Lex

This is interesting. Most motorcycle companies will not warranty a bearing after 5K miles. Now the notoriously unresponsive MGNA is covering a set at 10K. Add the fact that I think I may be finally getting a very old warranty issue resolved (more on that as it progresses) and one has to wonder what is going on. Is MGNA finally figuring out treating customers like annoying problems rather then people who keep your company in business is not a good way to run things? Will the Breva really blow away the clouds of poor customer service? Be still my heart! Lex

Thanks for the interesting comments. First, Hogjocky, either you run the big wide open on the autobahn or there is something very wrong. I'm not an expert on Guzzis but if I were you I'd either start going through the normal checks (TPS adjustment, TB sync, are the sensors sending good information, etc.) or find somebody who does know what they are doing and have them look things over. It may be that I am stuck with 33 MPG but 23 MPG is ridiculous. jrt: I have played with leaning out the PC III a bit and the bike does respond with a little better mileage. The problem is the adjustments on the three buttons on the PC III are so gross that I start to get pinging if I go far enough to improve the mileage. I could also mess with the map but the number of possible adjustments (128 cells, if I counted right) makes that a very long trial and error process. I think the answer is a custom map, I don't think I have many more things to try. If I'm wrong I'll be out $200 and have a bike that runs better. If I'm right I'll have a bike that runs better and I can stop sweating when gas stops are 150 miles (or more) apart. You are also right comparing the 'ol Goose to the modern wonder bike isn't fair. It just seems weird to take a bike that is as big as cars in some countries (my first trip to New Zealand I had a little 850 cc triple rent-a-car, it got better mileage than the Guzzi and was a blast on dirt roads ;-) when I need more range, the tanks are not that much different but the fat bike goes much farther on a fill. Big J: I have the PC III to make adjustment to the pulse width to the injectors, I don't need to get into the ECU. Since my "local" dealer is 250 miles from here that is a good thing. Richard100T: I have a loop I test on, it is about 100 miles and mix tight two laners, more open two laners and a fair amount of freeway. The weird thing is that the bike gets about the same mileage riding semi-aggressively on the back roads and on the flat, straight and boring. This makes me thing the bike is rich in the small throttle/ lower RPM part of the map and not to far off at big throttle openings and higher RPM. Again, I'm just guessing. The only thing that seems to improve the mileage is a hot day, my two 37 MPG tanks were both done on days where it was over 90 degrees F. Again, thanks for the input. Looks like I'll be making an appointment with the tuning link shop tomorrow. I'll let you know how it goes. Lex

Brian, I haven't had the bike on a dyno or used a sniffer yet but I have trouble believing the mufflers being covered with black deposits of unburned fuel is normal, even for what Todd E. call "A fuel cooled" engine. The touring restrictors in my muffler look like they came out of a two-stroke. A riding buddy even commented on smelling fuel following me down a twisty road. I understand this is an old fashion, air cooled, two-valve hemi engine but it is strange the mileage would be this bad. Even my R100GS (mild tuning but short gearing, horrible aerodynamics, etc.) got in the high thirties in cruise mode. Just bumping compression to 9.5 to 1 got a friend's GS solidly in the forties in touring conditions. It gets a bit twilight zone-ish when my (admittedly modern engined) behemoth K1200LT almost never get below 45 MPG and my Goose struggles to go 2/3 as far on a gallon of fuel. FWIW, a friend with an identical bike reports high thirties to low forties. I expect crappy mileage with the throttle open on a fast road but it should do better on a mellow ride. I think the signs point to very rich mixture at least at some point in the map. I'll know more when I get it on a dyno. Lex

LE does rebuild the Sachs shock. I've had mine re-valved, re-sprung and am happy with the result. YMMV. Lindemann Engineering

