Gmc28

oh my, you came to the right place to talk about batteries! I’ll not say anything except that there’s a wealth of info from PC545 guru’s on this site, and i’m a believer, but I also have finally gone to the dark side and installed a Lithium battery, and can’t see every going back. Thats a long, long topic, but fast-forwarding to the final thing for one side of the discussion is that the lithium battery (i think I put an EarthX in the V11) cranks the bike over better/quicker, and takes less space in the cradle, in theory allowing for easier road-side work if such a need would come up. Can’t go wrong with an Odyssey, properly cared for, but I would not be afraid of a decent lithium battery.

All good fodder for the discussion, though I don’t know the root cause reasons Smart or others have for it all. When I moved to LA from Alaska, among other culture shock things was the presence of quicky oil change places that would change your oil and filter for the same or even less than i could buy just the oil. What? So I did that thinking how nifty that was, but always a bit suspect, then sure enough one day I went to drain my own oil for some reason and found the drain plug was badly cross-threaded. well, was fun while it lasted. That little Smart diesel engine, basically what I’d call a golf cart with 57hp, is all mercedes built and has been a solid little bugger since 2006, no-drain-plug-and-all. Plastic outer body never rusts, frame is some kind of space age alloy engineered to handle some nasty crash scenarios (check out what some British university did for testing, published video on YouTube), and the drivers side has more head and leg room than about any rig i’ve had my 6’4” frame in. But it’s still basically just a golf cart you get to drive 60mph on the road. But we digress! Sucking oil out is not new to me, because of the Smart, but only recently have I looked more into doing it for other rigs, hence the foray into messing with it using a better suction device. The Super Duty diesel (“Whitey”) that holds 12+ qts will still be drained by a quick scoot underneath on the creeper, a short twist of the fumoto drain valve, and voila, 12+ qts drained. Not nearly so quick for the Volvo, low to the ground and with an engine cover underneath… a real hassle on a comparative basis.

i’ve used the fumoto drains for years on multiple rigs, and am a fan, no complaints. Not like its hard to remove/replace a drain plug, but its just faster and makes things easier & quicker, and not that one should live in fear of such things but it reduces/removes the chance of a cross thread, or any thoughts of whether your crush washer is fine. BUt also just got my new oil suction setup last week. have an old one i’ve used on the diesel Smart (no drain plugs on the mercedes built Smart diesels), and i got used to it, but now have a compressor driven version that i’m thinking i’ll use for the volvo, to skip having to lift the front end, remove that annoying engine cover underneath, and should be able to just suck the oil out. some debate out there about the effectiveness of that versus draining, but lots of good shops use them, and i’m not a finicky, oil worry-wart type. (loaded statement for those who love to debate oil :->. i don’t… just like to take care of it easy as i can)

i forget the details there, as the replacement kit has been sitting by my desk now for months. new relay, and new inline connection setup, as i recall. a Duc service bulletin, about $60 for the whole thing. so probably $50 too much, but you know…

some kind of relay failure, which ducati posted a service bulletin for, but was news to me till it ate my new, expensive lithium battery, draining it down till it showed 1.7v over just a couple weeks while it was parked. Replacement (cheaper) batt from local Batteries Plus didn’t fix the issue, which was the clue that prompted the discovery of the relay which Duc says needs replacement in all bikes that have the original, and offering a little OEM kit to replace the relay which wasn’t originally meant to be replaced (its not in one of the usual sockets for a relay). Simple stuff, once it’s clear what’s going on, as that relay wasn’t on my radar as it’s not in with the rest of the usual relays. The real cause of the issue was me, as i jinxed it. I had just bragged for the umpteenth time about how that Multistrada was like a Honda, completely reliable and solid since new (2016). Fate didn’t like that statement.

