GuzzBun

I must say that I didn't read Nog's posting as "slagging off" - in fact I rather sympathise with him - I've owned and ridden nothing other than Guzzis for the past 13 years - 8 of them. At the peak of ownership I had six Guzzis in my garage, and on more than one occasion they were all unserviceable at the same time. The status could go from all serviceable to all unserviceable in a single day - puncture, dropped valve, harsh riding, alternator failure, dead battery - to name but a few of the causes. The latest disappointment is to have oil leaks from my MGS01 - and spares are not yet available. Such experiences are bound to make us bounce into print - what's missing on these forums (fora?) is the personal touch that can only be discerned from face-to-face communication - what reads in a posting as a whinge might actually be a dry comment with no complaint intended. I read Nog's posting as one from a committed Guzzist who has been slightly frustrated by the character of his Guzzi, but has decided to share his frustration in the hope of support, commiseration (not sure if that's spelt krectly!) and advice. Take heart Nog - my Scura is pinking like mad at the moment, despite extensive upper cylinder work - I've found that the best solution is ear plugs!!! Robin

"That the birds of worry and care fly around our heads - this we cannot change. That they make their nests in our hair - this we can prevent." Chinese proverb

Mine makes the same noises - has done throughout its 21K miles - I was told that the clutch is similar to the Ducati clutch - the noise is similar too. I was assured by Guzzi expert that it is a feature of that type of clutch and is not a fault. In fact, I rather like the noise, but then I used to fly navy helicopters - noise is comforting - it's the silences that are really frightening!!! Robin

Hah! The Corsa is already doing that - sprays oil from both head gaskets - not what I expected from a blueprint engine or a bike that cost so much - somwhat less than gruntled by that! But the ride...oh, the ride...

Can't make my mind up from the following: GU51ACE GU51APE GU55BUN (my handle!) GU51BUN (nearly my handle!) GU51GAS GU51GEL GU51GUZ GU51LAD GU51MAD GU51NUT

Got my two thoroughbreds lined up together at last - hoping to breed from them!

Mainly in the Derby Dales - what height are they? I'm guessing not much more than 500 feet amsl at the most, and probably much lower. Denser air than Mandello, especially as it's colder here than there, so perhaps she's running too lean. Hadn't thought of that aspect!

Took the MGS01 Corsa out this Sunday - beautiful day, and he behaved beautifully too. Urban speeds are a problem though - the engine doesn't like pootling about at low revs - rather lumpy and prone to stalling until at full operating temperature - guess it's probably a light flywheel so relatively little inertia. But once the speed is up to 'road acceptable' limits the engine and power train are very smooth. Gets me wondering though - inevitably I have to do some pootling at low speeds to get from home to the fast roads - is a lot of this sort of riding going to be detrimental to the engine in the long term? I guess the whole machine was designed to be ridden at high speeds on the track, so typical town riding is going to be relatively unpleasant compared to a street bike. The seat is surprisingly comfortable, but for prolonged riding, speed has to be above 50mph to relieve the load on the wrists. Parked in Matlock, he received an amazing amount of attention from other riders. I've taken to carrying the registration documents with me in readiness for the inevitable 'pull' from Mr Plod - only a matter of time I guess - lack of lights, indicators and mirrors does warrant a legal interest!!! On the subject of mirrors, I really do want to fit some to the Corsa - bought a pair of Motrax Bar End mirrors, but they won't fit - true to Guzzi form, the bar end weights on the Corsa are far from standard. Anyone got any suggestions for suitable small convex mirrors that will either clamp onto the existing bar end weights or replace them? He's booked into Twiggers this weekend for his first service. Whilst there I shall be putting a deposit down on an 1100 Breva Nero with all the touring accessories - the Cali 1100 has served her time and the writeups on the Breva make her an irresistible purchase. Aint life grand!?

Not sure, but probably quite a bit, unless the lights were entirely self-contained i.e. no connection to the main wiring loom. I don't expect to need to do any non-daylight riding on this machine, and hope that the majority of riding will be under track conditions - but it is GREAT FUN to park him up amongst the other bikes at a road meet, and see the interest shown by other riders. Sad? Yes - but then for me at least 50% of the pleasure I get from riding Guzzis is that derived from being different! Robin

Don't think it's from the radiator, but then oil is like blood - a little looks like a lot, and it seems to go everywhere! First inspection suggests that it's coming from the head gasket area - nothing forward of the spark plug, and the souce looks like between the head and block fins. The semi-gloss black engine paint makes source ident very difficult. Looking in the complimentary workshop manual, recommendations for servicing include head gasket replacement every 1200 miles!!! I hope this reflects the expected race environment usage rather than normal road use! Robin

Had my first proper ride on the MGS01 today - fetched him from West Sussex up to Derby - mainly A and motorway, but some good minor roads too. First impression is that it's a good distance bike - does well over 160 miles to the tank, and the seat is quite comfortable even for a bony a**e like me! Obviously had to keep the speed down for running in, but 4000rpm gives about 128 kph (can't find how to make the speedo read in miles!) Will definitely have to get some mirrors fitted - does anyone know where I can find decent small round mirrors that will fit in the bar ends - only want about 2 inches diameter maximum? Pietro has done a splendid job of 'road-legalising' it - fitted an LED brake light and a decent horn, plus an ignition cutout key, very nicely mounted in the starboard carbon panel. Also fashioned a superb alloy reg plate carrier - once I can get into the garage I'll take some pics and post them. Yes, it was expensive - no, it's not the fastest bike on the planet - but it sure made a lot of heads turn today. There appears to be a tiny oil weep from the starboard head/block interface - nothing dramatic, but rather disappointing considering the hype the bike received - you'd think they'd have made sure there were no leaks! Perhaps it will disappear once the head is check-tightened after 500 miles. Robin

