audiomick

That's a good idea! Thanks. I always use a drift to get bearings out. I don't like using screwdrivers for anything except turning screws.

That topic (rubber boot for something or other...) came up in another forum just recently. I haven't looked into it myself, although my bikes have a couple that need replacing. To change them, one needs to get the pins (or sockets) out of the connector to be able to get the new rubber bit over the wires. The following links were posted, the first one from Phil, the other two from two other members of the forum in question https://www.openstreetmap.org/way/854709452#map=19/50.706699/11.326726 https://de.aliexpress.com/item/4000781880821.html?spm=a2g0o.order_list.order_list_main.1373.432e5c5frYsjMF&gatewayAdapt=glo2deu https://www.amazon.de/dp/B07P7LNLR5?ref=cm_sw_r_apan_dp_MFHHMW69CG46WEMQGH96&ref_=cm_sw_r_apan_dp_MFHHMW69CG46WEMQGH96&social_share=cm_sw_r_apan_dp_MFHHMW69CG46WEMQGH96&starsLeft=1&language=en_GB The point is, the boot on the connectors are pretty much a generic part. The don't really keep the water out or anything. Their main purpose is to stop the wires getting bent too severely where they come out of the connector. If they don't fit perfectly, it doesn't really matter, as long as the stay on (and aren't too ugly...). It seems the only trick is finding someone who sells something suitable at prices that apply when the names of Italian motorcyles don't appear in the product description.

There's a bloke in the german forum that has the following in his signature: "If the Lord God had wanted motorcycles to be clean, there would be dishwashing liquid in the rain". Just sayin'...

You blokes have good weekend. If all goes according to plan, I'll be spending a Guzzi weekend here. Tents instead of cabins, not enough "facilities", but good people and a group ride on Saturday through beautiful countryside. https://www.openstreetmap.org/way/854709452#map=19/50.706699/11.326726

I know from personal experience with another forum, that means somewhere between 3 and 4 hours work. At least, for someone who reads and types quickly. Somebody buy that man a beer or three. I'd do it, but I'm too far away.

As far as I can see, no-one has answered the questions explicitly yet, so I'll give it a go, even if it's only for posterity Unless I am very, very mistaken, that is the wire coming from the starter relay that supplies the voltage that activates the starter solenoid. Theortically, it shouldn't, but: The headlight is held on by the other state of the starter relay, i.e. the state it falls back to when the starter button is not being pressed. So there is a connection, somehow. The neutral light is not directly involved in the circuit, but I believe it might be indirectly involved via earth contact in the dashboard. Put those two together, and some of the really weird behavior of lights I have observed on older cars full of bad contacts, and I'd say "you never know" to both of those. Definitely. See the first point. That wire circled in the photo actives the starter solenoid, which causes the starter to crank over. If that wire has a bad contact, and it sounded like it had marginal or perhaps no contact, then the starter simply wont work. The question you haven't asked is "why did it only show up after a year of standing around?" If you are really sure that you didn't accidently dislodge that wire during the year's standing around, it probably just mucked up through corrosion. That can easily happen between metal surfaces that are close together. You get a bit of moisture in there, and it does it's thing. Or just dust. Or something else. I once had a bad connection in a studio mixing desk that was caused by a very small spider building a web inside a large multi-pin connector. Seriously, I kid you not.

No mate, she sounded like this. (That Guzzi sounds nice, though. The flywheel must be pretty light...)

That would be Beetle, almost certainly. Mentioned further up, if I recall correctly. This is his site: https://griso.org/ I believe his first name is Mark.

Hmm. I suppose finishing that early could have it's advantages. The last couple of weeks I've been starting at 9 a.m. , because the (Opera) season hasn't started properly yet. Not good for me at all. Generally, during the season, I start at 2.30 p.m. and finish between 10 and 11.30 p.m. Much better for my system.

Glad you enjoyed the ride, despite everything. I have to say though, your working hours would have me looking for a civilised job post haste.

Yes, it should fit both. I also think it looks a lot like the original Valeo starter motor. Because there are no stickers on it, and because of the price, I suspect it is a copy. That does not, however, mean that it wont work perfectly well. The bloke I share my workshop with has a Valeo copy in his V50 Monza that cost about €30,- and it works fine.

Both my V11 Le Mans and my Breva 750 have the headlight permanently on, but on low-beam. As far as I know, some later bikes may have had "running-lights", but I don't think it was that common in the low 20's. Otherwise, your logic is good. If the load is pulling current, the current will go up at lower voltages. And I think it can be considered "established knowledge" that italian electrics are occasionally a bit marginal.

