Greg Field

I've always wanted to see more of Vancouver Island, B.C. I'm thinking maybe Memorial Day weekend. Maybe 4-5 days for a semi-relaxed tour to see the dramatic countryside and explore. Are any of you interested?

My RH header cracked right by the exhaust port. Had nothing to do with the crossover. And I've never had any trouble getting the crossover to seal. YMMV.

We sell Aprilias and Guzzis, so we see a lot of Ohlins (standard on RSVs). Those that are ridden regularly often go 15,000-20,000 miles before needing seals. Those that aren't ridden regularly often need re-sealing in 6,000-8,000 miles. Mine lasted 18,000 or so. Check for sufficient freeplay on the rear brake rod.

Yes, pleae take him, Ben.

We're just trying to relieve your boredom, Ben.

To truly know which sensor reacts closest to the rate of change of the cylinder head, you'd need to test while the head and the holder are in the breeze, IMO. Ideal is a sensor that's mounted so it reacts at the same rate the head reacts. A sensor set-up that reacts faster than the head would be of no advantage. I applaud you for doing the testing, though.

possibly, your starter has jettisoned its magnets, and they have migrated out of place such that the starter has to draw wxcess current in attempt to turn over the motor.

Ah, and what was the air flow over the sensor while you were testing, Dan?

We did not see the Clubman. They did hint at it, though. We did see the Cali. We also saw some other things. That's all I can say. Sorry to be coy, but, oi, I must.

These are not what we were shown. Those, apparently, are to come. They hinted at the Clubman and hinted that something was to come bearing the LeMans name, but they did not show photos of any of these three bikes.

That's how I read it. Hatchetwhacker knows delusional . . .

I can tell you why I don't stock helmets. Everybody comes in to try them on to be sure of sizing and then buys them on the internet. At the end of the season, you're left with a stack of helmets that smell of skin oil and hair conditioner from a hundred people. To sell these helmets, you have to discount them below cost.

I sell WP springs. All I know of are progressive.

Or tree-frog spunk vs. yak fat. Talk about psychological nudity . . . whoa shit.

I think Guzzimoto merits the coveted Q.E.D. Award on this one.

Another classic bloviation fest. I can tell you why progressive-rate springs are often recommended by vendors: If the vendor can convince the customer that it doesn't matter if the customer weighs 140 or 340 lb., that one progressive spring can be shimmed to work perfectly, the vendor only has to stock one spring. If the customer is foolish enough to believe this, and afterward is satisfied and even testifies to this technique's effectiveness afterward, then the customer lucked out and happened to weigh in the range that the spring is appropriate for, or he just fell victim to the power of suggestion. I don't even try to be so bold as to make such a silly argument (that one progressive set can work for all customers). I carry progressive springs for many of the Guzzis, but they are not all the same spring rates. If a guy has a T3 but is heavy, I sell him the heavier springs for a Cal II, for example. Vice versa, if he is light. For the really sporting guys who have bikes for which one can order straight-rate springs, I try to convince them that this is the best way to go, and it is the best way to go, provided you can help him choose the right springs. This takes experience, and sometimes we have to exchange for a lighter or heavier spring after he's tried the one we thought would be perfect.

Any of you ever try a Griso?

I'd rather drink the silkolene.

Probably can't be done. Guzzi used to offer this service but no longer does.

You're in Houston, right? Take it down to MPH, and they'll fix it right up for you . . .

I've got GEI relays in the V11 and have had since I bought it at 6,666.7 miles. Never a problem in following 28,000 miles, despite using dielectric silicone to ward off rust on all the connections in the very wet seattle riding environment. Since doing a bunch of work on my home's incoming wiring service, I've discovered another product you can get at Home Depot that seals connections and promotes contact. I'm currently experimenting with that. When I redid my Eldo's electrics in 1999, I used new relays and dielectric on everything. 129,000 miles later, everything's still cooking, except for every connection I neglected to seal with dielectric. All of those have failed. What works in SoCal, amy not work where you live, unless that's SoCal.

I didn't cut the shorkles off. I did "bell" the ends. Our shop has PC IIIs, too, and we know how to load maps, too.

It should work well. I have a 110 on mine. I run it with 0 preload normally and with a little preload when on long trips carrying gear.

The dyno chart Piaggio showed us indicated a bump of 3-7 hp through the midrange, with just a loss of 2 hp or so starting at about 7800 rpm. All this from memory, as they did not pass out the chart.

There's no real downside to a slightly higher idel. I usally have even the Eldo at 1200 rpm. It won't save your splines, though. I like a higher idle mostly to keep hot idle oil pressure higher.