Steve G.

Yeah you're right, that's a 4 valve head, and a radiator, so it's an S4R. Actually, that will be an aftermarket or factory option vented cover, it's main purpose to vent heat from a clutch that may be used in a superbike race start, because it is not in a cooling oil bath. In reality, is installed to a bike by people who want the unmistakable sound of a Ducati dry clutch to be heard by others, for various reasons we all know. The clutch has a limited life compared to a wet clutch [spoken fron experience] mainly in the aluminum basket which loses the battle between it and the plates rattling inside it, and causes the plate slots to become bigger, more loud as a result, and affects clutch release after a while. Thankfully for Ducati lovers, the newer ST3 has adopted a new wet clutch, and it is fairly bulletproof now. As for that other twin, the parallel twin, it should be pointed out that this configuration saw many crank timing differences, which affected sound, power output, and vibration levels. A 360, 90/90, 180, all crank configurations. So, there may be an argument for more than 4 different twin configurations. I have much experience with a 360 degree crank parallel twin, the Norton 850. Like the older Meriden Triumphs, BSA's, Matchless, Ariel, Royal Enfield, etc, this configuration often resulted in unaceptable vibration over 650cc, if revved high. But the sound was generally regarded as glorious, and bottom end torque was impressive. Ciao, Steve G.

Welcome trispeed. Enjoy the track day, but don't chuck the bike away trying to keep up with other 1000-1100cc bikes. With equal riders on the track, an untouched V11 has a bit more ability than a Suzuki SV650. The V11 will grind the side stand easily on the left, and tap on the front of the exhaust can on the right. It will grunt out of the exit of the corner, but will not handle as well in the corner. Ciao, Steve G.

Say what you will about the desmo system, Ducati has played it to a tee using it in sales of it's bikes as unique. Pierre Terblanche's history at Ducati has not impressed me. I will give him a bit of credit [?] by saying it is next to impossible to design a bike worthy of replacing the 916-996 series. But his rendition of the SS series has been an utter failure, with 2001 machines still floundering on showroom floors. Totally BUTT ugly. The Multistrada? I just don't know guys. It really is difficult to look at. Yeah I'm sure it's a great bike, but come on!! So you have a designer who is running out of ideas, [and maybe confidence in himself and his bosses] so what does one do? Copy successfull designs from the past. Hence the Paul Smart, etc. They really are lovely bikes, and if I had never owned a belt drive Ducati, I would probably already have a deposit on one. But Ducati belt drive ownership can [and was for me] be a very painfull and frustrating experience. The desmo system is Ducati's savior, and curse at the same time. So we know that Ducati will sell every one of these things very fast. They will be very popular. Moto Guzzi must do the same thing, AGAIN. The V11 is clearly a loose copy of the V7 Sport. They need to expand on this. Keep the Tonti in production, and make neo replicas of Eldorado's, 1000s, heck even police special's. Or use the Spine frame of they want to go with 6 speeds. Either way it will involve minimal re-tooling the production line, in fact just a phone call to Acerbis to model some new plastic bodywork is all it would take. Heck, I should be in charge of design. Ciao, Steve G.

My local dealer says Canada won't see them till next May. Maybe. It is of my opinion that air cooled pushrod [read inefficient] engines are going to quickly find it tougher and tougher to pass these kind of tests. Time for Guzzi to start working on that 4 valve water cooled lump again. Ciao, Steve G.

