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Will indulge in some moto-modeling, since with Goldie finally back on-line, Greenie done, and Red in good shape per usual, was the 1st time the gaggle of geese could get dolled up for a family photo…

Well, ok.. I'll photobomb you.. We were in the path of totality, so had a cookout/eclipse party. My last apprentice, Austin..now the Indiana MGNOC rep, took these pix. As we approached totality, I went to the house and got my birding binoculars. It "appeared" that we could see eruptions around the corona. The temp dropped 12 degrees, colors changed, and the breeze we had been having dropped to dead calm. Crickets cricketed. I thought, "I wonder what it would look like from the air?" Quickly opened the hanger door, did a preflight, grabbed my flying jacket, silk scarf, and aviator cap, kicked the tires and lit the fires. The spring greens were a different shade, and it looked like a wall of rain 2 miles to the west. The above picture is looking west. When we got there, though, it still looked like rain ahead. Not a ripple in the air. Awesome. You can see some of the effect in this picture taxiing in. Shadows appeared to be cut out of cardboard, and the colors were still "off.: Truly a once in a lifetime experience.. it was good for me.

Acosta is surely showing signs of being an exceptionally fast learner...he's got guts as well for such a young racer. I think Marquez sees himself in Acosta and enjoyed the battle out there. Like watching Federer vs. Nadal go at each other with their best stuff. Seeing Marquez go down all by himself, not even in a bump and grind situation was surprising indeed...I didn't really see an "error", but if mechanically something happened, he seemed to accept it. Either way, the Ducati was performing well enough for him to battle from 5th to 1st and ride to his limits, which was great to see again. Vinales was on another level altogether...but as said above, can be hot or cold, so very difficult to bet on him being "consistent" again at the remaining races. Either way, Moto GP just became exciting again...it was missing this last year.

Fork exchange. #andreanni

That was probably the best racing ever at COTA.

There are o-rings between the rocker arm assy. and the cylinder head that are hard , brittle and no longer doing what they are supposed to do . Look at a parts catalog and you will find them . Replace them and perform a valve adjustment while you are into it.

A V11Lemans.com theme song? "I get by with a little help from my friends " . . .

The Lodge at Tellico has announced new innkeepers. Looks like the transition will be seamless . . . Best wishes to Bryan and Catherine and welcome Ken and Viki !

I run a vintage Gilera group, with few members. An offshoot of the old Yahoo group days. Mr brother, a big shot businessman, suggested increasing the group's internet presence to get more people, so I posted a vintage Gilera advertisement photo ... and two members just quit. Is this really that salacious, that over-the-top? I'm just trying to stay afloat in these facebook days.

I'm sorry, I have not asked Mikko's surviving family about any of his property. I think it is still a bit soon after his sudden passing in January . . .

You may like this video;

Is your tachometer Veglia? If it is, the "dancing" pointer is due to a "leaking" ground inside the instrument. I have recently purchased a Moto Guzzi equipped with a Veglia affected with the same problem, and I got it fixed by a specialist in Germany. The grounding issue is very well known and easy to cure. However, opening the instrument without damaging it requires some special skills and tools. I sent both the instruments, so the pointers could be painted again, and more visible. Unfortunately, shipping from the USA is extremely expensive. I paid 234 USD to Germany, while the shipping in the opposite direction is 50 EUR for 5kg. But I spare nothing when it comes to making my Guzzi bellisime! (Belissima = singular). Before: After:

New quality relays is always a good idea. Also, make sure the bases where they plug into are clean and tight. A quality relay with a bad connect doesn't work any better then a cheap relay with a good connection. Back when we would travel on motorcycles we would always carry a spare set of relays for the wife's V11. We only needed them a couple times, but when you need them you need them, and you aren't going to find them in the middle of Pennsyltucky. A classic sign that the relay was not working was also the lack of a tail light as I recall. We did run into situations were the relay would stick and only work some of the time. The clues that the relay was not working were a weak headlight (because the real headlight would not work, only the running light worked), the tach would act up, and the taillight would not work.

Cheaper, check connections from alternator. Bulletconnectors and all kind of horrible connections. Mine started to flip the tach, then misfiring and dead. Melted connectors. Cheers Tom.

Whew , it was a long time ago . Joe Eish stopped me from buying a head gasket for my SE and sold me o-rings instead . 25 or so years ago.

Order plenty , they are not expensive. Is it #16 or #21 ? Whatever it is , they are difficult to dig out .My vision is blurry right now Thank you Docc for the technical support .

The G5 isn't running real well at the moment. Cleaned spark plugs and treated to same snake oil fuel today. She runs pretty good with the choke on, but backfires and sputters with choke off. Soon as she's running well, goes on the sale block. Takes up too much space and just too many other bikes to ride. At the moment, she serves well as a foot rest.

