Baldini

Wether ground clearance or grip was limiting factor to lean, hanging off would have decreased lean angle at a given corner speed. At full lean, before acceleration, hanging off is only really necessary when all clearance &/or grip is at limit. Saying Rossi is faster than Hailwood or vice versa is a nonsense. Different eras, different stuff, but what stays the same is they are/were both racers through & through. Rossi knows how good Hailwood was & respects that, as would Hailwood have recognised Rossi. Same for any other of the great racers, look at Moss & Fangio. They know & knew, anyone who really understands their art will recognise the same in others. KB

SIZE isn't everything!!! . Different tyres have different profiles, different handling characteristics. Eg: a 180 with a sharp profile may turn quicker than a 170 with a flatter profile. (notice how handling is affected when rearv wears down in the middle?). Not all tyres are vailable in all sizes. Narrower tyre = flatter profile on same rim = possibly run off tread early at extremes (only my theory ). A narrower tyre will turn quicker than a wider tyre of same type, but it must be a recommended fitment for the rim. IMV the closer in width to front the rear, the more neutral the turn-in. As far as I know, on a 4.5" rim the choice is between 170 & 160, & the 160 is generally regarded as giving better handling. Forgive the interuption...I am sure Ratchethack will direct you to the correct choice for your requirements . KB

Piston sticking in caliper?

I use Pilot Power 2CT. They are fantastic tyres, totally confidence inspiring. But they are SSport tyres - I don't get much more than 1,500m to a set - wear is fast but v even. Power Road are a new Sport/Touring version of the 2CT? Conti Sport Attack are a very good tyre, with slow, neutral character - Road Attack would be the Sport/Touring version I think. I don't know why more people here don't try Michelin Or Contis? KB

Greg, Would this fit any 5 speed too? KB

Welcome Gerold. You've clearly come to the right place KB

This from Phil Irving's "Motorcycle Engineering".

Photos above & quote below are from Michael Moore's Eurospares website - I dunno how to do links...I think this has been discussed here before, but for anyone who hasn't heard..... "You may notice some similarities between Tony's frame design and that which later appeared on John Wittner's Guzzi race bike (and then developed into the current Guzzi Daytona/Sport chassis). Tony's frame uses a round spine tube instead of a rectangular tube, and has what I and others consider a superior sheet metal fabrication for the swing arm side plates instead of the bent aluminum plates that Wittner used. When I mentioned to Tony how similar the frames were he told me that Wittner, upon hearing about the Guzzi frame Tony was building, came to visit him with the alleged intention to order a couple of frames. Wittner took lots of pictures, asked lots of questions and went away and built his own frame. I know I've never seen any word of acknowledgement by Wittner for the, shall we say, "inspiration" for his "revolutionary" frame. I'm all for copying any good idea I can find, but I'm more than happy to credit the original source of the idea. I guess not everyone is willing to do that." KB

Yes. Dr John frame is very similar to Foale's. Interesting that Foale used front downtubes, connecting st head to front lower engine mounts, steel fabricated s/a plates, & check the VERY solid looking spine mounting to gbox top! Guzzi themselves used tubular spine frames way before this, & others besides. Irving cites Panther, & differentiates between those using motor as stressed member (eg Panther) & those not (Ariell). KB

Well, as Mike Wilson mentioned, the HRD/Vincent had a spine frame way before then, originating in the 40's - designed by Phil Irving I think, an Aussie - in fact if you look at the Vincent it's real similar in many ways to the V11, box section spine, stressed engine... down to the spindly s/a...but I wouldn't be surprised if there was someone did one before then too. My old MZ250's have spine frames - the TS250 being a particularly nice curved tubular piece....they work well, but don't have to carry the mass of the V11. KB

Doug, As I recall you can just turn the forks round to move calipers to rear, no problems. Obviously mudguard mounts will switch to front, but I guess you'll be using a different guard anyhow? How you going to mount the modern Brembo calipers? They have different centres - on old ones, mounts are spaced further apart? Adaptor plate? I'm interested in doing same myself. Cheers, Keith

KB

This man thinks Hailwood was pretty good... KB

Priceless advertising for Guzzi - better than anything they manage in the press etc - Griso looked, sounded, great. KB

Well this is my theory: The most noticeable trait of narrower rear tyre is a more balanced & even turn-in (when leaning, front & rear go over together, rather than front first followed by rear). A rear tyre closer in width to front will more closely match turn rate of the narrower front, giving a more even feel to turn-in. A bike on 100f/110r turns in very neutral & smooth. Profiles are designed to give different turn-in characteristics. Some sports 180's turn in v quick, presumably width is compenstated for by a sharper profile than matching 120 front. A 170 on a 5.5" rim will have a flatter profile than a 180 of same type, a slower turning profile - but because it is narrower it will still go over quicker. Big sports bikes need wide r tyres cos they make lots of power. Ours don't & don't need wide rims, not even a 4.5". It is, as you say fashion. But also MG have to offer wider rims cos the vast majority of bikes are using them & that is what the tyre manufacturers design for. Also, by my logic, on a 5.5" rim a 170 profile will flatten more than a 180, & will therefore run off it's tread earlier. That is a safety consideration. I like tyre threads, I like tyres, I don't find them boring at all. KB

Congratulations! Tonti is a great motorcycle. KB

180 & 170 are both recommended correct fitments for 5.5" rim. 170 will give a more even turn in than 180. But handling varies tremendously between different types of tyre & it's possible a 180 in some types will offer similar handling to 170 in others. Furthermore, some tyres are only available as 180, not made in 170. KB

Was the problem with cali single plates, just bad (fast wearing) friction plates or was there something else? Guzzi replaced whole assy rather than just new plates? KB

RSVR - pre radial brake models (up to 02 I think?) or aftermarket for same. KB

Is that some hefty additional bracing above gbox too? KB

If Greg's not got one - dunno if Europe's an option for you, but I got mine from Agostinis in Mandello - English spoken (Peter in parts is an Aussie) - 00390341735448. You could also try TLM in Holland & Corsa Italiana in London. KB

Yes. You can mix & match most all the big block Guzzi parts. KB

Horses for courses. This 110 was amongst lots of big fat tyres on track the other day. Didn't want for grip. Cornering grip does not depend on width but on tyre type, you only need the width for applying big power (& I suppose braking from big speeds?), which we don't have. KB

I wasn't suggesting gbox brace as an alternative fix, just as a related item. Guzzi bracing looks a bit of a lash up, & if you're going to the trouble of pulling it all apart there may be a more elegant solution that you might employ as you have the skills but don't have economies of scale etc to consider. Although it braces the sideplates, & will help, I don't think the bracing contributes that much to firming up the steering head relative to the crosspiece at the bottom of the spine, which is where I suspect some of the problem is. My Scura, which has the bracing feels pretty flexible pushed hard (I've not ridden early V11 or Sporti so can't compare, but Scura is nowhere near as solid as Tonti). Skimpy swingarm probably doesn't help either. Good luck with the job anyhow! KB

....& I'd like to see something fast in a Tonti style frame - Every other manufacturer is plundering their heritage - so presumably it makes money? Mustangs & Minis to Paul Smart replicas & Bonneville pastiches. KB