I think you're great Pete. Really, you make me laugh, you kind of remind me of myself, gruff, outspoken. Reading your entries is always good. I'd like to sit in a pub and just listen while sipping a stout. The truth is, I think newer BMW motorcycles are overrated as well. Questionable looks aside, the amount of electrical gadgetrey they carry around is silly, and frightening when you consider that some of it goes bad with regularity. Owning a new BMW is not a financial reality for me, but owning a newer one off of warranty is not an option, as the cost of making these fixes is stupid. And while I agree the attitude of some BMW riders makes me want to cuff them across the ears, they are no match for the attitudes of H.D. riders. Back to the Breva. I currently own and maintain a shaft drive system from a Guzzi and a BMer. I consider the two of them to be of equal level in terms of time needed to maintain. I think the grease nipples on the Guzzi are a great idea, but getting the grease gun to the front one closest to the gearbox is very tough, in spite of what guys are saying. And i know my way around a wrench, having done ground up restorations, and maintaining machines which among them, is considered a machine which is said to have taken the back yard mechanic out of the picture. The Breva's new enclosed shaft system will still have to be taken apart at regular intervals to grease the shaft splines, either by nipple and grease gun if so equipped, or slide apart and slathered in grease like the BMW paralever. Still the same sort of task in time and theory. One thing I will say is the exposed driveshaft on the pre-Breva Guzzis do suffer from grease fling, not a big thing, but something I naively did not expect after decades of chain drive. Ciao, Steve G.

Golly Pete, Why do you find it so hard for Guzzi to copy what is a good idea, even if it is from your arch rival BMW? I know of a paralever that has over 300,000kms. Ciao, Steve G.

I agree totally, rice is a poor compromise compared to barley, with Budweiser as a perfect example. I only use crap like that to marinate tough meat. There are some interesting rice based product out of Japan, but really they don't impress my taste buds. I will refer to the Reinheitsgebot [bavarian purity law of 1516] as the start of the birth of the proper beer. P.S. The tour we did to find the IPA's, was made all the more enjoyable by the fact we always parked our machines at the end of the day before sampling. Ciao, Steve G.

It's a traffic red light pad activator, or at least it's sold as one. If it's able to slide around and bugger up the paint, get rid of it. Then just run the red light. Ciao, Steve G.

Aye Jimmy, As former member of the Scotch Connessures Assoc, I stand corrected on my messy spelling of whisky. Beer on the other hand is near as much a passion of mine as 'the motorcycle'. It can be said that the term beer is at best a generic term describing water based liquid made from barely or rice malt, with sugars fermented to alcohol from yeast, and allowing for various amounts of flavour additions, with the most noteworthy being hops. Various styles have been spawned over the generations, with probably the most popular being lager, made from a bottom fermenting yeast, and a wider family of "beers" based on top fermenting 'ale' yeast. This family has under it's umbrella stout, bitter, scotch ale, pale ale, porter, and among others, my all time favourite, IPA, named after a drink and name made popular by the English Navy during the colonization of India. India Pale Ale, was a pale ale custom made for the troops in India, made with overabundance of hops [mostly South Kent], this hop additive acted as a preservative during the long voyages by ships from the old country. Hence the birth of a new type of beer, IPA. The search of the best IPS has taken my all across England, Scotland and Wales, and North America. I consider myself lucky to live near the best IPA's, perhaps the best made 'beer' in the world. The state of Oregon in particular, has cottage brewers and in house brew public houses which easily are a match for anything I've tracked down. This area is certainly the best place to find the best IPA's, absolutely no question. Two years ago, 6 of us took it upon ourselves to travel, by motorcycle [me on V11] to Oregon, Washington, California, Idaho, Montana, and Nevada, to test only IPA's, using test sheets used when I enter home made beers for competion in testing contests. A 2 week tour of serious merit, started with a clear view. This made it very clear the lofty status Oregon now enjoys. The best IPA in the western states clearly is Continental King IPA, made at Steelhead Brewing in Eugene, Oregon. Close second is Terminal Gravity IPA in Enterprise Oregon. Of course riding there is always better than taking the cage. Ciao, Steve G.

There is ONLY one type of whiskey worth talking about young lad, and that is scotch, of the single malt variety of course! Ciao, Steve G.

