docc

Just now packing up a little malt whisky for the upcoming ride to the mountains. I'd better get it packed up soon though as the stuff doesn't seem to last 'round here.

A little off topic but: I recently replaced the clutch discs in my Honda GB500. I managed to ruin it running Honda's 'best' oil. Later , through a series of articles in Motorcycle Consumer News, I found that this oil (I think it is "HP4") has extremely high moly content designed to improve the shifting of the 1500 Gold Wing. Switching back to Castrol helped but the damage was already done. I was thinking of starting to run Mobil 1 in the GB but now it's sounding like a bad idea. I don't want to munt the clutch again . . .

The Guzzi mix is 5.4% moly. The trouble comes when the moly is already mixed in an oil base such that a greater volume would be reuired to reach the specification. Over breakfast with knowledgable riders yesterday one fellow volunteered as he had some ancient "Kalgard Engine GArd" that he used to put in the engine of his Honda Sabre. Bringing it home I mixed this dangerous looking cocktail: 210ml of leftover Moto Guzzi Final Drive Oil, 10 ml Engine Gard (moly), 140 ml leftover Mobile 1 75-90 and 10 ml Redline ShockproofLightwieght to make the 370 ml volume. I also degreased and blew out the top vent. Now to see if it makes a geyser from the ingredients.

She ought to do this happily. Thge fabulous engine braking down through the gears is one of the things I love about my Guzzi. I think it may be where a lot of my rear tire goes. The backfire is an ill. Jeff's tune-up is the cure.

Those do look like the stock LaFranconi cans that came on some models (Rosso Mandello, Scura, Tenni, and later Cafe Sport ?) standard. They are a wrap of cf around the aluminum can with the same internals. Pretty but quiet and heavy (10 pounds each versus 5 pounds for the Guzzi "off road" cans which were made by Mistral.

I thought they all changed 'whirring' sounds when the clutch is engaged. The real concern is more that you have felt yours 'change.' Simple ( relatively speaking) inspection is well called for and may prevent a catastrophic event. No one wants to delaminate a clutch at 100 + kph. It's not even a good thing to think about at 100+kph . . .

Ah! And the trick is to maintain that level during the required service intervals. My sport appears to perform better on service conducted with single malt scotch. Your Rosso may like Chianti. Or even Grappa, but watch out for the terrific vertical nystagmus as it makes the volt-ohm meter hard to read . . .

It would be reassuring that, if Motul doesn't make the moly-dino any longer, the Guzzi factory would supercede the specification to GL-5 synthetic. On the recent "Whiskey Run" ( TN-AL over the Cumberland plateau) a back-of -the-hand check of rear drive temperatures suggested that the synth runs cooler on a 95 degree F day.

'Quirk' is a hard thing to translate or define ( like 'quality' in Pirsig's Zen and Art of Motorcycle Maintenance"). It makes me think of having to deal with procedures that are counterintuitive to acheive a desired result. Without the insight and familiarity with the machine's 'quirks' (idiosynchrasies?) the rider would struggle with frustration and bewilderment. Oddly, mastering the 'quirks' only brings performance to the status quo. This is accompanied by the personal satisfaction in knowing that the casual rider (driver, lover) could not make the Quirky Thing sing were it not for his commitment and familiarity.

I'm learning from all this. First, I have this growing anticipation that my Italian wife's recent, er, temperment circumstance, or, um, transient firey outburst of passionate aggravation ( OK, she was bitchy yesterday) is going to ebb into an equal and opposite reaction. If Newton was right I'll be walking funny tomorrow. Also, I am confident to claim that my Sport is UNRECONSTRUCTED!

Sometime back it was noted that the Guzzi final drive gear oil that includes the moly is produced by Motul. In a fit of convenience I attempted to order this product from Motul through my local ( not Guzzi) shop. The story I'm getting is that the Motul mineral/moly product is superceded by their "GEAR 300" synthetic. First, has Guzzi superceded its specification for the rear drive? Second, what do they mean by 'mineral' oil? Not petroleum and also not synthetic? KY jelly for the rear drive?

Corse Motorsports in Nashville are Ohlins trained and worth talking to about the damper.

These are all good questions . . .yet, shall we call my Moto Guzzi "FOR OFF ROAD USE ONLY" factory accessory carbon fiber cans ( probably made by Mistral) "aftermarket?" The 'silencers' on Gini's V11 may be Guzzi factory accessories. While not 'stock' they are yet 'factory.'

Longitudinal crank, yes . . . and transverse cylinders. But is that really quirky? It worries me that Nog thinks his Buell is quirky (it is) but the Guzzi maybe isn't. Is it? Modern Triumphs have dodgier air-fueliignition mapping, but they're more Japanese than Italian. Sure they're undersprung and all, more for the nimble minx . . .

Makes me think of the Sport . . . every time I climb on . . .

Hey, I had a full THREE year warranty that my dealer fought MGNA tooth and nail for. Even after he was no longer a dealer. But, be aware, "Silly Places to Post Your Bullshit" is, by design, an unmoderated attempt to get these topics off the main forum. You don't like the thread here? Lurk somewhere else.

Yes, yes. Wait til I come by to repossess your last voodoo neck manipulation you didn't pay for. We ( The Evil Ones All Misunderstood) will then slash and burn your lawn. Or the tennis court at your apartment complex. After all , we're just in it for the buck.

After a few glasses of Cabernet, friends asked my wife if she was gettin' any. She thought they meant 'sleep.'

Reading April 2006 "Cycle World", an article by Phil Schilling on the Moto Parilla, he states, "No Italian motorcycle would be authentic and complete without its Grand Quirk. For Ducati it's the desmodromic valve system. In the case of Parilla, it's the high-cam engine . . . " And in the case of the V11 Moto Guzzi?

BFG . . . up to your old ways. Such a gas to see the old Guzzi parked around aircraft hangers. It was the beginning, after all, with Carlo and Parodi and Ravelli. Often I throttle up the Sport feeling the power-to-weight ratio of a P-51 Mustang thinking, " this is as close as I'll get to flying." At the ton, throttling on, the power and blur rising, I think Ravelli would feel at home.

Looks all the world like a first generation LeMans ( 1976-1978). Old famliy photo or maybe a still from a Canadian Mountie surveillance video?

And so now 'run' means 'stop' and 'stop' means 'run?' I've seen worse Italian-English translations in the factory manuals . . .

On the other hand . . . The tritium sight is a remarkable device especially in conjunction with a lithium tactical lamp. But has anyone used these new HALO devices? They look the state of the art for target aquisition.

With 44,000 miles on the Sport I've tuned it about ten times. Maybe more including retuning it after the dealer services that had less than ideal results on the running. Having used the factory manual, Guzziology, internet forums, heresy, and voodoo I can say that the Jeff in Ohio Method yields the very best and most consistent result. Thanks to Jeff! And thanks for the Degree opening-Millivolt conversion chart as well!