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The regulator is factory original. "Ducati Energia " is a different company than Ducati Mechanica that makes the motorcycles. The loose ring terminal is the factory ground for the regulator and goes under the missing mounting fastener for the regulator. Certainly run another, more robust, ground from the regulator case to the timing chest of the engine. The markings on the alternator show the direction to turn the crank to position at TDC for valve adjustment and the size of the socket to use on the crank nut (24 mm). Thanks for the running thread, @Steve Swan! Looking forward to watching and sharing in the progress!

Fun times ahead... Is this the red/grey or the champagne LeMans? She looks like a candidate for a thorough clean/inspect process. Although it is low-mileage, since it's been neglected, I'd check every bearing, hose, and electrical connection - replacing things liberally if in doubt. And don't forget to clean those brake calipers and make sure all the pistons move freely.

For your alternator cover, I bought one of these carbon fiber versions, which appear to be on sale for $75 right now: https://mdicarbonfiber.com/products/ducati-moto_guzzi_1100_sport-alternator-cover

The important statement at the end of one video " was not just a motorbike , it was my companion , my partner , my friend" .

I hope you restore the Centauro as it was. Don't know how rough it is but it's a great looking bike. I own a V11 and a Centy and the Centauro just always gets more positive comments when I'm out riding it (that's the truth). Took a while for looks to hook me I really like it now.

If your waiting for the bridge on that song I sure hoped you brown bagged your lunch cause you might get hungry. Reminded me of how long you have wait for the bridge on Midnight Rider.

I joined up with this great forum last July not long after i purchased this '02 Lemans, upon receipt, it became rather obvious the p.o. did not take care of it, so other than fluids change, its sat since and because the totally unexpected happened, i became a car guy, bought a gorgeous '94 Corvette, i am really digging the car and have been intoxicated by it, doing a bunch of routine stuff a 31 year old car needs so it's summer ready, my other car is a '96 Geo Metro, i've never owned a car even remotely similar to the Vette. So... back to my LeMans. The bike came form Michigan, was very obviously ridden in salt, likely never cleaned nor maintained much at all, i'll post pics, this will be a bit of running thread as i bring this poor old soul back to life. Very sad, beyond my comprehension how someone can treat a bike like a piece of shit. So, i'll have some questions along my merry way. Here are pics of the salt damage, major pitting in alt.cover and side stand. Scattered rust through out. Next are basically 3 electrical curiosities, i am guessing the p.o. had his hands on this... has a Ducati regulator, would the factory be sending out a LeMans with Duc parts on it?

GumboLimbo...GamblingProblemo...I'll work on it.

Personally, I like the OP's idea. But, as mentioned, I suspect it would be easier to use V11 Sport and Lemans parts then older models. They should all be similar, but you may find that they are only similar and not identical. But with some creative engineering you should be able to adapt them to suit. I think as long as someone has the time and or money to do it, go for it.

Anyone with a V11 Sport has to able to say "Gambalunghino" . . .

After thinking on it the cover of Midnight Rider is not selling the melody like the original did. I just happened to like it. A better example just driving the melody would be more like The Who Eminence Front.

Generally the measurement is taken from the edge of the tread. Even still, you will get a different measurement on a mounted and installed tire if you measure side to side edge of the tread vs vertically from the ground to the top edge of the tread. That would be because the tire deforms at the contact patch, how much depends on air pressure in the tire. For general tire size measurements people tend to either measure a tire off the vehicle or measure an installed tire but measure side to side so the contact patch deformation doesn't enter into it. But when you are measuring for speedometer calibration you actually want to include that contact patch deformation, typically. So, there are times when measuring vertically from the ground to the top edge of the tire is desired. Being about 0.8" smaller then the published size is not bad. That is probably closer then the KO2 would have been. The KO2 tended to be around an inch or so smaller than the published size. And thanks for measuring.

Scrawling FB this popped up - so had to share this bit of history here.. https://www.facebook.com/share/r/1FCuz7JRdQ/?mibextid=wwXIfr I’ve also got a V65TT btw 👍😎

bingo, as is the final drive and everything else. The reversed negative. Phil

a reversed image. the sidestand on the right.

If you wanted to convert a Centy into something else then the V11 Sport is the natural choice. Petrol tanks, seats, subframes and seat cowls are all pretty much readily available at somewhat reasonable prices. Thats the most popular and easy way of building a replica of my bike it's just you don't get the 6 speed gearbox and a few other things. Engine parts are a big issue though. Phil

Centy was granddad of Griso. How could I not like it? Certainly it’s appearance was ‘Challenging’ when it was launched but it was a brave move by a cash strapped company. Certainly it would be easier to start such a project from one of the ‘CARC’ platform bikes but because of their large, long swingarm all such ‘Specials’ end up looking like shit in my book. I still haven’t seen a ‘Custom’ CARC bike that looks better than a stock or lightly modified Griso.

One of these two bikes in the images was shaped by function and the other was a styling exercise. Guess which is which. Phil

Remember, Marabese Design (Rodolfo Frascoli) "drew" the Centauro from the Dondolino. The whole thing makes sense knowing this. Just as Luciano Marabese "drew" the V11 Sport from the Gambalunghino.

Rather appropriate to OP's query, I must say . . .

Kenny Jones on drums. I saw them in Austin about that timeframe on Jul 3rd. Next day was Willie's Picnic. Quite a deal. I couldn't drive home early morning on the 5th after the picnic. Bev took the wheel.

