mike wilson

You missed an "o" from the verb.

Available overthecounter anywhere in the UK?

Sliders = protectors? m

I remember K&N adverts in the 1970's that proposed that the filter got better as it was used, for just this reason. m

That's your chances of selling your bike on this forum reduced to zero, then.

Now _that's_ a bonus! I have great difficulty explaining to people the principle of conservation of momentum in respect to fuel economy. People who are just car drivers (generally) or who have little mechanical knowledge just don't get it at all. mike

I disagree. Those are all things that you will learn to deal with by training for riding on the road. _All_ of the people I know who are track day enthusiasts (not many, I agree) either do not ride on the road (so their prime motive for track days _is_ to see how fast they can go in a circle) or have had serious accidents where excess speed was a prime factor. To improve your road riding learn road riding skills, not track skills. mike

Just what sort of tyres are you using, that you would _need_ something like that? m

Yes, but the words "dust" and "Ireland" only occur together in sentences like: "It would be dusty in Ireland if it didn't hiss down with rain all the time." 8-))) Mine get done at about 4,000mile intervals. I use paraffin, which goes black...... mike

Won't work on those.......

Except those dirt numbers are looking at the figures from the reverse end. The magic of statistics, again. You can say that the K&Ns were 3% less efficient or you can say that they passed 18 times more dirt. Which end you look at depends on whose marketing department is writing. If the figures are based on a nearly 100% efficiency, _in the real world_ how important is it? If I really wanted to hammer K&Ns with the numbers available from this test, I would say that they passed ~90% of passable dirt. I would be very interested in an analysis of the size of the dust particles passed and collected by each filter. IIRC, the size for IC engines that was most harmful is about 10 microns. BTW, I'm not particularly defending K&Ns here. I am assuming that all the other makes listed are "standard" filters that go in the OEM filter holder. As far as Guzzis are concerned, that (the OEM) is what I am against and the K&Ns are a less than perfect, much better solution to air filtration. If there is a better option (i.e., better filtration, longer life, CHEAPER) then I am right behind that. AFAIK, K&Ns are the only solution available here in the UK. mike

Confidence may be improved but that is not an entirely good thing. m

More information/website? m

As above, plus I don't see the point of rushing round trying to disappear up my own chuff. Boring with a capital B. When I get on a bike, I want to improve my road riding skills (riding on a track won't do that) and go somewhere. mike

Hah! Bumhug! Ebenezer Spooner

Whack some Bataid in. This will help a battery that has suffered discharge. You won't get all your capacity back but it will extend its life. Let the smart-alec remarks begin......

Assuming you are not being facetious, those are just thin plastic plug covers because God forbid that anyone should see a nekkid spark plug. Might give them ideas. Especially at the jaunty angle they sit at on Guzzis. Anyway, no sliding ability there. mike

FWIW, my take on filters. The original Guzzi filter system was the most unmitigated piece of convoluted, plastic garbage ever fitted. It did two things well: filtering (when assembled properly, which is not easy to do) and reduction of intake roar. Maintenance is an absolute nightmare. It's quicker to change a tyre than an air filter. Changing to (whatever brand) filters attached to the carbs makes life so much easier wrt maintenance that I would be prepared to put up with reduced filtering performance. Which brings me to the tests. As has already been pointed out, the difference in filtering ability between the best filterer and the K&Ns is about 3%. That is a liveable number for me. My bike is going to wear out 3% faster? No problem. Except, of course, that is not entirely true. Investigation by the Transport and Road research Laboratory (TRRL, now the TRL http://www.trl.co.uk/default.asp) in the UK showed that it was not only the amount of dust that mattered but its size. The ideal particle to cause wear is one that is just bigger than the gap between the things that it is going to damage. Examining a number of filters then available (this was late 1970s) no appreciable difference was found in the filtering ability wrt the particles that would cause most damage in an IC engine. Sure, there were small percentage differences but all the filters tested removed virtually all the particles. Rather like the ones in the present test. I can only assume that filtering abilites have improved since then. For me, the virtues of ease of maintenance (which will therefore be done - I have seen three Guzzis running excessively rich due to blocked original filters) far outweighs the small deficiency in filtering capability. What I _really_ object to is the outrageous price of the things!!! mike

Try telling that to small block owners. My V50's forks were so flexi, I could sometimes change bearings before the tyre was worn out.... m

Some interesting dates in there. I was told last week that the Norge ("the new, fully-faired tourer" is what the salesman said) will be in UK showrooms in February next year. That ties in with the dates given in the interview for US arrival, given the delays we have seen this year. At 5/600 units per annum for the whole range, Piaggio will not be wanting to rack up costs getting it there faster. mike

Am I alone in finding it very funny that Honda is running a "Heritage" advert? mike

There's new stuff in the dealer in NuT for not much more than £5000. I think a V11 Sport naked and Ballabio. Griso and Breva are only £7495ish. mike

Depending on how flexy the forks are and how worn they are, single brake machines most certainly do veer under braking. mike

Some interesting observations on ggl (guzzi gear lash) here. http://morini.com.au/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=1915

Managed to register this morning but still waiting for my confirmation/activation email. Guzzitech used to be an excellent, active, technical board but all the breakdowns in the last six months have really knocked it back. 8-( mike