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I bought one of these a while back and used it to mount the new tyres to the PVM wheels on my V10 Sport. I've looked at various tyre changers over the years such as the No Mar etc and was always unimpressed by the size and the fact you still need to lever on the edge of the rim and unless they are bolted down you seem to chase the unit itself around the shop floor. The Rabaconda is brilliant to use. The force of stretching the tyre is directed into the ground so it's very stable and the ratchet system is easy on the body and the "ducks head design which is basically the same as a powered machine keeps the rim safe. For people that do miles and the cost of tyre fitting these days it's a good investment. I rate it.

https://www.motoguzzi.com/us_EN/landing-page/stelvio/

I think I would have bought that - and might still. I had the Harbor Freight unit with the Mojo Blocks and Mojo lever. Mounted it on a pallet so could use body weight for leverage and still move it around - but it took a lot of valuable floor space in the garage. Now I have the NoMar, like GuzziArt's above, but with the hitch mount for my truck. Same complaint about the powdercoating, and I prefer the Mojo Lever over the NoMar lever. But this tire changer looks to be the best of breed. And seems portable enough to pop in a trailer with some spare tires. As for wheel weights, I've been using Ride-On tire balancer and sealant on some tires - so no weights needed, just pump some goo into the tire. And on other tires I use the Marc Parnes balancer, which is very nice.

WARNING! if you detest “TLDR,” skim & scan … or just run away now. Paid by the word for 50+ years, I won’t change those spots any time soon. Oh, and I am also a Luddite WRT getting the fonts here right when I cut & paste as I have here from ADVRider where I first posted this earlier today in a V-85 thread. Apologoies. Feel free, Docc, to make it all "prettier." =============== Twice a year, I and others ride to Daviess County in western Kentucky. Why? Mutton. Yes, that’s an acquired taste that not everyone even wants to acquire … but it’s acquired me. But, of course, there’s more to it than that. The paternal “Hagan” contributors of my DNA started off in 1662 in St. Mary’s City, Maryland. In the late 1700’s, when Catholics were no longer welcome in Maryland, Hagans were part of the migration of 200 Catholic families to Kentucky, traveling first by foot and then flatboat to what is now Maysville, Kentucky — then Limestone, Virginia. Led, BTW, by Basil Hayden, they went on from there to settle for a time in central Kentucky south of Bardstown. If you enjoy bourbon whiskey, thank “My People.” If Protestants had settled there instead, Maker’s Mark might be a brand of iced tea. Be that as it may, they moved again in the 1820’s to the better dirt in Daviess County, where their descendants — i.e., many of my Hagan family — still live today. Their church, St. Mary of the Woods, in Whitesville, Ky., was established 177 years ago. Parish picnics started soon thereafter, and mutton has been the common, delicious denominator. I clearly remember the first such picnic I attended in the mid-1950’s. But this post is about the latest such gathering, from where I, Kathi, and two friends just returned earlier this week. Scott (Lima, Ohio) and AJ, (Baltimore, Md.) both longtime Guzzisti, and I rode from the Moto Grappa in Cross Junction, Va., to Whitesville. We took three days, riding exclusively on interstitial backroads. [I only learned that word, “interstitial,” yesterday — thanks, @Pillionviewpoint — and am excited to use it!] Seriously, it was a grand trip. The roads between here and there are made for motorcycles. We even travelled on many — e.g., U.S. 62, a twisty challenge, especially between Maysville and Bardstown — that my hardscrabble tobacco-farming (and distilling! ) ancestors would have used, albeit much more slowly. A six-mile blacktop hypotenuse off of 62 — SR 1504 — between Mount Olivet and Oddville (seriously) is one of the most entertaining pieces of pavement on this grand planet. And, in Ohio, we serendipitously stumbled upon — code for “lost” — SR 348 between Lucasville and Blue Creek, a 25-mile collection of scenic sweepers and a surprise whiskbroom or two to keep you on your toes. My ever-indulgent wife, Kathi, has been to many of these picnics as a pillion and, in this instance, driver of our “support vehicle.” She took only a day to join us in Maysville, and, on the return, be with me at Mount Sterling, Ky., before heading home solo. For some context to the slideshow, below, on Day 1 of the outbound leg, we spent some time with Guzzista @Chethro in Ripley, W.V. [Thanks, Chet] And, on Day 3, we stopped in to visit the Ky. Guzzi Rally near Frankfort. On the return, Kathi and I went to Mount Sterling, where I had arranged to have www.gatewaycycles.com/ do the 6.2K service to my V85. I bought my V85 there on my return last June. I cannot say enough good things about this dealership. Carl, the owner, is an avid Guzzista who went out of his way to ensure that the service would be done without delaying my ride home. For example, though closed on Mondays, he and "Super Tech" Coty, made the service happen that evening so I could leave early the next morning! Enough background. Here are the culled pix (bit still lots) in a slideshow with captions. The link opens in “landscape collage” format, so you can see all at a glance without slogging through one by one unless you want to do that. Hover your curser over any pic to see the caption. [For maddening reasons I do not completely understand, the captions “disappear” if one enlarges the pix and goes through them. On “pure” slideshow, i.e., automatic switching to next slide, the captions continue to appear, but the pace is quick. Keeping the cursor in the “caption area” seems to help if going through manually. As I said, maddening. If anyone knows the code to make it more seamless, please tell me.] The pix? Go here: https://bill-and-kathi.smugmug.com/Moto-Muttoneers-Sept-2023/n-LxVRBJ/ Bill P.S. in the (exceedingly unlikely!) case, you yearn for more tales of Mutton Runs, try these: https://bill-and-kathi.smugmug.com/Motos-Mutton-More-Less/n-HnchJc/ https://bill-and-kathi.smugmug.com/Muttoneering-Sept-2021/n-VzxTGK/ https://bill-and-kathi.smugmug.com/Mutton-Running-May-2018/n-dHftGV/

