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Hi Eamonn Your query re MRM hi-comp pistons. Yes. Absolutely. I will answer from memory here… you can always check by going over old posts yourself I seem to recall years ago when I ordered my pistons there were a couple of weight versions - one being comparable to oem stock weight in replacement & the other being further lightened. The piston profile of the two were the same tho. The V11 combustion chamber differed from previous Guzzi big blocks by having a angled squish band designed into it. I won’t try & relay here the details of the benefits this gives but at the time I researched it extensively because I enjoy understanding the nitty gritty (my ocd kicks in) - but essentially it improves air/fuel mixture turbulence & homogenisation than flat squish band at the higher RPM’s which Guzzi was trying to improve upon for the V11 design. Remember also it was changing to fuel injection from carburettor too on the V11 models. This was all happening at the time of Aprilia taking ownership as well. I digress. However - there seems to have been either a cost cutting exercise going on or an ordering oversight boo-boo stuff up of sorts & the pistons design wasn’t changed to properly match with the angled squish band heads. So while the heads squish band surface was angled the piston squish band was flat resulting in an ineffective non-working squish action. This mismatch is the root of the V11 tendency to detonate under certain conditions . I digress again. Anyhow Mike Rich spotted the design nuances of the V11 head chamber squish angle & designed his pistons with the same matching angled squish to work properly with the V11 heads which the Guzzi factory had ultimately failed to ever rectify. Improved piston chamber turbulence dampens detonation occurring & allowed a slightly higher compression ratio to be achieved as well with Mike’s hi-comp design. Whew! Sorry that the basic backstory from memory took so long Eamonn. Anyhooo… at the time I think a member called helicopterJim had previously installed MRM pistons & his positive commentary on his experience probably influenced my own decision to go ahead with Mike’s pistons. I chose the standard weight MRM pistons as I didn’t want to be bothered with any extra hassle of balancing work costs. I noted Pete Roper rating Guzzi conrods as very strong, very good & so had no desire to additionally fork out for Carillo’s in that case. The piston’s had a noticeably positive impact on installation. A slightly sharper bark with a more ‘awake’ feel & pulls harder thru midrange & sustains it longer imo. The occasional detonation rattle reduced to almost never - maybe once in a year of riding I’d notice a little rattle rattle for a second or so… that’s it even in hot 100F days. And that was before a better Bosch O2 sensor which improved the ECU control. My bike has the 15RC ECU so it continually trims the fuel when changes are made so it has capacity to recalibrate itself to it’s desired Lambda ratio in time. I seem to recall American V11 owners who installed Mike’s pistons without retuning their ECU’s & their bike’s coped fine with improvement but maybe others can confirm this recollection. In short - go ahead & install the pistons. They are an improvement. Oh, I just remembered - they are forged & a little clickety clackety mechanically louder for a couple of minutes until the combustion heat expands them just ever so slightly & that mechanical clatter completely disappears. Hope that helps

OK Wish I had understood this earlier. Plates need to be as thin as possible then. Let me think about this.

Yeah, we've PM'd a few times over the year or so. I am asking $7500 which is more in range of the Mandello/Ohlin equipped bikes. I bought this bike 2 years ago from a "collector" in Wisconsin, had it shipped to VA. Had 2400ish miles. I've run about 3k more then stopped riding. Detailed, put fresh tires on, covered and put away for a bit. Didn't want to keep running up miles, esp. since I have a red '03 to take care of the V11 fix. It's essentially flawless with a couple of very minor exceptions. Engine paint (LOL) is like factory and I treat it as such to protect. No scrubbing, no blasting, no chemicals. Only change I did make upon ownership was swap in the proper Omron relays (Thanks docc!) Does have the original MG factory rear rack. Runs like a well oiled sewing machine. Just waiting for a serious buyer who wants to deal a bit. What kind of quality bike can you buy nowadays for 7K? Not much for sure.

The reason I went to stainless in 2mm is because thinner alloy would fatigue and crack. You could find chunks in the sump! Not good. The 2mm option worked withou issue in most cases but 1.5 might be better and I reckon it should be strong enough. It is a good idea to make the bolt holes slightly larger than 6mm simply to allow for inaccuracy in the cutting.

Still unmolested and still for sale

Just curious if many people on this forum go to the annual Guzzi get togethers? Next year it is in John Day Oregon end of June I think. A fantastic riding area...

Yes............. most definitely. A group of us went to the last one years ago and had a great time. Will be rolling in there this year for a few days Fri/Sat. Looking forward to hanging with you all. Ciao

Hey ScuRoo, thanks so much for the comprehensive response, it sounds like they get the tick of approval, your insights are very much appreciated, I’ll report back when I get around to installing them.

