po18guy

Ooooh! Thanks for that. Gonna check, as the diaphragm on the clutch M/C cap was extended when I unscrewed it. Apparently a vacuum seal with the fluid, which was near the top. Will check the level in tomorrow's 75-80º sunshine. Am thinking that all of this is payback for teaching some punk in a VW Golf that he was not the fastest machine on the interstate. Had I been on my GPz500S, ah... I woulda' done the same thing! Coulda' hung with him to about 190 clicks. Crap! I'm 68 years old! What am I thinking???

I had changed out levers for shorty adjustable levers, but retained the OEM adjustment screw by swapping them over from the MG levers. Months ago, I had a front brake drag (to a stop) until I figured out the brake M/C plunder was not returning far enough to expose the relief port. Quick fix. Did the same with the shorty clutch lever and never the hint of a problem. Until... So, I have swapped the OEM clutch lever back in. We will see.

Well, day of the dead has returned. Not exactly, but the hint is there. Clutch worked without reproach until yesterday (7.300 total miles). 3/4 of the way through an 80 mile trip, the clutch lever did not return completely. Then it would, then it wouldn't. After that, it began dragging as if there was air in the system, but after a rest, seems back to normal. Conflicting signals in the symptoms. No signs of fluid leak and all up top is tight. Reservoir full of clear fluid. I realize that the solution is to dismantle the entire bike, but I rather hope to avoid at least most of that.

Have a couple of Kwackers. Liquid cooled DOHC and all the super cool stuff. Still has external lines feeding the head and two removable internal copper lines feeding the cams and rockers. To adjust the valves, one must remove those internal lines. Designed by a committee whose members were not speaking or, more likely, by bean counters who knew that copper lines are cheaper than intricate internal passages. All well amortised over a 25 year production run. Thinking back, the Ford Y-block surely could have used external lines to the top. The internal line jogged an inch or so over at the head-block junction and in that age of sludge, quickly clogged. On mine, pulled the left rocker shaft and ran it on the right bank, poking the feed with a clothes hanger until oil appeared. Did the same for the right bank and valves were suddenly quieter!

In general aviation, only two words describe what the gauges will subsequently tell you: "dead stick." Generally speaking, landings are then much more interesting.

Thanks, guys, you have saved me a lot of work. Too much aircraft thought, I guess. But even in a plane, what to do at 5,000 feet should the gauges zero out? The same thing as normally - look for a landing strip.

Well, I wanted a leak that I could not blame on Guzzi.

"If' I was to install an oil temp and oil pressure gauge on my V11, are there locations which would be preferable both mechanically and logistically?

From this fellow '04 Ballabio owner, you are only a pair of slipons away from motoring bliss - that is if you are not there already. Am going to have to break away and get a shot on Snoqualmie Pass before the road turns white.

Dad (who never had a Guzzi) bought his 1941 8C w/C-75 in 1950 for $500 and flew it home. Rebuilt it ground up, wind-drive generator w/spinner, Aeronca Chief wheelpants, Ford model A tank behind the cockpit, and a brick of then revolutionary NiCd batteries. You could do that stuff back then. Doped up the wings in our backyard - bro and I bucking rivets inside the fuselage at the tail, as no one else would fit. Still have the smell of Never-Dull in my olfactories. Dad enjoyed running away from his buddies who were in T-crafts, various airknockers etc. It's still registered and flying in the Portland area.

Decent enough, but the V11 Tonti café was more my cup of Java. And the (apparently) lightened flywheel allowed it to rev crazy quick.

Looks like you have a few problems to iron out! So it is with rag wings. Say, is there a Luscombe in your flying past?

It is unlikely that Ducati copied Guzzi's brilliant and weight-saving trick of zip-tying the wiring to the master cylinder's output boss... Here is a brake reservoir upgrade (non-leaky) that I will soon pony up for. Since I cannot find them stateside, maybe this UK seller has a line on Brembo-Guzzi kits. https://www.ebay.com/itm/MOTO-GUZZI-V11-SPORT-FRONT-BRAKE-RESERVOIR-CAP-STIFFENER-PLATE-BREMBO-UPGRADE/372899891330?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&_trksid=p2060353.m1438.l2649

Truth to tell, look up the Arrow Sport. Cast iron Ford flathead V8 for power, through a reduction gear. Reputed to be slightly heavier than a Guzzi. Anyway, dad helped rebuild a Sport and on the maiden takeoff, said reduction gear decided to go on strike. Luckily, the private airstrip was surrounded by pastureland... Hey Chuck, it's not too late to re-purpose those spars and ribs and make a bold strike for antiquity. Airframe would reportedly support a V11...

A Guzzi-engined aircraft created an entire new category: Ultraheavies.

'03 introduced the 43mm fork stanchions. Curiously, my '04 has the forward crossover, but no lambda sensor. The ECU may have been 'tinkered' with, as it has an unreadable sticker over the original M-M sticker. I guess that the connecting rod oil jet, the .5 increase in compression and the forward crossover contributed to increased midrange(?) The reversed positions of horn button and turn signal - who knows? Just guessing here, but they must do a lot more audible than visual signalling in Italy. After all, gotta take at least one hand off the bars to give the international salute to errant drivers.

Huh. Had that Stinson-ish look from the side. There is something aircraft-like about the Guzzi engine, maybe a slice of radial?

Small tail Stinson? Franklin powered?

From the ad: "all new fairing/body plastic and a new windshield," Who is the owner? Ben Down?

Side and rear 3/4 of the Magni are fine. But the nose...the single headlight is fine. The Sfida 1100i is just horrid from the front aspect. The point of the custom V11 Tonti is the power and torque, the 6 speed and the top level suspension components. Oh, and the taste of the owner who paid for it all. It would look lovely in my garage. Frankly, IMO the MGS-01 smacks them all down, Ghezzi & Brian included. Kevin Cameron of Cycle Magazine called the MGS-01 "impossibly beautiful." Cannot disagree. If there was a body kit that wasn't too cheesy, I would be sorely tempted.

May she rest in peace, and may her loved ones be consoled in this time of sorrow.

Will be in Seattle Tomorrow at 11AM for a blood draw at SCCA - Eastlake and Mercer more or less. .

Guzzi seems to be the Colt's Patent Firearms of motorcycles - no two intentionally built alike. The color/fairing/handlebar combinations are seemingly inexplicable. BTW, I will be in your home town (is it still standing?) in about 1.5 hours on my '04 Ballabio.

Dual round headlights: Classic 80s endurance racing stuff. Look at the gen1 GSXRs.

The 2004 V11 is listed as having 9.8:1 compression. That and the head pipe crossover supposedly accounting for some added mid-range.