The Monkey

Now that is a cool thing to do! You dont happen to ride one of those 2 wheel drive hack rigs from WW2 as well do you?

Raise that tank! You are replacing the fuel line and quick releases with non stock anyway right? Proper fuel hose(not stock) with enough slack and some other source of quick release that agrees with your hands should end these ails. Lots of different manufacturers of quick release fittings out there. Source out some deeper bumpers for the tank to rest on (Jap centre stand bumpers?) and cut em down to suit. Typical Italian, neat idea, just not executed well. Good luck!

Pineapple Express! and how, I was up skiing Whistler today, the damn chairlift was still dripping water on me at the peak! (2180m, 7000+ ft) Incredible after the largest snow month on record up there (November), now its gonna be like this for a week! Jetstream is wreaking havoc on you guys out east, we got bizarre weather here. Poor little Olympic mascots itchy, twitchy and scratchy are all in a dither. Big soggy lows are nothing new out here but the peak of Whistler Mtn. dont drip in January mister! Watch now some freak heat wave will strike the east in another 6 weeks and put everybody back on sandbag duty. I'll be OK though, I have my purple cape and glass of kool-aid waitin fer the WORD to join the Mayans hiding behind......shit I'd better be sure which planet, dont want to get that one wrong too!

Last month was a blue moon! I bet Van had to go to Nanaimo for that shot, the age gives the town away, graduating high school with crease marks and nightclub labia! Shouldnt be here without a joke though. Seeing as how it was both a blue moon and christmas time, here is a Hindi joke. The dot on the forehead of Hindi woman was thought (by westerners) to be an adornment of beauty or at least a fashion statement. Turns out to be none of that. Evidently the dot is an important part of the culture. There only for discovery by the husband in the traditional way. Upon consumating the marriage the man is then permitted to scratch the dot from the forehead of his bride. This is a method of attaining dowry, more peaceful than in the remote past, for upon erasure of the dot, the man can read one of the following- 1 scar = 1 convenience store in a small town in N. America - 2 scars = 1 fuelling station on a major route N. America - 3 scars = 1 taxi outfit, and 1 trucking line in a major centre N. America - No scar = working for her brother in a call centre in Delhi

That puff o cement dust off the lead bike did it for me! All the trials you're going through with these wop crates and you post that, my hats off BFG. Thank you

You still use that system due to the English influence down there. -35F? my fillings would pop out, I'd turn blue and invert! I would require a very large woman to handle that weather. We have had it easy here so far, enough snow on the hills for good skiing, but quite mild on the low areas. 5 more weeks should be the end of it. Bikes still evident about the town (urbies). Supposed to hit 10C on tuesday. Hang in there, buy more daft shit on ebay, It'll be over fore ya know it!

My apologies Slavomir, and thanks Dan. True you shouldnt touch a Nikasil coating with either a stone hone nor emery cloth. Softer materials than the Nikasil such as a non metallic scourpad or an aluminum based ball hone can be used to clean or deglaze. My goof! More time about the diesels than this fine machinery. If you have been dumping some kind of softener onto the surfaces about the top of the piston take measures to ensure its removal from the rings and the cylinder wall. Wash your sump out too. Some of the elements in commonly available cleaners can wreak havoc in your mill.

Its winter anyway....Remove pistons and cylinders, lightly hone bores to get rid of the oil deposit on cylinder wall (stone hone), sandblast crown of piston, sandblast combustion chamber in head (valves in) then pop valves out, inspect the seats for deposits or build up, lapping compound will take out any minor build up. You will probably have to sand blast the exhaust port if enough oil was in the chamber, avoid hitting the seat and guide (internal) with the sandblaster by blasting in from exhaust port downstream. Check guide tolerance while your in there, reassemble with a new set of rings. Cheap and cheerful....Piston to BDC, guaze around the top outer edge of piston remove deposit on cylinder wall with emery paper, out with guaze (a vacuum cleaner works great here) theoretically picking up the debris that fell down into the nether region, piston to TDC stuff guaze around edge, tap away at deposit, it will come off in chips until eventually your piston crown looks like Keith Richards face, tell yourself that will aid in the tumbling of gasses, pull up guaze about edge of piston. Do the same to the combustion chamber, valve springs off, inspect seats, lap to clean if necessary and reassemble holding tongue carefully in left side of mouth. Put on the bell bottom pants, congratulate yourself for avoiding the capitalist ream and run her hard with good fuel. Happy New Year!

