jrt

Oh, right- good call. I forgot this. Drove me nuts. Some stations take either visa or cash during lunch (automated). But mainly- just fill up before they close or do like we did and go visit a coffee shop.

Here we go- I knew I remembered an article on this from the past: Thread #1 Thread #2 So, what's a K-lined guide?

True, parts are cheap and it's easy to get to...but...I *rarely* hear of big ends going out except when the engine was starved for oil. I mean, seriously, the big ends are really, really long lived. I've got over 200,000 miles and they were fine on my motor. This may be the symptom of a deeper problem and I would suggest you make absolutely sure that oil reaches the mains.

Talk to Carl Allison. I think he had this problem.

I'd look at McMaster.

Fly into Milan. When Sonya and I went, we rented a motorcycle (a BMW fer chrissakes) from http://www.biancoblu.com/. You can rent Guzzi's from Agostini's in Mandello, but that wasn't available at the time. I liked biancoblu- they were great to work with. Things to see? Personally, I loved driving up around the lakes regions and through the Dolomites. We stuck to small roads and small towns and had a blast. There are places to stay called 'agrotourismo' that are like weird bed-and-breakfasts (tourismo), but they are obliged to feed you from their farms (agro). A super one, in an old Monestary, is in Sotto il Monte Giovanni (bunch of Roman numerals) (west of Bergamo), it's called Casa Clelia. Some nice places- go north to Verenna, cross the lake to Meanggio, and go to Lugano, then down to a forest caled Campo dei Fiori. The road from Cernobbio to Brienno/Menaggio (SS340?) then west to Porlezza, Lugano, Ponte Tresa, Ghirla, then south is nice- that's a full day's drive. Como is where the Museo di Volta is, if you like electricity. By the by, the Guzzi factory is open very limited hours. 1-3 on weekdays, or something like that. Call or look into it before you go.

I can't really tell from the images, but does the cheap POS temp sensor make contact with the head or is it too short as well?

The stock tools aren't very good quality- that's why I bring a few of my own. Nog- I like the tire plug idea. I should stop by a store and get one. thanks.

I took a selection of box/open end wrenches (10, 12, 13), a set of allens (ball ends are great), a multi-tip screwdriver and two crescent wrenches, a set of needle-nose pliers, an adjustable (plumbers) pliers, some tape and a little multimeter. If you plan to change the oil while you're travelling, you'll need something for that. Anything requiring more serious tools would probably require a tow or a real shop anyhow. If you're really worried about the spring (I wouldn't be), then grind the correct allen (a 6???) down a bit so it fits between the transmission and the frame- I don't remember who originally posted this tidbit, but it has stuck in my head. Then- aspirin cellphone visa card And you're set. Have fun! you certainly won't need any of this stuff if you bring it, but you'll probably need something you looked at but didn't bring. That's how it works with me, anyhow.

A guy named Darwin wrote a motorcycle guide? There's some irony in there somewhere Hopefully we'll see you around at a rally sometime. Check the www.mgnoc.com website- there's a lot of events in the NE and Guzzi people are....interesting.

If it's happened before and went away, I would strongly suspect a wiring connector somewhere. You might just have to follow the wiring diagram and check every one in the circuit. Did you check your fuses by eye or with an ohmmeter? I've been fooled before just looking at them. Say, now that I'm writing this- I'm recalling that someone, somewhere, sometime wrote that the wires going into the relay block (wires under the fuseblock) had come loose. Might be a place to start, even though it's a PIA to get to.

Welcome! Guzzi's are cool bikes. You haven't gone mad, just crazy.

First bike? Geez. Please do take it easy for a while and consider taking an MSF or similar course. Watch out for other drivers- you ARE invisible on the bike. Enjoy!

You can order Guzziology from Moto International. The fellow that wrote it either owns or works at MI. Greg Field, who visits this forum regularly or irregularly, also works at MI and can probably give you the details on which is the latest version. Here's their website. Welcome to the forum! Looks like a couple of Virginia and West Virginia Guzzi events are coming up: http://www.mgnoc.com/rally_calendar.html

Fluorescent light bulbs.

An abomination A crime Mephistopheles

Four comments: 1. Ratchet, shame on ya'. Life is too short for cheap beer. 2. dhansen- I salute you sir. 3. Antonio, Egyptians were making a form of beer long before Europeans. I think the Europeans (Belgians) drank meade in pre-medieval times. They make a fine beer now. 4. The best beers I've ever had are homebrews. The worst beers I've ever had are homebrews...no, wait- the worst was "chili beer" bonus statements to make up for the pevious one- Sierra Nevada makes a fine commercial beer. Arrogant Bastard ale is also really, really good.

It could well be that they are related. In addition to the neutral switch (it's on the LH side of the tranny- look for one wire), there are a couple of failsafe switches to look at- One on the clutch, one on the sidestand. Will it start with the sidestand up/in neutral/clutch out? What about sidestand up/in neutral/clutch in? Another problematic area with earlier V11's was relays. They should be ok (I think???) with a later model like yours.

Jaap, If I win the chance to try the MAS12, I give it to you.

I can't help you with the mirrors, but you definitely need to adjust the valves. Hydraulic valves were only on a few California models. Be happy you have the 'old' style. Not only are they lighter, but they're cooler too. Your valves ought to be adjusted every 3000 miles or so. There's a FAQ posted here. Valve adjustment is easy-peasy- just a locknut and an adjuster nut. No shims or any of that crap. It'll take about 30 minutes, so you might as well do it when you change the oil. edit- by "California", I mean the model, not the state.

The rear drive has lots of lash in it. I wouldn't be too concerned with that. I am curious about the clicking noise you describe, though. Does it do this going forward/backward/both? You might want to check your ujoints? I'd also drain the oil from the bevel drive through a strainer, and fish around with a magnet on a stick® in the bevel box....just in case, but I hope nothings wrong.

What do you think about the titanium rods? Are they quiet? I have a set that I bought from Manfred Hecht (a loong time ago) but I've never installed them. J

I bought it at a garage sale in Pasadena, CA for five bucks. How can you throw something like that out. I also have two Hughes' jet bits from my oil rig drilling days. Hard to mount those puppies, though.

Got my sidecar rig going again (FINALLY!). It's not totally finished, but I have a good start on it. Initial impressions: fun. kids dig it. Sonya's a lot better looking than I am. But I go a lot faster.

One suggestion- set up a paypal account for them. Bank transfers are expensive and require much more work on the part of potential donors. I'll go by my bank on monday and send them some help. Support