Locky

Divorcing your Guzzi is a tad extreme, hope ye become reconciled.

>Well Guys, like I said I struggle with the webby stuff and spent a half hour emailing/downloading/downsizing/creating an album blahblahblah then the tech tells me I can only send so many bits of data - Doh to quote your man Homer-so ye are gonna get a one off snap of a very special Griso based machine snapped in Stafford Show UK a few weeks back - the builder whose name I didn't get is standing behind the beasty. Its bedtime here so I will have another go tomorrow at sending on a snap or two of my V11 Le Mans rumbling around an old Irish road race venue that now hosts a recreation of the old event, last held in 1967. The Stafford Show is well worth a visit if you happen to be going to the UK in either April or October as it runs twice yearly and all sorts of odd things surface there.

Wow that was quick - Im trying to setup an account with these guys you recommend - $11 dollars for a year seems cheaper than a lollipop. Will be doing my best to master the tech. Grazie again Locky

Hi Guys Would like to forward a few snaps of my V11 finally getting ridden - what is the techy secret to sending snaps from an Apple phone pleez? Grazie Locky

Italian wiring-where would we be without them? Connections/earths/rust/ wiring brittle with age - all these maladies befall some Italian stuff. If the bike was stored somewhere chilly for a Winter or 2 then issues will follow. Ignition switch on my own V11 was in very poor shape internally, rewired and now much better but still the odd time nothing happens when starter button pressed - when we are all dead and gone our spiritual grandsons will be asking each other what the phuck is wrong with their old Moto Guzzis. If you need a laugh have a look at some original wiring on 70s Italian stuff - very little left original now cos folks wanted to get about on them but if you get a chance take a peek. Take it as part of the fun of running a left of field beast-its not wired to the standard of BMW that's for sure.

Hello Guzzisti- Just a note to keep you guys informed - as feared our lad John has lost his lady to cancer - she passed last Thursday and the funeral was last Tuesday and was attended by about 70/80 bikes of all classes, as she had requested - it was a sad sweet day and became my first long run of about 200 miles on the Guzzi so was a bittersweet way to get back on the old thing. We had a police escort across North Dublin to the crematorium and our last instructions were to give our motors some stick while her casket was being carried into the service - which we did. All very fitting and so much better than a quiet exit. Me and the Guzzi need to try a bit harder to suit each other - the ravages of time have given me arthritis in feet hands and other parts so the riding position is quite painful and I cant dance about the way I used to years back - but the beast pulls like a train and still handles sweetly -of course it rained on and off most of the day. So Im thinking about whether I need to look at something like a Griso or maybe rebuild my Cagiva 900 Gran Canyon which is also a V twin, my kind of motor. Or can I alter the footrest position on the V11 without too much butchery? I actually spent some of the run on a pals 1300 Honda naked thing,as he wanted a spin on the Guzzi, and the riding position was so comfortable and allowed me to enjoy the ride and realise I hadn't lost the ability, just the clip-ons and rearsets position is now damn uncomfortable for me. Dash and bother as they say in Blighty. So that's the state of play - I also have to chase up the paperwork for the bike as it has been first registered in England in 02, then imported to Ireland for a few years and reregistered - then sold back to England and put back on the UK number plate and now back in Ireland so needing to have the old Irish plate put back on-Irish civil servants being what they are this is going to be a headscratcher for them and I will need to be patient, which isn't my strong suit.But I will keep you guys informed - and try figure a few photos into the conversation. BTW your run to the Spine sounds and looks like serious fun- I hope old Dorian leaves you alone - we think we have problems with rain in Ireland but many parts of the planet would love to have our problems. Ciao for now Locky

Further update to the Manx trip - sadly we have decided to pull the plug on our little jolly to the Island as the wife of one of the original planners has taken a serious downturn in her very long battle with cancer and we all felt this wasn't the time for boats bikes and beers - the Island will always be there. Have had the Guzzi doctored and was to collect the beast today but domestic stuff cropped up so now its the morning(Sunday) - we have a little break in the Irish Summer rain for a few days so the hope is to cram in a few miles getting to know the old thing again. Will try to remember/remaster the art of sticking photos into the ether and send a few - its not a show bike but I have a few ideas for the cosmetics(doesn't everybody) Ciao for now.

Update on" Guzzi goes to the Manx-" bike now with doctor for fettling/wiring - hope to collect this Saturday - boat from Belfast on Sunday morning - travelling in buddies camper with 3 bikes on trailer as the Isle of Man Steam Packet company want a small fortune to ship the bikes on their own - shipping company also referred to as the Steam Racket Company. Also saves piling furniture on the bike as the gear travels in the camper. Have further technical question for you guys - where can the flange for the rear shock adjuster be sourced? Currently held on with 2, ahem, zip ties. Now that works but has no class so the right part would look so much better. Also another thought flitted across my mind, should I expect some issues with ethanol and a plastic fuel tank at nearly 18 years of age? Will try to post a few piccys of the bike and Monas Isle - going to the Island without a bike is a bit like going to a bordello with a chastity belt on. First went back in 1975 and from then to 1984 attended regularly - highlight was seeing Mike Hailwoods return in 78 on a Ducati, when he was so unfancied and written off as a has-been but proceeded to spank Hondas arse - great moment. Ciao

