GuzziMoto

This is what I was referring to. From Wiki, but I have seen it mentioned elsewhere as well. "Moto Guzzi was limited in its endeavors to penetrate the important scooter market as motorcycle popularity waned after WWII. Italian scooter competitors would not tolerate an incursion from Moto Guzzi. By innovating the first large-wheeled scooter, Guzzi competed less directly with manufacturers of small-wheeled scooters such as Piaggio (Vespa) and Lambretta. To illustrate the delicate balance within the Italian post-war motorcycle and scooter markets, when Guzzi developed their own prototype for a small-wheeled scooter, Lambretta retaliated with a prototype for a small V-twin motorcycle threatening to directly compete on Moto Guzzi's turf. The two companies compromised: Guzzi never produced their small-wheeled scooter and Lambretta never manufactured the motorcycle. Notably, the drive train that Lambretta made in their 1953 motorcycle prototype remarkably resembles the V-twin + drive shaftarrangement that Guzzi developed more than ten years later, ultimately to become iconic of the company." Guzzi made big wheeled scooters and started developing a small wheeled scooter, and Lambretta started playing with the 250 V twin. That 250 V twin may have been in response to Guzzi developing a scooter small wheeled scooter. Guzzi stopped developing small wheeled scooters and Lambretta stopped playing with full size bikes. At least that is how I understand it. But I could be wrong.

As I recall the Lambretta was a tit for tat manuever. Lambretta was getting too close to Guzzi's market with that one so Guzzi came out with a scooter. Lambretta promptly caved and stopped encroaching on Guzzi's market.

As mentioned before, 12 mm is not much and may work just fine for you without extenders. I'm not sure what the offset is on those, hopefully they are around 30 mm. The required bearings run around $40 or less on the internet. A bit of work to fab mounts for the gauges and headlight. I bought fancy mounts for the headlight and found that I preferred some homemade ones I adapted using stainless muffler clamps sized to go around the tubes with a little foam as a cushion. Then I made some brackets to attach to the clamps and hold the headlight. My speedo/tach combo attaches directly to the top triple clamp at the same location as the ignition switch. It has a rubber mount incorporated into it. I do recommend you read the thread I posted the link to in the other discussion, it has some pictures and some info/ideas that may be helpful.

I mounted the Guzzi ignition switch in the Suzuki location. Required a couple small spacers ( I used what I had laying around) and no longer allowed the steering lock to work, but I never use that anyway. Depending on the location of the switch mount on the '09 forks you may or may not be able to use the steering lock. Do they offer fork extenders for the '09s? I seem to think they do but if I am right they are more expensive then the extenders for the '06-'07s . Which displacement GSXR? There are differences between them. As to sending your stuff to Racetech, they certainly do plenty of business. But I don't send my stuff there. I would think they could do a decent job. I have used PPS, and trust him. But I am sure others like Racetech could do well for you.

The best hose for that application is expensive, and my local auto parts shops do not carry it. I found it on ebay and bought it by the foot there. The stuff I used was Goodyear SAE30R9 hose. I found it in different sizes for between $6 & $9 a foot. It is ethanol and biodiesel rated as well as up to 150 psi.

The noise comes from the gearbox and not the clutch... Relax. Some are convinced it is the clutch. I have not been able to change their minds. But the important thing is the noise is NORMAL. Use a quality gear oil, I use Redline shockproof but there are many options, and the noise will be less. As Pete said, make sure the throttle bodies are sync'd, that will also reduce the noise. And keep the idle above 1100. With mine a small increase in rpm has a large effect on reducing the noise.

Mine does that, actually several of mine do that and not all of them have a dry clutch. It is mostly the transmission shafts spinning and the gears and dogs spinning with the shafts but knocking back and forth on their splines and into one another. Because of the Guzzi's 90 degree v twin nature it does not spin in a smooth constant speed but rather a series of faster and slower speeds. This causes the clutch and transmission to do the same. The clutch can rock on its splines and contribute to the noise, but hopefully your clutch splines do not have that much play that they make a serious contribution to the overall noise. The transmission gears on the other hand do have room to move. The classic Dry clutch rattle to me is the noise the plates make when tension on them is removed by squeezing the clutch lever. Ducati's make a louder noise there because they have more plates and they often have a vented cover. But if the clutch is applying pressure to the plates to squeeze them together them there should be no looseness, no movement of the plates except as a whole. And if it was a dry clutch thing then non dry clutch bikes would not make the same noise. And finally, I found that, at least on mine, sometimes when I pull the clutch in and release it again the noise changes. Sometimes it even goes away until the next pull. Not sure why. I assume it because you are changing the way the gears and shafts line up and mesh together but I am not sure on the actual mechanics of that.

