po18guy

Somone was thinking right! Cannot understand why Guzzi did not use a single throttle body with port injectors? - What synchronization? What idle balance? TPS and done. And, since we're reinventing the wheel, why not a 4V pushrod head? Although it would sacrifice some, the original port openings could be used. Just different (lighter) pistons to match the pent roof heads. Oh, daydreaming can end so abruptly and unsatisfyingly.

The house would profane that beauty. You need a shrine! Covered, insulated, heated and A/C...

Well, from the rider's eye view...YES! I did the meme for another forum to answer some bloke with a Ducati that suggested their shape as the male attractant. That a LMII or III? Going by the "face" that the gauges form.

Recently, I replaced an imploded valve cover gasket. Some prior F-1 mechanic had put washers under the guard at two of the four screw holes. And used two different thickness/O.D. washers at that. Thus, two of the four screws were then working to pull the guard down flush. When tightening such an "arrangement" the threads will feel soft, but are really pulling the guard down the 0.5-1.0 mm gap caused by the washers. My rule of thumb: Trust nothing and nobody who has touched your bike before. Not the engineers, assembly workers, prior owners or "mechanics."

I'm going to have to check a not-too-far-away Yamaha shop that had a lot of Givi stuff hanging on the wall. Maybe cut a deal (right...) on a bag, then find an Aprilia mount for it. OK, trivia: which year Aprilias use that tank cap pattern? As it is, I can't even get my tank bags to stick using static cling!

Hey, it turns out that spring making is easy! Well, sorta...

Sounds like the unit that same on my Ballabio. It's too short and the pivot is too close to the ground. Thus, you have to lift the bike about 2" until the stand goes over center. Hernia time. I roll the rear tire onto a flat 2X4 and that raises it just enough to be somewhat more easily deployed.

Way too much hassle to TIG a one inch extension onto the crossover. But, if you know a talented welder who's not too busy...

I see it stressing the headers where they exit the cylinder head. 20 pounds pressure one direction means 20 pounds the other when you let go. As I understand it, the headers are double thickness for 30 mm or so where they exit the head, precisely because of stress cracks. And we hear enough about crossovers and X-pipes cracking. I would think that the best solution (do you have rear pegs and their hangers?) would be to slot the various mounting holes as needed so as to eliminate the stress. Then, only a few pounds to counteract gravity when installing and you should be good. Eliminating the rear muffler-peg hangers gives you a lot more freedom in mounting. Something like a stainless closed body turnbuckle would suspend the mufflers while allowing fore and aft movement depending on the amount of pipe overlap you want. If the ends do not work, SS rod ends (Heim joints) could be substituted.

We're talking the same shape, but...

Was going to say, what are you building, your own wood-wing Bellanca or something?

Virtually all water evaporates at ambient (outside) temp, to think about it. If it didn't, I doubt we'd have any clouds. Anyway, the 100ºC/212F I suggested was only for a point of reference and was 1) within the gauge's range and 2) close to the temp of oil in a running engine. Mystery solved. Water evaporates. Oil evaporates, but in-laws never seem to.

Aha! So, it's Gravensteins to Red Delicious now!

All transverse crank twins, V or L, have at least some cooling issues under some circumstances. Back in the mid 60s, it was substantially worse due to poor oil in comparison with what we run today. At some point, that might (or might not)_ have occurred to Guzzi engineers. And, those big jugs radiate heat 360º in addition to the oil cooler. Do let us know what boiling water tests reveal as far as the readings of those two gauges.

The use of a high quality synthetic oil will also help ease any worries. It is not as affected by heat as even the best of mineral oils. It is specifically formulated for the higher running temps of so-called modern engines, particularly turbo engines which can be extremely hard on any oil. Synthetic evaporates less. Many engines, particularly air-cooled, that are considered to be oil burners are actually running hot enough that a fair percentage of the lost oil has evaporated. This is from the higher heat level and has the vaporized oil has simply been sucked into the intake via crankcase ventilation and burned, rather than by-passing the rings, as is often thought.

