Skeeve

This is because the factory-option gel seats ( & some clueless aftermarket ones) put the gel directly underneath the black vinyl seat cover, which is one of the most advanced solar energy collection technologies known to man. Ever own a VW Beetle? No, not the modern Golf w/ swoopy bodywork, I mean a Beetle, with rear 1930's aircraft engine technology, solar greenhouse window glazing, etc. One of the great surprises for new owners was sliding into 9000 deg of black vinyl upholstery on a warm summer day. Now, put a bucket of water under the seat as a thermal mass. That's your friends' gel seats. Now, a properly constructed gel seat put a layer of the wonderfully insulative closed- or open-cell foam between the vinyl solar collector and the gel thermal mass. Which not only keeps your wedding tackle from roasting on a hot day, but keeps them from retreating into your abdominal cavity on a cold one...

I was beginning to think I was the only one who remembered the Banana Splits!

I'm w/ Pete: if it's been sitting 25 years in a barn, you're going to want to do a partial tear down anyway just to get the accumulated munt out of it; just replace the dang springs as a preventative measure & be done with it!

Sorry to keep riding this same hobby horse, but it's all in the combustion chamber shape/design. The high numbers you're quoting are coming from the Sposta mill after Erik Buell got his hands on it, and dug up some old heads H-D had tucked away in their ex-development racing parts supply. Anyway, a little work on the porting [care of the old Jerry Branch heads] and some "modern" [only 50+ y.o. Ricardo concepts applied] combustion chambers, and hey presto: good power AND good mileage! Have you noticed that Daimler-Chrysler trademarked the "Hemi" name, even tho' none of their motors actually have hemi heads anymore? Piaggio has put a bunch of money into bringing out the new QV motor, but they could easily update the 2v heads w/ bathtub chambers, keep the dual plugs and get up into the 50mpg realm, w/ only a minor amount of redesign involved. Who knows, maybe they're already working on that?

Thermistor. Thyristors are necessary to make atom bombs, completely useless for fuel senders, AFAIK! Good point tho', about keeping the resistance in that circuit stable...

As someone else pointed out, the engine, if running/undamaged, will usually sell for more as a complete unit. The ECU is usually sold separate, as is a PCIII. Any other bits are usually onesy-twosey... Sorry about your mishap, but you'll probably make a lot of friends by the time you're done!

Yep, the old Softails w/ their rigid-mount motors have built in shift marks: when your feet vibrate off the footboards, it's time to shift up! Thank heavens H-D finally got wise and came out w/ a counter-balanced version of their BT motor: now the Softails can finally go on the long rides w/ any of the rubber-glide models and not hold things up stopping/going back to pick up the parts that vibed off! The rubber-mounting of the Sposta motor was also another giant leap for Harley-kind: yes, it added 50 unwanted pounds to the curb wt. of the motorcycle, but it metamorphed the Sportster from being a paint-shaker mounted in a mini-bike frame to something that's livable. I never could stand'em before, 'cause you had the wring their necks to get anywhere fast, and doing so gave you double-vision from all the shaking. Yeah, yeah, I know: the serious Harley freaks would call me a pussy, but AFAIC, if it doesn't work for me, then it's not a buying option. The newer Harleys work much better than anything prior to the FXRS [well, except for the FXD series, but that was engineered from the accountants' office... ]

