audiomick

Seems to have happened. I was in Heilbronn the last couple of days (no, you I don't expect you to know where that is...). The idea was, a mate of mine thought it would be a great idea as a birthday present to take me to another friend's place and have him brew me a batch of home-brew. All well and good, except that Heilbron (where I used to live) is 440 km. away from Leipzig (where I currently live). Anyway, despite doubts on Sunday last whether the cold was cured enough, I went. Yesterday I spent more that 8 hours in a basement laundry at about 14°c with the windows open learning how to brew beer. All very interesting, but by the end of it I was freezing my arse off. Despite all that, I woke up today apparently almost completely over it. Whatever, I started this thread to "vent" about something that irritated me. Sometimes one needs to, and I would be happy if others use the thread to the same effect as needed.

Thought I might be able to ride the Breva to work tomorrow. There's been some rain, the salt should be gone, and it is expected to by dry tomorrow. At the time I have to go to work it is expected to be 0°C, when I come home all the way up to 4°C. I'm nursing a cold at the moment, so I think I'll be on the tram (again).

Not me. Can't get the time off work.

Silly question here. We're all "converted". The V11 Models have various issues, mostly minor. You can find very extensive information on all of them here. It is possible to iron them all out. Go for a ride on it. You'll either love it immediately, or not. If you don't love it, don't buy it. If you do, buy it. It is really as simple as that. My V11 Le Mans has a number of problems, all solvable. My problem is finding the time to get onto them. Even so, every time I ride it, I come home with a smile on my face.

Did I mention the books? And the 4 metres or so of vinyl records?

Firstly, I couldn't watch that video. The running text parallel to the audio drives me mad. Can't do that. Nevertheless, the theme is very current in my household. We moved my girlfriend's father from the house that she grew up in, at least from her early teens, to a "senior residence" in the city that we now live in. He went from over 200 m² to about 65m². Lots of stuff had to go, but the girlfriend had to "save" some stuff. Now we have got more cartons in the flat. Ok, it's not like we can't move in here, but it is too much stuff. There are cartons here that have "survived" two moves without being opened. That means about 16 years. And now some more... I have to admit, I have a bit of stuff that needs reducing too. I haven't played my trumpet or my flugel horn for years, so one could think about them. I have a fairly extensive collection of Pentax Spotmatic (Honeywell) camera equipment that I haven't used for years. One could definitely think about that. But it's hard... EDIT: I could note that I have already done a radical reduction. In 1996 I moved from Australia to Germany with a backpack, a briefcase, and two cartons that I sent on ahead. I was about 33 years old at the time, so a fair bit of stuff got sorted out then. And I am fully aware of the advantages that it brought. Still, I like my stuff.

What I use, too. I bought the vernier calipers because I wanted one, and the thread gauges came with the tap and die set, one of the best buys amongst my tools. I've had so much use out of it. Anyway, @Lucky Phil how does the 3-wire and micrometer method work?

I'm sure it was. Look: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ford_Zephyr#Zephyr_Zodiac_(or_Zodiac_Mark_I) I have it on good authority that Bruce Wayne did indeed drive one of those on his visits to the UK and the Continent.

Could well mean they are in the middle of negotiations.

This? Johannes Maximilian, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons Lowered and with fat wheels, stylish. I never had one, but the thing to have in that direction in Australia was one of these By Sicnag - 1980 Holden HZ Sandman Panel Van, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=40645741

Get GIMP.

That's the time. The "Volvo incident" would have been around '86 or '87.

Yes, and of course that would be the best solution. Saves altering the wiring. But if that part is not available or should become not available...

Following that link, I found this under "related products": https://www.mgcycle.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=2387 that looks remarkably similar to the "Fiat tractor" part I linked further up maybe we're onto something here... PS: I searched for the part numbers at Stein-Dinse and got these https://www.stein-dinse.com/de/search.html?grp=&searchStr=31768780 https://www.stein-dinse.com/de/search.html?grp=&searchStr=978854 so apparently there are more than one alternatives out there.

According to this unit convertor, that is about the same as the Fiat part I posted further up. https://www.unitconverters.net/pressure-converter.html The one in my link is allegedly for a large number of Fiat tractors. Must be good for a Guzzi. Seriously, though, the crucial question is whether that opening pressure is appropriate. I have no idea, but I could imagine that it would work adequately. Changing the connector on the wire is not a huge problem. Still, at the price of the part from Stein-Dinse I would just get that and save myself the buggerising around.

