OldButNotDead

Probably more than anything else, what I like about this site/forum is it's international flavor. We're all drawn to the passionate irrationality of Italian motorcyles, yet must approach them with a calm analytical mind for the debugging they need. If the discussions also include these things, we shoud be fine. I think allowing this sort of chat provides windows into hearts and minds and provides the potential for people in one culture to live in another for a brief moment - if only virtually. Closing the thread seems like a good option if folks are choosing to ignore that potential. Probably good place for a Mark Twain quote: "Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness".

Here’s an opinion from a US citizen who has lived several elsewheres. I don’t feel threatened by increased restrictions on gun distribution or use, but as a real American I do understand and appreciate the strong element of “wilderness” here that many of my fellow citizens value. I sometimes miss this feeling in Europe. Not actual outdoor wilderness, since that’s mostly disappeared here as well, but cultural wilderness, where it feels like anything is possible and we are free from the constraints of a civilized society. Maybe citizens of other countries enjoy this vicariously, explaining why our cultural exports (i.e. films) have been so popular, and in part why developing countries have a justifiable FU attitude about “behaving responsibly”? In the land of guns and automobiles, guns and automobiles often function less as consumer goods, and more as highly charged symbols. To a goodly number of people, possessing the physical objects literally means: “I am free”. It’s about emotion and subjective value. That’s why you can’t argue that “logically” having a job or food or health care for your child provides more freedom than a firearm. If someone feels better having a gun than they would having those other things, then it’s logical that they would mainly be concerned about the loss of their gun(s). To each his own. It's a whack of cash in the bank that keeps my (freedom) anxieties at bay. Practicing flexibilty of mind don't hurt, neither.

1) Tell the invisible hand to stuff it. 2) Nationalize the industry. 3) Save the empire

Raceboy in Taranta, sounds like you are well-positioned for this - you've just won a trip to Mississauga! Here's the remaining bits of poop I've been able to scoop: Trade Journal Promo And...if you've been troubled by high petrol prices, appears that Durrani is offering a drop-in solution to that as well... Durrani FusionDrive

Hope is a great thing, perhaps critical for loving things Italian. Stiil, probably good to bear in mind that very few clearly understand the difference between their wishes and their capabilities. Declaring mission accomplished (or tractable) too early in the game makes some of us wet-towel-types suspicious. I do agree that screw ups are best utilized as learning opportunities. I wish we had more leaders modeling this behaviour. Recent case not-in-point: (as-of-today former) Detroit Mayor Kilpatrick. I chatted up my WERA buddy; here's his input - 1) An actual wheel has been seen. He was gassing up his bike locally, and some guy wanders over to insist that he check out his wheel. The very talkative and very charming (Durrani hisself) goes on to extoll the virtues of the magic wheel (front only). 2) Manufacturing (and then certification) issues have delayed (and delayed, and delayed, and...) product delivery. Although money changed hands early on with eager customers, not a single wheel (to his knowledge) has ever been delivered. Although this is one of my trusted friends, I'd encourage you to discuss any concerns with this vendor directly, as they may have a differing viewpoint. Also - you may be a person who does not particularly mind hearing "next week, definitely next week" ad nauseum. 3) Production is not done here in Michigan, but is (contracted?) out somewhere in Ontario. Dat's all I got. Hope this works out for the motivated souls out there. I just switched to a 170 rear (from 180), and am sorry I waited so long.

I'd be useless from a technical standpoint, but had considered offering a wheel for measurement...until I hit the WERA thread. There is still a chance I would do so - if I was convinced that it would be a productive exercise. I'm not currently close to being convinced. I've no interest in these for my bike; I would sink that kind of excess cash into a track bike instead. After skimming through the WERA thread, my general impression is that many people who were initially very excited about these wheels ended up disappointed. In some instances their negative feelings go well beyond disappoinment. I didn't find a single post of "gee, the wheels I got are super-nifty and I got tham for a price that's incredibly cheap". Then add the fact that the thread spans several years. Then add the fact that the wheels the WERA folks are trying to source would be very high-volume compared to what could be sold to Guzzi owners. It all adds up to a high level of skepticism. I've got a friend who races WERA and will seek his input and update here when I have.

