docc

Hi, Paulo! Good for you on the RM! Lot's of great archives here to keep you happy with her. Seems to me (?) the Rosso Mandello is a 2001 "short frame" (though black not red) with the narrow rear wheel (4.5 in), white guages (Veglia), and the single plate clutch common to the Scura and Tenni. So, I know this isn't a quiz, but does that all seem right to everyone? Hang on, Paulo, this is going to be a great ride!

In true farm fashion, maybe you could supply the correct grain (?) of sawdust to add to my rear drive. I hear it's a method that quiets things down and the last word on those nasty leaks! Last year, the bier scow was a soft tail pack on a BMW 800. This year, I think we've arranged for a Trumpet Tiger to carry the brew in GIVI luggage. Just a mile or so in GIVI and it will all taste Italian. Well, after the second grappa everything tastes Italian!

Fluid of any type (water or fuel) should drain out the overflow. Could your overflow tube be clogged or kinked?

Also, know if you have the white face Veglia tach it could be reading 300-500 rpm low. So, if your tach shows 1000 rpm this is really 700 (or even 500!). Best to set the idle at an indicated 1500. This will hurt nothing and help charging and oiling.

Let's all expect next year's SSR to be a summer event after Bill is finished at his northern venture. Well talk about this weekend, but someone should take notes since, later on, there could be a case for plausible deniability.

Hmmm, "cross country next week . . ." Coming to the South'n Spine Raid on the TN/NC border??

Parts numbers?

Good news to hear from John and get him in touch with my friend, Rick, from Post #16. For the record, no one coming from Mid-Tenn would be "couples." And the pure magic of combining "maddening" and "charm" into a single sentence reminds of being married to this (maddening) charming Italian woman. Really, no, it's so charming (maddening) . I need a charming/maddening ride to straighten my life out. I'm counting on you guys!

So, it's true, we're in the mid-forties for lows this week! Next weekend - who knows? I'm glad I have an AeroStich and lots of dielectric grease on my connectors!

So, no explosions, break-aparts, or wheel-lock failures? Or just no one to have lived to tell about it?

No horizontal play. Check the spacer between the wheel and rear drive. Nothing "flexible." I do not see #31 on my diagrams. Where do you see this?

Does anyone have an actual drive shaft or U-joint failure to report?

SSSSS-snow? More ammunition for the game room!

D'veed! Hearty congratulations on Derek's "successes!" Now you get to sign all posts with: !!! Hope we can hook up for Barber's Vintage Festival in October. Email me through the board so I can keep you in the loop on that plan. Great to hear from you!

My brother called me from Monticello, Georgia, on Sunday. Was on his Breva 1100. Said he thought he'd been by a rock about a mile out of town. When he got to the courthouse square, he learned what it probably was a 13-Year Cicada Rascals would take out the teeth of a novelty-helmet wearer ... well, assuming they still had some. OBTW, sure hope the weather stays as presently predicted: SSRVII Weather Doesn't reach Sat or Sun, but Fri is looking great. More importantly, it would seem that we are in for a longish unstable and wet pattern for many days before that weekend, so odds are good you want get as soaked as in past Raids. Yeah, I know. Figure the odds. And, Josh, Kathi wants you to bring baby pix. She hasn't told docc yet, but she wants to put on a multi-media presentation of our grandbabies in the lodge game room instead of the usual beer and partying. With 8 on the ground and #9 inbound and overdue. Could be a long session. Bill Really, no . . . a multi-baby power point? Is there going to be a quiz after? It should go well with the clack of pool balls! Definitely Saturday breakfast at the "Lodges at Tellico." Probably around 0800. Of course there will always be a debate whether that means Eastern time or Central. (Expect the EDT guys to prevail. Bill has what my folks always called "ants in yer pants.")

Looks like we'll be bringing a half dozen riders out of Middle Tennessee Friday am from MarcyJo's Mealhouse four miles east of I65/ exit 46 on the corner of TN Hwy 99 and US 431. We'll meet for breakfast about 8:30 CDT and take a selection of backroads east to Tellico Plains. Likely to arrive between 2:30 and 3:30 EDT. Saturday, expect an eastern loop over the Cherohala to the Dragon's Nose to take in the scene and on through Fontana for lunch in Franklin before a return along Wayah Rd and back over the Cherohala.

So, I realize one hose is simply a drain in the event you overfill the tank during fueling directing the overflow onto the tarmac (certainly un-good to drop that onto the top of your motor). I believe that's the big hole at eight o'clock on the left side under your gas cap. The other side allows air flow back into the tank while keeping the vapors from the atmosphere through the carbon cannisters and preventing "tip-over" spill with the nefarious little valve. I, uh, "inspected" my 2000 Sport's vapor recovery system. The canisters and plumbing weighed five pounds and there is twenty feet of half inch fuel line. No, really: twenty feet. I am sorry to report that my Sport has been on its side two or three times yet, even without the "tip-over valve," no fuel spilled. Both hoses will "Y" nicely together and route out the bottom. They are a (difficult female dog) to re-attach when replacing the tank, so I can see hourly employees giving it up.

A "Griso Cup" sound like an attachment for my gas grill for those really drippy Bratwurst . . . And everyone knows that *things* are faster with a bikini.

Look at the 2004 versions: more "wrist friendly" than the evil, twitchy early RedFrames , but still entirely *elemental* and that fine Italian ghost-in-the-machine soul! "Last of the real Guzzis" . . .

Huh, something similar happened to me with my 2000 sport in October 2008 ordering 1117530 from MI in Seattle, but receiving 1117590 instead. They were able to locate and ship a more correct cable 1117560

Ok, I've been bracing myself for the potential ribbing that might come my way for wiping gear oil off my rear wheel a second year in a row. After changing the outer (easy) big seal in the rear drive, the drip reduced to more of a splatter. The shop I found to change the inner seal had the main man out for six weeks with medical issues. Tuesday, he told me he couldn't guarantee getting the thing back together in the next couple weeks. In the meantime (is this sounding like a long, drawn out alibi?), I ordered my drive shaft from my local Moto Guzzi dealer in Seattle, Washington ( like 3000 miles from here) who ordered the piece from The Netherlands (like 10,000 miles from there). They said to expect a month, but after six weeks, there's no word on a delivery time. So, I packed an extra rag instead. The short answer is . . . no.

Sorting the rest of the relay bases is a good idea. As is grounding the regulator. Look also at the 30 amp regulator fuse. The contacts on this mini-fuse are rather undersized for the load and many of these fuses have melted or the contacts have burned off (without "blowing" the fuse!). Cleaning the contacts in the ignition switch is not difficult and will be worthwhile. Check your battery voltage and charging voltages with a digital meter. A weak battery is trouble for these systems. Look for battery voltage 12.7-12.84 and charging over 14 volts. Best of luck and keep us posted!

Bad news on that: Starboard is the right side of the ship. The Italian "S" is for "sinestra" (left) aka Simon Bar Sinister "S" is not for "starboard."

Pirelli makes no mention of dual compound; only a high silica content. I do like the Angels in the cold and wet. Really, they impress me as Diablo Strada with a gimicky tread pattern (the angels) that only lasts a few hundred miles. Kind of reminds me of a girl I once dated. She was a real angel, but only for the first couple rides!

My Angels and Diablo Stradas have been roughly equivalent, both in handling and mileage. I wonder if speeds, here in the USA, are somewhat higher than the continent and the UK. That's a hard measure to pin down. And even with that, the roads here in the southeast US are coarse and temperatures are often high - something I've long called the 90-90 wear pattern: 90 degrees Fahrenheit/ 90 mph: 3500 mile tire life!