Greg Field

Thanks, all. I'll be putting it on today, and greasing the driveshaft and the cush drive while I'm in there.

Yours has the right-angle htrottle, yes? If so, I do not think there is a longer cable with the right ends and amount of freeplay. It is possible the cable from the early LeMans is slightly longer. Unfortunately, I do not have a correct early V11 cable to compare it to (the ones I have are all mislabeled, as it turns out).

That was all in one day. It is that tire. I'll patch it from the inside, so it should hold until the tire is worn out, hwich won't take long. I'll be lucky if it lasts through my August trip to Hyder, AK.

Thanks!

I need a new rear tire and have an opportunity to get a nearly new one for nothing. Are these OK tires?

I can get you a part number for some RaceTech springs that worked in my 43mm Marzes. Any shop that buys through Parts Unlimited could then get you springs in whatever weight you desire. These are straight-rate springs.

If you bugger up the hex, find the appropriate Torx bit and pound it into the recess. That always gets 'm, but the screw is ruined. I use mapp for thermal shock. You need to pour the heat onto the head and get it flowing down the shank to melt the loctite. Keep the heat off the wheel. Adjust the torch for a thin flame. Then, the whack the T-handle with the hammer, which seems to physically shock the bolt loose.

Doc: Here's what has always worked for me for getting them out without ruining the screws or paint. First get the tools you'll need at hand: tight-fitting allen socket, ratchet wrench o-handle, mapp-gas torch, and a BFH. For each of the screws do all of the following steps before moving to the next screw: 1) Fire up the mapp torch and adjust to a fine flame tip 2) hold the flame into the allen recess of the bolt for 1 minute or as long as you can stand it. 3) Insert the allen key on a long extension of T-handle. 4) WHack the extension or T-handle smartly to break loose the screw 5) use the socket wrench or T-handle to turn out the screw.

Pete: I have a 10.5 N/mm spring in the forks. I weigh about 230. It's perfect for me. I flew through some truly horrendous washouts and potholes around Mt. St. Helens this weekend and never even bottomed out. I'll have to rotate the spring on the rear shock to see what number it is. Mine is on the stiff side.

Al I really mean is that you must brace your body so that you are not bearing any of your weight with your arms and hands. Gripping the tank tightly with your thighs makes this all so much easier, especially on a bumpy road. With all the load carried by your back, aided by the wind on your chest, the bike will steer more easily and feel lighter. Owrks for me, anyway.

I did a bunch of trial and error while waiting for others to catch up around Mt. St. Helens this weekend. Here're two conclusions: Get some tankslappers to protect the tank paint, then slide all the way forward and really grip the tank with your thighs. This really helps apparent stability on a V11. Take all the weight off the bars and steer with your fingertips. Downshift once more than you think you need to and keep the power on hard all the way through the curve. These things are not powerful enough that you really need worry that the rear end will break loose. I'm too tired right now to remember anything else.

I have the same configuration. The map I have works pretty good but not perfectly. I'm going to have one made as soon as I can kick loose some time. I'll share it once it's made.

I doubt it, but you never know . . .

You can use a Guzzi fairing such as the carbon one or one similar to what was used on the Scura. These latter are available painted in several colors. Or, you can re-mount the Ballabio-type fairing to swing with the bars. This gives a little less protection but gets rid of the buffeting. To make it work, you need a V11 Sport instrument plate, the L-bracket to mate the plate to you tripple tree, and headlight brackets (the Guzzi ones or make your own. You'll also need some spacers for alongside the smaller Ballab headlight. Here are some pix:

This is one of the great ones. Held between Mts. Rainier, Adams, and St. Helens in some of the best twisties anywhere. Great camping, too, and stellar food. If anybody needs directions, let me know. If you want to ride along, I'm leaving from Moto Intl. about 1:00 on Friday. I think Cool Hand Duke'll be there, and anyone else is welcome to join us. It's always a good ride down there. The first hour's mostly traffic and freeway. After that, it's 3-4 hours (depending on route) of twisties to the campsite. Saturday, we take a long loop around St. Helens and down to the Columbia Gorge, followed by a dinner of slamon roasted indian style around an alder fire. Sunday, we have breakfast, break camp, and take a different route home.

Few of you probably know that Dr. Know is a former insider in the guzzi world and who has also gained personal insight into this issue. IMO, ignoring his advice is extremely ill-advised . . . There, my due-diligance is done, too.

I would look for a subtle exhaust leak, and then at the TPS.

The truth is, nobody who hasn't tested them knows how much or how often they bypass. This is what I do know: The smaller UFI has a filter area less than the width of my calibrated 1-inch thumb. Here's a pic, if you do not believe me: On all my bikes, even the Eldo (which I drilled and converted to run an oil filter), I use a larger filter. Change that bitty, wee filter often, and it will bypass less, but do you not think there is a reason Guzzi spent the money to enlarge the passages in the pan and fit a larger filter? I damn sure do . . .

Rocker shafts are on the order of $30 each. We have 'em at Moto Intl. if your normal parts vendoer does not. I read it that you wrung the heads off the bolts. Yes? I've seen it done several times. If this is the problem, get a burr on a die grinder and gnaw off the stub of the bolt until you can get the shaft out. Then, if the bolt was not bottomed in the hole when the head broke off, you can usually spin out the stub of the bolt with a lefthand drill bit. Good luck!

Generic nylon throttle lockers that work great are $20-25 retail. For that kind of dough, bodgery seems a bit of a "stunt" endeavor. Also, IMO, the functions of throttle lock and barend weights are best left separate. You get better vibe attenuation with weights dedicated solely to that job, and better throttle locking with a device designed solely for the job. If you can't find them somplace more fashionable, I have the good ones at Moto Intl.

Has anyone else noticed that Todd is a very nice fellow?

DK: Thanks. Good enough for me. We have some low-mile cast-off Dunlops in 190 laying around the shop. I'm gonna give them a try.

Tomaselli? Not sure. I'll look through the Tomaselli catalog tomorrow if I get the chance.

Got to ride it to work again today and then out of town for a meeting. I'm liking that crossover more and more. The centerstand is made by Teo lamers. We're their US distributoe. I'll post some pix. Maybe right now: There's the bike on the stand. It holds it upright, so it takes up less room in the gay-raj, makes maintenance easier, and makes it easier to load for trips. I know I have some close-up shots, but I couldn't find them. Time for bed. Oh, Lee: I'll contact you tomorrow. And it has Mistral cans. Yes, I have a Powercommander. It was and is loaded with a map for the Stucchi crossover. Still, it fuels great even with the Mistral crossover.

Mistral crossovers are available from several sources, including (probably) MPH, MG Cycle, and the shop at which I toil, Moto International. If you call Moto Intl., ask for me. The other parts guy has only been with us a week. Or, you could email to parts@motointernational.com. I will not be in until the latter half of the day.