belfastguzzi

On the same theme, there was a marvellous book that really affected me at the start of the eighties. It was by Melbourne born Alistair Knox, considered to be the originator of the Australian environmental building movement, which relied on the use of traditional materials (often recycled), largely unskilled workers and a minimum of machinery, factory-made components or expensive finishes. Alternative housing : building with the head, the heart and the hand / Alistair Knox "Knox, born in Melbourne, is regarded as the leading figure in the Australian environmental building movement both as a thinker and practitioner. Inspired by a visit in 1940 to the adobe buildings of Montsalvat, the artists' colony at Eltham, Victoria, he became a leading designer of mud-brick houses. His participatory building process and the alternative lifestyles of his artistic clients complemented the earth-building tradition of Eltham and the surrounding areas, which was to blossom in the late 1960s and 1970s." As well as conveying the importance of building with the heart and hands as well as the head, in writing, the book had lots of inspiring, heart-gladdening colour and b&w photos. I bought a couple of copies and gave them to friends. Money was tight and unfortunately I didn't buy a copy for myself. I have often thought back to this book. It's not available anymore (and I think that Knox died a couple of decades ago). If any of you Aussies ever come across it....

A number of years ago there was discussion of Melissa Piersons's PERFECT VEHICLE book. Amazon has alerted me to her current book, looking at being on the ride forever and ever... The Man Who Would Stop at Nothing: Long-distance Motorcycling's Endless Road Melissa H. Pierson I had mixed views of the Perfect Vehicle. Anyone read this new book? I'm sure it will be an interesting and worthwhile read. I have attached some text clippings, below. The book I'm looking forward to reading now is The Case for Working with Your Hands: Or Why Office Work is Bad for Us and Fixing Things Feels Good Matthew Crawford It was originally published in the States with the title of Shop Class as Soul Craft: An Inquiry into the Value of Work Product Description It's time to rethink our attitudes to work. For too long we have convinced ourselves that the only jobs worth doing involve sitting at a desk. Generations of school-leavers head for university lacking the skills to fix or even understand the most basic technology. And yet many of us are not suited to office life, while skilled manual work provides one of the few and most rewarding paths to a secure living. Drawing on the work of our greatest thinkers, from Aristotle to Heidegger, from Karl Marx to Iris Murdoch, as well as on his own experiences as an electrician and motorcycle mechanic, Matthew Crawford's irreverent and inspiring manifesto will change the way you think about work forever. About the Author Matthew Crawford is a philosopher and mechanic. He has a Ph.D. in political philosophy from the University of Chicago and served as a postdoctoral fellow on its Committee on Social Thought. Currently a fellow at the Institute for Advanced Studies in Culture at the University of Virginia, he also runs Shockoe Moto, an independent motorcycle repair shop. Maybe it's been discussed here before? I reckon it should chime very much with many of us here, connecting with a moto guzzisti ethos. ------------------------------------

You can find either fuel or water draining from these outlets. Rather than blocking them up, the issue is more normally that you need to unblock them. They can become blocked with muck or corrosion and need to be poked from time to time. The top end of these tubes, under the filler cap, also become blocked. The whole drain system benefits from a clean-out.

Ahh, that sounds good, Mr Monkey, apart from the busy everyday busy, busy business. It's been a weird old year for me too and it feels like something of a wet and windy one, with a very short summer window, even though we probably had a good amount of dry weather. The past weeks have been very wet with lashing rain and pervasive damp – and winter dark drawing in. Other parts of UK have boasted record sun & heat for this time of the year, but we, along with the Scottish highlands, always seem to cop the 'weather' in off the Atlantic.

Where/how did you find it? On Ebay in England. Collecting on Saturday. I bought mine (new) in England: they are very seldom for sale here, very rare. There was a burgundy one locally a couple of years ago.

I didn't see your Feb/March updates, but I've been wondering how the bike progressed. Good to see the photos. It's certainly a different bike now, from the original model. It must feel quite different to ride?

Where/how did you find it?

A windmill wot u made? Why have you included a child in the sale? I think there's a better chance of selling them separately. Or, throw the barbecue in with the windmill?

No the engine does not turn at all with the problem that I and others have experienced. Push the button and nothing at all happens. The solution seems to be to add a more direct wire, as explained on other forums. Although I still intend to I have not actually done this yet

The 750 Dorsoduro is quite big to start with. Originally 'they' (Aprillia press I think) said it was because the frame was designed and made so that later, a 1200 engine would also fit in. While that's substantially the case, in fact the 1200 Dorsoduro is bigger, with frame and geometry modifications. The 750 Aprilia also of course makes a lot more than Guzzi's 45HP.

