Greg Field

We is reference to the fact that I work at Moto International, in Seattle. The ones I have will bolt onto any of the LeMans and later bikes. I have on order the one that will bolt onto the earlier V11s. It'll be here in about 2 weeks For pricing, please email to parts@motointernational.com

TX: You've always been my inspiration. Funny thing is, when I told Enzo that hte exhaust would melt his tire, he thought I was retarded. WHen some anonymou tire changer tells him the same thing, he runs right to his welder and has the exhaust re-done. Nobody listens to me . . .

If they were ordered last year, most likely the order was lost in the three switches in parts ordering systems since then. Have your dealer check to see that the order is in the current ordering system. If they do not know how, have them call me (206-297-3822), and I'll tell them how to check. I know we have gotten at least four such cases since March.

Yeah, I have one and love it. We have two in stock. There may not be any more after that.

OK, here's preliminary results. Baseline oil is 50-50 mix of 5w-40 Shell Rotella T "synth" with Redline 20-50. On startup on a 55-degree F morning, idle pressure was about 65 psi. It held this pressure (apparently the true blow-off pressure) while I drove it gently for the first 3-4 miles to the first place I had to come to a stop. By then, oil temp was up to 70 degrees C. Idle pressure dropped into hte 45-psi range. Pressure at 3,000 rpm and higher was still over 65 psi. When I got to work after 12 miles, oil temp was 95-degrees C. Oil pressure at 3,000 rpm was 58 psi. Idle pressure was 27. At lunch I took a 20-mile drive on the freeway, not pushing hard at all. Air temps were prob'ly 72-degrees F. Oil temp rose to 110 degrees C. Pressure at 3,000 rpm was 57; pressure at idle was 20 psi. THis is very good pressure. In the future, I'll probably go to all 5-40, since pressures remain at blow-off-valve pressure while on the freeway until the oil reaches nearly 80 degrees C.

As I've been telling you guys, this is not unusual on the V11s. We've seen four now since April at Moto Intl. Watch your oil level . . .

This is a 1-2-hour job, plus about $60 worth of bearing shells (assuming the crank is OK). You do not need to take off the heads and cylinders. It can all be done from below.

Incontrovetable logic, BMG.

Someone's ot to be pedantic, here, so it may as well be me: 1) The Norge is a two-valver, like the other V11s. 2) The clanking is from the dogs on the gears and sliding muffs.

I've sold probably ten in the last month. Moto Guzzi US is out of them, Teo's out of them, and Ago, too, last I checked. I have more on backorder, but you know how long that can take . . .

Since some of the V11 Sport series seem to show symptoms (flickering oil lights) of oil starvation when accelerating hard (thought to be because of their front-mounted oil pickup), I just had to plumb in a gauge to see if Billy Bob was similarly afflicted. I also wanted to keep the stock oil light. Here's how I did it: First, gather all the stuff. This photo shows what I used. The gauge is a really good one, but it only reads to 60 psi and has no light. I decided to use it because I valued accuracy at full temp for this project, above other considerations such as seeing it at night and knowing what peak cold pressure would be. Items include the gauge, a brass 12x1.5mm to 1/4 NPT adapter, a brass 1/4-to-1/8 NPT adapter, a 1/8 NPT adapter, and the fittings for the oil line. The first step was to tap the 1/4-to-1/8 NPT adapter to 12x1.5mm so I could thread the stock pressure sensor into it. I first drilled it undersized to keep as much wall thickness as possible, and then carefully tapped it, stopping just as the tap's widest part first threaded into the brass. Even with such care, the wall thickness was marginal, so I decided to make both pieces one by using JB Quick Weld as the sealant when I threaded the two adapters together, as shown above. The next step was to index the compound adapter so that the 1/8 NPT adapter would exit at the front. I then drilled and tapped it to 1/8 NPT, and installed the adapter, using sealing compound just to be sure. Here's the adapter in place on the block. Next, I improvised a holder for the gauge. I had an old Harley bullet light housing that looked like it would work, so I gutted the housing, drilled a hole in the back of it for the oil capillary tube, installed a grommet to protect the tube, and opened up the front a bit to accept the gauge. Here's what it looks like—kinda ghetto, but not as ghetto as the exposed gauge would be. Then, I cut, drilled, and bent a little bracket outta stainless and bolted the bullet light to it. All that remained was to route and connect the line and protect it with a sheathing of clear tubing. Here's the finished project. Not up to Orange County Chopper standards, perhaps, but not bad for a quicky, improvised morning project.

I've been getting pretty shitty mileage lately, so I decided to see if the temp sensor was actually making contact woth the metal base of the plastice sensor holder. (If it doesn't make contact, it will never read the temp accurately.) So, I put a wrench on the holder and attempted to take it off the head. It just crumbled when I twisted the wrench. What a cheap POS! Fortunately, I had the solid-brass replacement in waiting. This photo shows the crumbled plastic holder, the sensor, and the replacement brass holder. The next challenge was getting the metal base out of the head. Its hex portion was actually recessed into the head casting. To get it out, I had to grind the tip and side of a 15-mm deep-well socket. It was really in there, glued on with some type of loctite. Then, I did a trial fitting after smearing the sensor with antisieze to leave witness marks as evidence that it had bottomed out in the holder. No surprise, it didn't bottom out, and there was no way to make it bottom out without a lot of milling work. Instead, I cheated, and filled the recess with antisieze, which should do a good job of transering heat between the holder and sensor. It seemed to me that the system would work best if it transfered heat between the holder and sensor, without the holder radiating too much heat away from the sensor, so I decided to insulate the holder with several layer of duct tape, as shown below: Then, I antisiezed the threads of the holder, and cinched it tight into the cylinder head. We'll see if it does anything positive other than getting rid of the cheap POS sensor holder . . .

