pete roper

Scuras are, by general consensus, undersprung. Get the suspension set up, check all the frame and wheel bearings and my advice would be to fit a slimmer tyre. The 180(?) section fitted to Scuras is far too fat IMHO Try a 170. Pete

Oh lordy! I hadn't considered that! Hang on....... Interior of case measures about 200 by 180mm so a reduction in height will reduce the crankcase volume by about 14.4cc's Now allowing 1/3rd of that for gas volume that means that the amount of oil added should be reduced by 9.6cc's. I can't tell you how grateful I am for you pointing this out to me. Who knows what horrors would of befallen people otherwise Pete

Look, with respect, everything about ANY production vehicle is a compromise. We ride around on great bags of compromises and the mapping and, dare I say it, even the TPS settings are at best a guide. While few of us have a dyno or the wherewithall to build and install different maps and run battery after battery of tests it is quite within the skills of ordinary mortals to set up the TPS to their requirements, ballance the TB's and check that all the sensors etc. are working. I think one of the issues is that Mr. V11cafe is one of those people who believes that anything the factory suggests HAS to be best and changing anything will lead to disaster. I think it was he who was skeptical and doubtful about the oil pick-up exposure problem on Broad Sump bikes as a case in point? Look, that's his belief and it's fine. I just happen to think its a bit short sighted and blinkered. Nobody is suggesting that straying too far from the recommendations in the manual is a 'Good Thing' or a panacea for all ills but to state that one should only take ones bike to a dealer OR set it up to factory specs is very limiting and, for a lot of people, removes a lot of the fun of owning a bike like a V11 that is so eminently 'Tinkerable' and has such enormous room for improvement! Pete

Nah, the only reason I went from 2mm to 1.6mm plate is because the plate had almost doubled in cost over a period of a couple of months! The place I have make them had some 1.6mm plate lying about so I snapped it up 'cos it was a lot cheaper! Pete

2001? Is it eligible for the gearbox recall? If so, has it been done?. Otherwise, try playing with the pawl adjuster and seeing if the problem goes away. Pete

Whining can be very therapeutic . The good thing is to not STOP at the whining stage but to pull one's head out of one's arse and actually DO something about problems. Having a disinterested dealer or one who won't admit he doesn't know can be a real issue. None of us know everything! Good God! I'd be completely stuffed if I didn't have a network of people I could bounce gnarly problems off! You aren't alone there. the local Guzzi *dealer* near me sells just about every other Italian brand and KTM. His interest in Guzzi is virtually non-existant! and I've seen some true horrors come out of his workshop but he has a big, shiny, showroom with lotsa motorbikes in it while I have a work area full of busted up old roundfin parts, oil drums, fag-ends and broken 16M computers I also tend to fart and swear a lot which upsets some of the more delicate souls in the motorbike world I only wish I could convince the importer to give me a dealership, but there again at the moment I work four or five hours a day and am effectively semi-retired. Why would I want to get into something as thankless as selling Guzzis and bust my arse 60 hours a week to compete with some chinless twat in a tiny market? Nah. I'll stay being the fat bastard you take your Guzzi to when nobody else has managed to get it to work. I also don't have to be polite to dropkicks and can behave like an irracible when the mood takes me, which is most of the time pete

While I haven't had any first hand experience of this I think Greg has it nailed. There was a period back in '03-'04 when the factory had shut BOTH of its nitriding ovens. One was being closed permanently and the other one was being replaced/refurbished. During that period ALL of Guzzis case hardening and nitriding was being sent out to 'Guiseppe's Pizza Shop and Nitriding Works' in Innoccenti! Oddly enough this period also corresponds with the production of the cam-failure prone Hydro valve Calis and while there definitely WERE other issues with them the fact that they had chocolate cams didn't help. The oil pump is a VERY simple spur gear device. While I've seen them wear out I've never seen one fail catastrophically. If the pump is severely damaged? As Greg sez it's most likely because it has drawn a host of bits of 'Cam and Follower Frag' through itself. Remember the pump is the only component of the engine that gets unfiltered oil so it will suffer if the lubricant is full of munt! When it gets rebuilt I believe it is wise practice to replace or at least thoroughly clean and back-flush the oil cooler as well. If this isn't done any gribblies that have got past the filter can reside there and continue to damage stuff. It would also be worth while pulling the front main bearing and inspecting it for damage. If it is scored then chances are the big ends and the rear main will also be toast and it will be time to pull the motor out and go through it thoroughly, top to bottom! Pete

