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aha, thats the parts catalogue i’ve been looking for….

Good luck finding a "take-off" V11 airbox. Turns out, chicks dig 'em. Although no one will say for what . . .

A lot of people remove the oil pan to swap out the filter . they install a hose clamp on the filter to prevent the filter from backing off . I've done it both ways . Now I stick with one brand of filter and one filter socket and stick with it . A person wants to install the filter and make sure it is SNUG upon installation. To keep from crossthreading the cover , push it up against the oil pan and start rotating it like you are unscrewing it . You will hear or feel a click . This is when the leading edge of the threads on the cover and oil pan pass . Stop turning the cover and start rotating it clockwise . You will (hopefully) never mess up the threads again .

Gearboxes don't really suffer the condensation issue like an engine. An engine produces a LOT of water vapour starting from cold and that's what contaminates the oil and needs to evaporate off. Short runs just kills engines as does short start stop stuff like shuffling cars around in driveways and workshops. Doesn't matter what oil you use either it just kills them. Gearboxes not so much, foaming is an issue with gearboxes esp if they are overfilled a bit. Phil

No. All I've done up to now is new plugs, vavle clearance, set the TPS, look at connectors to see if they look ok, that sort of stuff. One of the next things will be to look at the various sensors, and go back to the beginning and do the "decent tune up" again. PS: Computers, yes, I can get along with them well enough mostly. Not that I'm a genius or anything, but doing the work I do, dealing with slightly "out of the envelope" computer applications is a matter of course.

I've seen a lot of stuff about those sort of problems, whether it relates to a V11, a CARC bike, a Breva 750, or whatever. As far as I can tell, it all boils down to getting as direct a connection as possible from the battery to the starter solenoid through a big, fat wire, so the starter solenoid gets enough of a kick in the arse to do its job properly when you push the "go" button.

Or a 27mm nut welded to a bolt. Good grip and close to the pan. Cheers Tom. Sent fra min SM-S906B via Tapatalk

MGCycle sells an oil filter access cover tool with a 1/2" drive - could come in handy used in conjunction with a breaker bar . . . https://www.mgcycle.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=2695:dbbf603ff0e99629dda5d75b6f75f966

I woud check the cables in the ign lock, and at the same time make a little loop with the wiring and strap it easily on the lock. Every time you turn the handlebars it will strain yor cables. Bearings shoud be easy obtainable, will go looking if nesecearly. Same time again check the lenght of the spacer between bearings. If 12cm ad a 1mm shims. Cheers Tom.

Bristol spent the whole war getting this engine half way reliable and producing power and at the end of the day the advantage it offered was completely negated from about 1941 onwards due to the development of high octane fuels. Pre war when fuel was pretty rubbish it offered a full point of additional compression according the Harry Ricardo's experiments. A classic case of flogging a dead horse or continuing with a design that you should simply have shelved years earlier. Bristol bet the future of the company on the sleeve valve engine and failed. Rolls Royce and others but esp RR took a proven design and just kept refining it until it was powerful and reliable. A lesson there in that. Dogged development of a fundamentally sound design produces success. Very much like the evolution of the motorcycle front fork. Phil

Gears Are Good: a pictorial case for gears In keeping with the D-Day anniversary, here is an archive photo of the valve-timing gears from the Bristol Hercules radial engine. This was a 14-cylinder two-row radial sleeve aero engine produced by the Bristol Engine Company starting in 1939. It powered the Bristol Beaufighter heavy fighter, and was commonly used on British bombers at the time. This engine was designed on drawing boards, using manual drawing instruments and 2D orthogonal projections. No 3D solids, no CAD simulations to check for geometric interference.

A buddy and I visited the LA version of the popular Austin Handbuilt Motorcycle Show. I found a few Guzzi items. https://revivalcycles.com/pages/handbuilt-motorcycle-show

Indeed, and the water doesn't have to be leaking in from the outside. Condensation will do it. Has the bike been doing a lot of short trips? The reason I ask: I used to have a Z900, which I used in Melbourne as daily transport. The sight glass for the engine oil nearly always showed a milky white sludge. I only got clear after a good blast out of town for at least an hour. I would have been interested to know if your gearbox oil looked a little more "normal" after a long ride out of town to let it all get properly warm. When it all warms up properly, the condensation (water) evaporates back out.

Timing - TPS issues. Can't remember, did you change the mapping ? Seems you are capable of handling COMPUTERS, I'm not. A good friend and some toying with the ECU. AMAZING what can be done. Good luck with getting rid of that kangaroo ride. Cheers Tom.

