Steve G.

My riding will be much curtailed compared to last year, with a major change in work situation. I will of course be attending the annual North American Laverda Rally, held every year in Nakusp, British Columbia. Many Moto Guzzis, Ducatis, and of course Laverdas from all over North America attend. Fantastic riding in the east Kootenays [Rockies], hot springs, great food. I will be turning this into a 1 1/2 week tour encompassing motorcycle nirvanna, North East Oregon. Still sitting on the fence whether to join the boys down to Sonoma fest for the AMA race at Sears Point. Last year the cops ran us out of 2 towns, and 10 tickets between 6 of us. An expensive, fast holiday. My local vintage bike club is hosting a campout/bbq rally on Salt Spring Island, a hippie hamlet 1/2 hr. ferry boat ride west of Vancouver. Always a fantastic time, the island does not have ANY straight roads, and 1 policeman on an island 18 by 12 miles. Love it! Many Sunday rides happeing, including the infamous "Duffy Lake circle", an 8 hour high speed endurance ride heading up past Whistler, over the Coast Range mtns, down into the Sonoran desert at Lilloett, B.C., down to Boston Bar, B.C.. Many rides across the border, including perhaps the best ride in the North West, from Mt. Vernon, Wa, out to [excuse the spelling] Tonasckat, Wa, an incredible chunk of road, spoiled only by a very sneaky revenue collection patrolman, who, take it from me, WILL chase you down to offer you a bill. This Sunday Mar. 14th, a ride is planned down to LaConner Wa. Great brewpub down there, and the woman get to look at the miles and miles of daffodills and tulips ready for harvesting. Well time to shut down work, still 3 hrs of riding left, and it's sunny and warm. Ciao, Steve G.

I'm one of the late baby boomers in school in Canada during our rocky transfer to metric from British Imperial standards of measure. As a result, I have no problem with either. Funny though is that I automatically calculate metric to imperial, not just a frame of mind to metric. As well, when reading Cycle World or some other U.S. magazine, where among other things fuel mileage are listed for a machine, I automatically convert to imperial, sort of like multiply by 1.45. Same with gas. Right now a litre of 94 octane [the highest available octane in Canada] is going for cdn $1.00 . That's $4.54 a gallon for me. Soooooo, that's 1.89 UK pound, or U.S.$3.42. Seems like quite alot to me for a country that takes 3.5 days non stop 24hrs to drive across. I can say that it is an absolute pleasure to work on a bike like the Guzzi, which is fully metric. Even the allen head [socket head] screws and bolts are metric. My 74 Norton was made during the British bike industry entry into the 20th century. As a result, the engine, gearbox, and primary system are genuine Whitworth standard, with the rest of the bike UNC and UNF [national corse and national fine]. I have MANY wrenches! Whitworth is different in more ways than just bolt head size, and thread stock width. The thread pitch and even the angle were different. Sometimes you are able to thread an imperial nut onto a Whitworth bolt, but not the other way around. I've found it brain wrenching to understand why they used this standard, just to deal with it, not to fight it, for it lurks still in many garages. Ciao, Steve G.

Off the top of my head, the Imperial/Canadian gallon is 4.54 litres, and the US gallon is 3.78 litres. No wonder I can put back more pints in my favourite place in Bellingham. Ciao, Steve G.

You've got me checking my tank carefully in the light. Any green ones doing this? Ciao, Steve G.

I've never been entirely impressed by the mileage on this V11. Since breakin, I average 45mpg [that's imperial gallon, 4.54 litres]. I would have thought with F.I. the system would be more efficient that carbs. Not the case at all. I'm getting better economy with my Jota, with it's gas spitting 38mm Dellorto pumpers, untouched since 1982. Just the same, it's still cheap fun. I would'nt want this thing leaned out any more, the pre-ignition would be unbearable. Ciao, Steve G.

Hi Dave, Yes I've been accused of going overboard on the crap I bring along. With the essentially small motorcycle a V11 is, you are forced to pare it down. In your little tool kit area, put a couple spare spark plugs, a good quality mini flashlight, a Leatherman or Gerber multi tool, and a tubless tire repair kit [not that spray stuff in a can]. I take a litre of oil that I'm using, but put it in a squirt bottle so you don't fumble around trying to pour it in the hole, [Guzzi engines do burn oil when pushing hard in the desert] and I always take a spare key for the bike. I remember I had to take a bus and ride on a ship to go get my other key after I lost the key, the local locksmith buggered up my ignition switch trying to make a key. I had the safety guy at work put together a mini compact first aid kit, which has come in handy more than once. Once, at a motorcycle campout in the middle of nowhere, with much alcoholic embibing, a buddy I was talking to decided to pass out in front all of us, doing a face plant onto the license plate of his bike. The flashlight and tape worked a charm. You could go on and on, depending on if you are camping, but again you are limited by space on this machine. You don't want to overload the thing. Ciao, Steve G.