gray and rainy, and the Ducks got their ass kicked, so back to the shop, since for the first time in my memory all of my bikes need some work at the same time… actually, Red could fire up and go, but want to get the little oil leak fixed first, and prefer to either get the bike lift freed up from the v85tt winter mx project, or await my new shop stand to arrive from MG cycle. the Duc is still broken down in vegas, waiting forlorn in a hangar. hope to get there this month to get her back on the road, and maybe get some decent weather there to ride a bit. The old Suzuki is torn apart awaiting me to finish up its refresh to get ready for this summers ORBDR ride. Oh, i guess Goldie (v11) would run and ride fine, so i lied… i do have a bike, but which i don’t want to ride in the muck. i like the idea of the Mammoth “ride”. hope to be at Bachelor later this month. cheers and happy new year

nice. just what i was looking for. i actually scrounged some of the same fittings and have been sitting on those awaiting an idea of what to install them on, as i don’t have the right cap. I rigged up something less ideal with what i had in the shop at the time, but the weak link was having the wrong spare reservoir cap. I’d have thought it would be easy to source replacement caps, but it’s proving surprisingly tricky. and since i have a number of different reservoir styles/shapes, am wondering if some kind of clamp on setup could work. thx all

wondering if anyone has any tips to share on using one of the motive flow (or similar brand) brake/clutch bleeder tools on the v11’s, in regard to how to fit the bleeder to the reservoir. they don’t seem to sell the “plug and play” options for attaching to the reservoirs so you have an airtight seal and the hose inlet from the pump-up container. i rigged up a frankenstein setup for my son’s Cagiva, using an extra reservoir cap i had and drilled to allow a fitting for hose input, only to find that the threads weren’t quite the same on the cap i found in my parts box, so it wasn’t air tight. figured i’m probably missing something simple, as a lot of folks use these, and i’m just missing the obvious. maybe a plate that you drill with a hose fitting, and clamp in place? Bleeding by hand is what i’ve always done, and no problem, but figured i’d try and get this device to work right for me for longer term. (got it figured my old ford diesel… plug and play attachment, and thats helpful for a system with that much fluid) I think Phil uses one of these on his MG?

i have an airscape container or two, and use them now and then, but that "world champion barista" fellow... i forget his name, and of course there are many of them (an english guy...) did some youtube station testing of the storage bins, and concluded it didn't matter that much. basically the beans off-gas, and (usually) are best a few days after roasting up until roughly 2 weeks later, give or take a little based on a few variables, and storage options didn't have much effect on that. But yes, freezing is bad :->

has anyone recently had issues with this (reflective stickers, yellow jackets, tagged gloves, etc), in person or first hand knowledge? I've never had any issue with any of that. Very possibly just good (blind) luck. I've rented many times in Italy, from various sources, and they've never mentioned any cautions, and I crossed borders into most (?) of the neighboring countries and never had an issue, nor seen someone have an issue. I did get a couple automatic-camera speeding tickets near Grenoble a few years back in a car, but since then have sped along all across France and had no issues. Last couple times I had the missus google searching from the passenger seat for some kind speed trap/cam type web site or hot-tips, but nothing came up, so i bombed along, prepared to receive a ticket or two in the mail if it came to that, but it never did. In italy, east of Florence, I saw lots of speed cams, but none of them did anything... i never saw them flash or light up, and never got any tickets.

“D check….” another aviation guy! thankfully a “D check” is usually a one man job on the Guzzi :->. And I’m thinking that its more like a C check, since there’s no D-mate involved. Sounds like that Ballabio should be good to go! My Red has an oil seep which appears to be from the pan seal. After the V85tt gets off the stand from its first-for-me annual go-through (how does A-check sound? plus some minor mods, all of which will only be “field approved”), i’ll get Red up there to drop the pan. I’ll see about maybe one of the options others have suggested of getting a sheet of fine grit on a flat surface and doing a home-job of getting that pan mating surface cleaned up and flattened. then a new gasket, and considering whether to use a smidgeon of hylomar, or trust in the clean up of the surface and new gasket.

Touche. The 1st gen V85tt's had issues that caused concern for some. They've improved a bit since, but ultimately what they've improved likely won't matter much if it's not the style a guy likes. I've noted before on this forum in a couple postings here and there how I had little if any interest in the V85tt, till i was "forced" to rent it when Agostini's sent out the V100 I had set up to demo just before i got there, despite saying they'd hold it... cheeky. Anyway, ended up on a truly ugly v85 (well, its my least favorite color, but to each his own) for a few days, riding the great roads to the north and east of Mandello. Perhaps in part because I figured i'd hate it, and I can be a bit of annoying contrarian, I ended up really liking it. so I bought one. Oh, and didn't hurt that a guy was desparate to unload one in my preferred coloring and with almost no miles when i checked last winter. From my angle its not a bike that I can break down into why I like it, I just do. My oldest guzzi friends, the ones deep into guzzi for decades, they both have a V85 as their go-to bike. It's probably a little bit of laziness. for instance, I'll admit that I was looking forward to riding one of the V11's to John Day this year, but as the day got closer I gradually gave in to the dark side, yielding to my laziness: the V85 has big hard cases, great wind screen, great fuel econ + long range, and despite some pretty mediocre (at best) suspension it handles surprisingly well, and i'll say "enjoyably"... whatever that means in the way of suspension. Felt guilty leaving the V11's at home, but damn that V85 is nice for touring, with the bonus being that it also allows for some gravel/dirt road touring.

