p6x

Let's work with an example; When you change the oil filter on a V11, lets take the oil filter access cover oring. I have that oring on hand, so I can measure it with my vernier caliper; The o'ring cross-section is 3.5mm; which correspond to 3.53mm from the table. Measuring the ID is a bit more difficult, but it is around 95mm; the closest I get is 94.84mm from the table. It corresponds to Parker size 2-240. On a funny note, if I was still in my company, I could use a B-17308 o'ring; which is the reference my company gave to that o'ring size, for our application. Most likely a Viton o'ring because our tools are submitted to high pressures. Nitrile would deform and leak. Let's go to the Parker site; for this o'ring size; I select Nitrile and 70 durometer; the cheapest. Since this o'ring is just sealing one direction and temperature is below 250F, I would not need Viton. I have ran oil field tools in oil wells for 35 years, and changing o'rings after each run. That oring costs 3.64 USD at MG-Cycle currently. So the biggest job, is to find the size of the o'rings you want to stock. Use the Parker sizing tool which is easier than my tables. We had those tables back then, because we did not always have maintenance manuals, so we had to find o'rings using cross references and/or sizes.

@Scud The size is normalized. Parker is an o'ring supplier from which we got all our o'rings. There are different Nitriles strength. Viton is more resilient to temperature. Here's a link to the Parker website which will ultimately help you finding whatever o'ring you need: http://solutions.parker.com/ORingSelector

There may also be the UV factor implied. You know that UV rays affect the molecular structure of elastomers. This is why you always need to put your o'rings in opaque bags, so they don't catch the light, besides the 10 years shelf life. We have a lot of sun here in this State. I have seen what that did to my joints on my cars, which have hardened precociously. There are different compounds to fight it. But nitrile is one of the cheapest, and one of the most prone to UV alterations. None of the tire manufacturers are going to tell us what recipe they use, but for sure hard light induces premature aging.

I remember you reporting this. Maybe it is my safety culture, but if I had been a dealer, knowing that leaving your on the road with a worn out tire was not the best course of action, I would have made an exception. If only for keeping my peace of mind. Because if you had had an accident and it had turned out a worn out tire was the culprit, there is some kind of mental liability there. I understand what you mean with riding solo. Riding in a group implies responsibility; some riders don't understand it. It is no longer individual driving and different set of rules apply. Else, there is no point. I did a lot of team road riding before, I am more into solitary rides now. Not that I don't appreciate tandems or more, but I like to stop to take impromptu photos whenever I see something I think can justify it; which is against the group safe ride procedures which have determined stops established ahead of time.

It is not as bad; I requested the tires on December 29th; Davey said he would tell me when he would be ready to install them. He asked me to bring the bike on January 21th; I brought the bike on January 27th. From the 29th until the 27th, it was hidden time since I kept riding. I could have gone to another shop and gotten the tires installed in one day if it had been an emergency. I am just a faithful guy.

Understood! I have started to plot my course yesterday, and given that Paris and Gladewater are still in the stop list, I was going to put Donie on my way back from Paris, like I did in 2021. But I can also do the one day transience. Depending on how late in March since I have something already in the pipe. I am not (yet) too preoccupied with the Guzzidiag; it is more a "I want to get it working" than a real need. Davey showed me some vintage bikes that he restored for Sunday riders, and it must be taking a lot of time just to source the parts. Six weeks is the magic number the lady at the front gives you for whatever you want to do.

I like to think of myself as patient, however I look ahead of myself and don't see much more time in store. I am trying to make the best of what I have. Probably the reason why I am toying over getting a second bike. I want to dedicated myself completely to the Guzzi; Exactly! we have gotten use to programs doing the handshake for us. I am wondering if the Firewall is playing tricks on me. I will verify what Davey can or cannot do. I actually never asked. I saw that he does full rebuilds, and I am assuming he would rather pick the more lucrative jobs. What Texas Sidecars? the one is Donie? it is a tour stop of the Texas tour 2022.

The 1155 between the 290 and the 105 at Chappell Hill is an acceptable substitute. However you need to be very careful, there are many blind curves and people riding horses. Wth all the ranches and farms around, I never take any risk.

I did not try the PR4, so I am going straight on the R5; I agree that Michelin quick move from R5 to R6 is intriguing. I asked MPH to source R5 in Dec 21, I did not know about the R6 at the time, else I would have gone 6. We should maybe start a (long) discussion on why some of us seem to be wearing the front faster than the rear? on the same model though. I never go full acceleration personally, just for that reason, flattening the rear tire too quickly.

I feel the same about Davey, although I do not have as much data as you do to back up my assessment. I judged the "love" from the number of motorbikes waiting for his ministration each time I go there. I asked why they don't take an apprentice, so the knowledge can be passed on. Nobody is getting younger, and all the Motorcycle intervention is actually relying on a single man. Can you tell me if Davey does injection checks on V11? I did not ask if he had the equipment. I have purchased the interface from UK, but I am having a hard time getting my computer to communicate with the Lonelec KL-1. It is the port opening which I am not doing right. I have gone back to my UNIX manuals. The major draw back of MPH is the lay over time. I am hoping to get my bike in March to start the Grand Tour on time this time....

@footgoose This is exactly like that add for the Michelin Road 6; we are the best because we are telling you we are... Even top notch workshop can mess up. My company copied airline maintenance playbooks; where everything is done according to check lists, and verified independently. Trying to remove the human error factor by writing and optimizing procedures. Obviously, what goes on for aircraft maintenance is not applied by motorcycle shops. At least in my case, there is only one guy who works on Guzzi bikes. One and there are no roustabout or roughneck to take care of the nitty gritty. The guy does everything by himself.