Golly Dave, you sure are covering things. Are you just wondering what spare parts of the bike you should take, or other things which would make it an easier tour? BTW, which way you headed on your tour? There's still snow in the passes, including Mt. Shasta Pass if you're headed south. I've done many tours on many bikes, including 3 tours on my V11 last summer, averaging 6000kms each. I could tell you some things that would be real handy to bring along, unless you've toured before. Ciao, Steve G.

Hi Archie, Thanks for the info on that spacer. Ciao, Steve G.

Knowing my bike needed to be taken apart for the gearbox fix up, I thought I'd take parts off [to help out and detail the bike a bit], including the rear fender hugger. I seem to have forgotten which side of the bike the little 1/4 inch [6mm] spacer goes, where the plastic swing arm end cap [the silver painted things] and the hugger/fender overlap each other. Anyones help would be greatly appreciated. Ciao, Steve G.

Hi Al, Thanks alot, especially for the part #. You're right, I don't want that electric piece of s--t on my bike. Ciao, Steve G.

I've found that the bags are starting to fade from the uv light. This happens to all things gortex/nylon, but these seem to be losing their jet black hue quicker than normal. I have some uv protective spray, I'll use during this seasons riding. Ciao, Steve G.

Hi Al, Thanks for the help on the fuel petcock. I talked to my dealer, and they seemed to believe that the manual petcock is integral to the newer system with the "in the tank" fuel pump. They did however report it as a claim under warranty, and should know by Thursday afternoon p.s.t. from Italia whether it will be covered. I managed to stick a couple wires into where the old ones were, and the unit does still work. What would happen if there were no petcock at all there, just leaving the fuel on all the time? I can see this being a problem with carbs, with lazy float jets, but fuel injection? I could just gut all the gear out of there, and just have the body of the petcock. When you say "manual petcock", do you mean it as having an actual lever like older bikes? If this thing is not covered under warranty, I'm going to try to fix it. Maybe run a couple screws into the epoxy right where the wires exit, and fasten wire ends to the wires, then copious quantities of tape so the bloody wires don't wiggle around in the wind. Ciao, Steve G.

I've got my bike at the shop getting the gearbox looked after. It is stripped of most things for winter cleaning. It is the first time I've actually looked under the tank to see what Al is talking about with his idea of a crossover. And there I spotted the reason my bike sometimes quits on me. Let me confirm first from someone who knows better. On the underneath of the tank on the left side is first the low fuel sender unit and plug, and then right beside it there is the fuel on/off automatic petcock. On the right side of the tank I would assume is the fuel return unit. And of course way up underneath in the tunnel of the tank are 2 overflow outlets [only one of mine has a drain off hose on it]. So, the automatic fuel petcock wires, on inspection, are barely hanging there, with one of the two appearing to be basically separated right where they go into the epoxy plastic. I guess the wires have been dangling around in the wind [this is the first time I've taken the tank off] and after 22,000kms are giving up. In my eye not a very well engineered set up, but one learns to look beyond these things with a motorcycle you so enjoy. I guess there are 3 ways I could go about this. 1, I could somehow fix the wires, somehow digging them out from the epoxy and saudering them. 2, replace the silly device by either warranty or my wallet, or 3, replace it with a different type of fuel shutoff. I've looked back on earlier threads, I seem to remember something about installing a proper manual fuel petcock, either an inline one or one made into the body of the old automatic one. Could not find anything. Anybody got any ideas? Ciao, Steve G.

Hi John, So did you buy the Ferracci pipes here in Vancouver? How much? Ciao, Steve G.

I should point out for the smaller group of Canadian guys here that both Ferracci and Evoluzione fender eliminator kits are too small for our bigger license plates, so you have to drill into the main body of the plate, and I think that is illegal in B.C. I like Ryan's idea, and will have to check it out next time I see it. Only problem is, once you've cut the fender, there's no going back. Ciao, Steve G.