they are lovely. Just received new (Agostini) exhaust for my 2022 V85tt, to go on bike this winter.

thank u, and thats my hope! depends on whether i’ll end up down there with my bride, or with a riding buddy… the wheel of fate is currently spinning. i’ve always rented guzzi’s from Agostini’s, but probably won’t prefer to start up in the como area, and will pop straight down into Florence, where there are a few good Duc rental options. and maybe they have that Ducati free parking area at the race, like they do at the Austin GP venue…

all good, and thanks. i see the online tickets on the official motogp website, as well as the Misano track web site, and thats what i'm planning to do at this point, but i haven't seen that venue in person and will be picking seat section just based on the online map. and will look for a nearby town thats smaller and quieter where i could stay and tour around a bit, then make the drive into the crowds for the race day.

Any kiwi's (or travelers) have a good place they like near Auckland? might be swinging through in a week or two. Far as a contribution to the thread, for the home state of Oregon, the ride over one of the several "lesser traveled" routes across the coast range is a great way to make your way to Coos Bay, and tramp into Restaurant O, owned by a good friend who was a michelin star chef in France then moved to the boondocks for a woman (a very good woman... maybe thats the making of a good country song?), and now runs an out-of-place bistro with a menu that ranges from street-fare through Foie-gros, and a solid beer and wine menu.

Wow. Guess i better take my shoes off and walk back to work from lunch. Maybe Allah will speak.

For tips, given the flavor of the thread title, just looking for wisdom on how/where to buy the race tickets. May just be as simple as going to the official website source, but I know a couple folks on this forum have been as recently as this year to a GP race in Italy, so thought I’d check in to see if there are any hot tips. for the rest, yes, “wine country”….just a place in Europe, any one of many, but I purposely didn’t get into details on a MotoGP thread :->. For you inquiring minds though, in this case probably Epernay, then a stop at Au Fil du Zinc in Chablis, then down to Sancerre. Usually avoid the crowded streets of Beaune, Bordeaux, and Barolo. EasyJet or some other no frills flight to Florence from Lyon, or maybe TGV/eurostar (for 4x the cost & time). And don’t twist the knife on the coach thing! I spend money on motorcycles, shotguns, wine, espresso, and the rest is just wasted (old joke, but a good one). Got a crazy deal on the flight, so I just fold up my legs, put in the earbuds with a history podcast, slug a glass of wine, and sleep. Recover later.

Speaking of the atmosphere, and this may be the wrong place to ask this (travel, or motogp, or?), but I’m considering trying to get tickets to Misano/Rimini next September. anyone have any tips or thoughts beyond the basic “log on to GP site, buy tickets, go there for race”? I got some ridiculously cheap coach seats to London in September, to overlap with a friend for his birthday in wine country for a bit, but then i think I’d like to shoot over to Rimini before I escape Europe.

They sell reverse osmosis setups that then also re-mineralize the water, and they are arguably affordable ($250-500), not hard to install, and assure water will at least be “good” in most cases. Seems to be as close to a “plug and play” solution as I’ve seen, for well or city water. I’ve thought about it, but bit of a hassle to probably yield something barely measurable in improvement in my own case.

the water quality rabbit hole gives me a headache. very real, but man it gets complicated. you do of course want good or great quality water, but exactly what that means can get convoluted pretty quick, and the espresso snob community gets way, way into that (another "motor oil" type discussion). certainly a level of diminishing returns there as a good solution is pursued, but where the sweet spot is between "its not perfect" and "its good enough", can be hard to find. My well water comes out hard and with lots of "stuff" (ppm) in it. it's then softened, and comes out slightly acidic and low ppm. It then goes through what most consider a good quality in-line filter, just for the espresso machine (plumbed in), and it comes out with a higher ph and higher ppm. it actually ends up about where it should be on ph and ppm, but how I don't yet understand. All stuff I never wanted to know...

