belfastguzzi

Thanks GT The FAMSA bag for the V.11 seems to be the 'FA246/19 Moto Guzzi V11 SBK Big Tank Bag'. It appears to be quite a bit cheaper than the Bagster/Baglux and it doesn't cover over the whole tank, which may look better to some. They also do a small tool bag that looks like it's about the right size for the little V.11 rear rack. Baldini – if you see this – did you ever find out what is the make of your tank cover & bag, you know, the one that fell apart when the fresh air hit it?.

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I noticed a reference to a Famsa tankbag for the V11 today. It looks like it might be a good job. Is yours the 3 in 1 (two bag) system? How does it compare to the MG bag or any other bag that you have seen on a V.11? Has anyone else seen or got a Famsa bag?

Hi John, I'm not sure about the dates yet, but are you definitely thinking of going? If so, you could of course get to my place in a (long) day and then get the Stranraer or Cairnryan ferry next morning. Any chance of taking some extra time? It would be a shame to go to Spean Bridge and straight back again. It would be a good starting point for some more excellent riding. Lots of choice, including the Road to the Isles. If I go, I would want to do that. Best wishes, David

Unfortunately I have not come across many good motorbike adventure/riding books. As mentioned various times before on this site, The Perfect Vehicle was a huge disappointment and the way that it was hyped perhaps points up the fact there aren't many other good books available. I hope I'm wrong and that I'll find some. Excuse me as I perhaps wander into fantasy: so far, I think that the 'Guzzi spirit' (as I imagine it) has been better portrayed in the writing of mountaineers and sailors. For me, Bill Tilman and Eric Shipton from around the 40s/50s certainly hit the mark. Instead, Shipton and his climbing partner, Bill Tilman, joked that “they could organize a Himalayan expedition in half an hour on the back of an envelope.” Unusual in the 1930s, their no-frills style has since become the standard—lightweight, low impact, self-propelled, culturally sensitive, and motivated by the sheer joy of exploration. > Here's an arbitrary nice pic BTW, Shipton was famous at the beginning of the fifties for his yeti footprint photo. What brought me to this subject tonight was that I noticed in Amazon that Mick Walker is producing another Guzzi book very shortly: "Moto Guzzi: The Racing Story"

It's time for congratulations, as you made the 200th post. Unfortunately you claimed that the time was 10.26 am, when it is quite clear that (in the real world) the time was 7.26 pm. No prize then. Try again at number 300 and be more careful to observe the correct time. I'm sure that such things will be much easier then, as I see that a new, highly expensive euro sattelite system (named Galileo apparently) is being launched to provide genuine euro global positioning etc information. With this superior accuracy available, you mericans needn't have your timepieces so out of whack all the time – except for the fact that the merican boffins are planning to jam the superior signal so that only euro peoples on the world can receive it. Check here and you will see that there was a very interesting information day held. At point 'f' (delivered at 13.15 precisely) you can see that Dr Jerzy Nawrocki himself confirmed the time thing: "f. 13:15 Precise time signal transmission - Dr Jerzy Nawrocki, Space Research Centre," I wish I had been there. This is the original Galileo, apparently. He appears to be experimenting with a straight through pipe for his 750 Targa

NO. These are the OE valves, as fitted from new. I don't know what they are exactly, but they are certainly not stainless steel. They are a yellow - silver alloy. The tyre fitter described them as magnesium. There was white corrosion on the valve stem where the nut had been, but it certainly could not have been bad enough to have seriously corroded the nut. It had looked normal, at a casual glance. There seems no other explanation than that the nut cracked in the cold, perhaps weakened by some corrosion. This is still the original tyre. The valve / retaining nut had not previously been replaced, adjusted, stressed or abused in any way. Do some V.11 wheels come fitted with stainless valves as standard, then? I wonder what the bikes 'up North' have. Maybe this is a complete freak happening, though as I said, there have been related problems where Ducati alloy valve stems have cracked and leaked. The tyre fitter routinely replaces these with steel.

One time I had a cold & got to coughing so hard, I strained my nuts & they went flat 38255[/snapback] Yeah we know. You posted the pictures – remember?

I had heard that yours fell off a long time ago? Anyway – advice: don't use a blowtorch or hot clothes iron.

I had a flat rear tyre today. Of course I thought that I had a puncture. After pushing it a bit, but mostly riding slowly on the flat tyre I got the bike to work. On closer inspection I saw that the nut that holds the valve in place, in the rim, had disappeared and the valve was sitting loose in the hole. It seems that the nut had cracked in the cold, split and dropped off! I think they're magnesium valves/nuts. I had a problem with a Ducati magnesium valve cracking before, so that it leaked, but I have never heard of nuts actually falling apart, leading to the disasterous situation of a flat tyre. Has this happened to any of you guys in the frozen northern wastelands? I have a nickel steel valve in now and intend to replace the front one too.

Yes, I see your problem. Try folding it up. Then you will find that the bike will lean over. New brake levers and indicator lens will cost about £60 - £70.