This I find really weird? I've NEVER has to grind anything when installing them??? Because of minor inaccuracies in the lazer-cutting. I have had a couple of machines where a few of the perimiter bolts were a bit tight but as long as everything is installed *loosley* first I've not had to drill or grind anything. If the perimiter bolts are very tight though simply increasing the size of the holes with a 6 &1/2mm or 7mm drill should allow plenty of leeway for machining inaccuracies. As I said though, I've never had a problem and neither have I had to grind the sidestand mount either! This isn't to deny that these problems can occur but I can't for the life of me see what could need 'Substantial Grinding' to make a plate fit???? Pete

Remember there is an alternator sitting in the valley with the new motors. All the space behind the alternator on the Griso is taken up with fuel tank, and even then it only takes some weedy amount, (17 Litres??). As far as rigidity goes if I hit a BIG dip, canted over, mid-corner I can feel something flex. I haven't worked out what exactly it is yet but my strongest suspicion is it is to do with the side-plates or their mounting to the frame, it certainly doesn't feel like head-flex which is what tends to give the 'Willowy' feeling to V11's, (Well, that's what I think.). I also have my suspension set up softer than many would and play constantly with the damping both front and rear to compensate for changes in ambient temperature and the like, I'm very anal about suspension But this may also contribute to that *flexible* feeling when I do hit something really big. Having said that there is nothing that I'd call 'Misbehavior'. Yes of course I could provoke it by setting it up all wrong but the Showa forks and to a lesser degree the Boge shock are very good and perform admirably. I know it will probably provoke howls of outrage but IMHO a well set up set of Showas are every bit as good as Ohlins. They tend to get saggy springs after a couple of years but springs are cheap. a long as the valving is right they are a lovely fork and less leak prone than Ohlins too! If you geta chance Keith take one out thats been set up for somone roughly your weight and see what you think. As mine came out of the crate the springs were running far too much preload and both compression and rebound damping front and rear. It was like riding an ill sprung brick! Now I've got it pretty much where I want it it's lovely!!! Pete

Yup, completely different frames, a couple of years ago there were some pics put up of them side by side, can't remember where exactly. I think that a lot of it has to do with the market the bikes were aimed at The Breva is clearly aimed at the stodgy, conservative set. The Griso isn't. Breva and Norge along with the 1200 Sport which is really just a tarted up Breva get the cheap suspension. Neither bike has radical steering gemetry but the Griso's wide bars mean that it's very easy to muscle around and get to corner quickly but has straight line stability that many 'sports' bikes would envy. note that the big 'G' doesn't have a steering damper. Why? Because it doesn't need one! It's a superb 'road' bike. I'm hoping the 8V motor will simply make a good thing better! Pete

Greg and I don't agree on everything but what he's said above is common sense and there are few people who's opinion I respect more than his. Age, the fact your Billybob may of been produced at one of the points where Moto Guzzi was suffering from cretinous management and purchasing policy aligned with the fact that when this happens its OBVIOUS to the workforce so they tend not to give a f*ck, are probably contributory factors. The odd thing is that when they were first sold I wasn't that keen on the V11 series. Slowly, my opinion has changed. So much so that I've just purchased a Scura from one of the members on this list for me to flog around the US on next year. I bought it sight unseen but well aware of the *issues* this model has. My sollution? I'm getting it sent to a very reputable dealer in Texas and have given them carte-blanche to do whatever they think it needs on top of my own suggestions to get it ready for me. I've owned Guzzis for over 25 years and am myself an *official*, (Whatever that means ) Guzzi service agent but I find that many, many so-called Guzzi dealers are places that just have Guzzi over the door as another 'Brand' and know and care less about them. Problem is that so many people see them as old-fashioned, slow, air-cooled shitboxes, especially the latest run of young 'Mechanics'. Consequently getting good service is sometimes difficult. If you love the bike and decide you want a 'Long Term' relationship with it get it dealt with ONCE by one of the 'Good Guys'. after this it will likely present few problems unless you try to tune the buggery out of it in which case? Caveat Emptor! Guzzis have always been superb ROAD bikes. Not racers, not even 'Sports' bikes in the current vernacular but the majority of their riders seem to have a lot of fun on them and oddly enough, even I, who ride like a complete Wally, has managed to round up people on bikes with nearly twice the horsepower and only 2/3rds of the weight! It's all in the set-up. Get that right and you're half way there. The other half is, I'm afraid, down to skill. Something I lack in spades Pete

Jeez! Woattabunchasoftcocks! Try a bit harder whydoncha! Nice, very nice! Pete

Nice results Gyles. That's some serious competition you're up against! Fan-bloody- tastic! Pete