All, I've gotten poor mileage from my V11 for some time, basically since it was anything but stock. One of the things that I kept coming back to was that my fuel pressure could be too high. The little lever on the right side of the gas tank where the return line is located has been bumped around a lot. I've done everything else (set the TPS, used many maps in my PC III, leaned out the maps, changed air filters, spark plugs, checked the sensors, etc) without much improvement. My best tanks (did it twice) were ~37 MP (American) G. Both done on hot days on straight, flat roads with too much police presence to ride much over the speed limit. Virtually all other tanks were 32 to 33 MPG. I even ran through a tank with the "touring restrictors" removed from my Staintunes, no improvement. It was bit too loud for me but it did sound nice on the back roads. Before anyone asks why an American cares about fuel mileage, I have three reasons. First; I'm thrifty (OK, cheap), I don't mind spending money but I hate to throw it away. Second; there are places I like to go were my max range of 150 miles per tank (130 to the fuel light, in 20 miles I start to sweat) just isn't enough. Third; I hate to see any more junk get put in the air than necessary. To my point, I made a simple pressure tester to check my system. The good and bad news is that the adjuster lever only adjust over a very small range. Even spinning it 360 degrees didn't put the pressure out of the "3 Bar + or - 0.3 Bar stetting. Don't waste any time worrying about the lever, put it in the middle of the range and you will be fine. Conclusion: I need a custom map for my PC III. It looks like I found a semi close place (~ 50 miles) with the tuning link software. I wanted to try all the other possibilities, I'd hate to pay for a map and find my bike had a mechanical problem and the map wasn't right work when it was fixed. Lex

Just a note to folks planning to go to the MotoGP at Laguna Seca: In the US only: The last day to order tickets and have them mailed to you is Friday. After that you have to do the will call thing at some hotel. See Laguna web site for more details. Sunday only tickets are $55 each plus a $5 handling fee. PS. If you haven't been there Laguna's weather this time of year is pretty consistent, it changes consistently. Plan on temps from well above freezing and foggy to very hot and sunny. The weather will probably be both on a given day. I'll be in a car ( ) but maybe some of the real men might want to meet some place and have a little MG Spine Frame parking area. See ya, Lex

I agree throwing things on the track was a truly classless act. I do have to wonder if things would have been any different in any other country. I've seen European fans throw things a racers in the past. Every country has its share a goons. Lex

OK, you have to give Michelin some of the blame but remember the STUPID FIA rules (grooved tires, run one set from qualifying to end of race) are a lot of why everybody is having tire problems this year. BTW, if still want to blame the French remember FIA doesn't stand for Fred's International Autoshow. Federation Internationale de l'Automobile. Check out their site to see their brilliant solution for the problem "Just tell your driver to go slower in turn 13". Does anyone with a functioning brain think a top level racer is going to let people blow past him in a turn during a race? I heard the phrase "dumb as a box of rocks" (not directed at me, for once) at work last week. The FIA proves people can be DUMBER than a box of rocks. Lex

OK, as much as I appreciate you guys all using English (I couldn't understand you otherwise) I have to whine a little here. The word is JUGS not tits. "Jugs" is American slang for both cylinders (I punched the jugs on my Chevy 40 thou over) and a woman's breasts (She's got nice jugs). I've never heard of an engines cylinders being called tits in English, they maybe in another language but not English. The joke is a word play. A Guzzi has high jugs (cylinders) and a BMW has droopy jugs, OK? Back in curmudgeon mode. Sorry, it just comes over me sometimes. Lex

Mark, I (and maybe a few others) will meet you at about 11:30 Parkfield. Not a lot of Guzzis around here, it might be just me. Lex

Mark, What time will you be in Parkfield? I'd like to come up and meet your group. Maybe we could get a few other Guzzi folks from SLO to meet you guys. Where do you plan to have lunch? The Loading Cute in Creston is not far, has outstanding food and is on a great road (229). Lex

