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Closing in on two weeks out and I stopped wiping mySport down. I figure if Randy is bringing his "friends", the innkeeper, Ken, will likely lend us a hose and bucket . . . Looks like a spectator sport!

More gratuitous pics of me being snapped by the Moto Shoots photographer riding up and down the A6 to GuzziFest on Saturday. First on a Griso, then on V85 demo bike, I also passed for a 3rd time on my burgundy v11 but I’m yet to track down that photo

That would be great. I'm only interested because I buy a lot of aftermarket stuff for the bikes and cars and find especially with the Guzzi because it's pretty old now a lot of aftermarket stuff isn't really suitable as in the wrong design to start with. Companies look to utilise something they already make for older machines to broaden their market and don't bother too much about the details. The Andreani cartridges were an example of this ( and a $200 loss to me) and so were the PVM wheels I bought for the bike. Can you believe their are literally hundreds of outlets on the internet still listing the Andreani carts as fitting all V11 Sports 1999-2006 even though the non fitting issue for the early bikes has been known about for 5 years! The wheels cost over $4000 and when I got them I had to disassemble them and re machine the bearing bushes because the front wheel brake callipers wouldn't fit. The rear disk carrier itself had over .2mm runout which required me re machining that as well. Probably why the German company that retailed the wheels no longer sells them. Because the world is full of reseller now with no idea and also people that CAD design stuff in their spare room and send the file to China for mass production trial fit it on their own car/bike, do no testing and then start selling on their website. I've also recently had issues with some car stuff I've bought and it's the same. 99% of people don't even realise the stuff they are buying is sub standard. Because it looks nice and it's "billet" then it must be good right? Phil

Ok spherical bearing. When you bolt it up check to see if there is any rocking motion of the bearings mounted together that causes a small "dead zone" each side of centre. In other words does the clamp bolt tilt from side to side as you initiate steering movement from the centred position and delay slightly the stroke of the damper. Phil

Mate Once you have it mounted and ride, you'll find it works fine...... No issues with mine. Cheers Ps I bought a shock at the same time and got HEAPS of stickers too!

Whatstandwell Bridge again, this time on my silver V11

Unless it is just for the photo shoot, in which case there is already too much wardrobe involved...

I will probaby sound pedantic, but IMHO any self-respecting Guzzi rider will make sure that his pillion wears proper boots and most importantly motorcyce gloves before taking her on a ride....

I know some hardcore gun handlers and they said if you hate your guns , use WD-40 on them .

Stopped by my old man's place to look for scrap steel and found a nice piece for fabricating the "block". I could have copied dimensions exactly, but given my relatively primitive shop, I took a shortcut to avoid more grinding. Ended up with 22 x 14 x 19 (i.e. -1.5mm). I figured that since I rode Bubbles several thousand miles without any block, having one that's a scosche short will probably do the trick. Anybody take issue with that assumption? Cheers, Frey

Guzzi Fest today at Matlock. This is the big annual rally for Guzzi Club GB members. Two V11s present today, a Tenni & my burgundy Sport

This ^^^ (Well said.)

Yeah, I'm prepared to believe that. As I said, I'll probably bolt the mount up to the bracket on the triple clamp and see what really happens there. Assuming @Lucky Phil is right, the next step will be to contact the manufacturer and see if they have a mount without the ball joint. Failing that, as can be seen in the photo, the ball joint is apparently held in by a circlip (incidently, an external circlip in an internal application, but we'll leave that alone for now... ), so it shouldn't be too hard to get the ball joint out. If I can find someone who can turn up a bush for me, or find something to fit on the Interweb, that shouldn't be too hard to fix.

Ha ha, I think Ms Saucy is the more desirable of the two..... But well done Austin.

Sorry, my man. I forgot you never sleep . . . I am just now reading through your excellent post. Thank you for the images and excellent feedback! [edit: Took my premature post down.]

Give us a chance to finish writing the post, ya bugger.

Ok, here we go. The Hyperpro steering damper arrived today. UPS is a bit of a pain in the arse, but that's another story. The Hyperpro damper looks really well made, and it is quite pretty. A test by pushing the shaft through the damper slowly and suddenly faster indicates that the advertised "progressive" damping rate actually works. A good start. The best thing about the new damper is this: That number starting with KBA is the certification number that means I can legally use the damper here. The damper is made in the Netherlands, so it is no wonder that it has a German KBA number, but it is still good. Here are two photos of the original damper and the new one. In the first one, they are lying with the "base" lined up to show the length of the shaft. The shaft on the Hyperpro is a bit shorter. In the second one, they are actually lined up at the head, but the parallax caused by me not shooting straight makes it look like the aren't. The point is, the bracket on the Bitubo is placed where the easily visible wear marks indicate that it was mounted there. The destructions provided with the Hyperpro stipulate 39 mm from the base end to the bracket, so I am convinced it will be able to be mounted. The bad thing is, the mounting bracket does indeed have a ball joint. (Note, what looks black on the ball joint is actually chrome. I was using a flash on the camera, and shiny surfaces come out like that with a flash. Has something to do with physics, I think...) Funnily enough, the more than adequate destructions sheet shows a drawing that is recognisably the original mount on the lower triple clamp. I'm starting to wonder if they disagree with Phil's assertation that one shouldn't put two ball joints "on top of each other". I believe @Lucky Phil entirely, what he wrote makes sense, but I think I want to bolt up the mount to the mount and see what really happens there. Anyway, here's the destructions, and the provided screw, nut, washers and o-rings. And the best thing of all is, you get stickers!!! I'll be plastering them all over the Le Mans for sure, wont I?