Nice job Foto. I dont wonder so much as to the age of the machinery or the trip as I have been about this planet and have to state it makes more sense to be on machinery you can dissect and correct rather than machinery that is high tech and must await the replacement part. Anyone who has read the tale of two fairies on their beemers thinking they actually were on a long way round has to acknowledge the dependancy that accompanies the modern kit. I was passing through a town in the US and had a character rush out exclaiming himself. I pulled over and had a chinwag with the guy. Evidently he was an acccomplished enough rider to be able to sweep or cover the Dakar South as the repositioned rally is known. I asked him what he rode and where was it? The prepped KTM was in Argentina worked just fine until...... awaiting component from Austria. It makes far more sense to travel on something you can fix if you are indeed in the depths. I wouldnt go pursue fish with a vessel I cant make work at 0230 with 85 knots blowing and an engine room full of water. Funny how a 32 volt 40's aileron control is capable at acting as a throttle or the raw water induction can handle the flooding. The ability to relace a wheel in a bog means you can find a drier place to sleep that night. Kudos to those two bikers, totally respect what they are doing. Much different tale than to that relying on fate with a known bail out date. Nice to see, Ive run into folk in South Asia who thought it would be fun and ended up touring 30 feet behind a 10 ton as that was the only place where they wouldnt be hit! Thanks for that, it does inspire. Cheers

Get rid of the nasty cheap plastic line and put on proper fuel line with enough slack to avoid binding and to disconnect easily. Good luck

Things to do, lets see. I finally washed the poor beast yesterday, no bath in about 5000km I do this to machinery when Ive felt cheated regards the ratio of effort in/pleasure out. That may make me a small man, but I do like em dirty! Twas a mechanically interupted year, Fork oil, Cush drive maintenance Wheel Bearings fore and aft. Issues resolved, port side forward spacer/insert had to be built up, remachined thus harder and more durable Rear spacer stock! .049 too short, some wag had even put a .025 shim in the hub as well! Replaced with steel, thick wall, heavy, matched to measurement register to register. I know about compression but personally I would never tighten a spindle nut to 80 Ft/lbs and after the years on a hardtail and the design of this bikes stern, dont lose sleep over unsprung weight Then clutch, then oil seep and back into clutch again. Sorted thanks to Valley Y. I dont have a shop at this time so cant hang it up like a dressed elk Needle Bearing and race outboard end Bevel Box loads of extra grease there, think Massey Harris nice hanging bools of grease, went very well with dust and bug patina Charging issue, pooped stator, over heated regulator. Avoided horrific price combo from Guzzi thanks to Moto Int. That and regulator, coupla funky wires handed over to British Italian sorted. The engine room at work and lack of shop at home meant I could only do the chassis maintenance, clutch and electric were sent out. Raisin pie to all 3 shops here on the wet coast. Damn good crew! Still managed a season though, 10000km on the one set of rubber. Road 2's good for another couple k, then back to 021's, Michelins are an excellent tyre but so are the Bridgstones for much less coin. Stock set up 180 and 120. Rode in conditions ranging from slush (Montana in May) to 4x4 track for 50 km over the Devils spine (Entiat River to Lake Chelan, Chelan mountains Washington). Rock and dust in one fire burn was deeper than the rubber on the wheels. Cant complain, that aint bad considering I flogged this scooter 24000km last season with just rubber, oil and valve adjustments. Clear coat is peeling off starboard side fairing with rock chips overall and tent has worn through paint on rear cowl thanks to that blasted goat track Won 2 trophies at the Dragon Slayers Ball this year, gave them to a couple friends though as they hashed their bikes riding with me this year. We had to buy a spare parts bike for one of them, that much was ruined. Things to do; Going to avoid buying those awesome sounding pipes and keep the stockers on! (I am a complete horror on a loud machine) Shitcan this 6 figure a year job and find something that pays less with more time off so I can do what I like best Move out of the urban environment, back to where I can afford to have a shop Ignore the absolute stupidity portrayed by the leader of my country in Denmark during the recent climate summit Wonder at the fact that there isnt a viable alternative to having that hopeless twat as leader oh yes I have to see if I can make my license plate light work I love my Guzzi, most of the time it is the only thing that makes any sense Happy Holidays all

