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296km today up in the mountains. IPA time for sure. Cheers Tom. Sent fra min SM-S906B via Tapatalk

I have so enjoyed this fellow's writing in Cycle World ("Leanings") and Road&Track ("Side Glances") over his motojournalist career. I ran across this image I saved of his take on "Beatnik Bikes" . . . . . . and wondered what he is up to lately . . . Turns out: new book! And a nice article about the man and this book: https://thevintagent.com/2025/07/24/peter-egan-landings-in-america/

the wonderful wizard of Oz(tralia). Given that I am here often, I thought I'd mention that for the next three weeks I probably wont be. We're flying to Australia tomorrow to visit my family. My last visit was in 2016, and I haven't seen one of my brothers since 2013. Flying in to Brisbane, where a former flatmate of mine lives, the brother I haven't seen since 2013 2 hours south of there. 1400 km down to Canberra to my sister, 450 odd km south of there to my mother and another brother, 1 1/2 hours west of there to my father and another brother, and then 300 odd km south to Melbourne for a couple of days. I'm expecting to cover about 2,500 km in three weeks. I hope it all goes to plan. PS: also my first long trip in a camper van. With my girlfriend. Hope that works, too.

I picked up my Stelvio Duecento Tributo on Wednesday. Traded my 2017 Stelvio NTX. It is shorter, lighter, faster, prettier, more refined, etc. This limited edition marking the 200th anniversary of the Stelvio Pass comes with most of the upgrade options such heated comfort seat, and electronic wizardry. I'm just waiting for the luggage to arrive (which was not included). This is the first motorcycle I've owned that has an app and ability to connect to my phone. I have yet to connect a headset, so have not tried all the voice-activated features. Also have not yet tried the adaptive cruise control. But I sure do like the blind-spot alerts that appear in mirrors and on dash when a car is in my blind spot. Only 250 miles in the saddle so far. Half of it was today, including a ride up Mount Palomar with a view to the ocean. The handling is excellent and confidence inspiring, the engine is smooth, but still with character, the transmission with quick shifter is a joy. Five ride modes to play with: Road, Touring, Sport, Rain, and Off-Road. Other than addiing bags, and possibly an extra lip on the windshield for long hauls, I'm not feeling a need to change anything. Moto Guzzi claims to be making only 2,758 of this special edition, which is the elevation of Stelvio Pass in meters. I thought that seemed like a lot compared to some of the volumes of our V11s (like 600-700 Scuras). But I guess Moto Guzzi is doing more volume with Piaggio now, which I am glad to see.

The Greenie Conundrum: too beautiful to ride, too fun not too.

I finally have the luggage rack on the bike! It took a while to arrive, and even worse, it was a bit crooked and didn't want to fit! Thankfully we were able to bend it back and now it's on there perfectly straight. Unfortunately I also noticed a new scratch on the right side of the fairing today... The bike already has plenty of them, but this one is white and extra noticeable, so I'll have to sort that out.. But now that I can easily carry some luggage, I'm already planning a trip to Luxembourg with my brother later this month!

Day one with mySport: twenty-five years ago today !

Met a friend on his KTM 1290 SUPER DUKE in the Laguna area, dropped onto PCH and just rode south, stopping when and where it seemed good (views, beach, coffee, etc). It was cool and overcast, perfect riding weather on what could have easily been far too hot. This stretch is one of my California favorites, one sleepy beach town after another. Torrey Pines is incredible as the palm trees give way to pine trees, so beautiful. In between all of these is the Marine base, Pendalton, that forces us onto Highway 5 for a short time. Even this isn't bad, as it allows us to stretch the bike's legs a bit. …and you know I did. "C'mon, pick it up Super Duke!" The V11 didn't let me down, and a few strangers along the way even asked about the Guzzi. It ran perfect. 120 miles later, parked it in the garage with a smile on my face. I've started a Motorcycle Group at my church, https://welcome.saddleback.com/ministry/motorcycle. I think I'm going to repeat this ride for this coming Saturday's ride, stopping for lunch at Hamburger Hut. Though if the wife joins me, I'll be forced to take the Kawasaki Concours, grrr!