You should have changed the oil just before you parked it for the winter. The acidic contaminants of combustion in used oil really do their business on engine bearing material during long times of inactivity. If you changed the oil just as you parked it for the winter, it will be fine, just run it. Ciao, Steve G.

I'm in the glass business, and know all too well about drilling plexi. One would have thought Magni would have used non breakable lexan, like all other oem bike screens out there today. Ciao, Steve G.

I'm on my second set of pads, [sBS] at 22,000kms. I don't rear brake much, I engine brake. Ha! Ciao, Steve G.

I forgot to mention my thoughts on the engine wear thing. I don't agree with the theory that engine braking will wear out the engine sooner. The only thing that will wear out quicker maybe, is the clutch, and very possibly, the crank thrust washers, but this will take years upon years. Ciao, Steve G.

So engine braking is not supposed to be used in race conditions? Well, I'm not a racer, so can't confirm, but there has to be a reason why ALL makers of repliracers these days have special limited backslip clutches to allow more controlled engine braking. On the street, engine braking is an integral part of the whole package, and I think you will be a faster rider as you keep the engine up on proper song. Ciao, Steve G.

You could do alot worse by using Meguires wax. I like using Meguires Final Inspection on the indicators, which are kind of semi gloss finish. Ciao, Steve G.

After reading most of the introductions hewre I find myself a bit like a fish out of water, with most of you being doctors, engineers, or artists. This guy is blue collar, in retail glass, you will find me hanging off a downtown glass tower in the morning, and installing a windscreen in your Mercedes in the afternoon. Born and raised in the Vancouver suburb of Cresent Beach, I was a little beach bumb till we moved out to the 20 acres and got into horse competition [rodeos] at an early age [9]. The parents did the wrong thing by getting us a mini bike when I was 10, and the horses went to the back row after that. I got my bike endorsement just after my car, at 16. Can't believe I survived those early years, I took alot of fast chances. Now 43, 6'4", 250ib, I know if I crash it will hurt my pocket book as much as my body, so ride smarter, and am a better rider now, and try to keep those 6th senses fresh, the ones that keep you safe in commuter traffic. I average 26,000-30,000 kms a year shared between most of my bikes, and my weekends and holidays lately are enjoyed on a bike going somewhere, or renting a bike when at a destination. My V11 is my first Guzzi, am enjoying it very much so far [22,000kms in 10 months]. I very much like the style of the bike, and bought it because I enjoy it's unique character and decent performance for a pushrod air cooled twin. I enjoy and admire many bikes. I certainly respect and admire those who are totally committed to one brand of bike, but it is not for me. One cannot survive on just chocolate pudding, one must have a balanced meal, and try many things. I have had several types of machines, and currently have a unique group that I like to swap back and forth on. I have owned my current machines for a long time, considering them keepers, and unless my Moto Guzzi starts acting like a fragile Ducati, it will be in this garage for a long time. If any of you are riding through this area, look me up, I will show you the good roads around here! Ciao, Steve G.

I've got Napoleon Berens on 3 of my bikes. Often I have had to carefully trim the rubber down to fit inside the bar. If you go this route, be carefull you don't split the rubber. Perhaps a bit of drying lubricant might do the trick. I use alcohol [methel hydrate] which will quickly evaporate once the rubber is in the bar. Ciao, Steve G.

My bike is doing exactly the same thing. It is already confirmed that the switches are pretty low quality stuff, in Moto Guzzi tradition. Also, the wire plug in to the gearbox sender is out in the elements, and has to deal with vibration, so loosens up causing electrical inacuracies. Try carefully crimping it tight again, with it unplugged, with some small needlenose plyers. I have one more for you. My low fuel sensor has never worked, and am not really sure how far you can go on a full tank. Ciao, Steve G.

You could do alot worse than Bridgstone 020's. I've got the stock size on the front, and have gone down to a 160/70 on the back. The change mainly because the early V11's had to large a tire for the rim size. 2002 and newer models had a wider wheel able to properly fit and set a 170 or 180. I went with a 70% side wall because I did'nt want the ass end of the bike to settle any more, thereby causing even more of my side stand and exhaust to grind away. The tires are a match for traction compared to the stock BT 57's, and appear to be lasting at least twice as long. And the best part is, these appear to be the most inexpensive tires on the market, excluding Cheng Chin's Maxxis line. Ciao, Steve G.