Bellissimo 👏🏻💪🏼🔝

The Big Blocks with the history that stretches back to 1967 are no more. I'm not certain when the last 1400's were built? I'd think 2018/19 at a guess. The CARC series ceased all production in 2016 but all models other than the Griso I think stopped in 2014 as none of the other models were built using the Cali 1400 sump which the Griso adopted in 2015. The truth of the matter is that the 'Nuovo Hi Cam' in both 1200 and 1400 form was never going to be able to meet €5. I love the motor but I'll be the first one to tell you that it is inefficient, thirsty and dirty! It's side draft porting and long cam overlap mean that cylinder fill is compromised in a large part of the rev range and pipe harmonics are crucial to performance, (Some of you may be familiar with my carpet-chewing, spittle-flecked ranting about the unsuitability of 'Shorty' exhausts put on Griso's for styling purposes!). Even at the optimal point there is still a considerable loss of unused incoming charge that, due to the head design, simply gallops across the top of the piston and exits the exhaust valves rather that filling the cylinder and producing work. That means fuel economy is shit and those hydrocarbons are wasted just dirtying up the environment. Even with air injection as used on the last of the 1400's they were a dirty thing, made worse by people putting loud, unbaffled pipes without Catalytic converters on them so they sounded like a shipping container full of farting elephants! No, the Big Blocks are gone and I reckon the Smallblocks won't be far behind. Thing is neither will I so it doesn't worry me unduly and within twenty years internal combustion, at least of fossil fuels, will have been consigned to the dustbin of history anyway! And good riddance! Anybody who is an 'Enthusiast' will still be able to get fuel for their old vehicles but as a day to day option they simply won't exist. That's fine, people will have newer and different vehicles and toys. I am always amazed though by how far things have come in my lifetime as far as vehicular propulsion has gone. If you'd told me as the spotty kid on his first moped that when I retired I'd be riding a motorbike that effortlessly made twice the horsepower of my dads car from an engine only two thirds the size I would of looked at you as if you were barmy!

It's a Condition of entry er ownership.....