Turns out that there is a "longish" thread on Durrani wheels on the WERA board; possibly outstripping even the Hooters effort here? Some historical perspective for interested paties. http://forums.13x.com/showthread.php?t=138...ghlight=durrani

Since the issue seems throttle-position dependent only, have you considered the TPS? I don't have anything useful to say on that topic, other than - I know there have been some past threads that looked helpful for troubleshooting/replacing this bit. I haven't tried playing with the buttons on my Power Commander, but as others have said, changing values by using the PC software is very straightforward. I've put a straightpin head into the throttle handgrip, alongside a piece of tape on the housing, marked off in measured intervals. The intervals were translated to % opening by calibrating with the PwrCmder software. When I'm riding and notice a stumble, I note throttle position and rpm, and tweak the appropriate cells at a later date. Good luck.

NoMar bar + NoMar spray + NoMar goo =

Heartfelt wishes for a positive outcome. Stay hopeful and keep after his health care providers. No offsping myself, but I've heard it said that having children means accepting that we provide hostages to fate. Tom is lucky to have you.

The Stompgrip is widely used on the track, but is pretty aggressive for the street rider in cloth pants. I find the Tech-spec (snakeskin) is good for balance of grip + comfort when not wearing leathers.

Scroll to the top of the page. Click on Forum sponsor "Rossopuro". Take out your wallet. Extract your credit card. This website has many photos of these posted over the years.

I doubt this will have much of an effect. I think you got some good suggestions here - in particular valves and vapor lock. The easiest thing to do is call whoever gave it a tuneup and ask what valve clearances they set. In my experience, if they are not at least 0.15mm/0.2 mm, you WILL have these types of problems.

I'll be interested to hear more Dan. I've run the Diablos and Diablo Corsas, and am looking for a longer wear street tire. Also considering moving to a 170.

In a nutshell it sounds like: It was working fine. Then you opend the reservoir and bleed screw and did some pumping. Then it wasn't working. Now you have unhappiness. The simple interpretation is that you've got air where there should be only brake fluid. Although many people seem to prefer pumping till turgid, my experience is that a good suck is more efficient (and satisfying). Get yours here: http://www.eastwoodco.com/jump.jsp?itemID=...temType=PRODUCT

+1 on the "real pain to remove". I used a hammer and a variety of long implements to drive it out from the opposite side. Nothing I did was particularly effective, but after enough hammering and cursing (and hammering and cursing, and hammering and...) it finally did come out. The "flanges" that hold the bearing spacer centered in the hub are thin metal and not essential; they can be pried out of the way and discarded if you like. Here's two suggestions that might be useful: Change BOTH bearings while you are at it. The second one comes out way easier. Also - measure the spacer that resides between the bearing inner races. If it's been compressed (much less than about 113 mm I think?), the new bearings won't last long. Many past threads on this, and many have opted for replacement. Good luck. Don't forget the cursing....

Did you replace the entire wiring harnass (loom), or just a portion? I've been having some odd symptoms and am thinking it's time to try and sort them out.

Probably need to sit down and drink some beer. Good thread here: http://www.v11lemans.com/forums/index.php?...mp;hl=regulator

Doing a couple of minutes of googling now leads me to believe that it's not too unusual for fuse holders / wires / solder to melt before a 30 A fuse blows. So, I'm thinking that aspect's not unique or particularly important. Drawing from my vague recollections of discussions past, my best guess is that there's a bad ground associated with the charging system (intermittent?) and it occasionally pushes out too much current. Not a new idea, just the one I'm voting for. As for toubleshooting...I'm not ready to dig into mine, but when I do I will sketch out a plan using this: http://www.tracyamartin.com/WebPages/MotorBook.html. My first time through I found it pretty clear, if not concise. Voltage drop testing while a system is running seems to be the most effective approach. Course, if it is intermittent, then identifying, cleaning and reconnecting everything associated with the charging system might be the only "surefire" way. My apologies (and condolences) if you've already tried all this....

How odd. Seems like a fuse that melts it's plastic but not the fusible metal isn't designed properly? I've managed to avoid thinking about this issue until now, as I haven't had major electrical issues with the bike.. Your woes prompted me to take a close look at my 30 amp fuse. Yup - slightly deformed plastic on one end! I'll likely go the dlaing route with a dedicated fused hotwire at some point...

Agreed not good, and i'd hate to have something shift while riding and leave me with locked forks. I've got all the manuals, read the old threads, and posted because I had't heard of an "uncenter-able preload spacer" as a potential culprit for suspension woe before. MG is a good idea, I've also got a local suspension guy if need be. Hopefully it won't get that far... UPDATE: looks like it was an upside-down preload spacer. The slotted washer/cap on the spacer seems to have deformed it's top, and puttiing it in upside down caused it to bump, or catch on the slider on the way down. Nuther one for the "live 'n learn" files.