I thought Ohlins seals (like most other seals) are based on dimensions. You need to know what the diameter of the inner slider tube that goes into the seal. Typically 41 or 43 mm, but nowadays there are other options as well. If you google it you may find some info on the actual Ohlins seals as well as info on non-Ohlins seals (I seem to remember Suzuki seals) that some people use instead of the original style seals. But part of the advantage to an Ohlins fork is the smooth action, using Suzuki seals may reduce that advantage. But the intent of the Suzuki seal is a more durable seal. As to the bushings, if they are worn they need to be replaced.

My wife is 5' 5" and she has no issues riding her V11. We have not lowered it. You probably can cut down the seat but it seems a shame as the stock seat is pretty comfy. I would start by dropping the suspension 10 - 15 mm.

The more GSXR parts you get the better. But if you are putting handle bars on you would need an extended brake line kit if what you bought did not come with it. With clip ons you should be able to use the brake lines that came with the GSXR brakes, but the stock lines are cheap rubber lines. I seem to recall the banjo bolts are different sizes between the Guzzi and the Suzuki, but I could be wrong. I think quality brake lines are cheap enough so I bought custom lines for mine. And I upgraded the master cylinder as mentioned. There are some brake lines which use a fitting that screws directly into the caliper, I like those best but as long as the lines fit they should be fine. There is nothing special about one brand compared to another. Guzzi or Suzuki, the lines don't know. Also, don't forget you want the GSXR front fender. There are plenty of options on brake fluid. DOT 4 is a good choice, and I am sure Performance friction fluid is great but I have never used it. For regular use I run Valvoline DOT 3/4 synthetic. But that is not to say any others are not a good choice. A great high end high performance fluid is Super Blue. But it is more for race and high performance applications. Advantages won't likely be seen on a street Guzzi and the draw back is it is more prone to absorbing water, reducing its performance.

Many people drop the forks on their later model V11s to get the steering back towards where the early model red frame ones are. They raked out the V11 a degree or so as people complained the bike steered too quickly. Everything is relative..... Anyway, people often drop the front end 10 - 15 mm, so I would say that should not be an issue, but it should make your bike steer faster. You may prefer that you may not. If it were me I would try it and see what you think. Something else that enters into it in a positive way is the trail. The GSXR forks have less offset than the Guzzi forks and as such the GSXR forks will have more trail than the Guzzi forks at the same angle. More trail, as long as it is not too much trail, is a good thing and helps with stability and feel. But knowing the extender caps are available if you should decide you need them is a good thing.

Okay, I think my 25mm/52mm bearing dimensions was wrong. I think the correct answer is 30mm/52mm.

Fair enough. Gotta do what you gotta do. But how bad is your Daytona motor? They are usually pretty stout.

Oh, they also make top triple clamps for some GSXR's that have handle bar mounts. That is what I went with for my Daytona (yes, I converted it to handle bars, I am older and need comfort). That would be a consideration as well. Not all of them have that option, it is mainly the stunt bike people that determine whether or not handle bar clamps are available for that model or not.

The outer diameter of the DRZ tapered bearings is the same as the outer diameter of the original Daytona bearings. I would bet a dollar the V11 bearings are the same outer diameter of the Daytona bearings. And as that law of physics goes, if they are both equal to the same thing they are equal to each other.I did not have to change out the outer bearing races, it would have worked with the original bearing outer races. But the original bearing races on my Daytona were old so I swapped them as well. The DRZ bearing races fit it the Guzzi steering head just like they should. The DRZ steering stem is the same diameter as the GSXR steering stem. As I recall the dimensions are 30mm(edited for correctness) inner and 52 mm outer. But I would/should recheck that. I'll see if I can find my notes. The steering stem for the GSXR was a little longer the the Guzzi stem. I used a spacer to fill in the difference. As I recall it was like a 1/4". I put the spacer at the top, in hind sight I wish I had put the spacer at the bottom, under the lower bearing on the steering stem. The big difference between the older Guzzi forks and newer sportbike forks is length. The newer forks are shorter. Putting the spacer under the lower bearing on the GSXR steering stem would have meant the GSXR forks would have been dropped slightly in relation to the Guzzi's frame, making them seem longer then they are. Measure and see what you need before you do it. Once I had the bearing on the stem it was too much trouble to get it back off without damaging it. If I replace the bearing I will move the spacer. Along the lines of fork length, you will see that the different versions are different lengths. You want the longer ones. Plus, they make extended caps for some versions. The '06-'07 750/600 forks I mentioned are both longer and they make an extended cap for them. There are other options as well, research the options before you buy. The one I went with did not offer an extended fork cap. The ones I am using for my Aprilia XV roadracer project do. I had the forks re-sprung and valved for a couple reasons. First, they were ebay forks and I did not know if they were even straight. Second, the springs were too light for a bike as heavy as the Guzzi. And third, if you make that big a change to the spring rate the odds are the valving is not going to be correct, unless it was way wrong before. Plus, it is not that expensive to have done. I don't know about a "sticky", but I am happy to share what I know.I don't think the stock Guzzi forks are that bad (not counting the ohlins bikes, there is a reason why they are so popular), but they do have some issues. You can live with them the way they are. You can pay someone to resolve the issues. Or you can upgrade the whole package. I like the upgrade route as you also get better brakes and a lighter wheel. A lighter wheel makes a massive difference to handling. Better brakes speak for themselves. I hope this helps. Let me know if you have any questions about what I said or what I didn't say.

There is a difference in the offset side to side. There is also a difference in the overall length, the V11 motor and trans is shorter (I think most if not all of that is in the trans). And I would use the 6 speed box of the V11 if you can. But it can be done. My question is Why? The V11 motor is not a bad lump but the Daytona motor is so much more appealing. If anything, I would want to go the other way but Daytona motors are hard to come by. A V11 frame and gearbox with a Daytona motor, now THAT is the makings of a bad ass cafe racer.

I have swapped to GSXR front end on one of my Guzzi's, a Daytona (much related frame wise to a V11). A GSXR front end would be a better choice. They are more common, so easier to get and cheap. They are also better forks, that use radial brakes (at least most late model versions do), a lighter front wheel, and parts/upgrades for them are easy to come by. Most suspension guys can make a GSXR fork do whatever you need it to do. Also, the swap was not that hard, consisting of a complete GSXR front end (forks, wheel & discs, and brake calipers, I used a Brembo radial M/C), using tapered steering bearings from a Suzuki DRZ 400, and making a few assorted brackets and what not for things like the headlight and turn signals. I used a front end from a '04 GSXR 1000. I had a suspension guy spring and valve it for me. Further research and measuring says that an '06 -'07 GSXR 750 front end is actually a better choice. But either will work and I am sure some others will as well. There is a wealth of info on GSXR forks, there is info detailing the dimensional differences between the different years. Here is a site with some of that info. http://www.svrider.com/forum/showthread.php?t=135430 I highly recommend the swap. It is awesome. I had about a grand in the swap, including the Brembo RCS master cylinder and having the forks re-valved/sprung. I think I paid $600 for all the GSXR front end parts.

Hows that, as in what was altered? He changed the steering head angle a while back.... Yea, maybe if he had left it stock he could have missed the deer..... Sorry to go there, but he mentioned it first.

First things first. Stainless is not the best material to make a brake disc out of unless your main criteria is looks. Even if they are made from real stainless.... it is not the best choice. My experience with Chinese metallurgy is they use what they want and call it what they want. I have a few stories about that. Second, brakes are kinda important. In my opinion that is not the best place to try to save a couple dollars, quality brake discs are not that expensive. Third, have you actually measured the "warped" discs on your Aprilia for runout? Real warped discs are rare. It can and does happen, but it is not common. More often it is something else, like pad buildup or stuck float bobbins.

I am not the expert others are on this, but I have some understanding of it. The oil pickup is near the front of the sump. Under hard acceleration the oil naturally sloshes to the back of the sump. If the oil level in the sump is low enough, the acceleration is hard enough, or some combination of the two, the oil pickup can be uncovered, i.e., it is not covered in oil any longer and it tries to pump air. Air does not pump well and it lubricates even worse, so that can result in loss of oil pressure. The big end bearings, being plain bearings, do not work well without oil pressure. I do not see this as a serious issue, as it will tell you if you have an issue and only failing to ignore the oil light will cause catastrophic failure. I do own one of Pete's plates and intend to install it soon, but as long as you keep the oil topped up, avoid wheelies, and otherwise pay attention to the idiot light you should be fine. YMMV

TTS has made tanks for people including people in the US. I doubt they sent their bikes over there at all, certainly not for a year. It might take him a while to get yours done but you should not have to give him your bike for an extended time.

I would think the wire wheels would be worth a fair bit. Not be be morbid, but.... I would like to hear more of the story, as while I have heard of and even experienced breaking a bone without laying it down I have not heard of totaling a bike without laying it down. That sounds like an interesting story. Glad you have minimal damage and sorry about the bike. I feel a connection as a local even though we have not met.

If you run an internal combustion engine, Guzzi or other, without oil pressure (when that oil light is on it means you do not have oil pressure) it can toast the bearings. The big end bearing are probably the most suspect-able to lack of oil, they are plain bearings on a Guzzi and without oil pressure a plain bearing is not a bearing.

Where did you have it towed to? As mentioned, it can almost always be repaired (just a question of how much $$$) and major issues can be an opportunity for improvements. Sorry to hear, good luck.

The two valve 1100 motors are twin plug as well. I reckon on the 8 valve motor they did not have room for the other plug.