Skeeve

Well, if peace is what you want, putting the cover back on will definitely quiet the intake roar down a bit...

They'll bolt up, but they won't fit: they're machined w/ the offset for the old 5-spd gearbox and narrow [160] rear tire, so they won't work on your V11S, even tho' all the holes in them are the correct size & distance ctr 2 ctr. The old billet pork chops sure look the t!ts, tho', don't they? At one point, I was determined to take a cad/cam class at the local junior college just so I could recreate them in the correct form to put on our later models, but work got in the way. Massive changes to the schedule there now due to the GFC, tho', so maybe I can do that someday after all?

Had pix of it at one point... I think that computer died, tho'! Enzo/Captain Nemo/The resident d'ckhead was one of those characters who inhabit the internet who seem to rejoice in keyboard-based Turette's syndrome, getting themselves banned from boards, making enemies, etc. I always considered his posts fine entertainment, but then I never had him yanking my chain so vigorously... I never could quite figure out if he really was the racist neo-nazi uber-liberal his posts made him out to be, or if that was all part of the fun? Anyway, he developed (with the assistance of others) his "Cobra" 2->1 exhaust prior to the Griso making it from concept bike to production [put it around '02 or '03 then...] and therefore he does deserve some credit for producing a "new" [to V11 use] performance exhaust. Fundamentally, it looked like the mirror image of a Griso's stock headers, with the junction moved up to the front corner of the sump instead of the rear, and single pipe running back alongside the sump to turn the corner and cross under the tranny (kind of like the aftermarket Griso pipe that cuts out the "U" under the bike & exits on the right side.) Enzo had the same problem as most of the H-D ilk in thinking that "noise = power," so he always had too many of the discs in the SuperTrapp megaphone he clamped on the end to produce the right back pressure. I always wondered if he'd chosen the correct direction to run his headers, esp. after the Griso was released with its headers running on the opposite side, as the few other 2->1 guzzi exhausts I'd seen pix of that ran to the right side had a bunch of extra tubing for the left side head curlicuing about to get the correct tuned lengths? No matter: put a rt. side aftermarket can on a Griso, paint the entire exhaust system in rattle-can BBQ paint, wrap red & white fiberglas exhaust tape around the headers like a barber pole, hold the whole thing up to a mirror & you'll have a close approximation to the looks of Enzo's "Cobra" exhaust. He eventually grew tired of trying to turn his Sport into something it wasn't and bought a Honda RC-51 for hooning around on. That was about the last we heard from him... Too bad, as he certainly brought a lot of activity to the board whenever he chose to join in and expose us all to his peculiar slice of insanity!

I thought w/ Brembos the Guzzis braked really well? But no, they don't break much, leading do their reputation for reliability. Between this and their general rarity, it makes for a rather flat market for stolen parts. Plus w/ a community like ours, anyone who suddenly pops up trying to move parts from a bike they're breaking that looks very similar to the one a guzzista reported stolen just last week is going to draw a lot of scrutiny!

Cool! Mechanical porn...

Doh! Yes, it's known, albeit only somewhat recently: I can't recall if I 1st learnt of it here or over at the Guzzitech forums, but yes, I'm sorry I didn't think of that. My only defense is that: 1) here in CA motorcycles have never been smogged. (Altho' there is an evil b!tch of a state rep based around Thousand Oaks/Agoura or thereabouts who's trying to change that. Quick, where's my bucket of water to throw on that witch!) 2) Everyone in a testing facility is supposed to know that a tested vehicle is supposed to be thoroughly warmed up before starting the test. Glad you did the detective work & solved this mystery! Sorry you ended up out of pocket from the experience, but at least you can feel proud that your experience will help someone else down the road... thanks to v11lm.com!

Technically, no. The carbon fibers are very stable [a property indirectly related to their physical strength.] However, the epoxy resin that binds the carbon fibers into something useful is sensitive to UV & heat. Different epoxies have different traits, but it's safe to say that clear epoxy [like that used on most CF products to allow the color & pattern of the fiber to be visible] has less UV stability/resistance than a resin w/ a white gel coat [given to it by suspending Ti02 particles in it, being a sovereign UV-blocker] covering the structural component. Heat from the exhaust is an inescapable fact of life for exhaust cans but the resin isn't significantly affected if the temps are below a certain threshold; the real killer is UV exposure, esp. for a vehicle habitually parked outside in the sun.

