audiomick

Lucky you. Just looked at the weather forecast for here. 5°C for tomorrow, and then... for the following five days, nothing above -1°C, and down to -5°C, and for the next 16 days, noting above 3°C. A couple of spots of snow along the way. Bugger...

Incidentally, I've never kept a bike in the house, but one time my house mates put my Z900 in my bedroom for a lark. It stank of fuel. Therefore, I reckon the advice to take the fuel out first, and maybe let it breathe a bit, is good.

Have another Shiraz. It'll all look better in the morning. PS: you've got some great countryside to ride in. I might be a tiny bit envious.

for the bike, or for you when yourWife comes home?

Why is the expression "Beta tester" bouncing around my mind just now?

Just for the record, a "hot potato" is something that no-one wants to be left holding. See here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hot_potato makes sense, as potatoes hold the heat really well, and a hot potato is therefore very unpleasant to hold. Still, the expression is perhaps appropriate for Marquez...

Legend.

Indeed. To everyone.

I've got the document on this computer, and will keep looking. Probably not tonight, but in the course of time...

Yes, definitely. The only really critical thing with an electric motor, as far as I can tell, is the balance. We all know that that is achievable with a fairly simple rig. They'll manage, I'm sure.

Yes, chapter 20 of section I. I looked again last night, but still couldn't find where I read +/- 15. Annoying... Anyway...

I have to say, I'm more of Guzzler's opinion. Sure, you get more cautious with maturity. On the other hand, I've hit the point where I have started thinking "if not now, when?". That is where "go with the heart" becomes important. And that is why I bought a V11.

We should perhaps no be so arrogant about something like what is to be seen in that video. Obviously it is is not as precise as it should be, but I think we shouldn't underestimate the ability of the person doing the work. He apparently lives in a land that doesn't have the resources that we take for granted, and he only stays in business if the motors he works on don't explode after he works on them.

I heard... My brother and father told me they had 50mm of rain in a couple of hours on the morning of christmas day. My youngest brother lives up near Byron Bay, and said they have had a couple of metres of rain in the last couple of weeks.

Just for the record: After this post, there was a bit of discussion about the tolerance for the TPS Voltage. I don't recall seeing a tolerance figure in Volts in the replies. Just recently, I read a figure in a workshop manual. I tried to find it just now, but couldn't. The stated value was 150 mV +/- 15 mV. That puts Meinolf's preferred 157 mV well within the tolerance. Also, I watched Karsten and Beard at the annual rally of the German Forum setting up a V11. Karsten actually aimed for 160 mV, but settled on 157 mV as close enough, because that is where it landed after tightening up the TPS. 160 mV would also have been within the offical tolerance. I don't know why he was aiming for that, but I dare say he had a good reason.

Interested.

I saw a helmet a couple of years before I started riding myself that had nast scratches on the chin piece. That convinced me to only ever wear a full-face helmet. When I had my accident about 5 years ago, my helmet lost about 3 mm of material just below the visor on the right side. If it had been an open-face helmet, I would have lost half my face. Don't like to think what might have happened without the helmet, and the full leathers, which also had some nasty road-rash afterwards.

Do that. I find the riding position on my 2002 Le Mans very comfortable. And the clip-ons look much cooler... EDIT: PS, a black hugger might be better. That red one has something akin to dog's balls.

Enjoy it, Pete. I've got (at least...) another 7 years. Good thing I like my job.

+1 for the pics.

So resale is probably not a crucial point, I expect. I'd go straight for Guzzi, if that's what he wants. But not straight to a V11. As has already been suggested, a small-block V7 would be a good way to ease back into it. Or a Breva 750. I've got one of those. A bit ugly, but cheap. I always advise beginners to not buy the dream bike straight away, but rather to ride something that doesn't mean so much to them for a while first, on the assumption the the first bike is almost certainly going to fall over somewhere along the way. For a bloke getting back into it who is interested in a Guzzi and doesn't need to count the pennies, a 750 small-block would be an easy to handle bike to get back into the routine. If it does happen to fall over, it would not be so tragic as chucking away a nice V11. If it doesn't, it could be re-sold, or retained as a run-around to spare the dream bike from the run to the supermarket. PS: the Breva, and even the V35 Imola, feel just like a big guzzi to ride, just lighter and a bit easier to handle. And less power...

Doors: here in Germany, most doors open inwards. A door that is an official fire exit (in a public building) must, according to law, open outwards. They don't always do that, though. First ride: not going to happen for a while. The bikes are all waiting on a bit of work, and the weather is about to go bad again. It's been unseasonably warm the last week or 10 days, with temperatures around 10°C. And a fair bit of rain. Within the next couple of days it is forecast to go down to 3°C or so, and stay there for a while. With more rain.

Well, here's two that might. https://www.webbikeworld.com/billy-joel-built-bruce-springsteens-moto-guzzi/ PS: the motor in that "Eldorado" looks vaguely famililar... The brakes don't quite look like early '70's either...

@LaGrasta : can you manage a photo of how it looks now? On the strenght of Phil's photos I had assumed that the optimal 90° would not be possible because the Lucky Phil lever is longer.

Yes, they often are. Paul McCartney, for instance, (no, never had anything to do with him...) seems to be very good at that. Dealing with artists as a technician sometimes shows up a different side. Both the "arrogant because a prick" and the "tetchy because uncertain", but also the genuinely nice. Suzi Quatro, for instance, struck me as genuinely nice. Actually not a very flash bass player, but nice.