I do my own Luthier work on my guitars. But working on a violin requires a lot more skills, such as cabinetry practice. In all fairness, all the trust you place in a workshop to do the right thing on your motorbike is always difficult to verify. Subjective at most. It is all about reputation. But how does it translate to the one single mistake that is going to bum you off? I would rather do my own work, but I need to be realistic. I cannot justify purchasing workshop equipment that I will use very few times. When my bike is away at a shop, I have no basis to verify what is done is according to my high standards. Are they changing all the gaskets and O'rings and fasteners as I would want them to do? are they meticulous? attention to detail, quality before anything else? I don't know. I would feel better if I could witness them doing the job, but for "safety" reasons, I cannot. "We have 30 years of experience"... what does that mean? who has? and even with 30 years of experience, since have evolved. What you were good at before may not have carried forward with the changes in technology, unless you have trained yourself at the same pace. I had that a lot in my job. You would be getting a guy that would bust his experience such as "20 years of North Sea" oilfield, and failed immediately once he got into an area that was different from what he had seen before. At this moment, I have no better alternative than to go with "we have experience". I cannot verify it personally. I have experience too, because I have lived enough to have acquired some kind of wisdom, no matter what they say. I still learn new things everyday, and look forward to enrich myself more...

Here's my 2021 patch and rocker, and I have enrolled again for 2022; hopefully, I will be able to do the 50 stops this year. If you check the 2022 tour stops, you will find that the organizer used one of my photo submission to mark the location. Stop #4; If the fancy was to take you, the tour portal is here! there is collection of photos video made from the 2021 tour participants. If you watch until the end, there is a majority of touring bikes; I did not see any other Moto Guzzi. Anyway, I will bore you with my reports when the tour starts in March. See you then?

So far, it is 100% correct.... usually, I would shop around more. MPH is very conveniently situated with regards to me. That being said, when you go there, you need not to be in a hurry. They have a six weeks wait time norm, whatever it is you want to do.

@LowRyter I read some of the 1079 reviews of the Road 5 on the Michelin web site; The two major complaints that seem to come out often are price and durability. Price; I agree, unless the tire is manufactured domestically. Autonomy: I think it is subjective because this is going to be based on your type of driving, the bike you are driving. I think it is difficult to judge tires for us, lambda drivers. We do not have the ability to really test back to back. I am planning to go to the Twisted Sisters to compare with my previous tires, but it is all subjective. What would work better, is to go there with multiple tires, do a test run, change the set for another, and test again. I am told you can do that at COTA during track days. They have someone there that change your tires ($$$) as you wish. Anyway, after the Road 5, I will try another brand. I have done that with the rear tires of my 911; I had Michelin, Pirelli, Bridgestone, and I am currently on Yokohama. So far, I liked the Bridgestone best. Again, the Michelin were the most expensive. Did not like the Pirelli set. I can't really say about the Yokohama, I am not using the car much any longer.

MPH is not your typical motorcycle workshop. It is pretty much a one guy show. I am certain I could get faster service with the chain stores, but I am faithful to MPH, and they will get all my business as long as they are willing to. Even it took me three weeks before they said they were ready to install the tires on my Le Mans. I don't put any pressure on them, I just wait. Indeed, they seem to have now reserved "Pilot" for tires that are conceived for sports bikes either race track ready that can be used on road, or both. Starting from the best for the Moto Guzzi V11: Pilot Power: This is the one they advertise as directly conceived from MotoGP experience. Road 6: like the Road 5 but better. Power 5: This is the one for the guys riding sport bikes. Michelin says the carcass of the tire is designed according to their racing experience. Have you tried it on your Ducati? Road 5: The evolution of the Pilot Road 4 which is/was a best seller but wearing out very rapidly. Power GP: which was the tire you could use on or off the racing track. I believe it is now superseded by the Power 5. Power Cup 2: Conceived and designed for the racing track, and road legal too. Then the glories from the past: Pilot Road 4: which is still favored by many.... Pilot Power 3: for sports bikes Pilot Power 2CT: What was installed on my Le Mans when I got it.

I called MPH to ask them if I could get the Road 6 instead of the Road 5, so the pitch is working pretty well on credulous guys like me

I feel better now that you confirm that at least someone else experienced faster front tire wearing than rear on their V11. The front was changed before I got the bike (so they told me), and it did about 4000 miles. I could probably take it a bit further, but why risk it... the rear is more than ok, but I want front and rear identical and if I had known, I would have gone Road 6 instead of Road 5.

And there is nothing wrong with that!

Well, coming from the 70's, I don't miss any technology because at the time I was invested into motorcycle riding like it was a crusade, I did not have it. As with everything else, you don't really care if you did not know what it was. But tire pressure is very important and I am willing to check Fobo. I have so far not experienced a flat with my Guzzi, however had plenty of them with my cars. I am going to purchase Fobo for my Porsche 911. So thanks!

Here's something interesting, French accent included with Sylvain Guintoli. You can see that running a standard bike against SS and SBK, you can still factor... a bit.

I was reading some reports about MotoGP riders having different styles of riding. The old guys used to brake very late and throw the bike into the curve. Such as Andrea Dovizioso. As you pointed out, guys like Francesco Bagnaia who keep speed and manage to corner the bike have better results. I agree with you that the late braking has grown long in the tooth. The problem with old guys like myself, is that I practiced when I was 16 and when I try to do it again today, it comes back naturally and I have to think to do it differently and it puts me off the rhythm, and I make mistakes. Plus, back then the brakes were drums; they were "slowing" you more than "stopping" you. I am still learning to modulate my front braking.

Nothing like Australian ladies asking you if you want to sleep with them in French.... for those of us who listen to this song when it was playing in discotheque, and had to ask about the meaning.... :-)