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Rolling out after everyone meticulously selected their preferred routes, destinations, and derived riding partners . . . . . . our small team was fortunate to encounter a "need." I heard Josh say, "Let's try to fix it ." Having benefited from the "ideas" about the area and the lunch spot (and the lake overlook), we navigated back to The Lodge with little precip. Josh noted that our small team represented four decades of Moto Guzzi and suggested a photo op with SIX decades of Moto Guzzi at the SSR: '70s; 80s; 90s; 20s; 'teens; and 2020's . . .

My friend V-7 Paul sent me a text Friday evening asking about info I had mentioned about a Guzzi gathering in Tellico Plains. I explained that I could not spend the weekend but would like to ride over early Saturday, meet the group, maybe have lunch and ride back home the same day. Wife is worried about the bears who like to stroll thru our back yard occasionally. Paul is up for it I get my hall pass from my WONDERFUL WIFE and we decided to meet near his house at 07:30 which means I need to interrupt my rem sleep and drag my raggedy butt out of bed before sunrise. We met at the designated location and other than the thick fog had a relatively uneventful ride to Tellico Plains. Arrived at the Lodge around 09:00 in time to see everyone. Was great seeing acquaintances from previous Raids and meeting new folks to. Paul and I started a ride after the first group left. Thinking we were behind the group we didn't waste much time on SR315. Just as were came to a rise my bike sputtered to a stops I watch Paul ride off over the horizon. At a slim and trim 215 lbs of retired lazy butt, luckily I only had to push the bike uphill about 10 yards to the driveway of the Duckett Memorial Cemetary. How appropriate, a final resting place for me or the bike if I can't figure out why it stopped running. As I was gasping for air I noticed a strong odor of gas and started looking for leaks. Look down at my right pants leg and it was wet from just above the ankle down to my boot. Since I don't suffer from incontinence I looked at the lower right side of the fuel tank and noticed the return line to the fuel pressure regulator was disconnected. Got that fixed turned the key on and hit the start button.....nothin!! It was about this time the group which had left before us go riding past, waving as they go. Checked all the fuses and relays. The plastic top of the fuel injection fuse was melted but still functioning. Replaced a couple relays with the spares I had brought- Docc. Still no neutral light! Ok I'm running out of ideas. Time for AAA which would be fine if there was cell service. Paul graciously offered his bike for me to search for cell service. Ride down the the local fire hall about five miles back, still no service. Figure that one out. Furthur down the road I stop at an intersection with a lawn sale. When I ask if they have cell service I was met with "who is your provider?". "Nope, gotta go further towards town". Wait, what's that sound rumbling thru the hills? It sounds like another group of Guzzis. And this group even stops to ask what happened to the owner of the bike I'm on. Doc, Josh, and the South Florida boys to the resue !! Head back up the road to my bike for a little roadside diagnostics. A circuit tester miraculously appears and each circuit on the bike is checked. Then someone asks if the bike is in neutral. Well it must be, I pushed it uphill onto the shoulder. Let's check again. Duh! It was caught between 3rd and 4th gear. Falls into neutral on the little green light on the dash lights. Pull the clutch lever, push the little black go button a varoom, starts right up. My bike still has the idiot proof switches for neutral safety, clutch and side stand. With the sidestand down and in gear, or between gears it won't start. Gear up and off we go. Rode to the top of a mountain and a rest stop with an awesome overlook South towards the North Georgia mountains. After a few minutes we hear thunder off in the distance. Time for V-7 Paul and I to roll. We head back South thru North Carolina and into Georgia without incident. Paul breaks off to head home near Blairesville as I continued on to Hiawassee. The closer I got to home the darker the skys got. About two miles from home the roads were wet but at least it's not raining. Just as I pulled onto my road I caught up to the rain, but with only a quarter mile to go not a concern. What an awesome day. Great riding. Close to two hundred miles round trip. Met some old friends and made new ones. The bike for the most part ran great. V-7 Paul was impressed how well 20 year old bikes ran so strong and wanted me to pass along his thanks for the great hospitality everyone extended. We are so looking forward to the 20th Southern Spine Raid. Tools, relays, and spares included.

