GuzziMoto

I'm sorry, but while a transverse V twin cylinder engine may not be the perfect engine package it is better then Ducati's L twin package. And look how successful that has been. The pro's and con's of Guzzi engine layout have little to do with the fact that Guzzi has been trying to go out of business since 1921. That is a much larger issue with causes that predate the transverse V layout.

Ouch. That looks nasty. My wifes V11 rear shock began to crack at the lower mount (apparently a common issue with the Sachs shock) but I have never seen one fail like that. The dealer you bought it from is not refunding the money? Jeez, in the USA you could sue them for almost killing you. My own opinion on shocks is that Ohlins is nice, but they are not the only choice when it comes to quality rear shocks for a V11. When my wifes stock shock failed I replaced it with a Penske. It is as good as the Ohlins, built to my wifes specs (the oem Ohlins is not but can be rebuilt to them for more money), and they were able to build it in a stupidly short time frame (which was important at the time). I would not waste any money on the stock Sachs shock.

Suck Squeeze Bang Blow

Clearly you have a bulb out in your left side signal array, the Guzzi does not lie. Seriously, I assume they are stock signals and not LED's?

Yeah, not only would I buy a water cooled Guzzi, I would love one. As mentioned, please put it in an MGS 01 style bike. Maybe a liquid cooled V4.... That would be sweet. Of course I have not had the problems that some have had, but that can and does happen with pretty much every brand.

Oh, about the transverse V twin thing. Everybody is entitled to their opinion.... Mine is that if you call it a "transverse V twin" it is referring to the V being transverse (not the crank) and if you say something like "transverse crank V twin" you would be referring to the rotation of the crank. Feel free to view it differently.

I thought JohninVT nailed it on the head.

Some KTM's use mineral oil in the hydro clutch. Not sure how well it would cope with the 400 plus degrees that can be generated by stopping a 500 lb Guzzi, but you do not want to mix and match the two. DOT 5 is the same way with water, but it is not incompressible (is that a word?). That results in a soft lever. No one wants a soft lever, do they?

Sorry to hear that with your Zumo. Mine acted up at one point, but it is fine now. I thought I pulled the battery or something to reset it. You may be able to update the firmware from Garmin.

As mentioned, but to elaborate, the dry boiling point accurately reflects the boiling point of the fluid. But being hygroscopic, it absorbs water. Since water has a boiling point of only 212 degrees give or take, as it absorbs water it lowers the boiling point of the fluid. Some fluids cope better with this then others to a small degree but they all suffer from this to a similar extent with the exception of DOT 5 fluids. DOT 5 is also referred to as silicone fluid, and while it has issues being hygroscopic is not really one of them. DOT 5 fluids are not compatible with DOT 3, 4, and 5.1 fluids, which are mostly compatible with each other. There are a few sites on the web that go further and explain it in greater detail. I encourage you took look. The StopTech link earlier in the thread is a good place to start.

Not sure how having three switches to do the job of one is better, but if that is your idea of "progress" then sure it can be done. Obviously you will have to run extra wires from the location of the original one switch to the other side of the bars, but if you want three switches instead of one it is just a matter of wiring them up. I'll stick with one switch.

That is a cool old Guzzi, and if it is what you want then fine, go for it. But an old bike is not like a newer bike. It will likely require more time and effort to ride it and keep it running. But if you are willing to pay the price I think it could be really cool.

Thanks Pete.

This picture and a couple posts have gone away. Here is the pic of the Sport Cycle Pacific valve covers on a Griso.

Yeah, Pete. I agree with you that the new Guzzi motors are great. But do the different models use different final gearing like the 1100's did or do they use the same final gearing?

In my opinion there have been plenty of cool bikes with character, if not soul, built by the Japanese companies in the past. Not even that distant past either. It is in recent times that they have contracted and condensed their line ups down to certain formats. Not much thinking outside the box, and when they do it seems to result in answers to questions nobody asked.

Do they use different gearing like they do between the 1100 motors? That would do it.

That is not a Suzuki, it's a Honda. And it is not a typical massed produced Honda designed by committees of bean counters but one designed by race engineers. One of the truly cool Honda's you could buy. Honda doesn't build bikes like that any more. Although the ST1300 is kinda cool. If only it had a soul.

The fluid he bought (Valvoline) is DOT 4. It meets the DOT 4 specs as well as the lower DOT 3 specs. It is suitable for use whenever DOT 3 OR DOT 4 is required. I have used the mentioned fluid in my Guzzi's without issue. As someone mentioned, Valvoline labels it 3 & 4 so that people with either requirement will understand that this fluid is suitable. The only real difference is the higher boiling point. It is made for use in either system.

There is no reason to use a DOT 4 over a DOT 3&4 that I am aware of. DOT 3&4 meets the same specs as DOT 4. The Valvoline fluid is not as good as it used to be. The boiling points wet and dry are down a fair bit. But I have used the new version without issues. I seem to recall the older stuff came in a silver plastic bottle. For a road bike I doubt you would have issues with the lower boiling point. If you do then likely something is wrong or your a nutter. Aside from the boiling point change it is decent stuff in my experience. Meaning I have not had any troubles as a result of running it.

I think Stoner on a Honda will win some but I think he will crash too often to mount a challenge to the championship. The other interesting change in the world order will be going back to 1000cc machines. It will be nice to see rider skill becoming more important then rider weight. And the premier class machines should be absolute beasts to ride. Dumbing then down so that more people could ride them at the front was a stupid idea and I'll be glad (as will Rossi and most of the true talents) to see horsepower and throttle control come back.

While it is possible that Rossi will go to Ducati to replace Stoner, I am not sure what a photoshop image of Rossi on a Ducati means. I think Rossi may fair better at Ducati then most others, but it is definitely a step down from where he is at now, especially if Burgess does not go with him. It looks like both this year and next year may be Lorenzo's titles.

I would agree. My fear would be that something is starting to circle the drain.

That does not sound good. I would expect to see at least 14 volts.

What does feel for the front have to do with high siding? Michelin has had one of the best (ok, the best) front tires in motorcycle roadracing. Around here it is the yardstick others are measured against. I do agree that some people will be faster on one brand of tire or another, and not do as well on other brands. I have seen that myself. And Michelin tends to be less forgiving in terms of sliding at the edge. That would more likely have been Stoners problem with them. But his style has always been very much a pin it and see style. Well, you could be right but from what I have seen and read he uses more TC then most and relies on it more then most. The fact that Ducati's TC is better then the others and how well he is able to trust it has been the biggest reason why no one else has been fast on a Ducati. Best of luck to him, and I could be wrong.