Yeah, that Dondolino two-tone paint job is *bussin*! ...or... Gumbo-Lino, or wtf ever that said

Sherlock Holmes !

Ha: docc, busted again! I was so determined to have the two images facing the same direction, and the bikes the same color, that I looked no closer at the details. You sharp-eyed guys are impressive.

I was there for the very first Paris-Darkar (then). in front of the Eiffel Tower. The Trocadero gardens where accessible by cars. What was great about the few first editions, is that just about anybody could participate. Over the years, the amateurish riders that first did the Dakar evolved to be what it is today. There is a "classic" section now in the Dakar, where you can race with an older vehicle. But you still need a strong finance support to do it. Sadly, there is no classic motorcycle section, but maybe in the future?

Whew......it looks like that thing was parked o/s and by a shed ! I will have a look and see where the - wire should be attached . I would think the owner installed a Ducati V/R . Don't worry about it. The magic marker stuff on the alternator , IKD. BTW leave the fuel tank open and it will return to normal . If it is hard to reinstall , you can pare down the rubber pucks at the front until they accept the tank . about 120 degrees of grinding is all you need .

Next, markings on the alternator frame, 24...? degrees...? What do you think? And, then lastly, this unattached wire dangling loose wire, a ground...? i don't seen anywhere near by the wire could atach to. Any thoughts where it attaches? Probably difficult to know, until i remove the tank. When i last rode the bike, i siphoned out what ethanol i could and put in corn-free. Once i remove the tank, am i at risk for it growing larger, creating a challenge upon reinstall? Gotta remove it as i am give the old rode-hard-and-put-away-wet gal a thorough servicing and cleaning and refinish finishes on rust-damaged parts. Not going spending-money-nuts, but it will be cleaned up and roadworthy when i'm finished. What ever the mufflers are, they have the worst god-awful sound, they are literally raspy, nothing deep like my '00 Greenie was. So i have round satin Mistrals ordered, but that's gonna be my only big dollar expenditure for the time being. The bike only has 12k miles on odo. it came with nice items, lowered, adjustable driver pegs, shift, brake pedals, 2 sets of Givi bags, top rack with luggage case. I am saving the bike from an early demise. Wasn't in my playbook to get into another deep-ish project, but at least i'll know what's between my legs and under my butt come riding season. I very much welcome your thoughts. Thank you so much for your time and help.

PM sent thanks

The Image docc posted takes me back a bit to the old days of images taken on film. Anybody notice the obvious issue with the image? Phil

I must go with Phil on this one. I have certainly been there and with a considerably less daunting project. I have no idea what you're capable of so I can only offer encouragement. Because - I like to witness passion based accomplishments. That said, I'm not a fan of the Centauro. A complicated machine that looks odd, and such a deviation from the Daytona's original purpose, it's hard to believe it made it to production. So I get why someone would want to improve it. I think it's only redemption is leaving it as it is. A brutally extraordinary motorcycle.

Let's ask the other inmates on the ward if we are really crazy to do these Guzzi things we do . . .

There's an old saying that comes to mind "just because you can doesn't mean you should" These type of projects just about always end up going nowhere simply because the time it takes to try and assemble parts takes so long and the modifications so labour costly the person naturally runs out of enthusiasm. Remember the person here that was going to build the Titanium framed version of my bike complete with a Dynotec built engine? Never eventuated, as I knew it wouldn't because it just gets too hard and too expensive esp when you need to pay people for some of the specialised work. Better to pick a more achievable project maybe based on a Griso or something. I'd never attempt to build my bike again now if I needed to start sourcing parts etc. Phil

Half the stuff you've mentioned is unprocurable these days and if you can buy it extremely expensive. ( Sport fuel tank, fairing etc) You'll need a rear seat frame or the equipment and ability to modify the Centy one. There's a million things before you get to the engine itself, the parts for which no longer exist in reality so it's buy bespoke cam gears, oil pump, etc. Remember Guzzi made less than 3000 of these engines in total across the Centy and Daytona models. The 8 valve engine isn't like the 2 valve big block engine with regards to longevity. The heads are a high wear item as are the cam drive and oil pump gears and oil pump. The project you're thinking of is about 10-15 years too late to be a practical, rational idea. I know I've half done it and am currently building a 95mm bore 8 valve engine which makes so little sense I'm considering abandoning the idea. By the time it's finished it will probably have cost me $8000 in parts and thats with me doing all the machining and labour with the exception of a crank re grind. Read this.

60's music was great. Psychedelics, soul, hippies, MoTown.

Prior to replacing all with Omron, (no failures yet- low use) I used GEI. I had 1 (#5) fail with about 600 mi usage. They are sealed and I believe I got them from a forum member or link. My other failure, also #5, was a Siemens. Another forum member, bikeseamus, here in Indiana, gave much praise to Panasonic. If I ever get low (lol I have a dozen or more GEI and Omron) I will try them. I met bikeseamus a couple years ago at a vintage meet. He rode in on the only other V11 LM I've seen in Indiana. A nice Rosso Corsa. I seem to recall him saying it once belonged to another Hoosier. Maybe Chuck?

I see the spec sheet offers the code breaker and the "2" indicates non-sealed. Form A is 4-pin, and Form C is 5-pin (SPDT) http://www.omron.com/ecb/products/pdf/en-g8hn.pdf