Skeeve

Not just enny ol' gaudy windscreen; that looks like a repop of a LM1 windscreen, sorta kinda if you squint just right & look at it in a certain light... Kinda neat, tying the V11 back to the archetype that way...

I have the Nolan N100E (unfortunately, purchased about 30 days before they came out with the added solar shield thingy, seen in the foto above; at 1/3 the cost of a replacement helmet to retrofit it, I figured I could get by until it was time to replace the helmet...) If you're going to buy a Nolan modular, I strongly advise you to buy the new N102! The N100 suffers from several design flaws, such that I prefer the $90 Zeus modular I got prior to the Nolan [to test if a modular was right for my needs; it was, & furthermore, I ain't never goin' back! ] Among the improvements to the N102 are a revised latch system, so a single central release button does the job [instead of being forced to use the left-side release on the N100 [Nolan provides a rt-side button, but it only functions in a "helper" mode, to relieve some of the force required to undo the left-side latch... ], and from the appearance, it seems Nolan may have also changed the airflow to the inside faceshield [the N100, with the "fog-free" additional inner shield, fogs about as badly as the Zeus did w/o any special treatments, yet is a noisier helmet besides!] If I sound unhappy w/ the Nolan N100, please be advised that I'm mostly displeased with the unjustified superlative reviews it rec'd. in the moto press that led me to its purchase, rather than the helmet itself. It's an O.K. helmet for the price, but nothing to get particularly excited about. I *really* dislike the ski-boot buckle chin-strap fastening system, since it's both uncomfortable & precludes the use of the helmet with almost all helmet locks, unless you spend additional money for a special piece of hardware [a piece of stamped stainless plate that costs the maker about 5cents ea. in large lots, which Nolan wants another $10 for in addition to the helmet, instead of including it with the helmet as they should do due to their lack of foresight in not using the nearly universal D-ring style of chin strap...] All that said, I'm very interested in upgrading to the new N102, as soon as I can afford it. Nolan does build a quality product; I'm very happy with the fit & finish & durability the N100 had demonstrated in use, it's just some of the details of implementation that have left me less than completely satisfied. Overall, I give the N100 a grade of B, so it's clearly better than average, just not an A or A- helmet. But I clearly expect the new N102 to get a B+ at least, & maybe higher. Ride on!

Raised by wolves, you know how it is; gotta learn where the best game trails are & how to hunt...

Newsflash(es): #1: The U.S. isn't a democracy, it's a republic. The founders understood that democracies inevitably fail when the have nots discover that they can vote themselves into riches from the collective purse of the haves. #2: Fascists are socialists (ie, politically left); please get your facts straight before slinging your ad hominem arguments around... #3: I never said I didn't trust the political process [altho' the leftists are striving to scuttle even that by mandating "electronic voting" so they can control the results even more completely than their current control of the media allows. Look up "Diebold" & "Venezuela elections" for a quick education if you're clueless as to what I'm nattering on about...] #4: For those who failed U.S. History 101: the founders recognized that the nature of govt. is to grow beyond reasonable limits, and hence, the only way to keep it in check was a populace capable of resistance, hence, the 2nd Amendement to our Constitution. Sorry if this bores the non-U.S. guzzisti to tears, but it helps to keep our biases in mind when engaging in an argument between citizens & subjects. Ride on!

Ceteris paribus, more squish is better (generally.) Why? At a given compression ratio, the larger the squish band, the smaller the combustion chamber. Detonation & preignition are closely related to combustion chamber size, so the smaller you can make the combustion chamber, the higher the C.R. you can sustain. (Up to a limit, which for petrol-burners is around 15:1, iirc: above this, you should just plan from the start on burning exotic fuels or diesel...) Hube, ol' buddy! Squish is all swirl (it's like blowing a smoke-ring; all that gas squirts in from the edges @ once & sets up a huge amount of turbulence...); no targets are necessary! As for the static C.R. vs. dynamic: since nobody is talking about swapping cams, the C.R. numbers for static is a convenient point of comparison. Yes, if the cam is changed to something w/ more overlap, then the dynamic C.R. is going to be decreased, & higher C.R. pistons would be in order to just to stay even w/ the stock setup [the engine must be treated as a whole, not just individual pieces...] but since nobody has gone off on that tangent yet & I'm pretty certain we're all still talking about changing the pistons while leaving the stock cam in place, we can ignore all that & go back to our arguing...

Absolutely! Leaning the intake as stated is due to the lower density of hot air making for less fuel needed for available oxygen, but at a certain point, the "flash cooling" of the intake air by evaporation of the fuel charge leads to greater charge density, & hence either a surplus of oxygen (& propensity to ping) under hot conditions or greater power (if the additinal fuel needed is available.) Well, the higher the altitude the higher the compression can be before pinging (due to decreased charge density.), so you're on the right track again there...