Wishing people a Merry Christmas

I communicated with him about having a stop in Houston, such as Iron Supply Powersports in Katy; the owner matches the criterion for being a sponsor, e.g. Texas family owned business, and the owner was willing to sponsor the tour. However, the tour director told me there was no free spot to have them in 2023. For 2024, we lost BMW Alamo, the biker's hotel, the Harbord Kourt in Coleman, but we did not get Iron Supply added to the list. I am guessing the tour director has his own road map and objectives, and his requests for tour stops may be a form of courtesy, and he never asked for sponsors.

Wasn’t that the plan all along?

I'm running an original Roper plate. It was 'almost' a non issue for me. I used a rat tail file in the hole on the top side ever so slightly and it cleared nicely. Others have had different experiences. Gasket material obviously plays a role. For myself, it could have been slightly thicker and still worked.

All good info to have,... now,.... thanks! Seems as though the material MUST be 2 mm stainless then..... oh boy.. Back to everyone in a few days after I talk to the waterjet guys.

Thanks for the picture. I'm surprise at how sharp the valve cutouts are. I'd imagine setting up squish would be very important. The dome is very flat, flatter then the Oem piston got to help with flame spread. Hemi heads are legendary for being able to fill a cylinder. They're also legendary for not being able to burn everything they take in. My Oem piston is lighter @ 457.2 grams the wrist pin was heavier @ 106.9. If you install those pistons do yourself a favor and put some money in the budget for a balance job.

That's a beautiful bike. Tom has the original poster ever tried to contact you? Certainly better looking then picture he posted.

Here is a reference image indicating the fastener that would struggle to align when the sump spacer is set off further from the engine case. Some installers reported being able to get the fastener to thread in. Others have reported relieving (filing oval) the hole in the sidestand mounting plate. I would be concerned about creating excessive lateral stress on the sump spacer forcing the fastener in without creating some relief. 3/16" is almost double the thickness of the original P.Roper motomoda plates, if my measurements are close ( 0.1875"/~4.75mm vs ~0.098"/2.5mm).

are they thicker? Thinking about the kickstand mount issue/non-issue already present with the earlier plates

Ha doesn't seem right! Here's another fact for you. To go to a full electric/renewable economy the world will need a 400% increase in the mining and production of Copper alone over and above what we currently produce. It takes on average 17 years from inception to digging the first ton of ore for a copper mine and the people that want to close down fossil fuel energy production are also the people that want to close down mining! Ever seen the steel and concrete used in anchoring down a wind turbine? Go and look on youtube at that and count the energy costs. To give you some idea its a hole in the ground about 75 metres across and 30 metres deep full of concrete and steel reo and we haven't even got to the building of the tower and generator which are high maintenance items even land based. The blades are life limited and currently are disposed of in land fill! Utopian dreaming. Phil

I thought I would add one such Luciano Marabese design. My Coppa with a Lemans fairing. Happy Holidays to ALL.

Strewth! Ain’t that the truth Ken oath

The museum would be perfect…I stopped there a decade ago on the way to Big Bend….would be very much in the spirit of the Tour. Another good one, let’s say a modern one, would be the launch pad site in Boca Chica for the Musk rockets…extra bonus points for a night time launch with rocket flames!! Pity that he doesn’t take your suggestions, I wonder how many he gets? I thought the ice cream trailer on the corner near Luckenbach would be an interesting one….they make gelato out of buffalo or bison milk and have a great place inside for lunch…and a massive parking lot…ideal for motorcyclists to visit!

You can get Mistral exhausts from MG Cycle; https://www.mgcycle.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=26_336&products_id=5951 https://www.mgcycle.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=26_336&products_id=5976 Slip-ons too: https://www.mgcycle.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=26_336&products_id=5830 https://www.mgcycle.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=26_336&products_id=5831

Yes! That is lovely! Thank you!

Ha! I am never going to get that much free time. Even if I limit my attendance to one day, I would have to ride it in 7 days max, door to door. Probably arriving at the meeting on the Friday night and leaving on the Sunday morning. Using my experience of the Texas tour, I think three days to travel out may be possible, but I need to plot it and add the usual refueling stops. I can limit the rest time to the minimum by riding late and starting early morning. I usually liked the mingling with the other owners, but that was then. Now, with the new ways of communicating, you no longer need to do it face to face compared to when I was young, and the only way to get to know the other riders of the same motorcycle as you, was to physically meet them. Also, there were always Saturday parades at night, requiring a passenger to hold the torch.