Beuphonium

Greetings: When I mounted the carbon fiber Lemans dash on my Cafe Sport I used two rubber 5/16" (bolt size) rubber well nuts, stainless cap screws that went all the way through, and stainless fender washers on the bottom, fastened with nylon insert locknuts. The setup works excellent; I dare say the gauges are better mounted now than they were on the original stalk, plus I remain assured that even if the rubber deteriorates, the fender washer will prevent the bolt from ever coming completely through the mount. I thought about this in the aisle of the local hardware store for quite some time, as I was forced to start from scratch, as the cafe sport / ballabio / coppa mount is completey different.

Greetings all- Having been a licensed motorcycle operator for many years, one can only imagine my frustration when I was forced to park my Guzzi in a secure, undisclosed location for two months because I was not in posession of a MSF card. Now that I have the card, and my icon vest, life is not too bad, but for others in the same boat, forced to park off post until they attend the class two months from now, the frustration lives on. I shall watch this topic with much interest...

Well, installed the new speedometer cable today. It lasted 90.3 miles before it too snapped, this time right under the gauge. Not a happy camper having just dropped $30 on a new cable... I will have to re-think this it seems.

The transportation was one of the largest messes there- In theory, it worked perfectly. All automobile parking was to be done off site, all "automobile" parking lots were then re-designated "motorcycle only". If you were on a bike, you could go almost directly in and out. Everyone else (Including myself) was bussed in, this way there would be no horrendous stream of cars trying to leave, etc. So the GP race finishes, with the two AMA superbike races still slotted afterward, and thousands of people are trying to leave, waiting in lines for the buses to bring them back to their cars. Somehow lines got routed the wrong way, and the cops started letting people who had been waiting in line for an hour on the buses, People on the other side of the street, who had been waiting there for three hours, just erupted, and rightfully so. I daresay I'd have felt much better (even in the heat) with my flack jacket and service rifle. The shame of it is, that it really seemed to be a nice track, but logistically, the whole event was one fiasco after another. I've got a good pic of Rossi turned around on his bike checking it out, running down the straight between turns 3 and 4 - Joe K 04 Cafe Sport 84 V65SP

Ladies and Gentleman- Today was extremely interesting, I know not about the events taking place on Fri and Sat, but today I worked a security detail at the race at Laguna Seca. What an interesting event. Unfortunatly my shifts prevented me from seeing the entire race, but I did get to see the pass in lap 17 that took the lead for Hayden. What I will say, however, is that I found it very interesting that the price of water went from $4.00 / 20 oz bottle to the police distributing 16oz water bottles by the hundreds to angry race fans that had been standing in lines for hours. I realize that the logistics of moving close to 60,000 people aren't easy, but I don't think the speedway was prepared for the sheer volume in addition to the weather conditions. I did witness one arrest from a guy trying to cut in front of about, say, 6000 people in line. Almost got tazered! I hope all of you who were in attendance enjoyed the race though ( I might even have given you some water on your way out!) I did get some great pictures and video from the middle of turn 3, from an exclusive location , but now that I've seen one, I think the next US races (for a variety of reasons) I'll catch on TV. - Joe K 04 Cafe Sport 84 V65SP

Greetings- I have a silver magni kit on my cafe sport (that I will be color-matching to the original flyscreen) that has definitely changed the look and feel of the motorcycle tenfold. The riding position change for me from the stock high-bars to the clip ons mounted under the top clamp was a HUGE change. From what I understand however once can purchase some aftermarket controls to ease this a bit. The kit I received came second hand, it mounts to the frame using two auxillery brackets (that I had to fabricate) and one must also re-mount the dasboard to the top clamp because the exisiting headlight mounts on a v11 sport naked will not clear the faring mount. If the kit has all the parts to it, and is reasonable, I reccomend it. The position change / fork geometry change (I had to raise the forks in the clamps to get the clipons to mount) has increased the handling capability (in my opinion) at the expensse of long-distance comfort, but the more I ride it the less I mind. - Joe K 04 Cafe Sport 84 V65SP

