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I've been lucky over the years I've gone 5 or 6 times, I just show up and buy a ticket at the box office when I get there. If you ride a motorcycle, parking is also free! In prior years I've had seats in the Grandstand, Turn 1, Turn 15/16 and general admission. Very rarely does it sell out completely so it's more how much you want to spend. Although it's a hike to get to the top of the hill ( you get your cardio activity in), Turn 1 is fantastic to see the long stretch and then tight bunching around the almost 140 degree turn. Turn 15/16 is great to see the backstretch at full speed, full braking and lots of turns with the bikes fully inclined over. One year I went with my wife and son and bought tickets in advance on Turn 15/16, so we could guarantee a seat since it was their first time. If you go by all means pay a few bucks and ride to the top of the Red Tower...it's an amazing view from the top!

i’m thinking of the various times my v11 conked out and left me stranded: Toasted the battery once, toasted the rear brake, reg/rec failed, a rose joint snapped on the torque arm, gearbox spring snapped, tps went so out of whack i gave up, relay failed, rubber inlet boot developed an issue X 6 (damn those things), kill switch killed itself, alternator solder joint broke so drained battery, lost my lights once- in the dark and when it had started to snow, click no start was a fun one for a time, me left boot has been nicely coated in oil a couple of times too.. err.. that might be it..? But yeah, I carry a 10mm + 13mm spanner, 4, 5 and 6mm allen key, 4 spare relays, set of fuses, few bulbs. Most of which weren’t a deal of help. So I had to get me van. 😠 But Thank All that is Heavenly for v11lemans.com

I am pretty sure they do not sell out. It is a big track, and they can stuff a lot of spectators in there. They offer basic General Admission tickets or for a little more (or a lot more) you can get a specific reserved seat. Google is your friend. https://www.ticketmaster.com/2025-motogp-red-bull-grand-prix-austin-texas-03-30-2025/event/3A006172A658263D

I'd say, "Ride it like you stole it " since those verbs look to be extant in the case of this Sport . . .

On the bottom end there is always the risk of oil pick-up exposure on the ‘Broad Sump’ engines but it really simply depends on whether you’re willing to risk there being damage. If you grab the rods from underneath and try and move them on the journal, as long as they don’t noticeably move or make squelchy noises they are probably OK. If you want to make sure simply drop the rod caps off, push the pistons and rods up the bore enough to see the top shell and make sure. Now ‘Best Practice’ is to never re-use rod bolts unless they are ones designed to be torqued to stretch. The reality though is that many, many Guzzi owners regularly and repeatedly re-use rod bolts with no issues so if it were my engine? That’s what I would do. It’s not a race engine. It doesn’t need to be treated like one. If the shells show signs of wear? Flick a new set into it. You can give the crankpin a ‘Poor man’s linnish’ with some wet and dry as well if you think it needs it. If it is scored or pitted though it’ll need regrinding and the rods closing and grinding.

I am not going to participate in a thread about leather and pantyhose

The only crummy experience I had was coming back from Anna, Il. at night and my l.h. valve cover gasket let go and had about 1 qt of oil on my left side soaking my BRAND new boots/brand new Levis by the time I got home . I didn't know that much oil could come out of a valve cover

and i love my v11

And they probably feel like pantyhose !

I think I can still fit into my leathers...

I bought tickets in the grandstands online last night, many sections were listed as almost sold out. The paddock passes are sold out. Weather can change but some rain is forecasted.

My daughter lives in Austin and I always wanted to time a visit for a race, either F1 or MotoGP. Do you need to book in advance or can one just show up and get a GA ticket? Do they sell out all spots?

I'm planning to go to COTA on Sunday morning for the race...my annual tradition to ride up on the bike early morning and enjoy the day. Nice easy 2.5 hour ride, see some great racing, look at demo bikes and ride home. As long as the weather holds as it is now, it should be a spectacular day to be at the races again. I think there will be some bumping and grinding, maybe a crash or two...but no doubt the King of Cota is favored again!

I am not saying Alex doesn't race to win. But I am saying that if he wants to beat his brother he can't keep letting his brother use him like that. This is two races in a row where Marc has let Alex by, Alex then rode as hard as he could while in front and used up his tires. He then had nothing left at the end when it counted. I think COTA will likely go Marcs way, it is his race to lose. But after that I think we will start seeing if anyone else can beat him. It is then that we get to tracks where a challenge to Marc is more likely in my opinion.

According to both A+M, on the race track, they both race to win. Now, we should not forget that Alex is the junior, and there always will be some deference towards his older brother. This is human, they can't help it. Something else, we have noticed how Alex is the best of the rest; at least so far... I am convinced there is some additional help coming from Marc; no surprise there. This is why I am pointing on Alex being second on COTA too. I hope I am wrong, but I hardly see any other brand challenging the Ducati herd like Maverick Viñales did last year on the Aprilia. Although, Pedro Acosta came in second, the 2025 KTM is now lagging behind. They did not keep up with the development because of the financial constraints. Enea Bastianini came in 3rd last year, on the Aprilia too; however on the Tech 3 KTM, he will be facing the same challenges. Bezzechi is not a big performer on this track, so all bets are open on what he could do on the Aprilia. I do not know where to factor Francesco Bagnaia in the mix. According to Gigi Dal Igna, they have partially resolved the issues that he is currently facing with the GP24.9. Who else on a Ducati could challenge Marquez? Morbidelli? DiGia? I don't think so... Jorge Martin is now penciled for a return in Qatar; I think he has thrown away any chance to be World Champion again this year. Besides, he is going to have to lear to ride a MotoGP again, and I hope he is going to take it slow. Thus, I am expecting another Marquez stroll in COTA.

There's no sign of anything amiss so far as my fingers can tell. I'll turn the engine through a few times and do a leakdown test, wiggle the valve stems; if there's any question at all I'll have the heads done. I'll get a look at the cam from the bottom too, though the P.O. says he used exclusively Mobil 1 so I don't expect any problem. I'd hate to have to do all the work to fit the Web 86b in this one and then tune it too... It'd be ok if somebody had a forgotten set of Carrillo rods under the workbench they wanted coffee and donut money for too lol

I heard it was like Green Acres / Noah's Ark . I was moving stuff around and boxing up V11 , 1000 and V Strom stuff . When I was putting all the gaskets together I found stuff in these washing powder boxes torn apart and taped together to send my stuff to me. I couldn't bring myself to throw this stuff away. I could get rid of the contents first. When I first started dealing w/them , everything was sent w/a grocery store ticket showing the amount on the honor system .

Me too . When Joe & Ida Mae Eish stopped , I had to go somewhere else and MG seemed like the place to go .

Bellissimo~!

Not video, but here is the approach to the front U-joint Zerk from the front using an adjustable angle tip turned 90º (or less): Your only other alternative: