GuzziMoto

Interesting development for the Marquez brothers. This does seem to strengthen their tie to Ducati. https://www.crash.net/motogp/news/1045629/1/marc-marquez-given-audi-worth-six-figures-he-pens-new-sponsorship-deal

I get why someone would want cruise control on a bike, but I have no need or desire for it. I do use it in 4 wheeled vehicles, where I am just getting from point A to point B. But when I am on a bike I am there for the ride. But others, no doubt, are on their motorcycles to get from point A to point B, or maybe they just have a different idea of what "the ride" is.

What docc said. The vent goes into the frame at the top. What is vented is a mixture of air pressure (from pistons moving up and down changing the volume of the area in the crankcases, plus some blow by past the piston rings) and oil that is carried in the moving air. That oil is something of a fine mist, typically. Once in the frame at the top the air slows down and the mist of oil collects and drains down to the bottom of that section of the spine frame. There you will find drain lines that route the collected oil back into the sump at the bottom. Some spine frames have 1 drain line, others have a pair. I have no idea why they would use two lines back to the sump, one should do. Meanwhile that air pressure that carried the oil into the spine frame is then vented into the airbox. Ideally it is just air at that point, no oil. But if you overfill your sump with oil you can end up with excess oil being blown into the airbox as it can overwhelm the system that is trying to remove the oil from the air that it vents.

In the USA this year it seems it is going to be broadcast live on TruTV, a sister channel to TNT. At least it was for the first race, although it was a little chaotic as the deal was signed the week prior to the race being run. So the guide did not have info on it until a day before the race at most. This is much better for Americans vs WSBK, which is being broadcast on MAV TV. Sadly, MAV TV is only available in about half the homes in the US, as Verizon and Dish don't carry it. We have Dish, so no WSBK for us. But the coverage of MotoGP on TruTV was excellent. Sadly it did not seem to include the Moto3 and Moto2 races, but the MotoGP coverage was great, and even included the sprint race on Sat. Last years coverage of MotoGP on NBC did not include anything but highlights of the other races.

The width of the wheel does affect the tires profile, for sure. And a wider wheel will tend to flatten out the profile. But to suggest that a 160/60-17 tire is being pinched mounted on a 4.5" wide wheel seems wrong. Someone may prefer a wider wheel for a 160, but that is not how the tire was likely built. Sadly, specs like that are harder to find then they used to be. I appreciate that Dunlop still publishes info like that right up front. Not all tire manufacturers do nowadays.

Not sure where he got his info on wheel widths vs tire, but often the recommended width wheel for a 160/60 tire is 4.5" Here is a shot from Dunlop's web site for their Sportmax Q5 in a 160/60-17. The width in red is the recommended width, the width in black is acceptable.

Click on the link a couple posts up in the post from me, MotoGP in “advanced talks” to change its US TV broadcaster MotoGP is reportedly set to switch to a new TV broadcaster in the United States. The motorsport series is in “advanced talks” with Warner Bros Discovery to move onto their channel this year, Sports Business Journal reports. The move is an attempt from MotoGP to “look for growth in America”. MotoGP has been broadcast in the US by NBC since 2020 but the report claims that their partnership has expired. The deal in negotiations with Warner Bros Discovery would mean all Saturday sprint races and Sunday grands prix would be live on linear cable TV. Warner Bros Discovery own TNT, TBS and TruTV. Warner Bros Discovery and MotoGP are already TV broadcast partners in other territories including the UK. TNT Sports, owned by Warner Bros Discovery, broadcast MotoGP to the UK audience.

It sounds like it might be TNT. But it doesn't seem to be final yet.

The season is about to start, and MotoGP is in talks to switch broadcast partners for the US. Shouldn't this have been done long before now? https://www.crash.net/motogp/news/1045052/1/motogp-advanced-talks-change-its-us-tv-broadcaster

A longer shock can change the total travel of the rear suspension, but it does not always do so. It can mean that the shock is simply longer with the same amount of travel. Whether it is 128mm, 120mm, or even 100mm, the sag number is not going to change that much. Using 25% sag, the difference between 128mm of rear suspension travel vs the other extreme of 100mm of rear suspension travel gives us a sag of 32mm vs a sag of 25mm. So, even between those two extremes the difference is only 7mm of sag. To each their own, but I would not worry about that difference for a streetbike. To me that is over thinking it. If you split the difference you would undoubtedly be fine. I think you would be fine using any number in that range. Set your sag, see how it feels, and adjust as desired.

Rear suspension travel should be around 128mm. So, 20 - 30 % of that. For doccs 25% it would be 32mm of sag with you on the bike from fully extended.

