Baldini

Quercus - you answered yourself: too much rearward wt bias causes vague front end. Set sag, make sure everything is in spec & if you're gonna ride it like that, get your arse over the front end. Raising the forks in the triple clamps should help too, if that's safely doable on the marzzochi bikes. Headshaking - if it's just a bit & settles down - well....

And if the last GP was anything to go by, you're in for a treat!

160! I went 170 from 180 on the bigger rim & got much nicer, linear feel to handling - more consistent transition on turning - all reports I've heard are earlier bikes with 4.5" rim benefit same by going to 160 from 170. Guzzi wouldn't have used 170 if it wasn't an acceptable fit on rim. Check tyre/rim charts - different sizes will fit - but there's a sweet spot. My guess is that Guzzi went for the bigger permissable sizes for fashion rather than function.

Thanks for this stuff. try this... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=56SAxtf-RTg

Congratulations! Lovely! Do you know history? Cases/carbs look very clean.

Presuming suspension is set up right, bearings etc all good - Tyres - dunno what you're on, but a pointy sports profile makes for much easier turn in than more rounded. Going to 170 rear from 180 (or 160 from 170 on smaller rim) helps turn in too - but a 180 triangular profile can turn as quick as a 170 w a more rounded profile. But V11 is a heavy bike with a lot of that weight out back (& if you're loaded up you're adding to that) - harsh throttle inputs & last minute, hard braking can unsettle it. Works better ridden smoother - fast locomotive rather than a go-kart. Getting your weight as far up over the front is essential if you 're pushing on. Raising forks in triple clamps helps it feel more planted in turns. I think mine is set up OK & smooth roads/track & ridden smooth it's fine, but can get tangled up if pushed hard enough especially over uneven surfaces, dips & bumps. IME it settles down OK, if you relax & leave it too it for a moment & on decent tyres. But anything will get out of shape if you try hard enough. Maybe you just need to recalibrate your riding style? What did you come off to the Guzzi? But what do I know - mine lives in the shed. KB

I don't straddle the bike to check the oil! I stand beside it. Oil is checked w bike upright. Interesting what rossi46 quotes - somehow "screwed up completely" seems apt - I also took that to mean dipstick screwed fully home, but who knows with translations? Obviously if dipstick was unscrewed & resting on cases it would indicate less oil present...

Cos of stories of torched bearings likely caused by exposed oil pick-up. Seems to me, this is more likely to happen with low oil. Keeping it topped up makes sense to me, it's never breathed it back out, so I don't see a downside. But each to his own. I also fitted a Roper slosh plate. I check oil on my own w bike upright on it's wheels, no stand. I just find the balance point, & hold it by the bar end - it feels a little precarious but no problem. KB

If manufacturer puts an arrow on the tyre then that's the way you fit them. If shop fitted it wrong way round they dunno what they're doin. My understanding is that tread is designed specifically to suit braking, cornering, acceleration, water dispersal functions for each wheel. Tyre won't work or wear correctly if it's mounted back to front. Years back we had universal tyres, with arrows pointing both ways - for rear or front fitment. Used to run Tonti on 110 front & rear, switching ends when it was part worn to max life. Cheapskate. It didn't help handling. I understood that the internal construction of the tyre was designed to best withstand braking forces on front, & when turned round accelerative forces on rear. Dunno. As I recall, tread pattern on TT100, Roadrunner & then Phantoms was symmetrical. I think first front/rear specific tyre I had was Metzeler ME33/99.

I always kept mine above max on the stick, & level only dropped slowly. Never blew anything much out even at sustained high revs. If your's is using oil at that rate then maybe there's something needs looking at. Think you said it's burping it out? Crankcase pressure - worn rings/bores? Is it burning oil? The Lonewonderer - good luck with it. Hope you manage to get it sorted.

Yeh, pretty much. It's more easily understood in a drawing - dunno why you can't see the pic I put up: - just put "rake & trail" into google images search, there'll be loads.

Scud, no the Scura doesn't have the adjustable lower eye. It's fixed length. This stuff confuses me ...hopefully someone will correct me if I'm wrong...but my understanding is: Dropping the nose or lifting the rear is going to increase rake & reduce trail, however you do it. It's not a product of lengthening the bike, it's the angles it presents to the ground that gives these specs. If you draw a line through the steerer tube to a point on the ground, & a line vertically thru the front wheel spindle to another point on the ground, the distance between the two points is trail. If you lift the rear or drop the front of the bike, you will bring the first point back toward the second, increasing rake & reducing trail.

