Gmc28

Forgive the new member for not reading much yet of this thread or the many other threads that indicate that most users get way more than 3-4 yrs on a even a mildly cared-for odyssey...

San Diego Duc and MG dealer.... we have folks who live there and know them, I don’t... is it GP motorsports? Few hours to ride there and spend a day, if they are good and able.

Thx Scud - copied to my ride file for next visit down there. Cheers

Looks like the map link picks the most efficient route, rather than the route you built. I’m intrigued... Would love the map detail for that section of dirt u describe, to add to my options for that great area.

We share the sentiment about Adams, I just mistakenly deduced that he may have been from NZ from the earlier post. Both of my adult kids still befuddle their mother when they communicate with me in 1-liner quotes from an Adams book.

Was Adams a New Zealander? Like Germaine and Bret, and Xena?

Dave- is there a (email) list to be on to get a heads up on that show each year? Somehow I only see that its happening every year after the fact. User error I’m sure, but whatever... I need a nanny I guess.

+1 on the careful use of stripper. Small enough area that it’s not a pain. What will be the plan for the paint method? Tape&spray, or is it reasonable to powder coat with it still assembled?

Ah, what a mix tape that would make.... Zeppelin, Springsteen, and Mamamoo! Just needs a little Dethklock and Pavarotti to round it out.

That is indeed a beautiful collection!

The Motobatt that came with my son’s Cagiva lived a hard life, due to non realization for a number of years that it was a LiPo and not AGM (sigh), and consequently was handled improperly. In the end when it came out, not only had it been abused pretty badly, but it was also realized that it was very undersized for the application in the 904cc duc according to motobatt. But you never would have known while using the bike, as it took it all in stride. Just had the usual LiPo thing where it would behave sluggishly when it got real cold-soaked. moral of the story remains more or less as one might think: in the midst of strong support for one side or the other on LiPo or AGM, when looking at overall behavior rather than just single data points, they both seem truly fine. The AGM seem to last longer when properly cared for, and some argue are easier to care for. But the LiPo’s are of course much lighter and smaller, probably won’t last as long but will last a good number of years with their version of “proper care”, which others argue (not inappropriately) is easier than AGM battery care. Like you noted early on, its quite like an oil thread, with lots of anecdotes from everyone about why one is better than the other. My experience has been that way... had that early bad experience with LiPo, leaving me stranded a couple times, and some wise old KTM techs supporting that LiPo was junk. But since that time a number of years ago, am now instead having very good success with LiPo, and lots of other folks supporting that reality/view, along with touting the light weight and size. I’ll offer based on my own narrow experience, that if a LiPo gets too low on Voltage, such as in an application that has a small parasite draw even when the bike is off, it seems they don’t like to come away happy from that experience, unlike the AGM which have great recovery techniques one can use (as Docc and others have nicely explored and laid out). In my ADV bike that lives out of state and for which i want the highest reliability and no surprises, I’ve stuck with Odyssey. For the bikes in the shop at home that get trotted out seasonally and that i mess with a lot more in my own shop, I’ve become fond of the LiPo’s for their easy in & out and light weight, and the fact that once you get a handle on how they work they really are very reliable. For what its worth, several Cagiva fans I know of in your neck of the woods (UK) have voiced strong support for Motobatt as a brand.

I did the lipo thing a few yrs back, gave it an honest try, got bit, and changed back to agm. But since then I “inherited” a couple lipo batteries, and they’ve been working great. And something rarely mentioned is that not only is the lighter weight of some value (not much to me, but still a good thing), but the smaller size. Much less tedious to remove and replace the little lipo’s than the agm’s that are usually a real tight fit. Small thing, but desirable. Just put a lipo in my sons cagiva last winter, and the inherited lipo in my 1200 Duc is doing great, on year 3. Both have the roadster cycle VR’s.

My nomar bead breaker works great, but is mounted to the whole setup in concrete. that yellow thing.... in theory I see how it works, but how does it provide leverage for the more stubborn beads? (Thinking could be an interesting road kit tool?)

Darn clever of you! I shall shamelessly copy, and leave the alligator clip setup for the unwashed masses....

Very good, and thanks for quick re-enlightenment! Thought about it, and I’ve got 5 of those starter switches now on bikes that are in my “sphere of wrenching” (in my shop or my sons garage). Only one currently has the PITA factor right now of being in need of some cleanup, thanks to some good clean living.... But I thought i recalled last time i pulled one of those starter switches apart that a thing or two came shooting out. But either it wasn’t that bad or maybe I’m thinking of something else. Red had the “wiggle the bars” symptom when i first bought her and was enroute cross-country from OK, and you lightened my load by chiming in with that good advice in near real time to make that issue very short lived! Quick fix back then, then followed up with a good fix back at home, and all good. Now that you mention it, I’m assuming Goldie has the clutch pull safety feature jumpered. I’ll inquire from my amigo who I bought it from, and who is still talking about buying her back. Will run through all this soup-to-nuts next winter with the Greenie sitting in the shop, awaiting some TLC. Lucky Phil got me some good intel on best options for painting the nylon tank, then will do the usual Italian wiring system complete “makeover”.

