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The saga of Bubbles continues .... In my last contribution (a generous term, that) to this thread, I explained why I needed a new rear disc for Bubbles. I did eventually find a new EBC disc at a reasonable enough price. It arrived. Not wanting to put new parts on the parts bike, I put the new disc (and new pads) on the Tenni, so I could put the very serviceable disc from the Tenni on to Bubbles (with new pads). Everything went fine with the Tenni and I cleaned up the caliper and bracket while I was at it. Moving on to Bubbles, I removed the caliper and brake bracket and started removing the six bolts holding the disc to the wheel. Four came out. Not wanting to round over the socket bolts, I removed the spindle the rest of the way and removed the wheel to my work bench. There, I hit the two tough bolts with PB blaster and propane flame to try to loosen them up. Despite trying to be incredibly careful, the sockets were rounded over (first time I touched them on this bike, so I'd like to blame P.O. ). Out came the drill. Drilled a hole into each bolt. I was able to get one out with a Speed-out, leaving a single bolt. Speed-out well-situated, a little torque, and ... snap. Speed-out sheared off inside the hole. Obviously, my drill bits didn't make a mark on the hardened steel. Shite. Called a local machine shop; they recommended a place with an EDM; that place recommended another; which said even if they could get it in the machine, it would take hours to burn out the hardened steel, to the tune of several hundred USD, so just buy a new wheel. I talked to an engineer friend of mine who said he would have no issue riding a bike that had five of six good bolts holding the rotor. However, my wife disagreed. If you've never had to get hardened steel (carefully) out of a threaded hole, it is possible. You can't drill it out, but you grind it out . A stop by Tractor Supply and Harbor Freight and I was armed with a 3-pack of chainsaw blade sharpening Dremel bits and a kit of a score or so of diamond encrusted bits of all sorts of shapes. After going through two of the chainsaw sharpening bits and on the third, I could probe a tiny hole -- the previously drilled out space beneath the hardened steel. Expanding that tiny hole with a long, tapered diamond bit, it looked like this: A little more grinding (I felt like a dentist -- kind of fun) and eventually a good sized chunk of hardened steel popped out. A little more fine diamond grinding and I was able to clean up the hole with the chainsaw sharpening bit. Then, a more robust extractor and the rotor bolt came out, threads and all. Existing threads in wheel where mostly intact, so passed a thread tapper through to clean up: Very light file on the flat at the rim of the hole, squirt of compressed air and voila, problem solved. Several hours and $16 of abrasive drill bits later. Cheers, FreyZI

Removing the filter pods and zip tying a few wires out of the way gave just enough access, glad that's done!

One of the many perks of owning a V11 Sport, or most any Guzzi, is not much aftermarket support. Even companies that make something that fits the V11 Sport will often either not know it fits the V11 Sport or not care. Even when the V11 Sport was a current model bike, it did not get a lot of support. Now that it has been out of production for almost two decades it has only gotten worse. Even Guzzi themselves don't have much support for it. Side story, I just had my long standing order for a gasket set for a '93 Daytona cancelled and my money refunded because the vendor has been unable to actually get the gasket set from Moto Guzzi.

Incidentally, this whole business with Bubbles and the brake began when I had let the battery in the Tenni drain a bit too far. Having had especially good results switching to lithium batteries in the R1200R and the F800GS, I figured I might as well give an Anti-Gravity ATX-12 Re-Start a try in the Tenni. I find it a bit of a nuisance fiddling with the terminal connections on the battery in the V11, requiring a horizontal approach with limited space, so I figured that I would take advantage of the ATX-12's terminal allowing the bolt to connect from the top or side. A little twist of the wires and I was in business and shortly riding away. 1.4 miles from home, engine cut out and I coasted onto a sidewalk. No restart, nor any light on dash or priming. I figured maybe the lithium battery was a bad idea after all. Seat off, blown fuse (the 5 amp). My wife happened to be passing that way within a minute, so I left the bike in a parking lot, got my car and a few tools, and went to see what could be done. Apparently the sheathing of a lead had become somewhat brittle. I hadn't realized that in twisting the wire to attached to the battery terminal from the (convenient) top (as it lay in the V11), I had split the sheath . I suspect that a short may have had something to do with the blown fuse, but I also haven't ruled out something with the battery. Ideas? The in-the-field solution was to insulate the wire with some trash from the car. After much fussing around with batteries, I finally rode home, quite pissed that I had squandered yet another riding opportunity this summer. Quite the series of unfortunate events, and all utterly preventable. The good news is that the Tenni is again road-worthy with a little shrink tube and a good ol' Odyssey PC545 -- not to mention a new rear brake disc and pads; and Bubbles should be back on the road a few hours after my new brake disc bolts arrive. Cheers, Frey

