Greg Field

It's first Wednesday, meaning that the Vintage Motorcycle Enthusiasts (VME) meeting is tonight in Georgetown. Anyone else going?

I'm not wanting a rocker. What I need is a locker, so I can let my right hand dangle intermittently, free of any connection to the right bar. Any specific models that fit, or should I just rig up my own thumbscrew locker? Also, I do not want a Throttlemeister because I love my mirrors and bar ends as they are.

You can buy one made of brass from Guzzi. If your local shop does not have it, we have them at Moto International.

I had a new Power get punctured on a dirt road south of Mt. St. Helens last month, and then it threw three plugs that day. Bad luck for both of us, I'd say.

Keith: What model of NEP locker did you use? Thanks! I need something like this for Billy Bob. My hand's still a "claw" today. Eeeks!

We made it to Vaderhoof Friday night, after a 634-mile day. Great roads, especially 12 between Lytton and Liloet. Awoke to the rain Rustybucket alluded to. That's when I discovered that of the five people in my group, I was the only one with rain gear. (Where did they think we were going, Arizona?) One guy didn't even bring a full-face helmet. Neverhteless, we headed off into a wall of water toward Hyder, Alaska, which was 375 miles away. They all got soaked before we'd gone the first mile, of course, and two of them pulled over 50 miles later and took refuge in a cafe to warm up. The spray behind me was such that I couldn't see them pull over. I pulled over after 70 miles to check on everybody, only to find the two missing, so then we headed back to find them. In the end, we rode right by the cafe they were in because neither they nor their bikes were visible. We three got back to Vanderhoof having not yet found the other two. We searched through the town, and even called the cops, to ask if they had been in an accident. With nothing else to do, we stopped for some soup in a restaurant facing the route they would have to come in on, leaving our bikes on prominent display, so they could not miss them. Fortunately, they showed up about an hour later. By then, it was 3:00, and the forecast was for three more days of rain, so we stayed the night in Vanderhoof and planned to head east the next morning and explore eastern BC. That turned out to be a good decision.

Quota turn signals are rubbery and look easily adaptable to V11s. Lenses are smoked; bulbs are yellow. I was admiring the set on the Quota that accompanied us on our journey through BC.

That would be my right hand . . . from holding open Billy Bob's throttle for 1,688 miles in four days. Gotta make some sort of throttle lock. BC was great. Billy Bob and all the bikes ran great. Didn't make Hyder, Alaska, though, for reasons I'll explain more in the next few days. Awesome trip nonetheless.

If you cut a 4x4-inch hole in just the flat top surface of the airbox, you get the flow, and the vertical sides of the box lid keeps the honk form getting to your ears. And keep the paper filter, unless you need every tenth of a horsepower . . . for a while, anyway. Afer 30,000 miles of the K$N letting dirt in, your ring seal will slip to the point where the power drops below what a bike with the stock dirt grabber would make anyway . . .

I used 1.0 Racetech springs. This is on Billy Bob forks, which I think are similar enough to your forks on an 02 LeMans to work. This is the heaviest they make, or at least the heaviest available from the source we get our springs from. They give a very plush ride undre my 230 pounds. BTW, the springs in the Billy Bob are progressive wound from the factory. Yours may be, too. Use fork oil heavier than 5w. I used Redline 5w and it makes for really compliant action, but I have to have damping set at max to have enough rebound, and I still wish for a little more. These forks are a little tricky to assemble and reassemble, too.

No Laughing Loon. I'm sleeping in grizzly bear dens. "Say, Pilgrim; you ever skun Grizz?"

We leave at 0600 hrs on Friday morning. Thanks again for all the advice!

Thanks for all the advice, everyone. I hope I can offer the same to anyone who wants to discover some good routes in Washington. You all think Vanderhoof is a bit far, so we may re-think it as the stop for the first night. I guess I always think in terms of the speeds we get away with here in planning how long it will take to get somewhere. Sounds like riding at 90mph would be imprudent in your fair province. I did make it to PG once in 12 hours from Seattle, though. Anyway, listen for the sound of five Guzzis passing through . . .

