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I love the whole line. I find this effort has a broad appeal, thoughtful designs, and a reverence to the Moto Guzzi familiarity that we know. The (very plain) V7 Stone at 15:30 appeals to me. It does not try to be mySport , or pretend to be any other Guzzi of the past. It looks to be just a pure motorcycle, ready for the roads I need to ride and whatever I would ask of it. What my older brother called a "Trash-Mo." (Ride it - use it - make it work) The "California" at the end of the video looks to be part of the helmet display and not anything to do with the new models on offer. What do I know? I have my Moto Guzzi. (And they know this about us.) I am glad for this, and hope the new generation(s) of motorcyclists value these magnificent motorcycles.

@audiomick In the 70's, I used to install either retreaded tires or tires that I would get from a wreck yard. I do not know if you are familiar with the wrecked car lots. This was a place where you would go and look for spares for your car. Most of the time, you would have to remove it yourself. You could also purchase wheels with used tires. I remember the retreaded tires would always squeal in turns... then the squeal tires disappeared in the modern world. But I am sure you remember if going too fast in a curve with your Opel Manta, or Rekord, or Kadett, or Olympia, the tires would whine plenty... This kind of place:

It's a Dairyland expression.

Thank you for all the replies. Very much appreciate you taking the time to write them. Job's done. Now for new tyres. :-) Going in tomorrow for a set. Been a long time since I rode a bike on nice, fresh rubber. Pilot 6 in this case.

The V100 in blue looks really good. In fact I think the model looks better all in one colour like this but the blue suits it. Cheers

Family from my fathers side in Jupiter FL and Chicago and Green Bay W. My garage door is open . Cheers Tom

I still have two you-pull-it junkyards nearby. The best one is "Snake Road Auto Salvage". Snake Road in South Florida wasn't, and isn't, a joke. My first car was a beat-up '66 MGB I bought for $35 in 1978. I shod it with bias-ply junkyard tires, and they really got attention drifting corners on the wire wheels.

My 'Sport is living in Georgia at the moment, so I don't have them side-by-side to compare. I'm going north shortly, perhaps I'll bring it home to answer some questions authoritatively.

Looks like it. Bet she is a little nervous in low speed. Comparing to what happened to my Greenie with different tripple clamps a few days ago. Cheers Tom.

Well, I woudn't be suprised to know some earlier squareheads had another Vallhall in KY . Cheers Tom.

Full ester; I actually had a long conversation with a Motul chap of Motul USA, unfortunately over the phone. He did say that oil was perfect for my V11 (he surprised me by saying he knew the bike). This oil is perfect for Texas, since we are already in the 80's at top of the temperatures. No need for a 5W here. Strangely, when you use the Motul oil selector, with the V11, Motul does not suggest the V-Twin 20W50. If you have an HD, it does. Motul proposes the MOTUL 300V 4T Factory Line 5W-40; if you read the recommendation, this is an oil for competition engines... An alternative is the MOTUL 7100 5W-40 4T. Both oils being synthetic ESTER base. I will probably use the 300V on the Quota for the next oil change.

Both wheels off at the same time? Best practice is to tie it off ("chain fall ") from the joists, above, in addition to your jacking method. Belt AND suspenders? Definitely. It's worth for that ONE time that one fails without a backup. Don't ask me how I know . . .

In Ky that is Valhalla !

I don't know why they'd be different, since the transmission is carried by the removable crosspiece, not the porkchop. The footpegs etc. don't care. Probably different part numbers but as you're well aware that can be nothing more than the shade of paint, or updating a radius on the forging. We'll see when they arrive.

Well , the Southern yanks (if there is such a thang) call them "tits" .

When you do get this in and go to put it together , lubricate the pivot w/grease . This will make it easier and last longer.

We used to get warned by the shop we got tires from they had a coating on them. It's more than just the sprues. For the first couple hundred miles we "scrubbed tires in". Take it easy for the first couple hundred, then the bike gets back to normal. My favorite loop always has gravel on it. People just wander off the road onto the gravel which throws it on the pavement which is like riding on marbles which make what kind of tires you're riding on largely irrelevant. I still want good tires on my bike.

It seems they are. Here, for the V11, page 12, part #3 https://guzzitek.org/parts_list/gb/1100/V11Sport-RossoMandello_1999-2001_062011_PL(GB).pdf and here for the 1100 Sport i.e., page 27, part #3 https://guzzitek.org/parts_list/gb/1100/1100SportIE_1996_1999_052010_PL(GB).pdf

"Rough as guts" was my thought on that...

Yes. A bit special routing for hoses,wiring me think. Cheers Tom.

