Lucky Phil

Well after years of sitting on these puppies I have finally gotten around to fitting them.The fit is very nice indeed. Elegance. Original chain drive in good condition after 42,000klms The original cam retaining bush which had almost zero wear at 42,000 klms which was a surprise. The updated cam retaining bush. Note the oil feed reliefs machined into the front face to improve lubrication. I had one of the new ones on hand but otherwise I would have just die ground the reliefs. The Lucky Phil cam/crank holding tool.Being the lazy type I made this up with very low expectations but it worked a treat. Just goes to show sometimes you can overthink things and simple is best. Leverage is your friend...sometimes. Gears installed and ready to button up. From the other side. New crank seal installed. Be silly not to. Gears were greased lightly for the first start. I pulled the ignition pickup and put 500ml of oil in there so the gears have some lube for the first start. This area of the crankcase only gets the oil from the front main bearing and cam bearing leakage plus any that might slosh forward under braking from the sump. So the gears rely on the oil pump gear picking up trapped oil in the bottom and flinging it up the gear train and crankcase vent oil and main/cam bearing overflow. Hence filling the well so to speak. A new metal timing cover gasket also installed. Now to replace the manual fuel tap that decided not to shutoff when I was pulling the tank. Faulty somehow. Not very safe to have liters of fuel pouring out the fuel tap with the tank halfway off and not able to be dropped down again so the fuel hose can be connected. After that its the gearbox support plate to install.

Looks like I'll be seeing you at PI then. Let me know if you need anything. I live about 1hr 45 away from the track. Ciao

I'm sure I have seen other parts of it on ebay. Just assumed it had been totaled ages ago. Ciao

Amazing to think Pete that Guzzi used alloy oil pump and cam drive gears as standard fitment to the Daytona and Centauro engines. I have a couple of sets that I dont particularly want to re use hence the Joe steel gear set for this engine as well. Ciao

As the supply of original pumps dries up the gap has been filled with aftermarket pumps some are fine and others of poor quality. I have a German made DAS pump which is very nice quality but availability is poor. Joes pumps will use the Ducati design for the secondary gear mentioned previously which is superior as well as a better drive gear bushin/bearing and higher quality with hopefully better availability. Ciao

The first thing that comes to mind when I look at the 650 is Centre of Gravity. Ciao

No docc didnt mention the V11 cover. Are they still available new? The original Daytona/Centauro covers were plastic and tended to crack at the mount points I'm told. Ciao

I've mentioned before Joe is still doing his timing gears but he is also going to produce replacement oil pumps as well Ther have been some pumps available for a while and while some were excellent some were suspect quality wise. A mate of mine building a short stroke Guzzi race engine with roller rear mains and roller supported cams with a set of Joes gears in it showed me one of these pumps and 1 out of the 4 mount holes doesnt line up. HMB has also suspended selling a version due to quality problems. Joes pumps will obviously be of high quality but will also use the Ducati type design for the secondary gear where the gear will run on a steel pin pressed into the pump housing rather than the inferior Guzzi version where the secondary gear and its integeral shaft run in the pump housing. Joe is also making some very nice Dayton/Centauro alloy front alternator covers. Just for the record I have no financial interest here just an interest in supporting a quality engineer that makes great stuff for Guzzi's and making you guys aware. Drop him a line if you need anything, he's always helpful. joe.caruso@ntworld.com Ciao

Ha there's always 1 out there I guess. Unfortunately the real world doesnt agree. If a MotoGP or Superbike with the massive amount of heat they shed via the radiator and engine with the fuel tank sitting basically right behind the engine getting the full effect dont neeed fuel cooling then nothing will. Still I love the fringe people, they make life interesting:) Ciao

I love spoke wheels but for some reason I dont think they suit the V11 aesthetically. Ciao

260kw (350hp) AWD 2.3 liter turbo, 6 speed manual, 0 to 60 4.7 seconds. licence at risk. Ciao

Gotcha.. it's silk thread. Red is hard to find.. I was counting on you Chuck to fill in the fine details:) I learned a long time ago that I dint need to be very smart to survive, just had to know smart people. Ciao

These are the best......Valpollini, Pete Roper sent me a set and they are perfect. Some kind of metal hybrid gasket with a coating. Dont get too carried away with aircraft piston engine technology as a lot of it is from the dark ages. Conti and lycomings use cotton thread to seal the case joint for goodness sake. Ciao

I wouldnt even venture an estimate and I cant even remember what I paid for mine around 6 years ago. Drop Joe a line and ask about the current price. He did mention to me he's in Italy this week so he may take a few days to reply. Ciao

I have a steel set for the V11 and also for the Daytona engine from Joe Caruso in England but not an email address anymore. He is on linked in though.I dont think he's made them for years but if enough people get together he may run a batch. EDIT Try this... no garantees though. Sent him an email to say Hi and it didnt bounce so far. joe.caruso@ntlworld.com Edit 2....Joe got back to me and he's still making gears, so if anyone is interested drop him a line. Imagine these bad boys in your timing chest. Better than that agricultural chain:) Ciao

Same as mine. I did the mesh mod as well.Bonded mine and its been fine for years. Same as my Ducatis with the mesh mods. Ciao

I don't think you need to remove the paint or damaged clear coat to wrap the tank. Yes true you can wrap over the paint, this is how the car guys do it. Personally I'd get it painted as I dont know how the wrap stands up to fuel spillage over time and most wraps only have around a 4 or 5 year lifespan anyway. Ciao

This is true docc so what I do when I pull any suspension component down is I measure the viscosity of what came out for comparative purposes. All you need is a syringe body and a watch to time the measured amount of oil into a container. The actual numbers dont mean anything but the comparison does. So if your happy with the damping as it is you measure the original oil and compare it to the fresh stuff you're putting in. Prevents the frustration of replacing your original brand of 5W with a different brand of 5W only to find the new stuff is more like 7.5W and the damping isnt to your liking anymore. Ciao

In the many trailers I've owned I've never seen one with suspension worth a damn. Live axle on short stiff leaf springs that are virtually solid. My track bikes are strapped down these days with a rear wheel strap and the front is held in a wheel chock. Roll the bike onto the trailer and into the wheel chock which holds it securely while you fit the rear wheel strap with the straps angled forward to pull the bike into the chock and the bike rides along on its suspension on the trailer. Pulling bikes down hard on their suspensions has long been given up on by those that care about the bikes suspension. Ciao

Transparent plastic coating? Its a painted clear coat as far as I'm aware. Best way to remove paint from a plastic tank is to media blast it. Ciao

Clearly half the foot is missing, a simple toenail wouldnt warrant an internet post surely. Ciao

Is there a diagram of where best to put the relay? I'm searching now through the archives and have found some. Do you know which one you used? Like docc I mounted my mini relays in the headlight shell. Ciao

Believe me they are sturdy enought to hold more than 2 lbs. Maybe that figure is more to do with Guzzi covering it arse with regard to weight balance and distribution and directional stability of the bike than the actual load bearing capacity of the rack. They are by far the best quality and niceset looking rack I've seen for a V11 and are a great hand hold for a pillion. Ciao

I wired my headlight circuit seperately via a pair of mini relays so now the regulator reference voltage stays constant and the handlebar switches dont carry the headlight current. Ciao

I love those old covered bridges. Ciao