Pierre

Nope, they make more power leaner - just like water cooled motors. Heat becomes an issue.

That was a long time ago. Patents have expired for one thing. Horst has gone on ... ATK motorcycles, then the AMP mountain bike - now AMP truck accessories (Bed X-Tender, Power Step etc.). As regards the capabilities of the XS 11, he used to show up at the rock store on that thing - would back it in on the way in, and cut donuts to keep the crowd amused. Great motor. As for the bike's capabilities, he once took his daughter on the back of that thing ... all off road .. from Laguna Beach across Saddle Back and on to Ken Maeley's ranch. He and Maeley were friends. You have to understand .. Horst was a 4 time ISDT gold medal winner, and Austrian national moto-X champion 2 years running. He could ride some ... so when his inventions got reviewed he had credibility. Joe Minton was a big supporter of the A-Trak. Some more history ... Utter Geitel (sp?), who was another friend of Horst's, was ramrodding the Honda Superbike team. He agreed to have his riders try the the A-Trak chain torque eliminator during a couple of practice sessions. They all hated it. They also all cut their best lap times using it ... but it "felt funny" to them. With Honda winning everything in sight at the time, no need to improve. But Keith Code was a believer .. and all his Kawasaki 550's had A-Traks. It's still an approved modification in the WSMC rule book. There's also an an Eastern European GP record still stands ('cause the track's long since abandoned ) where a club racer using the A-Trak whipped the best in the world. Early 80's. Horst Leitner is just one character in a pantheon of amazing individuals who made up the SoCal Motorcycle scene of the late 70's and early 80's. It's a shame that much of that history will be lost. I've tried to get my local club (San Diego Antique Motorcycle Club) to begin collecting bikes from Rob North (letter box Triumph/BSA triple), Don Vesco, Joe Leanord and some others - just from right here in San Diego. No luck so far. Another generation will rediscover these guys ... and wonder why their contemporaries didn't cherish the memories. Life's a funny journey.

If those models are vented (I've never owned one, so don't know) then I agree with Kevin H. that would seem to be the way to go.

It's the other way around. Goes like this. Horst Leitner (original ATK mortorcycles, AMP mountain bikes) holds the patent on the system introduced by Guzzi on the Daytona. Ole' Dr. John hung around Horst's Laguna Beach shop (where Horst regularly rode an XS 11 he fitted with that system - 1st I think) back in the day, and lo and behold when the Daytona went into production it had the Leitner patented system. Guzzi had no money so no point suing, but the real tragedy is that BMW was close to inking a deal with Leitner to use his system. Once Guzzi came out with it, BMW backed away to avoid "copy cat" syndrome. The paralever BMW finally introduced is a less efficient and heavier work-around of the Leitner patented system. As it is, Leitner never made a penny on that invention, though he built a motorcycle company around a similar device used to eliminate chain torque on bikes. FWIW - You want really heavy, look at the Magni parallelogram solution. And as to the weight of the Leitner system? It's the weight of the torsion bar. That's it. Period. The rest is the weight of the bevel drive which you have with or without suspension torque elimination.

Yea, I'd love to find a fix as well. So why does he fill in the concave part and then only tap that? Is there not enough plug to accept the length of the vent? Guess I don't understand the dynamics of the vent. Will Creedon asys he's solved the issue with a vent that I think he got from a BMW. At least it wasn't a Guzzi OEM part.

Yes it was Catherine around whom the myth is spun. No, she did not introduce Italian (Tuscan) cuisine to the French. Just another myth. Less perjorative than most. Surprisingly, cooking historians consider it the mother of French cuisine. It all began with the arrival in France of Catherine di Medici's Florentine cooks. She married Henry II on October 20, 1533. A girl of 14, she was accompanied by an army of dressmakers, hairdressers, perfumerers, dancing instructors, cooks and pastry makers. It is said that the latter revolutionized the art of gastronomy, teaching generations of French cooks. Flattering, but far from the truth. http://tinyurl.com/2cjvjq

Congrats ... but ... frankly ...

Add longitudinal crank orientation. Keeps the big girl inordinately light on her feet ... for ... ahh ... for a big girl.

Way cool. There's one at GP here in San Diego. FWIW - GP hadn't floored Moto Guzzis for a couple of years. Now both a Norge and a Sport are on display. I didn't like the Sport from the pictures, but I liked it a lot in person - better than the Norge. It's a little porky pulling it up off the side stand, but I hear once under way it sheds its weight nicely. Good looking machine. I'd take it over a Norge for sport touring. Looking forward to your ride report. Send out a shout next time you head out this way.

Ran across this: Rossi's troubled season ended in turmoil with angry words between the star Italian and Yamaha's Japanese management. Starting 17th on the grid,Rossi needed a painkilling injection before the race because of three fractured bones in his right hand, injured when he crashed in qualifying. Rossi retired when 14th on lap 20, claiming his Yamaha motor locked up and slowed, sparking a robust exchange with Yamaha bosses, who later indicated they could find no obvious engine problem. "Today is a big, big delusion, and I am very, very sad, because I don't expect this problem after all my effort with my hand. I tried but I don't give up," Rossi said. "Something went wrong with my bike; it was very slow." http://tinyurl.com/3av3qw So did he quit, or did his bike quit? I'd bet the latter. I hope the latter, because if he quit (and there's no shame in that, pain killers wears off and you just can't go on) - and he blames the bike - that's the shame of it. Remember Duhamel at Laguna Seca? He said "my head's just not in it" when in fact Honda gave him a piece of shit to ride. Still, he never slammed Honda, and took the blame unto himself. Duhamel's a stud and a class act ... always has been. Maybe I expect too much from Rossi - but I don't think I've ever seen a more dominating champion as he was for those 5 years. I want him to come back strong. We're short of heroes ... and he was the genuine article for a long time. Probably the best ever. Moto GP needs him back scrapping for top of the box. JMHO of course.

