rocker59

I had a 1984 Mazda pickup from 1984 to about 1988. 2-litre 4-cylinder SOHC. Not a lot of power and not set up all that well from the factory. Horrible flat spot at 3k rpm. The little truck blew a head gasket at about 50k miles. The head was damaged and needed some welding. I took that opportunity to shave the head to raise compression, port/polish/gasket match the head. I also ordered up a camshaft and header. Why not, since I had it apart already... The end result was an amazing transformation in the driveablity and performance of the engine. It had more power, no flat spot, and got the same fuel economy. No, I wasn't expecting to go out and race camaros and corvettes with the thing. I just wanted to improve the performance and driveability of what I had. I think it's the same for Guzzis and any other machine. I'm well aware that if I wanted a superbike, I could go out and buy an R1 or 1098. Same with a touring bike. There are better out there than my LeMans. The thing is, I like Guzzis and I don't see any problem with changing/modifying/improving them to improve driveability and the "fun factor". Stock machines are built to a price and to EPA/DOT/EURO requirements. The OEMs leave lots of performance on the table because the "have to". We, as owners, are not under the same restrictions...

Yeah, I saw that. I knew I'd seen the bike here before. He's using it as a default image for all his auctions for "service manuals"... (great looking bike, BTW)

the 19-incher up front is no problem. Continental TKC80s work well in the 19-inch size. the "problem" for those wanting to venture "off road" will be the rear 180mm wheel. TKC80s and other dual-sport tires are only available up to 150mm right now. the OEM tires are Pirelli Scorpion Sync. Same as on other street-oriented "adventure" bikes like the Multistrada and XB9SX.

LOL! You'd think this was an oil thread, huh? I'll keep running 32/35 solo and ripping up the mountain roads here in the Ozarks... And at the occasional trackday...

You another one of the 36/42 crowd ??? I just thought I'd print Bridgestone's info since the OP is running 020s.

You guys can run all that pressure if you want to. I'll keep mine between 31 and 33 front and 33 and 36 rear depending on conditions. I've seen lots of people crash sporty bikes running too much pressure in thier sport and sport-touring tires. Maybe you guys who are running all this pressure are riding on flat straight roads, or something, but it's not safe at the track or in the mountains where I live... FWIW, the PSI numbers on the sidewall are MAX LOAD for that particular tire, not "recommended" PSI for our Guzzis... YMMV From Bridgestone's webpage : Tire Inflation Always keep the motorcycle manufacturer's recommended air pressure in both tires. This is an important requirement for tire safety and mileage. Your motorcycle owner’s manual will tell you the recommended cold inflation pressure. On some motorcycles, the recommended front and rear tire pressures will be different. The pressures stamped on the sidewall of the tire are only for maximum loads. On some occasions, these pressures will also be the manufacturers recommended settings as well. Riding on tires with too little air pressure is dangerous. The tires will build excessive heat. This can cause a sudden tire failure that could lead to serious personal injury or death. Underinflation may also: 1. Damage the tire leading to tire failure 2. Adversely affect vehicle cornering 3. Reduce tire life 4. Increase fuel consumption 5. Fatigue cracking Riding on tires with too much air can be dangerous. The tires are more likely to be cut, punctured, or broken by sudden impact. Serious personal injury or death could result. Do not exceed the pressure indicated on the tire sidewall. Consult your owner’s manual for the recommended inflation and other tire none.

Wow! Almost 7500 views on this old thread! I'll say it's all relative. Relative to what you're used to and willing to adjust to. Relative to the Sport 1100, my Nero Corsa is a Cadillac. For someone coming off a Standard or Cruiser, the LeMans seating position may take some getting used to...

36/42 is too much tire pressure !!! 32/35 or 33/36 are the recommendations in the manual and are better choices with sport or sport-touring tires. I've put in lots of time on spine-frame bikes and the first thing I'd do is get rid of the 020 tires, then go from there. I'm currently running BT-014 tires on my Sport 1100 and Z6 Roadtec on my Nero Corsa.

I'd sure like to know the part number of model of bike that bracket came from. That is the cleanest Sport 1100 rear fender mod I've ever seen !!! I'd do mine if I could find that light mounting bracket !!!

In the back of my mind I've been kinda hoping Guzzi would get some version of the Rotax-sourced RSV engine and put it into an MGS size/type/style sporty bike and revive the "Bicylindrica" nameplate... I heard somewhere that Aprilia was ending use of Rotax engines in favor of something in-house. That could mean that Piaggio could send RSV engines to Guzzi in order to fullfill contract obligations with Rotax, or I guess it could mean the idea of using RSV engines is dead because the Rotax collaboration has ended... If the idea of using the Rotax was killed, I guess that could have prompted someone to pull the VA-10 out of mothballs and see if something could be made of it... The VA-10 seems kinda cool. Four chain driven overhead cams. Interesting looking crankcase. 75-degree Vee angle. I hope there is something to this rumor of a liquid-cooled bike running around Mandello...

