audiomick

The funny thing is, the motivation for bobbers was origionally the same as for cafe racers: cut off everything that is not necessary for function to make the thing lighter and therefore faster and more agile. It's just that the "bobber style" somehow got hung up on tyres that look like they were manufactured in 1938 and various other more or less ludicrous "features".

Without the "more desireable", rather "bearable": The current retro Z900 Kawasaki is pretty enough, but I would have to change the bars immediately. The are too reminiscent of the absurd street fighter asthetic for my taste, and ergonomically pretty senseless in my opinion. The Thruxton is pretty, but I don't like parallel twin motors. Otherwise, the list is very, very short. There is a modern design Kawasaki that I would be interested to ride, the H2 SX SE. A technically interesting package that would be ideal if it had a shaft drive. Unfortunately not really pretty, but a bit less ugly than some others. In the Guzzi stable: the V7 850 is quite pretty, but I'd like one with clip-ons. The V85 TT is not my cup of tea; I don't like chook-chasers. The V100 is a lot prettier in person than in the photos, I reckon. It would be ok, although the styling is a little too "general use motorcycle" to get me excited.

That would be the same one as is required for the V11 for Guzzidiag operations. Here is a supplier: https://www.lonelec.com/product/moto-guzzi-ducati-3-pin-to-16-pin-obd-adaptor/ Here is a wiring diagramme, along with quite a lot of info about Guzzidiag and links to it and other useful stuff. The wiring diagramme for the adaptor is quite a long way down the page. https://www.von-der-salierburg.de/download/GuzziDiag/ Without knowing for sure, I reckon Guzzidiag is probably your best bet, anyway, to read out the error messages and generally have a look at what the motor management is doing. As I said, info on that page....

Yes, I've seen a couple of his films. Fascinating to watch him work. The one that particularly got me was one in which he was hand bending titanium headers. Beautiful to watch.

Well, yes, but only when it's well done. I fully agree with Pete in as much as when I (completely uneducated in vehicle design and construction) can see that some feature(s) are obviously only there because the builder thought that would look cool, I very quickly lose interest. Bandages on the exhaust headers, for instance. If, however, it seems that everything is done for a functional purpose, yes a custom can be a beautiful thing. Even if it is an antiquated motorcycle that is obviously so extremely hotted up that it cannot possibly be reliable.

I reckon some of the modern V7s are quite pretty, but not sports bikes and very much too "sit up and beg". I even test rode a V7 850 a couple of months ago to make sure. Spent the whole ride wondering how hard it would be to fit clip-ons to it. Modern sports bikes: yes, undoubtably wonderful machines. If only they didn't all look like the 8th. or 9th. edition of a transformer movie after the ideas had all run out.

Very good that man. Carry on! In fact, I'm of a similar opinion to a large degree. Spending heaps to make an old bike unreliably almost achieve the performance of a newer one is questionable. With that which is called "cafe racer" these days, as you say, what have those bikes actually got to do with those stripped down brit bikes that they are named after? Mostly nothing. The essence of a cafe racer is remove anything that is not absolutely necessary to save weight, and put some clip-ons on it because that is what race bikes have. If there is any money available, it goes in to making the bike faster, not making it prettier. Anyway.... That particular one mentioned above might really go well. As I said, if the builder really did take Peter Horvath's advice for the motor build. Here is an article from 2014 about a bike that he was looking after then. According to the article, 121 ps. . Of course they don't write anything about how long it can do that before a re-build... Although from what I've read, it seems the final drive was the weak point. His motors were apparently so strong that they ate final drives regularly.

I noticed this sentence in the text: If the bloke actually listened and acted upon Peter's advice, the bike is likely to be very good. I've not had any significant contact with Peter, having only bought a couple of bits off him a couple of months back as he was clearing out his workshop. He is, however, literally a Legend in the German speaking Guzzi world.

which reminds me, I've had the recommendation many times to always rotate the motor "forwards" in to the position at which you are going to check your adjustments. This makes sure that the play in the cam chain etc. is all taken up properly the way it is when the motor is running. Turning the motor backwards could theoretically "move the play around" or at least have things at the "wrong" side of the lash movement. Turning the motor backwards whilst doing your adjustments wont break anything, but if you have need to turn it backwards for any reason, go forwards to where you want to get to as the last movement before checking adjustments.

Ummm, no, I won't go there....