Still here and kicking for me, though the work on the bike is non-stop recently. Fabricating brackets as we speak to make the magni faring stop rattling, and, will shortly be installing the sidecase racks... and the new speedometer cable... and then back to some serious miles. Hope to see some rides soon. Was thinking about trying 25 between Hollister and King City sometime soon. Consequently, I was riding Rt 9 6-7 weeks back and ran into a fellow Guzzi rider.. we're out there... - Joe K 04 Cafe Sport 84 V65SP

If I recall correctly, the "Long Branch" Enfield rifles were manufactured in Canada... mine was in '42. I've always wanted the No 5 though, the original jungle carbine is just sweet. Mine is ridiculously accurate Watch for the surplus ammo as well- a lot of the old WWII vintage rounds have the corrosive primers. May it serve you well! - Joe K -04 Cafe Sport -84 V65SP

Acutally, to clarify a little, the little button cap in the center of that cap comes off, I inadvertantly sent a screwdriver through mine with a lovetap thinking (incorrectly) that it was made of metal... - Joe

Just did this myself... the little cover comes off with a little pry from underneath, revealing a hex socket in that same cap..... comes right off afterward. - Joe K

Greetings- Is it normal for a speedometer cable to snap at the trans end after 3300 miles? I figured it may have had something to do with the faring install, but a snap about 3" up from the transmission? it was routed the same as before.... -Joe K 84 V65SP 04 Cafe Sport

Here is what I have so far... http://home.comcast.net/~beuphonium/pictures.html - Joe K

Well, after a three-day multiple-trip-to-the-hardware-store ordeal, my 2004 Cafe Sport is now wearing a silver magni kit. It certainly has changed the look and feel of the bike, and it is still going to need a lot of tweaking I think in that there are some rattles. Those magni clip-ons really do significantly lower the riding position, especially from the normal cafe sport bars! I am definitely considering investing in some different controls- I have heard some things about woodcraft, harris, vortex, I know harris at least makes a high-rise version. I also expected that the headlight would sit flush in the faring, and not stick out the front 2"? is something weird here? Anybody have any experiences with these? - Joe K 04 Cafe Sport 84 V65SP

Ladies and Gentlemen- On a whim, this morning I went out to a BMW/Triumph dealership with another rider to obtain some parts for his BMW K75 While there, I took their demo Thruxton 900, and demo Sprint ST out for a little ride, just to see what they were about. Now, I'm not going to say anything like " so my cafe sport turned the deepest shade of rosso mandello red in jealousy..." but I was impressed by each Triumph for reasons that aren't really important here; after I departed the dealership on the guzzi I thought to myself how this bike just... feels "right." Although I've been beaming over my purchase for months now, after today... tenfold. I'll take my guzzi by far over both the sprint st and the thruxton. So.. fast forward about 50 miles or so, and as I'm headed down the expressway at about 65 I all of a sudden watch my keys drop down the hole in the top clamp where the ignition switch should be. Took 3000 miles for those 'theft prevention" bolts to vibrate out I guess, and, it seems, all today, as there was never any motion or play in the switch before. Got it into San Fransisco - dropped by Munroe Motors, who generously donated two fastners to the cause. Not the $16 ea bolts with break-off heads (which they did have in stock), but all was fixed gratis. I Couldn't have asked for better. So... do I still feel now the way I did this morning? Of course. Just that tomorrow I'll have to go out there with the torque wrench and do some checks Part of the fun I suppose- call me crazy. - Joe K 04 Cafe Sport 84 V65SP

Greetings All! I've just finished installing the center stand kit on my 2004 Cafe Sport. I'm actually rather pleased with the way it fits etc, however there are a few quesitons I was hoping that someone could answer... To install everything I ended up having to remove the canister located behind the crossover, and it appears that with the stand installed it will not fit back in there. What is the function of this thing, and is there an alternative if it will not, in fact go back in there? I can't imagine it being that complicated... I will say that the convieneince of a center stand on the hills around here will be great. Thanks in advance, Joe K - 04 Cafe Sport - 84 V65SP