I must admit to being flummoxed by this elitist attitude. Seattle has more breweries, I would estimate, than any other North American city, with the possible exception of Portland Oregon. And the common Canadian beers like Kokanee and Molson, et al are little, if any better than a PBR or MGD. WHen I lived in the Fremont neighborhood of Seattle, there were four microbreweries within two miles. Where I live now there are three within the same circle. All but one are world class.

We're actually going past PG to Vendersomething. Yes, a long day, but I live to ride hard and long. I believe my companions are of a similar mindset. It would be a doddle on the Eldo. It'll be a bit more challenging on the Billy Bob. We're taking four days, up and back. I'm expecting to've put on 2,500 miles by the time we get back. The sea-to-sky route sounds great. How much of it's torn up? If we were to go that way on one leg of the journey, would it be better to do so on the sally forth on Friday or on the return leg on Monday? I general, I prefer to climb on twisty roads, rather than descend. As for the beer, "I fear no beer." I'm sure the Canadian micros are excellent. My favorite beer in the whole world is Diamond Knot IPA, but I could be just as happy after a long day's ride with a cold Kokanee or whatever. So, what do I need to know about the cops? Also, we've been warned of meth-head problems in Quesnel and a few other places, that we should never leave the bikes unattended there. Any truth to these viscious rumors? Thanks for all the help so far!

Yes, a great guy. Guzzi could use him again. He could be the face of the company. Pity that the company never really used his talents.

Some Seattle Guzzi whack-toids and I will be crossing the border and heading up to Prince George and then west to a smaller town to stay for the night, on the way to Hyder, AK. We should be at the border about 9:00 a.m. What's the best crossing and route to where we are going? Any places or roads we should avoid? Any hints on speed traps and so on? Do we really need moose repellant? Any other hints? Thanks!

FWIW, Michelle works for Moto Intl., now, running our second store in the Olympia, Washington, area. She has some stories to tell . . .

Most likely normal wear.

When the clutch is coupled, the rattling is the dogs of the tranny gears knocking together. When the clutch is de-coupled, the noise is the rattling of clutch plates upon splines.

Perhaps it's possible to take out the crankshaft without removing the rods (I've never tried this, so I do not know), but it's easier with the rods out of the way.

Todd is correct in that the current kit (the last one we got was in May) does not contain the tank piece. They did raise the price, though. Here's a tip for those of you who have been waiting forever for new cases: Have your dealerr tear down the motor, and have someone else paint the case. have the sealer claim that the case was replaced (he does not have to prove he got a case from MGNA), and use the money the dealer would have spent buying the case to have the crank balanced and a little port work done, along with new rod bearings. Make sure they also replace the rod bolts, as these should not be re-used and are legit to claim as part of the case replacement. Of course, Moto Intl. would never do such a thing but that doesn't mean your dealer wouldn't . . .

'Pologies, Dave.

I agree on the definition of blowby, but Guzzi apparently does not. On some of the parts diagrams, the breather system is labeled the "Blowby System." Therefore, in relation to Guzzis, Dave Lang is actually correcter than all the rest of us.

A wank? Prob'ly, but it did result in one positive benefit we can all enjoy: The rod bearings introduced to work with these new rods are cheap—about 1/3 the price of previous rod shells—and they will work in all the earlier Guzzi engines. So, if you do not watch your oil level and consequently roast your rod shells, it's about $60 in parts to fix versus as much as $240 in parts for previous versions of the Guzzi rod shells. Unfortunately, if you roast the rod shells badly enough that the crank is badly scored, you're all the way farked because the FABs (Farking Aprilia Bastards) who set all this in motion have yet to make an oversize version of these rod shells, though they have had a part number for them since at least 2002. This means you have to replace the $900 crankshaft, rather than $60 in bearings. We have had to do this under warranty because these shells are not available. Of course, if it were not a warranty situation, we could have used the V700-type shells, which are available in oversized versions and have exactly the same oiling hole in exactly the same place, but warranty requires us to use the specified parts. Oh, well. It's their money . . . If this sounds haughty, I have earned a little haughtiness at the FABs's expense.