well, “great” espresso machines can cost several thousand dollars, but you can spend a lot loss on the machine and be fine, so i wouldn’t say $10k is an entry price to the boojie espresso world… a person could spend a few grand total and do just fine. although that’s even a chunk compared to what most are used to :-> for probably $7k (USD) a guy could have a true “cadillac” setup, with the grinder being the larger part of that. Either way, it’s way too much money, unless you choose to make it your “thing”. Sadly, i have. but this group knows how possible it is to justify buying stuff we want…. agreed on all. and tip-of-hat to the additional Aussies on thread! i agree that as a group, they’ve collectively raised the bar well over where the italians placed it a long, long time ago. Flat whites came to US via Starbucks some years ago, and they were a fun twist, though as you say they usually get butchered by the barista’s, and starbucks over-roasted beans make all their stuff just in the “drinkable, but not good” category.. Unless you want a milkshake. But yes, you do NOT want a super spendy burr grinder for the bialetti, in my humble opinion. That kind of coffee benefits from more fines, like from a conical burr grinder, or most other ones, including hand grinders.. The cost hurdle for non-espresso drinkers is far lower, so a budgetary blessing if you don’t prefer espresso. Portland has some great ones! but they move around, as the barista is a key part of the process. lots of places dropping huge amounts of cash into super expensive machines, like the Slayer with all its wild functionality and crazy price tag, but then some yahoo that runs it like he’s working an automated starbucks push-button machine. hurts to watch. Coava used to a real nice job, and Public Domain downtown was great but i think Covid killed it. i’ve heard Cathedral and Futura do nice work too. We used to say if the barista didnt have multiple piercings, tattoos, and wasn’t properly annoyed when you asked them for a drink, then you were at the wrong coffee bar. So many great stories of out-of-town visiting friends who were shocked at how arrogant the good baristas could be. i loved it… sort of a “soup nazi” thing. unfortunately, most of them are getting nicer now, so i can’t be as entertained by the arrogance! great looking grinder! looks like the eureka mignon series, based on form factor and burr size, and I have a few friends with those and they’re real happy.

gotta have the extra juice to keep a guy warm in Norway this time of year! I visited Tim Wendelboe's place in Olso this summer... that was a real treat.

love the lever machine activepop! a good lever machine along with an HG-2 Weber grinder would seem the ultimate combo for someone who wanted the enjoyable work and "ritual" but also wanted excellent espresso. just requires real committment. love it.

Oh my, did we really get into an espresso thread with an Australian on V11lemans.com? It’s about damn time! phil clearly likes finer and/or vintage things (he has a V11!), and he’s Australian, a land full of wonderfully finicky espresso drinkers, so it’s probably safe to say he has no problem with model T’s, but that if you really love to drink espresso, then the model T is going to produce a whole different product than a what a proper modern machine & grinder will do. Less-so for the espresso machine, which is an easier target to hit than a good grinder. (Almost) no matter how skilled you are, pulling a perfect shot using a “model T” grinder is damn near impossible, and at the least requires a lot of work, and some luck. of course it all depends on what you consider the perfect shot, the question which overwhelmingly colors the whole conversation. I’ve owned and used wonderful vintage espresso machines, which looked the part, and with considerable effort could produce a fantastic shot, but never without the right (modern, bloody expensive) grinder. The temp control, plus pressure & flow control of Phil’s new machine is very difficult or impossible to replicate on an old machine. if you like drip, or have taste for old-world coffee, then no big deal….. life is much easier for you! for those who like both old world simplicity and the benefits of modern geek-driven (beautiful) madness, are not worried about budget, the Weber HG-2 is spot-on. And it's not made from wood, for those inclined that way :-> No room in my kitchen for that (lovely) monstrosity, plus for espresso I prefer a flat burr. For the flat burr fans, spend double the already large price and get the EG-1, a fantastic unit, that I’ve only used at a friends house. Fantastic, and consistent. Just imagine, for only $4000 you can get a nice grinder for your counter that your friends will think is a NASA telescope! sad that in Italy, where I learned to love espresso so many years ago (as an eye opener compared the Folgers at home back then), where even the little hole-in-wall places did decent espresso, is now largely overrun with the disgusting automatic machines. Undrinkable, except for medicinal purposes…