So is there any possibility that Piaggio/Aprilia/Guzzi have revived the VA-10 engine ??? Hmmm...

Gustafsson: http://www.bikescreen.com/proddetail.asp?p...002%2D%6003%2B5 Laminar Lip: http://www.laminarlip.com/lemans.php

If I'm not mistaken, that's the VA-10 liquid-cooled engine that was shelved back around 2000 when the designer got crossways with management and was fired when Guzzi was in the midst of changing ownership. I can't remember the designer's name right now...

Pratt Lay in the UK used to have carbon huggers for the Sport 1100. www.prattlay.co.uk As for fender eliminator kits, I've never seen one for the Sport 1100. If someone made one, I'm sure they aren't anymore. Keep in mind that there were not really a lot of Sport 1100s produced, so aftermarket stuff is going to be rare and relatively hard to find. Just like for the V11-series, many products are made in short runs and by special order. Good luck with your project.

Wonder if it was powered by the old RSV Mille engine? There was a bit of a rumor last year that since Aprilia was going to be focusing its efforts on the 4-cylinder GP bike, Guzzi might be given some version of the RSV Mille engine for a sporty bike... Hmmm... I'd like to know more about the bike seen last week!!!

The number one reason you see crossovers on motorcycles is that the crossover allows both cylinders to share mufflers, thus increasing muffler volume for each cylinder. Noise emmisions are greatly reduced as a result. Yes, there "can" be performance enhancements with properly tuned crossovers, but the "engineers" are looking for reduced noise emmissions and nothing else on bikes like Harley Davidson, BMW, Moto Guzzi. Look at the guys who race Moto Guzzis and see how many use a 2:1 exhaust. If the factory was able to have performance at the top of the list, that's what we'd have. Unfortunately with things like EURO3 and DOT 80db standards, crossovers and huge cans are the order of the day...

If I had a spare set of "non crossover" headers laying around, they'd be on my bike pronto!

sorry, but I've never heard of 'em. I wear Sidi and Alpinestars.

I like the light look and wouldn't want to put those heavy mufflers up there when the Quat-D is available.

Griso has a 61.2" wheelbase. (1554mm). MGS-01 has a 57.1" wheelbase. (1450mm). Four inches is a lot on a motorcycle.

and the 8v's high-mounted alternator is not supposed to fit into a spine-frame.

That happens occasionally on my Nero Corsa. Guess I need to see about lubing the shifter...

I bought my '04 Nero Corsa in January '06 from the original owner who'd bought it new in November '05. He'd had the bike over a year and put about 2350 miles on it. He owned three or four other bikes, taught at a trackday riding school, ran his own business and was remodelling his house. He'd always wanted a Guzzi, but I don't think its nuances fit well with his Honda background. When he needed some cash for the home remodel, it was the first to go. I've put around 12,000 miles on it over the past two years. The '00 Quota I used to have, I bought from the second owner with only 1900 miles on the odometer in November 2004. Both previous owners had experienced health problems and owned several other bikes. The Quota just languished in thier garages until I bought it and put around 11,000 miles on it in a little over two years of ownership. The Sport 1100 that I own, I bought new in March '97. It only gets ridden a thousand, or so, miles per year any more, though it has about 24,000 miles on the odometer... There was a time when I rode 20,000 miles per year, but over the past few years it's been less than 10,000 per year. That's been spread over three or four motorcycles so the miles I put on any one bike aren't really that big... When I worked at a shop a few years ago, it was amazing how many customers had low mileage on thier bikes. We had a few customers that would call us out to thier house every Spring to pick up thier bikes for the annual service. New battery, fresh fluids. They ride a few times then put the bike away until next Spring. One that I remember was a Big Dog (Harley clone) that was three years old and only had 500 miles on the clock. Another was a Triumph Daytona 1200 SE that was a couple years old and had less than 1,000 miles on the clock... There are probably as many stories as there are riders...

non-dedicated motorcyclists. the motorcycle is a "lifestyle accessory" for this type. they buy a bike "because they always wanted one", or "because thier friends have one", but when it comes right down to it, they don't "enjoy the ride". I know lots of cruiser folks who never ride more than a hundred miles, or so, on a "long ride". Mostly they ride to the various "bike nights" during the summer. Odometer readings are low for these folks. of course, there are some people who own multiple bikes, so some of thier bikes don't get a lot of miles.

I sent 'em an email inquiry today...