Looks like it's from year of manufacture. I can't see any reference to motorcycle emissions testing though. So maybe bike emissions aren't tested? Strange. The limit for cars since 1992 is 0.3 & 0.5% CO, which is much lower than I expected, as I've been used to 3.5 /4.5% for older vehicles. If bikes are tested, presumably the V.11 CO would need to be down to 0.3 – 0.5% too. > Carbon monoxide (CO) 0.5% at idle Carbon monoxide (CO) 0.3% at fast idle

Yes, I imagine that it may be only at idle. Plugs are ok after a decent run. But in relation to the 'MOT' test, which every vehicle has to do annualy, the CO is measured at idle. The bleed screws are probably the easy answer, if only for the period of the test. As db found that his were way off, it looks like this should be the first thing to try. Question for UK people – I had been thinking that I wouldn't have to do the MOT until late 2006 as I bought the bike new in 2003, but is the first test date actually related to the year of manufacture? As it's a 2002 bike, it would then have to be tested next year. I suppose I better check this in the 'proper place', but what about you Baldini, for example. When do you reckon you have to get probed and prodded?

Here's the pic, though no part numbers. The story about a shaft being 1mm too long still sounds fishy. I would still suspect that they may be confusing it with the 'boss'. Have you looked through all the stuff in the FAQ here?

I checked the Scura with a gas analyser and the CO is over 10% at idle. This must be miles too rich – it would certainly never pass an MOT like this. I've just set-up the car's Weber carb and it runs perfectly, but I have never worked on any EFI stuff. Should I check / adjust the TPS as a first step? Can you confirm that 10% is far too rich for the Guzzi FI? Presumably it does not necessarily mean that it is running rich throughout the range, above idle?

There was a link here somewhere to a post on Wildguzzi and somewhere in or around it there was mention of one of the MG 'sports' or 'race' ECUs – sorry the detail is so sketchy, but what I remember is that when they used test equipment on the ECU, it gave exactly the same results as the 'standard' unit. Their conclusion was that there was no difference between the 'race' unit (to go with sports pipes) and the standard one. So, you never know – the V.11 Ti kit ECU may just be the same as the one that was in the bike in the first place ? As a matter of interest, what about swapping your ECUs over to see if there is a noticable difference?

don't you mean beautiful enough?

Some of the stuff in this thread seems a bit garbled (the dealers don't seem to have a clear picture of what is a fairly simple selector mechanism), but also perhaps a bit familiar. The 'dogbone': is that the pawl arm that has received much coverage here? The 'shaft' that is 1mm too long in some uk bikes: that sounds like the oversized boss (diameter 1 – 1.5mm too wide) that has, again had lots of comment here – and it's not just uk bikes. The repair kit is presumably the new pawl arm / with correct size boss and a new spring? If, in fact, there is another part in the box / selector mechanism that is the wrong size, please be sure to report back the details. Thanks.

You could have a Japanese copy. Check to see if there is a badge somewhere that says 'Ibanez'.

Yes indeed, though it's too early for me to know if the dates will work or not.

Hmmm.. there's one based in Engerland, and look what they've got – a Mutation Engine! I thought Cap'n Enzo Nemo had the patent on that. "The core of the BitArts wireline technology called the Mutation Engine..." (www.bitarts.com)

1 Scotland so much choice, but Skye / Arran would be great 2 Ulster 3 Lake District 4 Yorkshire Dales 5 Wicklow, Kerry (not strictly UK)

I definitely would do it, and carry the few parts needed just in case, but I'm reckoning that the problem is solved. I would recommend that anyone with an unmodified bike in the questionable period should check the spring/arm parts as a precaution. Steve should see all the info posted in FAQ. Once again, the 'Roadside Repair' pics are on this webpage.

1 – It's a great price, so buy it. 2 – Maintenance is easy. It's too soon to know if the clutch is a generic problem. Some have been disasters, most are still running fine. Buy it...and fix if it breaks. 3 – Yes, easy enough. I have no local dealer/servicing/parts stock. Get servicing/repair parts mail order. Buy it and maintain it at home.

I think that it is difficult to say, from the pictures and the description of what happened, that this is absolutely, definitely a clutch problem. There is clearly catastrophic high-speed destruction. While it might have been the clutch breaking apart, could this not have also been initiated by some other mechanical failure/losseness/break around the flywheel/starter/clutch areas? Though it is a fair point that the engine can rev to high speeds in any gear and therefore at slower road speeds, I think that very high revs are not going to be sustained in low gears at low road speeds. I do think that riding at 220 Kph implies different circumstances than those when reaching high revs and changing up through the gears. 220 is fast – and the motor is hammering hard. Any small failure in the belhousing has a big chance of causing huge destruction under that condition. Of course even at 220 kph this should not happen in a properly constructed and maintained motor, but I don't want to jump to a fearful conclusion (about my bike) on the (very dramatic) evidence so far. (I wish I lived closer to some of the other riders here as I would consider a motor stripdown to examine the 'problem areas', out of interest. While I would do it alone if I have to after suffering a catastrophe, it would be better for a few people to get together and pool their knowledge, experience and ideas. A UK Scura rally at someone's garage next year?) – EDIT – I have just read Roberto's last past: maybe we should go and peer through his windows when he gets to work on his motor this winter, though I would still like to see an original (unrepaired) assembly.