Pressureangle

Mine were tight enough that I used a 1/2-3/8 adapter and a 24" 1/2 breaker bar. (because that's the one that was at hand) All components Snap-On, and the Allen key was inspected for a good tip. It came right off then with no drama.

On mine, that was the o-rings under the inside cyl. stud nut cover, the big allen plug.

Two points are paramount, and ultimately far more important than max-lift flow numbers. First, Low-lift flow. The intake valve spends all but a short period of time at less than max lift, and the closer it is to the seat, the more slowly it moves. So 10CFM between .050" and .150" lift is far more productive than 10CFM at max lift. Secondly, port velocity. The higher the velocity, the more air can pass a given opening in a given period of time. To maximize velocity, the port has to be the ... uh ... 'correct' cross section and taper to match the curtain area of the intake valve ('curtain area' is the area open between valve and seat at a given lift). Your port guy who suggests a good valve job is right on the money; getting the curtain velocity up by shaping the valve head and seat can find big gains even without port changes. Where the Guzzi port fails, is that it's already large, to make up for the water-pipe shape; velocity produces inertia, and if velocity gets too high for a short turn, the air separates from the floor and gets turbulent, can't make the turn and kills ultimate volume. The ports on my LMIV are raised, floor filled, and tapered from carb to valve. (Not discussed is venturi effect from the smaller throat to larger valve opening). So a perfect port would simply be a velocity stack with a given taper (I don't know that perfect number) without a valve in it. Modern engines come as close to this as physically possible. Then, RPM, camshaft duration and overlap, compression, and exhaust scavenging all have an effect on intake timing and velocity as well. It's complicated.

That pretty much covers it. The port floor entry into the valve is the main concern here- it can't have the radius increased without raising the roof to suit, and you can't raise the roof to suit without moving the port mouth to suit. My LM1000 heads flow about 240cfm, but they've been raised a half inch. That is a lot harder to do with EFI since the relationship between the two heads has to stay the same unless you do some serious rethinking of throttle activation and expense. I'm going to examine those possibilities this summer, see if we can come up with a significantly improved port that keeps the stock throttle bodies on their mount. The point of the exercise is not to make an extreme racer, but to find something economically viable, reliable, and streetable that you can install in your own garage.

Yeah... Fav hammer for all things. Aaand...file too large. Didn't think that hammer was so big.

Having made every conceivable mod to my '85 LM1000 (save stock displacement/pistons) and riding my stock-but-mufflers-and-ECM '97 1100 sport i 10,000 miles around the country last summer, I'd say the best return on dollar is having the heads done by a *very* competent and experienced porter. Guzzi ports are notoriously poor, but not easy to make enormously better without very specific knowledge; making it worse is that on an injected bike, you can't just raise the ports carelessly as the relationship between the throttle bodies can't change. I'm working that out this summer with my engine guy, but I'll probably have to have the bike in the shop to be certain it all works out. Conceivably it's a simple matter of geometry but I wouldn't take it for granted, and the 45* angle means you can't raise the port along the cylinder axis. Given the experience of the stock LMIV, stock 1100 sport, and the modded LMIV, I do not believe that a cam change will net you any satisfactory return for the work involved. You may find more RPM and upstairs performance, but that always comes at the cost of low RPM torque and drivability. Also you have to consider tuning; I installed a Jeffries MyECU and it's awesome, but would not be a lot of fun if you have no injection tuning experience. So if you can't resist tinkering, let your wallet be your guide; but if you just want to ride it, put pipes on it, tune it, and go faster from the saddle not the motor.

The rod didn't fail, the lack of oil caused a seize and then it cascaded from there. The stock rods are actually quite stout. Until they're not. I don't know whether the Triumph and BSA boards have the same density, but Norton has *always* had running discussions about broken rods. My bike was well-used, but I put about a thousand miles on it before it blew it's guts at 60mph. Broke right above the journal.

1. Take twice as long as you need to. 2. Stay twice as long as you thought you would. 3. Stop for more pictures than I did. 4. Consider installing the INNOV K2 cameras. I still haven't put together all the segments, because...well I didn't have enough discovery before I left and have to stitch together a bunch of short clips. The camera isn't terribly expensive nor hard to install, and if you give yourself a week with it around home to tune the settings- and remember to clean the lens every time you ride through something you're sure you want to keep- you'll have some outstanding video of the ride with zero effort while riding.

I'm currently building a '71 Fastback. My first big bike was a '72 Commando roadster. I've always wanted another Norton ever since I left it against the guardrail on I-75 southbound on the Macon bypass in 1982. With a hole just like that one. Never alu rods. Ever. EVAR

I installed a Web Cam 86B in my '85 Lemans 1000; that required extensive work to both heads and block, changing to Ford lifters. The results, however, are magnificent. Better power throughout, smoother powerband, and awesome drivability. That said; I have it apart again now, because the R&D spring kit loses control about 7k rpm. Installing heavy springs. More work. Bigger engines swallow camshafts. the extra 10% displacement might make this cam too efficient in the 2500-3500 range and cause detonation. It's marginal in the 1000. I did 10,000 miles this fall on my injected 1100 Sport, all stock but for the exhaust and ECM. The stock cam is reportedly designed by Crane, and is a far better touring cam than I expected it to be. Good power throughout, good drivability (extra important with the high 1st gear in the Sport) and a rush from 4k rpm up. I'd recommend it, perhaps on an engine with lower compression I'd shave the cylinder .030" but i don't know the stock numbers. It seems to me, that from the stock LM4 cam (brick with no bottom end power and a big rush) to the Web 86b (properly designed modern profile) to the stock Sporti cam, pretty much anything is drivable and tunable in these dinosaur motors. So I'd go out on a limb and say that if you want increased performance, lean towards the higher end of recommended 'street' cams. Let your tuning ability be your guide.

