rich46

Hello All, Still putting the finishing bits on the IOM V 11 and I have a question regarding the Silent Hektik coils. We're using the one coil one cylinder arrangement with the S/H coils and ignition. My question is: the two leads go to the coils that are configured in a "T" pattern which is pos. and which is neg.? Also sneaking in a second question: the S/H ignition requires resistor plugs. As I get ready to take the bike to the dyno shop (Mark at Factory Racing) what plugs and heat ranges have you all had the best luck with. I would like to take a good selection of plugs along with me so Mark has what he needs right there and doesn't need to go running around looking for a special plug. Again thanks to you all for your help and input. Cheers Rich

Footgoose, PM me a number and as soon as it stops raining I'll head out to the shop try and grab some pics. R

Footgoose, Yea, just saw Wade this morning. Did a crazy-man run up our west coast Highway 1 in the pouring rain. Stopped and had breakfast so we see a fellow who has a flat tracker that was once raced in SoCal by ; I think @#$$#! Mann and Hacking. Bike is a Champion framed single cam Honda 750/4. I find that he will sponsor us to the bike and put together an engine for us to do the west coast AHMRA events. Yep I'll send pics of this thing also but remember this one is coming to me in an oil soaked wicker container and since it was raced has gone through two other life forms. Flat Tracker>Road Racer>Street Bike>Basket Stuffer. By the way if you would like to see and hear about our last IOM adventure try going to holly@agilepooch.com and you can ferret out the whole bloody Manx GSXR event from a few years ago. Cheers Rich

Hey Swoosh, Will try and get a few pictures. I worked most of my life on race cars so it's kind of out of what I would regularly do. That said no reason not to take a few pics. Give me a little time to learn how to make my phone camera work and I'll be glad to. Just the Guzzi or the whole wrenched mess ? Cheers

Thanks for your inputs, Sorry but I have not really kept a record of my projects other than my working build sheets. The rider would most likely be Wade Boyd (about 50 IOM starts) We raced a F-I GSXR in the Manx two years ago. The Guzzi I am working on had gotten delayed because I managed to toss my V11 into a hedge a year ago and spent some time in hospital and then rehab. Now back at work on the Guzzi project. The bike was build to race vintages classes that are or are similar to Formula I, 1200cc , carbureted, twin cylinder. It is a square head V 11, in a Tonti frame. We have also put together a early '80's VFR 400 that was build for the New Comer's Race on the Island. And; just so you don't think we're just sitting around how about an R-6 to run at Daytona this year attempting to be the oldest finishers in the top 15 of the 200 miler. Again thanks for the info I really thought that I was looking for BSP or some such I'd never heared of before. LOL I was making it harder than it was. Cheers Richard

I'm in hopes that someone can help with a bike we're building for the Manx next year. The motorbike is all but finished and we're in the process of doing the plumbing and wires. I have two questions: Does anyone know the threads for the oil pressure sender in the block ? We plan on using a big light but are also going to set it up so we can use a gauge for testing at least. I'm also looking for the best (color would be nice) wire diagram so we can sort out the basic wiring. What I want to do is make sure I keep the color code OEM so when the bike leaves my hands someone down the line can trouble shoot a problem. Thanks and Cheers Richard

I like it! The thing about Guzzi's they show off that great "V" twin engine and have a sound unlike anything else.. Rich

Andrew, Where do you live? Wade the purple nurple you have the right one. Been doing the SMR since Wade rode on the gas tank of his dads bike (well almost) anyway since the early 70's Thanks for the input we will keep in touch. Some folks don't understand about the TT course. It's a lot more like climbing Mount Everest than racing motorcycles.just surviving to the finish (or getting to the top) is a big deal. The Moto Guzzi idea stemmed from a conversation on the Island with a guy that said you can't race a Moto Guzzi here because the engine torque will make it unridable. Once Wade and I got over that idea we just decided we'd make one go as good as we could. Suspect you'll understand the reasoning . PM me if you want. Wade and I both crashed our street rides before the Manx and were laid up until just before we left for the island. We're going to try and make this Sundays ride in fact. Cheers, Rich