I think "official production" dates are '77-'79 (model years, so available from late '76 to '81 or whenever the last '79s disappeared...), but the cool "siamesed" exhaust headers were only '77-'78, iirc. I always liked the XLCR too: as a styling exercise, it was one of Willie G's finest hours. Too bad the components didn't live up to the promise [wooden brakes, ironhead Sposta mill, etc.] H-D could do a "repop" of the XLCR [hey, it's the 30th anniversary right now! ] w/ the far superior Evo Sporty mill, the new better tranny, their new better brakes, etc. etc. and probably sell a bunch of'em to those Cusp'ers & GenX'ers like me who have fond memories of the XLCR & other cafe racers of the day who just aren't into the "Harley scene" like their predominantly Boomer demographic is. Heck, they might even snare a few of the Boomers who've so far resisted buying a Harley... As far as Harley models I've liked, it's a pretty short list: Like Carl Allison pointed out, the XR750 is a serious bike. But for $10k, all you get is an engine, in pieces, in a box? Oy vey! The XR1000 was the only street-legal over-square Harley motor sold until one of the Buells came along to alter that score. Of course, it can be argued it's still the only one, since Buells are under a different nameplate, but the MoCo owns them too, so... Anyway, it was a pretty raw, basic bike, w/ the two carbs on the right side making it look kinda lop-sided from above, but had performance that no other Harley could match until recently. That's why Erik Buell used the XR1000 mill in his Thor's Hammer BoT racer. The FatBoy did just what it's name was selected to indicate: dropped the Big One one all the J-Brand (metric) cruisers. It's still Willie G's most successful styling exercise. The RoadKing [pre '98] was my fave just about as soon as it saw light of day. Suited to transcon riding, but w/o all the frippery of the FLHTCUIALDIASDFKLKSDAF models: just your basic all rounder. Windshield easily removed for day2day boulevard cruising. Why to I specify pre '98? Because that was the year Harley decided to pursue the midget market and lowered all their already-low seat heights across the board [by up to 2" in some cases!] This means the pre '98 RK is suited to someone of LES stature, while the later models are well-suited to torture those of us built on the more "all American corn-fed boy" scale of things. It was truly a tragedy of less-than-gigantic proportions [unless you were one of those built on less-than-average proportions who'd been hankering for a Road King: then it was a god-send! ] Oddly enough, the model revamp turned the previously uncomfortable FatBoy into something decent for me, so on that other "pick," it's post '98 for me! My best friend's FLSTS(?) w/ the custom red-flame on bare metal f/x paint job. It is truly a beautiful bike, and w/ the counterbalanced motor Harley finally put in their "Softail" frames, it's a decent ride. The springer front end really works over normal road ripples [yes, lack of suspension travel, front OR rear will do you in over major road hazards, but that's what counter-steering is for! ] and w/ the counterbalanced motor, you can finally run at highway speeds w/o detaching a retina. Plus the wide-tired front end is a truly "classic" look that the FXSTS(?) models have never had (& why none of the FX models have ever appealed to me.) I still wish Harley would bring a real VR1000 to market, cut the Buell nonsense, who cares if it's 10 years past it's sell-by date, the VRSC nonsense just doesn't do justice to that motor! But none of the above can touch a LeMans, LMII/III/IV/V, 1000S, Spot/Sporti, Daytona RS or v11LeMans in looks (& for the most part, in performance either!) so for now, they'll just have to live in my dream garage, since I don't have the money to have all the bikes I want ["curse you Jay Leno!" /Snoopy ]

Well Ratch', I'll try: We know that neoprene [general use "rubber"] compounds tend to alter their attributes significantly over time as they age and oxidize, so a material generally known to exhibit less of this trait [as in urethanes] would be nice. As far as "proper" level of cush goes, since it has been established by those more expert than I that by drilling the stock rubber wedges, the drivetrain will last longer and provide a more agreeable ride, then something approaching this level of pliability without the necessity of providing extra aeration would seem to be ideal. Thirdly, a compound that exhibits less hysteresis, ie, more perfect elasticity, would mean that the energy absorbed during the power pulse would be more completely recaptured during periods of [for lack of better phrase] "slack" time, ergo, better [altho' probably immeasurable] efficiency. [but let's not forget that the lower heat levels generated would likely beneficially affect the consistency & longevity, even if the efficiency delta is too small to measure!] And let's not ignore longevity: all these attributes combined into a product that has to be changed every time you have the rear tire off still wouldn't interest me: I just don't want to have to shell out for it more than once every 100,000 miles! Now, this is a LOT of cake to both "have" & "eat" it too! But since in the case of some "ideal cush drive" having it is eating it, in the sense that it is something used in the having thereof, yet is not used up in the process [unlike cake! ] Does any of that make sense? Probably not, & for that I'm truly sorry!

