docc

Have a look at this thread and the link posted there. Beautiful tank!

And there weren't just nice bikes at the raid, but friendly looking people with big smiles . . .

A couple more of the nice spine frames at the Raid:

Looking forward to the link offered to us by the friendly fellow at the lodge who rode ahead and photographed us each passing on the Cherohala.And I know Bill will have us hooked up with a fabulous slide show (any undignified pictures of me bending over are Photoshopped!). Here is one of my favorites of two of the fine-spines: Andy York on his 82,000 mile LeMans and Josh on that gorgeous '96 Sport after a very sweet run through the Gulfs of TN Hwy 30:

Just a preliminary report: All is well and the gathering was great fun. There were six spine frames, two Norges, and two Stelvios which came and went at the regularity of lightning strikes and about the same predictability. Several other riders joined us, at various times, with various bikes including a Triumph Tiger electric, four BMWs, a very fine V-Strom, and a vintage Ducati. At last count, no one had gone hungry, there were (too) many toasts to Jaap's recent birthday, no tickets (one "conversation"), and no mechanical or gravitational incidents (that involved our group). From the numbers, it looks like the (un)event was half riding and half being around one another and the bikes. Thanks to V11LeMans.com and TellicoMotorcycleOutfitters as well as the lodges at tellico for making it all possible! Ride well, and see you next time! docc in middle Tennessee, USA

Ooh, a Thruxton would be a welcome sight (and sound!). But, you'll have to bring your own wiring diagram!

Hey, Code, go to your profile and enter your location. You don't have to be very specific. Even a country will help other members know what sort of fitment your bike might have. Under your gas cap, there may be a little hole to vent the tank into a tube. I recall that is a steel tank and not like mine, but check for a vent tube and be sure it is not kinked or clogged.

So, you've got a bead on something now? Hot foot yourself over to Tellico Plains in Tennessee for The South'n Spine Raid Seven/ Twenty-Eleven to oggle and peruse all manner of Guzzi. Ride whatever you have or even drive.

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.