Skeeve

That's a very good observation, and a sloppage plate should definitely be on order for after the rebuild...

Sorry to read this news. Before we go looking at oil starvation, what about we determine if the correct oil was being used? We know that our Guzzis w/ their antique flat tappets require healthy doses of ZDDP in the oil to be used, and none of the modern "friction modified" stuff for cages meets requirements. Also, if it was an oil starvation issue, wouldn't the bottom end have made Pete Roper's dreaded 'dagga-dagga' noise of protest long before the tappets & cam gave up the ghost? STP oil treatment is one of the ZDDP additives that's available almost anywhere stateside: if we can't get a good quality diesel oil [& maybe even if we can], we shouldn't be afraid to use such preventative measures... If the oil filter was the OEM, have you checked to see if it backed off at all? That does seem to be a less-than-uncommon failure mode, and we've all heard of the hose-clamp fix to prevent that from happening. Not trying to raise any dead oil- or hose-clamp threads here, just stating the obvious that all alternatives should be considered... [nerd]

He needs to do a batch of square-head guards in the "Quien es mas macho?" heavy duty design he does in the Centauro guards. I may have to seek out the "brass knuckle" design I've seen around here before, except I think that those were only made to fit roundheads? Hmmm

I believe some years ago Triumph ran into a similar problem with plastic elbows failing on their EFI bikes & came up w/ a steel? retrofit. Perhaps it was BMW? Anyway, there may already be a superior solution out there in the wild, if we but look around for it...

I don't know that that's the problem. What has been noted before with carb'd bikes is that the govt.-imposed smog restrictions led the manufacturers to make the bikes run very, very lean in the rev range that the motors were tested. To compensate, [esp. on air-cooled motors], the manufacturers made them run very rich on top, since if they had the engine good'n'hot from running lean down low & someone wound it on hard, it would be easy to seize up or otherwise overheat if they didn't apply a little "fuel-cooling" to the system. Now, initially, the advent of FI allowed the manufacturers to keep their smog output within the proscribed limits, but now that it's 10 years on and the smog limits have been continually reduced, perhaps we're back where we began vis-a-vis A/C motors? Perhaps our only option, as responsible owners, it to pay the $$$ for PCIII/Vs, etc. so that we can adjust the fuel mix to something that is correct across the board? After all, burning less fuel in the long run is the way to cut smog...

Ipso-facto, presto-changeO, Piaggio, SHAZAM! There, your wish has been granted ... [sigh] Moto Guzzi is just a Piaggio brand now; no engineering capacity of their own.

Sorry to read about more of your misfortune w/ this bike, BFG! WRT protective bits, maybe the Stelvio parts would fit? I'm not certain how different the Quotard models frames are, but it may be worth looking into. Maybe you could find someone w/ a Stelvio that popped for the protective parts who can get together w/ you for a weekend of parts swapping to see if they'll fit so you can find out if they'll xfer or not? Best o' luck!

I think only the late-2004s sold as 2005s had the O-sensor, so a non-issue for his Tenni [= a 2002 model in most relevant respects.] More to the point, is it a PC3 or a PC3usb? Don't waste money on the earlier serial model: they go for about 1/2 the price of the later usb edition since they're more of a pain to hook up & tune [given that modern laptops don't even have an RS232 serial port to plug'em into...]

Two, actually. There is one up in the Bay area [in Martinez, run by Chevron, iirc] & another down here in Lo-Cal So.Cal. run by Exxon, I think. Those are the only two in the state I know of. There may have been more at one time, but I think those are the only two still running. Which is why when they both go offline at one time for "scheduled maintenance" California has a price spike*, because out of the other 5? U.S. refineries, only two are set up to make CA gas, & they don't do it because it requires shutting down their normal production. Actually, it's a 50% difference, and bad news for any vehicle w/o alcohol-compatible rubber throughout its fuel system [which is just about anything not built to support Dubya's dumb@ss "E85" program to increase our dependence upon foreign oil. Or were you unaware it takes more energy to make a gallon of corn-ethanol than we get out of it? * - isn't it interesting that they do this B.S. about every 3rd or 4th year? You'd think that the state govt. would have mandated that only one of them can be down for maintenance at any one time, to prevent the sort of price-gouging that goes on when they're both "Oops! Suddenly unable to meet demand.." But of course, the politicians are in the pockets of their campaign contributors, so the game goes on... Ride on!