In all fairness, Ratch', Big Bores are 2v motors, so you're setting Dave up for an impossible task... Or are you subscribing to the bizarre "total valves per motor" description that Guzzi has used for the QV motors? I wish everyone would just refuse to get on that particularly lame bandwagon, & stick w/ referrering to the # of valves/cylinder, as is the norm. You'll notice that I have consistently referred to Guzzi's new 4 valvers as "QV" [ie, "quattro valvole"] to avoid confusion...

Guzzi is known for making substantial changes to models mid-cycle, with little more than a note in the following year's shop manual, from what I understand [Greg's Big Twins book, Guzziology, various sources like v11lm.com, etc. ] Something as minor as converting to a sealed TPS from one m.y. to another I doubt would rate even a note...

This may be the worst anecdotal story in support of a contention that I have seen yet! Over a 15 year span, the exchange rates of AUS$ to lire, lire to EUros & finally AUS$ to EUros have [to put it mildly] varied widely. Not to mention that the factory was using much more man-hours per vehicle produced in '93 than they are today due to HUGE upgrades in physical plant over the intervening years by two "white knight" takeovers. Moreover, the economies of scale come into play when discussing the price of a motorcycle that had an entire production lifespan of what, Guzzimoto, you clearly have almost no grasp of economics whatsoever. Not that it's any worse than the suits running Piaggio, but until it is better, perhaps you shouldn't be riding your pricing horse? OTOH, I cannot fault your point that wishful thinking should not be the basis for production decisions.

Well it's a known fact that Ratch' has an earlier short-frame Guzzi. Maybe the factory made a transition from open-bottom to sealed TPS' at some point?

Actually, not. I was born a south-paw (as was my sister), but was forced at a young age to be a righty. Dad was fine w/ sis being lefty, but "he's a boy & will need to use tools. It's a right-handed world & he'll live longer/safer that way..." [0] It's amazing how effective something as simple as only being allowed to eat with your right hand is at that critical stage of development. BTW, I'm right-eye dominant too; I don't know if anyone has ever done studies on the correlation? [1] Ride on! [0] True. Lefties figure in a disproportionately high # of industrial accidents. [1] I've got a software-switch I can toggle to left-eye dominance if I concentrate. Basically something fun to do when lying in bed on Sat. morning wondering if I want to get up yet...

[EDIT: I just reread your original post & see you're in Phoenix...] There's always the "do a complete tuneup & use fuel additives method." How far are you off from making their CO #s? I presume you live in Phoenix or Tucson, those are the only AZ areas I'm aware of that have emissions testing. Use some of the tricks the old VW drivers have been relying on: You need a new air filter... No, newer than that! Fresh spark plugs. If you've got more than 1k miles on them before the test, you need new ones. Seriously. Buy some CA gas; it's so chock full of oxygenates that you shouldn't have any problem meeting the CO requirements! I assume you're using premium? If you aren't using CA gas to pass the test, you might want to try running regular [for those who don't know, AZ still sells real gasoline...] Yes, it'll ping like crazy under load, but since emissions tests aren't done under load, you should be able to sneak under the wire. Just dilute that regular w/ premium immediately on leaving the test facility, & especially before trying to ride the bike normally! Go to Pep Boys & drop a bottle of carb cleaner in your tank [mostly methanol.] Again, something you do right before the test (& get it out of the tank asap, our plastic tanks don't like the stuff long term...) Be sure to use the looser valve specs [.006" in, .008" exh] than the U.S. specs (which are way tight to control noise, & would sabotage your emissions.) Best of luck. If you have any friends in other AZ counties, see if you can register your bike using their address, & save yourself the testing headache.

Well, some here on v11lm would probably put their money on the steering damper being the problem! I'm not certain myself how necessary the damper is; the majority opinion seems to be that it needs to be backed off all the way & even then it slows the steering down. Regardless, the Guzzi spine frame's greatest weakness isn't likely the spine itself, buttressed as it is with the great big block of a ditch pump we all love so well, but more likely the connection btw swingarm & frame running thru the bolted-up pork chops, etc. Ease of manufacture wins out over precision of steering almost every time, throughout the history of motorcycling, I think you'll find...