No more noise? OUTRAGEOUS! Before we know it – it'll be all electric. Who do I complain to?

What do you think that means? Just natural evolution – or did the tappets need a redesign because the current system isn't working or lasting well enough?

Interesting. I wonder if, like the pawl spring problem, there have been cases of the timing cover gasket failing again, after replacement? On mine, bits of the gasket became dislodged. How? I don't know. Maybe it was torn from the beginning, when assembled at the factory? Maybe it was due to the thick black paint of that period that often got overpainted onto joint surfaces, or the timing chain fling has an effect, or the stress of the engine hanger has a tearing effect, or...? Anyway, the gasket was damaged and that's where the oil came through the joint, eventually becoming a flow rather than a mist. The damaged gasket piece started working its way out. In this location, external application of sealant fixed it. Such a remedy will not work in a location where there is more stress and movement. When the timing chest cracked, sealant sort-of worked as a temporary repair to get me home from Scotland, but all subsequent attempts to make a permanent repair with epoxy failed, because the crack happens at the weak point of the plate where it is bolted to the block and stressed by the engine hanger mount. It's impossible to close a crack and stop hot oil getting through a hairline when there is multiple stress at the fault (unless it's welded). However at a straightforward screwed-up joint section, there isn't a big problem.

Any time this type of question arises, the first thought is that it's the timing cover gasket leak. The description in the text didn't quite seem like, but the pictures posted certainly do look like that's what it is. While a new gasket is the correct type of repair, I'd still recommend the simple application of sealant as an alternative and effective repair. It was mentioned back in this thread and various others since: http://www.v11lemans.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=2024&st=0 In this picture, the blue shows where the sealant is applied, after careful cleaning. I then covered it with black silicone and after some road miles, it becomes fairly invisible.

Can you put both feet on the ground?

You're confusing me with someone else, Guzzirider perhaps? He's probably jiggling to the latest offering from 'Can Of Worms' right now.

Thanks all. It's a boy: Joshua.

The V.11 Forum becomes even more uncool as Belfast based contributor becomes a granda,

So yours broke at the coil, not at the end hook. Did you measure the diameter of the boss that the coil fits around on the pawl arm? 15mm or 16mm What diameter is the old spring coil? What diameter is the new spring coil?

Sounds like a good deal: all good mods on there. I have the Arrow cans and would like to fit the uprated shock and a gel seat. With your fork springs too, you're getting close to the Factory version spec. The Dorso will run the legs off a V11 in a lot of situations *disclaimer: 'though not all' Depending on conditions, on some runs it's as fast or faster than the Griso, because it's more agile. Of course it doesn't have the grunt or the top end. Doesn't have the Griso's stability either. Two sides of a coin. Thing is, it's different enough from the Griso (or V11) to make up a good pair. So, keep the Dorso and later get a G as well. The best people do.

Doesn't impress much. There are worse problems on this Board.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YcLDuVkwrNY&feature=related

Very interesting (no.1) So the original cam jumping around, or sliding end-to-end, causes the racket. Why would that relate to the tappet failures? Aesthetically, I don't mind clattering camshafts so much: for me the worse noise is the huge whine from the top end (cam chain?). What have Guzzi (or Aprilia) done to quieten the whine? Very interesting (no.1a) Recently MCN (UK) said that there have been 2 revisions & power modifications to the motor and I thought they were implying 2 mods to the cam: the older mid-range mod that has been talked about and a new current mod/profile mod. ?? Very interesting (no.2) A post elsewhere on this Forum insinuated you had been disappeared, into Enzo's sump. Have you got an internet connection in there; did you escape; or was it just a rumour? Very interesting (no.2a) Dan, Dan, Aussie guitar man contacted me! Quelle surprise! I thought that he had been swallowed by the Illuminati sump! Very interesting (no.3) Your "011 bikes"? I may have forgotten, or never knew... did you get another new Griso? In Australia? Something else as well, or its maybe customers' bikes? Question (no3a) What mod have they done to the Plug Tube? You may recall that I have big rust from leaky tube, which makes it even more difficult to extract the plug boot from the tube. Very interesting (no.4) John Westlake, Senior Editor at MCN has had his V7 Classic taken away (Guzzi needed it for something else) – and replaced with a Griso *SE as his long-term test bike. Very interesting. He professes to be be afeared of it, 'a vast snarling behemoth'. * SE = Donkey Kong, evidently.