big J

Thanks guys,my son and his pals are delighted with their new "ammunition"! Teenagers,eh?

I didn't mean to imply that we should all start insulting each other,sorry if it came across as that. I too enjoy being a guest on Jaap's forum and the last thing I would want is to cause offence to anyone. Perhaps I should re-phrase my initial comment; what's the best put-down you've heard or been on the receiving end of? Many of your colleagues Martin are masters of the one liner; "Having trouble taking off, wing commander?" "Looking for the gentleman with the chequered flag, were we, sir?" As I said, nothing personal, no slagging matches or attacks but we've all heard or copped one. A favourite of mine I heard or read somewhere - "The barriers are down, the lights are flashing, but the train ain't coming"

My son was reading the forum over my shoulder and commented how courteous everyone is compared to some of the chatrooms/forums he reads. So come on ya bunch of spamheads, whats the best insult you can come up with? No slanging matches, but it would be interesting to compare notes from around the world. Might even learn some new ones! Doubt if you lot could teach me anything tho, if brains was dynamite, you couldn't ruffle your own hair.

Aaah 17! The heady joys of the open road and my BSA bantam, merrily smoking our way down sunny lanes, 10fags and a fiver in my pocket.Bliss. Funny, life has it's ups and downs,but few are as memorable as your first summer as an "adult". "All broken down by the side of the road, I was never more alive or alone,.....gonna take it with me when I go..." as the great man said. What would you have done when you were 17 and your parents said NO! Yep do it anyway and sort out the fallout later in my case. Make them aware of the dangers and pitfalls, get them to turn their bullshit filters up to MAX, and let them get on with it. They'll make mistakes,do the right thing,do the wrong thing, exasperate you to the point of rage and make you the proudest dad in the world, all sometimes in one day if my lot are anything to go by! John, proud father of 1 son 15 yrs old ,daughter of 9 yrs, stepdad to 4 girls aged 21, 19, 16 and 11.

Does this include LED lamps?

Dont know if the design of Supertrapp pipes has changed in the last few years, but the last experience I had of them was that unless you had almost all of the supplied discs{they fit into an end cap to effectively give you a larger or smaller hole at the end of the pipe} fitted, they cost power and torque. To make mid range torque, which was the point of the project,we fitted 10 or 11[sorry, memory not as good as it used to be- I think-cant remember if it used to be better than it is nowadays] discs-torque was up but the noise was deafening, it became a straight thru megga more or less. I loved it, but the owner didn't. When we removed discs to quieten it, we lost power. [Measured on a dyno]Bike was a modified Harley Sportster.

A four cylinder Duke- that'll be twice as many breakdowns then?

How cold is it where you ride? Not to underestimate your local weather or distance covered, but modern all-weather clothing is pretty good. The girlfriend has a Bering jacket that'll just about melt ice cream and it's not electric.

Usually say I'm goin for a burn

Alex, check Jean Marc's website "Daytona 1225"

Agreed, no disrespect to Guzzi's engineers. I'd imagine that with decent financial backing the quality control issues can be tackled; who knows maybe Piaggio can build MG into a major player like Ducati. Hope Luigi still has a place in the future tho, I'd kinda miss him and we'd have nothing to complain about!

Dirty rotten scum sucking maggots. I'm driving a truck across uk and Ireland, many other truckers are also bikers, I will pass round pics, someone may see or hear something. Rest assured, if the vermin are found, they will be shown no mercy. Some of us have had bikes stolen too.

Thanks Al, just read the dual plug thread, you are to be congratulated for your determination to see this through. Did the head work raise compression to the same level [approx] as hi comp pistons? Was the squish band modified? Sorry for the dumb questions, I'm just fascinated by getting more power out of an engine, especially one that has been around as long as Guzzi's vee. Before buying mine, I would have assumed that development would have ceased to be an issue,that Guzzi would have this thing so refined it sips port.Moto Guzzi:dontya just love 'em!

Just noticed the "dealers" thing at the bottom of the page Still think a "register" would be a good idea but there's enough or jaap to do already.

Thanks for the info emry,my opinion was only formed as I said from building engines and looking to see "how can I improve this?". Visual inspection and imagination are all welland good, but it's nice to have preconceptions proved or disproved. Would you be able to find the excel sheet? Be nice to see it. I still think that hi-comp pistons would really benefit from dual plugs but again this is only from previous experience of building engines and I have no direct measurable evidence. Anyone out there tried this or seen it done on a Guzzi? My old shovelhead made more power and torque and ran smoother with dual plugs. Started a lot easier too.

My PC111 arrived today from Todd at Guzzitech only a week after ordering, it's arrived before stuff I've ordered from the uk a week before getting in touch with Todd. Just wanted to thank him publically, many people nowadays are quick to complain and slow to praise,so I just wanted to say thanks. As an aside, I've also had good responses from Corsa Italiana, Motorworks and Motomecca. Would it be possible to set up a register of recommended dealers?

I dont think there was anything actually wrong with the bike,but more likely the same reason bikes like that and Yamaha's FJ range are no longer available-new models coming in, have to sell them.

Gotcha, thanks Faz. Over here that model was snappily called the "GTR 1000". Believe it was dropped from the range some years back?.

Not sure if I have this right, butAFAIK longer rods promote torque due to increased length acting against the crankpin, lighter pistons allow higher rev ceiling ,rod angularity at mid stroke is reduced decreasing bore wear, piston spends more time at TDC so better fuel burn. Could of course be a load of nonsense, just my own observations from arsing about with engines. Anyone with any scientific info input please? Just a wee question; Al will you test your engine with both single and dual plugs? I reckon that a dual plug head will show the full benefit of hi-comp pistons by allowing the fuel to burn right across the chamber instead of being partially shrouded by the dome on the piston. Ignition timing should maybe be adjusted due to the flame burning faster. As I said, this could be a load of bollocks,any opinions/comments?

Im just curious-what kind of bike is a "Concours". Over here it means a bike which is never ridden,kept in a sealed polythene bag and if so much as a speck of dust falls upon it,it is obliterated by an arsenal of cleaning and polishing chemicals that would stand comparison with Saddams best storehouse. Obviously not what you had, but it is a moniker I've never heard before.

I dont see why they cant use the Breva motor and build another cafe racer like the V11. IMHO the Breva and Griso are ok, but I dont know why they cant seem to keep it simple rather than adding more "styling". Engine,frame,suspension, wheels,tank and seat. Make it look good and discard all that other shit.

Toffee, caramel and thick thick chocolate. MMMMMMMMMM............

Distressed? I'm absolutely mortified! Still,at least I'll recognise you in a crowd!

I'd change the fuel filter and plugs,clean out the tank and fuel system and it should be ok.Petrol in a diesel engine is a lot worse;seen a bent rod in a 12 litre truck engine. Then again,maybe the Ducati rider got it right in the first case