(Fnar, Fnar!!!!) Wanna touch my can? They are nice Todd. Since I've got a Lavizarri for my 4 valver I suppose I'd better buy a RHS can for my 8 valver so I can pick which is which in the shed! Pete

Give me a hoy direct if you want on motomodaoptusnet.com.au. The prices quoted above are what are on the the *official* parts list as I said. Likewise I can't guarantee that there would be one in stock but if you want I could pester JSG tommorow. Cheaper still might be to talk to Todd at MPH or Greg in Seattle at Moto International or Ago's in Italy More than happy to help in any way I can though. Pete

Lists for $170, I can do you one for $150 +P&P but I don't know if the importer has one in stock as their inventory system on-line is shithouse. Pete

No, looks like I was mistaken. Looking at the heads from the side it appears that the cam followers don't run above the cam but are offset to one side of its centreline. This isn't something I've seen before but some of the pilot/aircraft types over on WG seem familiar with it. I don't know why ou'd want to do such a thing, it would make the profiling much harder to calculate I would of thought but I'm not an engineer. Those rocker castings are pretty substantial! are the rocker carriers two part? Otherwise how do you get them *in* as it were? Pete

Actually the Scura is a hideous, ugly shitbox! Oh, hang on, I've just bought one. I suppose I shouldn't say that Pete

Sod it, it's almost impossible to see. can we get a pic of the cutaway at the *back* ie, the side towards the centreline of the bike, of the head? It looks to me as if the 'Hydraulic' adjusters may in fact be operating on the faces on the cam ends of the rocker spindles. Presumably if this is the case the spindles themselves will be eccentric or eccentrics will move the spindles? That would make for very quiet running and would prevent the problems of collapsed lifters at higher RPM. If that's the way they've done it it's very clever. thinking well outside the square! I dips me lid. Bigtime. It's infinitely better than the crappy Boxhead system and will be virtually maintenance free! Pete

One of the major limiting factors to increasing stroke on the pushrod motors is that if you do the rods hit the cam lobes! No cam lobes on the dummy shaft? You can certainly increase the stroke. the 850 Griso's etc use the shortest stroke of any 'Big Block' twin at, (From memory?) 68mm. Now if ever there was a two-valver that begged to be blown it was the 68mm crank models! With the 8 valvers I'd think they would be wanting to exploit the better breathing at the top by keeping piston speeds as low as possible, That would indicate super-short stroke and a Huge bore. My feeling is that that will be the 'Next Phase' and the motor they'll shoe-horn into a 'Nuovo LeMans' in a couple of years time. Personally a longer stroke 8 valver will do me just fine. Being honest my 4V Griso does me just fime but I'm such a tart I'll just *have * to buy one Pete

Huh! I'm sitting in an airport lounge and haven't had a chanc to read all the bumph yet The rockers still have adjusters? How come 'Hydraulic'? and if it's going to rev to 9 and 1/2 I'd wonder if hydraulic lifters would be wise? But what would I know. As I suspected it looks like morese chains from the back of the dummy shaft up to the cams in head. A nice addaptation of the previous design by Carcano. A nice link with tradition. Hopefully I'll be able to bully JSG into giving me one of the first ones in Oz Pete

all the gearbox/transmission problems I've read about are due to poor adjustment and newness of the cush drive in the shaft. as for 'Peculiar Handling'?Yes, it's fully adjustable and uses a true rising rate linkage. So you should adjust it for your personal style and needs otherwise it's bound to be 'Peculiar'! I found mine was set up Far, far too stiff in the springs and the damping was too harsh on both compression and rebound. If the bike you rode was anything like the same then it too would of been very un-enjoyable. Pete

It's a bit difficult to really be helpful with info about the 'Latest improvements' to the V11 series. Apart from stretching the neck of the frame in 2001 (?) and the different suspension options they are all essentially the same package. there were some detail changes to some models and also a couple of recalls for defective parts on some models but really a V11 is a V11 is a V11 under it's skin. Likewise the *new* models have different frames and running gear but the basic motive unit and rear suspension package is universal. There HAVE been some changes to the engine, most notably a new oil pump during the manufacture of the post V11 series engines and there are more capacity variations created by different stroke lengths and bores and on the larger engined models the change to bore/stroke ratio makes them considerably smoother and revier than the earlier V11's. They are all still very much 'Big Block Guzzis though which means if you get off a 1967 V7 and climb on a Griso you'll find more in common between the two bikes than differences Pete

Don't let it burn you Rich. If you burn so will your boy. See my comments on WG, he did magnificently. It's a beautiful little project. pete

What's wrong with white? Makes it easier to paint the colour you want . I reckon my trademark 'Tree Frog' green would look very nice Pete