And after x amount of time exposed to the high heat levels of racing, the tires lose their flexibility ["traction"] & need to be replaced, regardless of how much rubber may [or may not] be remaining. Were you thinking something *besides* the heat they're exposed to affected the tires' traction? Lest anyone think the hysteresis of the rubber has any special mojo, let us remember that other methods to relieve the shock loads on drivelines have been successfully used in the past, materials with [comparatively speaking] no hysteresis, like spring steel. In this instance, the easiest, lightest & least failure prone method was by sticking a bunch of rubber wedges into the drive hub. But their imperfect elasticity is not likely to be a particularly advantageous trait, only their ability to absorb the spike loads and redistribute them over time. This entire thread is beyond academic for me, since I'm fully cognizant that there is unlikely to ever be a more cost-effective alternative to drilling the stock rubber pie pieces. But I'll be happy to go on observing, in the hopes that something offering superior performance [in terms of providing the "proper" level of cush w/o having to modify it] may arise from this turmoil.

Not contesting the rest of your post, 'Ratch: I've been kinda sitting over here quietly chuckling to m'self over all the nonsense that's been issuing forth on this topic, but not so much as you, I expect! WRT hysteresis, I think we would ideally want something w/ less hysteresis ("H") than rubber [which is known for being a high H material, generally], since the greater the hysteresis, the greater the energy lost to heat from H during the cycle. And heat [along w/ oxidation, something a well-greased set of cush drive wedges will be somewhat protected therefrom] is what kills rubber's flexibility. Hence the interest in alternative materials like urethane compounds, which are generally known to be more heat & oxidation resistant than common neoprene-type rubbers [but I cannot comment on relative traits of H, since I don't know.] Resilience, plasticity, deformability are all properties that will be of value in a cush drive, to remove the f/x of sudden loads on the driveline and spread out the forces over time. Hysteresis (to my admittedly imperfect knowledge) is related to the loss (or conversion) of energy during an input/output cycle, and since we're dealing w/ a powerplant that doesn't produce all the rip-snorting power of the competition, it behooves us not to waste it on producing waste heat if we can avoid doing so. Maybe the answer is the material they make (made?) superballs out of? That stuff seemed to get all the energy input back out again when I was a kid bouncing them in the driveway over the house to my friend on the other side. Put some o' that in your cush drive & smoke it!

1) It wouldn't, straight up. But the Harley guy didn't understand? know? that in drag races, power/weight ratio = everything, so by loading his bike down w/ himself AND his gf, he was severely affecting the power/wt ratio of his (already bloated) V-Rod to the point where a competently ridden V11 could beat him. He also is very likely to have been short-shifting his V-Rod (as many H-D riders are wont to do), instead of revving the thing 'til it bounces off the rev limiter. The V-Rod makes 120 ponies, sure, but it makes them up high, much higher than the old school Harley Big Twins. 2) The cafe racer you're thinking of was Sportster too. So you can just say "The only H.D's I ever liked were the Sportsters" and be correct. Ride on!

I happened to be south-bound in a cage on the 405 passing the Long Beach/Carson area yesterday (Feb 19) around 5pm and saw a Mandello Rosso in the diamond lane (making much better time than me, naturally!) Was that anyone here on v11LM.com?

Wait... you mean... it's a bodge!?!

[emphasis added] Only in some other language than English. Ratch' has it right when he has the pic of the guy riding thru a creek captioned "this is a steering dampener."