Gosh, don't take it personally. Remember that beauty is in the eye of the beholder. A good buddy of mine was one of the motojournalists who first rode the bike many months ago around Tuscany for the press intro. He has had many days on an '02 Lemans, as well as regular seat time on my V11, so comparisons can be made. His words seem to hit the nail so to speak. He said that the Breva seemed to be a bike where all the components are 'working in unison', a complete package. The accessory package was on a par with the competition. Fit and finish was first rate. The styling was summed up to be universally acceptable for the larger masses. The problem was, it just wasn't as fun. The V11 series has more than a little bit of "hair of the dog "attitude. Huge comparitive character. Unlike our honourable Mr. Roper, I can't honestly say I hate any bikes. Some I don't care for as they attract "wannabees" and "instant tuff guys" [Harley]. Some I feel sorry for, as they seem to have been beaten very hard with an ugly stick. I agree with you that when it comes to the use of the ugly stick, most new BMW's have been wacked pretty hard, with the new R1200RT suffering the effects perhaps worse than most any bike I've seen in decades. I think the Breva might have suffered an errant smack with that stick as well. Ciao, Steve G.

Noting that it is widely recognized that the Tonti framed California series is the best handling of the "cruiser" style of bikes, many, including myself find the "sit up and beg" riding style just does not work. Placing most of your weight on your tail bone to me makes no sense. As well, riding this style of bike without a windscreen pretty well makes your upper body into a human kite at highway speeds, making sure that you will soon have forarms the size of Popeye the Sailor Man. While people uneducated in bikes automatically think that this 'easy chair' sitting position would be most comfortable, it is widely recognized that equal distribution of weight on the rear, feet and to a lesser degree the hands is best for big mileages. I will say that it is best to BE comfortable rather than LOOK comfortable. Generally the most comfortable long ride bikes are the big dual purpose machines, with the ideal foot position having the heal of your foor directly below your hip joint. Just look at what style of bike is most used by the Iron Butt challenge guys. A 5 degree lean forward is best for most, to compensate for wind blast to the shoulders and upper body. As for passenger seating, nothing can match the comfort of both rider and passenger than that found on the new Gold Wings or full dresser BMW K bikes. Unfortunately, one has to deal with the compromised handling capability of these big vessels, although surprisingly sure footed for a machine 1600 pounds fully dressed and two up. The early eighties Suzuki GS 1000s had very comfortable seats for passenger and rider both. The problem with seats on newer bikes is that most tend to make the passenger slide forward as a result of trying to make the profile of the bike look good. The V11 Guzzi family of bikes have a seat that may be a bit on the small side. Adding an aftermarket seat unfortunately does not address the main problem that the foor pegs are way too high for most, again placing too much weight on the tail bone. Last week I noticed that Jim had a slightly lower footrest set up on his Rosso for his girlfriend. Another fact that I must not overlook is that alot of the members of this forum will only buy a machine from certain countries, or only Moto Guzzis. While I recognize this, it limits the vast array of machines available. I have also said many times my belief that one bike cannot do all, that one should have two or more, and they should be different to cover a broader spectrum of uses. Ciao, Steve G.

The only problem with this great idea [powder coating] is the high probability that the new powder coating/paint will not match the rest of the red on the bike, the frame, swingarm etc. . Ciao, Steve G.

This video is a couple years old. It's downtown Athens, after a morning rain, on a big Japper. Ciao, Steve G.

Don't call someone a fool! You know what he was talking about. Here it's called gasoline [gas], and in the old country, it's called petroleum [petrol]. Ciao, Steve G.

I've been tuning into this forum for a couple years. Thousands of entries by hundreds of people. Mostly great entries from passionate riders, with only the odd wacho, just like this forum. The theme here is full dirt or duel purpose bikes, which is cool also. Ciao, Steve G.