Mal, If you are going to be at Phillip Island in January say hi to the rider I was talking about "Wade" he's racing his sidecar outfit with his wife Christine. They did quite well in last years event. Rich

Wow, thanks to all of you for helping out and offering all the insight and information. If you want I will keep everyone updated as the project moves ahead. I learned that because of the shipping times to get the bikes to the IOM you can never start too early. Looks like the Le Mans/Tonti will be the best for our purposes so now I'm on the prowel for one that is just decrepid enough to not cost an arm and a leg. Based on the rules for the Manx Formula 1/ Classic TT and BEARS we can bore the engine to 1300 but of course 1000cc is what we'll use engine inturnals are open as long as head and cases stay OEM. Brakes are free (No radial caliper mountings) carbs are free (no flat sides or Power jets) Forks are to be Pattern same type and materials (No USD forks) I suspect that we can use Ohlins as they were supplied as OEM. Again fee free to put in your two cents ideas or leads at anytime. First step to knowledge is to know that you don't know and I'm sure many of you are better versed on the Guzzi that I. It's a motorbike that I have loved for years and would have wanted to race one if for no other reason than I love the sounds they make. Wade and I are going to try and keep the look that Doctor John's BoTT's bikes had to at least show what he did for the mark. Please all of you keep in touch as I will try and do. Cheers, Rich

Just to add bit more information that may help to understand our plan to race a MG in next years Manx. First We're not total newbes in the racing world. I raced and build race cars for forty years and now am retired and building Cafe Racers for fun and profit. The rider in this years Manx has 18 years on the island with over 50 TT and Manx starts. We sat down one night and added it up and best we can guess he has about 1000 laps on the course. As Phil sugjested we showed up with a full pop, "pop" being the pivital word GSXR and promply blew a fist sized hole in the engine. We did finish the race on an engine we picked up off e-bay that was for the most part stock. So the reasoning on the MG idea. No one is really racing one on the Island. Next year we plan to field two bikes one in the senior and one in the 600 class. Doing well on this course is all about track time and track time is hard to get. We wanted to pick a third bike to run in the classic races and we we're hearing things like the engine torque will make the thing unridable (?????) so we started looking at what would confront us if we rode a MG. After this years races we stayed on the IOM to load up and had time lap the course many times. We think that the MG may very well be in it's sweet spot with all the long curving straights. I must also add that being a bit of an odd ball it will get us some extra ink just because no one else is really racing one. I want to thank you all for your imput and please keep it up. This is something we have decided to undertake and are still working out what model Guzzi to pick that will fit the rules to the best of our advantage. Rich

Hey Phil, Yea hear you but love is strange. One thing that the Isle of Man has taught me. If reason had anything to do with it I'd be playing golf. Thanks for the input "but" I will forge ahead. Rich

Hello everyone, Don't often get time to post to the site but I thought that maybe you all could offer some advise. Just got back from the Manx GP. (what a rush) we ran a Suzuki GSXR in the Senior and with an E-Bay motor got a finish. And that leads to why this post. I would like to run a Moto Guzzi in the Classic next year mostly because there was only one Guzzi in this years event and I really like them. Based on the rules looks like I should be looking at a bike produced prior to 01/Jan//87 so my question to you all is two fould what would be the best choice for the build (Le Mans III ?) and any idea what a reasonable price for a doner bike to start on would be? Oh and one other question is there anywhere I can find a list of what final drive ratios are out there and what bikes they will work with? I have been reading all I can including Dr.John's story and can't seem to find the info I'm looking for. Thanks for any help I can get. Rich