Docc (and all)- Rode red to work this week, as the sun has been showing itself a bit, after keeping red caged most of the winter.... she ran sweet. But seeing this thread it caught my attention about the neutral light relay (?) you refer to. I had ignored the fact that I have to pull the clutch to start red, but occurred to me that I don’t on Goldie. Sounds like I have a relay issue, but that’s not one I’ve paid attention to. Neutral light works fine, all the other suspect connectors and grounds (that I know of) are clean and well cared for, but this relay for the neutral (or is it sidestand?) I hadn’t thought of. Where is that one hiding? I assume it’s not hard to find, but looking for the proverbial easy/quick answer if anyone is willing to chime in. Also need to pull a couple of those starter switches apart to clean them up. The old Ducati’s and the guzzis all have that same switch, and I cleaned up one on my Gran canyon years ago, but it’s been a long time. Any surprises or reminders on pulling that apart? Goldie and my sons gran canyon both need the switch cleaned up soon....

Some gorgeous country! Had to race past central cal on last trip north a week or so ago, and it truly hurt to be on I-5 instead of over on hwy 1.

Some smart folks in this group here generally are not in favor of the velocity stacks for mechanical reasons, and i've followed that advice with my V11's, partly on its own merit but also based on experience in other machines (which arguably are relevant for comparison). But i recently acquired a very low mile greenie to "supplement" the 2 Lemans in the garage (gotta keep them company...), which has the velocity stacks installed from the PO, and next winter when i go through it i'll start off with keeping those velocity stacks in place, partly because they look neat, and mostly because i don't have a stock airbox to install at this point. Fun to play around, and everyone has different tastes and "needs".... i'm not sure what i need from this greenie, but should be fun going through it, and maybe it will end up going back to clean/stock because it has such low miles, or maybe i'll make it more of a one-off since i already have a couple of dialed-in Lemans (Lemans's, Lemans's's...) Anyway, if you get to where you're trying to tune out any anomalies in how she runs (many of us obsess over that at some point... its a disease), the air intake is something to keep in mind, but that said if she runs good (or great), and/or looks great, then you've got a winner. how about a pic to share of the '04?

+1 on the advice given so far, from my perspective, of about 10years with the slightly more basic, older, cheaper model of the cycle hill. I’m a fan, and it works, and the tricks noted seem spot-on. But to double down on the touring tire comment, the no-mar clearly ain’t hydraulic, so a stiff touring tire, done in winter when it’s cold, is too much hassle for me. Dirt bike tires are easy, basically mimicking the videos u see of folks using the NoMar so effortlessly. But a stiff walled K60 in a cold shop in winter (I try and time mx when I can for winter, non riding season), forget it. And yes, I heat the tires next to wood stove, but for some reason it just isn’t the same. Doable, and I did it for a while to justify my purchase early on, but now it’s summer only, and even then there are certain tires I just bring to the shop (hydraulics). Mine is mounted to the concrete, works great, and I’d buy it again. But while a tkc80 is no sweat, a Shinko 705 or K60 for the rear of a big ADV bike has me inventing new curse words.

Multi enduro and Ktm 990 are both fantastic. Couldn’t decide, so ended up eventually having one of each. 990 is most definitely a better off road machine, although still nothing like a true dirt bike. The multi is magnificent beast, but at the weight and just overall size is brutal off-road. Realizing that you’ll need a helicopter to lift it out of a ravine if you dump it makes you ride nervous, which isn’t good. But it’s a fantastic road bike that also does fire roads with glee. The Ktm lives in Alaska, and the multi is my daily rider. As a properly obsessive Motörhead I have more to offer on all that, if you’re looking at either of those for your garage, but will stop there on this thread. The v11’s are my beloved mid summer bikes, and the ones I most like to futz with all winter.

Love that Borrego springs run. Been a while since I’ve been down that way, but that’s a sweet route and area. And love the 8gal (7.9) on the multi enduro. Takes the stress out of fuel stop planning. Rode through Death Valley on Friday, with lots of long stretches of no fuel, and no cell reception (at least not on ATT), and 8 gallons made it easy to just enjoy the sun and scenery. I rented a stelvio in mandello a couple years ago.... do they all have the 8 gal tanks? Seemed like the tank on the stelvio I rented wasn’t that big, but thats just my lousy memory banks...

not enough caffeine in me yet, but i'm thinking 1000 Lire back then would have been closer to $1.50 (600-700 Lire per dollar in 70's?), and gas was likely down around .30 cents/gal (?), so she probably got a decent top-up for the top-off....

Does an 02 lemans tank fit a 2000 greenie? Wondering if I want to “practice” the paint process on an old tank, for the bead/material blast through the paint match process, before I do it on the existing green tank.

Thx docc- u jump-started my slow but decent memory, regarding the “joining of the streams”.

Ah, lovely. Is the usual “customization” to use a portion of the existing fuel line in its current position/routing for straight through vent, or do folks reroute the vent line if there’s that much of it?