Greg Field

Well . . . if you decide you don't want them, I might buy them or come up with some interesting trades . . .

Carl: I'm sorry you were treated unfairly in the past by certain parts people at MI. Dave's policy at the shop is to always bend over to make sure customers are treated fairly. Some, in the past, didn't always follow this code. If the thing is missing parts, you should return it. Or, given that you canceled the order, you should return it if you don't want it. Or, if you tell me what is missing, I will do my best to get the missing parts from Teo. If Teo doesn't have them, maybe I can make what you need. We'll try to make it right in any case.

The Guzzi one or the cf one? I can tell you prices when I go back to work on Friday, if you still wanna know. The cf fairing looks great. I'd stay with it, except that one day a truck pulled up to MI with a Coppa Italia inside a damaged crate. There were really slight scratches on the tank and fairing, so Moto Guzzi is sending a replacement tank and fairing. If they don't ask for the damaged ones back, and they seldom do, I get them to put on my Billy Bob. Billy's gonna be a faux Coppa (but with its fairing mounted to swing with the bars, as on a Scura). I've even got a warranty-takeoff Ohlins shock from a Scura that I'll get repaired and install later. And I'm working on a set of Ohlins forks from another damaged bike . . . Is the Ohlins steering damper worth paying for?

I have the camera. What I lack is the mental horsepower to use it effectively with the web. I'd love to post a pic of the speedo mileage. When it crashed it was on 6666.5 and a half (the last six was just starting to show). When I repaired the speedo and tach a few weeks ago (they were crunched in the accident, so I tore apart a few warranty takeoff speedos to get their housings and glass and bezels) I fitted a speedo cable and wound it up with my drill to get 6666.6 exactly. With any luck, I'll probably get 'im fired up today. We'll see how he runs without a PC III. That'll have to be next, I suppose. I'm already slightly over my budget of $3,000 ($1,600 for the bike, plus $1,500 in parts), so I hope it isn't necessary.

Oh, forgot one thing. I also installed the Motobits foot controls. Nice stuff, and very easy to install because the instructions are excellent.

I have seen hundreds of shells that were toast without scoring a nitrided crank. I also saw the crank and bearings in question. The crank is fine. The rear bearings most definitely are not fine. Believe me: As horribly as the assholes at Piaggio treat us (MI and the other dealers), we would not screw a valued customer to save the aforementioned assholes a few bucks. The converse is nearer the truth. I'll bet it's the same at MPH or any other reputable Guzzi shop.

Crashed Billy Bob is nearly whole again. Last week I finished putting on new forks and mounting the instrument and a carbon-fiber fairing mounted like on a Scura. Today, I took off the carbon canister, added a Teo Lamers centerstand, and a used FBF crossover. The stand was a return from a customer. He swore there was absolutely no way it would fit. Plus, another customer is returning a stand after claiming there was no way to mount it. The latter customer even took it to a Guzzi shop in Oregon, and they couldn't figure out how to put it on, either. So, I had to see for myself: Do they fit, or not? Two hours later, I had my answer. Fits just fine. I think the lack of instructions is what stymied these folks. I'll write a set to send with any more of these I sell. Then, I had to see if I could make it work with the X-type FBF crossover. It was already used and a little beat up, so I just used a ball-pean hammer to make strategic dents that allow it to clear the centerstand. Then, I bolted up a dented set of Mistral titanium cans I can score for cheap, if I like them. Scura Bob's looking purty good. I hope it turns out to be even half the bike my Eldo is.

It should be "lobbeth thou thy Holy Hand Grenade" Thou needest to watch The Holy Grail again soon!

Not one meaningful thing changed in the engine for 2004, so why did they change the oil recommendation? I believe it is a misprint in the shop manual that then was carried forward in all the documentation. How so? Well, if you look at the shop manual page where it first mentions the change to 5w-40 (pg. 4 of the R section, covering the 2003 version of the V11 Sport series), the footer at the bottom of the page reads "Variants California EV-California Aluminium . . ." I believe they created this page using the equivalent page from the manual for the PI EVs, which use 5w-40 because of their hydraulic lifters, and someone forgot to change the recommended oil weight to 20w-50 for the Sports. I'll use 5w-40 for the winter but 20-50 for the summers.

