twhitaker

It means your tank is ventilating properly. A vacuum can cause problems getting fuel into the combustion chamber.

Fixed. The monster C clamp worked.

I'm going to try distorting the bag with a monster C clamp enough to pry loose the latch.

The squeak is probably the clutch splines sliding on the splineshaft.

Yesterday I managed to mount the trunk on my V11 luggage rack wrong and am unable to remove it. At the back of the trunk there are a couple of steel arms that are supposed to slide under the frame and hold the trunk in place while the latch pulls everything forward. I was forcing the latch into place when it started feeling strange. A lot tighter than it usually is. I looked under and saw my problem. Those arms were on top of the frame. The front of the latch had snapped over the frame and the flexibility of the plastic bag is helping that latch maintain its firm grip on the frame. All my efforts to remove the trunk have gone for naught. Any ideas?

That sounds like a smart move. Ever driven in Seattle or Tacoma at 5 PM?

Hope Santa has deep pockets. For saddlebags I guess the price is not that bad. I met with a guy on a BMW last month who burned the bottom of one of his Tourtech bags. $400 for one bag! A couple years ago the 40 liter bags were about $500 and the rack was $275. I figured the bags could share bikes for that price. I swap them back and forth with my California. For a couple hundred more you can get their aluminum bags. They fit the same rack. That's what I want Santa to get me.

You might try tossing in a little Molycoat.

MG Cycle sells them. www.mgcycle.com Tell Gordon I sent you and he'll give you the same discount he gave me.

The installation of the HB rack is straightforward. The instructions are in German. The only confusing part was the crossbar that fits below the fender. It has a mounting bracket that fits up into the rear subframe. There is a plastic piece that bridges from the top to the backof the fender. It needs to be removed and altered according to the template furnished. I covered the opening I sawed with a piece of rubber.

Uh, my SOWMBO is the one who bought me this bike as a wedding present. The cover has been in storage since day one. Bike has over 18,000 miles on it. 16,000 of them 2 up. About 10,000 on trips. Read my post "Mini Tour."

www.kuryakyn.com makes some highway peg offsets that might work.

The mufflers on my bike have foot pads mounted near the front. She puts her heels on the peg and the front of her foot on the pad. I've thought about making a set of offset pegs that move her feet to a more comfortable position but I've yet to hear her complain.

Le Volpi Ciccione added a couple Guzzis to his lineup this year.

It's a long shot, but try Le Volpi Ciccione. He advertises in the Guzzi newsletter. He's an agrotourismo coordinator and may be able to work out a rental deal. www.levolpiciccione.it or info@levolpiciccione.it

Brian, Welding is not such a good idea. If the electricity decides to take a ground path through a gear or bearing there will be arcing marks on the components.

The screws should be torqued to 8 to 12 lb/ft. Use a little bit of oil or, preferably, antisieze paste on the screws. As long as you do not overtorque them the tapped holes should last a long long time. My other bike, a 96 California, has the filter inside and the screws have survived 20 filter changes.

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Read the thread I bumped to the top. There is another thread, "I give up on the front universal joint." but I can't find it. I bought a swivel grease fitting at Ace Hardware and slid it through the driveshaft tunnel in the swingarm after removing the rear tire.

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How about, "I'm on Prozac and I don't need another excuse."

My transmission developed a leak where the back plate was bolted on. Repairable without removing from frame. There is a method of crabbing the back end up and over the bike. Look at www.guzzitech.com

Duplicate Bento's avitar and hang it off the back. Should dress it up nicely and work as well as those Yosimity Sam mud flaps. (Back off sucker!)

I have a 40 liter trunk that fits up there when we are motel traveling. When we're on a camping trip my camping bag fits nicely up there. This camping bag is big enough to tightly carry 2 sleeping bags, a queen size air mattress and blower, a 4 person tent, and several pillows. It probably weighs 40 pounds. The rack is rock solid. I do not notice any aerodynamic problems with the system.

8 to 12 nm equals 6 to 9 lb/ft Not a very picky specification. I've never bothered to use a torque wrench or gasket sealer.