Greg Field

Reassemble the stand off the bike. Remove the brake lever. Remove the bolt below and behind the lefty peg. Loosen but do not remove the exhaust header nuts and clamps at the crossover. Remove the bolts holding on the mufflers to their hangers. Remove the rear hanger bolt for the crossover. Have someone push down gently on the mufflers. Wiggle the red crossbar of the stand up and over the crossover tubes and affix it to the porkchops on the left with the bolt removed in step 3. Affix it to the right porkchop with the brake lever and its bolt (leaving out the spacer). Bolt the red "tabs" to the frame bracket underneath. Retighten the exhaust. DOne.

The ones I have ridden can't be adjusted for the plush compliance Ohlins forks are known for. I believe the shim pack specified on these forks is too stiff, giving a harsh ride. It's still well-controlled, just a bit harsh.

The EBC rotors rust. That may or may not bother you. Top-of-the-line Brembo floaters are about $610 US per pair. V11 Sport Brembos cost about $420 per pair. Breva 1100 type rotors cost about $320 per pair but are currently backordered in the US. The shop at which I work sells them, as do many others.

Valving is also overly harsh.

I'm with the DIYers. Nobody touches a wrench to my bike but me.

Fully closed, from what I understand, means fully "hard" (i.e. fully to the "+" side of the adjustment), which means clockwise, as the screw turns. Memory tells me this is what is specified for both the silver and black Marzocchi forks and also the yellow Ohlins.

That's how hot they run. These people who say Guzzis are overcooled just haven't checked the temperatures on a V11. In SEATTLE winter temps of 35 degrees F. and light rain, my V11 oil temp hits nearly 100 C in the 13 miles to work. The Eldo, on the same type of day, doesn't top 75 degrees C, and it doesn't have an oil cooler and makes not too many fewer horsepower.

For the record, I think Piaggio, and all engineers, are perfect. It had to be a vendor who screwed the pooch. I hasten to add that it could not have been the engineers at the vendor who screwed said pooch. No it was just "somebody" at the vendor, though we do not even know that a vendor made those tappets, yet some just can't think that is not de facto truth that an anonymous vender—and certainly the vendor had to be in Mandello, since mistakes could only be made in Mandello—, in which case Piaggio really did screw the pooch, but, still, it could not possibly have been and engineer at Piaggio. I just wanted to say that for the record . . . since all here will only listen to empirical facts . . .

OK, if you have the stuff, I'd be interested in hearing what your pressures are. I have a permanent gauge on my bike, too, with an electronic sender. The device I was talking about lending out is a guage hooked up to an adapter that I use to check pressure on rebuilt engines.

It was not in a shop manual. It was in the parts look-up and ordering systems, as I've said several times. I never said I was the ultimate anything. I offered an opinion and stated the facts behind it. The cast iron tappets failed. They replaced them with hardened steel tappets. I believe that is evidence enough that cast iron was the wrong material for the job. What is your evidence that they were not cast iron? You have an opinion about the problem, too. What are the facts behind your opinion? Are they ridiculous? Do they serve your professional reputation, whatever that is? Enlighten us. I'm guessing you are an engineer and thus "know" that engineers are never at fault. I have seen plenty of engineering and manufacturing drawings, mostly aerospace, but also plenty of Harley-Davidson ones, too.

What's the story behind that photo?

Ratch: I have this nifty mechanical gauge that can be plugged in place of the sender for short- to mid-term use. In the interest of science, would you be willing to plug it in and just see what your fully-hot pressure is at your 1200-rpm idle and just a bit lower? It's be easier to install while cold, and you could zip-tie itin place and then see what your cold pressures are, too. TM: You are, of course, free to use it, too.

First, I am childish and stamping my feet and now I'm paranoid? Would you like to hear what I am beginning to think of you? I work with Piaggio every day. I have seen and held and compared the parts in question here. I have absolutely no idea if you've ever seen the parts or ever worked with Piaggio, so I'll take my own counsel on matters Piaggio, rather than yours. Last week the online parts diagrams listed part numbers for the early cast-iron tappets and the later steel tappets. Today they do not. They were "sanitized" within the past week. These are facts that exist despite your opinion on the matter.

25k miles on mine, but I just replaced it anyway. Perhaps we'd all be better off putting Convert trannies on our V11s?

Again, it is Piaggio's parts diagrams that say the first-series lifters were cast iron. It's not something I made up. Since no one believes it, let's see if I can post a screen shot to prove it. I guess that's not possible, now. The parts diagram has, within the last week, been modified to omit any mention of the earlier tappet. I might have a printout at the shop, though. The part number for the cast-iron tappet and mention of it and its being cast-iron are in the lastest Guzziology, so at least I will have that information. One must document stuff quickly today before Piaggio sanitizes its records. They remind me of H-D in this respect.

My opinion. I gave you the facts upon which it is based. I've examines and held the parts. I stand by my opinion 'til someone can offer something more substantial. As I said, the Piaggio parts diagrams clearly say that the early tappets are cast iron and that the later ones are steel. No guesswork involved. It means I've held both sets of tappets in my hand and compared them. The steel ones appear to have clearly more crown on the underside. Your experience is what? I'll let your know.

Really? This engine was not designed in Mandello. It is the design that was faulty. How, then, could leaving Mandello prevent this type of problem. I'm going to have to cal Dr. John. He once talked about a friend of his who was on this engine project warned of a problem with the cam system and was transfered out or fired for his trouble. I'll see if my memory serves or not . . .

I believe that everyone's blaming this on a vendor that under-hardened the tappets when the real explanation is just bad engineering on Aprilia's part. What do I have for evidence to support this claim? Well, as the parts lists describe, the first-series 8V tappets were made of cast iron, whereas the new ones are hardened steel. Cast iron is not conventionally "hardenable," so how could a vendor have under-hardened them? Here's what most likely happened: Somebody at Aprilia specified cast iron tappets when they should have specified hardened steel tappets. Also, the new steel tappets appear to have more of a radius on their underside than the early, iron tappets did.

ANd I must say, that engine and them yaller foirks work marvelously on my Eldorado . . .

It's standard American hot-rod engineering. His tappets and cams were wearing, so he took them to a V-8 hot-rod shop. They said, "Hard=chrome the lifter or the cam." He did. It lasted, unlike Guzzi's hydro engines. What works, works. Pontificating about how it shouldn't when it does is of little consequence. Bob Nolan's done more successful fixes and modifications on Guzzis than the combined efforts of the best 10 members here. "Imagineering." That's what he was known for.

Small consolation, I know, but that's the only snapped pinion I have ever heard of, even on race bikes.

Coz: Moto International has that pump for auto-store prices . . .

Si.

Yes.

For the black Marzocchi forks, the manual specifies rebound damping 3 turns from fully closed and 7.5 turns of pre-load. For the Ohlins forks, it specifies 13 clicks from fully closed for rebound and compression and 13 turns preload.