If you're not in a hurry, I will have a Guzzi carbon-fiber fairing available as soon as I get from Guzzi a Coppa Italia fairing that's been on order for two months.

The Guzzi Ti system is basically sold out here and in Europe. Individual dealers may have a set, but Guzzi and the distributors appear to be out of stock. I know 'cause I have been trying to find sets to stock at MI and for my own nearly resuscitated Billy Bob project. The regular Mistrals I could get, last time I checked. Power COmmanders I always have in stock. I'm off work until Friday, though. After that I could check, if you want me to.

We have sold maybe 8-9 Coppas at Moto I. All but one left the showroom with the Ti pipes installed. I can see no valid reason for not installing them right away.

It's a 16-mm goldline remote-reservoir master cylinder. If Gordon at Valley can't help you, I've got a source (I work at Moto International). Actually, I've been thinking of converting my B-Bob to use black integrated-reservoir master cylinders (looks much better with handlebars, in my opinion), so if that looks affordable, I may soon have a used mster cylinder to sell.

If there are any of these left, I'll take a set.

We have one that's already installed on a bike that's sitting on the sales floor. I think I could sell that one. I'll ask Dave tomorrow. Or, if you don't mind spending a bit more money, we had Motobits make up several sets of billet controls that replaces the stock pegs and levers, moving both down and a little bit forward. These are $300 and are what I use on my Ballabio mutant thing

Thatsa lotsa schrapnel run through the engine. Likely, the oil filter got it all. Make the dealer look at the big-end shells for signs of damage, too.

Pete: An increase from 700 to 1064 is an increase of 52 percent. Tell her that she's a chip off the ol' block.

The Coppas are all sold at MI. We have one Cafe Sport left.

Ducati was a separate company and making motorcycles while H-D owned Aermacchi. Aermacchi later became Cagiva, but H-D never owned Ducati and had nothing to do with the company's existence. H-D almost bought Moto Morini and even looked at buying Moto Guzzi, but so far as I know never even looked at Ducati.

SO what's fiar? I have a set of LM 1000 heads that are already modified with bath-tub chambers and dual plugs. You have to use them with flat-top pistons. Make me an offer. Or, shit, maybe I'll put them on the Billy Bob?

Harlequin leathers are so . . . Enzo. . . Wear them, and I garantee some smart-ass on an Eldorado will blow by you like you are in reverse. It's a curse, ya see?

We've got a few alternatives to these at MI. The best is made by Motobits. They are loosely based on the Centauro controls and move the pegs forward just a little bit and down more and come with new brake and shift levers that are fully adjustable for length and position. Made from billet. All pieces available separately, should you crash and break one. I'll be installing a set on Billy Bob tomorrow early a.m. Last I checked, I was unable to get the Guzzi ergal sets in the US or anywhere else.

Rotella is good. The synth version is even better. I bought 2 gallons of it yesterday for $15 a gallon. I use it in my Jeep and will use it in the Billy Bob. Diesel oil ratings are progressive. When a new rating is devised, the oil meeting that rating also has to meet all the old ratings. (This is not true for S[park]-rated oils) In the day, the CI-4-rated oils met the SG rating, so today's CI-4 and CI-4-plus-rated oils meet SG still.

Neither. If you are ordering it, get Mobil 1 Truck and SUV 5w-40. It's a true synthetic and has all the good stuff they've taken out of normal gasoline-engine oils in the last 5 years.

Blow clean the oil passages in the rocker spindles. Check the wear on the rocker pads that press open the valves. If there is wear, draw-file them flat and polish with fine sandpaper or buff them. Check for wear on the tops of valve stems. Drawfile them flat, if necessary.