Consistent readings within a narrow acceptable range are a very good sign. I have wondered if I should mount a pair of 12V CPU fans in front of the oil cooler, but no apparent need. As to the difference between the Ducati and Guzzi gauges, one would first have to dip them both simultaneously in a liquid of known temperature to avoid the apples and oranges conundrum. If the gauges verify each other, then maybe the Ducati is intended to run cooler, or it may have a malfunctioning thermostat. As it is with our bodies, i.e. blood sugar, alkaline/base balance etc., too hot or too cool are both detrimental to our health. A little testing and consultation of normal op temps would be in order. As well, German made goods have their variations in quality control as well. Is one gauge an anomaly? One way to find out.

If not for the Staintunes there now, these are awfully tempting. Looks like they might be high mount or semi-high mount?

i.e. Lexus, it is almost cheaper to buy a low-mile engine/trans from a wreck and swap the entire mess over. Might just run it until it goes "bang!" then part it out to the zit-faced racers. A battery for our 2016 300 goes for $700 retail. No thank you! Can get a better than OEM US-made AGM batt for 1/3 of that, as the battery maker has no network of fancy showrooms with loaner cars, free snacks and bottled water. As to the Testa Rossa Guzzi, I'll bet there's ample room to place a couple of Japanese 500cc water pumps and a curved rad in there, driven by two of those sprockets. Then, compression could go even higher and torque alongside, for not a whole lot of weight. All air cooling concessions could be excised, gaining a bit back. As to frame stiffness, the swingarm and technically the forks/front wheel could be flexed up a bit. Or the frame could be rendered in carbon. Look, we are fantasizing here, so the sky's the limit. I would still be delighted with 4V pushrod heads.

Technology is a marvelous thing. When certain southern Europeans - those known much more for passion than precision try it, well, not so much. Guzzi is perpetually cash-strapped. A simple revised head on the existing block and cylinders might well have been a go. But look at the high cam debacle. Certainly there are many that run well. The rest, we hear about here and elsewhere. In motorbikes, the 1983-1985 Honda CB650SC was about perfect. Air-cooled 4 in-line, DOHC/24 valves, but with hydraulic lash adjustment. Shaft drive. Maintenance was basically filters and oil. Occasional plugs. Could Piaggio/Guzzi do that? "Technically", yes. The very thought however is somewhat troubling. Technology is a two-edged sword. We bought a 2001 Lexus IS300 (Toyota Altezza) with the intention of driving it into the ground over the decades. We have in fact nearly done that. Nice straight six, DOHC, VVT all of the swag. But cam belts are a $1,000 proposition when on special! Engineering, at some point, becomes only a motivator to purchase the next generation of product, as the last gen is bankrupting one.

Ah, when you are building rolling anachronisms, why complicate things? F.I. was mandatory. But pushrods and 4 valves would be as easy to adjust and far simpler.

Thanks for the wake up! For some reason, the first two bars of the song made me call to mind "Roberta" by the reverend Billy C. Wirtz - and I was briefly transported from Maine to Chromosome, North Carolina. Or it could be that I watched "Name That Tune" one too many times...

The Japanese would figure a way to run those belts off the rear of the crank, or via jackshaft instead of the front. Still, a 4-valve pushrod engine would be sane, as the revs are limited from the get-go. No need for an 11k valvetrain. Remember the Guzzi (slightly modified) that gave John Britten's bike a headache until Italian reliability took it out of the race?

As bad a rap as Boeing gets, I cannot trust an aircraft made by historical enemies. Ever see Bill Murray in "Lost in Translation"? Something like that. Oh, and I had a French car. It was frequently grounded - by itself.

Clearly a closed-circuit bike. Whole lotta work, but this thing must be 25-35 years old(?) Heads with intakes on top and 2-1 port on the exhaust side. Out there where it will cool. A round fin 5 speed probably to stay with a 1 liter limit(?). The chain drive, for all of its anachronistic charm, would be far less hassle than the shaft. Consider: you can get gold Stealth alloy/steel sprockets with matching RK chain. And, no grease gun or Italian curses needed to lube it. I wish the guy lived close by and got tired of hassling with it... Actually, I wonder how or why Guzzi did not simply make a 4-valve pushrod engine? The rockers are wide enough to cover two smaller valves on either side. Remember when Krauser made 4-valve units for the Beemer airheads? Something like that.

It has been said that they live in rarefied air. It is fairly clear to me that, at that altitude, the oxygen level must be rather low.