Jump to content

po18guy

Members
  • Posts

    1,240
  • Joined

  • Last visited

  • Days Won

    28

Posts posted by po18guy

  1. V7 Fast Endurance

    1. Not fast.

    2. Endurance? Set a high goal at least.

    3. Gold shocks do not run with cheap forks.

    4. Fairly screams "parts bin"

    5. How about "V7 LeMans Poseur"?

     

  2. 2 hours ago, MartyNZ said:

    I stopped buying Castrol when they started advertising Syntec as "full synthetic" despite the fact that it was made from a Group III mineral base oil.

     

    My Kawi ate a camshaft lobe running on ActEvo. So, I switched away from Castrol. Now, for my various bikes, I have a shelf with Repsol, Valvoline, Mobil1 4-stroke and Motorex. All good synth oils - substantially better in most regards than what was recommended when the bikes were built.

    • Like 1
  3. Oh, I suppose that anything can and has been accounted for. I guess my point was that the Offy's were huge 4-bangers revving to rather high RPMs and piston speeds in the age when lubricants were so-so, even in racing.

    I think I'll contact Bardahl and see if I can get the specs on their oils.

    • Like 1
  4. The Offys were extremely stout, as four cylinder engines have always been limited as to displacement and RPM due to secondary balance issues. 3.0L was the limit for Porsche and it was redlined the same as a Harley Sportster: 5800.

  5. IIRC, those four huge pipes in the Bardahl Special came from an Offenhauser DOHC 4-valve four. A monoblock engine with no head gasket to blow.

    Ole Bardahl started his oil business in Seattle, in 1939. It was huge in the 50s-60s. Off and on since then as  the market has become glutted with lubricant brands.

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bardahl

    Now Mandello approved you say? As my 1st generation Italian-American neighbor used to say: "Ain't dat cute!"

    • Haha 1
  6. As to full-on race bikes the (in)famous Raceco Guzzi that gave the Britten fits had about all there is left in the old gal. The fact that the bike worked as well as it did is amazing., even though it threatened to throw the rider off each time he cut the throttle. 

  7. Knowing the idiosyncrasy of the marque, I immediately ordered two blank keys and headed to the local locksmith. When I produced the OEM key and the blanks, she immediately said "Oh, we have those blanks." Well, so much for the exclusivity of the keys. Anyway, I had two spares made - primary keys actually, and stashed the originals in my safe. Dipped the new key heads in red PlastiDip, attached an old Nautica floating key fob and there you have it. Come hell, they'll match, and come high water, they'll float.

    • Like 1
    • Haha 2
  8. I had a similar headlight/fairing stay problem on a Kawasaki that I bought post-crash. I tied a nylon rope to the stay and secured the other end to a maple tree opposite the bend. Then, leaning the bike away from the tree applied pressure to the bracket. It took a bit of tossing the bike sideways against the slightly slack rope to pull the stay back into alignment. An 1100 Sport has more than enough heft to unbend that part. Just make certain it is a good rope and well secured.

    • Like 1
  9. 3 hours ago, p6x said:

    I am a 20th century guy, and all the Japanese motorcycles I saw back in the 70's where equipped with Yuasa batteries, stock.

    A lot of those "new" brands were not around back then, and even if they were, they probably did not cater to the wheeler people. Yuasa is a brand I would naturally trust because of its longevity.

    Unfortunately, if you use the product find on the Yuasa site, you draw a blank for Moto Guzzi V11 Le Mans / Sport 2004.... :blush:

     

    Well, with a niche brand like Guzzi, you have to get creative. All of the V11 Sports use the same battery, so just use the '99-'02 if that's all they show. I have noted that a lot of sites ignore the '03-'05/'06 V11s.

    As to Yuasa, they make the AGM batteries in their Reading, Pennsylvania plant. Not far away, DEKA also makes AGM batteries, but I decided to go with Yuasa, as the last one I had lasted me 9 years. As a trial, I have installed a DEKA AGM battery in a Kawasaki I own.

    YTX15L-BS for the AGM series for Guzzis. If you go to Yuasa UK, they have a far better application guide, listing each V11 variant separately, even though they all use the same battery. Although, I'm slightly miffed, as they list my bike as the "V11 Ballabgio" 

    https://www.yuasa.co.uk/#lookup-manual-selection

  10. 4 minutes ago, LowRyter said:

    130HP?  My goodness, it gains 10HP after every thread. 

    Claimed power and claims in general. There is a formula to estimate power output. I do not have that, but imagine 95-100HP at about 8-8.5K with a redline about 9K or so.

    Seasoned Americans will remember the hyperbolic J.C. Whitney auto parts/accessories catalogs of the 1960s. They were chock full of gizmos and doodads that were "claimed" to add HP, increase mileage, or usually both.  Back in the day, some friends and I used the example of an air-cooled VW bug. By adding on everything that would fit, we managed to pump that theoretical bug up to around 600HP. And, fuel mileage was so exceptional that one would have to stop at service stations regularly to drain excess fuel from the tank.

    Claims are like smoke rings - intriguing to behold, but gone as soon as they appear.

    • Like 1
    • Haha 1
  11. In this case, I cast a jaundiced eye toward manufacturer or dealer recommendations. They want your money - everyone does, as it is human nature. I trust the techs, mechanics and pilot-mechanics, as they have hands-on knowledge and experience. I have yet to hear of a fastener failure or thread damage caused by anti-seize compound. Compounds with metallic content must not be gotten on the porcelain at the spark plug tip, but that is the only caveat I am aware of.

    • Like 1
  12. What is not often used is anti-seize compound. On spark plug threads, certainly. However, it can act as a microscopic barrier, or insulator between dissimilar metals. Some anti-seize formulations are claimed to eliminate electrolysis. On principle, they are not going to cause electrolysis or facilitate the action. But, as in life, one must choose wisely. Dad had an olive drab painted military surplus mica based antiseize compound. He would not leave the runway without it, so to speak.  

    • Like 1
  13. Any port in a storm: Synthetic Harley oil. The world will always have that. Air-cooled, flat tappets and rockers. Separate transmission. The same lubrication needs. Harley's maybe even more critical than Guzzi, as they have that hot rear cylinder to keep cool.

    • Like 1
  14. Dad flew with Valvoline in a single engine aircraft. That was long ago, but they have recently introduced a synthetic, flat tappet engineered oil in collaboration with Cummins, called Extreme Blue. The V11 is running on it and I note no consumption problems, even though I ride at 4500 RPM or so.  Zinc is good - well above the 1000 ppm threshold.

    Screen%20Shot%202021-11-03%20at%206.06.3

    • Like 1
    • Thanks 1
×
×
  • Create New...