FreyZI

I had an extra set of chops powder coated a couple years ago. I had wanted to get them anodized to restore the faded anodized chops on the Tenni, which have turned to a sort of burnt orange. I don't actually mind the color -- actually kind of like it -- but had wanted to replicate the original finish. The powdercoater tried a lot of things, but never quite was able to replicate that soft anodized finish look. In the end, they did a couple layers, with clear on top to give some depth. It's hard to get a photo that catches the light, but they have a darker cherry color. Kinda looks like red jello. You can see through the clear and make out either sand-casted or sand-blasted surface texture. @Drahchir I think you'll have an awfully hard time getting powdercoat to replicate an anodized finish. If I had an extra pair of chops lying around, I'd take my chances, IFF I could find somebody willing to give it shot. Worst case scenario, you then get it powdercoated. If you find an anodizer to try, I wouldn't sandbast to prep the pieces. Let us know your results.

@Drahchir What color are you thinking? Trying to match an original color, or something creative?

Never mind. Sold out. Edit: I'll call them tomorrow and see if they can source more.

https://italianiron.com/ducati-paso-nos-protection-cap-037141445/

This particular boot is identical to Ducati part no. 037141445. Seems it is difficult, but not impossible, to find that part (found on Italian Iron website).

Ciao. Unfortunately, my schedule NEVER permits me to make the ride for SSR (2 weeks into school), so instead of preparing for the ride, I have to content myself with deferred cleaning of the Tenni (Bubbles remains neglected in that regard). Anywho, as I was wiping off the bug splatter and working rearward today, I realized that the rear brake switch boot is shot. Reviewing the spare parts catalog, it looks like that boot is part of the "main cable kit". Anybody have a part number for the boot individually, or an alternative part that works? Cheers, Frey

Sadly, I think that was an exercise in futility. Will let my friend check it out for his ergos (mine are uncommon for an Italian bike: 6"-5", 35" inseam). I considered for a few minutes the idea of mounting some auxiliary lights on those stalks, instead of footpegs; however, they're probably too far aft to be much use for lighting. If anyone has ideas befitting a rat bike aesthetic, by all means let me know. Cheers, Frey

Long awaited footpeg lowering links arrived today. A buddy used to ride long distances (K1100, if I remember correctly), then kids and all. Has been telling his MC stories and talking about getting a Goldwing for at least the past six years. Meanwhile, I've had him out for a couple rides on my R1200R while I ride the Tenni. But, he's got some knackered knees -- he'll be popping ibuprofen and stretching his legs out in front before we get out of the neighborhood. When I picked up Bubbles from P.O., she came with a pair of custom footpeg mounts that bolt on along with the rear subframe. Finally got around to putting them back on (takes some work, b/c exhaust needs to move to get each bold out), and ordering some inexpensive (naturally) footpegs and mounts. The result is foldable pegs 17 inches forward, 3 inches lower, and a bit wider. Sitting on Bubbles in the garage felt okay, if a bit awkward with the subtle forward reach of the arms. Little test ride now... Hoping my amigo can enjoy riding Bubbles with less discomfort until he picks up a bike. I speculate that he will start looking for a Guzzi instead of a 'wing.

Somehow stumbled upon this ancient thread today. I'd not seen that 2003 brochure before advertising "ergal" pegs and levers. I had seen Moto Guzzi Accessories and Apparel Brochure B10703, which appears to relate to the 2002 model year (given the red/grey LM on the cover and the copyright). It shows the same (?) footrests and controls. I happen to have them on the Tenni, along with the passenger footrests and all the CF goodies (except the quarter fairing). I don't have them on Bubbles. I can't say that I've perceived any significant difference while riding, but I do like the looks of them. Here they are installed (and in need of cleaning!):

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.

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

Kinda looks like steel, not alu? Maybe brass would work...

My new titanium rotor bolts arrived last night. Although I was careful in ordering, the bolts were not exactly as advertised. Specifically, the unthreaded shoulder was slightly longer than the 5mm stated on Amazon. You can see the difference: I was a little concerned that the shoulder on the new bolts would be too long to fit in the recesses of the wheel, but they appear to just fit in and snug up the rotor before bottoming. I think they look rather nice in gold. In case anyone is interested in weight, I have 2 extra, so I can weigh as compared to stock. However, as someone here once alluded to, the difference is probably equivalent to the difference between a quarter pounder with cheese or without cheese . So, as I was putting the wheel back on Bubbles, specifically, sliding the brake bracket onto the "block" (#37636105) to hand on the spindle, I realized that there is no block. As I had the back end apart after purchase to take stock and tidy up, I should have realized that the block was missing. Anywho, I'll be fabricating a new block. I can always measure the one from the Tenni, but it'd be easier if I could just get dimensions. I have this: But, if anyone has easy access to this block, could I get dimensions? Many thanks! Cheers, Frey