If they become too wretched, the new bags for the Griso use the same latch mechanism. It does require movement on the bag to clear the V11 exhaust. Ive noticed the price of the Griso bags dropping, think I will coax another season out of the Teckno stock set then consider replacement. It is just an oil base fabric so a dye or shoe polish will bring the black back. A waterproofing spray over that should result in a non running color. Its probably why the cans are purple on the stock exhaust. Ive had to beef up the nylon straps on the stock set and those plastic zippers should be given back to the fiends that invented them. The Griso bags I see have exactly the same potential shortcomings. There are proper soft bags out there, one just has to carve up, drill and bolt in some acrylic pieces to mimic the shape of the replacement bag inside. Or buy a set of glass bags and mount the latch on them. Then your set, real bags with the teckno easy latch. Good Luck!

Cold it may be, but what it adds to the day is immeasurable. Its the Pacific and its beautiful.

While we are at it the code for the Champagne Lemans too!

Good call for a May ride, worse it can do is rain. I grew up on that island, cut my teeth on two wheels there. There is easily 5 days of fun on that rock Greg, good pubs, good B&Bs, roads that the mainstream misses and sights unique to its own. I dont know my schedule yet but if Im free, Im in. Bring a set of swim trunks for Long Beach, sunglasses for Point Holmes and a plan your willing to toss into the fire.

It is a tough time of year here, Tofino has had 170mm of rain in the last 48 hours! Here in Vancouver it is one front after another. Last ride on the bike Nov 12 evening then put her away for the winter. Dark by 1645, sigh. Miss those days of light that go from 0430-2230, this is the price for that latitude. 3.5 months of overpriced bike parts on Ebay, couple bike shows, a swap meet for the wretched, squash soup, Tom Waits and scotch. The olympic mascots itchy, twitchy and scratchy wont let us up the ski hill for a good part of the season too! Happy garage time gentlemen.

That bike for 6k is a deal. Good addition to the garage, and bound to be a blast to ride. I have always been intrigued by them and the man who designed em. You can sit on a crate, pop a beer and take in all the mechanical fun that makes up those beasts, they pass the garage test easy enough. I havent ridden one, but if it challenges you, so much the better. Easy gentle bikes come from other manufacturers, buy one of those and youll have to spin the crate so your backs to the bike, worse you wont have a reason to be in the garage and will end up in front of a TV! Heres to being different, congrats on that Buell.

Thanks for the scoop on the Talimena! Excellent shots in the fog. Always good to see an Action Guzzi amidst the relaxed. Nicely done, cheers.

Doesn't resolve the original issue you had. Bags and travel on the MV will be similar to what you've already got.

Fit of the hat is key to safety. Of course that little plastic shell and shock absorbing material can be made to sustain a decent whack fairly cheaply, however going on price point alone is a mistake. That hat has to be firmly on your head at all points. Head shape should dictate the manufacture of hat you choose, hopefully it is reasonably priced. My Mellon only fits the Shoei, I haven't found another manufacture that feels that secure without discomfort. Only differences I have witnessed between the downscale choices and the pricier alternatives is the life length of the shock absorbing material and venting. The cheaper ones seem to "pack out" and get loose. The pricier choices seem to have more efficient venting and some are built to stay calm "less buffeting" at higher wind velocities. Noise level will depend on the fit too. You do get more options with the upscale hats. How did we ever survive so long without them? Just before your riding partners don their lids, hum an inane tune (sesame street, celine dionne etc). It will stay and haunt them the entire morning, pissing them off, making the ride that much better.

