What did you do to your V11 today?

[Gmc28]

 I’m endeavoring to get Greenie and Goldie out for a full-speed spin every few weeks, just “riding around” to keep them exercised, and avoid the issues of letting them sit too long. (Red is a regular rider)

though they are obviously all roughly the same machines (1 short frame, 2 longs), remarkable to me how different they ride. Red has the slightly different foot peg position, and cushier suspension, and Goldie’s clutch is getting toward the end before needing plates, all which make for a fairly dramatic difference when riding back to back.  And of course greenies short frame and no windscreen means what that means.    

Sort of obvious i suppose, but riding them all back to back accentuated things.  That little Lemans windscreen I’d always thought didn’t do much, but it makes a real obvious difference in reality… really smooths the airflow a lot more than i would have thought. Similarly, I’d have said “the short frame isn’t that much shorter”, but its a whole different feeling.  I feel like I’m on a mini-bike on Greenie after i get off the Lemans.  Must be something else to it…. Maybe I should look more closely at stock foot peg position, or maybe that frame length delta just does more than i would have thought. 

Greenie, with the pods, purrs like a kitten, and pulls nicely through the whole rpm range, but is “lumpier” as you run up through the rpm range.  I assume thats a pod issue to some extent.  Goldie is still (after much fussing) somewhat lifeless below about 4500 rpm, then springs to life like a 2 stroke above that.  And Red is the Goldilocks of the group, being about perfect throughout (engine and suspension), though its nuisance gremlin is the occasional “starts hard and won’t idle” that will happen randomly each summer.

anyway, just some pointless sunday morning musings about the differences in these bikes, which i think maybe all have more “artist” and voodoo in them, like proper Italians should, after an enjoyable run on all 3 of the girls yesterday. 

[Tomchri]

3 hours ago, Gmc28 said:

 I’m endeavoring to get Greenie and Goldie out for a full-speed spin every few weeks, just “riding around” to keep them exercised, and avoid the issues of letting them sit too long. (Red is a regular rider)

though they are obviously all roughly the same machines (1 short frame, 2 longs), remarkable to me how different they ride. Red has the slightly different foot peg position, and cushier suspension, and Goldie’s clutch is getting toward the end before needing plates, all which make for a fairly dramatic difference when riding back to back.  And of course greenies short frame and no windscreen means what that means.    

Sort of obvious i suppose, but riding them all back to back accentuated things.  That little Lemans windscreen I’d always thought didn’t do much, but it makes a real obvious difference in reality… really smooths the airflow a lot more than i would have thought. Similarly, I’d have said “the short frame isn’t that much shorter”, but its a whole different feeling.  I feel like I’m on a mini-bike on Greenie after i get off the Lemans.  Must be something else to it…. Maybe I should look more closely at stock foot peg position, or maybe that frame length delta just does more than i would have thought. 

Greenie, with the pods, purrs like a kitten, and pulls nicely through the whole rpm range, but is “lumpier” as you run up through the rpm range.  I assume thats a pod issue to some extent.  Goldie is still (after much fussing) somewhat lifeless below about 4500 rpm, then springs to life like a 2 stroke above that.  And Red is the Goldilocks of the group, being about perfect throughout (engine and suspension), though its nuisance gremlin is the occasional “starts hard and won’t idle” that will happen randomly each summer.

anyway, just some pointless sunday morning musings about the differences in these bikes, which i think maybe all have more “artist” and voodoo in them, like proper Italians should, after an enjoyable run on all 3 of the girls yesterday. 

All sound very familiar   .

Cheers Tom.

[Purloined]

On 8/9/2023 at 8:30 AM, guzziart said:

Today, I'm doing more headlight work.  I attempted to replace the original equipment H4 headlight bulb with an LED H4, the inexpensive LED H4 lasted 2-3 months.  My 2nd attempt to move to an LED involved buying a 7" round "Jeep" style LED headlight assembly.  Unfortunately I now discovered that the 7" Jeep thing will not install.  Apparently, the OEM headlight/reflector assembly have the tabs molded into it that allows the assembly to be secured into the HDL bucket, a tab on top that fits into HDL bucket & a tab on the bottom that contains a speed nut for a securement screw, in other words the OEM assembly is NOT secured into the bucket by the headlight bezel/trim ring.  The trim ring "snaps" onto the headlight/reflector assembly.  So, I have no easy way to install the Jeep thing unless I can somehow find a trim ring that will fit onto the Jeep HDL, has a tab that fits the HDL bucket on top and a tab on the bottom to allow a screw securement.  Oh well, live and learn.  At this point I'm inclined to try another budget H4 LED, I've become very good at fairing r & r.  Plus, I installed an LED pilot bulb so I'm not completely dark in front and it is brighter than I thought it would be.  FWIW, I don't ride at night but would like to be more conspicuous during daytime riding.

.

 

FWIW, Revival Cycles sells this glass lensed 7" LED headlight assy. There are not a lot of comments addressing the beam pattern, but all in all reviewers seemed pleased with them. Revival itself does not claim they are the best performing, but all in all acceptable. The lens is convex like an old school sealed beam, I prefer the flat lens on the OEM V11. There's a photo in the link of one mounted on an older Moto Guzzi and they say there is an adaptor they sell for it.

LED conversion research is a ticket to the purgatory of the rabbit hole. A lot of time wasted, then you give up in confusion go back to squinting on dark roads. 