First

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

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

So, barely had time to ride this summer, what with mountaineering in Iceland and scuba diving in Mexico, among other things. So, I was itching to ride and topped the Tenni's tires off and ready to go, but apparently the battery was not topped off and ready to go. So, I decided to take Bubbles-the-parts-bike out. I had limited time and was on a mission: Army Corps of Engineers site to pick up a National Parks annual pass and Mamie's in Martinsburg (about an hour away) for a Reuben. I wasn't keen on taking Bubbles, because she was down for maintenance. But I really wanted to ride a V11, and I didn't want to wait for the Tenni's battery to take a charge. Tangent: Bubbles was in line for two maintenance items: 1) a new exhaust cross over hanger bracket and 2) a rear brake job. As for item (1), I was too cheap to just buy a new $16 bracket because the cost of shipping was equal to the cost of the part. So, instead I bought a $7 bar of stainless steel and fabricated one myself. I was using a torch with canisters of MAPP gas and oxygen to heat the bar so I could make the two 90-degree bends, working on the second bend when the oxygen ran out. Stupidly, instead of stopping and getting a new canister of oxygen (another damn $10), I tried to bend to bar before it was ready and ended up with a big radius, not a tight 90-degree bend. So, I then had to fire up the gas forge and knock the thing into better shape on the anvil (something I had never done before and learned that it actually takes some skill). After finally getting the bar turned into a bracket (and installed), I had used up my allotted maintenance time, so I didn't get to the brakes. Well, I knew that the brakes needed maintenance, but I figured one more ride wouldn't catch me out. It did. So, I have learned a couple things: first, don't be such a cheap-ass; 2) do preventative maintenance before costly repairs; 3) break pads work better when they actually have friction material on them. Unfortunately, I didn't appreciate these lessons until I came to a stop rather more quickly than I intended, 40 minutes from home. Long story short, I need a new disc and pads for Bubbles. Figure I'll put the new disc on the Tenni and move its serviceable disc to Bubbles; new brake pads around. Not so easy to find a rear disc. It seems they are on back order everywhere. In addition to GU03635700, I looked for EBC MD692 and MD692C (the latter is the contour version). I've had good luck with EBC products. Unfortunately, they aren't so easy to find in stock either. I did find one MD692, but would prefer the MD692C. Does anybody know a good place to pick one up without having to wait for an uncertain many weeks? And, preferably not have to pay $40 or $50 for delivery? Anyway, I've missed following the forum this summer. And I'm envious of all yinz that will be at the Spine Raid. Cheers, Frey

I looked into this for the kid that doesn't want contacts. Not as expensive as I'd imagined; they can be had for ~$120 for a TUSA. I'm sure one could spend many times that for higher end stuff.

Thanks for the posts. Hawai'i would be wonderful, but this trip has to be closer, quicker, and cheaper. Looks like it will be Coz. One of the kids wears glasses, not contacts, yet, and no desire to wear contacts. Any of yinz nearsighted? Because of magnification, he might be okay without any correction.

Many thanks, @p6x! Before and after pics of the Kangol (before pic itself was after removal of Green Bay Packers patch and attempted but failed supergluing of larger patch). Cheers, Frey

Coz was great -- hopefully still is. I got certified there 25 years ago and went back several times in the noughties. It is my default at the moment. Same dive shop is still operating.

The interweb is a sketchy place to find information. Whether you all are a trustworthy lot is another question, but you haven't led me astray, yet... Before I had children, I dove as often as I could (from Colorado). Kids impaired travel time, budget, and destination choices. Now -- finally -- looking into a family scuba (certification) trip. Any ideas? @p6x, you must be a diver. Places you all like in the Caribbean (reasonably accessible from the northeast US). Trusted dive operators? Cheers, Frey

Happy news! The snake oil worked. In this case, VP Fix-it-fuel. Running reasonably slick. She sure does like to be good and warmed up.

The G5 isn't running real well at the moment. Cleaned spark plugs and treated to same snake oil fuel today. She runs pretty good with the choke on, but backfires and sputters with choke off. Soon as she's running well, goes on the sale block. Takes up too much space and just too many other bikes to ride. At the moment, she serves well as a foot rest.

M22 pins pivot side OD is 17mm. M20s must be the same. As long as you have the right size pins for your side plates/pork chops/stilettos, they are fully swappable.