PDoz

Was your mate Ian D? In which case, it was a cx 650 - the same bike we did the blue light on ( AND he "raced" it at Broadford back in the 90's ) BTW, to those who dislike the new katana - I'm pretty sure it was designed by the same guy who did our griso! https://www.frascolidesign.com/about-me/

That's sort of what I did - bought an ntx stelvio, kept my v11 lemans, then after 3/4 months of not riding the v11 I sold it. I think I'd have kept the v11 if I could justify having a bike for perhaps 1 ride a year +/- looking REALY nice in the shed ...but I can walk after riding the ntx ( and I had lowered pegs on my v12) The v11 motor is more visceral than the 8v , but the 8v is more flexible . I think my v11 gearbox was nicer than the stelvio, but I spent a lot of time sorting the v11.

On my dirt bikes, I've been using generic mylar sheet ones like Doc suggested - over the last 20 years I've found the only issue was wires cracking at the throttle every year or so, and occasionally having them melt the grip glue ( changing from dedicated grip glue to urethane based glues helped with this) . Great when riding in snow with thin dirt bike gloves on.....but not as effective as stelvio grips- BUT I hate the stelvio grips with a vengeance. Way too thick, plus they need holes drilling in the bars to secure them. Trouble is, they work REALY well.... Oxford grips aren't quite as thick as stelvio grips but still a bit thicker than I prefer. They are more effective that the mykar grips but less effective than stelvio. As for heated gloves - I dunnu - I enjoy the flexibility of chosing a glove that suits the riding I'm doing but being able to flick a switch and walm my hands a bit from the grips eg I've had days where we left in scorching heat with ventilated dirt gloves but came back in a blizzard with the grip heaters on full. If it's so cold that grip heaters aren't enough I slip thermal sachets into the back of my gloves.

You americans definitely blur the lines between car / ute / truck! I look at my humble triton ute - a 98 model with a diesel that feels more like an elastic band than an engine. That Tundra is , er, overkill. Or impressive? I can't quite decide.

Guzzi Moto - I'm no chemist, but I thought the octane rating isn't the only indicator of the quality of fuel ? eg we had a dodgy " high octane" fuel sold here by one of the cheaper companies that achieved the higher octane by having more ethanol. My bikes didn't knock, but they got dreadful economy / performance on it ( at least my ktm 640 did- and you notice poor economy when it's 700 km between refills and you're getting topped up by a bmw !) . Then there was another big company with a very ( " max") high octane but it got a reputation for frying motorbike valves - I doubt we'll ever find out exactly what happened but the crustations took it off the market. I don't know about the US , but over here we take a huge leap of faith every time we fill up - hoping that the stuff coming out of the bowser is some sort of bang juice that isn't going to leave us stranded. I've had a jerry can filled with this yellow solvent that stopped 2 chainsaws, an outboard, and my kids mini bike..... I'm presuming that some of the solvents in the mix had precipitated out and got sucked up by that pump, but who knows? I guess what I'm wondering is - on average, do our fuels allow our bikes to run different to the us fuels , or am I just not fussy enough ? I guess I could try running one of the " better" maps, but I'd never inow how much was placebo ( it's a very long way to the nearest dyno)

Thanks, that helps a lot. Mine doesn't seem to hunt down low unless the throttle bodies get out of synch . Is it still tractible down low? Ie can you wander up a gravel hill in 2/3 gear , lugging the motor and wind it on without too much snap / wheelspin ? I love the way mine can lug along through the trails , then wake up in the twisties. Not quite as charismatic as the v11 , but a LOT more versatile. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Any chance of a bit of feedback re the MIVV pipe? In particular - has it changed the economy / performance / vibrations? I read all about the US guys remapping their stelvios and wonder if our OZ fuel suits the stelvio better ( or I'm not very fussy ?) Also, I suspect you'll be very happy with the stelvio compared with the v strom off road. Once the suspension is dialed in it seems remarkably capable - MUCH more cobfidence inspiring IMHO.

The back is easilly fixed - what you save by not shredding tyres can buy you new shocks. Back when I had a v50 , even simple koni ( ikon ) shocks removed the hinge in the bike. But those forks....good luck. I keep wandering out to my shed with a v7 on my ipad and holding it up to my ktm 640 ...that front end, a longer set of shocks...then I smack myself about the head and take my ntx for a ride.

imagine if they threw ohlins onto a limitted edition version, perhaps with better brakes and the rearsets....like the cafe version but with real suspension.. Oh, and in ntx format....if we ask often enough.... Perhaps Ewan can ask for a v7 ntx so he can ride circles around charlie on his triumph in south america???