Thanks again to all you guys -Im finding it hard to grasp all the techy side of this forum being a Luddite on the keyboards - social media and all that stuff is kinda for a younger generation - I grew up in a world where if you wanted to catch up with a mate you went to the pub where he drank - and telephones were nailed to the wall in the same places. So pardon me in advance if there are patches in the conversation - just been out in the shed tinkering with the Guzzi-the more I look the more I find that needs a little fixing - found a very loose bolt on one fork leg just now - managed to refit a pair of clip-ons that were on the bike but now the master cylinder snags the fairing but we can fix that before I hit the boat. One of the clock rubber mounts is bust too - thought they were a bit wobbly - theres 38000 miles showing on the bike now and a few rattles I don't remember from my time owning the beast. Then again nostalgia is a bit blind and a few loose bits here and there is kinda par for the course with V twins no? I repurchased the bike over the phone sight unseen so was a bit silly expecting the same old bike it was 7 years ago-but I am determined to get it back to a shinier state with the hope of doing a few trackdays before my bones give up on me altogether. Used to race a bevel Ducati 750 back in the early 90s and have tried to keep doing a few trackdays every year just to scratch the speed bug-my son has a 916 we used on the track for years though this year he decided it was getting too valuable to risk wrecking on the track. So the current plan is to proceed at a more sedate pace on the Guzzi - probably 40kgs heavier and a modest power output but Im a fair bit more sedate myself now. Will keep you guys posted on the run to the Island. Ciao for now and many thanks again. Locky

Wow, Im quite overwhelmed with the help-Kiwi Roy you are a star - its amazing to another Old Fart like myself how this interweb malarkey can hook guys up from around the planet with the click of a few keys. I remember as a young lad in the early 70s, trying to source parts for a Kawasaki 350 Avenger 2 stroke twin in Dublin - nothing whatsoever could be had - and I recall getting a Japanese lad I knew in London to write a letter to the Souriua diagnostic company on behalf of a mate of mine looking for parts, which took months. Different world . Im puzzled why Guzzi would persist in manufacturing problems for themselves, Italian bikes have had a dodgy enough reputation for years from which they have only lately recovered. Then again perhaps the only reason Guzzi have survived the way they are is because they managed the neat trick of ignoring the outside world for so long and somehow managed to keep the factory open. I will print off my homework and apply myself to it. Much thanks and I shall keep you informed - I really hope the trip to the Isle of Man happens cos its 35 years since I was last there and this is a bit of a Band Back On The Road moment. Grazie

Hi Guys Just back from family visit so only seeing your replies now-thanks a lot for speedy response - the battery is a new Yuasa 14ah which a Guzzi shop told me would do the business and when the solenoid/starter gets a clean contact it happily cranks over and starts - haven't flushed out the tank yet and the petrol is a few years old although I know that s a different set of issues apart from the dodgy contact with the starter. I also know its a sin to expect a motor to run happily on mouldy old unleaded. The relays I will have to chase up- I got a workshop manual with the bike but wasn't too impressed with the wiring diagram, maybe because Ive always been a bit allergic to Italian wiring and wouldn't class myself as a sparks, more a fiddler. Amateur fiddlers keep professional mechanics in work so we shouldn't be abused too much - that's my logic. I might surrender and bring the beast to a good mechanic I know in Dublin who specialises in Italian stuff from the past, my work keeps me on the road for long days and hours in the Summer so don't get the chance to spend quality time in the shed fettling- I know its cheating but starting into a fiddly issue when you`re knackered tired isn't the best or most productive approach. Im due to take the bike to the Isle of Man for the Classic TT in a few weeks time and would hate to have it sit down on me while there, if only because the company I keep will give me a merciless ribbing over Italian stuff - Im sure you know the routine, Thanks again for the help, you will hear more about it.

Hello folks-I have recently repurchased an 2002 V11 Le Mans I first owned 7 years ago, having taken it as a tradein - I flogged it to a pal in London in 2012 when I was lined up for a hip operation and couldn't straddle the beast in comfort. Bought it back happily as I always loved the thing, however in the years since my ownership it sadly languished in a front garden under cover for far too long and is now quite rusty and scruffy - this I can live with and work on over time but worst of all it has a hit and miss approach to starting. Have fiddled with it, as you do, took starter off and got new brushes fitted, still goes click click click then maybe whirr vroom. Local mechanic sez its the solenoid not making proper contact - what might other potential causes be? I have been around Italian bikes for years and know electrics can be a weak point, Im 65 now and don't fancy pushing the beast too far if it decides not to restart one fine day. All help appreciated-when I master the technology I will post a pic or two, though its a fairly standard bike and scruffy unlike some of the gems I see on this forum so I wont be shouting about its coolness-it just so happens I like the way it does its business on Irish country roads with a nice grunty motor.