jrt

That's the way they're built. Keeps your left knee a bit warmer than the right one. This is because Italians, who invented Bocchi ball, cast the ball with the left knee bent a little more- it's better form for the game.

you're good....

You know, if your worried the frame might be bent, then this seems like a really suspect plan. Be careful, ok? You can check wheel alignment with a string (nod's to BFG) or a long fluorescent light bulb. Align with the rear wheel and check to make sure that the space between the straight line and the front wheel is the same. The rear wheel is wider than the front, so there will be an offset, but it should be the same fore and aft on the front tire. Hope that made sense.

Dude who showed up at a meeting two years ago. We called it "the wod". And I quote: "I musta hit ever winery 'tween here and Missoura"

I just took a spin round the countryside on my 'Carcano frame'. What a joy. What an absolute joy to drive that bike....

Strangely enough, no. I'll have to take one next time we go out. Actually, I am really happy with the camping chairs we got. They were made by a fellow in Tennessee, they are very compact, comfortable(!) and made of good, strong oak. Aerostich charges a *bit* more than what we paid for them: http://www.aerostich.com/product.php?produ...&cat=257&page=1 This is what loaded up looks like for me (less chairs). Somewhere near 1000 Islands in the prairies of Canada.

I wish I could go, Bill. Have a great opening, and many dry, warm evenings to come!

Mike, I'm sorry I destroyed your thread.

First off- glad you are ok. Second- take some time to think about the cause of the crash and where you made a mistake. Then, don't make that mistake again. (sounds easy, eh?) Do you have insurance? Will they pay for parts? If so, then take the bike in to a good dealer and have them give it a once over. If you don't have collision, then you might want to replace parts with used pieces or aftermarket pieces. New parts will be very, very expensive. Possible alternative solutions to buying new parts. 1. replace footpegs with buell footpegs if you want more legroom. Do a search for "Rich Maund" and "footpegs". He replaced his with Suzuki(??) pegs which he thought were more comfortable. 2. Joe Kenney makes very nice looking cylinder guards. http://www.swva.net/jkenny/ 3. I think Buell turn signals are the same or very similar. 4. ?? dunno 5. you might can bend the mount back (carefully) with an adjustable wrench. Don't use a tool with teeth (like pliers) or you'll gouge up the metal. 6. bummer. Can't help you here. 7. body shop 8. local Ace hardware 9. drill a tiny hole at the end of the crack to prevent it from growing. Again, a body shop might be able to weld the plastic back together. 10. Kludgy fix is put a large hose clamp on it. I won't even charge for that one, it's such a bad idea! 11. Aftermarket mirrors- Napoleons, Rizoma, Buell, there are lot's of choices. www.rebootguzzispares.com in Britain has used pieces- I think Carl knows more about them than I do. Check your steering head and wheel alignment. The wobble is probably because the forks got twisted. Check the wheel itself for damage like a bent rim. If it's bent....get a new one.

Welcome!

Not at all. Add some fringe for good measure! edit: I think it looks fine- I load up my Sport and go camping on it regularly. And yes, I actually do pack camping chairs.

Man, I hope so- the first thing popped into my head was 'pasta colostomy' and that ain't good.

It was pretty crowded even 4 years ago, which was the last time I had the displeasure of visiting Tijuana. Surely there is some other crossing you could do? That particular town is a freakin nightmare. edit- by 'crowded', I mean it took about an hour to get through the line- either direction- during mid-day and mid-week.

Consistently, my advice on a first 'big' bike is....get a beater. Get a dual sport beater that you won't feel bad about dropping on the ground or running into a fence or all the other possibilities. Dual sports come in a wide range of sizes, and are almost always easy to drive and fairly indestructible. Don't get me wrong- I like Guzzi and they are great bikes if you are willing to invest some time into them, but as mentioned above, they are heavy. Heck, get a Sport AND a dual sport beater- best of both worlds. But please take it slow at first- it's too easy to outrun brakes and reflex speed.

Tried this the other day. It's a beer for serious hopheads- far more serious than any of you lightweights.

I think you found your calling.

The triple clamp comes off pretty easy- it'll take you a couple of hours and some beer. Give yourself the day if you're slow, then you'll have an excuse to ride when you finish early. Two hex bolts on each side of the clamp hold the TC to the forks. You will need to remove the instrument cluster (if it's attached like my V11)-that's two more small allen head bolts on aluminum plate of the cluster and then there is the big hex nut under the decorative cover- very middle, back of the TC. Then, just lift up- I slowly took mine off by tapping with a rubber mallet alternating each side. The grips do just slide off- but not easily. I would cut them off with a razor blade and replace them with something more comfortable. The clusters need to be taken off, they will not slide off the ends because there is a locating 'dowel' (for lack of a better description) on each cluster. Just take the screws totally out and they'll pop right off. Be careful with your brake/clutch fluid containers- don't break them or spill the fluid. It might be a good idea to put an old towel across the tank just in case.

That's a breather line- and it's probably your oil source. Apparently they blow up after a prescribed time. If it is, see: http://www.v11lemans.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=1301 If it is the oil feed lines, just buy two new crush washers per side (or center) and replace. I doubt it's the oil feed, though.

And when you bleed the system, the caliper needs to be elevated, with the bleed nipple pointing up, so the air can get out.

Has anyone gotten a set from the Hungarian/maybe Yugoslavian manufacturer? Akrapovic or some such. There was a thread on them earlier, but I can't seem to find it. J

Sorry I'll try to get better- maybe I should watch more TV?

check the fittings on your oil cooler and the lines at the front of the motor.

They're called "pants"

yeah, baby

"Bikeless at the moment"??? You need to fix that situation, post haste! OK- here's my 2c. I think the soft valve issue is rare- there are some out there and there are some ok valves. Carl may disagree with me, but I haven't heard enough people complain to convince me that it's a common problem. What's the best that can happen? Nothing. Bike runs fine for a long time. What's the worst that can happen? Bike runs good for a couple 5-10K miles, then performance drops. You measure leakdown, determine there's a problem, and do a valve job. Couple of hundred bucks later, bike runs fine for a long time. I have ~18K on mine now and it runs better than the day I bought it. Again, I'm not saying this problem doesn't exist, but I do question how common it is. And don't you think if Guzzi was making soft valves in ~95 or so, they'd have fixed it 10 years later. Uh, wait...never mind that last part. Get a bike Aughtsix! You NEED one!