The v50 was an amazing real world sports bike in it's time. I used to love hunting big 4 cylinder japs on mine. To be honest, if the v7 came out with halfway decent suspension , wheels, and brakes I'd buy one in a heartbeat. Especially if it came out in ntx format..... Who needs 100 + hp of tyre destroying power to enjoy a motorbike in a world of speed cameras and dashmount camera dobbing internet sites? But the current v7 ...no thanks.

If you're new to guzzi and unlikely to be able to ride it for long, I feel sorry for you. I can't imagine anything more frustrating than having something so sexy to look at but not use - especially if it doesn't even invoke passionate memories. But presumably you get something out of the relationship to justify sinking $25 K into it, so better you than a " collector" . Just don't ride it - you'll be filled with the agony of knowing how your riding life has been incomplete for so many years ( ok, slight exageration, but once you get the guzzi thing you're stuffed) Good luck, but do your research if you intend to ride it - they are relatively rare and had their fair share of idiosynchracies.

Craig, if you don't get a buyer it might be worth seeing if the internals can be made to fit your later model forks? The early marzochis had compression dampening asjustment in one leg, and rebound in the other ( our later midels forks only offer rebound adjustment) My suspension guy did wonders with my forks, but there are days I wish I could back the compression off a little ( when I want to ride slow)

Scud, take a look at what's possible. http://rooneycycle.com/cycles/ The guy who killed the k rents his shed out to another guy....who has a k75 rooney . I mix with strange people....

Scud, I have a mate who took a k rs up this track. Two up. Then again...he did eventually snap the frame riding along a sandy whooped out trail.... Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Hmmm...I like this pilgrimage idea....are religous donations tax free in the us like they are in australia?

My initial thought was fit a stelvio side stand - the euro version is the same length as the v11 leg. If you REALY want to know how viable this is, I can try swapping between bikes but to be honest - the v11 one looks much sexier. I suspect the wobble is coming fron the attatchment bracket - the stelvio bracket is a monster that mounts at 3 points ( rear of motor, rear of frame, and the footpeg bracket) . Seems like a lot of hassle though.

Everything is working perfectly now - thanks guys and sorry about my stupidity. Ps we call it the flasher because it only gets used when we flash high beam to warn oncoming traffic about speed cameras / cops hiding in bushes with radars / other equally dangerous things like a herd of cows across the road just over the crest. I suspect if you flashed high beam at a slow driver in oz you'd be more than likely to see a rude gesture / brake lights slam on than actually have a daydreaming driver pull over into the " slow" lane. There are no IQ tests for drivers over here.....even I have a licence!

Sorry guys, my stupidity. The high / low beam switch on the oz model have a white pos, white to the high beam and black to the low beam. Gues who thought the black was a common wire. Lesson learnt - no Monday mechanics .... Btw by flasher I meant the high beam flasher. Plus I was just replacing the flasher part of the switch because a new switch block is $440 !!! ( there is one on ebay in the usa at the moment for $200 - wish I saw that a few days ago!)

So I've just stupidly replaced the high / low beam switch without testing if everything was working before...and now high beam doesn't work. I'm not certain if I've killed it or it was already dead....I'm kicking myself for not testing first! After an hour of looking / testing / swearing my brain hurts so I'm going to sleep on this one - have you guys got any ideas? The logical question - Is there a separate relay for high / low ( and where do they live) ? I've noticed the horn isn't working either - so do the horn / high beam share a different relay / fuse to low beam? My multimeter tells my the high beam switch still works - ie volts across switched off, no volts switched on ( vice versa on ohms) The bulb is alive ( putting independant power across it fries my eyes with both high and low) , and swapping bulbs doesn't fix it The flasher doesn't work either, and I didn't touch that ( I'm doing my best to hope I didn't cause this.....) I notice neither the light or the dash light comes on , but surely guzzi wouldn't be silly enough to wire the bike so a blown dash light kills high beam??? ( I'm getting desperate) If / when this turns out to be something really simple....I'd just like to point out how much fun I had researching this - thanks Jap for the chuckle http://www.v11lemans.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=13108&hl=%2Bhigh+%2Bbeam&do=findComment&comment=141306 And a VERY big thanks to kiwi roy for the awesome easy to read wiring diagram that unfortunately doesn't include the headlight details ( but is still very impressive) - you really need to teach the guys who write service manuals!!! http://www.v11lemans.com/forums/index.php?app=core&module=attach&section=attach&attach_id=10181 Ps our ozzie switch blocks are different to the us blocks - we get to turn the lights off. But unfortunately my high / low switch was no longer staying stuck in high , which is why I replaced it with a switch from a cheap generic block. If it turns out I stuffed up with soldering...I blame the monday night factor.

