The Monkey

Craigslist, buy a lite brite piece of shite for 3-4k and get your scooter fix. Marvel at a machine that costs next to nothing and only ever needs tyres and oil changes. Everyone should have a thrasher that doesnt need a bath or has to be worried over when it leaves your sight. Consider the next "special machine" from the saddle of the cheap one. It does do wonders for perspective and down the line when you do have that dream machine and it has an issue- you probably will still have old faithful to take you into the wind. I use an SV650 for this purpose and it works a charm. Ever seen the motorcycle rating show? Top 10 bikes, they went through all the exotica and number 1 position was snared by a Honda 150, cause it had sold the most units about the planet and could be tossed off a 4 storey building then ridden away. That is the Japanese concept of value and somedays ya just have to agree! Glad your ok.

Personally I loved the way the older VFRs made power, the V4 is a great engine, havent ridden the new one (I preferred the pre angular design) but its bound to be good, but be aware of the heat potential of this bike during the summer. Other options include the Triumph Sprint, Tiger and Ducati Multistrada, give them a test ride too. I shy away from blistering devaluation so end up with bikes a few years old. Lots of Sport Tourers out there with no mileage on em. Looks like you have enough Guzzis in the shed so you can always hop on one when you need a "fix". There never is a direct replacement, just another option. Its funny the search for another bike is just a blast, followed by reward. It really is "all good". Cheers

Im in, Im so in. The Brandy, the frozen nostrils! The quiet valve train

Fit a 170 rear tyre with the shortest sidewall you can find. The V11 has no trouble thumping along on gravel roads stock mind you, even goat tracks. If you need a dirtbike, buy a dirtbike.

From your original post it sounds like water got into the internals, making your fork oil white. The potential pitting that would result in the various parts may have had your mechanic throw up his hands and sing "replacement" . I think your bike came with either the 1st or 2nd generation Marzocchi. Lots of people upgraded to the Ohlins front end. This tells me that there should be an abundance of Marzocchi forks about, or, despite the damage a wreck will have on a set of forks the internals are usually still good and a wrecker/shop may be another cheap source of parts. Check with the major shops in the US- Harpers, Moto Int., there was one in Texas as well maybe someone can chime in re supply. Good luck!

Too true. Still... living at these latitudes gives us a 19 hour day to burn in the summer. The winter ya just gotta grab ahold of something new like skis, squash (the game) big dinners and fireplaces with wine and woman. September and May are my favorite months for riding, You get the road to yourself and usually its dry enough to boogie. Just got back from a short trip to the Kootenay range, my clutch or its engagement mechanism is pooched. That could be a downer but the people I met on that trip (including a bunch of Americans heading for the Atlantic on scooters) keep it all in perspective. The fall is magic, the rain tucks all the normal folk to bed, leaving the playgrounds empty. Camping becomes free, fires are ok, you can wear your gear without sweating. Utilize the local mountaineering store for the right stuff and bingo there are 4 more weeks of easy cruising ahead. Head for California or Spain and you get an extra month! Besides, I dont know about you lot but I need the 12 weeks to set this wop crate up each winter.

Sure they are, it just takes a little adjustment

Stone Cold= 52-53 degrees farenheit. Its the shell temp of the earth average, heat pumps, red wine and valve adjustment all depend upon it. Silly, the detritus that lays in ones mind.

I feel carefree touring and inspiring to ride are yet to be realized in this sport/lifestyle. Like your 76 the V11 is a mechanical beauty suffering from quality control issues and electrical foibles. Own one for a season or two take care of the little issues (they typically are little) and tour. I run mine all about the West, still a little put out by Italian 2 wire alternators and the sketchy regulators but hey, it could be worse, I might be bored! Not too many machines put the mojo back into motorcycling like the Guzzi. If yer handy and have a bike stand fly at it. Cheers

I am very happy with Michelin Pilot Road 2, my first set lasted 12800 km. We have rough pavement here on the secondary roads and that is where I live. Stock sizes for the lemans 38-40 psi aft 32-36 forward. 90% touring 120-150 km/h bags and gear on. 2nd set this spring tried the Nitrogen option. I just put the wheels on as they came to me from the shop- felt awful till I spilled some air out. both ends were over inflated, once down to the above ranges the bike just sang, good in the wet and able to handle the limits of the machine in the dry. I have had similar experience with Bridgstone 021 as well on this bike. The Metz (Pirelli) Z6 however never gave me any confidence up front, surprising as they work beautifully on a bike 100 lbs lighter. There are only two wee little contact patches holding me on my line so my priorities are 1-performance, 2-mileage, 3-price. It is incredible the choices we have now and reading the reviews the sport/touring dual compound tyre is the sweet spot (unless you are at the track gnashing and fuming, clacking elbows and knees) Personally I am happy feeling the shift of my centre of gravity and the challenge in making this big baby transition smoothly on the country road. cheers

Not without touques, mack jackets and wooden teeth they cant! Those arent canucks, their pants are still on! Also it is rude to wear sunglasses in an interview. To the subject at hand though, for a current engine layout/design. It is difficult to imagine anything but a water cooled V-four shaftie (like the ST Honda) being taken seriously or accepted as a Guzzi. Italy should retain a distance oriented motorcycle. The sport and scooter segment are more than accounted for with the other factories. A water cooled V4 would bring them in line with the competition. Sport bike? the crankshaft does have to be transverse to be competitive, no way around that. Yet another short stroke 90 degree twin or a V5 perhaps? Seems like it would be treated as an also ran. Like the MV 750 and 1000, kindly accepted but priced beyond reason and really more like showing up at the disco with yer leather kit, and grey chest hair.

