Greg Field

I think he's onto something here. Mny of the last really high-performance prop planes had counter-rotating props for this very same reason. It was most definitely worth the weight and complexity. This is the first truly original idea in bike design I've seen in many years. I wish him luck!

I'd really like to add voltage and oil-pressure gauges to Billy. Hopefully I can find some tiny ones that would be easy to mount. Have any of you done thise? Or do any of you have leads for nice, small gauges? I just want to make sure mine doesn't suffer a drop in oil pressure under hard acceleration, like some report. Also, the darn things seems to barely charge. I want to know when it is and isn't to see if I can do anything about it. This has become my main commuter bike, and I's lik to run spotlights, grip heaters, and an electric vest if the system is up to it.

Congrats, Chris. I knew you could do it. Steve: I'll check to see if I can get a pre-02 stand for you.

Thanks! I'm thinking of making a day trip to Tsawassen.

We're always happy to see you crazy Canadian bastards at the meetings and at Vashon. If you come down for any meetings or Vashon and need a place to stay, let me know.

Vintage Motorcycle Enthusiasts, a local club of about 600 members. If the weather's good, you could see anything from a Scott Squirrel through the usual hum-drum Broughs and Vincents and old Harleys and Indians to the stars of the show: the many Eldorados and Ambassadors that usually show up. I'll be on Billy Bob this time.

I'll be taking Billy Bob there, to make his debut. Beforehand, we'll have a beverage or two at my gay raj, which is three blocks from the meeting. If any of you are interested in joining in, the address is 6444 Carlton Ave S. Come 'round back.

Chris: I had the stock crossover in place with my centerstand last week. It can be done. Call me if you need any advice.

I was at the Buell/Harley stealership twice on Sunday, to pick up a new Blast my girlfriend bought and then to take it back 'cause they forgot to put on it the lower seat. Looks like I'll have to go back.

Try EBC HH pads. They make a huge improvement on F08 caliper like hose on a Cal II. The number is FA-18HH. We have 'em at MI, or they are available from a number of other sources.

Are these orange, clear or smoked turn signals?

Thanks. We have PCs at work, so I'll just do my playing after hours there. GF

I put a Power Commander on the Billy Bob yesterday, and now it seems to run even better. Billy has an X crossover and Mistral silencers, so I used a map Micha gave me for a bike with a cut airbox and Guzzi Ti mufflers. I'd like to play a bit with the map. Is there a patch or somethng that will allow me to do so on my computer, which is a Mac? To help match the map, I also cut a 4x4 hole into just the top flat surface of the airbox. (I'm still using a paper filter 'cause I really distrust K&Ns.) Seemed to unplug it a bit, and really there's no increase in noise that I can detect. That is good. They're too loud with the whole top cut away or with the airbox eliminators. I think I'm gonna stop cutting now. If the stock opening plus the 4x4 opening I added doesn't flow enough air to supply everything the engine can suck in, I'll be very, very surprised. And I really hate ntake noise. Finally I put on a new warranty-takeoff Coppa Italia tank. What a nasty job, draining gas, and swapping fuel pumps and fuel fillers. I fear I did my full yearly quota of environmental damage performing that job. Nevertheless, it runs and looks like a brandnew Guzzi, and I now have $3,350 in it, so I'm very happy with that. Now, I just need to put on some miles to see if it's really a "keeper."

This is second hand, so take it for what it's worth. I was talking to Micha, the service manager at MI, who owned a V11 LeMans until recently. He had always told me you need a Power Commander if you make any significant changes to the intake or exhaust. I brought this up to him, in the context that I was surprised my Billy Bob ran so well with the FBF crossover and Mistral muffler. It runs without a hiccup. He said, "No, you misunderstood. They'll usually run good that way, but they then get terrible gas mileage. Here, I'll show you a PC III map." He pulled one up on the screen, and sure enough, the numbers were all negative (leaner from stock) under most conditions up through 3,500 rpm. He said this is where most people ride most of the time, especially in town, and tht under such use, a modified bike without a PC will get 25-30 mpg. With a PC, they'll get 40-45 and that at today's prices ($2.89 fo premium in Seattle), that will pay for the PC in a year or so. So, I bought one and will install it in a few hours. He said with a PC III I should expect nearly 200 miles to a tank. That's better than my Eldo gets.

Last I heard, Glenn moved up into the hills of Tennesee. . .

Hey, when is Tsawassen? I'm thinking of journeying north for that.

Me too. He's a nice guy, too.

