were on a 116cc Indian heat box, it was hot) So rain, tornadoes dry weather El Nina, whatever, I like KaleEV enjoyed riding w fellow Spine Raiders. There is something about riding in a group of Guzzi sport bikes rumbling down the road that is drawing me in for more.

A shout out to Joe and kalev11. I was honored by your -wet- company when we turned north for the Great Commonwealth (KY)! How's that Dairy Queen coffee?

Day two! I only got 436 miles in today and ended up getting a hotel room in Oberlin, Kansas. Hwy 36 was awesome till I hit Kansas because they have this 300 mile yard sale down the highway. Haha The 35 mph crosswind was insane, and I ended up soaked in a few storms. I met a really nice guy in Agra, Kansas that let me hangout in his garage as one of the storms passed. The bike is running great and the Michelin Pilots are awesome in the rain https://www.dropbox.com/s/o2cxss402x47zso/pxl_20220915_220100569.jpg?dl=0 https://www.dropbox.com/s/o0razrpp4yxfw72/pxl_20220916_004113786.jpg?dl=0 https://www.dropbox.com/s/xjbqiqir74ch0dm/pxl_20220915_202947182.jpg?dl=0

FunFact: yes, that is the cloud ceiling on the Cherohala. No, there is zero visibility above that distinct "fog" line at about 1500 feet elevation (so common, there). Love that "survivor" image! Went over, and also back!

I swear by plain old Vaseline for switch contacts, its what I have been using for at least the last 60 years.

new bike-adventure, fire, steak, the heartland. what could be better.

Thanks to Docc, this is my favorite picture of the Coppa ever.

Weren't we all Chuck..Weren't we all...

Not a V11 topic, but whilst I was in the carpark yesterday, a 1964 Mini Cooper S rolled in. A total automotive legend, winner of multiple rallies in the 1960’s; star of the original Italian Job film with Micheal Caine (not the rubbish remake). Would blow cars with 4 times the engine capacity away on a twisty circuit or a mountain stage. Pure class, perfect compliment to my green Guzzi V11

+1 on paper maps. This picture was the start of a great adventure. San Diego, CA to central Utah primarily on twisty two-lane roads. One sheet per gas stop. Just rotate in the tank bag window. I had another set for the way home. And here is Capitol Reef, the last point on the map in this picture. And I'll tell you my favorite paper map story... I'm on a 450 KTM doing a solo loop from Sedona AZ to Flagstaff and back. I get my trusty Federal Motor Vehicle Use Map from the ranger station and plan my loop. On the way back South I'm getting a little concerned about time so I'm moving quick and I get flagged by a ranger. He tells me I'm not allowed to continue on my motorcycle and that I need to turn around. This a HUGE time-sucking detour if I do it. I pull out my Motor Vehicle Use Map. I point to a spot on the map and ask, "Are we here?" He says "Yeah, I guess that road is open now, but only to motorcycles, go ahead." I make it back before dark. PAPER MAPS RULE. Now I confess, I also had a GPS mounted on the handlebars at the time and I was following the line I had laid down (based on the MVUM). On a sidenote, a "breadcrumb" GPS track can save your ass if you are off in the woods alone and get confused.

Prior to the 1100 Sport series there were basically three different cylinder head designs and valve sizes. With the 700 and 750cc loops there were other tiny differences but by the time the motors got taken out to 850cc right the way through to the last of the 950's there were basically three types of of combustion chamber design, small valve, mid valve and big valve. These were matched with a variety of pistons to give different compression ratios and from the 850T right the way through to the 1000S they all used a 78mm throw crank. That 'Golden Age' of the Tonti framed bikes was really one where Guzzis were like Meccano sets for grown ups! You could mix & match pretty much end thing. Of all of them the 'Big Valve' heads, which only came in squarefin form, have always been a bit of a 'Holy Grail' for people wanting to build rorty-snorty motors but IMHO the 'Big Valve' motor used in the MkIV-V LeMans and some 1000S's is a horrible thing! To get the compression up due to the combustion chamber being huge to accommodate the big valves the incredibly heavy, cast, pistons have an enormous alp of alloy on the top of them. This in turn makes the flame path long and convoluted and leaves all sorts of nooks and crannies for end gas to lurk to pollute the next incoming charge lowering combustion pressure and risking detonation issues. Bleargh! Horrible! Also big valve heads are absolute murder on valve guides! No idea why really as the 1100 motors, even the 'Sport' ones with similar sized valves and guide length don't seem to flog out so quickly as the smaller bore 'Big Valve' heads. If I was in the market for a 1000S I'd actually prefer one of the mid valvers with 36mm carbs. While no doubt it would get me sneered at by people who 'Know better' the fact is that the mid valve LeMans III/1000S motor and it's even sweeter close cousin used in the SPIII are to my mind the apogee of the 78mm stroke engine's development. The Mk III was an 850 and to my mind every bit as sweet as the 950's.

While I hope Guzzi does come out with a modern Lemans / V11, neither of those two would do it for me. Too angular, to busy. I would rather something more Italian looking, something with fewer lines but the lines it has are right. But happy if Guzzi comes out with a new big block, as the current small block doesn't do it for me (never mind that we own one).

lol