Here is the link that I saw that image collage where it is attributed to Austion Colle: https://www.thisoldtractor.com/guzzi007/sportissimo.html And the Austin Colle "Historic Motorcyc;e ads" link: https://www.austincolle.co.uk/historic-motorcycle-ads-80-s-90-s-0

She’s rather gorgeous, she can certainly come over and change my oil & filter

That sounds like all the way to a bad day to me; just a a question of how bad a day. Thanks for that, Docc. Visual inspection pre-re-assembly was surprisingly good.

@docc is correct😂 I did suggest that some leather gloves maybe fitting for their social media video shoots, but those model ladies are hard to convince of anything. Luckily they insisted on the Moto Guzzi V11. They passed on the CBX, the Stelvio, the VF1000R, a Ducati & Norton 850 that I had available. Even though they do not know anything about motorcycles, they said it represented the “style” they were looking for. I was thinking to suggest @docc’s idea, but didn’t! The Halloween costume photos they showed me as a Policewomen and Nurse (they are 2 cousins) were great !

Ah! The title page to @callison/ Carl Allison's valuable content on thisoldtractor.

Well, the Austrian GP came and went. It was not an overly exciting race, but it was an excellent ride by Pecco, showing why he is already a world champion. Jorge Martin did an amazing lap in qualy, but sadly he did not have that pace in the race. Had he not messed up in the sprint Martin might have had something for Pecco there, but that mistake missing the chicane and the bigger mistake by not slowing down to loose a second was pretty costly. How did he not see that coming?

Unfortunately, those "marathon" rides are tiring, especially by this weekend's temperatures! as you go further West, it gets incredibly hot! I was impressed by the V11, which took it all without flinching. One thing I noticed, a lot of oil escaped from the final transmission oil breather. Probably due to the last portion of the ride, in sixth at 5k rpm, 104 degF temperature, long portions at sustained regime. Not sure what was the indexed one. Probably above 110 degF... if you open your visor, the hot air hits you like a blow torch! Unbelievable! Anyway, I will update the report later.

You are allowed 5 stops without your motorcycle, as long as you stand in the picture holding your flag.

In Milan Italy https://www.hpmotorrad.rentals/en/?gad_source=1&gclid=Cj0KCQjwt4a2BhD6ARIsALgH7Dq_Tq_O1IKmivOa53qO_q8JuoAfBj8x77mB1eNdt4YAm0AsMfL2yS8aAlAjEALw_wcB https://www.hertzride.com/en/locations/motorcycle-rental-milan-285

Mate He's on the Suzuki T250/350 with the white helmet... Ha ha, yep I've got Stone on Bluray too! Cheers

Having discovered the slider missing would motivate me to inspect, carefully, the mating channel in the caliper carrier and, more especially, the shaft extension of the locator bolt. When that fastener fails/falls out, the caliper/carrier becomes a liability as it circles the wheel on the rotor and tears the brake line loose. Halfway to bad day, that. Perhaps worth replacing that (special) fastener if it shows any signs of damage/fatigue/deformation.

Dimensions of the replacement? If you've ridden without one for 1500 miles then I guess you've answered your own question, lol.

I like Armorall. https://www.armorall.com/home Be aware, though, that if you use it on the seat, you will be able to move around on the seat very, very well. Slippery...

Indeed, the hills do look a little er sheepless.....

absolutely. we just took a tangent for the sake of banter.

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

A sound of thunder across the Frisian countryside.

Following a weekend of riding on wet, sodden roads (another appalling wash out of a UK summer), I cleaned the filth off my burgundy V11 today

Agreed..the WD40 Silicone spray lubricant is not good for anything I have wanted it for...was disappointed in the purchase.

@PJPR01 Saturday and Sunday I did a 10 stops hitch with the Hotel Texas as the final destination. At the Hotel another rider chimed in; Get this: his family, two kids, two dogs are on the trip. This is narrated to me... Initially, I thought this was really nice. Having your whole family coming with you. But get this: his motorcycle is on a trailer, behind the car. When he gets to a stop, he unloads it, takes the picture, and on with the road trip. I don't understand. I thought riding your bike is the gist of why you would participate. It gives you an objective, the mean reason why you would do it in the first place. I am aware that many do the same when they participate in popular motorcycle rallies, such as Sturgis, Daytona Beach, LoneStar. Well, I guess one has to see it all, and some.