Beauty, beautiful, beautitious. Thanks for the clarification Belfast. A beautiful single would require some well casted alloy, a touch of brass, and a good shot of iron. Also the possibility to be lubed, adjusted or tweaked while in motion adds an element of creative daring depending on the speed during the operation. Then of course the sound, half the beauty would be lost if one was deaf eh? Maximum beauty would be riding and adjusting one either on the gravel road or through a field.

An engine is merely an object (mechanical or organic) that converts energy. Steam being the most efficient for work produced. Excepting a few minds, all engines require more energy to run than what is realized. It is exhausting.

Interesting mod Buzzard, how are your plug readings and what is the fuel consumption rate? Good to hear it runs well.

Very cool! I would be on that gondola like a fat kid on a smartie! I got married on a triple expansion steam ship (retired). Still stop to look at any display locomotive be it Cedar, Vancouver Island or Kingman, Arizona. Steam has class, maybe it is all the soft metals but it definitely grabs ya! Hopkins gets a lot of good gigs re performance gear, he must be a motorhead too.

Har har! best horns I've heard have been in Greece and India. Indians are musical, lots of notes and a bus in Greece had this Watermelon seed spit sound pppttt!!! Loud enough to be real effective, still my favorite. Like spittin em outa the way PPPPTTTT!

Gawd! Those Hans & Franz adventure things are huge! Just one of those tin bags would be enough to tour! I'd shoot for the supermoto just to enjoy the corners. Hand guards?. Tried the adventure with no gear on it and couldnt live with that spindly front hoop on the tarmac. Nor the buzzy plastic fairing.

An impact driver combined with a little heat works wonders on stuck hardware. If the head is rounded out you may have to cut a slot for the driver to purchase. You can match any head out there with a 1/2 to 3/8 reduction on the driver.

Unreal amount of fuel, looks like a plane wreck. Lucky he didnt get charred. That pole the track hand is hiding behind suddenly doesnt look so secure!

Here are some shots of the Oxford adaptation. Oxford and Rapid Transit are two companies that offer top loading expandable bags with size options that were decent enough to put on the Guzzi. I chose the smaller as I wanted to access the passenger pegs and not overwhelm the machine. They are plenty big enough though, the seat cowl fits in them and there is plenty of storage for a week long camp trip. The zipper on the centreline of the interior of the bag is where I installed the re-shaped belly plastic from the Tekno bag. You can see the edge of the 3/16 ABS back-panel on the inside. Had to buy slightly longer metric mounting bolts for the Klickfix latch, and new bolts for aluminum brackets. Just melted off the stock mount straps with a red hot coathanger and cobbled the brackets from some angle stock. I guess a guy could put cap nuts on the inside if you didnt want any runs in yer nylons. Anyway, there's a luggage option for any interested.

Just completed a conversion to a newer saddlebag, I used the Oxford Humpback. Took the belly plastic out of the Teckno used a heat gun and jigsaw to shape it to the Oxford. Oxford had a zip in belly reinforcement but wasnt rigid enough to hold bag shape properly, good news is the Tekno part once cut and shaped zipped right in! Off to plastic shop had 3/16 ABS cut to match inside face of bag, drill out holes for Klickfix mounts and Keyway, add a couple aluminum brackets to attach back plate to belly plate. Propane torch and a coat hanger for holes in bag and strap removal. Bingo a top loading quality bag with proper zippers utilizing the Klickfix latch, passenger pegs still accessible, for 50% of replacement cost! After reinforcing the Tekno bag and nursing it along the last couple years I grew to dislike the side loading bag and those cheap zippers. For those stuck on Italian gear Aprillia now offers the Klickfix mechanism on their bags (same shite zippers, and self dump design).

Well I was curious about the results, glad you reported the info Doc. I suppose the thimbles and nuts should be measured pre assembly to ensure continuity in size for your survey. I would think using the laser method on the edges of your rims would result in true alignment, but if the rubber is wearing on the left, something is out. Heavy gear (medical kit, scotch) in the starboard saddlebag could cause this . As would the tendency to corner harder to the left (real common). Give it the coast test, leave the bars alone, if you have to keep nudging the machine with one of your knees to keep it tracking straight then bring the difference down within .010, try it again. Seems to me if your swingarm is off to the right the machine will tend to fall to the left requiring you to compensate, that will result in uneven tyre wear.

Happens to a lot of em. same mounts as the dash mounts on the Lemans (inadequate), replace or repair.

A glass of 12yr Bunnahabhain raised here. Onwards with you Dennis Hopper, RIP.

Excellent Roy! as I mentioned before we had great luck with Sikaflex 241,291? on the boats keeping the electrics dry below the waterline in the salt water environment. Real curious on how the new reg works. Congrats and good luck!