Yeah, I respect his talent but not the man. He showed everyone who he is, and I lost pretty much all respect for him as a person with his behavior. Another factor is, while he is very fast he is also lacking in respect for others on track with him. He has a tendency to hit others. Sometimes it is because he is not fully in control of his bike, other times he is fully in control but chooses to make contact on the way by even though there may be enough room to do so without contact. I think he feels that contact like that will intimidate others so next time they will give him more room. Dale Earnhardt did the same thing in NASCAR. And I was not a fan of his, either. One possible outcome of Marc being on a faster bike is more people may end up on the ground. I hope not, I hope he is past that sort of riding. But I will believe it when I see it.

I don't think it is very likely that Marc goes back to Honda, only pointing out that it is possible. I did not come up with that idea, I am only repeating what others have speculated. Him leaving Honda might have been the kick required to get Honda to develop their bike. It really isn't that far off, Unfortunately, the field is so close that a bike that is half a second to a second off is no where. He may stay where he is at Ducati, either on the same team or move to another Ducati team. But it is important to remember that he chose to only sign for one year. While perhaps he had an eye towards the factory Ducati team at the end of that one year, it seems unlikely they would sign him. Maybe he could get a seat at a different Ducati team, maybe even a seat at Pramac running a current spec Ducati. But a seat on the factory Ducati team seems unlikely. That said, you never know. He could also go somewhere else, like KTM or Aprilia. I would love to see him on either of those. Frankly, Ducati needs Marc at another team to give them some credibility when they win. I think the deal with Rea demonstrates the risks of going to a different brand bike. Much as Marc is struggling somewhat to adapt to the Ducati from the Honda, Rea is struggling to adapt to the Yamaha after years on the Kawasaki. Rea didn't forget how to go fast, but going fast is a combination of rider and bike. If the rider and the bike don't find that happy point the speed isn't there. Rea is struggling more then Marc is, but neither has found that happy point yet. I would think both will find it, but it is possible that one or both of them never do. I won't say I disagree with your take on what Marc did in 2015, but I suspect there was more to it then that. Those two don't like each other. It was great to see Crazy Joe Iannone do well his first race in WSBK. I was pretty sure he would. He is talented, more talented then Bautista in my opinion. That said, Bautista did not do bad. He had a bad race 1, but on Sunday he did better. If he would stop whining about carrying a little extra weight (he still has a noticeable weight advantage over most everyone else) and just focus on his riding it might help. That said, I don't rate him nearly as high as I rate Iannone.

Yeah, Fabio was demanding more power while Cal Crutchlow (their test rider) was saying they have enough power but they can't get their power to the ground. It seems Cal was at least partially right, adding even more power didn't help their pace. They just have more grip issues then before while having higher speeds down the straights. That might work at some tracks, but mostly not. They lack both in electronics to manage their grip and physical chassis to get that grip. Adding more power to a chassis that already has more power then it can use is usually a waste of time. I would give Marc time to adapt to the Ducati before worrying about his next seat. He might end up back at Honda for all we know.

That literally is what makes the year of a motorcycle in Europe "Fluid". What "Fluid" means in this context is the year a vehicle is titled / registered as can vary depending on when it is actually titled / registered. A 2002 Moto Guzzi could be titled / registered as a 2003, even a 2004, or later, Moto Guzzi because of when it was sold / titled / registered. So, a motorcycle made for the 2002 model year is not always titled / registered as a 2002 motorcycle in Europe. That they have specific rules governing the process doesn't make it not fluid. In fact, the rules that apply across Europe on this are what makes the year of a motorcycle in Europe "Fluid". A 2002 motorcycle in the US is pretty much always titled / registered as a 2002 motorcycle in the US, regardless of when it is sold. Here in the US, vehicles are made for a specific year, and have to meet the requirements for that year. When they are actually sold doesn't generally factor into it. If the standards change, only vehicles built for the newer standards have to meet the newer standards. It isn't a matter of which way is better, it isn't a competition. But I can say I am glad we do it the way we do it. It makes it easier when you are buying parts. If your Moto Guzzi is a 2002 V11 Sport you just need to buy parts that fit a 2002 V11 Sport. This whole debacle with figuring out which forks a V11 Sport has highlights how having a fixed model year makes it easier to figure out what will fit and what won't. With Moto Guzzi there is still some room for error, they aren't always 100% about building their bikes with the correct parts. With another brand like a Honda, though, it would be 100% dead on. A 2002 Honda Thingamajig would always use the exact same parts as any other 2002 Honda Thingamajig. Where as a 2003 Honda Thingamajig would use 2003 Honda Thingamajig parts. But if you bought your 2002 Honda Thingamajig in 2003 in Europe and was titled / registered as a 2003 Honda Thingamajig you would have to know that and buy parts for a 2002 Honda Thingamajig even though yours is titled / registered as a 2003.