Hi Docc, yea that headlamp ..people either love it or hate it. its 1930s/40s bugatti and massive haha i do like to stick old stuff on the bikes i build, gives them some sort of history. heres my 1100 cc tontis head lamp on this is from a 1950s mercedes

A smiling Ballabio! Not just a pretty lady, but a business lady who over the last 20 years has ridden her BMW650GS up to 13 hours a day, from 34F to 105F days. For shorter rides she used her new Ducati 800 Scrambler!

Just bought this and have been riding it around quite a bit. It's incredible!

I just rode the new Stelvio about 500 miles today. From Carlsbad to Mammoth Lakes with "shortcuts" through Tehachapi, Kernville, and over the Sherman Pass. I am totally impressed by this bike and loving it. It was comfortable enough (but I did get a little but-burn by the last 100 miles as I didn't stop much). The onboard computer indicated about 50MPG, which gives us an easy 200 mile range, and a possible 250 if we have to push it. I can get totally under the still air with the winshield fully extended and in a half-tuck position, so I will probably get a small detachable windscreen lip/extender for long rides. I like the screen totally down on the slower twisties. It was close to 100 degrees at the hottest part of the ride, and I didn't worry about it all due to the water cooling.

We all have spines, in various states of disrepair.

I'm reintroducing myself to this forum. I was on it around 2004 or so when I owned a V11 Ballabio. I sold that bike to help with the down payment on a house. Since then I've had several bikes mostly Ducatis including a black 2005 999S. At 69 y.o. that bike, although I loved it dearly, was just not working for me at this time of my life. I sold the 999S and had always wanted a V11 Le Mans. I searched around for a really nice example and located this stunning 14,000 mile 2002. Rode it home from Sonora via hwy 49, one of my favorites. Looking forward to re-joining the group.

@Jaide, Where did you get the rack from? It took me ages to find one and had to make the brackets myself. It works good though, enjoy your trip to Luxembourg. Nice roads over there .

heres my v7 sport from 1973. its been molested over the years and probably only v7 sport on it is the gearbox/engine and frame. still a lovely rig to ride. racing gearbox 1 up 4 down.

heres the tonti that got me my first v11 a few years ago, after building my alu 1100cc tonti bike i had alot of bits and bobs over.. , built this bike from spares and an sp2 frame. someone offered me a his v11 lemans as trade and i took it and never been happier.

After downsizing to 3 1/2 acres, I could no longer justify a full size tractor. "MrBill " is a single cylinder flat-head Briggs&Stratton ( 2nd motor, 2nd deck, 2nd transaxle) now in (light duty) service for his thirty-fifth (35th!) season. "Swampee ", the CubCadet, runs a 750cc Kohler air-cooled V-twin and came to me with a dubious history that may-or-may-not have involved some sort of swamp racing. Both are MTD products from Ohio, USA . . . Swampee has long served as my Hawker Odyssey test bed, running one of my PC545 out to its fifteenth year . . .

https://www.gothamcycles.com/Bodyworkhtml/ducati-brembo-16mm-gold-front-brake-master-cylinder-early-style-748916.html https://ducati-gowanloch.com/?product=brembo-ps16-front-brake-master-cylinder-lever-switch-gold-pn-110-5053-12 Does your "supplier" own a computer, lol. Phil

In French, “Une Manivelle” . . . One came with my first car, a Renault 4L produced in the mid sixties; I can’t remember the exact year; Handed down to me by my grandfather, powered by a 750cc 4 bangers, three speed gearbox and a 6 volts electrical system that was often too weak to start the engine in frigid temperatures. I got pretty good at using the manivelle to get it started in the wintertime. you can spot the cutout for it in the front bumper of that ‘66 model.

I'm down from 7 to 3. My spiral downward was initially inspired by maintenance x time + other interests = sacrifice. My age and waning strength is now an undeniable factor. The Tenni is my last and only bike over 400lb. I have the DR650 down under 350lb, and it's lots of fun. I'm looking seriously at this Triumph -slightly above 400. I think it'll be country road fun, now I've left the city behind, presumably *lite* maintenance and, I think I can pick it up if It falls over.

