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I marvel at the technical and practical research that this seemingly unknown organization is capable of. It labors in obscure parallel with the Piaggio Group, a multi-billion € manufacturing giant of a corporation. Yet, from this position of obscurity, it is capable of identifying design and manufacturing faults, engineering superior replacement parts, arranging for their manufacture and worldwide distribution, in a timely manner and at a cost which the average consumer can afford. Unsung heroes they are! Where is this covert operation located? Right here! Pete, Chuck, Phil, Scud, footgoose and many others who devote irreplaceable life energy to polishing up and perfecting what the colossal Piaggio group could not (or would not) do. What caused this effusive praise? Admittedly, some dark roast coffee and the fact that my re-engineered shift mechanism springs arrived today. Kudos, gents! A multi-national David who has slayed the capabilities of Goliath. Or perhaps beaned him in the melon whilst his attention was focused on "greater things."

When the Rosso left the garage I’m convinced a depression came over my other bikes😞😞. It got replaced with a very smart and low mile Falco that had to muscle it’s way into the garage, the new kid on the block ! Like a lot of us I think I may have overspent a LITTLE on putting my stamp on it !! Very diff bike to the V11 no question but still Italian and immense fun. Fast for sure and probably too much of a hooligan bike for me now so it’s been moved to the side to make way for the prodigal son returned, my Nero. I keep walking around it on my regular visits in my garage, admiring it as we do and reminiscing about how much fun it actually was and pangs of guilt as I wonder what to do with it😞😞. This could take a long long time as Margaret reminds me “What will you do with the Falco”? Coal Ciao 😎😎😎 K

Heads Up! Happening right now (January 9 thru 12, 2020) at San Jose Convention Center. The bike and the Porsche Speedster are on display along with two cutaway display engines.

I think I figured the photo-posting thang... https://photos.app.goo.gl/xHHxEpskKsZnKUxT8

The key is to work methodically. Get the sag (preload) right first. Then work the adjusters on test rides. Set the sag. Much easier with two people. When the rider sits on the bike the suspension should sag about 1/3 of travel, something like 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 in. One way to do it by yourself is to put a zip tie around the front fork and adjust the preload for a third of the travel. Then you'll have to level the rear but it should be in the preload should have close to the number of turns as the front. Once the sag is set, then play with the adjusters which can be determined by riding the bike. I would start with full soft (some start in the middle) and adjust the rebound and compression a couple clicks but on separate rides to "feel" how each adjustment changes the handling. After that, work both adjusters in tandem until comfortable.

The M.G. factory ran a water cooled 1100 at Daytona in 2005 in the Battle of Twins F1 race and beat all of the water cooled Ducati's. It out pulled everything on the track with it's huge torque and power. The radiator was the size of a car's. Sadly the factory did not follow through with a production version. This factory BOT F1 bike did not have the extra strut bracing from the lower engine to the swing arm pivots that we did, so the bike wobbled badly in the East high bank but still won because of the power to pull away. The Bilabio that I bought later (still have) has similar rear bracing, but the Lemans did not. At Daytona we shared the same garage bay with the water cooled MG factory bike. Our Stan Friduss bike with Josef Brenner riding won F2 both days as we did in 2004 when we set a track record in BOT F2.

Indeed! Nice, shiny, well packaged springs arrived. By way of comparison, they make the OEM spring look like something from a Pearl River Delta toy.

These are sold. Thanks, Bill

Roper medicine, TPS 157mv, 0.25mm valves, Hi Flow 551, Shell 15 - 50 today, it does feel good. Friday guys, IPA time. Cheers Tom. Sent fra min SM-A505FN via Tapatalk

(30 thru the villages obvs)

Haha! Sorry, my skills do not extend to photographing scenery at 60mph.