Todd: What're you guys using ofr hose and clamps on these things? We've had another rash of aiures recently, and as I'll soon be heading off deep into the wilds of Mt. St. Helens, it's got me worried. What if that sucker blows again, and I'm stranded as a result of one of these failed hoses? I'd be hosed, I guess.

Thanks, everyone. I just like al fresco living. And I can't bear to be far from dear Billy Bob. . . Randy: I'm afraid a kit would not really be possible. I could assemble the Guzzi parts and brackets and make the relocators for the front turn signals, but you'd still have to enlarge a few holes and drill two new ones for the top bracket mounts. The root problem is that the Ballabio fairing is designed to mount in a more upright pitch than looks best when pulled back in like mine is. If you lean the fairing back to where it looks good, you have clearance and goofy looks issues where it wraps around the headlight ring. This means careful cut-and-fit trimming. It's far easier to do what I initially did: Mount the Guzzi carbon-fiber fairing. (And Guzzi recently dropped the price of it to $300, which is a bargain.) You'd still need to get the headlight brackets, which are very difficult to find, or make your own from aluminum strap. This morning I put on a carbon alternator cover. It looks great, but what a bitch of a job to take off and refit a V11 Sport alternator cover. Fired it up, and on cold oil, pressure at idle was off the scale, at about 65 psi (estimated, since the scale ends at 60 psi). Later, I'll get 'er hot and see what happens.

Bump. If any of you British Columians are free this weekend, you'd do well to come on down. . . . And if ou do, please stop at the Diamond Knot brewery on your way through and pick up a couple growlers of IPA for me . . . please.

I did a little more work on Bill Bob today. I'd been wating months for the scratched, warranty-takeoff Coppa Italia fairing to go with the similarly scratched tank Billy's been wearing since his ressurection from a totaled hulk of a Ballabio. I like the way V11 Sports look with a fairing, so I had previously monted the Guzzi carbon-fiber fairing so that it swung with the bars, rather than being frame-mounted like on the Ballabio. I got the fairing Friday, and finally got the time to install it today. Surprisingly, the Coppa fairing is much different in shape than the carbon fairing was, so it was a bit of work to get everything to fit, but i love the look. Here's Billy is in his new guise, almost ready for the blast down to the Deep Forest campout next weekend. The fairing looks much better pulled in and mounted to the bars. While I was at it, I installed a good oil-pressure gauge, so I'll have some data soon on whether mine has pressure loss during hard acceleration. I also replaced the crappy plastic temp-sensor carrier with a good brass one. Another view of Billy's handsome new mug. He's almost too purty to ride. Still looking for the cherry on top: an affordable set of Ohlins forks, so if anybody hears of any, let me know.

June 23-24 is the annual Washington MGNOC chapter's Deep Forest campout. It's a great one, held at a group campground outside Randle, Washington, in the heart of all the great roads around Mts. St. Helens, Adams, and Rainier. The camping's great, among huge cedars and firs by a rushing stream. One of the best roads in the state leads to the campground, and most of the rest are in the area. The food's excellent and includes the Saturday supper of chinook salmon crucified and roasted Indian-style beside a roaring alder fire. I usually lead an all-day ride on Satruday that brings you in spent, just in time for salmon and a few cocktails. I'm leaving Friday the 23rd from Moto International at 2:00 p.m. with a small, select group for the ride down via the twistiest route. If any of you want to join in, let me know. (It's your chance to meet the infamous Enzo and his Cobra and see if it really is as fast as he says it is.)

How many miles do they laast?

I do not know about shipping. It's flavor is fairly delicate. It tastes way better out of a growler just picked up at the brewery than from a keg at the local bar. I'd give it a try if you want me to ship some.

Better than bottles is to go "get our milk right from the cow." In Seattle, it is tradition to go right to your favorite brewery, and take home "growlers" (half-gallon bottles) drawn straight from the barrels. I'm a hop-head, and this is the best IPA I've ever tasted: Diamond Knot IPA, from Mukilteo, Washington. Hoppy, fruity, and delicate. Get it directly from the brewery, keep it cold, and drink the whole thing in one sitting. It's as Seattle as Soundgarden, alder-smoked salmon, and the Space Needle . . .

Nice work!

Barnapkin: You are incorrect. Crown length is completely irrelevant. LeMans and Cali pistons use the same rods and crank but have very different crown lengths.

I have shelves full of caliper and master cylinder rebuild kits at Moto I, so consider the possibility that the lawsuit story is apocryphal.

It's June 23-24 this year, in the deep woods south and east of Randle, Washington, nestled right between Mt. St. Helens and Mt. Adams. You'll be surrounded by the best roads in the state. The food's great (Saturday is white Chinooks roasted indian style beside an alder blaze), the rally's cheap, and you'll be with some real ridin' mofos from WA, OR, BC, ID, and beyond. For those who might like to taunt, assault, or get to know him, Enzo/Captain Nemo will even be there with his Cobra. I'll be leading a group there by the twistiest route. We leave about 2:00 Friday from Moto International. Saturday, whoever wants to come along can join me and whomever for a loooong loop through the best little roads in the area (watch out for moss). You will be worn out and ready for a beer and some salmon. If any of you need directions or have questions, let me know . . .

The tires, apparently, are Dunlop 205s. Feedback I've recieved privately is that they're great tires, used by some very swift Guzzi riders in SoCal. One said he had run them at 90 mph while flat.