I have absolutely no doubt that they are talking about RON. The petrol pumps here in Germany have the octane value quoted in ROZ. https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oktanzahl#ROZ For those too lazy to translate for themselves, ROZ = RON. Italy is EU, same as Germany, and such things are regulated here at the European Parliament level. The fuel specs that Guzzi stated in the late nineties and early 2000s were certainly RON. I did some searching and found this. It seems to have something to do with a Corvette. http://www.auto-tests-service.de/Service/Technik/Allgemein/Treibstoffnormen_EU_US.html Under "3. Stellungnahme" it says Directly under that is a table showing ROZ (= RON), MOZ, and the US RON/MOZ calculation. This Workshop Manual https://guzzitek.org/gb/ma_us_uk/1100/V11_1999-2003_Atelier(Compil-GB-D-NL).pdf specifies on page 20 that the V11 should be fuelled with "premium unleaded 95". Referring back to the nice table on the Corvette site, that should be 90 in US numbers, and not that much higher than the 87 octane mentioned in the openeing post. So 87 in US numbers would likely not cause any great problems most of the time. As a comparison: my V35 Imola is supposed to get minimum 97 RON. Awkward, as that doesn't fit into the modern standard very well. The lowest number available is 95, the next one up is 98. Ocasionally one lands at a petrol station that doesn't have the 98, so occasionally the Imola has to put up with the lower grade. To be quite honest, I have never noticed a problem with that. So I could imagine that US 87 would mostly not bother a V 11.

Yes, watch the valves as you turn the motor. In combination with the "drinking straw", this will lead you to the "correct TDC". When you think you are there, if you can't move the rockers a little bit by hand (so that they click just a bit), either you are not there or the valve clearance is way too tight. More so than is reasonably likely. You are right, setting the valve clearance is more or less the same procedure on any 4 stroke petrol engine. If you are not that sure about how they work, look here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Four-stroke_engine There is an animated picture right at the top that shows how the valves are both open at the one TDC, and both closed at the other TDC where the engine fires (which is where you want to set the clearances).

Yes. Don't know about "amplifying", but it is bound to have a resonance frequency. If that happens to match a common engine speed on the guzzi, then the thing is on the way to self-destruction.

Maybe in the US, but I dare say most Australians and Brits would still know it. Probably NZ as well, but I'm guessing there. However, it is generally used with a favourable wink.

Joe, would you stop posting pictures like that please? Makes me get all sorts of funny ideas....

In case a V11 sump doesn't fit.... Mike at HMB makes a sump extension that allows for an external filter at the rear: https://hmb-moto.de/Oil-sump-extension-for-oil-cooler-with-rear-external-filter I don't know if that fits the Quota. You'd have to ask him yourself. And yes, it is expensive. Low numbers, specialist product, good quality... I gather that version, should it even fit the Quota, can interfere with some exhaust systems. HMB also offers a version with a filter on the front to avoid that issue. I don't know it that fits the Quota either. However, as far as I know, the Quota motor is more or less the same as the California motor of the time, so I reckon you have a chance.

If you can't find a specific reference, look at page 30 of this version of the workshop book under "standard values". https://guzzitek.org/gb/ma_us_uk/1100/V11_1999-2003_Atelier(Compil-GB-D-NL).pdf If the value is not specifically mentioned, it is fair to assume that the values there apply. And remember: the bolts on the valve covers don't hold the wheels on. They just have to be "tight enough".

Without wanting to denigrate Pete's no doubt valuable and accurate comment, regarding this, and only for the sake of general information because it was mentioned: I've read time and again, if that is suspected as a problem, spray brake cleaner at anywhere that comes in to the question as a potential leak point with the motor idling.. If there is a leak, the idles revs will change, and one has a starting point where to look.

I am able to read the writing on the stone when I zoom in. For those who can't for whatever reason, here is what it says:

Seize the day! By the balls with a pair of vice-grips.....

@Frenchfrog, I'll take it, if it's not already gone.

I'll bet that costs a couple of cents in winter. I hope the shanty is well insulated.... PS: mine isn't well insulated or well heated. I think I might perhaps be a little jealous. You bastard.

Very close. At the end of the day, the songs are both a simple 12 bar blues. The AC/DC song was always fairly obvious as such. I was a little surprised when I worked out that the Prince song is also not really much more than that.

And now the trick question: what does this have musically (in the sense of music theory) in common with the AC /DC song? docc, are you listening?

Have I already posted that? Probably. It's one of the best songs they ever did.