Greg Field

At MI, we got a shipment of parts this week from Guzzi—the first since OCTOBER. Yes, they have been closed for over two months. It sucks, truly, for us in the biz almost as badly as it sucks for the customers. I will look to see if I have any of those rubbers in stock. I may be able to "borrow" them to you until your warranty parts arrive. GF

Piaggio's parts and bikes pipeline finally opened far enough to spit thinks as far as Seattle. I have two mountains of boxes, which represents three months of parts orders, plus two Brev 11s. The production Breva is at least as nicely finished as the show bikes and apparently is a really nice ride (I haven't ridden it yet). One of our mechanics is German and a big BMW fan. He came back from a ride totally impressed. He said, "It is everything you could want and more." Another mechanic said, "The steering is amazing. You can slide the rear end around corners and feel totally in control the whole time. That's a hell of a nice bike." This is very encouraging. Also encouraging: A windshield for the Breva 11 was among the parts mountain, as were some Breva 11 spares we had ordered. Maybe they really are serious about supporting this thing? The new valve-cover gaskets are really slick and look like they'll work on the older machines. And the new timing-cover gasket is so similar to the old that it suggests that it would not be too difficult to adapt the new timing cover (with alternator mounts) to the older engines. My Ballabio may soon have an alternator . . . More when I have shipped the mountain of parts . . .

I've been using a Pit Bull stand in ressurrecting my crashed Billy Bob. Works great. Available from the mfr. or MI. We got in a Coppa with minor scratches on the tank and fairing yesterday, so Billy might re-emerge dressed in Coppa colors. Alas, the Ohlins forks were not scratched. . .

Sorry, haven't been paying attention. Apparently I wasn't when I wrote the tunnel bit, either. That's only on the older bikes. That access plug can still leak on the newer ones, though, and gravity will carry any oil that leaks to the outboard side of the head. I use Permatex thread sealer on those plugs, and then they stop leaking until next removed. I could also be a porous casting.

If it has the tank-mounted pump, be extra careful that you do not break off the right-angle plastic spigots that exit the tank. These are part of the pump assembly and are not available separately.

WHen you're ready to do it, PM me. You have about everything you will need and will just need to do some fairly minor machine work and fitting.

Any of you in the PNW riding to Snow Camp next weekend? For those who might want to go, it's Friday through Monday at the western entrance of Mt. Rainier National Park, just east of Elbe. Elevation of camp is about 2,500 feet, so the snow shouldn't be too deep this year. It's free, except for Park entrance fees and camping fees. The organizers and participants bring unbelievable quantities of food and home-brewed beer, which everyone consumes around roaring campfires. Highlights of the food are nearly non-stop deep-fried turkeys and the bottomless chili pot. Breakfast includes SOS cooked by an old Army mess sergeant and the specialty of the house: chicken-fried bologna. There's great riding in the (usually) frost-free river valleys nearby, and there's always plenty of "tire chains" available for those who want to attempt the ride up to the Paradise lookout. Chains are required by the rangers, so we make our own from massive plastic zip-ties. I work Friday and Saturday but will be going down on Sunday and camping overnight. I have a great route to get there. If anyone wants to join in, let me know. GF

Attached to my Eldo? You don't know the half of it. There's good reason for that, though. Disc Eldos aren't necessarily that scarce or that expensive. I bought one for $600 this year, and another friend of mine bought one for $150. These were not runners and were both found on Craigslist. Also, you can convert a drum bike to be a disc bike. I can show you how. Find a disc front wheel and a set of sliders, and it's easy from there. If you can get the fork internals, too, so much the better.

In my opinion, the best combination of looks and function is a '74-75 disc-brake police Eldorado. Like mine. Totally comfortable, and easily upgradable for better handling and braking. Mine has been known to run away from the V11 Sports on the twisty roads down by Mt. St. Helens. And when we get back to Seattle, their asses are dragging and their backs screaming for a chiropractor, while I'm ready for a couple hundred more miles. There're a few things you will have to fix to make a 30-year-old Eldo dead reliable, though, so budget in $1,000 for parts. V7 Sports're really nice, too. I have always regretted selling mine. From there, I'd jump past the overpriced LeMans 850 and the under-performing CX-100 to the Mk III LeMans. A very under-rated bike that is currently at the nadir of the value curve and will someday be worth real money. There's a nice white (rare) one for sale right now in Seattle. I'd be happy to assess it for you (I've only seen the ad, not the bike.)

Moves them down and slightly back. We're gonna put the kit on a demo Ballabio, so I may be able to take a picture of it today. I don't think I'm supposed to post prices on the forum, so I won't. PM me or email to parts@motointernational.com. GF

If anybody wants one, we at MI have had Evolutione make some more for us. email parts@motointernational.com for details.