Greetings all- Русский язык? Я неплохо знаю... Actually, at 5'9" my only real gripe so far is that my hands seem to go numb on the longer rides. Maybe it's the forward reach but I've actually gotten used to the peg position. Perhaps tweak the bar positon, or could this be a side effect of the foot controls as well? - Joe K -04 Cafe Sport

Greetings! I ended up taking the long way home; headed southwest to Cambria, and then up Rt 1 for about 100 miles or so. 'Twas quite the ride, though I must say that there are a few badly chewed up sections of 1 right now. Otherwise, turned out to be a beautiful day. I'm looking forward to the next excurision! - Joe K

Greetings yet again... I picked up my new cafe-sport yesterday- quite the ride I must say. I'm extremely satisfied with my purchase. I am convinced, however, that I'd be much better off if the faring turned with the bars. Perhaps it's just because it's what I"m used to... regardless, the fun will begin soon. I'm actually up for grabs right now as to whether or not I want to try to put the clip-on's on.. the bars weren't all that bad. Let the experimentation begin..... - Joe K

Greetings- Well, the dealer called today. By this time tomorrow I should have at least a few hundred miles on my brand-new cafe sport. Shame really to be thinking about taking apart a brand-new machine but we'll see how it goes over the weekend with the high bars and forward mounted faring. I have heard that guzzi will be getting better at supplying spares... anyone know if this is true or not, or just wishful thinking? - Joe K

Salutations: I've got a small collection of MGB's to match the bike collection.. at least they're from the same continent... - Joe K 84 Guzzi V65SP 04 Guzzi V11 Cafe Sport 73 / 73 / 78 / 80 MGB

Actually, I believe I did talk to you on the phone regarding this particular predicament. I've been able to obtain a cafe sport for an extremely good price, still in the crate. I'm thinking more and more about the scura-style solution, at least until I can obtain all the parts necessary to put the larger faring on. From what I've been able to gather, I'm going to have to put a different top clamp on to be able to use the factory clip-ons. I've got a few parts diagrams from the Aprilia spares site but I'm still unsure as to exactly what would be necessary. There's a guy here locally that's got some sort of honda front-faring on his v11 sport, and may be willing to make a deal regarding some / all of the original parts. Anyway, what I suppose I'm looking for is a "parts list" of sorts... from what I understand the Guzzi front faring is a 4 piece unit, plus the air-vents + windscreen, and uses a different mount than the one for the small screen? There seems to be a lot of small parts associated with the switch. Unfortunatly I'm 2200 miles away from my garage full of tools too.. so doing this is going to need to be able to be done with relative simplicity. I'm sure I'll enjoy the machine either way... - Joe K

Salutations! Call me crazy, but I was bitten (once again) by the Guzzi bug (for a wide variety of reasons I can delve into later). Regardless, the object of my desire being a LeMans Nero Corsa, I set about attempting to locate one, which I did, only to have it sold out from under me. Since then I have discovered that Nero Corsas seem to have been manufactured, much like the parts for my V65SP, from pure unobtanium. Thus, I decided to invest in a Cafe Sport, as I really wanted the ohlins setup. Again, I may be crazy for asking, but exactly what would be involved to turn this thing into a bronzo-corsa? Having sat on both the LeMans and the Ballabio I can say that I very much prefer the feel the Lemans has over the high-handlebar setup. My understanding is that I'd need the lemans faring, all the related hardware, clip ons, a new top clamp, dash plate... etc etc etc. Any experiences doing this? Would I be better off attempting to find a Magni kit? Anyway, I'm usually not the type to be taking apart a brand-new machine, but after three months of searching for what I wanted to no avail, the only available option seems to be to make it. Hopefully I'll be able to get it set up Thanks, Joe K -84 V65SP -04 V11 Cafe Sport -73 MGB