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It took me 2 years, but finally there's a Guzzi in my garage again. Better pics after maintenance, first going to Assen for 2 days of track fun.

I was seated in the Indy mile stadium, watched this live, in town for the MotoGP races, rode over to the fairgrounds to see the dirt track racing. Rossi, Kenny Roberts, Nicky Hayden, & I think Willie G Davidson were all in attendance, weather was perfect. Kenny was supposed to do a parade lap and stop but he went for more and ran wide open across the start/finish line. The 750 2-stroke was screaming as he roared by the grand stands, the capacity crowd went crazy, unforgettable.

The best racin day in Indy in memory. Infield turn 3 - 4

Some people are there to witness history

Truth . . .

After a year, my Shin Etsu treated original chin pad still never dried out, whitened, or greyed. I retreated it today, but could not see any significant change even after a year. This special grease has totally checked out for our early tank chin pads (and the seat cowl bum stop)!

.....Way too late for that! After conferring with several of you guys in both public & private, I installed the MG latest & greatest cam chain cover gasket dry on wednesday. Then proceeded to replace the leaking timing sensor too after dealing with that pos for a few years now. Oil had been making it way up through the center of the sensor and out between sensor molded housing and cable casing. I also replaced some missing heat insulating foil on the exterior bottom of the fuel tank. So, I gassed it up Friday and rode a few miles. There doesn't seem to be any leaks oil or fuel (yet). I did the shift spring thing last Fall, no leaks at the trans either, I hope i'm hitting a lucky patch with these recent repair tasks. I'm happy I didn't break the fuel tank fittings when working with the tank. Today, I washed it and maybe, weather permitting, I'll be able to ride again soon. Thank you for thinking about my V11 issues and offering advice, I appreciate it. Art

The fairing, yeah... too easy. 2 screws in the front sides, 2 in the tank ends, and the mirrors. The tricky part is getting it past the forks; turn the forks fully to one side or the other, and stretch anxiously. It's a bit easier if you have the tank off but not much. Putting it back on has the additional PITA of coupling the intake hoses. Overall it's very simple if a little aggro. FWIW next time my front's off I'll take the advice of others to replace the axle pin nut with a common hex nut.

I have been an expatriate for the greatest part of my life. I lived about everywhere in the world. I learned to not fear what I am not familiar with; of course, today's global world has brought a lot of scams from people looking to make a few bucks. I regularly purchase items from outside the USA; that includes eBay. As far as searching for rare items, using VPN software, I set my locale in the country where I am searching, and I use the language of the place. This is what happened with Facebook. I used Italian keywords. Obviously, we have come a long way from the language barrier. But if I set myself in Italy and search in Italian, I get hits that I don't necessarily get with those key words in English. I also omit some of the obvious key words such as V11, because those search engines work for those who pay the most, and you end up getting hits that lead to nothing. Maybe with AI chats the problem will be solved. I have made a few attempts with Google BARD, such as making basic searches for V11. For example, I ask BARD to give me a list of active Moto Guzzi Forums, and at the time, it declined. I think that sooner than later, those AI chats will be able to find everything. Somehow, I don't think it is going to be for the best.

And just to round it off, this bloke was at Uni with me for a couple of years. He's brilliant. @docc pay attention to how relaxed the left hand ist.

If you had one battery leak, it could have been an issue with the battery being bad. Having two of the same brand leaking moves the likely fault to something you are doing with your batteries. The odds of one failing, slim but possible. The odds of two having the same failure reduces the odds that it was an issue with the battery and increases the odds that it is something external to the batteries, like the way they are being charged or treated. Also, my money is on the Sparker being the exact same battery as the Odyssey. Only the sticker on the battery is different as I recall. While I get basing your purchasing choices on your experiences, I don't see Yuasa as being any better than Odyssey. If anything, Yuasa is a lower grade battery. Besides, I thought everyone was going to Lithium batteries now. Even I bought a lithium battery when the wife's Monster needed a new battery. Likely the same choice will be made for the other bikes when it is time. Not sure the weight savings matter on a bike as heavy as a Guzzi. But the ability to sit for a long time and not discharge is a good thing. Some brands even have a reserve capacity you can activate so a bike with a "dead battery" can start itself.

Welcome aboard Martijn!