Hey Stu, I'm not a pro, not for 30 years anyway, but I have extended many a fine motorcycles potential! PC111 seems to calm the abrupt off throttle inherent with these bikes due to the fuel delivery notchiness and the mass aft, making them smoother and relaxing the process of downshifts into the corner. Dont know your weight or habits but the soft stock suspension is actually a bonus on our roads here in BC, as the violent undulations, thanks to the Dept of Highways and Nature will send a stiffly suspended machine into the weeds. This aint the USA as you well know and 6-8 inches of frost heave mid corner is the norm. Personally I changed the oil up front maxed the preload potential (which isnt much in the Marz) I'm just north of 200 lbs and feel the next range of spring can only help. I went midrange in the Compression and Rebound, I also dropped the forks in the trees by 10mm. Aft I dialled in a bit more compression but left the rebound about mid-range to be able to keep up when the arse hit the tyre so to speak. Waiting for the suspension to calm down in order to complete the corner aint much fun, but it beats the alternative. The upside is a very stable ride at high speed when the road is smooth. I bought the spade bit and 1 inch screens to drill out the top of the airbox, but I havent bothered. I got the bike with the lid off and it went like hell above 6 grand but the fuel map was ridiculous, mileage was shitty and if I wasn't on the pipe the whole package ran like poo. So lid went back on the airbox, I left the snorkels off and remapped for the stock set up, (I've got the high compression pistons and larger intake valves and stock exhaust) PC111 comes with some options for different set-ups, you will find one that closely matches yours, to make the most though, take the rig to a dyno and play until you hit what you want. I know I can realize more with an aftermarket set of cans and back to the dyno, but what kind of riding are you aiming for? Hope this helps. Then again it may just be another cowpie in the field, cheers

Wouldn't that be cool, don't put it past KTM. One day hopefully they will realize there is a market niche that lies between the Adventure and the Duke. Sounds like your on to the riding position you require, upright with just a little forward lean off the tailpipe. Any Standard or Dual Purpose machine will be right for your back. Sport Touring will also fit if they give you enough adjustments with the bar and seat. You shouldn't have to hold yourself up, thats for the sport bike. After bashing the BMW, I have to admit I rode a 96 RS and found that it had the necessary adjustments, heated grips and the best hard bag system on this planet. With its fairing, a nicer package than the 1150. That and a 76 900 RS (I might have the letters wrong but it was "The Bike" evidently, even had the police fairing on it} are the only Beemers Ive put any time on. I just can't get along with the Tuetonic attitude of those machines, its like the machine is doing the ride, you feel like a passenger that has to make sure you make it to the Muster Station for the safety drill. Maybe try the transverse triple Triumph, see if you get along with that engine. Tough call to replace the V-Twin. That configuration simply conveys more to you. Theres a great bike mag called "What Bike" its a British publication so not all the models match our N. American stuff, but it does give you the opportunity to look at all the manufacture's offerings to Britian and I think the Continent. Hundreds of bikes with commentary and some reviews. They had to tone it down, 10 years ago it was funny enough to be on the coffee table. Brutal reviews for cruisers, any cruiser, but a ton of info on new rides and model history, issues etc. The Suzuki V-twin is a phenomenal motor, they have just not got it into the right application yet. Thats me though, I'd recommend anyone go try one, they run on goats piss and only require regular oil changes and plugs and valve adjust at 25000 km intervals. If I had to get my ass to S. America that would be the motor under me. Cool project DBG, enjoy it.

You've said your 6'3'' and your back and legs felt fine after 2 days on the Aprilia. If your parts are hurtin after a day sitting on your tailbone then the cruiser theme is out of the question, unless a close set pair of footboards takes the weight from the lower back (which is possible). It just takes one hell of a test ride to ascertain that. If the boards work, I would lean to the V92 over the Honda. Its a good motor and ya gotta admit that thing hits you like a 50's Chrysler product. Go across the continent on a Honda or a BMW and you'll find yourself sitting amongst other vacant folk wondering what it was you left behind. You already have two engaging motorcycles, why go bland? Personally I think Triumph is making a series of perfectly good stone axes and would give the Rocket 3 a shot for the cruise thing, if not then the Sprint or Tiger if getting off your ass is paramount. The flat straight does become the narrow twisty if you want it to. I bought the Lemans for that reason, serious mileage capability and the ability to keep me focused come the bends. You can't love a motorcycle without becoming involved and if you don't love your bike, it will never matter where you are, it could just as well be a station wagon. Good luck, if it all becomes too much, buy a Ural with a sidecar and tour along with dementia. Live it up!

Glad to donate. Thanks Jaap for the arena. Thanks to the rest of you for making this ride that much better. Beer and Raisin Pie all round

Hi Stu, give the shaft a good rattle & see how much movement you get with the bevel unit. There is a little needle bearing and race that are prone to fail (due to lack of lube) in the "nose" of the unit (where the bevel housing meets the swingarm the spindle (axle) passing through it. That is another source of odd sounds from the rear. Good news is (if that is the issue) the bearing is removed from the unit externally. Local Guzzi shop (Chilliwack) carries them or BC Bearing can get it for you. Hope ya find yer noisy scource!