Gmc28

Have my Greenie tank at the local painter, who showed me some samples they produced using first their techno-special camera gizmo that gives the paint match, then two other shades created using the old fashioned eyeball to adjust things a bit. Crazy how the differing light angles and brightness dramatically changed the degree to which it matched…. One that looked great under the special sunlight lamp then looked like a terrible match in the shade. I’ve painted a few cars over the years and did battle with some paint matching, but that green paint formula is a tricky one. Did our best to choose and I’ll check back with them this week to see how things are coming along.

Thanks gentlemen. MG cycle has gaskets, but I don’t see that they’re Valpolini (?) I can order straight from Valpolini if it’s worth the wait? Not a big deal, just am finally getting to the winter maintenance on Red, and Greenie will follow, and noodling whether to order the usual gaskets or try the Valpolini that many have talked about.

reviving thread.... Are the Valpolini's still considered a good way to go for valve cover gaskets? if so, can anyone point toward where to source them? the web site seems to just show the Griso/rounded gasket (?)

Seems like “what did you do to your V11 today” here has turned into “how do you ride your v11” on this latest entertaining tangent…. All good riding/moto talk. To add the the chorus of opinions, I don’t ride the Guzzi to “win”, just to enjoy. Trail braking done right can be “pretty” and is faster, and fun when done right and “gettin’ the lead out”, but “momentum management” (aka older style) sure feels more natural, seems probably a little easier on equipment (maybe, depending the usual variables), and appeals to those who learned that way many moons ago. LIke a skiing slalom/race step vs Jean Claude Killy’s french/parallel skiing…. Well maybe thats a bad example because Killy won a ton of races in his day, and while he wouldn’t do well today against modern racers if he stuck to that old style, it sure was sweet to watch, and to “do”. Vive la difference! (No, I’m not french, but that felt right…)

I put the Fobo brand tire pressure bluetooth whizmo’s on my Duc, which talks either to your smart phone or a small monitor you can put on your bars, and after some annoying learning curve items got ironed out a couple yrs ago, I’m now quite fond of the setup, and would like to do it on the Guzzi’s. Part of me says more gear/tech/clutter needed, but I came to like the tire pressure monitors and now miss it on the bikes that dont have it. There’s that nagging feeling sometimes about maybe having a low tire… or is it just a hot tire on hot pavement, or does my suspension just feel a bit different today, or am i hallucinating, or about to dent my rim? Maybe it’s just me, but i get that way sometimes on most things with tires… mountain bikes, cars, dirt bikes, street bikes, where you’re wondering if maybe you have a flat. A quick look at my tire pressure readout, or even just a confirmation that the “alert” hasn’t shown on the Lock Screen on my phone means I’ve got psi where it belongs. The stiff walled ADV tires especially don’t show low pressure nearly as obviously as softer sidewall tires, so on more than one occasion i started off ok with verified good pressure, later got that feeling about maybe something being amiss, glanced down quick and everything looks ok, only to then get to next stop and realize I’ve got a flat, or worse that it’s flat and that last rough pavement i hit dented my rim.

My MG’s eat fronts first, and my adv bikes burn about 2 rears for every front. The Dunlop equipped Goldie lemans rides noticeably “less nice” than the Michelin PR (4?) equipped Red lemans. I don’t put enough miles on the lemans for me to worry about mileage-for-the-money as much, but I’ve got at least 5k on the rear Michelin in red and it looks to be in fine shape still.

Finally found a guy who would agree to material blast my blistered (clear coat) greenie tank. I then cleaned it up with some careful wet sanding, and it’s my painters shop now, along with the “recipe” from House of Kolor off this forum from years ago, but most likely they’ll just use their star-trek style camera analyzer deal to create some paint match samples. Also got the fly screen from Italy, Stucchi, so it’s slowly coming together. This greenie only has a little over 1000 original miles, but it was a rough 1000 miles, including bad storage. So cosmetic work is the obvious thing that needs attention in this case, then will go through the mechanical stuff, “decent tune up”, though it actually runs pretty well so hopefully there won’t be any “whammies” discovered in that process. Red is up on the stand, awaiting time for me to go through her, for her annual “check up”. Time is always the issue. Every year I figure “I have all winter, easy.” But then late January I haven’t even started the work, which is the needed panic and motivation I need…

any takers on the question about what a guy should do with that air temp sensor-in-the-bottle? re-attaching it to the box, or is there a good reason to leave it with the goofy water bottle setup, or somehow "upgrade" that?