The original post in this thread is similar to an issue I've been dealing with tonight. Gave my forks and a set of new seals to a young friend (let's call him "Hapless"), who has more time than money. I thought he had enough experience to do the service and return them in an operable state. I reinstalled the forks on the bike, but found no give in the front end. These forks are from my 02/03 model - compression on one leg and rebound on the other. Long story short, I opened the rebound leg and found the pre-load spacer hitting the top of the slider when I compressed the fork. I tried centering the spacer on the spring, and could get it to slide into the slider, but not cleanly - it bumped on the way in. Don't like the idea of leaving it this way. I'm wondering if swapping sliders and stanchions could have produced this? I dropped the bike last season, so it's possible some of the components were bent. Also, Hapless admitted to having both legs apart at the same time, and that he could have swapped some "identical" items between them. Maybe I'm overly anal, but try to do things one at a time to avoid this... I'd appreciate any opinions before I pop the other leg, drain all the oil from each, and try swapping them..... Oh, one more question, re: setting the (100 mm) air gap - done with spring and spacer out and damper rod in ? TIA !

Shit. Didn't know this guy, apart from his virtual self, but always enjoyed reading his posts and imagined a man who would be a true friend. His avatar was the best. I get the impression he understood the risks and decided that "balls out" was the way to go, in spite (or because) of them. Respect. I've copied a poem his death brings to mind, and then some text I just found at his old website (littlebigracing) below. Hang in there "little". ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Psalm of Life Tell me not in mournful numbers, "Life is but an empty dream!" For the soul is dead that slumbers, And things are not what they seem. Life is real! Life is earnest! And the grave is not its goal; "Dust thou art, to dust returnest," Was not spoken of the soul. Not enjoyment, and not sorrow, Is our destined end or way; But to act, that each to-morrow Find us further than to-day. Art is long, and Time is fleeting, And our hearts, though stout and brave, Still, like muffled drums, are beating Funeral marches to the grave. In the world's broad field of battle, In the bivouac of Life, Be not like dumb, driven cattle! Be a hero in the strife! Trust no Future, howe'er pleasant! Let the dead Past bury its dead! Act -- act in the living Present! Heart within, and God o'erhead! Lives of great men all remind us We can make our lives sublime, And, departing, leave behind us Footprints on the sands of time; Footprints, that perhaps another, Sailing o'er life's solemn main, A forlorn and shipwrecked brother, Seeing, shall take heart again. Let us, then, be up and doing, With a heart for any fate; Still achieving, still pursuing, Learn to labour and to wait. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807-1882). ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- John-Mark Lapree Arechiga 1968 - 2008 Saturday, May 10, 11am, Buttonwillow raceway: John-Mark went out for a second practise session of the day on his GSXR 1000. He was extremely excited about and confident in this bike. After a year and a half of not getting along with a 2006 ZX-10, he felt he could really be fast on this bike, get back to some of his old times on it at the racetrack. He worked in preparation for this race weekend for days on end, even after the bike was essentially race ready he fiddle with every little thing on it to make it exactly how he wanted it. He didn't always pay such close attention to his bikes, only the ones he loved, like his Centauro Moto Guzzi, and this bike. After 4 or 5 laps he hit the first rumble strip coming through the esses, upsetting the bike. He tried riding through it but by the time the second rumble strip came it, it was likely too hard to keep it under control after hitting the first and it threw him off. When the ambulance arrived he was unconcious but breathing on his own, with a steady pulse. Evidently his pupils were dialated and unresponsive to light. No one who was not with the ambulance was told this. He stopped breathing on his own in the ambulance and was put on a respirator. His heart stopped and was started more than one time in the ambulance ride. When he arrived at the hospital, he had no pulse.They tried for 45 minutes to revive him but were not successful. The cause is suspected neck injury but as of yet unconfirmed. John-Mark always said he did not want a fuss over his death - all he wanted was for everyone to have a party and have a good time. The party will begin Friday, May 16th at a large home in Point Loma (near the airport) for all those attending various races over the weekend. Cocktails and a memorial service will be held on Saturday, May 17th at the Sheraton in downtown San Diego from 6:30PM to 8:30PM, with an after party to continue at the same house in Point Loma (address to be provided soon).

Headers or other exhaust components? Heat shield(s) coming unglued from underneath the tank?