Scud: Re. "shock absorber length": Do you mean changing sag by adjusting spring preload? Shock length is fixed, there's no ride height adjustment other than by altering preload. If you now have sag within range you're fine. Reduce/increase sag by more/less preload. Setting sag is basic, first step. You can alter damping settings to suit yourself. A good place to start is in the middle of the adjustment range, as you are doing - I wouldn't worry about "factory settings". If you ride the same stretch of road over a few times, & vary damping settings by two or three clicks each time (changing one setting at a time) you'll figure how each adjuster affects bike behaviour. Ohlins adjusters are very effective & after a while you'll be able to notice even very small adjustments. One click makes a difference. There is a big range of adjustment & the danger is that it can be set way off correct. But once you've figured what everything does, you can tailor damping characteristics to where & how you're riding. I think a Guzzi has too much weight on the back & transferring weight onto the front helps handling in the twisties. As guzzimoto says, raising the forks in the triple clamps drops front, steepens rake & makes for quicker steering. I don't know how much each of these factors contributes to the change in handling, I suspect both are amplified by increased weight transfer under braking & into corner entry & through the first part of a corner. It feels easier to hold a line, & reduces the tendency for it to run wide. It also helps in getting your bodyweight further forward. Being able to hold the line & put weight over the front makes the bike feel more planted in the corner. This is just how it feels to me. I'm interested how it works but I really don't know the physics of it. I could be confusing different things - maybe someone else with more understanding can explain. I don't know about stability in other situations - I have not noticed any increased instability at high speeds, but then I don't tend to do high speeds, I set my bike up for twisty road handling. The Scura is a long, slack bike so it doesn't concern me unduly. But I also think Scura is big, heavy & flexible & if you push it too hard, no amount of suspension twiddling will stop it getting out of shape. Tyres also have a huge effect on handling. Different profiles have big effect on steering. To qualify everything I say - I only know what I learnt messing with my bikes over the years - Scura is the first time I ever had fancy suspension on a bike - previously I'd never heard of "sag": I just thought the forks & shock where there to hold the bike off the ground. There are far more qualified people here to explain it all, & point out where I'm wrong. This is just stuff I've figured out that works for me, we all ride different & maybe others will have different preferences. Good luck. KB

As gstallons says. Good luck.

me too! lovely country. Long time ago: I think I saw -26 & was surprised it didn't feel as cold as a damp day in Mid-Wales (cos of low humidity they say). Good people introduced us to Gloggi (sp?) & that kept us warm inside . Scud - you might try raising forks in triple clamps too. I have third engraved ring on fork leg, flush w clip on (fork raised about 10mm or so). More weight over front wheel: bike feels more planted in corners. Obviously it's lowering front of bike, so clearances everywhere need checking. Sidestand can be tucked further in by cutting rubber stop. It'll all help, but Scura is style a big, heavy, flexibike & will get out of shape when the twisties get bumpy or the bumps get twisty!

Scura forks: Turn top adjuster nut clockwise to increase spring preload. Turn nut counter-clockwise to reduce preload. Dunno what's with that manual. I've seen springs listed between 7.5 & 11.0 N/mm in 0.5N/mm increments but don't know availability. I am around 210lb w gear & switched to 10 N/mm springs (would have preferred 10.5 but wasn't available). Zooter - Scura springs are spec'd for light people. Have you ever noticed Italian bike jackets come w long arms & short bodies? And, apparently there is a Mediteranean foot & a N European foot dictating the shape of shoes manufactured in those areas (& no doubt throughout the world).

I would definitely change the fork oil. Ohlins forks are fairly high maintenance. They work great but if you don't look after them they'll not, & it'll cost you longterm. KB

Cause of cam failure was found & rectified? IME the followers will give up before the cam, but whatever... as said above, someone will have to look & see. Followers live under the barrels & should lift out. No issue with rocker assembly, pushrod, valve? Any metal in sump?

As Hubert is (I think?) suggesting: first check cam followers (tappets) - were they replaced when cam was replaced? Dunno about V11, but I've replaced a few worn followers on older motors.

... yes, I know the feeling...

I'm referring to the sliding collars (2 & 8 in the diagram) in the gearbox itself that the selector forks engage with. When the box is in neutral, the space between each of these collars & their neighbouring gear is the same in each case - they are centred in the available space on the shaft. This is the link I tried to paste before: http://www.v11lemans.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=16884&hl=%2Bneutral%2C+%2Bsliding+%2Bcollars&do=findComment&comment=180908 Seems to be workling now, thanks Docc, but I guess I gave the wrong search parameters...

Delman: To set box in neutral, space sliding collars equidistant on their shafts. Obviously, you then have to set selector mech to match. Their are old threads on this - I can't get copy/paste to work so can't paste link to page (Jaap - is that just me or is there a problem?), try advanced search using "neutral" & "Baldini" in Technical Topics. There's diagrams there too. KB http://www.v11lemans.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=9261&p=105433 [Added the link; cut and paste looks ok from here/ docc]

Sounds like a lot of available movement on the lever. All's good with external assembly?