Greg Field

OK, I'll try that. Keep in mind: I 'r' a retard . . .

Yes, that worked brilliantly. Second attempt at photos: Oh, fark it. Says can't upload them with .jpg extension. This is not worth any more of my time. Sorry, folks.

Edited: First attempt at posting photos and will try again. I sourced some 1.0 kg/mm springs of nearly identical size to those in the Billy Bob and installed them Monday night, along with 5-weight Redline fork oil. The springs were slightly shorter than stock but came with enough preload shim to make up the difference and to add more preload should it be needed. Wee Billy felt like a new bike yesterday. Now, the front and rear are in balance, and the thing's nearly as taut as my Eldo. The newer forks are much different than the older ones shown in the service manual. The only real trick is holding this nut while turning off the top cap. This is much easier to do if you crank the spring peload all the way ON before making the attempt. If you do this, spring pressure will hold the wrench on the nut.

I have to admit: I was prepared to say, "yuck," but it really turned out nicely. Congratulations on going where no one else dared and carrying it out brilliantly!

Wick: Yes, I have the check. I'll ship the cowling today. I also have pictures of the centerstand but am too retarded to get them from the camera to the computer and out into the world. This weekend, maybe . . .

Chris and all: He has the smaller headlight, which is nowhere near as good as the larger Sport headlight. It throws a weird eliptical beam pattern and needs all the help it can get. Relays are the place to start. Piaa bulbs will net him even more. Why? Voltage. All halogen lights work much better at the upper limit of their voltage range. Give a piaa full voltage (especially 14.5 volts and higher, as on my Eldo), and I'll wager your opinion of them would change. At the 12.4 volts a stock Guzzi system gives delivers to the headlight, no bulb works that well. With a relay fed directly through the battery, I get 13.6 volts on Billy Bob. That makes the stock light a bit brighter, but really lights up the piaa. Spotlights are good, too. I run piaa 1100x lights (with round beam pattern, which is important) on the Eldo, and with them on in addition to the piaa headlight, I ride through a tunnel of light, like in that old movie Tron. I doubt the Billy Bob alternator would keep up with the electrical demand of this system, though. Still, I'm gonna try it, and then switch to 35-watt bulbs if the system can't keep up to the standard 55-watt bulbs.

If your '03 has ITI instruments, disassembly is really easy. Push on the little pins on the underside of the rim to pop off the rim. Remove the glass, and it all falls out in your hand.

I just put mine on its centerstand.

To get good lighting out of the small-reflector headlights of the LeMans and Ballabio bikes, you need to run a direct feed from the battery through relays for hi and for low and use the best available bulb, which is the piaa xtreme white bulb. There is just room for two microrelays and the extra wiring inside the small headlight bucket. All the stuff to do this is available at our shop (Moto International) or from other sources. I just made one of these harnesses for my Billy Bob. Not difficult at all.

A guy in Seattle has them, too. Pricey buggers, but really really nice.

I like the cleaner look thought about doing this kind of thing, but then I thought of how much and how frequently it rains around here and decided not to.

They do fit. The shift lever needs some modification, usually. I have most of three sets of these controls, lacking only the brake pedals. You can get 90 percent of the comfort upgrade the C controls offer, at much less cost, using the Motobits foot-control relocation kit. I have one on my Billy Bob, and it's very nice.

There are two new metal gaskets. One is for the Breva. The other is for the V11 and earlier motors. They differ only in size and placement of the holes for the cover's locating dowels. I've used them and am not sure I like them. They seem to seal well and have a really nice feel as you "crush" them in. They're "springy," though and very hard to keep in place while you try to fit the cover.

What Alex said covers most of it. A 1972 model should have the shifter on the right, Koni shocks, and timing gears in the engine. If it does not have the shark-gill mufflers, negotiate down the price. These mufflers are very difficult to find and expensive. Most fasteners were chrome plated on the Sport. Rims should be Borranis, but are the Cross type, with thicker shoulders than those used on the V7s and Ts. They are great bikes. I should never have sold mine . . .

I had to replace one yesterday. What a horrible socket arrangement. The contacts are separate pieces, held apart by the bulb's base only. Worse yet, the bulb can be inserted two different ways, one of which is wrong. If you insert the bulb the wrong way, or if the bulb falls out, which it easily can when you re-insert the base into the instrument, the contacts short out and blow the fuse. ICK.

SOunds fun. As for parts, there certainly is some availability. In the last two weeks, everything I have ordered has been in stock. I'm starting to be less pessimistic about "Piggio." For a while, they seemed even worse than Aprilia, and it takes uncommon dedication to sink to such horrible depths.

Sorry about the crash. I have a stock muffler you can have, if you want to stick with those. Consider upping the coolness factor of the bike by getting the Guzzi carbon fairing and mounting it and the headlight and gauge to swing with the bars, a la the Rosso Mandello and Scura. This is what I did to my crashed Billy Bob. I can guide you on what parts you need to buy, and even order them for you, as can Todd of MPH, a dealer that is far closer to you than I am. Last I looked, though, the carbon fairing was on backorder in the US. We may be able to get one from an alternative source, however.

I have the Euro switch on Billy Bob. I think it's the earlier one, for pre-02 Sports. Also, it's REALLY easy to wire in a ground-interrupt switch to kill the headlights. You can even buy generic pre-wired versions from Parts Unlimited and the other big distributors. You could even drill a hole in the headlight bucket and install a toggle switch to interrupt the ground.

Ya know, if you fellers really want a Ti exhaust, you can still get a new one. I've got a set on the shelf and think MPH does, too . . .

Pulled off a 40-mile bike: 1) Fairing, gray, should fit Sports if you get the two necessary brackets. 2) Stock mirrors. 3) Passenger-seat cowling, with pad. 4) Instrument plate. 5) Aluminum girder that mounts the fairing/headlight/instruments. 6) Plastic cover for steering neck 7) Left and right footpegs and mounts. 8) Shift lever. 9) Brake lever. 10) Taillight.

Guzzi has a single crankpin, too.

It is probably one of the things already mentioned. That said, I have seen two V11 Sports recently on which similar symptoms turned out to have a real cause: On one, the oiling system's bypass valve stuck closed, resulting in too high a pressure that blew open the rubber sealing ring on the oil filter. Oil pressure then wasn't always low enough to light the light, but it definitely was low enough to ruin the rod bearings. On the other, a small bit of the gasket that seals the joint between the filter/cooling system and the engine block blew out. The light did not come on until the oil was hot and the engine near idle. Bearings were OK in this case, but would not have been had the guy delayed bringing it in.

Have you seen the 06 Tuna in silver/gray. We got one in at MI yesterday. It's gorgeous. Do you like wheelies?

Take a Guzzi with a heavy flywheel and reduce rpm to 800 or so, and it emits a triplet beat not at all unlike a Harley's.

I'll just make a new pattern and send it to you, Pete. If it's a plate specific to the V11 Sport engines, you can cut out less metal (shouldn't need a cutaway for the filter, for example), making it a better surge baffle. I think a mechanical oil gauge is what I need, plus that little cube thing for voltage. THanks everyone for all the suggestions!