Baldini

Born in Wallasey, raised in Wales & his mother was Welsh. All here: http://www.ralphsteadman.com/ralph-steadman-biography/ "...A little bit of Welsh, a little bit of everything..." - guess it's up to him? That's a fine box set you have there Jim! One day at a time, now...one day at a time.

Yeh, losing BBC coverage is a pain. Dunno if I'll see any of it next year. Great season. In the end I really wanted Lorenzo to get it...dunno, maybe just cos he's the old guy ...think Marquez was a real wake up call to him & he upped his game & rode fantastic in the last few races: previous race was just beautiful - on it every single corner every single lap...then complained he made a mistake in one corner of one lap. Guess he did what he could yesterday, but eventually it all got a bit silly when he pushed Pedrosa out, so he cleared off & left it despite crew telling him to back them up. Good to see him congratulate Marquez on slow down lap. Hondas is clearly the fastest bike round a track, but Marquez is something special & will only get better - riding loose makes great TV, but Lorenzo is pretty special too - someone compared his style with Eddy Lawson. Be interesting to see Marquez & the Stoner of a few years back going at it. I wonder if it's all just a bridge too far for Rossi.... & Burgess (living out of a suitcase must pall after a while)?

Yeh, that's nice. It's one of these I think: http://www.ipothesys.com/

Hi Docc, On Tontis, there is a check valve (as shown in your link). It sits in the mouth of metal pipe that exits centre top of bellhousing. This pipe is the main crankcase breather & connects via a hose to a breather box that sits above it. V11s vent pipe connects to a longer hose that vents to frame near headstock. I remember I replaced that hose but I can't recall if there was a valve in there. As you say the parts list does not show one. Sorry I can't be definitive, someone will be along soon, no doubt. Cheers, KB

This I've replaced seals 4 times in Concluded that long periods of standing will reduce seal life. Ohlins are designed for optimum performance with short service intervals. Seals are manfactured with low stiction in mind rather than longevity. No sp tools needed. Ohlins fork top nut tool is nice but can be bodged. I use a strip of alloy plate across opening when prying out seal, to avoid damaging fork leg. Careful of small needle valve flying out of damper tube & getting lost on workshop floor if over-enthusiastic when pumping forks to remove oil. KB

Can't get your links to work (get a little yellow explosion sign with a red exclamation mark) - what did you find had happened with the clutch? I can't recall the different centre nuts... S+D = Stein Dinse? For parts I've used Corsa Italiana, Motomecca (UK), Teo Lamers (Nl), Agostinis (I)& even Moto International (USA) - all good. Good luck.

Are them shelves on the right up to it - looks a little bit sketchy? That plank is going to want to turn... I went in from the other end - took the motor out, but I guess it's too late for that. Good luck! KB

Yes you can. But as Jaap says: check what you're getting.

Just pack them with copper grease.

Have a look thru the timing inspection hole, & remove starter & see if you can see anything obvious amiss thru engagement hole there? You can get at thrust bearing without dismantling engine/trans. You sure fluid doesn't need bleeding? Has clutch become noisy? I'm sure you've heard about the Scura & Tenni flywheels breaking up? I never heard of an RM flywheel fracturing like those. If you do pull it down would be interested to see photos of RM clutch. It's a single plate but I always wondered if it's different to Scuras & Tennis.

Any oil weep? Air in clutch fluid? Slave cylinder loose on mount? Knackered thrust bearing? Friction plates breaking up? Worn splines on clutch hub/frictionplate?

Thrust bearing assembly is behind clutch slave cylinder which is mounted on back of gearbox. From memory, I think you can get slave cylinder off without removing swingarm. It's held by by three countersunk socket cap screws. Then you should be able to pull thrust bearing assembly out. I think thrust bearing assembly is lubed by gearbox oil migrating along clutch pushrod tunnel, but I'm not sure. I would grease whole assembly anyhow. Thrust bearings do wear out & can seize if they get dry, dirty, or corroded, so it may well need replacing. KB

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-XRmpKKy4DMQ/T87L6GQr_2I/AAAAAAAAAxA/MFb98c1l3-U/s1600/stacia-blake.jpg

Will Stacia be dancing with them?

Don't know much about it but they have preload adjuster do they? If you can't set sag with that, sounds to me like you need stiffer springs. KB

I have a Scura & I think they ride a bit higher than the LM, but I have dropped the forks so it's maybe not that far off. But whatever, kickstand does ground early - I cut the bump stop rubber right back & ground the tip off the foot - well I think it did that itself, then it starts grinding away the front part. I run it to the edges of both tyres, fine when road is smooth but just be a bit wary when the going gets a little bumpy. For a track day I just took it off & leaned it on the fence when I stopped. KB

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Omobono_Tenni & http://motosimpatico.com/2011/02/omobono-tenni-our-patron-saint/ Don't think OP is related - just his bike! Michael, glad to hear all is going well - you earned it!

If there's a problem with clutch actuating mech, it could cause clutch wear. If MG have accepted warranty issue then either he has stripped it to look & found the problem or he's had info from MG re a known problem? Either way the bike needs fixing & he knows clutch replacement is gearbox or motor out - ie a "big job". MG in the past have been very stingy w funding warranty work so he probably doesn't see much in it for him other than a headache. Did this dealer supply the bike? Hopefully someone here will recommend a more enthusiastic shop to look at it for you & fix. Have you tried asking at http://wildguzzi.com/forum/index.php?board=1.0 ? Warranty work should be transferable I think, tho unless MG have changed their attitude, I don't think it's an attractive proposition for any shop esp if they didn't have initial profit as supplying dealer. Good luck. KB

I use .20mm inlet & .25mm exhaust.

WTF? All I heard is MCN saying what a fantastic facility COTA is. Kevin Schwantz is still well-liked here - seems honest, decent person to me & passionate about bikes & racing. Support campaign w all proceeds to Marco Simoncelli Foundation: http://freekevin34.com/ & http://www.cafepress.com/motoinsider KB

Thanks, fotoguzzi - I'll try get hold of a copy. Looking for it, I came across this compilation of recent saves ... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xzB6KSlD6ec ... good grief !

Judging by his performance in Quatar, I'm not sure that Rossi is so far past his prime as some feared! Looks to me like he's really enjoying his racing. Don't know netflix, fotoguzzi. We get the gp's live on BBC - great public service broadcasting! And can access them on BBCiPlayer after the event but I don't know who can access that - given it's www can't you get it anywhere, or is there some way they block it? http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b01ry7qb/MotoGP_2013_Qatar/ http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b01s2yh0/MotoGP_2013_Qatar_Moto2_and_Moto3/ I'll check out the moto2 Guzzirider! KB

Yeh, it would've been interesting to see how Rossi/Lorenzo would've matched up. Interesting contrast in bikes as well - Honda grunt v Yam agility - could Yam get enough of a gap or brake late enough to overcome Honda's straightline speed. That pass by Marquez off the end of the straight where he had it out wide & sideways & cut back inside Rossi was great to watch. Proper racing.

Great last few laps. Had got a bit tedious last year. Looking to be something different this one http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cePQ1J598Rg

Just noticed - site comes up OK - but no new posts for 3 days. Dunno what the problem is tho. KB