Araldited the front mudguard back together. Again. Would be nice to not have to use a disc lock.... But it’s a cool, mild and sunny day here so we can go for a spin about the Peak District! Still getting used to the new ohlins + andreani kit; not dialled in properly yet, but i’m due a new rear tyre so will hold off piddling about with them till that’s sorted.

I think I found the source of the dripping. Some bonehead didn’t tighten down the drain plug after taking a bunch of stuff apart. I’ll check it tomorrow to see if that was it. With snow in the forecast it’s all immaterial at this point.

My see if there is anyone near you who can set up your suspension. I have been trying to figure this out for years & finding 'Jake' just up the road from me has been an enjoyable education. He doesn't charge much & has an experianced eye, so that when he pushes down on the forks or the shock he can tell what needs to be done. If you don't have much luck with finding a guru, you can always look up Dave Moss Tuning on Youtube & watch his videos over winter As several have posted here, setting up the sag on the bike is an important first step that can tell you alot about what's to be done. Good luck. Keep asking questions.

My name is Gil and I split my time between Santa Barbara, Monterey, and San Jose areas. My good friend Steve has a brand new engine under development for a Moto Guzzi. 34 pounds lighter than stock and shorter which allows the radiator. As you can see exhaust is below and throttle bodies are under tank. He is in the final stages of installing the fuel injection mapping computer and it bis now ver close to being ready for a test drive. The first time Steve showed the bike in public was April 2015 at the European Motorcycle show at Santa Clara County Fairgrounds. For detailed information about the engine and project at that time see this post we made at wildguzzi: https://wildguzzi.com/forum/index.php?topic=75608.0 Steve showed the bike and a display cutaway engine at the Quail show in May 2018. It had everything except the fuel delivery system. Steve's goal is to show a running bike at Quail 2020. Here's some photos from the Quail 2018 show:

Piaggio should just hire the guy like they did with that dentist....😁

From reading, studying and admiring from afar for decades, I deduced long ago that Guzzis are not so much a motorcycle as they are a project that involves a motorcycle. Pain? Well, coming up on 40 years of wedded bliss, I am pretty much desensitized to pain...

Yes, get her straightened up plumb so you can gain a good view of everything. There is a lot going on here. The right side hanger/muffler is meant to be out further, but does not need to be out 'that' far. The sub frame anchor points may be/and can be, bent some (take care). The mufflers mount point could be hanging/or hung on either side of the bracket, and washers may be/could be used here. The mufflers can be 'turned' slightly, on the crossover to achieve height variation. All these points can be used to get them more symmetrical. The PO of my 2000 messed with it till perfection, using a combo of these things. Forgot to ask... stock mufflers? Aftermarket cans with a separate mid-pipe have even more room to play. The main hanger bracket is cast and might break if you try to bend it, though it may be bent already.

I have swapped to GSXR front end on one of my Guzzi's, a Daytona (much related frame wise to a V11). A GSXR front end would be a better choice. They are more common, so easier to get and cheap. They are also better forks, that use radial brakes (at least most late model versions do), a lighter front wheel, and parts/upgrades for them are easy to come by. Most suspension guys can make a GSXR fork do whatever you need it to do. Also, the swap was not that hard, consisting of a complete GSXR front end (forks, wheel & discs, and brake calipers, I used a Brembo radial M/C), using tapered steering bearings from a Suzuki DRZ 400, and making a few assorted brackets and what not for things like the headlight and turn signals. I used a front end from a '04 GSXR 1000. I had a suspension guy spring and valve it for me. Further research and measuring says that an '06 -'07 GSXR 750 front end is actually a better choice. But either will work and I am sure some others will as well. There is a wealth of info on GSXR forks, there is info detailing the dimensional differences between the different years. Here is a site with some of that info. http://www.svrider.com/forum/showthread.php?t=135430 I highly recommend the swap. It is awesome. I had about a grand in the swap, including the Brembo RCS master cylinder and having the forks re-valved/sprung. I think I paid $600 for all the GSXR front end parts.