Mine measured 355.6 mm bolt center to bolt center. Rich

Thank you one and all, I need to find some sort of new rod ans the previous owner had let it go too long and the ally in damaged. I considered finding a used rod and using some form of synthetic material but I just felt that if I was going to do that I might gain a little adjustablity by using rod ends and a tube. The reason I was looking at the Rossopuro rather than gathering together the bits and making one myself is the cost of doing so would not be much better and didn't look to be worth the effort. Now it looks as if that will be the best way if not the only way to go. I did talk to Rick at MG. They are out of stock and he had no idea when they are getting more. If they're no longer being made that avenue seems to be closed. Thank you all for your input. Rich

Hello All, Bushings gone in OEM reaction rod. Would like to replace with Rossopuro unit. Does anyone know if there is somewhere one can order one in the states. Can't seem to get a response from the parent company. If not the USA the UK would be good. Thanks for any help or other suggestions. Rich

I do understand the logic and how this all happens. My comment was more to the fact that MG is such a small community that I have a bike that (depending on the criteria) reflex three possible model years. I have a friend who works on Lotus 7's and their clones and he can tell you what year the car was built by the welding on the chassis (I have no idea how)it's all such a change from the huge really mass produced bike world Rich

Not necessarily. Some '03s were actually '02s. The easiest way to tell is whether or not there's a tank pad. Tank pad = external fuel pump = an '02. Fuzzy paint on the engine is another indicator of an '02. Well crap now I'm totally confused. The title says it's a 04, the filter and fuel pump are external,it has a tank pad, the vin says it was built in 03, and the engine is a fuzzy wuzzy and it's painted in Red Vintage which I'm told is a rare 03 color. That means it's a?????????????? really my introduction to the world of Italian motorbikes is quite the adventure. ? Rich ? LOL

Just so I'm straight on this after '03 the V11's had the fuel filters and pumps inside the gas tanks as BMW does, correct? Rich

I almost forgot to mention that an old friend who had been a tech in the '80's got back to me on the question. He told me that he had been working on police bikes in the '80's and got some sort of news letter. There was a suggestion that the filter be moved above the frames (he thought that this came from a third world country where the quality of fuel might be suspect) as this facilitated rapid filter changes. I found that an interesting idea and am just passing it along. Rich

Thanks for your comments. I think what I'll do is leave things as they are and cover both the filter and the pump with a material called KoolMat. I had already covered the fuel lines with heat sleeve just because I thought that keeping the fuel as cool as I could was a good plan. After reading your comments I'll just maximize the insulation. By the way if any of you are looking for top of the line automotive heat shielding the Koolmat company has a full line of stuff for that purpose I have been using it for years in auto racing applications. The woman who sells the stuff knows her products and she's a sweet heart to deal with. Anyway thank you for the information. Rich

Hello Again, So my new to me 2003 V11 lives it fires and runs fine. Now I find that I need to again ask you learned folks an other question. I have noticed in my owner's manual that someone in my bikes sorted past has swapped the location of the fuel filter with the fuel pump. As I can see some logic in doing so (keep fuel from engine heat as it sits in the filter) and some logic in not swapping locations (fuel pump is more expensive and more easily damaged by heat) my question is: Is there something that I'm missing, a service bulletin or a speed secret? Unless there is some reason for making a change such as this I would like to keep things the way the engineers drew it up. Anyone know "WHY" Thanks again for all your insights Rich

Bob. Thank you and everyone else. The picture did the trick. I did a mock up without the head lamp installed lined everything up and presto everything looked perf. Moving right a long this bike should be on the road in a few weeks. Now it's just waiting for parts. Thanks again. Rich

Bob, Pictures would really help. I can see on the blow up hand drawings (parts/work manual) the general area just not where they go. Looks as if the end with the flat plate with the 6mm hole goes at the windshield mounting bolt it's how the other end mounts that I can't seem to see. Thanks for your help. Rich

Hi All, Have another question. I found a used V11 Sport fairing and brackets (2) to use on my V11 Naked. I have looked in both my workshop and parts manuals and tried all kinds of combinations and can't figure out where/how the silly brackets fit. Are the headlight horns different Sport/Naked? Or am I becoming old and senile ? Thanks if anyone can be of help. Rich