The Monkey

fun starts when you buy a guzzi S island NZ is beautiful (was on a train sitting above the hitch on the last car) clean set up in the toolbox docc, fun starts with a wide open throttle in 3rd at 5000rpm for me

Rebuilding my Sachs this winter, heavier spring, new oil. going to have to change oil up in the forks too (its been 6 years!) spring time up front too. Always entertaining the suspension game. Specific sag, endless fettling. Top end equipment does make a huge difference on the track, however I ride on the blue highway, it takes me where I want to go, it has 6 inch undulations and outright pot holes so a race ready track suspension has no place here. Sachs Boge has been in the game for a long time and currently provides suspension for many manufacturers. The fact that the V11 was sprung for a 150lb human is very unfortunate considering the draft of most North Americans and could possibly contribute to the broken eye issue. Another element is the atrocious quality control at Moto Guzzi in the early V11 years alignment and shimming were virtually non existent on all aspects of suspension and frame. So any replacement will work wonders- and so will addressing the issue on the Sachs. Heavier Spring 159 usd oil/seals/labour 250 cdn replacement simple 450-650 usd replacement equivalent adjustment 1100 usd Passing some poseur over 200km/h with the stock rig= priceless

Its great it is. January, cool air to clear the head. Leftovers from December. Robbie Burns there to remind us that flogging the liver, machinery and the wenches remains a mans duty. Cheers to every one of you

Top Drawer Jim! Puzzling, the artist's disregard for the natural brush holder at hand eh?

If you overtightened it then the flange is cracked. New fitting required or complete line. Cheap fix, don't overtighten such a small fitting.

If the little needle bearing in the nose of the bevel box is shot that could also produce such a clunk. grab your bevel and look for excessive movement. Likewise the needle bearing associated with the drive line itself (inside the bevel) grab your driveshaft and see if it swims about at the aft end.

it is odd isn't it, we want something with less use when we buy (or marry). yet look at our bikes. we maintain them and feel stiffed when confronted with their market value. Consumption has its price. I think Mitsubishi brought the big 3 up to task with the 10yr 100,000km guarantee up here. suddenly we have better options all around on 4 wheels. buying used 130-150km is ok but up around 200km is considered long in the tooth for autos. It is entirely maintenance, my pickup has 497k on it, just replaced the headgasket and crosshatch is still visible on the bores. unsellable. The great guzzi has just 98k on it and really doesn't get ridden enough. it is nowhere near half life, but is most likely unsellable my panhead has equitable kilometrage, yet the market remains open despite being (engineering wise) a dwarf against the guzzi. nonsensicle the market is reality and consumption rules, the first world (N. America anyway) apparently has dropped off the Walmart precipice. I bet the ceiling for desireability lies about 33-35k today in the M/C world

My ESR510 just packed it in too. Bound to be due to a connection somewhere. Going to try the Enduralast regulator (like the 510 it hooks direct to battery, I do have a 30 amp fuse in that line) from EME in Denver. They seem to have components and complete kits for the Energia system to replace all charge components on Guzzi and BMW. Havent had much time for the bike in the last 2 years, this is the only reason the 510 lasted so long. My regs last about 2000-2500km. I must have a weak connection somewhere that is stressing the reg. Time to replace all bullet connectors associated with the charge system and go thru the complete Kiwi Roy and Luhbo tests. I am also going to replace Chinese/Taiwan Yuasa battery with an Odyssey at the same time. Never had any life out of the Asian batteries. Not since the Japanese ones anyway and those days are long gone evidently. Looking at the Forum here, that sounds like the way to go. Thanks again to you electrically oriented members for keeping things bright