Ditto. Problem w/ the Buell stalks is that they have an angle cast into them; this leads to the "droopy antenna" look when mounted on my LeMans. The stock stalks are straight, no angle, but too short. Unfortunately, the only way to get the extra long rubber boots is to purchase the entire assembly; otherwise, it would be almost as easy to just take the stock units, cut/thread/add a section of all-thread rod under the longer boot. Who knows? Maybe there's a product hiding in here, just waiting to get out? Do Buell owners complain that *their* mirror mounts are too short?

Not saying you're gouging, Ryland! Just that given I'd already ponied up for a complete set of the GEI relays, I only need 1 of yours. Yes, yours are better. Just not *enough* better for me to shell out the dosh for them right now. I don't want to bore you w/ my tiresome tale of financial ruin. Let's just say my gf just got a new job after almost 2 years of my providing more than 50% of her support, and I gross below the median income for So. Cal. So there's light at the end of the tunnel. But it's very likely too late to prevent me from having to declare bankruptcy this year. Que sera sera! As far as my unrealistic price for the "new & imp'd" urethane wedges: yes, I know that there's no chance of making that price. That's my point! Until the price point gets that low, it's going to be mighty hard to compete against the "drill & reinstall" routine on the stock wedges. But if he can get it close to that price point, then he'll have even the naysayers getting in line to say "Well done, & where is my set?!?"

WD-40 is also a popular "adhesive remover," but I'd hesitate to use the Ronsonol w/o checking that it won't harm the finish. It's mostly naptha, after all.

The Big Bore Griso is old news around here - only drawback is the price. Guzzi going to a 1400cc cruiser & tourer? Entirely plausible: stroking the new bigger bore 1200 2v motor makes sense, esp. for a cruiser: Harley sets the pace there, & if their BTs are 1388cc [or whatever they've gone to lately], then it just makes sense to compete on a level playing field. Since the pushrod valve actuation sets a redline limit anyway, it doesn't make too much sense for Guzzi to go w/ a short-stroke design, vs. Ducati & their desmo' valve train. To paraphrase: "Stroke them, Centuwion! Stroke them gweatly!" The new QV motor, fortunately, will respond to bigger bores/shorter strokes in a better fashion, so there's hope for a revvy/sporty new LeMans yet! Ironically, offering the Stelvio w/ the QV is kind of counter-intuitive, since a big trailie needs torque more than top end, but whatever!

Check your grounds. Intermittent high rpm misses are usually electrical; either grounds or bad coils. [Not that I'm an expert; just read a lot of motorcycle "letters to the mechanic" articles over the years... ]

Please do! I'm very interested in what would be required to connect the vacuum taps to the fuel pump [located inside the tank!] safely. Really not interested in fuel leaks of any type, esp. pressurized! I imagine that this additional complexity might have been what led Guzzi to just delete the connection when they submerged the fuel pump to resolve the vapor-lock issue... I'll await your report!

Good point! I forgot the Guzzi oil pump is positive displacement! Ergo, the higher pressure from the higher viscosity would just mean you're blowing the o.p. relief valve sooner, but the oil is still circulating. Forget I said anything!

Well, if you change the ex. pipe dia., you'll definitely need to adjust the fuel map! BTW, the R.o.T. on ex. pipe diameters is no more than 115% of the valve area, iirc. Easy calcs w/ a single valve, the pi's get eaten , & you can just use the valve dia. So given a 39mm ex. valve, that would mean a 45mm or 1.77" ex. pipe... what do ya know! 1&3/4" is right on the money! Maybe Guzzi knew what they were about after all?

Is this a new punchline to the old joke about Heaven & Hell? In Heaven: The police are English The engineers are German The bankers are Swiss The cooks are French The lovers are Italian In Hell: The police are German The engineers are French The bankers are Italian The cooks are English The lovers are Swiss Hey, I don't write'em! Blame it on the writers' strike! [Yes, it's entirely dependent upon stereotypes, but for a 50 year old joke, it's still got legs as long as you're familiar w/ the basis for the stereotypes (which are vanishing in this age of ever increasing globalization...)]