I'd have the SAAB. Back in the day, the Volvo bricks had a reputation in Melbourne. It lasted, more or less, until the 850 came out. Up until then, the Volvo marketing emphasised how safe the cars were. Justifiably, if I remember correctly. That led to them being bought by people who relied on the car to keep them safe instead of learning how to drive safely. The motorcycling community was of the firm opinion that if you see a Volvo, you should give it a lot of space. Relevant to the following anecdote, drivers wearing hats were also considerd dangerous. In the late '80s, a man in a car with a hat on was likely to be getting on in years. I was riding through the suburb of Ivanhoe in Melbourne and came up behind a Volvo brick. I think it was a 244 Station Wagon. Squeaky clean, driver wearing a hat, custom number plates that read "Grandad". Maybe I misjudged the man, but I pulled over and waited for him to disappear.

Harpers: https://harpermoto.com/search?q=17768750A&options[prefix]=last

As far as sourcing a switch goes, I'm sure it is a part that was also used in cars, most likely at least in some Fiat models. I found a reference in the German forum to this, a Fiat part: https://www.schlepper-teile.de/de/traktorteile/motor/fuehler_und_schalter/oeldruckschalter/index.pmode?detailid=12453 The thread size is right, I think, but I have no idea if the pressure rating is right. And the connector is different, I think. However, for a couple of bucks more, Stein-Dinse have this, which they claim is compatible. At that price, I wouldn't bother looking any further. https://www.stein-dinse.com/en/item-1-1067619.html And if Stein-Dinse has that, I very sure the well-sorted parts suppliers in the USA will have it, or something similar, as well.

And if you touch the wire to the engine casing, the light will come on, right? I reckon I read that somewhere as being the way to check if the switch is buggered, or the light bulb. If the light still works that way, it is the switch.

I'm heading way off topic hear, but would like to make a point: Stuff sold as "speaker wire" is one of the ways the hi-fi branch makes a heap of profit. Yes, those speaker wires will pass a lot of current, but that has mostly to do with them being 6 gauge wire, i.e. really, really fat. The more copper in the wire, the more current it can pass without getting hot.

Oops, missed one. As I wrote that post, I caught myself writing "fuel light" every time I thought "oil light". Don't know why. Of course the oil pressure switch illuminates the oil pressure warning light, not the fuel light. As to the rest of your post, of course, if the oil light comes on during a ride, stop immediately, no question. As I was writing, I had @bullionz 's words in my mind: Which I take to mean that the oil lamp is not lighting with the ignition on but the motor not running. With the failure that way around, the light would fail to warn of a loss in pressure rather than give "fake" warnings. @gstallons : are you sure about that? Looking at the wiring diagram I have here, I would assume it is a normally closed switch that opens when pressure builds up. The oil pressure warning light gets 12V from the lighting relay, along with high/low beam, horn, brake light switches, generator and fuel lights and the tacho. After the oil pressure warning light, the connection goes through the oil pressure switch to earth. So when the switch is closed, the light will be on. Or am I missing something? I'm looking at the diagram on page 459 of this document: https://guzzitek.org/gb/ma_us_uk/1100/V11_1999-2003_Atelier(Compil-GB-D-NL).pdf

In the video, he said something about "the bike talks to me". I know what he means. I've had that with motorcycles, and also with musical instruments, even instruments that I can't play. I pick them up, and they want to be played. Same with bikes, you see them, touch them, and they say "when can we go for a ride?". I don't know if that is really "soul", or my subjective impression, but some things, when they are really good, do seem to live. PS: @activpop I have no doubt at all that the Kawasaki is a very fine motorcycle. I would be very tempted by it, but I have decided to stick to bikes with shaft drive.

Surely not from a failed oil pressure switch, at least not an electrical failure thereof. If it fails, it just stops switching the oil light. As far as I know, a failure wouldn't have any direct effect on the oil pressure or system. An oil pump failure, or a failure of the device that regulates the oil pressure, may incur rapid and serious damage, and if such a failure occurs when the oil pressure switch is broken, you probably wont know it is happening until the motor seizes. So riding without a working oil pressure warning system is risky, but can't see how that alone could cause damage.