@FreyZI I have to command your perseverance! Nothing is impossible when you set your mind to it. I always wondered why some fasteners would refuse to come out at times. Overtorqued? repetitive bending forces? fastener material? maybe installations made to never needed to be disassembled?

Build date 6-2000, titled as 2001. Tabs -check no crack or leaks Braces still available, I ordered one 2 weeks ago, he still had some on the shelf, arrived today. Doing some cursing warmups tonight so I can curse in sentences tomorrow.

Handed the "answer" tag to @MartyNZ. [edit: "Golden Elephant Stamp " ] It continues to amaze me how dedicated our community remains!

Hi Folks: Informed and inspired by this forum - and because I powdercoated the swingarm on my 2001 Greenie bright red - I removed my black plastic rear hugger and spent some time making a version of road-spray deflectors. Thought I'd post photos here for others to see. I made a version of the flat "lower triangle" very similar to what others have done, with a couple tweaks for fit and to protect the lower shock eye. And I made an "upper extension" that mounts to the existing under-seat plastic and extends a fork-shaped flap around the shock. That upper extension required a bit of heat gun forming because I worked its profile in steps around the battery basket. Attachment of the lower triangle is with zip ties and the upper extension is with plastic "Christmas Tree" style clips through the seat pan. The end result lets the swingarm and rear wheel/drive be fully visible. I sourced material for all the above from Home Depot in the form of one rectangular black plastic Rubbermaid trash can. It was what seemed to me the right thickness, cut pretty easily with an Xacto knife, will be durable for the application, and the price was certainly right. My process was to start with thin cardboard and scissors, then use what I came up with as the template for cutting out the plastic. Installed, these are basically invisible. And they do a much better job than the original hugger of keeping road spray and debris out of the shock and rear of the engine. Hope this helps!

Exactly

Hi folks: Based on your recommendation I purchased and installed a HyperPro damper (PN KBA91326) on my 2001 Greenie after the stocker dripped its oil on my garage floor. In the USA I ordered from EPM Performance. Here's the link: https://epmperformance.com/products/75mm-rsc-progressive-steering-damper-ds-075-np1-v11-sport-1999-2005 Here are a few photos that show mounting details and may make things easier if you choose this unit when the time comes. The stock mounting points are used. The finish on the HyperPro is VERY nice and the sliding and adjustment mechanisms are super smooth. Of minor interest, when I bought (rescued) my bike it arrived with the Heim Joint at the lower triple clamp where the steering damper mounts sheared off. I was able to order a higher quality replacement from McMaster Carr. Their PN for that is 59935K43 Ball Joint Rod End M8 x 1.25mm thread, right hand.

Hi Friends: I thought I'd share a bit about my experience on this topic. I purchased and revived a 2001 "Greenie" which had the original Sachs unit. After looking around, reading here, and reflecting on past experiences I purchased and installed a Penske on my bike. It's their 8983 style with remote reservoir part number PS-8983-MOTOGUZZI-V11. For my 170LBs they recommended a 500LB spring. Please see attached photos of how I mounted it, which came out nice and clean. The unit bolted in easily, and the bike stance remains same as previous (I dropped the front end so 10mm fork shows above triple clamp to put a bit more weight on the front end). I'd describe the ride as plush-but-controlled, very much in line with my previous Penske experience on a VFR. It's almost a little (intentionally) soft right at the beginning of the stroke - which feels comfortable on uneven urban streets and secondary back roads. There's absolutely no harshness, but is supportive. Penske delivered the shock in about 2 weeks. I just called them directly, explained make-model, and it couldn't have been easier. I paid full price. For what it's worth, past experience with Penske on race and street bikes indicates they also have the benefit of being easily and endlessly rebuildable. Nothing complicated, just good quality, Made in USA, easy parts availability, and any shop that rebuilds shocks can handle fresh oil/seals on a Penske. Not cheap, of course, but a buy-it-once buy-it-right sort of solution. Also, looks quite proper on the bike IMO, with relatively subtle color shock/spring details that do not try and compete/clash with the rest of the bike. I hope this helps someone who's considering improving their suspension, and maybe shortens your path regarding mounting etc.