Hi Ray, The hardware is all polished stainless [i'm a pushover when it comes to stainless], and simply slides in between the headlight shell and headlight bolt washer. It takes 5 minutes to install or remove, and does not get loose when the bike is used. It's a perfect radius for the standard fitment Bosch headlight bucket/bezel, and as for sturdyness, it has no cracks or mishapes. Two negatives: 1, if your bike is flash green like mine, you will have to paint it, and 2, it comes with a tacky "Givi" sticker you will have to remove, well not have to, but will want to. It cost me $129 cdn at my local dealer, but have seen one hanging off the wall at Skagit Powersports in Burlington, Washington for $79us. I'm pretty sure Moto International have one in stock as well. The paint cost me $200cdn, and consider it a bargain, as this green is very complex in it's application steps. I'd love to send you pictures, but I don't have a digital camera. The one picture I got was sent to me by a buddy that he took whilst riding in Montana. I never could figure out how to move it into the other picture collections. I'm not much of a "teckie". I know that Ryan [MotoGoozer] has the same fairing on his V11, and looks great in midnight black. And I'm pretty sure he has a digital camera. If he sees this thread I think he would send some. Ciao, Steve G.

Late last summer, the dealer here in Vancouver had two Tennis as part of a stock reduction buy out at the U.S. warehouse. One was mint, the other looked used and abused. I pretty sure the nice one went to Vancouver island, north of Victoria, and the shabby one went back to the states. Ciao, Steve G.

Check out the picture in my members box. That is a Givi a755. a bit bigger that the small stock one, the ones you see on Motomechanica site. I got it specifically to get the wind off of my chest during high speed touring, and it has worked well. Ciao, Steve G.

I wish Staintune did a complete system for these bikes. Their stainless is incredible. Ciao, Steve G.

I certainly have no problem with the Quota. While the styling is "love it or hate it", you have to remember that this machine is in the family of bikes most suited to forest service roads, and carefull off the beaten path style roads only. You will have to decide if you want a competant pleasant ride on road [Quota] or off road [KLR, DR, XL]. Remember, there is no such thing as the perfect bike. We are in the age of the specialized catagory bike, even the old UJM's [universal Japanese Motorcycle] had tasks that were specialized. These kind of bikes are on the other hand virtually unbeatable on the twisty tarmac. Your V11's, Ducati's, anything really, will have great difficulty keeping up with you on roads where big power cannot be used. They will crash keeping up the pace you will be able to attain. Add to that the fact that you can carry everything including the kitchen sink with you. I have heard that the seats on these things are just about as bad as you will find on a KTM, optional seats are available. Also, you will have to deal with the old style 5 speed gearbox, and all it's little foibles. And finally, yes, they did have ECU problems, but Moto Guzzi retro'd virtually every Quota into North America with good ECU's. And also, with the bad press they got with the ECU situation, they are quite inexpensive, in Canada anyways. I say go and buy one. Ciao, Steve G.

That's funny, Laverda owners don't usually think so illogically. Moto Guzzi, Laverda. Both stone simple, old school, and easy to repair. Bet large sums of money!!! Ciao, Steve

I must say Jim, your balancing capability is very good. Popping a wheelie on a Guzzi can be tricky as you know, with the engine wanting to lay you over. The Mistrals and Stucci sound rather nice echoing off the old buildings of Commercial Drive. And the Rosso paint just goes nuts under flourescent street lights. As for Ryan's Duck, I have always said that belt drive Ducatis are just pretenders. The bevel drive Ducatis are where the true soul of this company reside. Don't worry, bevel drives with Delortto's are always cold blooded. I know you complained about the powder coating. I look at it this way. A crappy bike makes one look for good stuff. A great bike makes one look for bad stuff. We all spent alot of time looking for anything wrong, and didn't find anything. It's a little sweetheart! Ciao, Steve G.

That would be a 500 Daytona. It can be said that they were a sweet light little bike, quite good handling as a result, but were so gutless, they couldn't pull the skin off a custard. Most were good for only 75-80 mph topped out. Ciao, Steve G.