Karl Von

I was thinking about using one in my Centauro and was wondering about the running rich issue from the report. My bike runs rich as it is, so I dont need any more fuel. For 34 bucks it might be worth a try

has anyone installed a HD TPS swith in their V11 ? I read the article where they will make the bike run a little rich at low end and lean out on the upper RPM range.

Dont know much on the clutch, it was put in there when we got the bike. I am hearing more cons then pros on the ram clutches. I talked to one guy who races a big guzzi and at one point he was going through 5 a season. I have also heard by a few guys that 15,000 miles is the typical milege on a ram set up. Looks like time to tear the bike the rest of the way down.

After further review we have discovered that the clutch push rod is sticking out to far causing the clutch to disengage when you bolt on the slave cyl ? Any ideas on what on a Ram clutch would cause this ?

I wish they made these valve covers, they would look good on my centauro

The exact same thing happened to me at bike week on my 1100 Sport carb. I was running down the interstate and the tach dropped off. My brother then told me the head light was out. I also had no stop light. or idiot lights, I did have turn signals and a tail light I stoped to check the fuse, which were all ok. Went to start the bike up and nothing. Pushed started it and it fired right up. Turned out it was the circuit on the #3 fuse. it never blew the fuse but the wire going into the fuse block had a bad connection and melted the plastic shroud on the connector. The tach, starter, head lights & stop lights all run through that fuse.

Well we bleed off the system and you could still rotate the rear tire with the bike in gear, We then removed the slave and the clutch grabbed. Using a old master cyl we bench tested the slave. It seemed to be working. We checked the master and there was plenty of free play and it seemed ok. Does anyone have any other ideas. That slave was a pain to get off and I really dont want to put it back on unless I know what is going on. I guess I can order a new slave just to cover that possibility

I am trying to get some infor for my dad. He has a 02 Lemans that the previous owner installed a RAM clutch. He had some issues with his clutch at bike week. He was riding the bike all day and everything was fine. He parked the bike for a few hours to see the sites and when he went to leave the bike would hardley move on its own power. It felt like the clutch was slipping bad. He could help the bike along with his feet to get it moving and the clutch would pull as long as he did not acell hard. He ran the interstate all the way back to the camp ground with no stops. Half way back he had to pass a slow pack of Hardleys and the clutch seem to be working fine. He nailed it and it shot off like a rocket. He got back to the camp ground it was working perfect. The next morning he fired up the bike and it would barly move again. The clutch lever feels of and it does not act as if it has lost pressue. Does anyone have any ideas to where to start looking ?

When I get it tore down I will post some photos. Now I am just worried about the drive saft. I will know when I get it all apart.

I got ahold of Richard in WA and he has one. The strange thing is my brother babied this bike and never abused it. I am sure he could not do a burn out or a wheelie if his life depended on it. He obsessive about that bike. He was sitting at a red light and went to leave when it snapped. I will know more once we get everything apart and see what is going on, I will also check the drive shaft to see if it was damaged.

While at bike week in Daytona my brother snapped the pinion shaft in half on his V11 Roso Mandello. It snapped right were the splines start and the drive shaft coupler bolts to it. The u-joints seemed ok and it looked like nothing seized. One thing that we did noticed was the drive shaft seemed to pull-apart about 3/4 of a inch where the 2 sections slide in together. There were also 2 white marks on the shaft where they come together and they are now no lined up. Anyway does anyone know anybody who might have a rear drive unit for sale ? I checked Reboot and they are sold out. Also we went to the speedway for the manufactures show & test rides. Aprilia was there but no Guzzi. Go figure.

Mamma Ciccia is great. I stayed there last year for a few days.

The V7 Classic & Cafe are nice bikes. I rode one while in Italy, buit they are way under powered. I wish they would pull out the old avation 750 / Ippogriffo motor and use it in the small block bike. At least get the power to meet that of the Triumph Thruxton, which I think is around 70+