I don't have these, and don't expect to be buying some, but this is the brand that is so dominant here that one could believe that they are the only manufacturer of such systems. https://www.stahlbus.de/index.php?language=en

Hey my V11 fellows! Finally I got my beauty from Amsterdam! I rode it through Hamburg - Kodling - Thisted! Still on the way back to Stavanger! I just love it! Its just fine. Even though I have some bad luck with it. Anyway, I will post another topic for asking help on the issues I have I register it here before I register it in Norway! Here are some photos! I have some videos too! To be continued

Thanks, I'll look at that. I'm planning on looking at everything I can think of, but am having trouble finding the time to do it. Plugs, by the way, are new, so I don't think there is a problem with them specifically.

Bearings size 20x47x14. Cheers Tom.

A coupling bolt for 5/8" all-thread makes a more usable alternative, but the right tool fits perfectly.

Finally got an update on the bike. It looks like the electrical issue is fixed. Just a few burned connectors and the affected wires. Perhaps the battery has knocked out cell. Gearbox is TBD.

joe.caruso@ntlworld.com Phil

You might need to try calling to the geriatric brain dead inhabitants at wildguzzi. You know the ones who's brains are dulled and befuddled by all that smoke they keep breathing in around the "camp fire" Phil

Replaced the standard size Michelin Pilot Power 2CT’s (Front had 12k Kms. (7200 miles) Rear 10k Kms (6200 miles) with Road 6’s 120/70ZR17 and 180/55ZR17. Have had it for a couple rides from Vancouver to Whistler return on Sea to Sky Hwy (sea level to 2200 ft) 150 miles round trip of nice twisty road. The 2CTs were finished, but I had really liked how sticky they were. The Road 6’s seem very nice handling, but comparing new to old is not really a fair evaluation. The Road 6’s are pricey compared to other option but wanted to try them to see how they do.

Improv !

If I recall correctly the axle nuts can be used to create a "tool" for the filter cover = 27mm . . .

https://www.motiveproducts.com/collections/brake-bleeder-kits You can buy decent ones now for about half the price of these. I've had mine for 8 years or so. Phil

A fabulous day out at the VMCC Founders day at Stanford Hall today

audiomick , please check the spark plug wires to ground using a DVOM . You are testing the secondary side of the coil , the plug wire and the cap. also , there is a resistor in the spark plug . You can test the terminal at the top of the plug to the center electrode to verify a good resistor in the plug. If you get infinite reading , you will find (probably) an open in the circuit. Mine was an open in the spark plug cap. They unscrew and you can pick up a new one at any good bike shop.

Another classic, appropriate for the season:

It's best to avoid the old pump the pedal and/or lever bleeding process if you can on older vehicles most especially. It's not uncommon for corrosion and contaminants in the system to be at the end of the master cylinder where the piston and seal never get to in normal operation. Then you flush the fluid or bleed the brakes using the old pump the lever/pedal style and the seal is now pushed all the way down to the bottom of the master cylinder bore where it never normally reaches and bingo the seal is damaged. Similar reason for changing the slave cylinders on old drum brakes when you fit new brake shoes. If you don't when the slave piston is pushed all the way back into the cylinder fitting the new shoes it wrecks the seals 90% of the time. Pressure bleeding is better and safer these days and the bleeders are cheap to buy. You also don't get air sucking past the bleed screw threads giving a false reading of bubbles which often happens using a hand pump vacuum bleeder. Clutches don't have the same issue as the master cylinder and slave pistons always move full travel in use. Phil

The cover is a bit of a pain to start the threads but there's no way in hell I'm removing the whole sump to change the filter. I'd rather use care starting the thread correctly than do that. You can always mark the location of where the proper thread start is on the cap and sump to assist the process of re installing the cap. Phil

my greenie came with pods (from PO), and i think they look good, and the bike ran/runs great in general, though perhaps is a little less than ideal in higher speed cruising. I liked how it exposes that rear suspension part of the red frame bike, but of course that’s all in the eye of the beholder. As a “sunday driver”, I liked it. That said, if i were to make it a regular rider or touring bike i’d probably convert it back to the OEM airbox, and said as much to the good guy that recently bought my Greenie. So I’m now looking for an airbox. i assume watching this forum and/or ebay would yield one, but that’s the question…. anyone have knowledge of one floating around? the fellow who bought my bike will likely join this forum, and is local, so thought i’d poke around to see if we can locate an airbox for him.