Nice! Needed a loop and a V100 to round it out. Amazing looking at that, fifty years! The Tonti seems like only yesterday! Fu*k I'm old!

Success!

These are my notes from replacing the pawl spring in my 2004 V11 LeMans Nero Corsa: Removing the plate 1. Unbolt the Ohlins shock reservoir cannister then secure it out of the way. 2. Disconnect negative battery terminal. 3. Take off starter cover, disconnect then remove the starter. Tape over the now-open clutch cover to prevent wayward hardware from dropping in. 4. Disconnect the neutral switch. 5. Discontent the shifter rod then remove the gear change lever from the shifter plate. 6. Put a pan under the transmission. Optionally, drain the transmission fluid. Plan on replacing the fluid with Red Line Heavy Shockproof gear oil. 7. Remove the 11 socket-head screws that hold on cover. It may be necessary to shorten the hex key to get to the screw in the lower left corner. It will be necessary to shorten the hex wrench to get at least the screw in the lower left corner. Tap the edge of the plate with a rubber mallet to loosen it. Disassembly 1. Remove selector retaining plate. Use a 19mm wrench to prevent the lever while removing the slotted screw. Plan on replacing the slotted screw with a hex screw. 2. Remove the plate. 3. Remove the 2 snap-rings on top of the selectors. 4. Plan on replacing all 4 snap-ring retainers as they may become stretched. Note: The selector shafts are 12mm. Correct snap-rings do not seem to be commonly available in the US so it may be necessary to order from a Moto Guzzi parts dealer. 5. Remove the lower 2nd-4th-6th selector. 6. Remove the upper 1st-3rd-5th selector along with the selector shaft. Both may come out by pushing on the outside end of the shaft but it may be necessary to use a screwdriver to lift the indent roller lever away from the selector. 7. Inspect shifter shaft seal and order replacement if necessary. Assembly 1. Set the selector lever spring on the selector shaft by hooking each end of selector spring over the pin on the selector lever. Do not hook the shifter pawl spring onto the pawl yet. Note: The "newest" replacement spring from MG Cycle looked identical to the broken one so I obtained a "scud" super spring, which was obviously more robust. 2. Lubricate the selector lever shaft then partially insert it into the shifter cover. Make sure the pawl spring is in position to hook it onto the pawl. 3. Lubricate the upper upper 1st-3rd-5th selector shaft, slide the selector into position on the shaft with the indexing mark facing toward the lower selector shaft then slip the shifter pawl into place behind the selector gear. 4. Slide the selector lever and the upper selector down simultaneously making sure the selector lever spring does not bind and the tab on the selector stop plate is aligning with the corresponding notch on the bottom of the selector. Use pliers to move the indent roller away from the selector to allow it to slip into place. 5. Hook the pawl spring onto the pawl. 6. Lubricate the lower 2nd-4th-6th selector shaft then slide the selector onto the shaft making sure to align the indexing marks on both selectors. 7. Secure both selectors on their shafts with new snap rings. 8. Install the selector plate using new snap rings. Put a dab of Loctite on the screw. Use a 19mm open end wrench to prevent the lever pin/detent lever shaft from turning while you tighten the screw. This is easier if you replace the slotted screw with a hex head screw. 9. Rotate the selectors until the pawl is at its closet point to the adjustable eccentric then adjust the eccentric to a 0.30-0.40mm gap. 10. Rotate the selectors to the neutral position so the neutral sensor is aligned with the hole on the back of the lower 2nd-4th-6th selector. Installation · It's a good idea to dry-fit it first (without sealant) so you have a feel for it and don't get sealant everywhere · Insert the lower left scew into its hole. · Longer screws in the lower-middle and upper left corner where the locating tubes are. · You want as clear and straight an approach as possible so you don't get sealant everywhere. · Wedge a screwdriver under the fuel line to keep it above the transmission case. · Turn on the bike then confirm that the neutral light is working by shifting to first and second. If the light does not work, it is possible that one of the circlips failed to stay in its groove and allowed the cam wheel to shift inboard where it did not contact the neutral switch.

By the dawn's early light ... on Sunday at the Lodge at Tellico. A great Raid .... thanks to docc and all. Bill & Kathi P.S. Yes, more pix later.

