big J

It would be easy to name names, but did the dealer actually fit the tyres,were they sent to a local "kwik-fit" type operator, or a previous owner? And lets face it we've all made stupid mistakes ourselves.I'm sure the extent and depth of the dealers expertise will become all too apparent soon enough. If it turns out he's been negligent, I don't see why the info shouldn't be shared. By the same token, if he's done a good job,put the word out.

I believe injector pulse time is controlled by ecu function, this should be adjustable if you can get someone with access to weber/marellisoftware, maybe your local dealer. There should be a "fuel trim" or similar type function.

Thank god for that, I thought it was only mine that was like that. Checked all the TPS ,tappets,etc,etc. Still rougher than a badgers arse. Take it out next day, fine. Next day, rough again-WTF?! I was beginning to believe Luigi had tuned my ecu to Mandello local radio,if there's good news at home,she's happy.

Nope, doesn't do it for me at all. Maybe it'll be nice when it's finished.

Many,many,many years go,when the earth was young, I made a chopper out of a 750 sidevalve Harley.I wanted to be Dennis Hopper in Easy Rider. The frame was stretched and raked,springers extended by some godawful mount. It still had the foot clutch and hand shift and was a comlpete fucking nightmare to ride in town, hill starts inducing fear and paranoia in particular(and there are some steep hills in Glasgow) Did I care? nope, thought I was Jesus Christ, John Lennon and Clint Eastwood all rolled up in one! What a dope.Had to give it up after returning from a Chopper Club run in England,I was pissing blood.About 1500 miles in a week on a rigid frame had bruised my kidneys- I was overjoyed!Thought I was dying! I still like a well executed chop, but no way would I have one again, and anyone who uses one to bolster their pathetic ego trip fantasies is a bigger loser than even I was, I was young and impressionable(that's my excuse,anyway) any middle aged office worker who dresses and acts like some weekend outlaw deserves all the scorn and derision they will inevitably attract. I never hold back with these guys, and had plenty of run-ins with them when I had my old Shovelhead. And BTW, anyone who notices their Guzzi vibrating should have tried that sucker at 90 before I rebuilt the engine. Brackets fractured, tank split, no feeling at all in the hands after a minute or two-the worlds fastest jackhammer.

Sadly, we get all that shite over here too,some fat git and his pouty son "building a theme bike at a vast profit from some old crap left lying around". A truly original thought would probably kill them. Think about it, a Hardly Ableson type engine, tuned,bored, stroked, whatever. In a chassis package that makes it SLOWER than a stock H-D in anything other than a straight line.ANY FOOL can make a bike slower than stock, and these shows have more clowns than Cirque se Soliel.

I always thought titanium air bleed scews were worth at least 10 hp i.e. no where near as cost effective as aluminium headers.

Hi David, I would imagine that the stock ecu can be reconfigured to some extent, tho I have no personal experience of that. All modern bikes have a "hole" in the powerband around 5000rpm to pass noise/ emmisions tests, I was aware of this before I got mine,and had planned tomodify it slightly to eliminate this effect. I forgot to add, the crossover made a difference, definately.Whilst I agree that it can be quite expensive, I was lucky, I got the Mistral cans secondhand, Todd at Guzzitech does a great deal on a PC111, the dearest bit was the crossover. If the bike is wallowing at the back, try increasing spring preload a bit, back off the damping to as little as possible til you get in the ballpark. Vibration- yeah,mine vibrates like that too, but I'm used to old Brits,Laverda,Harleyetc so I cant say it bothers me too much. I'd agree tho, that a dynamic balance of the rotating assembly would probably work wonders. Cant help much with the Ohlins I'm afraid, mine has the el cheapo Marz/Sachs combo which is good enough for me.

Sorry,you're quite right.I forgot, I'd been drinking too

BelfastGuzzi was talking about drilling out the main jets, retiming the cam, lowering the compression via peelable shim type head gaskets, a vernier adjustable timing system and adapting barrels fom a Barr and Stroud sleeve valve engine last time I spoke to him, just to get around this particular problem. At least, I think that's what he said, he'd been drinking..........