I think I'd be happy to get $6k for my '03 Lemans with 13k miles on it and it has a working odometer. Any takers??!!

studio version has more of a "hook" with the clean lead-in percussion, but this is good -

One New River, the new album from Knopfler, is out today. I just downloaded. Big fan, but while his style doesn’t vary dramatically, i do find that some albums become “best of all time” category for me, and others just barely get listened to.

Reminds me of my time in the States with diplomatic papers [emoji16]. New Jersey turnpike was privatly owned, so after to many pullovers, I was escorted of and banned there. IPA time here. Cheers Tom. Sent fra min SM-S906B via Tapatalk

You trying to set up some in flight refueling?

Yes, we got bikes with the 15M-RC and lambda input but not until pretty late in the day. A quick gurn at the parts lists says 2003 models got Lambda input.

@Speedfrog at least I know why I was blowing that fuse now lol.

If you are referring to your second picture, they are indeed 24volts relays >> 24VDC1.2D

These are 24volts relays - diode protected . . . . The ones to get for our V11s from Picker Components >> PC782-1C-12S-R-X https://www.digikey.com/en/products/detail/picker-components/pc782-1c-12s-r-x/12352866

well it may or may not be pertinent to your troubles, but i had dreadful fuel consumption once that i eventually realised was due to a nasty crack in the exhaust near the lambda sensor (crossover area). So maybe check that whilst you’re scanning about?

The one that broke was OEM original, or at least that’s my assumption. I only bought the bike last fall so I don’t know much about its service or repair history.

I've been avoiding this thread, as I couldn't watch the GP until last night. OH BOY! fantastic race, so enjoyed it, and in Texas too! The USA needed a good showing, what a track. My man Brad Binder did not fair well, but BatMav and Pedro kept me cheering just the same. It was such a good race, so many passes, I didn't even care who won. I also follow SX and my fave, Cooper Webb won so it was a great weekend of racing for me. I also follow MMA, but my fave Justin Gaethje did not fair so well.

Your right, it is specifically the brake light function of the tail light that doesn't work when that relay is not relaying. Thanks for the correction. I was following the wife through Pennsyltuckey and was impressed that she was never hitting the brakes. Turns out her relay was not relaying. It is possible you have an R/R issue, but I suggest you make sure it is not one of the more common issues that plague the V11 Sport first before shelling out the coins for a new R/R.

They were pretty pricy. I know the models like the Scura, Rosso Mandello and the Tenni ranged from $13,500 to $15,000. In 02.. The standards were around $10k. Pricy for the early 2000s when a Yamaha R1 at the time was around $9-$10k. I remember wanting a Tenni in my 20s. Found a used one in a shop in Jersey.....In 06....For $12k. Only waited 10 more years to find a Scura..lol https://www.cycleworld.com/moto-guzzi-v11-cafe-style-review-best-used-motorcycle/

Docc- based off pass posts I read on here concerning relays I ordered a 10 pack of CIT A11CSQ24VDC1.2D from digikey and they are supposed to arrive tomorrow. I had replaced them all before however this was when the bad battery was still in the bike. I had assumed that running new relays on the battery that didn't hold a charge had damaged them and since they are pretty inexpensive I just went ahead and orderd new relays last week.

The winner of the auction was dead set on acquiring it. Maybe we are going to see him here soon.... ;-) at some point, he is going to face the same music we did....

Actually, the issue with Marquez (and others) has to do with the brake pads, which are pushed away from the rotors. Since Michele Pirro's accident in 2018 at the Mugello due to this issue, they have installed a brake fluid metering valve, which in theory should mitigate the effect. Marc had to pump the brakes. This issue combined with bad habits are hard to break, he returned to Honda mode while heading the GP, that explains the crash. I am betting that Pedro Acosta will win at Jerez! he is absolutely phenomenal! I was listening to the GP review, and his nickname is "sponge Bob"; everything he is being taught, he is able to put into good use immediately, without the need for adaptation. Also, this race should dampen the pleas for removing aerodynamic appendixes, because they impede racers to overtake. We have seen that it is not the case.

Nice porch swing!

Marquez almost pulled it off...just got a little too hot...but what a ride, the King of COTA almost made it back to his rightful position on the throne. The first 10 laps of the race were simply incredible. Acosta is spectacular, and shows great promise. Vinales rode the most amazing race of his career it seems...11th to 1st. This race was worth watching twice...

23 miles per gallon would be very bad fuel mileage. You should be getting near twice that. I would start with a basic tune up........