I’m open for all that, but I’ve asked a handful of local shops, including a couple that come highly recommended, and they’re all scared of trying to match that paint. I’ve got one guy that says he’ll try, but doesn’t give off a confident air about it. No paint code that I know of for the guzzi green (or the red), based on my inquiries in the past on this forum. Just that old House of Kolor blend laid out on this forum about 10yrs ago, where a couple folks said that it worked well for them. Those colors seem to still be available. I think phil had a guy in Australia do a match that worked out, but I’d just need a paint guy here who would commit and deliver. Of course If I painted all the green bits it wouldn’t be as critical, but would rather not.

Well, no guzzi…. That’s mine. But there is a T-craft outside, and he’s the main pilot that flies the warbird collection of the owner of our company (candy store of P-38’s, corsairs, spitfires, etc). And a gem of a human being, but now I’m getting way off the guzzi reservation! But will add for those of you semi local to add the Madras warbird collection (Erickson museum) to your itinerary if you’re out riding in central Oregon. Back to guzzi biz, Stopped by the shop of bead-blast fellow today, the only guy I can find locally to agree to take on the job of blasting a nylon tank. Didn’t think it would be a big deal, but everyone I’ve called seems afraid of the job. For this fellow I need to wait till he finishes the metal work he’s doing so he can change over his media. May be a while. The House of Kolor “recipe” from an old post on this forum is what i guess I’ll use to try and match the green.

i think that old MGB would be flattered to hear that

Thats the bird, and the shop with new mini split. Corbin Super Ace, with a Model A engine. This is a V11 forum, so I’ll say that my V11 is just out of eye-shot in the picture…. The moto parilla is upstairs in pieces, with the motor about done, but the frame still to go.

I’ve only got a small elec service in that shop. I’m out in the country, and my father many years ago ran the line out there, and he was cheap about it (love the man, but that was how he did things)…. It tax’s things now to run the lights, compressor, a few other things, then god forbid i try and run a very small wire feed 110v welder. Yes, I should just run a proper electrical service out there, but its more than plug-and-play to run the lines that distance. That said, its what I’ll have to do at some point. A good friend of mine in southern Oregon (restoring an old Moto Parilla, and an unusual antique aircraft) was in same situation, finally bit the bullet and ran a new service for a mini split, and he’s rubbing my face in it…

Love it. My annual debate with myself is on the same topic. Wood stove in the shop is great, but takes an hour to really warm things up. Various propane and electric heat options all fall short for various reasons. Need a mini split, but that means upgrading electrical service. I did replace the fuel pump on Goldie a week or so ago, and now she starts and runs, but something is amiss…as if it’s running on one cylinder. Both exhausts are hot, and it runs semi smooth, but with an odd vibration and it doesn’t rev up like it used to. Will have to explore more when there’s time. Removed the fuel tank from greenie, to get it to bead blast guy as prep for new paint, due to the bubbling clear coat. Red needs the left TB rebuild, and I have Phil’s write up on that, for when I get into it in a few weeks. Once the wood stove is cranked up….

Ah yes…. Thank u

ok. at some point soon i'll have Red on the rack for some basic winter mx, and can compare to see about that sensor. If it is the air temp sensor, any reason to keep that goofy looking mod, or should a guy re-connect it to the airbox? But note the two loose/disconncected connectors over the left head (see pic), one of which is yellow (yellow inside, under the black outer cover), and the other is red inside. The red plug i found laying there, not plugged into anything, and i happened to notice that connector in the bottle is also red, so wondered if those two connect. may become obvious when i get back out there and pull that plug out of the bottle, but regardless i'm wondering what the loose plug over the left head is for.

