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I found this video extremely difficult to watch, for multiple reasons, but I am not going to elaborate. What do you think happened? is the alloy at fault? an issue with the casting process? it could only be a defect, not the result of mechanical fatigue at 500 miles....

Opinion about Michelin tires aside, I would have a hard time believing that them, Michelin, would have been able to enforce such a directive without any fact or proof to provide to Dorna to have them endorse the decision. As I type this, there were some pilot's opinions on Viñales' declassification, and every one of those that expressed their opinion approved the rules have to be enforced. There are several videos that have reiterated that Michelin came up with a modified design that would have done away with the 1.8 bars minimum limit for 60% of the race, unfortunately, Dorna has not accepted to have the new tire introduced, for undisclosed reasons, upon which we can only speculate. If excepted for the Maverick incident, those rules have been fairly followed in the field, we will remember that Marc Marquez used his brother to reheat is front tire. I don't know if that new front tire will ever be used, given that Pirelli is taking over in 2027. Anyhow, the front tire pressure is unlikely to change the pecking order of 2025 and 2026. Tech3 admitted they set the front tire pressure thinking Maverick Viñales would remain in the middle of the pack, which is frustrating for everybody, since he exceeded expectations. He declared afterward that he was aware of the low front pressure issue, but he felt it was not his problem. I am hopeful that 2027, with the 850cc engines, reduced aerodynamic appendices, no more ride height devices, reduced number of engines, 100% synthetic fuel will add some much-needed competition.

Gotcha! what about the shoes?

I am currently going through the same ordeal... I own a V11 Le Mans (2004), a Quota 1100 ES (2000), and would like to acquire a Stelvio 1200 NTX (2013) which I have already sourced and am lacking the physical space to purchase. It's all academical anyway; how can you justify owning several motorcycles? what would be the rational explanation, since you can only ride one at a time? The pleasure of possession? I have them, so they are mine, and I can do what I want with them? I like to think of it in the practicality way. I don't do leisure motorcycle riding. I ride my bike for errands, whatever those maybe. Here in Texas, it is actually the standard practice to have one or more "weekend vehicle"; you have your commute vehicle, and then the leisure pleasure one or ones. My Quota is my daily rider. Whatever I need to do, it gets first call. Short or long distance trip, the Quota has just filled in the spot. The V11 is different, and has been a purchase from the heart, for multiple reasons. When I was working in Sicily, the Work overs/completions Superintendent of Agip who was one of main work provider owned one. At the time I was running a Harley Davidson Sporster, the only one on the island, possibly. I took to the Le Mans immediately. I had a company car, but I left it at the base and used my Harley for everything. Rain or shine! I never had time to purchase a Guzzi, because I got transferred. I decided to get one now to make it a late dream come true. The Stelvio 1200 NTX is the second Guzzi I sought. It was replaced wiith the Quota since the first Stelvio I checked had the seat in the highest setting, and at the time, I did not know there was a lower position. The Stelvio 1200 NTX being a diplodocus, you don't want to drop it if you need to move it around in your garage. I have posted enough photos of how I am setup, and I need to move two motorcycles to get to my car. With the Stelvio, it would be three. The Stelvio would be the long distance runner. Not that I have not done that on the V11 already, or the Quota; I have done the Motorcycle Grand Tour of Texas since 2021, and I have used the V11 up to 2023 to make all the stops. The Quota joined the Le Mans in 2024, so I used both. This year, I have so far only used the Quota. However the Le Mans comes out for errands too, since I use the Quota for the tour. So what do you tell your wife? does she need all these handbags? does she need all these shoes? how many perfumes can she wear at any one time? how many coats, outfits does she need to own, some of them only came out once from the wardrobe? The Guzzi passion is just like a religion. Once you have adopted the cult, you need more than one catechism to understand its wisdom.

I went to the former MPH Cycles Inc. place yesterday, with the Le Mans just to stretch its legs since the Quota seems to be the one I always revolve around. It is still operating as Mike Haven Automotive. I don't know if Mike still has an interest in that place, but it is open and running for cars exclusively. The Hempstead setup does not look like a real business, rather like someone with some extra space offering services. When I went there, Davey was working on a BMW, on a little patio in the front of a shed. This is why I got the feeling they were winding down their activity. Sort of selecting what they want to do, and how they want to do it. I may be wrong, but the new setup does not give you the feeling they want to resume what they used to do at the previous location. Davey is the one working on the bikes; Even at the old location, Mike seemed to only work on the cars. But he did provide expertise when necessary. The distance is not the main drawback. But they are not in town, they are in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by farms. I understand they are working from home, it is very convenient. It also probably fits their new business model. But looking at it, they are not setup yet.

They don't use air, but fat from your love handles to inflate it.

You still get free air on every gas station on the highways in France. They also have rest areas, with tables, so you can take a break and relax a little bit. None of the gas station around me have that. And yes, free air does not exist at gas station, you needed four quarters to inflate, with most of those stations out of order. There is an exception, though. Costco offers free air to anybody. So you can as it was meant to, fill your tan and check your tire pressure.