Rite-Aid or CVS; talk the sales-droid @ the register & let them know that you're going to raid the fingernail polish racks for a match to your bike's paint; offer to leave your helmet w/ them so they'll be comfortable w/ you running out the door w/ 3 or 4 bottles of polish to hold up against the bike. Usually cheaper than the auto-parts paint vials, easier to match due to clear bottles vs. some printed label , and a huge plethora of subtle variations from which to choose. Of course, if you've got a Sephora nearby, that would be t!ts, since their selection is about the biggest you'll find. Best o' luck!

You mean, this? That inverted egg-poacher oil pickup looks like an easy bolt-on, so that at least could be retro-fitted to a V11 mill; the barrier defining the "sump within the sump" can be made out in the photo. Quite frankly, I think your sloppage sheet might turn out to be even be more effective than Guzzi's somewhat-less-than-final-but-surely- further-down-that-road-than-the-V11s resolution to the oil-starvation problem for the quotards...

[Ob: Guzzi content] Hence, Dr. John's instructions to his rider(s?) during his endurance-racing days: "Just finish!" [/Ob: Guzzi]

Lookin' purdy! Are all the (just eyeballin' it) 1cm dia. holes for bolts, & the various larger holes for fittings, galleries, etc? Just curious; I realize that you don't have time to be messing about with explaining what does what to a bunch of armchair mechanics what with trying to get everything taken care of before your trip! Thanks for throwing the pic on the site; it's a real bonus since we all know you must be too busy to breathe right now... Safe travels!

IIRC, all the O2 sensors use a standard 18mm pipe (ie, tapered) thread fitting, but don't quote me on it...

I suspected as much. But the bolt pattern & oil galleries match, apparently, & that's pretty key for... (Mr. Burns emoticon, rubbing hands together) Exxxxcellent! I love it when a plan (or complete lack thereof) comes together! (w/ apologies to George Peppard...) "Piss-fart" HC pistons? Wonderful metaphors, as always, Pete! Yes, I'm not a huge fan of committing myself to pinging on CA's lackluster premium fuel, so that's all good... Not a fan of the twin-plugging; I consider it more of a band-aid than a real cure. I'll have to talk to M.R., as you suggest, but I'd rather go more toward a bathtub design chamber than the twin-plugs. And as much as I'd like to go w/ Cliff's My15M, I think the more cost-effective route will be to utilize the stock ECU w/ a Tune-Boy to doctor the map. We shall see; right now, this is all pie-in-the-sky as my gf recently melted down my truck motor so I'm going to have to dump a wheelbarrowful of the old cash-OLA into that before throwing money at a bike that already runs just fine! Thanks for the insight! As always, V11LM comes thru! Ride on,

O.K., how's this? How/can/what's needed - to fit a pair of heads from a 1984 T5? (squarehead) 850 on a V11 motor? I'm sure the valves are different sizes, so replacing seats is in order if wanting to upgrade the valves [but may be pointless if the idea is just a short-term swap to maintain bike useability while the stock heads are being sent to Mike Rich or something...] But anyway, back to the topic: can this work, & if so, easily or only after a huge migrainous headache?

In order: 1: Mogadishu is a violent area undergoing civil war with a bunch of competing power factions. Gun control isn't going to solve anything, because there is no central govt. imposing it; that's what the fighting is all about: who's going to become that govt. imposing their will upon the poor shmucks w/o any means to fight back! 2: Good for you recognizing your personal limits. I would have very little personal quibbles with pulling the trigger on someone seeking to do me or mine harm. Sorry, but congenital stupidity simply must be considered a capital crime if society is to progress. We've systematically eliminated all the natural predators that thinned our herds; ever since, we've been devolving. I guess I'm just a social Darwinist... 3: Madmen are nuts: they're going to do people harm whether or not they have access to firearms. In fact, the argument can be made that a lot fewer people are killed by madmen than would otherwise come to harm by them for the simple reason that firearms aren't as easy to shoot as they seem to be in the movies, and madmen fortunately don't get to the range and practice that often! After all, on those occasions when someone goes nuts behind the wheel of a car or truck, the deaths & injuries are usually in the double digits, vs. the normal low singles for gun-wielding nutjobs... 4: The reason the gun-lobby is so extreme is because the anti-freedom nuts are not interested in stopping with banning one type of firearm, etc. It starts off with "ban military look-alikes" and ends with "ban air rifles!" - no, wait: it ends with "ban knives with points!" - no, wait: it ends with "ban cricket bats for minors!" - no, wait: it doesn't end. "Do it for the children..." Bite me! Selling the kids into slavery by not standing up to these b@stards is not an acceptable course of action! As a responsible firearm owner, I absolutely demand the right to own military type firearms: the entire point of this exercise is to have the ability to say "Not here, not today" when the govt. gets out of hand. Who the heck is going to stop the looters when L.A. riots and the police hide out in their headquarters? History tells us, it'll be the shop owners up on the roofs who'll protect their property, not the govt! "Protect & serve" is just a PR slogan, it has nothing at all to do w/ reality... Fortunately, we all can agree on owning motorcycles!