Gads there are some neat machines amongst the members. My other bike is a 62 FLH (used to live on it). Built 3 versions throughout the 80's now am looking forward to putting it close to stock configuration. We have this oddball law in BC that basically leaves your scooter and license in the hands of the law for a time if you go 40km/h over the posted speed limit! So if your in 5th gear on the Lemans your ass is grass should you be kind enough to pull over for the red and blue lightshow. The Panhead will be happy enough in stock form to align with local enforcement foolishness (the irony is just too much). At any rate when I look at the modern bikes and consider hassle free usage I end up wanting the 1200R (2003-2005) Sportster. I had high hopes for Polaris when they scooped the Indian name, only to see them produce yet another monster bike (Chief) and now in Cycle World magazine I see the new Scout....... some grade 8 kid made the fenders and hey how original a V twin with a belt drive. Shit, it looks like V-Star. Maybe I'm a dreamer but why wouldn't a modern bike calling itself an Indian Scout be a 750-900cc Parallel Twin with long suspension travel and shaft or chain drive. Good news, a 12 over Springer is on sale for half price within 10 miles of me. That onto the Hardtail, work the rake, toss a blockhead into it with a Baker 6 speed, triple chain and ready myself for another endless series of negotiations with Duddley Doorite. My wifes SV650 is the toughest motorcycle of the bunch and runs on urine, needs nothing but oil changes and tyres and every 20,000k plugs and air filter. Truly a good bike. Back to the drawing board.

Its always a lesson when you look back and see that the 'new" was actually tried decades ago. Imagine working in that factory in the 50's, nothing was impossible! Walker claims that 4 cylinder mill was drawn up by an engineer in Rome. My father in law raced for BSA in those days and he would lament the straightaway as the wop multis left them standing (corners was where he made time- they had to) but it was evident the power was in more than 1 cylinder. Imagine the throw racing a longitudinal 4. I wonder how the triple giant longitudinal Triumph copes with that- maybe the bulk of the machine hides it. I found it interesting when the current manufactures went reverse rotation with the transverse 4 to counteract the effect of rotational mass and the traction implications on the power stroke, that to me is what those boys in Mandello were doing all along. Hats off.

Hullo Hubert; Seems to directly affect the cast, makes it surprisingly malleable (within a parameter) but you have to ensure the temperature is throughout the material (boil for 15-20 minutes). Don't overcorrect the bend you just have to correct the shape to its original form. Works a charm on most levers with soft bends, the Guzzi shifter however is almost twice the scantling of other bikes levers plus the bridging. but I would give it a go. Zakky; sounds like you gave it a go..... propane torch or boiling water? a torch focuses excessive heat in a small area while the rest of the cast races to match it- guaranteed to break.

Talk to a few tig guys, that isn't that tricky a job. You can wrinkle paint over the dremel and weld work too thanks to the black cases. Its a leverage point and that is where the brittleness of JB weld may let her down. Boil the shift lever for a while in water before attempting to straighten it out. Works on levers

Cool machine, just reading about it in Mick Walkers book. No name just Guzzi inline 500 four. Pg 82 goes into fuel injection process for that bike in depth. Funny the model looked like a V8 chev in the one shot. You're right about the glasses

283 cu in General Motors '57 Corvette was first fuel injected V8

Well Kudo's to the builder, that tank is a home run. Its funny, seats are what we really need yet are so reluctant to celebrate. think of the late 50s early 60's Italian seats with the broad pilot cushion tapering back for the pillion. I think the DM200 had it. Nice effect on the group of shots. Belfast in the drops

its a toy or scale model of a real engine. radio control gig?

Hmmm.... Slow single malt tour of Scotland region by region, live under bridges and in fields and not bathe. Wonder if she does separate if the cops will be any better or worse. Who wants to guess at the name of the currency? The Bruce The Squeaker The Pinch

It wont last, despite your teasing. I like what the builder did with the tips of the cut off rear section of the frame. Seat needs some body though, make ya want to stay on the bike not just endure it

Nice pics, love the sculpture. wonder if he got in? Factory has some history, look at overhead photos from the original 1921 effort and the mid 30's. Massive growth! Despite a recession. il Duce was headed north to escape to Germany as the allies were coming up through Italy from the south. He and his mistress were grabbed in N. Italy by the Partisans and taken and held in a factory beside Lake Como then shot outside its walls. Later they were hung upside down in Milan for ridicule. Anyway there was only one factory beside L. Como. Our bikes come from it. Just a small piece of time. Its a lot more than a motorcycle obviously, its the people. Dad took my grandmother on a ride from Scotland to Italy, she was 83- the bike a 71 Ambo. Now and then he can remember the name of the old man in the plant. A group of N. European tourists on bikes wanted a tour- "factory closed!" they were sent away. The old guy took dad and his mom thru the place, this was in the late 70s. Its still the people. An experienced motorcycle will take you places.