New tire rule. http://tinyurl.com/2epy6p I wonder if Rossi is a little star crossed these days? Where before every decision he made seemed to turn out roses, he now seems a little frantic as things increasingly go against him. Now that he's on Bridgestone's, will the extra tires and testing make Michelin the "hot tire" net year? Star crossed or not,, watching Rossi race yesterday was inspiring. What a warrior. Truly sad after that huge effort and all the pain he must have endured, the stupid bike failed him ... again. I'll bet there was hell to pay in his pit.

Still? Not arguing, as only the track can answer this one definitively. Just wondering if you've reassesed at all. As you know, I'm a big Hopkins fan - but even at that I have some reservations about him. Next year is make or beak IMHO. Hope that Kaw is fast.

Only what I've read. Certainly a money move. However, Jeremy Burgess (Rossi's crew chief) is quoted as saying the Kaw was the 2nd best bike on the grid last part of the year. Have no idea if that's true.

Yea, no kidding! Where'd you find that?

Looks like Rossi did the warm up. Slowest rider, but he was out there. That's another one to watch. If Pedrosa (-24) wins the race, Rossi needs 2 points to hang onto 2nd over all. 14th gets him those 2 points. He's gridded 17th. Valencia has a lot of sub plots going. Good stuff.

QP: Hopper on 3rd row, Vermeulen and Melandri on 4th row. All within 1/2 second of each other. Hope they mix it up and it gets some broadcast attention - though it promises to be a mid-pack scuffle.

Hack, how did you decide on "5 mm over?" Also, what is your all up (leather clad) weight? Anyone know if the V 11 shock has same eye to eye length as sport i / Centauro / Daytona shock? TIA.

Used that method in the South Dakota Badlands back in 1980 to pick up my fully packed and cross - country (with camping gear yet) bound CBX. Also used it to pick up my Harley FLT back in mid-80's - somewhere in Oregon.. I was MUCH younger then, of course. Major oversight on video - you need to put the bike in gear. Having that thing begin to roll as you try to lift it can be seriously embarrassing. Ask me how I know. BTW, if it really is a strain, consider unpacking the bike before you go at it. Surprised he didn't mention that. One other observation - again learned through experience. Once you have the bike "safe" - ie motor stopped and no gas spilling on hot motor - sit down and relax. Visualize what you're going to do. then be methodical about it. The tendency is to run up to your fallen jewel and yank it up as quick as possible because you're in "panic" mode. Get relaxed first, then tackle the job at hand. Chances are while you're getting your head straight someone will stop by and give you a hand. BTW, nice to see you posting again - I assume all is well at Casa Hack.

Wow! Way to go. It would be nice if you had someone chronicling your exploits in detail. As others have noted, it would be great fun for us wannabe's to be able to follow your exploits race by race. Good luck next year.

Ah, so he is. I'm surprised. I'd have thought the other way 'round - keep De Puniet and add Hopper. Does De Puniet go to LCR as #1 rider? Checa is out? Something of a demotion for De Puniet, isn't it? Hard to figure where talent stops and politics begins.

Well, 4th 5th and 6th should provide for some very good straight up racing at Valencia. It's the only three places close enough for head to head battles to mean anything. I'd like to see all three of them going at it head to head to head all race since where they finish relative to the rest of the pack won't mean much. As for V and Hopper - it's the bike. Suzook took a shit couple of races back and hasn't gotten back on song - or maybe it's just where it was opening round and others have passed it. Jeremy Burgess says the Kaw is the cats meow right now. Did Hopper catch lightning with that new contract? I agree he needs to do something next year or he'll soon be thought of as a "grid filler." The "up and comer" label is long gone, and next year he'll have a pretty good bike, so his time is now. Apparently De Puniet is no slacker so they should push each other. Of course De Puniet has the nasty habit of collecting lots of bikes when he crashes. Hopper doesn't have Nicky's "reserve" so expect to see him kicking De Puniet instead of the bike should Randy collect him.

I voted enduro because I think that's one they can sell in volume. I really want t see MG survive, and thrive. However, I still want to see an updated spine sport bike. MGS based, with 1200 cc 4 valve head and 115 - 120 RWHP. Entirely doable if you look at what BMW has done with their air cooled lump, but not sure enough riders in that category to justify the expenditure.

MotoGP : Michelin et Bridgestone threaten to quit competition http://tinyurl.com/293fum Well, that should end the spec tire talk. Talk about sharp sticks and a poke in the eye. Dorna ... Rossi ... Pedrosa - thy name is "winky."

MotoGP Sepang 1st day : Randy De Puniet is the fastest! http://tinyurl.com/yt7zwq

Take a gander - here's what's going on ...http://tinyurl.com/287hs3