Well, it's been what, a couple years now [seems like forever! ] since our illustrious leader Jaap revamped the look & feel of the site. I hate to say it, but I shudder every time I log in since the old skin was just ever so much more elegant & pleasing to the eye. I've shared some backchannel chatter w/ a couple of other long time users who've made clear that they share similar sentiments about the change. Ergo, this poll! Not that I expect Jaap to add to his workload & revamp the site again, regardless of how this poll turns out: this is mostly just an exercise for me to try out the poll-creation feature, which is a pretty dang neat feature but one that I've never used...

Excellent post, HaydnR!

The preexisting problem may have filled the canister w/ fuel [i presume this is the charcoal canister for emissions control we're discussing here.] That's been known to happen on other brands as well: overfill the tank, the overflow gets trapped by the canister, idles rough for ages until the charcoal is eventually evaporated enough to once again do its job. A lot of folks have been known to remove the canister permanent-like: I'm not that concerned about the minimal extra wt. savings myself & prefer to save the local environment, but your situation [colder climate, no stagnant air basins like SoCal] may be different...

A single plate made of steel, I hope...

Were those wheelies before or after you installed one of Pete's (in?)famous Sloppij Sheetz [all rights reserved]? 'Cause I'm thinking that if it was b4, then that knocking-rattly sound may be your bottom end bearings...

With a Tonti, there's about 3 or 4 final drive options, iirc. For the V11s & CARC models, the final drive gearing is what it is: there're no other alternatives [ie, other models w/ the same driveline that used different final drive gearing.] Now *that's* what Piaggio should do: offer a different final gear set as part of the performance package one has to run to compete in the Griso Cup series in Europe. Then the other CARC models would have an option, tho' it would be rather expensive I'm certain...

I love how he quite clearly goes faster after he's separated from the snowmobile... Luddites of the world rejoice!

Obviously, if it is the correct updated part, it shouldn't require modification of the controls or "forcing it in" for it to work! I know Piaggio screwed up the MG parts numbering system, but this seems more like a simple case of misreading the pick ticket: only one digit off, and if the printer is running out of ink a 9 looks a lot like a 3. Sure wish Greg was around: he was always quick to offer 1st hand parts-mgr insight on this kind of issue...

Great news! Or is it? Hope it wasn't so trashed that it's a writeoff anyway...

If they total it, keep all the undamaged Rosso plastic & any farkles to xfer to a replacement v11...

Shaun: That connector usually lives under the seat, and is the diagnostic port for which nobody really has much use unless you've got an Axone or other factory tool to plug it into. [i'm not certain if a PC3 or V even uses it: don't they plug in btw the normal ECU multiprong plug to the wiring harness & the ECU?] It would be wonderful if that plug gave us access to reflashing the ECU, but that is unfortunately not the case [sigh.]

If you use steel wool on your pipes, make certain it's stainless steel wool, or you'll embed little particles of carbon steel in the surface of the pipes which will then rust & make your pipes ugly. Same reason you never use a carbon steel wire wheel to clean aluminum b4 welding...

Not just any kitchen cleaner, it's gotta be Bon Ami! Like the Doors sang, it's stronger than dirt!

K.I.S.S., indeed! Isn't that the Guzzista mantra & why we ride these antediluvian beasts in the 1st place?

Did you mean two 12v 9ah batteries in parallel? That would make sense, but 2x9v=18v which would blow any of the electronics on the bike which were designed for a nominal 12v... I seem to recall that the Spot originally came w/ 2 batteries, one low & forward & the other under the passenger seat, & that once AGM batteries came out it was normal to just use the low&forward position w/ 1 battery doing all the chores, but maybe I have that confused w/ a different bike?

Well, I echo your sentiments when it comes to the '03+ "pointy" SVs, but the "curvy" models ['99-'02] are some of the prettiest bargain bikes ever made, and I love mine to pieces. Don't know why Suzuki chose to beat on the SVs with an ugly stick after '03; too bad that they waited to release the SV1k after they'd "revamped" to the pointy architecture, as I'd likely have bought one if they'd brought them out w/ the looks of the curvy model. Oh well! As someone else pointed out, if you're just looking for a cheap & cheerful commuter, you'd do well to consider a KLR or DR. Nothing beats a dually for around town as long as you don't have too long of a freeway haul to navigate...