There's a tunnel between the inboard side of the head and the plug side. If that o-ring weeps, the oil leaks down the tunnel to the plug side of th head and gets blown back and on your knees or throttle bodies. It often looks like it's coming from the rocker cover.

I use just whatever grease is closest at the time. Leaks from the access plug for the inboard cylinder studd are 100 times more common than valve-cover gasket leaks, in my experience.

On my own bikes, I grease them well with normal grease and just snug down the screws. Never had a leaker, and I can re-use the same gaskets for 10 years or so 'til they finally tear and have to be replaced. On customer bikes, I use new gaskets and grease them. Never had a leaker. Why replace them everytime, then? The bastards complain if I don't! I'm not kidding, either.

What Hack said. Most of the sanding is to both sides of center. Who here wears out his tires on the edges before on the center, in street riding? Not many, if any, I'd guess. All you need do is break the glaze. And consider this: While you are riding ever so gently to break in your slippery new tires, what if some dumbass pulls a stunt that requires extreme maneuvers on your part to avoid a collision? You'll be on your ass is what. But, it's your hide and your bike, so do what you want. I'll pull out the sandpaper and have tires that stick from the first centmeter I drive on them.

Pay more for tires? Because of this stuff, you already pay more for insurance to cover all the damage from such crashes. Maybe the insurance companies oughta be the ones to sue the tire manufacturers. Some body needs to make them stop endangering so many riders. Just the other day, one of our mechanics at MI took out a new Breva 750 he had just prepped for sale. The bike slid out from under him at the first corner, within sight of the shop. He wasn't hot-dogging it, and the street was dry. Personally, I've never crashed because of this stuff, but I know too many who have and have gotten hurt. It's time to make them stop. If Guzzi oiled your brake rotors and pads to make them last longer, would that be OK with you?

I use an angle grinder and abrasive flap wheel to lightly rough 'em up and take off the nubbins and slippery stuff. Normally, I'm dead against law-suits, but the truth is, too many of us have been injured and killed by this shit and it has to stop. The only way it's gonna stop is if one of us sues the manufacturers and distributors and whoever else sprays tires with slippery shit in order to preserve them. Tires, especially tires for powerful sport bikes, should be clean and sticky when they leave the factory and warehouse.

Alex: I live in Seattle, near where the tester does. There is no contradiction in the points you cited, though I can understand why you might think there was. It is not dusty here. In fact, the roads are wet or damp for 6-8 months of the year. The dirt is black but tends to be kept to road surfaces by the rain and dampness. When one drives on the roads, the black mud ends up on the vehicle's wheels. Little of it is stirred into the air where it would get sucked into air filters. This is what he was trying to say.

Have the titanium exhaust put on before delivery if you like a good-sounding exhaust. If you do not want the extra noise, sell the titanium exhaust (I may be interested). Load the rings, and get them seated quickly. Nothing you will do is as brutal as was done by the factory test riders already, but you must complete the process of seating the rings.

I've had two different LM 1000 engines dual-plugged. In both cases, the return lines from the frame were routed to nipples added to the back edge of the sump extender.

I just copied only the English pages off the workshop maual CD, with all the updates for the later bikes, and we'll be copying them and selling them through Moto Intl., if anyone wants one.

K&Ns are the world's best butterfly strainers. Hold 'em up to the light, oiled or not, and you'll see that even gnats can get through. Same for BMG and other gauze types. Keep 'em wet, or they are even worse filters. When the oil goes away, all that dirt they trapped with the oil gets sucked into your engine. I cannot tell you how many thousand gray, dry K&N pods I've seen on bikes around here. It seems the norm. K&Ns are an article of faith. You either believe in them or you don't. As filters of dirt, they are inferior; as a sieve to let air in, they are superior, when clean at least. Fortunately, the air where most of us live is clean enough that we'd get by OK with no filter over the amount of miles we will ride our bikes. In such use, a K&N is OK. But why bother, for an extra 2.33 horsepower you aren't gonna use anyway? If you wanna do your own test, smear a little grease on the intake tract downstream of your K&N and ride for even a few miles down a dirt road. Feel that gritty grease with your finger afterwards, and ask if you really want that grit in your engine. As Jim said, K&Ns become the only choice when the filter is likely to become wet. I live in Seattle; it rains a bit here, and I get by fine with paper on my truck and most of my bikes. Paper filters do swell a little from humidity, and this can restrict flow.

Thanks, David. To me, the FBF and Stucchi look identical. In the absence of any FBF crossover horror stories, I'll prob'ly go with it. Still deciding on mufflers. I started tearing stuff off the bike last night. I think it's gonna be an easier fix than I at first thought. I don't have the keys for the H-B bags, though, so I can't get them off. Hopefully, I can get it from the PO on Tuesday.

Thanks, all. What's the word on the FBF crossover?. OK? Shit? Good enough?

Yes, speedy recovery. At least this didn't happen in May or June. You'll be good as new for the next best-riding season. GF