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All true- you can sometimes see the bars of zinc on the sides of container ships if the ship is empty. But please don't melt lead in your kitchen- not enough ventilation. Do it outside if you have to do it at all. j

You can drop the cradle that holds the battery down slightly in the frame. Gives it a bit more room so it won't crack perhaps. The odyssy batteries are very nice. They've done good by me. J

Yep, do what Carl sez- He's a lert. Everybody wants to be a lert. Warning- some stream of conciousness follows and I didn't get much sleep last night. If what you say is true (1st to 4rth bridge and 1st is closest to the front of the bike), then most likely you've bridged the starter relay (1) to the ECU relay (4). In the orientation you have pictured (back to front) the relay's should be (but aren't necessarily) (5)Fuel pump, (4)ECU, (3)neutral switch, (2) lights, and (1)starter-but this doesn't make sense with your symptoms. This kind of makes sense if the relays are ordered (left to right in your picture) 1)starter 2)lights 3)neutral 4)ECU and 5)fuel pump and the relays are bridged actually 2 Anyway, take out the wire, replace the relays, and as Carl also says- 99% of the time it's a faulty ground. Check your grounding wires. J

I don't think the damper is all that necessary on the 2002+ bikes, as they seem quite stable, but I feel that it "doesn't hurt"... just a little insurance Alright, so I'm slow sometimes. I never think about the steering damper, 'cause I just don't use it on my bike- '01 sport, and it's totally stable. The first image that popped into my head was a left front leg silver sachs and a right gold ohlins, LOL. I need more sleep. Thanks for the info on the Wilbur's, Todd. J

I wish I could go, but I have a prior engagement in New Hampshire (or Connecticut...the east coast confuses me ). I am going to try and make Luap's rally in MO May 7, though. http://www.wildguzzi.com/ has the info. Cheers, jason

I doubt the kevlar will melt if you skid on it. It's used as a replacement for asbestos. It doesn't do much for shock absorption, though (which would be nice as Docc mentions) J

"Three"?

Docc, You have an excellent hypothesis-driven proposal, and I look forward to a productive collaboration to test your thesis. Hey, Northend- you're right, the aluminum oxide that forms on the outside of aluminum is an insulator (about like glass really)- but the real problem with aluminum wiring is that aluminum is just a terrible conductor. Don't ever use it in a house you plan to live in. J

zzz, snrk, wha? huh? (waking up from sleep) Quick electrochemistry tutorial. Thermodynamically, you could set up a Pb/Al battery, but practically not with two elemental metals. To make a battery, you need three things 1) a reducing agent (anode) to give up electrons 2) an oxidizing agent (cathode) to accept the electrons and 3) a salt bridge or conductor of some type for the electrons to move through. The reactions don't add up for two elemental metals: Al --> Al3+ +3e- (E0=1.66V) (very, very energetically favorable) Pb --> Pb2+ + 2e- (E0=0.13V) (still favorable, but not as much as the Al) The problem with these two reactions, as written, is that there's no place for the electrons to go, no cathode...(do the bars feel tingly? ...just kidding) Of course, that's in a beaker. In real life I could imagine that the lead would abrade the aluminum oxide (Al2O3) layer from the inside of the handlebars. You might just be seeing the aluminum oxide dust (and lead dust) from continuous abrasion and reformation of the aluminum oxide. Background info on the aluminum- the aluminum reaction given above does work- very well- when aluminum metal is exposed to air (water/oxygen): 4Al + 3O2 --> 2Al2O3 Ecell ~2.7V A large positive "E" value is energetically favorable, and the large positive values associated with formation of aluminum oxide, and conversely the large negative values in the direction of making metallic Al, tell us that aluminum should be very easy to rust away, and very difficult to make metallic aluminum. And this is true- it wasn't until the late 1800's that we developed a reasonable method to produce aluminum metal and every piece that's made immediately oxidizes. But the aluminum oxide which forms on the outermost layer is impermeable, so oxygen/water reacts with the first few atoms on this outside layer and the underlying aluminum remains metallic. Contrast this to iron- it also reacts with oxygen to form Fe2O3 xH2O (hydrated iron oxide is rust), but iron rust is very porous, so the entire piece of metal will eventually rust away. Because aluminum (in air) always has this layer of oxide, that's why I come up with the idea that the lead shot is mechanically wearing away at this oxide, which is continously reforming and being worn away. Is the lead shot 'loosely' or 'tightly' packed? Limiting movement of the lead would be one way to prevent abrasion. Of course, It could be an electrochem reaction- what do I know? There's lots of stuff in air that could serve as a cathode. You could put the lead shot in a plastic baggie in the bar to isolate the two metals; that would take care of any electrochemistry. Damn, all that and I could have just written the last paragraph. Hope this helped, J