I have been reading alot of stories about the demise of Guzzi. Everything from them tearing the factory down and building houses, moving production to the Aprilia factory, etc... I emailed a letter to Agostinis to find out what is going on. I though I would post the reply. This is a email I received from a source who lives in Mandello and is connected with Guzzi, This is a replay to all the doom & gloom stories going around from the press and net rumours: In this world of Guzzi there are too many people who seem to delight in doing damage to the image of the motorcycle brand they claim to love, too many people trying to achieve some brief flash of fame by revealing 'secrets' that they alone claim to have, etc, etc. Fact 1. As you have seen for yourself there are plans to restructure the factory, museum etc. and for the installation of new assembly lines. Fact 2. The Piaggio group has allocated millions for this project. Fact 3. Spare parts (with the exception of production requirements) have not been housed at Mandello for well over 20 years. Fact 4. Administration, client support etc has been amalgamated into the group. (a process commenced under Aprilia in any case). It is not logical to duplicate the same positions within the group for a factory producing less than 10,000 units a year. Fact 5. With the exception of some token elaboration work (such as the automatic computer controlled machining of the heads) and the manufacture of some obsolete components for spare parts the only real operation at Mandello for many years has been final assembly. Fact 6. The workers who have been working in the older, run down, sections of the factory with leaking roofs and faulty electrical wiring are real hero's. Fact 7. In order to render the sections of the factory safe it has been necessary to shut down whole sections. Workers can not manufacture anything in the middle of winter without power and heat. Fact 8. With the world wide economic recession even the Fiat group have sent everyone home for a couple of months. Combined with the need to shut down major parts of the factory and with the availability of Government support for the workers this was the only logical move to insure the survival of Moto Guzzi. Fact 9. Final assembly will recommence (and the museum will re-open) in February. Karl, please ram these facts down the throat of anyone who says otherwise. If the doom sayers out there are not stopped their predictions of doom will be self fulfilling. Who will buy a Moto Guzzi if everyone keeps saying that the factory has, or will be, closed? Moto Guzzi is alive and well, or at least as well as can be under the economic circumstances. Millions are now being spent on a factory run down by successive managers over the last 25 years. Quality is now very good and the new 110 hp 4 valve engine is the best engine ever produced by Moto Guzzi. New models are being planned for production in the coming years. All the best for the New Year Peter and Alis AGOSTINI s.r.l. CONCESSIONARIA MOTO GUZZI VIA STATALE, 60 23826 MANDELLO DEL LARIO (LC) ITALIA TEL.+39.0341.735448 FAX +39.0341.735727 Skype Agostini srl

The closet dealer to Tampa is in Crystal River. We had a dealer in Sarasota for 5 months but got fed up with Guzzi Management and sent all the bikes back. Strange thing is he kept the Aprilia line.

Harley buying Guzzi ? I would hate to have to dress like a gay pirate to go for a ride on my guzzi. Anyway, I used to do some work for a engineering company who did building inspections on allot of historic buildings. Mostly the old cigar factories in the Tampa area. Guys would buy these old buildings with ideas of turning them into office buildings or condos but most became a nightmare. Allot of these buildings were about 80 to 100 years old and the brick & mortar was discentigrating and it was so pores, water would wick through the walls causing humidity and mold issues. Sometimes you just have to give up the ghost. The factory is so large, I don’t see them tearing the hole place down and starting over. I was looking at a aerial photo in the Moto Guzzi Story book and looks like the original building is now where the museum is. In the photo the only thing around is the one guzzi building a small road in front and the train station. so as far as say what to keep as orginal is hard to say with the exception of the one small building.

No I did not see the number, dont know if it actully had one. The Rosso there did not have a number. The Tenni did have a neat tail cover. I guess they rode it down to spain and back

The poster was located just outside the main gate at Guzzi. I was talking to Alice Agostini who said they are planning on rebuilding the factory, I would Imagine a section at a time to not totally shut down production. I really do not see them moving the factory as allot of business that support guzzi are either in town or the area. If they were to move, I am sure the prices would go up on Guzzi’s cost on parts due to the extra shipping (Exhaust, Cyl, Brakes, etc..) I would also imagine the labor is cheaper in Mondello than say Milan. If they were to move I am sure they would have to train a new work force because I don’t see all the workers who live in Mondello moving to a new city. Initially the small blocks were made at the old Lambretta Innocenti factory in Milan. I don’t know if they are still produced there or in Mondello. Also some of the Guzzi Mopeds were built under contract by Triumph Co-Op in Merdian in England, so all guzzis did not come out of the gates of Mondello. The place does need major attention. It is charming to look at but I imagine working there is a chore based on the conditions. I was in the museum and there was small pieces of the plaster ceiling that has fallen on the bikes. The windows look like they were last replaced in the 50's. I also imagine the electrical & plumbing are outdated. Some parts of the building is pushing 100 years old. They could always sell off pieces of the building on ebay to us guzzi nuts. My guess is they will probably ship some production to another facility, maybe have the motors and trans built in another location and have the final assembly done at Mondello. I think Mondello is such a shrine to Guzzi people, if they were to totally move it would be a backlash. What other brand of motorcycles besides HD has their owners make a pilgrimage to the factory in large numbers it a cult like fashion. I am sure there would be outrage if Milwaukee would stop building tractors.

Speechless

They did have one Tenni there.

Saw a tribute to Tenni at the Factory. Thought I would share a few photos.

Another View

I was at the factory last week and the news from there is they are going to start to rebuild parts of the factory. Here is what the proposed new & improved factory will look like.

These are the guys in Germany that bought all the V11 Sport stuff from the factory http://www.hmb-guzzi.de/ On there site a year a go they had a photo of a room full of V11 Sport motors, frames, Ohlins front ends, WP front ends, ECU's and other great stuff. I ordered a complete key set with ign switch, & gas cap and wiring harness for a 93 daytona. They seem to have everything in stock you could think of. With the dollar about the value of a peso it does not pay to shop overseas anymore unless you have no choice. I would not worry about replacement parts to much. Look at all the other guzzi dionsaurs out there that are still on the road that they do not make parts for. It could be worse, I own a centauro