Just pushed the forks up you mean? Yeah, I think so too. This picture from the facebook advert shows forks that appear to have compression damping in the left leg, and rebound in the right. As far as I know, that would be the 40 mm forks from the earliest models with the clip-ons under the triple-clamps, wouldn't it?

Here's a picture: What the arrows are pointing at are the remains of the almost completely scrubbed off row next to the the groove in the centre. The dots that are visible are the stumps of sprues that are gone. When it was new, it had stand-up-and-be-proud sprues all over, four to each tread block, more or less. Not very elegant, but as I wrote further up, it is a small manufacturer, and the tyres are relatively cheap for the more than adequate performance they offer. Looking at it again today, I can't imagine that the sprues have absolutely no effect. There are so many of them. How much effect is, however, difficult to guess. What @Grant mentioned is something I am aware of. The coating is a silicon compound that is put in the mould (sprayed in, I suppose...) to allow the tyre to release easily from the mould. The shops here, and in Australia if I remember correctly, generally tell you to take it easy for 100 km or so. I had already done about 100 km on the tyre, but nearly all of it at in-town speeds, and temperatures below 10°C, so the tyre wasn't likely to have been really warm. I'm thinking the squirming was likely a combination of the remains of the sprues and some still not quite scrubbed off remains of the silicon stuff. I'll take it a bit easier next time out, and give the tyre a chance to scrub in a bit more.

I see the clip-ons have been moved to above the triple-clamps. Has he just pushed the forks up to do that, or changed them?

Heard this ol' jewel on Aardvark Blues

Betty Davis (as in Mrs Miles) This is even more incredible knowing it was recorded in 1969 and it's only been on radio for 10 years or so. She was way ahead of her time Down Home Girl

The only time I did both at the same time was when I had new tires mounted and balanced on the Alpina wheels and I swapped the tire/wheel combo out one at a time from the bike. I do not recommend having both wheels up in the air/off the bike at the same time. we were doing something one time and had one wheel off the bike and had the bike on a jack w/the bars connected to an o/head hoist for safety. Came back in the next morning and the jack had leaked down COMPLETELY . If we did not have that secondary holding the bike we would have been upset. IF you live close to the shop doing the work , do one wheel at a time and do your work slowly and deliberately. Check all wheel bearings and apply a small amount of grease to the seals , shafts , etc. when you reassemble.

Seems like good indications you could go longer between change intervals. Is there any reference to the base oil Motul is using for the 20W-50 product?

I can see that the mounting differences are more likely the rear crossmember of the spine frame and the lower, rear subframe.

You watch (monitor) them while making casual conversation and see that they leave nothing loose or on wrong. Usually it's best to take the wheels there and let them swap the tires. You can reinstall at your leisure making sure you're happy w/the install.

I felt exactly the same; I thought the California was discontinued because they can't pass the Euro 5+ emission with a large capacity engine without liquid cooling. Unless, this is a model made to be only commercialized in the USA. But I can't see the California anywhere listed on Guzzi dealerships websites.

Handle bar ? as in clip on ? Is yours on top of the triple tree or under the triple tree ? Can you post a pic ? If you can do w/o it for a while , I might can straighten it.

The front tire has zero riding time (no miles) on it ? Brand new tires tend to be "squirmy" until they heat cycle and wear in a bit. Those mold sprues should go away very quickly. Verify tire pressure, as well. What is the production date of the front tire? Here, in The States, that is a four digit (week/year) code after the "DOT" (Department of Transportation) stamp on the sidewall . . .

I am sure Phil was giving Molly the best/correct diagnosis , he was trying to adjust the valves on the valve overlap stroke instead of the ignition stroke.

Forgot to mention: I rode it today for a couple of hours, about 120 km I think. The bike really is lots of fun.

Good point, that. It is good practice to always approach the point you are going to measure at in the normal direction of rotation. Turning the motor backwards wont do any damage, but it is good to go past where you want to get to, and then up to your point in the normal rotation direction. Not critical, possibly, but doing so makes sure that things like cam-chains and whatever all have the lash taken out as they normally do when the motor is running.