1- What kind of vibration? High or low frequency? 2-What do you mean,"wobble"? Does it weave,headshake,wallow-what? 3-Put on a set of cans,murder the airbox lid with a holesaw, fit a PC111, dyno it. It's a different bike. 4-Take off the Bridgestones and fit Pirelli Diablo's. Huge difference. 5-Get it out and get some miles on it. They get better over time. 6-On that particular day,at that particular time,it might well have been the best they could do-it's up to you to make it better. 7-Recorded thnking goes back further than 3500 years you vegetable. 8-I'm originally frae Ru'glen and I'm back in Lanark every wee while visiting my kids if you want any help.

Replace the valves, they are shite, literally.

Dont bother with Jim Allans in Falkirk. Nice enough folk, but not quite on the ball. I've heard of a place in Ayr- MotoEcosse or something but no further info yet.

It's only the magazine testers who complained about the old bikes. Any guys I meet on the road are interested in the old girl,and she has surprised a few with her ability to make good progress on the road.Whilst I appreciate that the press are important to the manufacturers, lets face it, nobody would have bought a V11 on the strength of any test I ever read of one, barring Alan Cathcart's in a very old copy of Moto Retro I have. Fortunately Guzzi types seem immune to the bullshit peddled in most bike mags nowadays. I'm personally delighted with my bike, tho it would probably lose any" shootout" in todays -latest-fastest- obsessed press. Except maybe one for burgundy V11 sports with high bars and a bikini fairing.

And exactly what's wrong with Avon Speedmasters?

Rooting through the shed looking for a fibre washer I came across the BelfastGuzzi holy grail- A chronometric speedo off some long deceased brit! With this, I'll know what time I'm going,not how fast.I can now be back just afterI've left, no matter how far I go!I'll never be late again,cos I can just reset the speedo,and I'm on time! Brilliant!

Ok, I'll pass.

Poor old Fred,I know how he feels. Yer a rascal,BFG, cant stop chucklin.

Hey,Pete, I quite fancy a bingle. How exactly do I get one? I dunno what it is,but it sounds good.

Good man yourself,Nogbad. Could you take a picture of the inside of the sump so those of us who havent seen inside have some idea of the relationship between pipe,strainer,etc?

Well,so far we have lots of theories and possibilities and maybe's, but poor old BFG is no closer to getting a good night's sleep. Can anyone say if a windage plate/sump baffle is available and works? Do the deep sumps help,or is there now so much oil in the sump that oil surge is worse due to the greater volume sloshing around? Would simply extending the pick-up pipe to within,say,6mm from the sump face work,perhaps augmented by a weir of some kind formed from something like devcon or plastic metal( havent dropped my sump yet, so dont know what it's like inside). On the subject of oil loss,it's a big air-cooled twin. If it doesn't get hot enough,you will get emulsification,simple as that.If you're going for a good run,check it before you go.If it needs some while you're out,top it up. It's an old design of engine,some will never use oil,some will use more than usual, get used to what yours does and work along with it to keep it happy. Just keep checking, it'll outlive your kids if you treat it right.

WHAT? Water in your whisky??! Are you mad????

There are pinch bolts on the fork and steering stem bores of the top yoke,loosen these. At the top of the steering stem,is a little grommet atop the nut( it doesnt look like a nut, more a domed cover),pry it out. Beneath you will see what looks like a bodged hole(kind of a flower pattern), get the best fitting allen key or torx tool you can and loosen it off. Remove your existing bars,but dont disconnect anything yet,let it all hang,(man).Knock off the top yoke with a plastic mallet,fit up your new bars and replace.Swap over the switchgear,controls,etc.Have a beer and congratulate yourself. Now go back and check EVERYTHING again.And swear you'll never tell anyone what a bloody fool you nearly were by going for a run with the handlebars loose.If you're worried about anything coming slack,put a dab of loctite on it.

I'd agree with Skeeve, a 1 way valve into the airbox would work ok. Or get up half an hour earlier and go for a decent run before work,skiver. Just because you're Lord Mayor doesn't mean you can lie in bed half the day. If you're stuck, get one of your flunkeys to take it out, or drop it off here, I'll do my best to fry out any emulsion.

Ferguzzi,you can see the Centauro Owners Group website which is linked to this site in the forums section.Read em and weep,baby. The problems found by members seem to be many and varied,many more than are posted for v11's although it's probably like any site, you dont get to hear about the good days, only the bad ones. John O Sullivan will be ok,he wont be able to hear the Centauro self destructing over the racket from his Scura clutch.