Bill, Have a closer look at the lower peninsula of Michigan- I-75, US-23 are very flat and boring without even much touristy stuff to look at as you pass. There's a 'circle route' around the lower specifically laid out as a scenic tour. I'd take I-75N to US 23N at Toledo, 23 to US 12 before Ann Arbor, 12W to US131, 131N to Grand Rapids and make your way West to US31 for the trip North. US12 takes you a bit south to get West, but it's probably the finest road in all of southern Michigan, with great pavement (a real rarity in Michigan) nice topography, plenty of touristy/local things to see and eat. Worth the extra hour or so it'll cost you overall. If your mission is more time-sensitive, take the Ohio Turnpike over to 31. The fastest way overall is Tpk. to I-69 to US127N.

I'm thinkin' I might trailer in and bring the Aermacchi... just for some fun with the young noobs on the tail.

My route took me through Hot Springs, AR to Shawnee, OK; Liberal, KS to Denver. Don't do that. Go as far north as time allows. From Virginia, time allowing, I'd get up through SE Ohio and ride Lake Michigan in the lower and cross the U.P. to start the northern states crossing. Yellowstone, Glacier, down through Idaho to Spokane is just spectacular. Rte. 2 takes you all the way from Kalispell, MT to Seattle. Beautiful road, no traffic- but the speed limit is enforced. I can't wait to get up there in the summer with time to lurk.

The gearbox brace was a feature on the carbed Sport1100. No idea if we've confirmed that it is still fitted to the injected 1100Sport-i (??) AFIK, no V11 was ever fitted with the mid-frame brace. (For that matter, were they fitted to the Daytona, the Centauro?) My '97 Sport Injected has the frame-to-trans plate. Looks factory, as not much was touched from new when I bought it.

Just finished the 10k on the 1100 sport i. Started out with Bridgestone T30 EVOs on both ends; 120/60F and 170/70R. I never liked the way the BSs felt- the guys at the spine raid can attest my tentative trust in them at lower speeds. That said, they are DEAD STABLE above 60mph. Any road surface, any corner, any speed. I never fully trusted the front, but I got 6700 miles out of it, and because the Triumph dealer in Tracy, CA wouldn't work on the bike, I got to ride The Crossroads on a worn slap-out front; when I came out of that 200 extra miles it had obliterated any evidence of tread on the 45* area. Never slipped, never bounced, never scared me. But never made me love it. The rear was pretty well worn in the center, but looked like new on the sides- my style tends to abuse the front coming into corners and ease on out. Overall, they lasted well, did a great job, and were, in retrospect, the better tires going across the fast ugly parts of OK and KS than were the Pirelli Angel GTs going across the Southern flats. Installed Pirellis in San Jose. Holy crap what an enormous difference in handling. Immediate security, trust, feedback. I'd say better traction, but I never pushed the Bridgestones to the point of slipping so I can't say that definitively. The P's were, at all speeds, easier to maneuver and point- although straight-line stability wasn't as good; I had to be constantly conscious of the weight on the bars and accidental inputs. Sizes were 120/70F 160/60R. The smaller rear took 3mph off my speed/rpm, which cost me a 6 mile shortage to gas in NM...well I did pay extra for roadside assistance just for that case. Overall, I like the Pirelli's far better any time there's not straight road. I can't comment so much on their endurance, 3500 miles of flat straight roads behind 500 miles of SoCal curves only left a noticeable but not unexpected levelling of the center of the rear. Based on the same point in the BS rear on the way out, I'd say the Pirelli rear will go slightly less under the same circumstances, maybe 6k miles. Pressures were 32/32 for the entire trip. I chose the only set of tires I could find in town on the shelf, if they'd been available I'd have gone with a larger rear, but I don't know if that's available or how it would affect the handling. Beware the next spine raid lol

Oh, and I had to truncate the Southwest/Texas/FL Panhandle parts because I ran out of time. Next one will be out to L.A. and back, at least, spending time in SoCal, Phoenix, Tucson, etc. Stay tuned.

8 weeks, 10,000 miles. I need another month and another 5k miles. Nobody tells you that when you take something out of the bucket list, you might like it. This could be a lifestyle. Travel light, travel fast. No other motorcycle I've ever owned would have been better for this trip. Yes, a touring bike would have been nice across Oklahoma and Kansas, and home across the South. But I knew that would suck, and a touring bike would only have sucked less. The rest of the time, what a gas. Wore the front tire completely bald where those 70mph sweepers are (stories to follow) I have about a terabyte of video I'll be reviewing, editing, and posting up.

Went with Pirelli Angel GT, since it was the only pair in stock that fit- 120/70 front and 160/60 rear. We'll see.

Just passed 6500 miles on my 97 sport I (17" rear) with Bridgestone Touring T30's. I'm very pleased overall with mileage and performance. From damp tight roads in Tennessee at the spine raid to 90mph sweepers in Montana/West, they never gave a moment's concern for traction, all the way to the bottom of the traed (I rode 150 crazy miles after I wanted to change the front) The only meh was always feedback, which never let me feel truly confident. They are much more reassuring as speed increases, secure and stable at high speeds and lean angles and on any road surface. So. Now I'm in San Francisco, looking at a thousand miles of tight, great sporting roads, and any tire will do the flat miles home after that. Recommendations?

https://www.relive.cc/view/rt10001941948

As soon as I get home, I'm going to work out billet stand mounts. After 4 stand related drops in ~6k miles, I'm thinking about reengineering it so it deploys and retracts 'normally' and stays where you put it. Opinions?

Need a 90* plug cap. Found none today, trying again tomorrow.