He did not learn to say Guzzi properly, but I will forgive him. This Guzzi 2013 is a mirror copy of the one I am after, pending the sale of my Quota... This guy has published a lot of videos about the problems he experienced, which are very educating to me; I did not know the 2013 Stelvio had a clutch recall. I did not know about the throats wearing off either.

Did that on the Quota... the shift lever height was better, but it kept coming out from the gear lever.... Now that I have installed a rubber insert in the foot peg, it is a better fit...

This is exactly why they video is educating; because those expansion chambers should be designed to fit a very specific type of engine, targeting a narrow rpm band. I purchased mine from the manufacturer of my engine, and it was supposedly tuned to that engine type. However, nothing was specified on what rpm range it was designed to work best. All the guys from my moto club installed those chambers on their bikes, and it now occurs to me, the only certainty was the unbearable noise produced. As to the increased power, no idea....

The interesting part came towards the end of the video, and has nothing to do with the RG 500.

Well, I had never dug into where those expansion chambers came about. All I know, is that I had a Gitane Testi when I was 14 years old, and I purchased the expansion chamber sold by Motori Minarelli for my 49.9cc engine. I knew the reason and the principle about it, but I never imagined it came from Germany.

Here are the photos so you can judge; the BMW one fits both sides, while the Quota has a distinct part number for the left or right side. I was amazed to find out these are directly listed from BMW Motorrad, and the catalog have the spare parts available for ALL their motorcycles, including the vintage ones... Obviously, BMW has the financial strength to do that. You can still order pistons for your R-90S from the 70's....

Shipping my Quota's Tachometer/Speedometer to Germany from the US: 200 USD cheapest I found with FedEx, including a big mess since they did not enter it as temporary importation, but permanent. Even if I had clearly filled in the custom document. Shipping from Germany, 50 EUR up to 3kg... A lot of the riding gear is also half price in Europe compared to here. And this was before the import taxes were changed.

That's the one I purchased. It is slightly longer, but it is a drop in place. It's 20.66 EUR from BMW, with VAT, so 17 EUR tax free. https://www.pieces-bmw-moto.fr/bmw-moto/affectation_pieces_detachees/46711242109

I finally found a rubber foot peg that fits my Quota; It is from a 1150 BMW GS, year 2004/2005; I ordered it since it was not in stock, 14.06 USD, which I found expensive for a little bit of rubber. It is a skinny one, not a large one. They received it today, I went to pick it up, and it fits. I thought, let's change the other one, and today, the price has increased to just double! 38 USD... Never mind then...

Past performance is never a guarantee of the future. By the way, Michelin had a very difficult experience of tires failure in F1; remember Indianapolis June 19th, 2005? I don't believe Michelin would have set a minimum required front tire pressure if it was not necessary. They have ran tests to confirm that possibility. Probably extreme tests, but as a company, you certainly don't want to have your name attached to a catastrophic event, again, Indianapolis June 19th, 2005... Conscious that imposing a minimum tire pressure, and laying down rules to enforce it would never win them any sympathy, they came up with a new tire, that Dorna did not authorize to use. My unbiased opinion would be, why would you release an imperfect tire in the first place? do it right the first time. Of course, this is probably a simplistic way to look at it. There must have been other factors, maybe time to influence that decision. Whatever it is, having a rider arriving second, and given a penalty for an insufficient tire pressure is simply ludicrous. We all agree. I wish they replace that front tire immediately.

Michelin set the minimum pressure rule, because if underinflated, the tire may suffer a catastrophic failure that could put the rider's life at risk. They have since come up with a new tire that no longer has that constraint; however Dorna did not authorize its introduction. This was a safety measure that was a stop gap while developing a front tire that did not require it. Everybody agrees that it is plain unacceptable to have race standings established after it has ended. Tech3 said they had not expected Maverick Viñales to race at the front, hence why they had set the pressure too low. Maverick himself said that front tire pressure was not his problem, even if there is a warning on the dash. Why is Dorna not allowing the front tire?

I also found out that nobody pull the dipstick out any longer. Now, my 911 has an electronic oil level indicator, but I don't rely on it. I physically check the oil and other fluid levels. I am told that you no longer need to worry about oil changes mileage, since cars tell you when it is time to change it. No need to check your rearview mirrors either, you have radars. Soon, no need to watch the road since cars are going to drive themselves... or maybe not?

I was shocked to find out that here, nobody changes their tires themselves. You call for help... Maybe there aren't any spare tires any longer?

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.

I add the latest report (go to the 1st post) I got from Blackstone after sending the latest sample while using Motul V-Twin 20W50 made in USA...

I think a Ducati would have won. Yes, Marc Marquez was very smart on this one. Bagnaia did pretty well to come back from afar, but this world championship seems to already have its favorite. I am not saying Bagnaia is out of contention, but it seems clear that Marc Marquez has one leg up on just everyone. If we were expecting Jorge Martin's return to spice it up, we can now forget about it. As for Maverick Viñales, I am hopeful he will also be competitive in Jerez.