Lucky Phil

I was at the TT twice in the eighties as a mechanic and pit crew. Ciao

Probably why they got they're butt kicked at Daytona in the BOTT.Oh wait ,they won. This is what you want http://www.odd-bike.com/2013/03/moto-guzzi-mgs-01-cooking-goose.html but a built up Daytona would be within reach and quite competent in a Classic race. I like the way Americans and others for that matter think that BOTT has some sort of ranking in the greater world of international racing. Its an amateur racing series and interesting for that but its many many levels below professional racing and thats what I judge a machine from. Is it competative at the TOP professional level in its day, or not. Its like Dr Johns Guzzi's, loved the storiy and the man for his passion and engineering and what he achieved with what he had ( everybody loves an under dog) but really it was winning what?, some US endurance series. Not exactly the hight water mark in international racing. So the people are amazing as is their effort but at the end of the day their race bikes really havent cut it with the big boys. Ciao

Well the IOM taught me that you need a bullit proof reliable bike with forgiving handling that the rider wont be fighting the whole way around because it will wear him out and then he will make errors that may kill him. Oh and an engine that you think is reliable at club or even national short circuit level may well not be at the island. Wide open down Sulby Straight for miles skipping off the bumps destroys engines and transmissions. Not really the place to indulge your abandonment of reason. Just my opinion mind. Ciao

There's a reason there isnt many guzzi's at the TT, have a guess. I'll give you a few clues to get you started.......... fat,slow,shaft drive, handle like pigs. That should get you on the right track. Ciao

I'm still working on the engine rebuild which is pretty much covered up to the cylinder heads with the exception of having the crank lightened and balanced. I'm going to run the RAM clutch assy as well but leave it stock except for the usual blue print job. I've also got the steel joe caruso cam and oil pump drive gears with the German oil pump upgrade. Parts are getting scarce these days and I've had to have the cylinders re nikasiled myself and new pistons. I'll get the cams and lifters gas nitrided and I have new valves to fit and k-line the guides which are seriously worn. can you believe one of the guides in one of my heads had 0.030" clearance!!!!! plus I need to replace a couple of exhaust seats as well so its a bit of a process. I'm also looking at some extra oil feed to the cam lobes to help with the wear these engines suffer from and converting the lifters over to the system the Later Grisso engines use to actuate the rocker. I'm not looking for horsepower just a sweet and reliable engine. A V11 isnt a sports bike by modern standards, so for me its just my fun road bike. Thanks for the tip in the fuel reg,I have 4 new fuel tanks here and the plan was to install one of the later in tank pump versions as I think they have cleaner and simpler plumbing so the reg shouldnt be an issue but plans may change. I think Ill paint it silver with the std red frame etc. The engine will be installed in the Green V11 you see in my avatar. I can post some pics of the engine if you like when I take some photos of it. I need to document the build anyway so I'll get them done. Ciao

Thanks Gritman, simple yet effective solution. I'm still rebuilding my V10 engine for the swap, so this is all great info and time saving for me. Ciao

Hey gritman I'd be interested to see a photo of your fuel tank mount solution. It needs to be raised about 30mm correct? Ciao

I would suspect part 30 in the bevel box diagram has been omitted at the last wheel out event. Ciao

Trying to ride around with the left cylinder dead and possibly still being fed with fuel will cause the r/h cylinder to be working harder and possibly overheating. could also be pumping extra oil into the breather and airbox which will be feeding the dead cylinder with extra oil and fuel. My view is, find the reason the dead cylinder is dead fix that, clean the bike up make sure it has oil, clean out the airbox, get it running, make sure you have oil pressure and no unusual mechanical noise and then look for the leak. I have a feeling when you get it running on both cylinders as long as there is no damage then the oil leak might not be an issue. Ciao

I'm amazed when this happens and people don't realise. For whatever reason the engine has dropped a cylinder and the rider can't figure that out. It's a twin for goodness sake how can you keep riding it around on one cylinder. Not good for the engine btw. When this happens you shouldn't ride the bike, for many reasons, safety being a major one. Be interested to find out why it's running on one. Ciao