Don't know if this is of interest to anyone:

https://revivalcycles.com/collections/motorcycle-lights/products/secret-led

[doccedit]:

[Pressureangle]

So yeah, went to the post office to pick up some priority boxes, felt funny on the way home.

Drywall screw in the rear tire. That's twice; this one was only 3 inches away from the first and worryingly close to the sidewall.
Another plug for errands and city work. I guess it's a new rear shoe for the Spine Raid. 

[gstallons]

Well , yesterday morning I pulled into the Waffle Hut to stop for breakfast , came to a complete stop and couldn't get my foot off the peg fast enough....timber . Remember Arte Johnson / tricycle incident from Rowan & Martin's Laugh In . That was me.  Bike did pretty good , L.H bar end , turn signal lens , spark plug cap are the only apparent damage.  I didn't = dislocated / separated / torn shoulder or something and this HURTS.  

The good thing - I have kept all my string of get-offs at < 1 mph intact.

[Guzzi-in-Vancouver]

15 minutes ago, gstallons said:

Well , yesterday morning I pulled into the Waffle Hut to stop for breakfast , came to a complete stop and couldn't get my foot off the peg fast enough....timber . Remember Arte Johnson / tricycle incident from Rowan & Martin's Laugh In . That was me.  Bike did pretty good , L.H bar end , turn signal lens , spark plug cap are the only apparent damage.  I didn't = dislocated / separated / torn shoulder or something and this HURTS.  

The good thing - I have kept all my string of get-offs at < 1 mph intact.

Did you have gear on? I had a 2kmph tumble off my BMW and my right shoulder was fine. Had a tumble off my bicycle (practicing 250+kph hanging off turns in prep for trackday) and punctured a lung. Had a senior moment tumble off my bicycle (feet in straps) at zero, and tore my left shoulder ligament. I don't wear gear on a bicycle, not even a helmet, because I think a bicycle helmet looks silly on me. 

[gstallons]

ATGATT !

[gstallons]

5 hours ago, Guzzi-in-Vancouver said:

Did you have gear on? I had a 2kmph tumble off my BMW and my right shoulder was fine. Had a tumble off my bicycle (practicing 250+kph hanging off turns in prep for trackday) and punctured a lung. Had a senior moment tumble off my bicycle (feet in straps) at zero, and tore my left shoulder ligament. I don't wear gear on a bicycle, not even a helmet, because I think a bicycle helmet looks silly on me. 

If it matters , Aerostitch on Bibendum might have helped IDK . I do know I need to practice my squats . 2020 was when I had my knees replaced and I just haven't ridden until about 6 weeks ago. My knees will not allow me to put the balls of my feet on the pegs , SO I will have to practice , practice , practice .

[Gmc28]

3 hours ago, gstallons said:

Well , yesterday morning I pulled into the Waffle Hut to stop for breakfast , came to a complete stop and couldn't get my foot off the peg fast enough....timber . Remember Arte Johnson / tricycle incident from Rowan & Martin's Laugh In . That was me.  Bike did pretty good , L.H bar end , turn signal lens , spark plug cap are the only apparent damage.  I didn't = dislocated / separated / torn shoulder or something and this HURTS.  

The good thing - I have kept all my string of get-offs at < 1 mph intact.

what did i do to my v11 today:  walked by them, eyeballing them lovingly, awaiting the black rain clouds to peel back and reveal the heat wave that we oregonians are looking forward to.

for your painful fall, i have my fair share of ego, so its painful but true to say that all my "horizontal events" on bikes since i first began riding illegally on the road (dirt riding not included) have been slow speed tipovers.  damn embarrassing, especially because they repeat about every 2-3 yrs. 

[gstallons]

And the 1st thing you do is jump up to see how many were watching ?

[gstallons]

You have two black frame and one red frame ?

[mikev]

4 hours ago, Gmc28 said:

they repeat about every 2-3 yrs

that's about my average for slow/no speed tip overs so far lol 

[activpop]

22 hours ago, gstallons said:

If it matters , Aerostitch on Bibendum might have helped IDK . I do know I need to practice my squats . 2020 was when I had my knees replaced and I just haven't ridden until about 6 weeks ago. My knees will not allow me to put the balls of my feet on the pegs , SO I will have to practice , practice , practice .

Yoga! That's all I got.

[Gmc28]

21 hours ago, gstallons said:

You have two black frame and one red frame ?

Oops, how’d that happen?  But yes.   One of the black frames is supposed to go away to a friend, but thats been the case now for a few years.  

[Skip]

On 6/4/2024 at 1:26 PM, gstallons said:

Well , yesterday morning I pulled into the Waffle Hut to stop for breakfast , came to a complete stop and couldn't get my foot off the peg fast enough....timber . Remember Arte Johnson / tricycle incident from Rowan & Martin's Laugh In . That was me.  Bike did pretty good , L.H bar end , turn signal lens , spark plug cap are the only apparent damage.  I didn't = dislocated / separated / torn shoulder or something and this HURTS.  

The good thing - I have kept all my string of get-offs at < 1 mph intact.

Oh, that's good Gene.  I love the Arte Johnson comparison. I could just picture it. FLOP   So sad that happened to you right during prime riding, and I know you were just getting back into things. Hope you will be good to go for the Spine Raid. I'm rooting for ya !!!