For those wondering whether you have a 15M or a 15RC ECU - it’s very simple to identify. Don't bother looking at the ECU & unpeeling labels under labels & scratching your head or arse. a) Look in the mirror instead. If you’re a Yank (& don’t possess a passport) you have a 15M ECU USA imported V11. And simply move along nothing to see here same with owners of the earlier V11 sans O2 models. Don’t forget this is still an international forum fella’s… it was only the later model European V11’s (& other exported to countries) which had the upgraded 15RC ECU which had additional Closed Loop adaptability. b) If not sure you’re a Yank - get on your knees & look for a O2 sensor as I’ve circled in docc’s diagram above. If your V11 comes equipped with an O2 sensor inserted - you can be 99% confident your ECU is the 15RC closed loop adaptive version. (The 15RC was not exclusively for the V11 but was also utilised on other Guzzi O2 sensor equipped models. The base map was just tailored to suit those other models). c) There’s plenty of opinions from those that don’t own V11’s with O2 sensor closed loop adaptability - these opinions seem to veer towards disabling the O2 sensor as they are only simple narrow band sensors designed for fuel economy or emissions only &/or add unnecessary complexity etc etc. I disagree completely with these notions. The 15RC closed loop adaptability with STFT & LTFT trimming isn’t a backwards step in design. It’s a lovely plus plus on top of the base map - when the throttle is whacked open it operates just the same as the 15M base map as it’s now in open loop mode - but has the added closed loop constant throttle closed loop fine tuning. There is zero problem with the 15RC ECU it’s lightening fast in response times - the original root cause problemo was “the LSH15 probe has such a slow response time to the variation of the exhaust gases” …“the LSH24 instead has a very good sensitivity and a response time equivalent to the reading interval of the ECU.” The 15RC ECU. Don't disable in trying to cure any hiccup stumble or poor running problems. Just simply change the bloody O2 sensor to the improved LSH24 and you’ll have all the open loop 15M provides plus more with closed loop adaptability - which auto tunes out… any hiccup stumble or poor running problems! If this doesn’t make perfect sense folks then go & rip out all your O2 sensors from every other vehicle you own - even butcher the V100 Mandello with its closed loop adaptability O2 sensors. It’s clearly too complex - which is probably a bad thing.

Looks good.... Bring on the LeMans or Sport version! Actually after seeing this, it gives hope that when/if they do produce one it'll be GOOD. Cheers

Cui Bono

Hi LP, Nice, I don't think I came across the Rabaconda unit when I was looking back in 2017. I looked at the Max2H changer but thought I'm getting too old to be scrambling around on the ground. Yeah, I like the Rabaconda stopper pin, lube brush & lube bucket. I also like the duckhead, looks similar to the set-up on Coats powered changers, don't know why Nomar didn't put the like on their tire bar other than maybe a patent problem..idk. I have a Nomar, I never got the technique for using their tire bar, luckily someone posted something about the Mojolever ( https://www.mojotiretools.com/mojoweb.htm ), it made all the difference in the world for me, works great, no special technique needed to use. Another thing is the lube. I was using Ru Glide when using powered changers but found it drys too quickly, for me, when using a manual changer so it's the grease for me. I dislike using the Nomar lube...small tub, you need two hands to use, one to hold the tub & the other to dip in, get lube all over it, hit the tire and rim then wipe off hand....stupid. Rabaconda grease brush looks great as does their big grease pail....I'm gonna see about obtaining those items. The Max2H has a stopper pin set-up too, Nomar doesn't...I use a shipping tie down to keep the wheel from spinning in the wheel clamps or like Rabaconda recommends for use on laced wheels. I complained to Nomar about their wrinkle finish paint flaking off into the wheel bearing area when using the tire bar against the center pin, they told me I could buy a new center pin. My Nomar doesn't have the portability of the Rabaconda or Max2h. I stow the Nomar in the corner of the garage strapped to a HF two wheel dollie. When I need it, I wheel it into postion in the garage and bolt it down to the concrete threaded inserts that I have previously installed into the garage floor. The bolts only need be finger tight. So far it has worked out ok. FWIW, I use a Mark Parnes balancer too, it works good imo. I hate the price of wheel weights, I suppose it is what it is. Anyway, the Rabaconda changer looks great! Art

Cheers Tom.

That is a high compliment among so many admirable Moto Guzzi. It occurred to me that this particular V11 Sport Has been present at all nineteen of the nineteen South'n SpineRaids. (Would not have been possible without this amazing community!)