I think there have been a few people like that in motorcycling over my lifetime. People who both made amazing contributions to the sport and were also straight up good people. People like John Britten, Erik Buell, and Dr John. I am happy to have met two of those three. And owned motorcycles created by two of the three as well (but not the same two as the first example).

Yeah, as they say "The more things change the more they stay the same". From what I hear from Marc, he is struggling to adapt. But even "struggling" he is still fast and not far off the top. He was what, under 4 tenths from the top? Not sure that is sandbagging. But time will tell. Raul Fernandez seemed to be the standout kid in this round of testing. He was 5th fastest. And second fastest Ape. Interesting, the top 6 were 3 Ducs and 3 Apes. Of course, the top 10 were 6 Ducatis, 3 Apes, and a KTM. So Ducati still has the advantage of numbers and likely the best bike. I did see a top speed chart and it seemed to show that the Yamaha was only a click or two down from the fastest top speeds and better then many. So it seems Yamaha has resolved their speed deficit but are still slow. Maybe Fabio was wrong to focus so much on top speed. But time will tell (again).

Or you can convert your V11 to handlebars. We did that to my wifes V11, using Ballabio clamps and bars. Her stock top triple clamp had the bosses for the handlebar clamps, all I had to do was drill them out and add the handlebar clamps. We used Ballabio clamps and bars, but you don't need to use MG parts. About any bar clamps and bars can work. Depending on how far up you move the bars you may need longer cables and lines. I was able to carefully re-route the stock lines and make them work, but buying longer lines is a better option if required. And longer cables and lines are available since some V11's came from the factory with handle bars or high rise bars.

The dipstick would be more important then adding as much oil as the specs say to add in my opinion. The dipstick is telling you how high physically the oil level is in the sump. That is the more important factor here. You may want to add a Roper plate for your oil sump, it helps control the oil in the sump and keeps it from sloshing away from the oil pickup. There is info on here about them. Also, the dip stick can be tricky to read. In some cases I have drilled holes in the dip stick to make it easier to read. Small (1/16") holes make it easier to see where the oil level is. Then there is the debate of screwing the dip stick in vs just putting it back in the hole. Over filling the sump can lead to oil being blown out the breather. That is annoying. I would rather be slightly lower then perfect vs over filled.

I should add, I prefer the open hole in the side plates the older versions like the Daytona have. The newer versions are prettier, but I think the slicker casting of the new versions coupled with the open hole of the original Daytona version would be sweet. Also, the open design of the Daytona version allows you to slide a tube through the frame and securely support the rear of the frame with it. You can't do that with the newer versions. Funny, you can do that with a Griso frame. It also has an open hole through the frame.

Just poking you, docc. Seriously, I love the MGS-01, but there is an elegance to the side plates on the Daytona and its kin. The MGS-01 doesn't use the side plates, which gives the bike a very different look. Not good or bad, just different.

Mmmmm, porkchops...... ;-)

Not the same thing, but my '93 Daytona has a GSXR front end, the forks, wheel, and brakes. They are fairly easy to find used, and can be made to work really well. It lacks the panache of the Aprilia parts, but it works better then the original set up.

I am sad to hear of Dr Johns passing. Life is often too short. Death does not wait for you to be ready. That Dr John did not invent the spine frame doesn't mean what Dr John did was any less impressive. He also did not invent the internal combustion engine. Everything people are doing nowadays is on the backs of those who came before. Arguably Tony Foale didn't "invent" the spine frame either, as bikes have used spine frames before he "invented" it. A better way of phrasing it might be that Tony Foale helped develop the spine frame that we know. The Guzzi sideways V twin is a natural fit for a spine frame.

I find the year of a motorcycle is more fluid in Europe then it is here in the US. In the US a bike that is a 2002 model is nearly always sold as a 2002 model, even if it is not sold until 2003, or even 2004 or 2005. It is titled when it is sold, but here a bike is always titled as the year it was built for. I am no expert, but it seems in much of Europe a 2002 bike can be titled as a 2003 if that is when it is sold. I often have bought leftover models, sometimes you can get a better deal on them. That said, I do think that Guzzi has always been fluid about the way it transitions new changes into the line. They seem to use the parts they have on hand to build the bikes. If the parts on hand change, they use the new parts. Look at the way roller tappets became the tappet for a CARC motor. It just quietly happened part way through a model year. But most of the changes are much more subtle and minor. They seem to simply run out of a part and when the order new ones the new parts may not be the same.