Hah! I just lectured a 20-something today about the value of learning to enjoy fantasy without feeling the need to implement. Or regret not implementing. I say muse away - you've earned it! Silly old me has been fantasizing about doing track days At this point, I need one reliable and low-maintenance but not completely boring bike for curvy backroads. Peppy cheerleader sounds about right. Not as visceral or exciting as the V11, but still helps to clear my head and get my yah-yahs out. Thanks.

Ok, we all know that the average Guzzi owner isn’t exactly youthful. In our group anyone under 60 is classified as a sprog (youngster). So why has the pub landlord left a bouncy castle for us

All MotionPro stuff is similar to SnapOn : expensive= yes / most righteous=YES

If the brakes haven’t been bled for an age the main piston seal in the master cylinder may be collapsed and not sealing properly.

A few facts that I gleaned from the latest GPMAG magazine: The stats are correct up to end of June 2024; 1.042 seconds is the average time between the winner and the followers for the seven first GPs; this is the smallest gap ever recorded during the motoGP era (2002-2024). Aprilia only needs 3 hours to rig down their pit stand after the race. The slowest teams take 4 hours. I would have preferred to have the figure for the rig up. Maverick Viñales winning the Austin GP became a member of the 3 wins on 3 different machines; Suzuki, Yamaha, Aprilia. The others are: -Mike Hailwood (Norton, MV, Honda) -Randy Mamola (Suzuki, Honda, Yamaha) -Eddie Lawson (Yamaha, Honda, Cagiva) -Loris Capirossi (Yamaha, Honda, Ducati) 600 grams is the rubber loss per GP of a racing tire (Barcelona 112 km) The oldest winner of the top motorcycle racing category is Fergus Anderson; he won the Spanish GP when 44 years old. The youngest winner is Marc Marquez 20 years old COTA in 2013. Did you know? BREMBO the brakes specialist: 1961 company created initially a small mechanical workshop 1964 started to produce brake rotors for the automobile industry 1972 produced the first complete braking system for motorcycle for both Moto Guzzi, then Laverda. 1975 start to equip Ferrari's F1 racing cars. 1980 aluminium and carbon rotors, initially only for F1 cars. today: 32 production sites over the world, 9 R&D centers. 15632 employees worldwide. 600 titles.

No not really. Apart from the reduction in frictional wear from repeated use the threads in the threaded hole see the same physical stresses whether a stud or a bolt in this application. When you torque up a cylinder stud on a Guzzi or Ducati or many other engines as an example you can feel that long stud twisting under the torque load just like a long bolt. That torque is transmitted into the threaded hole just like a bolt but with without the thread frictional loss. The frictional loss is carried by the nut threads in this instance. Phil

I got bracket bent back to 90 degrees. All fits together fine now. I like the idea of the stud.

@cash1000 had foaming in his gearbox oil. He drained and refilled a few times before it stayed clear. We thought that it may be because of water getting into the oil, and the only path for water seemed to be the vent, which is in line with spray from the rear wheel. We both fitted a remote vent hose to avoid this. The vent plug thread is M6 x 1 mm.

Thanks for saving me some money Phil.

Officially eight weeks to SSR XX. Even if you're on the metric system!

For your own benefit , install a stud in that small bolt area on the sidestand bracket . When you tighten a bolt you are screwing a bolt into the threads of the engine block. When you install a stud and tighten the nut , you are pulling on the stud to tighten the sidestand to the engine block. A much better setup and no chance of wearing out the threads in the block .

Yes they are cast steel. Phil

I have deluge tested the Skwal i3, and I can happily confirm that no water comes through the slider that operates the sun visor. Furthermore, the lights come handy in the kind of storm I went through today. The sky was completely dark, only lightning would interrupt the penumbra. Even if the lights make it look like the entrance of a brothel, I think it has some other useful purposes! ha!

I have wet tested the KNOX Armored shirt under a tropical deluge this morning, and I can confirm if you could be totally drenched by the rain continuously, then riding in the searing heat would be no problem.... At speed, the droplets of rain seriously ping you through the mesh fabric. It was an interesting experience.

my lower bolt was somewhat loose, makes me want to spend some quality time torquing all the little fasteners everywhere on the bike

Great thing about @TomH coming here to solve this problem is: This is the best place in the world for the care&feeding of a V11 LeMans/Sport . . .

The book "First Man" about Neil Armstrong is a really amazing read.