Wheat straw or soda straw ? Have you ever dropped a bike ? I have and it never gets old. You say words Chris Rock would have to walk out on. Concerning all the TDCs. Yes, one TDC will have the valves rocking and one TDC the valves will be still . This is where the 4 stroke philosophy comes in to play

Man, I am too late to this party. But I have to throw in my two cents anyway. My preferred way of choice is to use a straw in the sparkplug hole to find TDC. A straw is rigid enough to feel for the piston but will not hurt anything. And I put the trans in gear and rotate the rear wheel to spin the motor over. That way I never have to worry about whether or not I am rotating the motor in the correct direction. With both plugs out and in a taller gear the motor spins over easy. But to each their own on that. Finally, as have been alluded to, whatever method you are using to find TDC there is always two different TDCs. One where the valves are at overlap and both valves are open and the other where both valves are fully closed. It doesn't matter if you are using the marks on the flywheel, a mark you made on the alternator, an object in the sparkplug hole to find when the piston is at the top of its stroke. There are two different times when the piston is at top dead center, and it will cycle back and forth between TDC with the valves at overlap, then TDC where both valves are closed, then again TDC where both valves are at overlap. If you put it at TDC and the valves do not have clearance, rotate the motor 360 degrees, watching the valves as you rotate. There, I feel better....

One of the most important lessons I learned while working for H-D was "Don't put your taste in other people's mouths". Truly, compared to a same-year BMW, they're no less appealing. I don't care for the optics on either one; but I say that as I love my '04 GSA, which is as ugly as a boot heel.

Still nothing to the V11, but I got the V35 Imola out of the garage today. @docc mentioned the concept of a gumption trap here which pretty much covers why it has been sitting in the shed since December. It had been sitting for several months with an oil leak inside the clutch housing. I finally got around to fixing that, got new tyres for it, put fresh oil in everywhere, and had the bi-annual roadworthiness test done. Two days later I noticed a bit of oil on the ground under the front oil drain plug. I hadn't changed the seal, and obviously should have. Coincidently, I got hold of a Valeo starter motor about the same time. The Lucas starter motor in the bike still works, but weighs about 7 tons, so I would like to replace it with the lighter and more efficient Valeo starter motor. Unfortunately, although in really good condition, the Valeo turned out to be the earlier version without the clips on the magnets. So I bought a replacement housing with the clips. On the day I went into the garage to do the seal and change the starter motor, I started with the starter motor, and discovered that the new-version with-the-clips housing didn't just bolt on. Something is different around the hole where the shaft sits in its bearing, I think, and I couldn't get the clip that holds the shaft in back on. That stopped work for that day, and I didn't immediately have a plan for changing the seal on the drain plug without losing all of the practically brand new oil. So nothing happened for several months. Today I got the seal changed, didn't fumble it, and only lost about a shot glass full of oil. I put a bit of carboard under the bike when I parked it, and if that is still clean tomorrow, the bike will be proclaimed "good to go" for the time being. The Valeo starter is on the back burner for now. The key realisation was that the starter motor is not really important and can be done in the course of time, and changing the seal just has to be done, so just get on with it.

for finding TDC on compression, that is the 'within 5 degrees' way I use a wooden dowel. Plenty stiff but soft enough to stop you breaking it off without damaging anything. But that shouldn't be necessary if your timing marks are visible, a bit of carb cleaner and a pencil eraser (do they still make them?) and see that both valves are loose.

You can put anything down in the spark plug hole that will come out in the same amount that was installed. You will be barring this crank over so you will be able to pull the rod out while you are barring the engine over finding TDC. I used a 18" 1/4" extension to find TDC on a Nissan Titan yesterday using a LONG handle 1/2" drive ratchet on the c/shaft to bar it over . Take it slow n take it easy . We have professionals and novices on here , for the ones that know a lot feel free to add input or corrections . For the beginners don't be afraid to as if you're not sure. Everyone here is glad to assist. HTH.

I put a mark on the alternator rotor for at 12:00 for "D", then "S" is at 3:00. Of course, you could be 360 out but it's pretty easy. IIRC, the rotor itself is keyed on there, so even it's taken apart and reassembled it should still clock.

I prefer to use something that will not cause any damage if I'm not paying attention and let it get jammed. Mostly I use a bit of heat shrink tube, about 8 mm thick and about 12 cm long. It was not chosen for any reason other than it happened to be lying on the bench when I was looking for something to use. It worked very well, so I kept it. It is rigid enough to give a good indication, but will give in if it gets jammed somehow.

Unless you are done ,remove the alternator cover and spark plugs and bar the engine over to find TDC on one side. You work on one side at a time.. You are going to have valves rocking or valves are at rest. If the valves are at rest , Adjust both valves using Int. specs . measure the clearance between the top of the valve stem and the rocker arm. I set mine on the loose side of the clearance making sure the feeler gauge slides in / out easily . Keep the feeler gauges well oiled so they will not rust. the moment they look less than perfect, toss 'em and get new buying a good brand. Proceed to the other head. This is so easy to do , just do it a couple of times to gain confidence in what you are doing and your procedure . You can look at the flywheel or use a screwdriver going through the spark plug hole to find TCD .