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Emeraldv11

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Posts posted by Emeraldv11

  1. To straighten your bracket, If you have access to liquid nitrogen( your local doctor or a cattle inseminator) tie some wire on your bracket, dip it in the nitro and secure it in the vise wearing welding gloves and straighten it back to shape.

    The cold tightens the granular structure of the alloy (if thats the right words) and it wont break.

    I straightened many gear levers ,brake pedals etc that way and saved a fortune.

    Very handy for bending thick aluminium plating to make sumpgards etc 

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  2. Hi to all,

    Oddyseys, Hawkers and top of the range Yuasa's are made in the same US factory. I got 10 years of use with a US made yuasa in my Stelvio, reselling the bike with its original battery still installed.

    Now, on the V11, a generic lawnmower battery (70 euros) is on its 4th year without trickle charging it.

    Battery life is a lottery and price has no relation to lifespan ,in my own experience anyway...

    • Like 2
  3. All Stelvios bar the first 250 or so came with the bad followers ,mine was amongst the very first ones built and i did 65000k without any problems before i sold it.

    While in Mandello i enquired about getting a repair/mod kit just in case and in view of my engine number was told that i was a very,very lucky guy, that the second batch of followers was crap and people putting in a claim were sent another pure mozzarella set of followers and so on, some had 3 faillures in a row.

    I think that the V11 engine has much more character than the Stelvio.

    Always found the Stelvio very ackward to maneuvre around parking, more over with luggage.

    • Thanks 1
  4. Hi from Cork,

     The last thing you want is waste your power into heat by running an underinflated tyre.
     Also you need your tyre to flex to increase its road contact area in order to provide grip.

    This  is how to calculate:

     -First thing in the morning take your tyre pressure with a telescopic analogic pocket guage.
     -go for a good ride with your bike loaded with your gear.
      -stop and remeasure the tyres pressure when they are hot (with the same guage)

    Back tyre  pressure should be between 5-10%higher than cold
    Front tyre pressure should be between 3-5% higher than cold.

    This is valid for all motorcycle tyre types ,type of bikes , loads and road surfaces.
    Modify message
     
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  5. The better Yuasa batteries are made in the same Pensylvanian factory as the Odyssey's.

    I recently bought a brand new pc545 for a customer's Vincent in which i was after fitting an electric start.

    That battery would not charge above 12.5v, would discharge in 3days down to 11.7v and give only 120 amps under test.

    So a Dud could appear amongst the bests

    • Thanks 1
  6. Hi from Cork!

    The old Nitromors active ingredient was Methylene Chloride and would dissolve any paint.

    It is now banned and the new stuff is as efficient as spring water.

    Hers in Ireland you can still get methylene chloride based stripper but only by 5 liters for 'professional use only', about e40 a can.

    If you check with suppliers of parts for the restoration of vintage tractors they should know how to get it.

    I will have to do mine next winter and i wil attempt it with the engine i situ, small section by small section. Its only silver paint that the previous owner did with a brush. I will leave it in bare aly with ACF50 surface treatment,like my T5

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  7. The Yuasa 'made in USA' are, i believe, made in the same factory as Hawker Odyssey's.

    My 2008 Stelvio's day one factory original Yuasa battery was still perfect when i sold the bike last year, no special treatment, no trickle charger just luck! 

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  8. That was typical of the Stelvio starter buttons.

    Started the bike once amongst a big group taking off and did not hear that the starter stayed engaged.

    A mile further down the road and a lot of smoke.

    Got a replacement switch unit under waranty and it was faulty too.

    Fitted a big 60 amp starter button from a vintage tractor on the bars that gave no trouble for the next 10 years .

    • Haha 1
  9. 11 hours ago, Kane said:

    That sounds pretty handy. A lift of some type will be a must now that I have real shop space. The hospital bed solution sounds pretty cool.....would you post a pic, please!

     Thanks!

    Hi everybody.

    Here are a couple if pictures, the first one is the small bench ,what they call a hospital trolly.

    It lifts a V11 no problem and is very steady.

    The second one is electrically operated and the picture shows how easy it is to squeeze between bikes.

    Hope this helps.

    IMG_20210203_085247_6_copy_1024x576.jpg

    • Like 3
  10. Hi to all,

    I run a small restoration company and have 2-3 projects on the go at anytime, say one service (up to 1week),one full veteran restoration (up to one year) and one medium size job (a couple of weeks+).

    I use 3 narrowed hospital beds on wheels and find them invaliable as they can very easily be pushed out of the way even with a big bike on top.

    They are cut to 2' wide and a 9x2" board clips in the back to wheel thhe bike on.

    The front of the bike is secured with a 'bike grab' .

    One lift is pedal operated and the 2 other electric.

    They all came free and are more versatile than any other bike lift i have ever seen.

     

    Well worth considering in your set up as you dont have that much space and might like to use the center of the floor for another project sometimes.

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  11. The pair of slosh plates arrived today in Ireland, i must say someone is quite handy with the jigsaw.

    Lovely job, a pitty to hide it but when my oil light flickered during heavy breaking i knew it was time to do something.

    Thanks Eric and greetings from Cork,world capital of the sideway rains.

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  12. Hi to all!

    The' made in USA' Yuasa, such as the one that was fitted in my 2008 Stelvio from day one come out of the same factory as the Hawker odyssey.

     I sold my stelvio last june ,12 years old with the original first day battery.

    It was never put on trickle charge, it got flat a couple of times in the winter but always came back to life.