Actually, from the closeup it doesn't appear that the pivot was moved so much rearward, but that attention was given to keeping the pivot on the same axis as the countershaft sprocket, so that there is no need for chain slack! BMW went this route on their latest off-road bike, iirc. Kind of a big deal because the idea has always been disparaged as "too expen$ive for production" and therefore not worthwhile, while anyone w/ a dirt bike will tell you that the large amounts of chain slack required because of the long swingarm & large suspension travel is a real PITA. Once the sprockets are on the same centers as the swingarm pivots & axle [by default for the chain driven rear wheel, not so for our shafties], it becomes a trivial matter to enclose the chain for better lubrication & protection from dirt, and voila' - a lighter, low-maintenance drive system than our shafties. No need for fancy floating final drives & parallelogram linkages either. Well worth an extra cm or so of swingarm rearwardness, I think. Back on the topic of losing weight from the back 1/2 of our bikes and Racerboy's project: 3 words, 6 syllables that you'll here in car racing all the time, but not at anytime in conjuction w/ our Guzzis: CF driveshaft. Ride on!

How do you convince your dog to fit into the saddlebags so you can take him to the woods? I know dogs like going walksies in the woods, but they're usually claustrophobic to the point that you can't keep them curled up tight while you sit on the lid of the bag to get it closed...

Why not? No one would expect it...

So what you're saying is that Guzzis are the Spanish Inquisition of motorcycles?

Guzziology v6.1 sez that Ballabio rear is same Guzzi part# as V11 Sport & LeMans [just as you would expect, and just as the fronts are too.] Further perusal of that section [begins 19-25] indicates that the appropriate Guzzi pn listed [2765 4610] is for a Brembo F05 caliper. Check your rear caliper; if it has model# F05 on it anywhere, then I think you're in business! The following #s that equate to the Guzzi # above are from that x-ref: BraKing: 612 DP: DP-601 EBC: FA47 (I knew that one for some reason?..) Galfer: 12 Tufstop: 719 Best o' luck!

Do they do noise testing where you live? 'Cause otherwise the best approach is to keep your stock cans in the (rare) eventuality that you get a fixit ticket and swap those on to satisfy The Man & bounce back to the Ti pipes after satisfying the court that the pipes are stock. EDIT: just realized you're in Germany; I've heard that the TUV is pretty dang restrictive, so all bets are off. Don't they say "No mods of any sort" or something like that? I've heard you can get a ticket just for replacing tires w/ something other than stock fitment!

I find it hard to believe anything w/ the BMW roundel on it is cheap, pricewise. Sounds like you did well! Any pics?

Hi Ozzydog (Heather?): Don't let Ratch' & G'motos' bickering bother you; we're all like one big dysfunctional family around here! Sorry to hear about your hubby in ICU; I hope he heals quick. Tell him that you've got loads of guzzisti just champing at the bit to find a Guzzi-riding widow if he doesn't get his act in order! That'll give him some incentive to heal up right quick! [1] Anyway, I dug up the old thread: Oil return hose bodge I find it ridiculous that a shop that: A) Muffed your maintenance work in the 1st place would then B ) Hare off on vacation w/ your bike locked in their yard & leave you stranded only I shouldn't, 'cause I got taken by a shop that rebuilt my SV650 4+ years ago after my "accident." [victim of vehicular assault] - not much of a rebuild, they charged me for work I didn't authorize & they never performed, but that's why shops like that won't survive the current GFC, hallelujah. Best of luck, and glad you came to v11lm.com! Don't let any of our resident trolls [& I include myself in that august category! ] scare you away! Ride on, [1] My apologies if that was in poor taste; I truly hope he gets well quickly! Just trying to cheer you up...

I know this is going to sound dumb, but... did you make certain to rotate the engine to the other timing mark when you did the valves? ["D" vs. "S"?] Sorry, nothing more to add than "I hope you didn't do the simple mistake that would be my trademark!"

That zombie'd moonwalk right outta there if you didn't lock him in his closet! Hey, did you hear that they were going to recycle his deadness of pop music? Yup, he'd got so much plastic in him that the landfill, er, cemetery won't take him. So they're selling him to Lego to be remade into the little clickers. He gets his final wish: having all the kids of the world play with him. He's one happy Michael now! ;D

Check the forum for a thread on replacing the sadly inadequate Guzzi stock part with a cut-down unit from a Fnord? or maybe GM? (cage) product. It seems the higher volume of car production merits rubber products that actually retain the oil returning to the crankcase...