Less "to" than "with". I went out for a ride, for the second time, with a bloke I know. 120-odd km out to the south-east of Leipzig. That is the direction in which one most quickly gets to relatively good riding territory. Somewhere around here, I think. I'm pretty sure we went through Förstgen, for instance. Not sure, because he had the Sat-Nav and I was just following him. https://www.openstreetmap.org/#map=13/51.19640/12.76397 Anyway... The first time 'round, he was on his Le Mans III, so I could keep up "fairly" easily on the V11. This time, he was on a Ducati 998. About the same age as the V11 Le Mans, but a very different beast indeed. And he's had a lot of track time, and he's about 20 years younger than me, maybe more. I haven't ridden that hard in years, but I think Madame Le Mans enjoyed it.

Guzzidiag can not read out the map, or show you the map. It's purpose it to show you the values that the various sensors are delivering to the ECU. It does that very well, but that is all it does. I haven't delved into the map myself, but have read a lot about it, mostly in German directly from the blokes involved in developing Guzzidiag. To view the map you need the reader from Beard, the same bloke who wrote Guzzidiag. The program can be found here: https://www.von-der-salierburg.de/download/GuzziDiag/ That reads out the current map in your ECU. I gather connecting with that is pretty much the same as with Guzzidiag. To view and change the map, as far as I understand it, you need TunerPro https://www.tunerpro.net/ To write your modified map back into the ECU, you need the writer, also available from Beard's site from the first link. I can't tell you too much about using the reader and writer programs, other than that you should have your computer connected to the mains, and be really, really sure the battery in the bike is good. Better still, connected to a charger. If the process is interrupted, particularly writing the map back to the ECU, you risk turning your ECU into a quaint paper weight. You need to make sure that neither the computer nor the bike run out of volts during the process. Oh, and make sure you save the original map somewhere safe immediately after reading it out. If it all goes tits up, you might want to write the original map back in and start from scratch.

I would. When you're in there, before you have to pull it all apart again in a couple of years. As far as the parts goes, Stein Dinse seems to have them in stock. Bonus, when you click on the part number in the picture, it springs to the part in the list, and the bearing dimensions are listed there. https://www.stein-dinse.biz/etkataloge/etkataloge.php?l=en&h=MG&m=220&t=5380#a174838 Edit, in case the translation is incomplete: "Nadellager" means "roller bearing" or "needle bearing".

Yes, I believe I believe it is. I changed mine last year, so there is a vague memory. And this: https://www.stein-dinse.biz/etkataloge/etkataloge.php?l=de&h=MG&m=220&t=5384#a174923 Part #3 in the diagramme. When I click on the link, it is highlighted in yellow in the list. M8 x 30

A thought occurred to me: with that much movement in the rear uni joint on the shaft, I'd be inclined to take the shaft out, pull it apart and inspect the sliding joint in the middle where the second grease nipple is. If that is not moving smoothly, there will be forces caused by suspension movement on both ends of the shaft, which could cause that sort of movement in the uni joint. And not be good for the uni joints at both ends.

Yeah, I've heard the word in Australia, back in the day. Probably in the 60s, and possibly only from people a generation older than me.

I went down and had a look at mine. Definitely the final drive end, and mine has no movement at all.

It's the final drive end. Firstly, I think I can accurately remember what it looks like. Secondly, you wouldn't be able to get that camera angle at the gearbox end.

The fan is a good idea, but only treating symptoms, as you probably know. Have you had it open to blow out the dust yet?

Nobody has mentioned checking the "earth" connections yet.

I doubt it. The emissions of the bike are what the CoC says they are. As long as a bike that was initially legally registered is not modified to the point that it no longer meets the requirements at the time of first registration, it should remain legal. Does Austria have something like Bestandsschutz?* I'm not actually sure if it is legally anchored in Germany, but I think it is. As long as that applies, the powers that be can't suddenly decide that a bike that was legal yesterday isn't legal today anymore. If and when such a situation should arise, one would have to find out how the relevant laws are phrased, and see if there is a way around it. * For those who don't speak German, Bestandschutz is translated by my favourite online German-English dictionary as "right of continuance". That seems about right. The term conveys the concept that a vehicle that was legal when it was first registered can't suddenly be declared illegal because it doesn't meet modern emissions laws or whatever.

There is, of course, a Wikipedia article to read, if you can be bothered. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Left-_and_right-hand_traffic#Steering_wheel_position For me: Driving on the left (right hand drive) seemed natural, because that is what I grew up with. After nearly 30 years here, when I think back to my Monaro, I sometimes have to remind myself that the steering wheel was on the right. The picture that pops up in my mind is a left hand drive Monaro. So you get used to whatever you are using. For me personally, I never had trouble with changing gears with the left hand, but there is something kind of logical for me (right-handed..) to be changing gears with the right hand. On the other hand, my left eye is close to blind. It is this: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amblyopia So left hand drive means that all the action is on my "blind side", and right hand drive means that my blind side is only dealing with the paddocks next to the road. In answer to your question to yourself, no I don't think either side has inherent advantages. Which side is or would be better for any individual depends on factors like which hand is dominant, whether there are vision impairments, any number of thing. At the end of the day, you can't get it right for everyone. The main thing is, everyone agrees to all drive on the same side.