Hi All Well good progress to date on the Sport. Got the rear end up and wheel off for new rubber. Will do the same for the front when I get the MG "ring nut" socket delivered later this week. Took the opportunity to grease the driveshaft and lube the splines. Now for the airbox, fuel filter, valves etc.. I downloaded the Sport manual from Greg's site and between that and a search of various forums I can't find the instructions for removing the fairing.. anyone know where I can find this info? Thx Tim

Keeping the Odyssey PC545 on a charger is fine as long as the voltage is high enough and the initial charge is performed to specifiction. Most "trickle chargers", including the seemingly ubiquitous "Battery Tender" brand, charge at around 13.10-13.15v. Odyssey is clear that their battery will be damaged with "float" charging below 13.2. The specified range is 13.5-13.8. AGM specific chargers should be configured for this, but I have had them fail to meet this specification. I always monitor with a voltmeter to be certain what the charger is actually doing. Odyssey (EnerSys) also states the battery cannot actually be charged with less than 6 amps . . .

Inspired by today's post about Odyssey Batteries in a different thread; this brought back this song, from.... Odyssey

Great find…these are rare but really nice to have for a rear bag…Also highly suggest getting longer screws, same style recessed head, it will make it easier to mount and provides more purchase on the frame. I found them at my local ACE hardware…made it much easier to mount. I painted my rack and screws black to keep with the Scura look…it’s very convenient to have a small bag. 3kg limit but With care could be 5-6 kg without any trouble. No sitting on it!!

Now, that is some frikkin' RIDING !

Let me know if you need some pictures of how to mount the rack. It's not immediately obvious (at least it wasn't to me).

The weight limit listed on the rack is 3kg. I have toured with 4 to 5 times that piled on it. The rack itself is strong enough for more. The Mfg concern is likely the mount points which are the weak spot. They are the tabs pitifully welded to the frame and carry the weight and vibration of the mufflers as well as the passenger pegs. The use of the rack provides some stability to the area imo, though the extra 'levered' weight should be considered when loading. They also maybe were considering controlability/liability with the weight 'warning' I wouldn't pay it much thought.

More friends of mine. Homesick now...

Friends of mine in Melbourne around 1990. I think I'm getting nostalgic...

Go Joe. Can I have your workshop when you're finished with it?

The best Skynyrd song of all .

Oil & Filter Change.

That's interesting. I thougt I read several years ago that they had ceased making custom tanks. Apparently not. Here's the site, I believe. Al's Facebook link wouldn't let me in without signing up. (Not a chance of that happening...) https://www.alu-tanks.de/39994.html all in German, and no English option, but there is contact info there under "Kontakt": https://www.alu-tanks.de/41368.html

Photos of the custom seat.

Photos of the tank and filler. The tank was made by the following, cost $1500 The owner of this bike is going to have another tank made, and said it would be nice if enough owners banded together to see if a discount could be negotiated if enough buyers committed. https://www.facebook.com/friedhelm.lammers

More detailed photos of the fairing.

And here are some photos of the bike as he continued to transform the Lemans into his vision of a cafe-styled retro bike

It would be telling to record the voltage progression of that charger using a quality voltmeter.... Primary charge should not exceed 15.0v and the "float" >13.2 . . .

Paging @Lucky Phil to the white courtesy phone... Art, I assume you've read the post docc referred to earlier in the thread - that’s a pretty good endorsement for the newer gasket imo.

@activpop, Where is the main ground cable that should be attached to the back of the gearbox?

Hey All, I've just picked up a 2000 V11 Sport with Magni fairing after lusting after one for years. I've been riding for 13 years, starting on a Honda CM400. I've had a VFR, KTM 640 Adv, Versys and Buell XB. The V11 joins the current stable of a 2014 Ducati Hyperstrada and 2022 Royal Enfield Interceptor 650 (My girlfriend's). Caught the Guzzi bug from my dad who's had an Eldorado, California, Convert, 750s, Breva, Quota, Nuovo Falcone at various times. Looking forward to meeting you all and plumbing the depths of knowledge and information archived in these forums. If you're in Eastern Ontario or West Quebec hit me up for a ride or a beer sometime, but never both together. Cheers, Sam

I am encouraged! Original 2000 Chin Pad on left, after ShinEtsu. 2002 used part on right.

The Chin Pad was really difficult to pull off (better than it flying off at speed!). I treated the rubber capture grommets (as well as the rubber fuel filler surround) to the delight of ShinEtsu grease. I never noticed that rubber surround on the fuel neck before . . .