ferguzzi

Why on the left I wonder?

Just got home and checked the bike. BOTH eagles are pointing backwards! Damn you Jaap!! So, either: 1......I admit I’m an idiot and take off the decals and fit two more, or: 2......embrace the difference like the true maverick I am and bask in my bike’s individuality. I think I’ll sleep on it, I’m a little jetlagged...

It does on the left side, smartarse!! Anyway, I like looking backwards, it’s the fighter pilot in me....”check six”, and all that....

I found MCS to be really good to deal with. It’s a smallish 4-5 man operation in a boatyard, and they had several interesting projects on the go when I dropped in to pick up the tank. Various car and bike parts. Lee is the man I dealt with. Very professional, and honest. I got the polished alloy, it’s lovely, but I’ll never stop polishing it because the sheen isn’t mirror-like(like that v7 tank?), but it still looks great. he has an old external fuel pump tank in the workshop so he got the dimensions from that. The fit isn’t exactly perfect, but almost, and took a little fiddling to fit, but I’m happy. i think he would have painted it, but I specifically wanted the polished tank, which cost a little more. cost probably varies, but expect about £1100 plus delivery. I didn’t haggle. It’s much lighter then the original, and does give a more individual “cafe racer” look. The pork chops are the only things that didn’t get painted, the nuts were a bastard to loosen, and there’s still one I haven’t gotten to,I think I’ll get a local engineer to loosen it for me, then I’ll paint them. Another winter project. I quite like that the colour doesn’t match anything else, but there was too much variation in the other colours on the bike for my liking, so I’ve simplified it a bit. You’d need to compare with another tenni to see what I’ve done. I’ve owned this thing since new, it’s got 26000 miles on it, and has let me down more times then I care to remember. ( pawl spring, exploding clutch, regulator failure etc.). I’m actually in the middle of writing an article for the UK Guzzi club magazine describing some of my adventures...I’m a long haul airline pilot so have a lot of spare time on my own at the moment. I’m still flying, but get locked in to my hotel room for the duration of my time abroad now. I’m writing this from an airport hotel room in Johannesburg..... The thing is, even though I have a few other lovely bikes, there still isn’t anything out there that has the V11’s combination of all day comfort, speed, and, I suppose, style, that I’d replace it with. So I didn’t feel too guilty about spending some cash to revitalise the bike a bit.

Thanks for all this, I’m still a bit in the dark to be honest. it might be only a coincidence, but I don’t really get why painting the engine casing and a few other bits would suddenly trigger the fuse to melt. Twice. the fuse holder is now damaged beyond repair where the 30a fuse is held so I’ll have to separate the 30a fuse away from the original holder. I like the CB idea, but probably won’t be able to get hold of one. (I fly 787s, and we don’t even have access to them in the cockpit anymore!) I thought maybe I’d find a damaged or disconnected wire somewhere due to my clumsiness, but nothing obvious so far. may be time to call in a professional.....

Maybe a little better...

This might be a little better...

I’ve spent most of the winter and following lockdown giving the Tenni some love. I met a fellow Tennisti in St. Louis on a trans America trip in 2018(Iwas on a triumph)and his bike put mine to shame.A mixture of shit Irish weather, bad Italian paint, ethanol and me being lazy meant it was starting to look sad. The tank was suffering from severe measles, so that was the start, and it grew from there. I had one built by MCS in brightlingsea, UK, took about 5 months, not bad considering Covid had just hit. I had various bits of plastic repainted by a pro, the Tenni paint came from Holland(rocking horse poop). I powder coated wheels, triple tree, cylinder and alternator covers and a few other bits. Taking the wheels apart was the hardest bit, all nuts and bolts had turned to cheese, so a local engineer used his box of tricks to help. Apart from a small electrical problem (see technical topics, “thirty amp fuse failure), she rides exactly the same. she just looks better. Here’s to another 20 years!

So I spent the winter and spring doing up the tenni as it needed some TLC. I didn't touch electrics, it was mostly painting and fitting stainless where ever I could. I also fitted a new alloy tank. Amazingly, it all worked when I stuck it all back together again, but the 30amp fuse has melted. Twice. Never done this before. So, all things being equal, I’ve done something wrong. I though maybe I had painted over the ground behind the seat release keyhole, but it’s clean. from what I’ve read above there’s a ground from the alternator via the regulator to the battery? Or did I get that wrong? Where would it be attached to? any other thoughts? electrics aren’t really my thing.....

I got 147 mph indicated on the final straight at Nurburgring. That’s apparently 137 true, or 220kph. ish.

No issues with Ohio, it’s just I’ve been there before! I rode across the states back in the nineties, and have rented a few bikes since then on a few short trips, so I’m childishly ticking off the states I haven’t been to yet. It’s down to 5 now, Oregon, Montana, Idaho, Alaska and Hawaii. Not too bothered about the last two, to be honest.

Hmmm. Maybe my camera was upside down. Or I was drunk.

Canadian Rockies...