Quite fugly indeed... What I completely fail to comprehend, is why everyone putting these things on persists in using round headlights for that dreadful Bug Eyed Monster look... A pair of rectangular lights would look at least as good, could be mounted ladder-style, and aimed separately for total coverage. Hmm, I'm liking the thought of this more & more... I do like the look of paired cateye lights in a fairing, & the "road presence" of a dual-headlight bike at dusk or night is much better than an old-school single light, so there is that to be said for them. But the BEM has to go! On an added note: at least stateside, it's not legal for a vehicle to have 3 headlights [i can't recall if this is a CA-only thing or Federal; it's probably something that dates back to the 50s when the big Detroit car makers were trying to shut Tucker out of the car-building biz...]; got to be in pairs or quads (or one.) So that's it for all the concept bikes that keep showing up w/ 3 headlights on'em...

Yeah but... what's Piaggio charging for a set of stock replacements? Not much less (if at all!) I'm sure...

1st: You shoulda made this a poll! 2nd: I don't dislike it, but I'm not a huge fan of extra puffery that serves no particular function, ie: if they kept stuff from interfering with the thottle linkages or helped shed water to keep it from messing w/ the TB electrics, great. Otherwise, I'm not much interested. 3rd: It needs to match the color of the tank or be painted Italiano tricolor [base white, w/ red & green outlining pinstripes.] Or chrome it. But the battleship grey has got to go! Ride on!

Which they did do with the redesigned cases for the Brevona/Griso/Norks, Norges....

Euro 3 is both smog & noise; air-cooled bikes have a hard time meeting emissions, as well as noise, simply because they have to have looser tolerances between moving parts [think piston & cylinder] to prevent seizing once hot, as well as not having a water jacket round everything to quiet the engine noises. Accordingly, you can figure: Redesigned cam [less valve overlap; think the old "CA spec" vs "49 state" cams in Evo H-Ds...] Cat-cons in the mufflers [as all post-'02 v11s had...] More restrictive airbox [to lessen intake noise during the drive-by sound tests] More restrictive mufflers [same as above, but these are also heavier than less-restrictive mufflers...] I know during the '90s, it was relatively easy to take a

Funny, none of the people who came out to find their bikes lying on the pavement after the sidestand self-retracted said that...

Unless I miss my guess, it's that funny draw-out lump of steel that connects the gearbox with the rear drive hub, sometimes called "a driveshaft w/ 2 universal joints innit.."

I still stand firm on the fact that this is blown WAY out of proportion to other factors: tread wear, grip, etc. etc. Mixing bias & radial is a totally different critter: iirc, there's only one motorcycle that was ever spec'd. for that combo, the Africa Twin? Anyway, there's bad juju in that area, but mixing similar radials isn't so much of a problem, at least for 90% of the world. Let's face it: if you're going to be riding at 10/10ths on the track or 9/10s on public roads, then yes, you absolutely owe it to yourself & others to eliminate the risk by having matching tires. For my riding needs, where I rarely exceed the posted limit by more than 10mph and ride well within my capabilities on a daily commute, then milking all the wear out of the tires justifies running a mismatched set that nevertheless meets the manufacturer's specs. I've ridden a Conti rear w/ a Metzler front, vice-versa, and expect I'll be running some other combo [maybe a Bridgerock rear w/ a Metz front soon on the commuter bike] before I need to replace both tires at the same time again. When I avg. rears needing repl. at 6k miles and fronts between 8 & 10k, then clearly I'd be sacrificing 1/4 or more of the wear on the fronts if I replaced them "to match" the rear... Like I said, for most purposes, this issue is blown all out of proportion to it's real signficance. Ride on!

The Diablo Strada outperforming the Metz Z6 on wet roads would be entirely due to the siping, since they're otherwise the same tire. Outperforming the Z4 in any conditions wouldn't be too hard; iirc, it's design brief predates Pirelli's acquisition of Metzler, & anyway, it has been supplanted by the Z6. Z2? Wasn't that the supposed replacement for the Z1 that was so abominably bad that nobody has ever bothered with it? Again, with the advancements made in motorcycle tires since the coming of the radial age, matching a 10 y.o. racing tire against even a touring tire that's up to the minute is hardly fair to the older design. Stating that "Metzlers aren't compatible with Guzzis" is ridiculous. While I don't like Z4s in the wet on any bike, on dry, unpainted road they're quite happy. So far, the Z6s mounted on the same bike (non-Guzzi) are superior in every respect: handling, roadholding, longevity, whatever. Ride on,

STOP THAT THIS INSTANT! Don't you know some of us are at work & haven't been to lunch yet? You're making me hungry!!!

(pics deleted for brevity) Awesome! Thanks, Greg. 1/4" divisions on the graph paper? Much appreciated,