i'll keep poking around the forum, but anyone know if there's more info on the charcoal system removal? Actually, first question is whether its really needed... i've done it to the 2 other V11's but they are '02's with less tubing , and a number of other bikes, but your mention of 20' and 5lbs of equipment makes me wonder if there's more to this system thats worth knowing? usually self evident if one just traces the lines to see what's-what, but maybe there's some "worth knowing" pointers on a system with that much hose. Looks like this greenie already has some partial attempts at removing some of the overflow and breather tubing... finally pulled the tank off greenie today to get it ready to prep, Caslon coat, match paint best i can, and get it to the local painter. noticed some different things "under the hood" on this one. One, i noticed that someone had installed a union downstream of the right side (larger) tank vent tube, allowing it to be disconnected easily without having to reach up under the tank. Why didn't i think of that before, for the other bikes..... embarrassing, such an easy solution. But i'll make that easy change to red as well when i get a chance. then, next to the yellow (inner) plug for the fuel level indication (the one removed when removing the tank) is another plug of the same type but red inside, which looks like it would connect to the matching red-inside plug on the right side, now attached to that little water bottle set up (see picture). Know what that's all about? (hopefully its visible on the picture... the small thumbnail pic may not show it)

Just received new fuel pump from MG cycle for Goldie, and hope to install this weekend, though it will pretty much still just sit even when fixed till next summer with the weather change here, and the fact that Red is my go-to rider… Guzzler, we’re (our company) just about to finish a deal to buy a plane from a company in Melbourne. Was hoping to weasel into getting over there to bring it over to the US, but the covid rules, although loosening now, are still tricky, so we’ll probably just get a crew from over there to bring it to us. Would love to rent a bike over there and poke around for a day or three, during your spring. Fun to think about riding down there as i look outside at the gray/rain each morning now…

Interesting. I’m always highly skeptical of the snake oil products and how they can get a good or bad reputation over time. Like you say, just one situation, but still an interesting data point, that you got the bubbles…. I’ve used it for quite a few years, and will say that its been fine for me, but of course there’s no proper control set on my end. A number of bikes every year get it, and none of them have issues, but A) I’ve not had a control set of bikes of the same type and conditions that didn’t have the additive to compare, and b) a few of the bikes already had various damage from ethanol from the past which somewhat muddies the “test” waters. a much stronger data set was all my household equipment, mowers, blowers, chippers, chainsaws, etc., which i changed over to clear premium only at some point a number of years ago when i learned i could get the clear gas, and like a light switch the following spring all of them operated perfectly as if they hadnt’ been sitting all winter, compared to the headaches i had with most of them after using ethanol/gas in the past. But no startron in that data set. I do always put the V11’s (and other bikes) away in the winter with mostly clear premium in them. I’ll run the last couple tanks through in the fall with that expensive ethanol free gas, leaving only a very small dilution of ethanol in them, to which i also add some startron, and doing that i have zero issues with paint on my 2 LeMans or the other Italians over the years. The Greenie has the damaged paint on the tank, but it came to me that way. Fwiw.

Thanks Roy - hopefully soon I’ll get some time to just pull the tank and do the easy stuff, like check voltage at the pump, see if it will run with a straight hot line, etc.

Phil, tell us how it works for you. I've been interested in getting a unit that does the CCA test, so would love to hear if you like this one, and if so, the brand/model. cheers

Scud - agreed. Never have had to do it, but I’ve seen the procedure. I may mess with that this winter when she’s in my shop. (the fuel pump issue on Goldie is still annoying me, and now has more of my idle attention… I’ll get back out there if i can and try a couple more things. )

swapped relays, checked fuse block 2, then went back and checked block 1 on your advice. All clean, solid, and no change. All along I can hear the relays clicking, so with that plus doing the relay swap making no change, more likely the pump itself?

Variation on the same thread topic: went out today to do other stuff in the shop, and thought I’d fire up Goldie, since she might get used next week of my amigo wants to do a ride out to eastern Oregon. Bike used to be his, and he’s supposed to buy it back, but it’s been sitting here now for over a year unused (I ride red instead, stablemate). key on, relays click, but no fuel pump sound. Cranks strong, no start. Fuses and relays ok upon quick inspection (pull, quick inspect, replace). Have to circle back to this so I can get other stuff done today, but refresher from anyone on typical culprits for no fuel pump action? Failed pump of course could be it, but other common connection issues that might be at fault?

Wine on a farm, in Texas? Sounds like a twighlight zone episode. Cheap beer for dinner was the highlight of our day (evening) in the summer farm season up here. But at that age I would have treated all those beverage options the same…. Homer Simpson style.