@Lucky Phil yes, so true. Had my CBX get too far over in my ground level basement while maneuvering it into its spot. Used my body to prevent it from lying on the floor and managed to get my phone out to call for help! They sure laughed at me! Six years ago at 65 I was looking after my personal 4 aircraft and Heli’s (Glasair 3, R22, C120 and Mini 500) 16 cyl., 14 motos 34 cyl. , and 2 autos 14cyl., and was working 50 to 60 hours per week at my job. Don’t know how I did it. Now at 71 down to 7 bikes and 2 autos and need to make that number smaller as too much work!

Eight weeks out. Changed engine and gearbox oil, Decent Tune-up, and addressed some niggles. Pondering matters of tires . . . [edit/46 minutes later: "pondering" turned into a fresh set of Pirelli Angel GT on the way . . . ]

I just let AI do some work for me docc. First search "is Mobil1 a group 4 oil" Yes it is. Then I looked at the dates of the info. Did the same search with 2025 at the front and "no it's now a group 3 base oil" Looks like you were right AND Mobil have turned into the usual modern day corporate scoundrels. Bit like 50% of the packaged food these days in the supermarket. The shelf price is the same as usual but they gradually reduce the qty of the product. Cadbury chocolate bars used to be 200gms and now quietly they have been reduced to 180gms. Pringles moved their factory to New Zealand and the size of their chips shrunk. Corporate bastards. Phil

mine too.

I've successfully repaired quite a lot of motorcycle plastics over the years with nothing more than a small soldering iron and some plastic filler of the appropriate type. The Ducati stuff from a few years ago wasn't possible to weld so I "Veed" out the crack on the inside and used "Scotchweld" ( these days I might use JB weld) in the Veed out section followed by fine copper flyscreen cut to size across the crack and another layer of Scotchweld to embed the screen which worked just fine after the appropriate filling and sanding of the outside face. Some plastics don't weld BUT they do respond to a "braze" repair with the appropriate filler plastic. So you can use filler plastic to bond to the base plastic in a method the equivalent to brazing where it doesn't melt to the base material but still bonds well same as brazing. If you look in my Daytona build thread I explain how it's done on the airbox in some detail from memory. I think the original airbox is made from HDPE which isn't weldable but I managed to do the braze repair with LDPE from memory. That's part of the reason I post stuff for "records" when I forget the details. A pro plastic welder I showed the job to told me it was impossible to weld and said he couldn't help me. He was totally dismissive when I told him about this style of repair after I had done mine but a bit embarrassed when I showed him the results of my brazed method (which I didn't invent just researched). I felt like telling him he might need to find another line of work or at least update his training but managed to "hold back". Very out of character for me.

I think we’re talking about the Cali 2 here Chuck in which case it’s yer basic Tonti ‘Crab’ project. The airbox is a trifle more involved than the earlier ones but really the ‘Nuts and Bolts’ are essentially the same. Many years ago when I was racing with Rob we used to be able to swap a clutch between practice and the race! The bike was a lot more stripped down though than a road bike.

the summer of our discount tent

Well dang, all the rebuild/finished pics are buried somewhere in a hard drive that predates Google Photos. Meh. Here's how I found it.

I agree. I want to work *with* the tractor, not work *on* it. The older tractor will come along when it wants to. After the urgent needs of a new property are addressed and general maintenance smooooooths out a bit. Old guys and old tractors. I never imagined I'd ever come close to that, but here I am. This was like my Grand dads.

Ferruccio: "That will be pretty good. Let's get on with it " . . .

Bill Hagan is right, Kubota makes the most reliable and durable range of small tractors on the planet. If you get an older tractor, make sure it has 3-point linkage, needed for attachments like a grader blade. I think that the Ford 8N has this. You could consider a John Deere Model B for something more eye-catching as a project. Spare parts are readily available in USA.

To whom it may concern , this is the !st time I have posted a pic on this forum & docc didn't have to come behind me and "fix" it !

The crossover was just to complete the iconic happy smiling face look of the later V11s coming at you on the road😃

haha... it is water cooled. I do like the wild boar for the Griso - it fits. I'd be more inclined to accept water buffalo for the Stelvio 1200 NTX that I traded. This one is a different animal, but I need to think about what it might be. But yesterday, I parked it next to a new BMW GS1300, which is perhaps a hippopotamus.