Good spotting guys - you all picked up the salient points. It was originally a Spada II, heavily converted to look like a LM1, or what a LM1 should have looked like. V7 sidepanels, tank and seat from LM, engine from a Sport 1100, Borani wheels, Tomaselli clip ons, rearsets, LM fairing. I did some of the work, but the base work was done by the chap I bought her from. I spent about £6000 on her - Pietro at Motori di Marino put the engine in and sorted the horrendous electrics. I'd done about 1500 glorious miles on her by Easter 2004, then an oncoming tw*t turned right across my path without indication or warning - bike totalled and I was lucky to escape with a broken pelvis, several ribs and crushed crown jewels. She was truly unique, and I reclaimed the salvage with the intention of rebuilding her, but somehow it didn't seem right - so I ditched her and moved on - hoping that a similar fate won't befall my MGS01!!! Robin

What is she/was she? Robin

Stig Bored Senseless asked about batteries - my V11 Scura battery displayed the same symptoms as yours - poor starting - after 2.5 years/22,000 miles - the answer was found by replacing the old battery with a new one - instant improvement - problems disappeared! Guess batteries are like people - they have a finite life - not necessarily determined by the number of miles or times started, but rather by the work they do during their life. Whilst riding I stopped for many fags and cuppas, so did many starts - but 22,000 miles on one battery at 100 quid is still good value - compared to the alternative of mowing the grass or painting the kitchen! Robin

Jees - wish I could get all you guys together in my garage tommorow - so many ideas, so many possibilities - and so many tinnies and anecdotes - is it true that bike maintenance is best conducted when 'in beer'? Robin

Thanks guys - given me plenty to look at! It's certainly not the first time I've yellow-lined her, and I have red-lined on a couple of occasions - damned if I know what speed was indicated - I couldn't open my eyes long enough to read the speedo! Someone off-line has suggested it might be a head gasket - whatever, I'll give her a thick coat of looking at tomorrow. It's the noise that intrigues me - a sort of rattly wheeze when pulling hard on wide throttle. Robin

Didn't go out until 3pm - then took the roads from Sutton Coldfield to Ilam - had an ice cream and walk about, then went on to 'something' Head (begins with M, and overlooks a beautiful valley!), then pelted back through a valley with some fantastic fast straights and corking bends, and along the Bakewell to Ashbourne road - cracking route with no straight bits - all bends, weaves and back-doubles. Stopped for a smoko in Ashbourne (a lime green V11 went by - guess it wasn't you), then slapped on down the A515 to Sutton - no caravans, no idiots (except me) and no smoke form the exhausts! Guess I'll be fettling this weekend, rather than riding - unless I go and get my MGS01 from Sussex - yes - think I'll do that!!! Robin

Thanks - will check all those. But where does the strange noise come from - could it be the breather pipe venting under pressure? Robin

Clutch is fine - no slipping. No parrot remains visible either! Oil smoke is definitely coming out of both exhausts - is there a breather that routes into the collector box? Robin

I haven't topped the oil recently - yesterday I did 125 miles around the Peak District - no problems. The only significant event in the past 500 miles was the 'yellow lining' this evening. Haven't checked the oil level, but will do tomorow.

Riding home this evening, the Scura developed a strange noise under hard acceleration, similar to pinking but definitely not pinking - it was a sort of high pitched whistling or screeching. Pulled over and blipped the throttle - no noise (presumably 'cos it wasn't under load) BUT - clouds of blue oil smoke from both pipes AND clouds of blue smoke from under the engine (or that's where it seemed to be coming from) - no other signs of oil - no apparent leaks, and whilst riding no apparent degrade in performance. Admission - I did 'yellow line' her on one occasion this evening - 120 indicated - but I didn't 'red line'! Any ideas??? Robin

Haven't ridden a Balabio, but have a Scura which I've done 22500 miles on in less than 30 months - all pleasure. The V11 is a superb bike, and with the lower bars (as on the Scura) is a very comfortable machine - I once did 450 miles in 10 hours, from Portsmouth to north Wales and back - no appreciable discomfort - just tired! The drive can be a bit snatchy at slow speeds in low gears, but I put that down to my rather rough throttle handling. At speed it's as smooth as a baby's b*m - and let's face it, how much slow riding do you want to do!? For a Guzzi, it's been extremely reliable - had a small leak from the timing cover (incorrectly fitted gasket) and a rear wheel bearing failed early on (incorrect fitting at the factory - rather worrying!!!). I tried an 1100RS last year, with the intention of hiring it for a trip to Italy, but was so unimpressed with it that I took my Cali instead (in company with 16 BMWs). The most striking deficiency of the BMW was it's complete and utter lack of character - and it made me feel that I had to ride sensibly and not forget to pack my pipe and slippers! Unfair, I know, but that's how it struck me. If given the choice and opportunity my first three choices for bikes would be exactly what I have got - and summer's coming - I'm one very happy biker! Robin

Would like to take my Scura (fitted with titanium cans and race chip) as well as the MGS01, but don't have a trailer - any volunteers to ride one of them to the events for me? Robin