I assume Austin will be easier, but if by chance you’re going to the John Day Oregon event in June, I’ll have my V85 a few hours from there if u want to go for a spin. I’ll have the Lemans in John Day, but half a state away will the V85. Might even have the foolishly expensive new exhaust and other doo-dad tomfoolery installed by then… i rented the V85tt in Mandello, as the consolation prize because the new Stelvio had just been taken/rented by someone else. But ended up really enjoying the V85, much more than I had anticipated. Of course lake Como area in the sun, pasta, wine, and amazing back roads in the mountains above/behind Varenna does tend to put one into a less demanding state of mind, so hopefully i won’t regret my leap into the V85 here at home.

You just did the same for me....

Ah, yes: #16 x 2 (one per head?) and #21 [O RING-VITON (#90706094)] x8 (four per head?) . . . The #16 is the likely culprit.

Hah, it’s alive and kickin… let that seafoam do its thing for a couple more days, and the carb cleaner sprayed up into the air adjustment screw ports, and was getting ready to strip off the tank and air box, but cranked her up one more time to check TBS. Behold, she coughed a couple times, then ran just fine. Checked TPS, (slightly off, fixed), and TB synch, idle adjust, and a few other misc/normal things, and now she’s pretty much purring. Well, now I’ve probably jinxed it. Still need to get her on the road to the gas station for a test flight. Assumption is that it was all just a mess of old gas. Note that my crappy memory was mostly at fault, as it was about 4yrs that she sat there, when i checked my records, but in my head i was thinking 2yrs max. It was clear premium, with a stabilizer added, but 4yrs is just too much. a question which i assume is common, but I’ve never really thought about it, what do folks do with show bikes that usually sit and maybe get run once or twice per year? Drain all fuel, then re-prime for the occasional start/run? Or just be sure to replace all the fuel each year? i know my old flat-slide Mikuni carb’d Suzuki doesn’t like any of those options. Running it dry, or stabilizing the fuel each fall, but next spring she does not like to start and run properly on that first wake-up from hibernation.

A carbon copy of the one that sleeps under my roof... excepted for the two suitcases; I can't indulge to say panniers.....

Oh @Tomchri, so that's why you've been banished to the Northland...

Could there actually be three sizes of "pins": M20, M22, and M24? For those concerned about the excessive weight of the pins, I put the pair of M22 pins on the scale: 191 grams (about 6.75 ounces).

Hoping to learn more about the origins of the Moto Guzzi SpineFrame, this publication does not disappoint! All this time, I thought the original Spine Frame was a "Daytona" 8V Hi-cam. Not so! The first SpineFrame Guzzi, the V11 Sport prototype so-to-speak, was this 1987 2V. Also, the first SpineFrame: "Made in America!"

It's pointless discussing fine tuning a Guzzi for the subtle operations such as fine throttle response, idle and coughing when you are trying or indeed running it on 100 octane race fuel. The higher the octane rating the less volatile the fuel and the more likely you are to have low speed throttle response and idling issues. Low volatility is great for anti knock but bad for pretty much everything else. The greater volatility of lower octane fuels also helps with intake temps due to better evaporation in the inlet manifold which also is the reason the higher octane fuels often exhibit poor low speed running. We ran some race engines on 100LL Avgas back in the day on injected Ducati Superbike engines and they exhibited poor low speed running especially when the engine was cold and the only advantage it offered was consistency. In the IOM years ago the guy in the next garage to us was using it in his Kawasaki production bike and it was a bitch to keep running properly on start up even with choke at 0430 in the cold weather before the 5am practice started. The Sunco 100 race fuel is actually 104 RON octane and the highest pump fuel we have here is 98 Octane, so it's a decent jump. America uses some average number of RON and MON for their ratings. So on a Guzzi engine I'm pretty confident the Sunco fuel will result in worse low speed running especially at cooler OAT's and poorer starting as well. It's street legal in the US but mostly used by massive boost road car nutters you have there.

Watching for new member @motoguzzikc to post his concern, probably in Technical Topics, so we can dive into helping him and getting his V11 Sport alive and well . . .

Also, if you've tried to run it with stale gas make sure you purge the line to the injectors and then replace the spark plugs as well. If it has fired, even briefly, on the old gas it may well of fouled the old plugs to the point where under stress in the combustion chamber during compression the spark will track down the insulator rather than jumping between the electrodes and won't ignite the mixture. This is very common, especially with modern fuels.

An important component of gasoline is the Aromatic "top end" without this engines often won't start at all. The top end disappears with age and especially heat. It's a waste of time troubleshooting any starting and running issue with years old fuel in the bike. Replace the fuel and the next cab off the rank is an injector clean and spray pattern check if it's been sitting around as long as you indicate and what you've previously done. You can remove the injectors and connect them to a 5 volt battery supply to hold them open and run them in a small and cheap ultrasonic jewellery cleaner which is essentially what the professionals do but you won't be able to test them for flow and spray pattern. Phil