Yes. Plus any wide sump engine such as the Centauro or Daytona. Phil

Every pawn shop has a bucket full for $2.99 each lol

I only have 30 cylinders to maintain now, and I just sold three bikes.

https://www.probolt-australia.com/stainless-steel-brembo-caliper-pinch-bolt-m8x40mm-pack-x2-ssspduc01-2/?sku=SSSPDUC01-2G&srsltid=AfmBOopk-AB4Mo-YYXdnwqhZCyOLUVtL9Z0cLXEEnDZt7ffZUYLhLdBgues&gQT=1 You can also carefully clean the surface of the heads with Scotchbrite and brush on some flat silver paint if you're worried about pennies. Phil

This might help someone. (and apologies if it has already been noted) I had carefully set the TPS by the book and the bike (2002 LeMans) suffered from surging when hot and abrupt on/off throttle transition and slight pinking at full throttle. The surging and throttle transition made the bike frustrating to ride. I retested the TPS it was still 160mV with throttle plate closed = not significantly different than where I'd set it last year. I then noticed that when the throttle was pulled open that the first motion was to take up throttle shaft wear. (to check for wear, grab the throttle shaft nut under the throttle body and move it side to side. The right side has more play that the left, perhaps because of the return spring. There are rubber seals on the shafts but may be unable to compensate for the wear or have failed after 23 years.) In one of the TPS discussions KiwiRoy suggested that because the voltage increase with rotation is not linear that the goal of setting the TPS was not so much to achieve precisely 150mV (or 157mV), but to make sure the setting was on the tail of voltage increase. I pictured the voltage increase as a curve similar to exponential growth with 150mV somewhere close to the baseline suggesting that at 150mV the computer can sense the TPS but is not yet altering fuel settings. After setting the TPS the manual states that throttle plate angle should be set to 3-3.5 degrees. I wondered how to do this because I don't have Guzzidiag computer setup, but another post (I forget who posted) stated that throttle plate angle at idle corresponded to 470-480mV. Another post stated that instructions for installing a new mixture map that the idle throttle stop should be set at exactly 475mV. My idle stop was at 311mV so I decided to experiment with changing it. I set the TPS to show about 470mV just as the throttle starts to lift off the idle stop. As the throttle linkage is pulled the first movement takes up play in the worn throttle shaft and the mV increases. All the play is taken up and the throttle starts to open at about 470mV but my TPS reads about 420mV when the spring holds the throttle against the idle stop. (differing amounts of wear should result in different idle stop mV) With the throttle plate fully closed (as in setting by the book) the TPS shows about 220mV. I then balanced throttle bodies side to side. The result is dramatic! There is no hint of surging even at low rpm and low speed and the harsh on/off throttle transition is mostly gone. There is no pinking. It has really improved the bike. Yes, I know there someone has posted a tutorial for replacing throttle shaft bushings. I have even bought new bushings and seals and will get to it eventually, but I am very happy with the way the bike runs now.

Always so great to see you guys! It occurs to me that if the bikes showed up, with no Spine Raiders, there would be no Spine Raid. Yet, even if the Spine Raiders showed up with no bikes, it would still be a Spine Raid!

The recurring take-away regarding "manufacturers' recommendations" : Due to the increasingly stringent approval regulations . . . This is certainly the case with reduced zinc and phosphorous (ZDDP) considered desirable for our flat tappet engines. The matter of PAO and ester base oils being obscured has much to do with what oil manufacturers can get by with (cheaper, easier to source base oils) while still marketing, and charging for, a "synthetic" product. A couple things I learned from well informed other sources about the desirability of pure (group 4 group 5) is vastly improved shear resistance (stable viscosity over the service life) and near-zero evaporative losses from heat (something to consider with air cooled motors with funky crankcase ventilation systems).

Also replacing the bolts with nicer hex-head equivalents as described in one of the posts ("decent tune-up" maybe? )

That's soft going from you Pete! Are you trying to say you kinda like it? 😆