The VME now meets at Planet Georgetown, which is three blocks from my house. I hate having to start up a bike to ride just three blocks, so I ususally just walk there. The Buck is 42nd and Fremont Ave. N, in the Fremont district. Let me know the next time you will be in town . . .

V50man: I love Buells. Always have. I' m just built too big. If I sit on an XB12, my face s forward of the speedo. I have to look back to see it. That is prob'ly fatal in traffic. Other than that, they're as addictive as crack . . . not that I've ever smoked crack . ..

Yes, outside. But, then, only the Iowa Pork Queen really worships porkchops . . .

I wuz just in the local Harley mega-plex, looking at a Buell Blast my girlfriend is buying. Yech. She already has it named "Brianna Blaster." The draw? She can have both feet flat on the ground. At least it has a two-year warranty, so I don't have to turn a wrench on the pathetic "two-wheeled appliance." Did I say "yexh" yet? The only thing in the place I have an eye for is the Dyna that looks lie the first Super Glide. That's very, very nice.

I fired 'im up, intending to take a mile or so test drive and just see how I liked it. Before I knew it, I was 12 miles from home, in the neighborhood of the best Guzzi bar in the world (that I know of), the Buckaroo, in Seattle. As much fun as I was having, I had to stop for one. Diamond Knot IPA has a powerful draw . . . Back to Billy. I was totally prepared to be underwhelmed. I love my Eldo, had ridden many Sports and Billys in the past, and for God's sake, this was the first shakedown cruise of a resuscitated Ballabio that had been crashed hard and still has a bent front wheel. The plan was to take it easy, real easy, just to make sure things were OK. SO, I put on all my gear, putted down the alley, and started riding gently to get the erl all warmed up. I kept ramping up the speed to see when I'd get some negative feedback from the bent front wheel. Never happened on the city streets, so I turned onto the 99 viaduct and wicked it up. 50, 60, 70, 80, 90, nothing yet, except those tailights ahead are getting awful close. Roll off and putt along between 45 and 60 north. Fuel injection seems perfect, despite the added FBF crossover and Mistral titanium silencers. Shi-ite, I was led to believe that if you changed mufflers and crossover, the sumbitch wouldn't run without re-tuning. Not this one. It ran great. And the sound was great, too. With the intake still all quiet courtesy of the stock box and a new paper air filter, all I could hear was exhaust. That thing moooooooooaaaannnnnssss like a coon dog in heat when you give it full throttle at about three grand. And it barks like a hungry Doberman when you give it full throttle at five grand. I love dual personalities. And it's comfortable. The bars are great. I have too many back injuries to be happy with clip-ons ever again. Better yet, the bars work perfectly with the Motobits foot controls. My feet are right under my center of mass, so I can stand and shift my weight without having to put any inputs onto the bars. I think I can ride this thing both fast and long. Before I knew it, there was the turnoff for the Buckaroo. It's a tradition for me that whenever a new Guzzi model shows up at MI, I take it for a test ride and introduce it to the Buckaroo. Just then I realized that I had never taken a Billy Bob there, and to my knowledge, no one else had either. Given that, how could I not? "Billy, meet the Buckaroo. Buckaroo, meet Billy," I said as I pulled up in front and parked. Then, I talked with some friends through one tastey Diamond Knot IPA and headed home through horrendous traffic. It was stop and go for ten miles, but even in that use, the fuel injection was flawless. I pulled my new friend into the garage, put him on the lift, and pulled the drain plug to drain out the old oil. Then, I gave him a good once-over. No leaks. Just a faint silver sheen all over from all the anti-sieze I goobered all over everything in the last two weeks. It's the "color of love," in my world. I'm thinking it will be a long-term relationship, and someday I might even get around to washing off all that anti-sieze . . .

Engine Mount? No, No, the main piece mounts to the button-head screw on the left and through the brake-lever pivot on the right. The spring goes on the left side of the bike. Billy's brakes are very good . . .

Do you have the part number, from the part or from the reciept? That way I can tell which one you got. If you have the wrong one, it won't fit. Yours is an '01 Sport, right? Honestly, no other bike is better than my Eldo. Some may be equal. Some. If Billy is, I'll be very happy. And it's 141 POINT 7. Every tenth counts when you're talking Eldos . . .

It fits fine with the stock crossover. Even though time has gone by, you can return it if you don't want it. Or, if you will keep it, I will ask Teo about the metal bits. What stand do you have? The one for the pre-LeMans, or for LeMans and later? If he can't supply them, I'll make you a set, using mine for a pattern. Just got the lights hooked up and working. Should fire up in an hour or so . . . yeeee Haaaaawww!!