Skeeve

Reserve is usually unknown to bidders; it's the minimum the seller will accept. Minimum bid is known to bidders, it's usually set low enough to get people to bid but high enough to weed out the wankers. So in this case, with a $10k UKP starter, it is fargin' senseless to have a reserve; just set the minimum at the reserve & be done with it!

Quit searching for the unattainable, buy the right design in flat, carve a wooden block to the right curvature [or take a mold of the front of your fairing], set the buckle in the mold face down & smack the back of it with a hammer already!

That's 'cause he discounts "flyover country" & any other state where there isn't a Democratic majority: they didn't help him get elected, so they'll be victimized in the new regime... And regime it is; Obama's packing his White House w/ the rejects from the Clinton [The Man Who Would Be King] era. You'd think they'd have learned something from the huge volte-face that the country took after Clinton's mendacity. So much for any "Star Wars Obama: A New Hope" allusions during the campaign: it's all the same ol', same ol' when it comes time to fish or cut bait! Oh well, at least Obama's not likely to chase ugly skirts and commit Arkancides while he's in control: there's that much to be said in his favor!

Starting bid is $10k UKP [sorry, don't want to take the time to find the "librum" symbol], but the reserve is set higher. Same starting price with no reserve, or a description openly stating the reserve that must be met [at this time, I conjecture $16k UKP, which is the "sale" price - remember, these only listed for $15k UKP new!] would be more interesting. This one's for the suckers...

If MG Cycle is out [support our Guzzi dealers!] then take an example to a NAPA or equivalent & find out if they can match it with some other automotive application. They're all OEM'd by Gates anyway, so why not go direct?

Me, I've always been a fan of DeHavillands: DH98 Mosquito (or better yet for the private pilot, it's logical extension, the DH101 Hornet), Vampires & Venoms for the jet-generation. But I'm right with you on the "any old warbird" train of thought...

A lot of people have been getting pink slips lately [& I don't mean the vehicular title kind...] This was one of the most divisive elections in recent (U.S.) history, with most of the divide falling along the lines of support for Bush's war in Iraq. Obama was by far the best talking head of the bunch, but I was not impressed by his oratory until the night of his acceptance speech. I am impressed (negatively) by his track record on civil rights; I only hope that he has his hands too full with trying to rescue our nation from its impending economic doom to set us back another 10 years. And lest we forget, the difference between Obama and Osama is just a little b.s... However, I'm ecstatic that the U.S. electorate has finally matured enough to send an ethnic minority member to the White House. I just feel we'd all have been better off if Alan Keyes was going to be that black man in the Oval Office. But you're right, it is a big day, and I've spent it as I've spent virtually every other inauguration day since achieving the age of majority (save one) - by ignoring it. It's just an opportunity for the winning side of our unfortunately two-party system to throw a big party and cause thousands to stand outside in the cold & risk their health. In short, it's pretty dang stupid, & you'd think we'd have learned our lesson by now after losing one president to this tradition! Luckily, the weather where I am in So.Cal. is so benign as to have allowed me to enjoy a ride today. But I probably should have chucked it & gone to the beach instead!

I have the feeling you're going to have to roll your own on this one, Ratch. No, I don't know what goes into pewter; lead, tin & copper? Carve yourself a little model out of clay, wrap it around the fairing & let sit for a day in the sun to cure, fire it, build up a latex mold, toss the clay part & cast a new piece in wax from the latex female you made, coat the wax pattern plaster of paris & fire it to melt out the wax, and then fill your refractory mold w/ your pewter. Chip away anything that's not shiny & epoxy the results to the front of your fairing. Sorry, that's the best I've got.

Hey Pete: what's the haps for the possibility of 'roo shootin' in your area if I ever get down under? I hear 'roo hide makes great leathers, but the only way I'd ever be able to afford enough to cover my advancing largeness is if I "roll my own" as it were. I presume farmers can get predation permits, even if the PITA people have all but shut down legal varminting in your neck of the woods. [For the record, I'm a charter member of PETA: People for the Eating of Tasty Animals - do 'roos taste good? Inquiring minds &tc... ] Just a curious aside; enjoyed reading about your top-end run on the QV Griso: maybe you can set some records w/ Phil in the dry lakes racing down your way?

Of course, unless you use the difference in mass to make a larger dia. compression piston & get more boost. Read the rest of my post already!

Glitch is probably related to the fact that the software was written to require interfacing w/ a hardware dongle [piracy control.] This was written long enough ago that all the laptops had sub-D serial ports, but no modern laptops do anymore. Hence the glitch encountered when trying to use a Serial-USB converter to patch the hardware dongle onto a USB-only laptop, with frequent "software won't run" problems. But that's only my conjecture, from reading the sad tales of others here & elsewhere. Ride on!

Well, since this guy stole my idea [i hate it when they do that! ] I'll try to explain: Smaller displacement is more efficient on fuel. Rear cylinder doesn't need same level of sealing as regular piston: replace piston rings w/ O-rings for less friction & better low pressure sealing. Lighter piston & con-rod required than on a firing cylinder too, so it all adds up to less wt. [Or rather, larger displacement for same wt., for more compressor flow.] Since it's a four-stroke engine, the rear cylinder travels up & down 2x for each firing interval on the front cyl., so you get 2x the volumetric efficiency (actually less; nothing is perfect) than the NA front cylinder alone. VE=power, ceteris paribus. You still have the perfect primary balance of the 90deg V, so no counterbalancer or excess vibes nonsense of a true single cylinder. Depending upon class rules, you could still end up with a bike legal to race in a Singles class. And of course, the final (& possibly best) reason: "Because it was there."