Dual-Sport and Adventure bikes are not in the same class. The old XT, along with similar vintage bikes from other manufacturers at the time, was really just a big dirt bike with a license plate that lets dirt-oriented riders ride into town for gas and lunch, or ride on the road to connect sections of trail, or avoid truck/trailer and just ride out from home. But Adventure bikes, like the new Stelvio, give you the capacity, like the family SUV, to take another person and a lot of stuff. Having both a big dual-sport and an ADV bike, they clearly serve different purposes. IMO, this is proper use of an Adventure Bike (my Stelvio NTX): Load with camping gear and stuff for work in another city. Take a few dirt roads on the way to distant points. And here's how I view the proper use of a Dual Sport (my Husqvarna 701 Enduro): ride the street to the trail, then find out where this creek goes. The 701 would have been torture on the above long-haul trip, and I would have torched the tires. The Stelvio will never see anything like that snow-covered creek bed, at least not with me riding it. I'm glad Moto Guzzi brought the Stelvio name back. Now that they did, every motorcycle reviewer will have to form an opinion about how it compares to the like of various displacement GS models, Africa Twin, Desert X, or Norden. Form what I can see so far, it seems closest to the Africa Twin. And I hope Moto Guzzi sell enough of them that they can afford to make a new LeMans based on the V100 platform.

Just a WAG; you probably like smooth flowing curvy design lines in a motorcycle; if so you're not alone.

FYJIMO Racing, at its best!

I tried to "Ha Ha!" that, but got this ... OTOH, I could "laugh" at Pete's. Obviously, Sede Centrale, Carabinieri, was not amused. I am now worried about disciplinary action. Bill

Our very own, personal, Carabinieri . . .

Rolling out after everyone meticulously selected their preferred routes, destinations, and derived riding partners . . . . . . our small team was fortunate to encounter a "need." I heard Josh say, "Let's try to fix it ." Having benefited from the "ideas" about the area and the lunch spot (and the lake overlook), we navigated back to The Lodge with little precip. Josh noted that our small team represented four decades of Moto Guzzi and suggested a photo op with SIX decades of Moto Guzzi at the SSR: '70s; 80s; 90s; 20s; 'teens; and 2020's . . .

Success!

By the dawn's early light ... on Sunday at the Lodge at Tellico. A great Raid .... thanks to docc and all. Bill & Kathi P.S. Yes, more pix later.

Oh! Gotta pack! > Longsleeves (turning off on the chilly side over yonder) > Socks and underwear (in case "anyone" asks) > Relays > O-rings (hoping "no one" asks) > Relays > Zip-ties > Spare reaction rod bolt (these hardly ever break!) > Relays . . . did I mention the relays . . .

Cocked & loaded in the Moto Grappa. Bill

True, but, for me, the ride there is a journey of joy. OTOH, the 500-to-600-mile ride there generally leaves me drained, so the SSR is more a “rest & refit” time of beer, bourbon, and BS than local riding, tho Kathi and I will do a bit of two-up while there. No matter how many times I ride that general axis of advance — and it’s been MANY — to the SSR, Atlanta, Hiawassee, or other points to the SE, there’s always something or someone new to make it fun. This is my planned route on the out-leg for this year. Map doesn’t show the short bump north, but I'll likely RON in Princeton, W.V., as I usually do. I am less happy with the Day 2 run, and will likely mod that into something very different and less straight and trafficky, even if longer. I will launch on Thursday; arrive on Friday afternoon sometime before BENT. Kathi will drive down on Friday. I’ll not even think about the return on Tuesday — from my brother’s house in Hiawassee, not Tellico Plains — until the night before. Serendipity is the best planning technique. As I noted — in an (unintentional, I swear) serious thread drift here, https://www.v11lemans.com/forums/topic/18925-what-music-do-you-listen-to-share-your-favs/?do=findComment&comment=292234, I just pulled the rear tire — an OEM-mounted Dunlop Meridian — and put a Michelin Road 6 on the wheel. It awaits the black-art of static balancing. Regrettably, I am no magician, but we shall see. Bill

I can jump that, np . . .

Joe, Apologies for this much-delayed response. Short answer? LOTS. Temper that with I've only ridden it 1055 miles, with only one longish -- and VERY wet -- trip to see grandkids in North Carolina.. Riding it to Erie in a week or so, SSR in early September, and Mutton Run after that, and those real miles should tell the tale. Meanwhile, I'll just say that I have been pleasantly surprised by its performance and comfort. Bill

I mean, it's still no Ballabio, @Bill Hagan . . . Yet . . . I'm havin trouble feelin' sorry for ya. (Ya had me goin' with the whole Norge thing . . . )