dave

Following up on my quest to use Cali hubs with alloy rims to get spoked wheels... it can be done! The front wheel is straight forward except for the bearing thicknesses and depending on model year of v11, the axle as well. On my 2000 sport (with a 20mm axle) the total width between bearing surfaces narrowed by 5mm per side (even though the bearings themselves vary by only 2mm each) requiring a 5mm spacer on the left and a 20mm on the right (15mm was old spacer size). The california hub is laced true to center to an Excel 3.5 x 17 anodized rim. My stock brakes fit fine. The rear requires a bit more. The california hub is deeper on both sides requiring not only spacers but the hub outer rim on the shaft side needs to be shaved by 4mm to allow the final drive unit to fully seat with clearance. Rotate on a shaft and grind away! (ok, that sounds more obscene than intended). I used the cush drive plate from my bike since it had longer splines. The Cali part would have worked, but why not have stronger mating surfaces, eh? The hub gets laced with the 4.25 x 17 Excel rim's centerline at 67mm from the hub's disc mounting surface. This matches the stock 4.5" rims outer centerline (the 5.5 may be different). A 23mm spacer is required for the disc side and a 10mm spacer for outboard on the shaft side. Aside from being moved inboard by 10mm (no issues with alignment noted) nothing gets done to the final drive unit. Again, my stock brake worked without mods. These are very common supermotard sized rims so no problem getting tubes. Banke Performance laced the rims for me and was very easy to work with... it also didn't hurt that he is a guzzi guy and seemed interested in the idea. And the cost: $1250 for everything. I bought the hubs off of Ebay. Bearings were all of 20 bucks. Spacers were cut down from T3 units. The rims and spokes were from Banke Performance. Banke tells me though that Excel rims are going up in price for 2012.

I was able to use a cut down ducati ss rear hugger... it had a good basic profile and was made of beafy crack-resistant plastic

I need some sage wisdom regarding my fuel pump. It has started making the priming sound all the time (louder sometimes than others). It is newish and was running great for the last 6 months. It makes this sound even with the fuel cap open and the bike never sputters or stalls. It hasn't been run out of fuel, no kinks in the lines (that can be seen). Any thoughts??? Thanks!

The swingarm itself is asymmetrical needing the extra clearance on the shaft side. If you look at some of the other pics I think you might find they share your bikes exhaust placement.

A sloppy head-bearing can cost you your life when it is the cause of a death-wobble.... and I feel " listening" a tad bit more "vague".

An alternative is to take the weight off the front wheel, slowly tighten the steering bearing tension nut while checking for binding by moving the handlebars. When binding is encountered, back the nut off just enough to allow the bars to move freely.

I was recently at the Wash. D.C. motorcycle show wandering around the area where the new Norton, a Ducati and the Moto Guzzi cafe were displayed. There was a small group lingering around the cafe, no doubt admiring its proportion, when one of them said something like "I don't understand the hub-bub about Guzzis they seem underpowered and heavy compared to their rivals." This resulted in the poor fool being verbally pummeled by the group which were all loyal guzzisti. It didn't matter what he said, only that it was not positive. This site has to be the best at what it does that I have come across... and the members awareness of their machines as well. But I think it could be better acknowledged that Moto Guzzis and V11 specifically have room for improvement (like any bike). All that I want to say is that with or without a sledgehammer, my nut is open, and it is f**king delicious.

Excellent! That is the same as a cast wheel. Thanks for the fast replies and help! I will forward any info I can as it seems we are on the same path... ok, I am trudging along behind you in your tracks

I'll measure the hub I have after dinner and let you know. Thanks, I hope to be able to return the favor sometime

Does anyone know the distance between the disc mounting flanges on the front hub (not including discs)? Thanks for the help!

That sounds about right. I estimated $1400-$1500 including shipping to have a set made up. Still not cheap, but not anywhere close to Alpinas. Can you be clear about the fitment? Is it just a matter of using the stock v11 wheel as a template for lateral placement? Are there differences between Cali hubs post 99 or just the bearings, rims and spokes? Thanks for the help!