    I think that there is a lot of luck involved in the life span of a battery,and a lot of unproven theories about them.

    Greetings from Cork.

     

     

    • Like 1
  13. There should be plenty half dismantled old T3 availlable around with bashed body work etc,better resucitated into a Café than left to rot and waiting for the scrap yard.

    Anyway you dont need any bodywork or wheels if they are cast.

    Also,You will find plenty low mileage ugly ex police T5 in Italy for E3000 or there about ,you can swap the barrels for new 940 Gilardonis round fins and get Le Mans heads.

    Good Luck from Cork, Ireland

    (Pics are before and after)

     

    trasher as bought.jpg

    squalo speziale2.JPG

    • Like 5
  14. Hi, if you just brush on ACF50 sparcely and wipe the surplus off with a rag it will keep it free of corrosion for a long time.

    I use it on all my guzzi bare (unpainted) crankcases also for the last 20 years with great success.

    Good luck with your build, i love the wheels but question the tank,its too bulky to look fast...

     

    • Like 1
  15. https://www.moto.it/news/nico-cereghini-il-museo-guzzi-sara-bellissimo.html


    Translation by Google:

    Nico Cereghini: "Will the Guzzi museum be beautiful?"
    November 2, 2020 - The Piaggio Group Board of Directors approved the
    redevelopment project of the Moto Guzzi museum and the entire production
    area of Mandello. It will be a famous archistar to take care of it.
    Even if there is no other news for now, fans rejoice

    Hello everyone! At the end of September, when I anticipated that Moto
    Guzzi's 100th birthday would be celebrated in 2021 (read the article),
    many of you raised the theme of the Mandello museum. It is too
    neglected, several comments criticized, "it's a shame!" some directly
    accused. Well, I want to give you some good news: even the president and
    top management of the Piaggio Group realize that the museum is not up to
    par. And now the board of directors has approved the redevelopment project.

    There are no precise figures or times, but the resolution is a fact: it
    was decided that the works will begin next year and will cover the
    entire area of the Mandello Lario plant, from production to the
    offices and halls of the museum. It is also known that the project was
    entrusted to Greg Lynn, American architect and designer, member of the
    United States Artists, awarded the Golden Lion at the Venice Biennale in
    2008 and many other international awards; and who is also CEO of Piaggio
    Fast Forward, the team of innovators “which aims to build lightweight
    mobility platforms that offer innovative solutions for the movement of
    people and goods”. In short, a beautiful head already involved in the group.

    What matters is that, although times are not exactly ideal, those who
    have the fate of Guzzi in their hands seem determined to invest millions
    of euros in the prestige of the brand. Even the mayor of Mandello
    Riccardo Fasoli, on the pages of Corriere della Sera, is delighted with
    the good news, rumors have been circulating for months and the
    ratification of the board of directors is the expected turning point.
    For Mandello it is a panacea, the museum has always attracted Italian
    and foreign enthusiasts, but above all we understand that such an
    investment means that the company will remain here, on the lake where it
    was born a century ago and where the history of motorcycles was made.


    I believe, and I am certainly not the only one, that no museum in the
    world could come close to that of the Moto Guzzi, once it has been
    rethought and recreated. There are other even older houses - Gilera is
    from 1919, the first Harley is even from 1903 - but the eagle house has
    an absolutely unique history. It is enough to mention a symbol such as
    the famous wind tunnel: here in Mandello technical innovation and
    creativity have been breathed, the most extraordinary successes in
    international races have been built before world-wide. Men of enormous
    talent met on the shore of the Lario, names like Omobono Tenni, Bruno
    Ruffo or Giulio Cesare Carcano with his incredible Otto cylinders: no
    other brand has reached this high.

    I don't know this Greg Lynn, one of the ten most influential architects
    in the world for Forbes magazine. But I already envy him. If he has a
    bit of passion for motorcycles, imagining and designing the Moto Guzzi
    museum will be a magnificent adventure for him.



    --
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  16. We were in Mandello a dozen or so years ago for the first time, myself on my old T5, (still going strong with ALL its original electrics, never seen the valves or the pistons after 35 years and 120000 km) and my friend on his Rosso Mandello.

    Just after arriving in the Abbadia Lariana campsite we sat at the bar for a beer.

    This young lad in Guzzi overalls arrives and ask my friend: 'You want Ohlins? 100 euros!'

    He went out and came back with a brand new back shock.After getting his money he said:' Want another one?' and off he went for it.

    Northern Italy works in marvellous and mysterious ways!...

    • Like 1
    • Haha 3
  17. What realy excites me is to ride my bike 'on the cam'. And that applies to any bike at all.

    Its just that you cannot ride anything modern and powerfull in such way if you want to be back home for your supper and not ending in a box or in jail.

     I have a few small bikes like an Airone Sport or a Bultaco 350 and enjoy them immensely when i can wring them around coaxing every horse availlable to stay 'in the zone' and on song.

    May be i am old fashioned and missing something but the Airone at 60mph is more fun than my ex Stelvio at 130.

    Many customers aren't looking for silly power and over prepped steers, technology is a lure and progress an illusion, give me two valves and pushrods please. There wont be any need to rebuild the head at silly expense or to remortgage your house to reshim your desmo.

    So for me, guzzi is on the right track staying air cooled and pushrod , keeping production costs down , but with the added value of a shaft drive thus reducing maintenance.

    As a mechanic, i cannot but admire the skills of the creators of those super rockets but it somehow lets me cold.

     

     

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