This method of attachment doesn't actually work on a V11 mount set-up. If you have 2 spherical bearings mounted one on top of each other there is going to be a dead spot in the centre of the steering range for maybe 5 degrees each side of centre as the bearings rock over. This is why I made my own solid fitting to replace the original spherical bearing on the steering head when I used an aftermarket damper mount that came with a spherical bearing in it (see image). I didn't make it because I wanted to but because I had to. The std Guzzi mount whether an Ohlins or a Bitubo does not have a spherical bearing on the damper mount for this reason. Guzzi chose to use the spherical bearing on the triple clamp fitting. They could have chosen to use the spherical bearing on the damper mount instead but they didn't but you can't use one on both. Will the damper still move? yep. Will the damper have any damping effect on each side of centre for maybe 5 degrees with the double bearing set up? nope. It's important the damper has no dead zone of influence each side of centre.

This relates to my problems with the Andreani fork cartridges they they say fit's all models 1999-2006 that have 3 different type Marzocchi forks alone. Add to that the fact that re sellers have parts and accessories on their websites they don't actually stock and have zero idea on availability of that item until they themselves put in an order with their supplier. Phil

First

I know you're getting up there in years but surely you haven't forgotten what a bikewash really is?

Just ordered a Hyperpro directly from the manufacturer in Holland. Now we'll wait and see if it arrives, and how long it takes. PS: their site is very clunky. Searching for the Bike Model didn't work. I found the damper by going to the shop, opening "products-steering dampers" and looking for the right one. The listing is something like 496 articles, 9 to a page, 57 pages. The mounting kits are listed before the dampers, in alphabetical order of the bike manufacturer's name. The mounting kit for the V11 Sport (that's all they have, no Le Mans, Ballabio, whatever....) is on about page 32. The damper is on page 56.

Definitely. It never hurts to have a closer look, but that cable with the faulty insulation is the no. 1 suspect without any competition. If you can see that the split in the insulation was lying such that a contact with the frame, or engine parts, or anything that is ultimately connected to the negative pole of the battery, then you don't really need to look any further. Case closed, but have a look at the rest of the wiring just to be sure. The only thing a battery has to do with a blown fuse is supplying the electrical potential energy (Volts...) that cause a current to flow through a short circuit and overload the fuse. Supplying the volts is what the battery is there for. The actual fault is in the wiring somewhere.

Overwhelmed with bikes and not enough space for them lol. Putting my 2006 Griso up for sale. Nicely tuned and running with a Beetle map. In good condition but the rear fairing had been replaced with a deep metallic blue/purple painted one when I bought it. The 2 into 1 exhaust section had a crack in it where the mounting bracket is welded to it and I patched it with metal filled exhaust repair. Guzzi OEM semi-rigid saddle bags, luggage rack, and mini-windscreen. 24k miles. Listed it at $4,200 to see what attention it attracts. $3,800 obo here on the group.

Ah... now I get it! The only times we did this were when we met a new girl. The group's presentation would determine if she would be admitted. The main criterion was accepting to ride on a motorcycle. Many candidates lost privileges because of trivial issues such as messy hair and make-up because of the helmet. The major offense was always to not being able to wear the clothes they wanted, of course the shoes.... Now about opinion on vehicles... my first car, my father came with me. We could not agree on anything. I suspect that it would be identical with a motorcycle. But to a lesser extent because I do all the research behind a screen. The actual "live presentation" part is not the most important. At that point, I have already made up my mind. Besides, if excepted for my first V11 purchase in 2000, I have always asked this forum collegial opinion. A good example is that I wanted to purchase a Stelvio 1200 NTX, and ended up purchasing a Quota 1100 ES based on the feed-back.