Alright, I'll counterpoint. I did have them on my bike for awhile, but I took them off. They do lower the pegs and move them back a smidge, but not enough to warrant the longer throw to the brake and shift levers (foot size 43 European, 9.5-10US) which just felt weird and unsafe. Also, the distance is just not enough to make that much difference for my comfort. Still, I'm glad I tried them- it's worth $15 as an experiment, or you can go to the hardware store and buy the bolts for about $2. J

The second bike pictured is a V7 sport, early production model (but not the earliest telio rosso). The 4LS isn't bad really. I have it on one of my eldo's. It feels a lot more like brakes than the 2LS system. I've been told that you can lock up the front wheel if you get soft pads and adjust the brakes correctly, but that sounds way too safe for my driving style. J

Don't you guys have mechanic's bays for rent? I've seen big, multi-stall garages with hydraulic lifts (for cars) that can be rented by the day or hour. You furnish your own beer, your own tools, lift your car and do your worst to it. Or bike in this case. J

MGcycle (www.mgcycle.com) sells an 'extra thick' gasket that works beautifully. For 8 bucks plus shipping it's worth the piece of mind. I'm going to make the assumption that you haven't ever taken the covers off. One bit of advice- when you retighten the valve cover bolts- don't overdo it. It really doesn't take much pressure. J

Check the shifter linkage at the transmission, where it tightens down on the splined shaft. Specifically- check the clearance between the tightening bolt and the crossbrace of the frame. If that lever is one notch too high or low, then the bolt fouls that brace, and shifting is just about impossible. Not that I've ever done it... J

Damn- time to park that one!

When are you thinking about doing this? I have a friend who's going to Moto Guzzi Classics in a month or so to pick up a bike. I think he plans to ride it home to Texas- Dallas area- as well. You two should hook up. Send me a PM if you are interested in contacting him. J

Now where's that banana peeeeeellllll!!!

My machinist had the same evaluation. The plastic tank won't take glue and in order to modify (add on to) the plastic tank, it needs to welded. BTW, he's an old (literally) fiberglass and plastics mold worker. J

EPF Guzzi in Prescott, AZ is about 400 miles from LA

Why don't you set up a poll? It sounds like the price would be about 12.20 delivered (9.00+0.68+2.50 (parcel post shipping)). J

You send me your old tank Al, and I'll test it out fer ya'. Actually, I would be interested in finding a spare tank one of these days. My interest tends toward radical surgery though. My machinist here at the University is an old plastics former, and I would see if he could form a larger tank using the original as a mold- there's a lot of wasted space next to the frame if you remove the airbox, and I'd like to see that put to good use. Cheers, Jason

A lot of it (all of it?) is perception. You are percieving that the engine is turning slower or that you are going faster. It's not happening, but the noise and the novelty of the change induce this feeling. Short open pipes are very effective at doing this- I could have sworn I added 10HP to my old G5 when I dropped the mufflers off that bike. A followup question for those who are interested in engine mods- is the exhaust valve more prone to burning with the lower backpressure associated with very short pipes (VSP)? On the old bikes with a distributor, the fix was to retard the timing a bit. I'm glad to see you are having so much fun, Enzo. Cheers, Jason

I think it's the Italian sense of humor with that design. There's a faq or a long thread on this, but I'll summarize what I remember- Grind an angled grease gun fitting down so it can fit in there or use an articulated grease gun fitting. A really nifty tip that I read was that someone made a tube from cardboard and taped it into the safety housing after greasing. When he drove, the grease that flew off stuck to the cardboard rather than being flung all over the rear wheel. Anywhy- here's the thread: http://www.v11lemans.com/forums/index.php?...ing%20zerk&st=0

I like the fact that it's all on one page. I wouldn't look at it from my home line, but here at work it's no problem. You did a great job on the figures- they look better than my hard-copy manuals in some cases. This will complement my Eldo manuals. Thanks! Jason