Very nice! Once you've got some usage up, can you let us know how she compares with the buel?

Re the disk bolts, do you have the ability to do a hot / cold cycle? Ie heat the rim, freeze the bolt, repeat a few times. I just bring the liquid nitrogen chryotherapy gum home from work....but there are apparently vehicle versions ( or your chemist might sell liquid co2 wart sprays?) . I also hit the end of the bolt using a hammer / punch - the old mechanic I worked for believed it broke the rust. I mostly do it because it feels good. As an added bonus, you have a centrepoint to drill into if you get really angry with the bolt.

Interesting ride yesterday. A gentle 950 km of corners , mostly on bituimin but with about 30 km of loose gravel. I was on the stelvio, there was a super ten, a versys with the works ( long story) , a couple of big ktms and a deviant on a gsxr1000 or whatever they are nowadays. The guy on the gsxr is a seriously good rider ( been there, done that, absolutely nothing to prove ) . Lessons learnt: 1 scurra riders ignore stelvio riders. OK, he was coming the other way, dogding a truck turning across his lane , AND a collection of motorbikes stopped waiting for the truck to complete the turn...but the scurra sounded great and I would have loved to find out what pipes he had. 2 w@nkers in full leathers are hard to get past so you can keep cruising with your mate on his gsxr. I guess it's not really that much of a hardship to follow a ducati for a while..... 3 the top speed thingy lies. There is no way I got that combination of numbers in that order....although there was a really nice uphill sweeper where I was thinking about passing that ducati .... 4 I really need to stay away from boy racer country 5 a gsxr makes a surprisingly good dirt bike. In the dry. With the right rider aboard. Pete is crazy. This is the guy who snaps bmw K frames riding through the dessert 2 up , so it's entirely possible that gsxr's don't make good dirt bikes, but I'm not about to climb aboard one in the dirt to find out. 6 after 950 km my neck is a bit sore, I might try working out a lower screen or something. Or I might just do some more riding. I'll have a think about that next week. 7 apparently it was raining a bit yesterday afternoon. I guess you get that when there are thunderstorms . I was a bit distracted because we were right on top of the ski range and those lightning strikes looked a bit scary....but the road was wet so it must have been raining. I don't remember needing to put on my rain pants until we next stopped for fuel, but apparently it was raining. That stelvio fairing et al REALY works for weather protection! 8 something is wrong with the fuel economy readings on the computer thingy - it seem stuck at 4.3 l / 100 km no matter how much fun I'm having. That's 740 km to a tank, in theory. Pitty the ktms had to stop every 200 k. The gsxr and ktms must have fuel leaks - they kept putting twice as much fuel in their tanks? 9 I think I like this bike.

Ok, so she's heavy when you get her bogged! But a lot less scary than the v11 when you crest a rise and the road is covered in greasy clay. I'm really not excited about a trip computer that records max speed for the day -I must remember to clear that when the cops pull me over!

She feels like the disrespectfull love child! She feels smaller / more agile than a bmw gs / 990 ktm. But a LOT more, er, substantial than the ktm 640. Interesting to walk around....I don't think I'll be lifting her over logs! Once moving, she just works. A lot of the feel is visual - the instrument cluster sits low so it's just a clear screen in front of you ( the 640 instruments sit higher than the tripple clamps). Some of it is the low centre of gravity? Some of it must be the relatively short suspension travel and that little 19 inch front wheel? The bars are enormous and a strange bend, I'll play with the ergos for a while, but they feel wider than any adv bike I've owned / ridden. I'm not sure how much of that is the chunky heated grips, or the huge bar end things making the handguards sit out too wide? Footpegs are like stepping back to the 80's - thin little things like I had on my transalp. I think if I sell the 640 I'll be fitting bigger pegs! Transition from sitting to standing is better than I was expecting. It actually feels better up on the pegs than my old africa twin / transalp / any gs bmw I've ridden. Possibly better standing ergos than a 990 ktm!! But not a 640.... I'll probably need a shorter screen - it hits my chest wheelstanding up hills....or perhaps I should accept it's not a ktm? I'll see what it's like riding with the guys before I decide if it's going to become a hard core adv bike or if it's going to just be a dirt tourer ( we've got a core group of guys with triumph 8/ktm 990's and they all have husky / ktm enduro bikes - they all grew up as expert level enduro riders - I suspect the stelvio will be out of her league with these guys) As you'd expect, she doesn't hug the road like my v11 , or even the 640, but after a 300 km ride home on a cold, dark night , I was glad I wasn't riding the v11 ! ( it'd been a long day with lots of stuffing around - I think it might be time to accept I'm too fussy to buy bikes second hand......)