I have been through all the threads and have checked the parts diagrams and can only find snippets. Can California hubs be paired to Morad aluminum rims without any major hang-ups for use on an early V11 sport? i.e. spacers, axles, brake discs, cush drive mating surfaces? Which model Cali is preferable if there is any difference? Alpinas are out of my range, Mondellocycles complete packages look nice but dont offer a 4.5" rim and are still 2k, buying the separate components seems like a good way to go maybe...Has anyone actually done this? Any help that can be offered would appreciated!

No disrespect taken. I am new to this site and to Guzzis in general... and for for all anyone here knows I could be a complete nutter with a hacksaw and soldering iron in hand By vagueness I mean at above legal highway speeds it tended to wander... add abrupt throttle changes and some bumpy sweepers and voila! wobble. (all after setting up the chassis, albeit not professionally). Now it feels planted even with some hamfisted attempts at upsetting the thing. And it still feels happy to transition. The understeer on corner exits was rear tire pressure.... and yes, I feel stupid

Thanks for all the feedback, I am sure that there are folks out there with the skill and familiarity to not be concerned by the vague front end of the bike stock. For myself, after scouring this site and the web for months I came to the conclusion that given the bike as a whole, it would never be a stable platform in my clumsy hands without a trail adjustment. I think that swapping out the front end as Mr Guzzimoto did would have been preferable if I had more cash to spare. As to wrong-nut/hammer... The gains in stability from trail relative to the loss from weight transfer is mammoth... I understand that cutting the frame is a scary thing for most people. Swapping out frames and swing arms and front ends is no different. You either know what you are doing or you don't. I have a fabrication shop so my choice was biased. Think of it as a short wheel based ballabio with a 160 rear. The understeering in corners is a separate issue I think, maybe a trait of the rear weight bias or tires...dunno yet. I have to play around with it again now that the front has been changed. Like so many have said here before, It is wonderful bike and it is very good that guzzi folk take such an active hand in their machines however they configure them.

What was the original rake in degrees? Factory specs as 25 degrees, my bike actual 25+- .5 degree without rider. My goal was to build in room to raise the forks without causing even more twitch. It is still pushing around corners though...

I tried to live with and then dial in the suspension of my 2000 sport after rebuilding it from boxes. But soon realized that the shaft drive combined with my less than subtle throttle control was upsetting the already drama prone geometry (This is my 1st guzzi and shaft drive bike). If I had more cash I would have bought new triple trees with less offset to increase the trail. Instead I opted for the old school solution of cutting a 2mm groove just behind the head and tig welded it back together. If my math is correct, this should result in a 27 degree rake and roughly 110mm trail. IT IS SOOO MUCH BETTER (I am used to monsters and sv650s). It might be I am finally getting old.

Just got 'er put together... finally!

I've heard of this being done (on plastic Ducati tanks?) to prevent the tank from absorbing EtOH and swelling. Apparently, left dry, tanks will shrink back to their original size after a few weeks and can be coated. I was planning to do this over the winter, but now ??? I would use the product again, but I would do everything possible to texture the tank prior to coating. As for how it will hold up overtime, I will find out. I did use the entire contents of the kit as prescribed for larger tanks. It looks as though the areas that have a thicker coating have no lifting. Makes me think that a bit more would have helped.

This is a follow up. Caswell was helpful as per usual... They refunded the cost of the product. I described how the coating was failing and the conclusion was that there was insufficient tooth for the epoxy to grab to. I had used a box of drywall screws and shook vigorously for about fifteen minutes. THIS IS NOT ENOUGH. it seems that the epoxy grabs to the surface without much chemical bonding. Soooo shake, scrub or blast thoroughly!

I was wondering how someone was going to get any type tank liner to stick to the nylon tank innards: that's some pretty slippery stuff. Guess we'll just have to lobby to get alcohol kept out of the gas for our bikes? Until they come out with usable and affordable all electric bikes, corn and sugar should be food (or highly processed into a food-like substance ).