I can't be of much help overall (never owned an AGV) I may be able to help as far as fit. I have a definite "Shoei head" (I wear a Shoei RF1000) and popped on an AGV a couple of weeks ago at a local dealership. The fit was very similar to the Shoei. Fit/ finish, vents etc. are another story but if a Shoei fits there is a good chance the AGV will fit. I hope this is helpful, Lex

Todd is correct, I am not. My ancient eyes have betrayed me again. I saved the file, blew it up and now I can see the torque and HP sides are not to the same scale. While I question why someone would do this it doesn't change the fact that the curves would cross at the same correct point if the scales were the same. I guess another sign of old age is not understanding why people replace a simple convention, used for many years, with a complex solution that makes it virtually impossible to see the relationship between HP, torque and RPM for no gain that I can see. In any case, my error, sorry. I'm afraid I'd just watched two episodes of Penn and Teller's B*llshit! and was over ready to discover fakes and charlatans. Helicopter Jim, The conventional formula is to divide by 5250, see HP info for more info. Is the 5454 number used in some other formula? Since 5250 is a constant replacing a complex series of calculations I can see how there could be another number but I can't figure out how it would result in the same HP figure unless there is a correction someplace else. Lex

aj, I hate to be a buzz kill but your dyno sheet is junk. By definition HP and torque curves must cross at a bit over 5000 RPM (HP = ((torque) (RPM)) / 5250) and the lines on this sheet cross at nearly 7K RPM. I would be very concerned to be dealing with an "expert" who gave you this useless crap. Have a long talk with these people before you spend any more money. Lex

I feel some need to start out by saying I don't dislike Harleys as much as some seem to, I just intently dislike a segment of the people who ride them. Anyway, after years of taking abuse about trailer queens and such the idiot contingent of the HD crowd has found the ultimate solution: A "Motorcycle" Rally during which you CAN'T actually ride a motorcycle! Why do I think the those dimwits from American Chopper will be there? Check out Hogs on the High Seas. I've been waiting for some one to post this nonsense, but it looks like the more active posters have something else to talk about. If I missed this, sorry for the duplicate but this is too funny to miss. Lex

MGNA is still saying $11,990 USD, add bags and a small windshield and it would probably be around $14K OTD. Expensive but not too bad these days. Personally, I'm more worried about the comment "Apparently the motor is revvy (lighter internals) & doesn't have the bottom end or mid range of the older bikes". If that is compared to the cruisers that sounds fine, if that is compared to the V11 sport motor that is not fine, it seems like it takes away much of what I like about my Sport. A part of the reason I don't ride Japanese bikes is their insistence on setting up their engines for race tracks, light flywheel and tuned for top end power. I think the V11 motor is a great compromise, enough low end and flywheel to be fun to ride slow and enough top end to be fun when you want to go a little faster. If MG tuned the Breva motor any "hotter" than the V11 Sport they will wind up with something I would not be interested in owning. Getting worried, Lex

I am sad to say here is San Luis Obispo County we call them the majority. The only good news is that they tend to congregate in the northern part of the county. That may be why houses cost a fair amount more in the south county. Lex

Brain, Sorry to hear about your problems but thanks for sharing them. I'd bet a lot of us will be checking the rear axle on our bike before the next ride. The thought of that happening at speed scares the $%^& out me. Lex

Sorry Robbie but Sete went wide a Rossi took advantage of it, just like in the previous corner when Rossi went wide and Sete took the lead. The first rule of corners is the inside line rules. I have to wonder why no one has mentioned that Rossi was on the inside and therefore Sete should have backed off, not Rossi. If Sete had slowed and tightened his line into that corner so Rossi couldn't get under him he would have won the race, he didn't and he lost. The worst thing about Rossi is he can beat almost everybody on the track and everybody in their head. I'm not Biaggi fan but his talent is obvious. Rossi has him pretty much destroyed him with mind games. How did Kevin Schwantz put it? "He doesn't just have his number, he has his home address". Rossi has just about got Sete in that position now. I truly hope Sete figures it out, nobody else can stay with Rossi these days. I have no ax to grind, I am a fan of both racers. In this case Rossi did what winners do, he took what he was given and made the best of it. I hope next week Sete gets a chance to get him back. Great start, I hope they keep it going to the US GP and the end of the year, Lex