It's a spherical bearing. Yes, factory mount points.

The lack of compression dampening in the first gen forks is fairly well known, but I can see how someone new would not have known. We probably haven't discussed that in a while. The easy button fix for that is to blank off / cover up one of the two bleed holes that allow the fork oil to get out of the way of the piston without having to go through the valving in the piston. I would not cover / block off up both bleed holes (as I recall there are two of them) as leaving one open seems to work best with the stock valving in the piston. But it may be that with different valving in the piston that can flow more oil you might get good results by blocking off both holes and forcing all the oil through the piston. I am not sure about the adjustments not working, but for sure if you block off one of the two holes and force more oil through the piston valving the adjuster becomes relevant and adjustments to it make a difference. But with the stock bleed holes the compression adjuster for sure only affects the last inch or so of travel (the part of travel after the piston has gone by the bleed holes in the cartridge). Also, having compression dampening ion one leg and rebound dampening in the other leg is not how all forks do it but a number of forks do it that way and there are even advantages for doing it that way. It can work fine that way. There are design issues with the first gen forks, like the compression dampening not mattering until the piston is past the bleed holes, but the separation of compression and rebound dampening to their respective legs is not one of them.

It painted a vivid picture...

What you say is correct in that the difference between bikes is infinitesimal as it is with riders pretty much. But both are still enough to have an impact on results. All these guys and bikes are pretty amazing but it's gravitating more and more into a technically weighted sport. The riders ability to "make the difference" is diminishing fast. Have a think about this. The average GP race track has around a 95 second lap and 14 corners give or take. These days if you are 1 second behind in qualifying you're nowhere, in a different race but in reality you(or maybe the bike) is literally 1% slower than the guy on pole. Now think about the guys that are 1/2 a second off the pace, 1/2 a percent slower or 2 or 3 hundredths of a second per corner slower each lap. I does my head in, I don't know how riders cope with that. Everyone is on the limit all the time. Not sure it's ultimately a great thing in reality long term.

Hi. I'm new to this forum. Well, actually the past several months I've been lurking and learning after purchasing a 2001 Green V11 Sport. I knew it was a bit of a project, but a friend @swooshdave, frequent V11lemans poster, told me if I could read...ahem...:)...that all I needed to know to get the bike on the road was documented here. I'm in pretty deep, but just want to say a real THANK YOU to all of you who've worked through and shared the how-tos. Especially those with photos. So far, and there's more I forget, with your help I've done - wheel bearings, bevel box needle and other bearing, drive shaft removal and lubrication, speedo cable, all the fluids, fuel pump and filter, fuel lines, relays, under tank and under seat wiring management, Penske shock, bodywork stress crack repairs, LED headlight, brake pads, valve adjust, steering bearing lube, breather tube, swingarm debris/spray protector, choke spring, and lots of misc lubrication and fastener replacement. Still to come include fork oil + internals and final reassembly of the rear wheel/drive, plus chasing whatever oil leaks I haven't become aware of yet :). TBD whether the injectors need official cleaning or just a couple tanks of fresh gas and some mysterious additive. I'm in line for the next run of Roper plates. The bike does have a couple nice bits I'm hoping make it really sound like a Guzzi and run properly. The Ferracci pipes and Power Commander it came with are cause for optimism. Will post when complete, including some minor successes and additional details in the appropriate technical topic areas if it feels like anything I did worked especially well or is a minor deviation from the already extensive documentation. Anyway, serious thanks again. Without the forum I'd have been less confident and slower about it all for sure and would have had more hard-way lessons - even with a manual, which I do have. But you all know that. Appreciated! Chris

Make it so, Number One.

I ordered mine from EPM Performance. Here's a link: https://epmperformance.com/products/75mm-rsc-progressive-steering-damper-ds-075-np1-v11-sport-1999-2005

Correct

Did you like that ?

No , I am saying you need to take someone with you that can give you an objective opinion . Think : Oh , I met this wonderful man and I think I am in love, the only bad thing is he drives a 1968 Volkswagen Beetle . Your best friend says , uuhhhhh.