It's only a "black art" if you don't make the effort to understand it.Can't think of to many sports/ sports tourers that benefit from a reduction in rear ride height. Quite the opposite in fact. I would be dropping the forks through at least 10mm maybe more depending on how you go for ground clearance and side stand length. It will regain some of the steering precision and front/rear balance. Lowering bikes for short inseams is never a good thing really. Better to adapt your riding style or buy a bike that fits you in the first place. Ciao

Looks that way. Ducati 1098 regs in the early days were rubbish and cooking batteries everywhere. Something about them changing the supplier of regs. Effected other models as well from memory. Ciao

Ignition sensor? Ciao

Penske are a very nice shock, Had experience with one on a Ducati 996 Corse once. Trouble is when I went looking for a shock for the V11 I wanted a remote or at least convienient pre load adjuster and at that time Penske didnt have one. Ciao

Very good chamberlin, good reference material for anyone else that wants to do the swap. Ciao

Yep I see now. Dont remember this arrangement on any of the Ohlins forks I have previously had, and there's been a few. Ciao

That picture is for the marzocchi forks I think you will find. Your photo seems to be the spacer setup for the Ohlins ( I went and checked the shop manual) I now see the Ohlins appear to have the axle spacer slide into the inner race on one side and abut the inner race on the other. Normal config is for the inner spacer to abut the inner race on both sides as per the std Marzocchi forks. Ciao. Ammend, oh I see the inset with the Ohlins spacer and bearing config.

Maybe its just objecting to being taken to England. can be a bit depressing there some times. Try a trip to sunny Italy, or even Australia. Ciao Just enjoying a real ale in the English sunshine. How's your pissy lager in the rain Phil ?? Ha, Warm Ale no doubt. Me I'm more of a Merlot/Cab Sav man myself. Then again I suppose you need something akin to Warm mud to kill the taste of the typical English cuisine. Ciao

Maybe its just objecting to being taken to England. can be a bit depressing there some times. Try a trip to sunny Italy, or even Australia. Ciao

Yes the Wilbers are bespoke also. You tell them your weight, whether or not you intend to carry a pillion, the type of riding you do and of course the model of bike and they build you a shock sprung and valved to suit. A remote spring pre load adjuster is optional but the shock length is set as you can only go about 10mm longer on the V11 shock or you will run into front uni joint clearance issues with the swingarm tunnel. The Wilbers also have high and low speed compression adjustability where the std Ohlins are low speed only. Some are fixated with the shiny gold shocks though. In my opinion the std Ohlins is not much better in quality or performance thatn you average Japanese bike shock. Thats why I upgraded my 1198s std Ohlins with the FGRT 803 forks and TTX rear shock.The std Ohlins are fairly average. Ciao

It won't be cable operated remote preload adjustment it will be hydraulic.Ciao Still learning something here every day. I suppose I must have known that at one time and it slipped with the rest of my mind. Plus, I removed the pannier to have a look and found the adjuster had completely backed off. Turned it back in and time to go for a ride! Thanks, Phil! (Corrected my post). DSCN1272.JPG It's just about having the right info out there docc Ciao

The cam and lifter have failed and the greatly increased valve clearance thus created has hammered the pushrod into what you now have. Ciao

It won't be cable operated remote preload adjustment it will be hydraulic.Ciao

Not that unusual really, its just porosity. I have seen it many times over the years mainly on Ducati crankcases but a friend also had porosity on the crankcase around the r/h cylinder base gasket area on his Mk4 lemans. My V11 also had a porous r/h cylinder head from the drain galleries which the previous owner had repaired with sleeves. Every pair of Ducati Corse crankcases I purchased new I would inspect for porosity before i acceped as probably 40% had issues of one form or another. BTW Locktite "wick in" would be the way to go in my opinion or if its a cleanish defined hole then what you have mentioned of Araldite works well. Ciao

I run a full spec Wilbers, preload adjustable, rebound, high and low speed compression. slightly longer than stock and raises the rear about 10mm. I have experience with Ohlins and Penske, primarily on Ducatis but also Triumph inc their road and track forks and TTx rear shocks and the Wilbers quality seems to be on par with them and the unit works very well. Ciao