I was swarmed by wasps when I was a preschooler. I was swollen so badly that my ears turned inside out they actually called a doctor (housecall!) and he gave me antivenom shot. SInce then I've been bitten a few more times and even a single bite causes me great swelling. As a public service notice, I recommend getting some Benadryl. Certainly go for bigger than recommended dose but don't OD either.

I tried to "Ha Ha!" that, but got this ... OTOH, I could "laugh" at Pete's. Obviously, Sede Centrale, Carabinieri, was not amused. I am now worried about disciplinary action. Bill

Our very own, personal, Carabinieri . . .

The cam retaining fitting wears because of lack of lubrication not thrust. Guzzi use tapered cam lobes and domed lifter faces to achieve rotation and the lobes are tapered 8' of a degree in opposite directions between the lobes to avoid end thrust. The later retainers used oil slots to reduce wear on the thrust face. Rotating the engine by hand with a ratchet or spanner speed won't de prime the oil pump, same as it won't prime the oil pump at that speed turned in the correct rotation. It's simply too slow to do any pumping either way. Phil

I always make sure that I turn the engine forwards before valve adjustment too. We know the thrust washer on the forward end of the camshaft can wear on the fwd face, so the shaft is loaded aft when running. I assume this is because the cam lobes run off-center of the cam followers to rotate the followers. Turning the engine backwards may let the camshaft move forward and change the valve clearance. Also the oil pump will deprime itself so oil pressure will be slower to rise on the next start.

That was up early. This was up late:

Right; I think we are all in agreement. We agree there are two TDCs, only one should be used to adjust the valves' gap. Spinning the engine either direction achieves the same, while it is preferred to turn it in its normal working direction.

What Pete said. It is true that you can't properly set valve clearance if you are at the wrong TDC. But if you spin the engine in either direction you will see both TDC's, the one that has both valves open followed by the one that has both valves closed, followed again by the one that has both valves open. It just goes on. As to spinning the engine backwards, in my opinion it is not critical with the V11 engine but just as a matter of practice I always spin the engine the direction it was built to spin. Spinning it backwards will not damage it. It will not affect setting valve clearances. It isn't going to make your wife leave you. But I would still suggest as a matter of proper practice spinning the engine in the direction it was made to spin. If we were setting cam timing or ignition timing it might actually make a difference. We are not, so it doesn't. But it is still the right thing to do.

TDC=Top Dead Centre. It occurs twice in the 720 degree cycle of the motor. Both times the piston is at the top of its stroke it is at TDC but on only one occasion are the tappets on the base circles of the cams and that is when you adjust the clearance.

"Always carry a flagon of whiskey in case of snakebite, and furthermore, always carry a small snake." ― W.C. Fields

Relay fluid!

As always, will bring some. Also some Italian maraschino cherries for Kale that I promised him in Kentucky. Bill

Well, from the last show I went to these were some of the bikes sporting the Avon Roadriders. So, yes, they aren't the highest performance tires but for a lot of bikes they don't need to be.

The manual has the original pressures, for the original tires. There should also be a sticker on the chassis that lists those stock pressures. Reality is by now no one should have the original tires still on their V11. So, while the original pressures make for a good starting point many will find that they prefer slightly different pressures with their current tire of choice. Generalities; less air pressure = more grip = more wear / more air pressure = less grip = less wear. Also, I find handling is lighter with more air pressure. That can be a good thing to a point, but too much air pressure beyond that happy middle ground tends to lead to a lack of confidence with the bike feeling "flighty".

In my experience, I found those pressures resulted in undesirable wear. I have had best outcomes with 2.4/2.8 bar , front/rear (35/40 psi). Mind you, this is a short frame Sport 120/70 front, 160/60 rear always with the panniers loaded and ridden like a jack rabbit on hot lava. YMMV!

And on the anchor's plinth: ETERNAL VIGILANCE IS THE PRICE OF LIBERTY

Well, they fit for sizes that are hard to find otherwise. I have not found them to be particularly durable or long-lasting. They "stick" and handle decently for what I use them on (Honda GB500). I would rather they lasted better, but never want to give up traction for that (again). "I had a bad experience ."