Yep, he's that Greg Field; we're lucky to have him here!

I don't know if "belief" is the correct term: when the fast idle lever returns to off on its own, and the seat latch lock is soooo stiff to turn you can feel the key about to twist off in it, well, you decide... Push down on the back of the seat directly above the actual latch mechanism while turning the key; it will take pressure off of the latch so that twisting the key retracts the latch pin instead of just stretching that long cable. I find this is still necessary for ease of use even after making the spring swap. So, "press on back of seat, twist key, pull up on rear seat edge, release key, pull seat back & off" is the sequence that works for me. And thanks to everyone here for telling me where the seat latch release was back when I first came to v11LM.com: I was trying to unlock the helmet latch at first too!

In what way does free enterprise allow one person to profit from another's plight? Subjective evaluations of condition don't enter into it; free enterprise simply allocates resources in the most efficient manner. If you want to improve the plighted, educating the wealthy to want to ease the suffering of their fellow man is more productive than whining that they prefer Fijian water to dealing with bettering the lot of the lazy. Have they no workhouses? No debtor's prisons? No, wait: those are more common in state run economies, only they call them factories & gulags...

Rumours & speculation have no bearing upon Piaggio's ability to overlook the obvious. I mean, when all the world has been saying "build me a streetable MGS-01 & I'll take it" and they put the new 4v engine in the Stelvio instead... well, as much as I like the Stelvio, I think they missed a sure thing there. So I chalk the 4v engine in a big-block version of the Cafe Classic up to wishful thinking and won't hold my breath. Don't hold yours, either: it'll only make you blue...

Well I do. It's supposed to be the Paris to Dakar rally, and if they can't end it in Dakar they should at least start it in Paris! Call me a traditionalist...

About the only thing you should immediately start looking for would be the Guzzi factory 2nd front brake disc & caliper kit... The Jackal was Guzzi's attempt to boost sales by making an affordable cruiser that offered all the necessities w/ no unwanted extras. A "blank canvas" if you will for the home customizer. So it only came w/ a single front disc [cruisers not being known for braking prowess], which is really about the only necessary upgrade for the sporting rider beyond the obvious suspension fettling. Get it & enjoy!

You're right; I think those numbers were from before the Yaris or Smart (nee' Swatch) car hit the U.S. market. I still think the Penske people [smart USA] were daft for not bringing in the diesel model, which has superior performance all around to the gas model, even if it would have meant only carrying it in the other 49 states & leaving CA to suck rocks. The Scion Xb still kicks butt over most small cars because it can seat four adults reasonably comfortably. And I don't mean some 5'6" 120lb "world average" adult either, I mean real U.S. brand "I haven't seen the shy side of 6' or 200# since high school" models. Anyway, while I'm not about to defend the Hummer vs. Prius report, it did raise the point that the e-vehicle apologists like to overlook the energy involved in production of the batteries, the toxic waste status thereof, as well as the "zero emissions" myth of plug-in electrics, whose powerplant emissions are conveniently ignored. It's proving to be an interesting new millenium so far, that's for sure...

Being forewarned is like having an extra pair of appendages [four arms] so just so you know... the fuel nozzles on U.S. pumps are usually red or black for gasoline & green for diesel. Pump colors depend upon the fuel vendor's color scheme; I'm just talking about the actual nozzle. Ride on!

No, an electric car has 80% of the 40% efficiency available at the power plant, less transmission losses, which works out to... about 28% iirc. Plus the much higher costs of production, toxic waste at end of life, etc., all of which is how they figure an H2 Hummer has lower lifetime costs than a Prius. The original Scion XB [not the redesigned, uglier model that's about 1.5x the size] is still your best bet Stateside for efficiency, altho' if the Swatch car folks ever get bright & bring the euro-model diesel over then it'll be game over for the OG XB...

N-Butyl rubber is an imperfect elastomer [aren't we all?], so that when it's cold it gets hard and its hysteresis goes up [ie, "you don't back out as much as you put in" differential.] So you need to put in more holes if you live where it's cold [rainy Seattle] than where it's warm [sunny Sandy Eggo]...

My understanding is that "gifts" are not subject to VAT or import duties, hence the value of non-banking solutions like Paypal to xfer funds from one party to another trustworthy soul who can then send the 1st person a particular gift (declared as such on the customs form.) Clearly, making a regular habit of this tends to draw the attention of the authorities [esp. in Big Brother infested societies like the U.K., where you're hardly out of camera sight in any urban ctr., from recent stories - odd to think Orwell's predictions were so accurate, 50 years ago], but for the occasional purchase, a close-knit but geographically disperse community like v11lm can really leverage its membership benefit... Of course, the situation is always going to vary on a country-by-country basis; I'm sure in some situations, it's going to be more a matter of greasing the right palms than any official tax, regardless of item status, purchase vs. gift...

Downdraft; not gonna work.