That's it!!!! Sexy proper little beasts you want to hop on and ride ride ride!

That's true and good advice Bjorn Looking at the application and the fastener though I would not use Loctite nor leave the threads dry. The fact he had to whack the allen key to loosen the fastener and found grey material on that fastener demonstrates the activity between two dissimilar metals. The tendency is to lock rather than back off. Alloys are great for weight and cooling but even with a cadmium plate fastener the reaction of two metals eventually results in freezing or seizing as you may know it, the Alloy thread being the victim. If vibration were a concern or the weight of the fastener in relation to its bite or hold surface were excessive then yes I could see Loctite being used. Neither are in play here. Mine was stock and assembled dry I assume, 5 yrs after the bike came out of Mandello it took heat and an impact driver to free those little fasteners. I used grease on reassembly and I have been back in there twice to lube the rotational bearing surface and its only ever required a palm ratchet to disassemble the unit since I have been in it. The fasteners haven't backed off- why would they? they lie close to the centre of the (relatively) slowly rotating, balanced mass of the rear wheel. Torque spec sheets are valuable no doubt, more so when material is new, but when tightening small hardware be it 2, 4 or 6mm then experience will get the job done effectively, no damage. I do marvel at how tightly these bikes are assembled, makes me think they were just looking at spec sheets when assembling, When was the last time you had your torque wrench calibrated? That's my 2 cents, hope it helps Cheers

Put them in with a little grease on em. That's probably why it came apart so easily in the first place. Loctite? Doesn't belong there. Keep aluminium and any fastener entering it lubed not locked.

Are they real? None of them have a moustache. How about the old Guzzi ad " Long legged and easy to live with" That was marketing!

Oil is the endless topic for sure, personally I am content with semi-synth Motul 15-50 for the v11- its worked from 20-105 farenheit touring. SG rating is key for the flat cam follower, especially if you are running heavier valve springs. I don't know what the manufacturers are using as a baseline now the numbers have changed (I have 5-20 is in an overworked 4 cyl and it has no complaints!) They did the same damn thing with lightbulbs. Emission limits became the guidelines pushed onto manufacturers by the insuring bodies so we get to deal with an absolute vacuum when it comes to reference. I'm sure anyone here who worked in a mechanical shop can remember the snake oil salesmen of the 80's with their slick 50 type products (basically additives that would grab 3-5 microns of ,metal and hang out for an undetermined amount of time. Great for metal under the waterline of a boat but unreliable for an internal combustion engine. After witnessing my panhead turn 20-50 into water even after cool down demonstrated to me the need for education regarding oil. Hot rod and stock V-8's could only use Delo 400 15-40 for the longest time due to Chevron's circumnavigation of the persuasion regarding the elimination of Zinc in oil to reduce emissions and as an aid to longevity regarding catalytic converters because it was considered a diesel engine oil. A stock yank V8 engine ran a flat cam follower/lifter. High performance varied, some went roller follower others remained flat all had heavier valve springs. Delo 400 met the lubrication demands of the flat cam follower, watch the shear value of that follower and the resulting demand on the oil- it is massive. Now add the temperature variant of an air cooled engine- more demand. Delo 400 would still keep your V11 percolating today. or a corvair. Now there is purple and pink fancy lad stuff to accommodate/justify our need to keep old shit working, all available for a premium cause you just stepped out of normal. The name doesn't matter the performance does. We are lucky to have the choices available to us. In the 70's and 80's Valvoline made Harley Davidson brand oil. You could buy it for 1/2 the price under the Valvoline badge. Things don't seem so transparent now but I can assure you, I have personally taken a fuel barge to Chevron, Esso and Gulf and delivered the same stock to them all. Do the homework. Oil is your machines blood, it should be clear all winter. cheers

Variety for me too. Singleton or to the far end Laphroig depends on the night, It does have to be rain and no leaves on the trees for me to walk down the beach in a scotch induced state hunting walrus with a carpenter