Hi folks: I recently refurbished a 2001 Greenie and went through the swingarm color and rust repair process. Thought I'd share my results. Version 1.0, I had the wheel off, and planned to re-grease the swingarm pivots. In doing so, I discovered a bit of rust and a notchy bearing, and...so it began. At first I went cheap, with just a wire brush to the rust, and rattle can black to match the stock color. And that looked...well...better than rust. So commence V2.0 - and only after giving myself a stern talking to about...finish what you start, young man. I took the swingarm, pork chops, rear subframe and battery basket off and powdercoated all. I figured they really should be done at the same time due to color matching issues, and if not perfect, at least they would match each other. Plus, I had chips/scratches on all, and once I saw those, I couldn't un-see. Last, it was a chance to sand off any original welding splatter, the helmet lock spot, and so on, cleaning things up visually. After consideration, I went with red, red, red, and am SO happy I did. The color isn't an absolute 100% match to the original, but that's OK (to me) because the spine frame at the front of the tank is separated from the rest of the red bits. The new paint is just a bit more orangey-red, but not that far off. And let's agree, what I painted is the EASY part to get to :), which I considered enough. I've permanently removed the rear tire hugger and plastic swingarm end covers because I really think the braced swingarm looks great, and the hugger is of questionable function/appearance. More in another post about the simple replacement fender system I made, inspired by others on this forum, that works well and was super cheap. Attached are photos of the powdercoat result. I really do like how the bold red now runs the full length of the bike. But that's a matter of opinion, of course. In any case, you now have these photos to refer to when considering your own situation.

Thanks for sharing this mate! It's what it's all about eh,sharing what we've done and the results in the hope it helps others! The standard non- existent comp damping then everything in the last 25mm was downright scary in certain bumpy corners, jeez it used to deflect and bounce hitting them in a straight line! Fixing this is the BEST thing you can do to the bike. Cheers

Personally I think the best bar option with a V11 Sport is the later clip ons that mount on the forks above the top triple clamp. They are higher and less susceptible to magnifying engine vibration. Anything with an extended swan neck style mount such as the early V11 series bars aren't going to help mitigate engine vibes through the bars. Only issue is you would need to run fork extensions to use them or use the later longer forks. Phil

The Ohlins still work and are readily available and a competitive price these days as well. More because the other high end options are more expensive and not because Ohlins have reduced their prices.

Yes, regularly. Lots of bikes for sale, but not many looking for one. That is exactly what I meant. The people here already have a V11. But, good place to start because maybe someone will get inspired, or knows someone who knows someone, who knows that the bloke who takes his grandma's dog out for walkies has a cousin who is looking for something a bit out of the ordinary.

Hi folks: Attached are a few photos of silver Knight Design pegs I just installed on a 2001 Greenie. https://knightdesignllc.com/moto-guzzi-front-foot-pegs-sidetrax-lowered-1-inch/ I ordered, and they arrived in 3 days (granted, Knight is in Oregon and so am I). Very solid CNCd aluminum parts that use the existing mounting location, bracket and hardware. Total install time including chasing one of the little (briefly airborne) retaining clips across the shop was 10 minutes. No extra parts or fasteners required. It's useful to know, the end result is a slightly wider foot position than stock, requiring some noticeable toe-in to reach rear brake pedal properly. You could easily space/extend that pedal end if desired. The stock shifter pedal end sticks out further than the brake side, so reaching it is no issue. Angle change took about 5 minutes of riding to get used to. Your experience may vary. I'm about 5'11" with 32" inseam and size 11 US boots, for what that's worth. The 1" of extra leg room sounds inconsequential, but when you sit on the bike it feels (to me) much better. Wife even said I now look "more normal" on the bike. Which I'm trying to take the right way... Hope this helps clarify your choices.

My head starts to hurt reading all this, nææh have a beer. Who the H is Tom Cruuus. Cheers Tom.

And old-style Verlicchi bars, if I'm not mistaken. This sort of thing:

Cheers Tom.

never heard of them. but reminiscent of a similar group of the same era/genre that was a favorite of mine. still.

I am prepared to bet that not many of you ever knew that band: Propaganda? 80's music, but they released an incredible album(at that time). "A secret wish" that I encourage you to listen, if that kind of music is your particular flavor. Maybe @audiomick? were you there already? https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Propaganda_(Band) Claudia Brücken made my heart go "boom boom"...

