Baldini

Welcome. I think carbon is just a sleeve over metal cans, but I have never stripped cans or x-over - I found these in "how to" section: http://www.v11lemans.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=3028 http://www.v11lemans.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=947 This in FAQ: http://www.v11lemans.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=501 Dunno if there's anything in there to help. Good luck, KB

Mine is broken, but doesn't leak. What should I do? KB

Hi PDoz, Welcome! Guzzi model years are pretty haphazard but sounds like yours is 03/04 model - unless those are owner mods. There's 3 distinguishable models: 99/00, 01/02, 03/04. The 03/04 is usually regarded as best sorted. They're a lovely bike to ride & most of the issues you might encounter have been discussed somewhere here. KB

No. She came out of Triumph's experimental department in the early 1960's. It's said she was developed alongside the Fanny Craddock at BSA as a two-pronged bulwark against the looming Japanese threat. Unfortunately the pair could not compete on price, features or continence with the new products from the East & the project was abandoned. The rest is history. KB

It could be one of those Chinese copy V11s.... not real stuff. You may have one of the rareSupremo Lucido Speciali bikes, handcrafted in an aerospace-quality environment in a secret workshop hidden from the accounts department in the mountains behind the factory, for only a few months in 2002. Each wrinkle was individually crafted by a hand-picked team of Mandello's most talented & committed artisans, using only the finest materials & most exotic ingredients. It should give you many more years of service. KB

The Centauro used 5 speed gearbox (bolted to back of engine). MGS01 uses 6 speed box of a totally different design & s/a appears to be hung off a plate fixed to the back of that. If you wanted to fit MGS01 s/a mount you'd need an MGS01 box ...or...The V11 6 speed box appears to be very similar to the one in the MGS01 but I don't know if it's the same casting. Certainly the V11 box has some odd lugs n'stuff on the rear that appear to be for a purpose other than any that the V11 can offer. Paul Minnaert has put a V11 6speed onto a Daytona engine & will probably know if MGS01 casting is different - Paul? You'd also need a mass of other parts & I'm guessing it would be hugely expensive even if parts are available!

Something about his bike films I find very moving. Think it's the context he puts his riding in: landscape & history, bigger than him, just moving in it. Landscape, life, work & history - not just a hey, dudes look what I can do in this big sandpit. Dunno how much is from the director or someone else, but I love this stuff. My lad's into bicycles - out last night helping him dig berms.... & falling off in them - hey, look what your old dad can do - ouch - should've known better, today I could hardly get my socks on... KB

You can be so hurtful.

Hey Ouiji Veck! Good to see you back. Dunno re battery, just wanted to welcome you back ... but some obvious to show willing: bad battery? was battery really fully charged? alarm or other current drain? Guess it's just consult wiring diagram & check what's drawing current from battery when ign off. Good luck. KB

If the professor says it's different it's most likely different then! Sorry I can't help you with one. KB

TOSH!!!WASH YOUR MOUTH OUT WITH SOAP!!! A decent roundhead is a happy thing & I'm happy to ride mine all day long in modern traffic & with modern bikes....well that is, if it was going...which it isn't...but then neither is anything else... A good LM 1/11-type roundfin is still surprisingly capable on the road or even on the track. KB

Is the Scura (single plate) clutch hub different to the regular V11Sport (twin plate) hub? I thought they were the same. KB

Just build a bigger shed.

Yeh. I found corrosion after first winter. I cleaned it up, think I put a bit of paint on the faces too & ever since have kept surfaces greased between mudguard & lower legs - no further problems, but then I don't go out in rain or when there's salt on the roads - not if I can help it anyhow. I don't know anything about these characteristics in CF, thanks for the links, 68C. KB

Stick with it! It's a big, heavy, soft lump & get's a little vague when you ride it outside it's comfort zone. Point & squirt is not it's style. Keep all inputs smooth, look a long way down the road & it might surprise you how well it will go & how good it can feel, even in nominally more capable company. IME tyres & suspension set-up are critical if you want the best out of it, but I guess that's true of any bike. But particularly, Scura came with very soft springs front & back - many put in stiffer & anyone of average size would best to do this. It may already have been done on yours. I've found stock brakes are adequate for my use (mostly quickish road, occasional track day) & IME, other characteristics limit performance before the brakes become an issue. I'm happy with Ferodo pads. Radial m/c has been reported by others to give a real improvement. Pistons can stick in caliper. I have one is a problem at the moment & haven't managed to source a rebuild kit. KB

Was this on a muddy dirt track in the woods or flat out into the hairpin at your local racetrack? KB

Yeh, I could have put that better - internet is an.... unforgiving mistress... what have I gone & said now....

Every little helps!

Not forgetting violence, sadism & torture, described in loving detail without aim of furthering characterisation or plot. Could have been an epic story but got bogged down in vouyerism. That's the book, not seen the film. KB

My objection to the direction Guzzi are heading is nothing to do with bringing in new tech, new mechanicals, watercooling or hating to see things change etc, etc, etc... It's this sort of crap! - styling add-ons with no function other than disguise! Design the thing right & it'll look right! Like fake plastic half bell mouths on a Fi Honda, the leatherboy straps across chromed plastic tank on the V7 Racer(Racer? Sure ) shows just who's running the show nowadays. Make us a modern, cutting-edge motorcycle - but make it true to the values of Guzzi - original thought, solid engineering, & design that follows function not just guesses at latest market trends. Sure the V7 might sell - of course MG have to sell - but does it sell more than a T3 did in it's day? It doesn't have to be a fake to sell! Decent, market-leading product & customer & dealer care - how hard should it be? But can you imagine the minds that brought us the V7Classic, the Breva & 1200 Sport with all their chromed plastic & bumper trim turning out anything that'll become an icon? What does it tell you about the Guzzi design dept that the V7Racer is the stuff of their dreams? KB

What purpose for those rocker-cover covers? Noise reduction? Plastic oil-pump gear? KB

Just me found books too heavy on gratuitous sex & torture then? KB

Do first series 99/00 bikes break the spring? Is it still a problem on the last 04 bikes also? KB

What's power for a modern 1100/1200? 150-200HP? I don't need or particularly want that. Do most people? Torque is what makes the V11 so rideable & means they're generally able to keep up with most on roads with a few curves. KB