Jason, Thanks for the kind words. I've been riding bikes with hard bags since the early eighties, I have experienced first hand what happens when too much weight is placed too far to the rear of a bike and it scared the sh*t out of me. I got used to bad handling in the Seventies (Kawasaki triples did amazing things totally stock and unloaded ) but having a fine handling bike turn into a beast after it was loaded incorrectly really opens your eyes. Even with a light load the very rearward position of most bags affects handling, just not as much. The right place to put the weight is just forward of your knees, that areas is full of cylinder head of the Guzzis. The mounts lock the passenger pegs in the "up" position. Rather than come up with a complex solution I just made the mounts easy to remove. Three bolts (two on the top mount and the muffler mount bolt) and all of the mounts but the small plate attached to the top of the peg/ muffler carriers are off. I never carry a passenger on the Goose, I have a K1200LT for that sort of thing. If a reason comes up I can have the mounts off in 2-3 minutes. I think the mounts will look pretty good once they are cleaned up and painted. They look rough now because they are rough, still subject to coming off and being changed is I come up with a better idea. I dream goal is to replicate the mounts in aluminum. That would look great with the silver bike and be a bit lighter. I need to improve my AC welding before I try that one. Carl: Regarding Ms. Stewart's shoe obsession... Good point, I guess I should qualify my statements. Plenty of room for non-obsessive people? Lex

And here is the bike with one of TaminatorV's bags mounted. PS, these small, simple bags looks great on the V11. I bought the "Keyless" bags (which still need a key, BTW) and they are huge. More than you need for hotel-ing but really nice for camping. If anybody has any questions I'd be happy to answer them but we might want to take this offline. Lex

As for the Givi mounts, I need to explain my "design brief" before I post the picture. 1. I ride the Guzzi solo and I didn't want the bags hanging off the back of the bike screwing up the handling. 2. In a related area, I wanted the bag as close to the center of the bike as possible. 3. I am a fair designer but not the best fabricator in town so I needed to hold the principal of KISS (Keep It Simple, Stupid) in the front of my thoughts while I was laying things out. No point in designing something I couldn't build. 3. My friend and all around nice guy TaminatorV loaned me his bags and the mounts off his VFR in exchange for making a second set for him so the design had to be repeatable. That said, here is first left side mount:

All, I got a question from "Mikeee" and tried to reply but got a bounce. I was thinking about $150 so I'll take Tomsp as an expert ont he subject. If anybody wants them let me know. I also attached a picture of the bags and mounts. Lex

All, I was either inspired or have gone completely crazy and made a set of Givi mounts for my Sport. So now I have a set of the semi-soft Tekno bags and mounts I don't need. Anybody interested before I offer them to a wider audience? They are in pretty good shape, just a bit of fading on the top but otherwise like new. They were $250 new, what are they worth at this point? Lex

USA Race Fans, I spent last weekend at Laguna Seca (campground, next to the track) and figured I'd use my dog walking and jogging time to look at the changes. The new run-off in turn 9 looks great, I'm sure the riders will be happy. But they moved the pedestrian bridge to the short straight between the Corkscrew and turn 9. People in the Corkscrew are going to have trouble seeing what happens in turn nine. The new garage building in the paddock look first class, now Max B. can storm into the garage and have his team slam down the door while he figures out his excuse for being beaten (again) by Sete, Valentino, etc. The bad news on this one is that the view to the turn 10 to turn 11 straight is now blocked for people in the main grandstands. Given that this is the last and best place to make a pass before the start/ finish line this really sucks. I hope nobody paid the price for grandstand seats on the front straight. Everything else looks good. Good 'ol Laguna is looking almost as good as them furin' tracks we see on TV. See some of you at the track, Lex