I was under the impression that a good deal would mean that I, am happy. The seller maybe too, but he is not my main preoccupation. I always make my purchase the lonesome way. But I agree with your statement that it is better to be more than less. The "good cop bad cop" works that way too. Especially with dealerships. They use that trick a lot. You deal with one guy, but when it is the time to close the deal, you have to face a different person. They call it a "hand change". This is meant to kill the confidence and comfort you may have established with the sales assistant. But I do all the pre deal in writing via email, so there are no misunderstandings. Once I am satisfied that all my questions have been answered, including pricing if I disagree, then I go. Something I never do, is to try to haggle the price when on site, unless there was something that was not disclosed previously. When I accept to check the bike out, it means that I am going to buy it as is. Otherwise, I don't waste my or the seller's time to try to get the price down. As for someone trying to lower the price during the test drive, I have had that. Even when my narrative was very specific, the price was firm because reasonable.

Thank you so much!

I would agree with you about Vinales, KTM have likely wasted a factory seat when they only have four. But I disagree with you about how close KTM is to winning. They are tenths of a second over a lap off the pace of Ducati. That is close enough that a different rider, a different set up, or even Michelin showing up with a different tire, can make the difference. That is the nature of racing. Even Honda and Yamaha are close pace-wise. But Aprilia and KTM are really close. A gnat fart could make the difference for them. Riders going to a different brand can go either way. They can gell well and do better then they did the previous season, or they can fail to adapt and struggle. The KTM is more different vs the Aprilia. The KTM has a very different chassis nature, using the steel chassis. It has better stability under braking, and does well in low grip tracks. The bike struggles when they can't use its strengths, like at Silverstone. I think the KTM would be harder to adapt to then the Aprilia. The Aprilia is more like the other bikes, and is a lot like the Yamaha used to be only with more power. A rider that can use that conerspeed could really do well on it. If Vinales and Aleix can do as well as they do on it, I assume a more talented racer could do better on it. But you do need to be a racer that can use the extra conerspeed. Oliveira came from the KTM, where he did well but not by using more cornerspeed. He has struggled to adapt to the style needed for the Aprilia. Sadly for him it seems he is going to Yamaha, I don't expect much from him there.

S means sinisterous which is Italian for left. D means dexterous which means right.

Sorry, never saw the replies to this. End of the story is that a bloke from Victoria turned up, with a case of ‘Crankshaft’ and took it all away. He wasn’t the first to ask though. There was a very typical ‘Guzzi Guy’ from NSW who called first. Wanted me to send him an itemised list of what I had, preferably with part numbers! How about ‘No’! I said if he wanted he could look at it and decide. Then the whining started about how I lived so far away, (I was about 170km from him.) and then the ‘Icing on the cake’? ‘Crankshaft was ‘Too Expensive’ and would I take a case of Tooheys, (A shitty mass produced commercial swill I only drink under duress!). At that point I cordially invited him to get a colossal, wooly, black pup up himself and told him I’d be taking it to the tip the next day and if he didn’t like it he could go swivel on something sharp! He told me I was rude and unreasonable and he’d make sure *Everybody* heard about it! “Behold the field in which I grow my f*cks! Cast thine eyes upon it and see that it is barren!”

Best opening line of a post yet here! Sounds like the beginning of a James Bond movie....

That anvil had better be the last thing to go . It looks like it has seen a lot of wear . There is an old fart in Paducah living close to where my wife's cousin lived and I ws working on her Snapper mower . I spied an anvil across the alley and spent 3 hours at his house getting an education on anvils , their history and enough info to last a lifetime ! We all have a telephone daddy bought 3 or 4 of a long X ago. The old people used to tear the phones apart and get the crank generator out of , stick wires in the ground , crank on it and force the worms out of the ground to go fishing with . I need to learn how to get pics off my phone to post on this forum ! Do you think p6x would like to get in on this erratic conversation ?

I find it an absolute honor that you would give so much consideration to coming, @Admin Jaap! Perhaps for the Twenty-first . . . SSR XXI . . . Truly best regards, Jaap, from all of us. And thank you, again, for this delightful and important playground you have created for us!