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I made a mistake as I had two different tabs open. I have edited my post to include all the information I had initially planned to provide. Interesting that you automatically assumed I was purposely trying to be deceptive.

This was from Montaigne... I found the citation; I did not remember it properly:

@nielsv11 I apologize, my initial reply was not complete. I did not realize I was missing the link to my particular issue. There is an o'ring between the pinion carrier, to prevent the oil from leaking out. The drive on my Quota maybe different, but the sealing principle remains the same. I had a similar problem; it is more frequent than you think...

A French philosopher said once, you wear clothing not to hide, but to showcase. I think he knew what he was talking about... But if seems like GenZ and Millennials are no longer following the principle.

I was only looking at an easement of the task. As with any of the supplies we buy, we use them once, punctually, and then they expire, because the shelf life is short. I noticed, that due to the temperatures in Texas, some of my supplies don't last more than one usage.

I used petroleum jelly on rubber parts. The one that can serve as a replacement to Vaseline. Same result and very cheap.

Now that we know that Toprak Razgatlioglu will race in Yamaha Pramac from 2026, we have to look at the rest of the market. Johann Zarco hinted that after all, he prefers to stay at LCR Honda, and not move to the factory team. In my opinion, this is a clear indication that Honda has other plans for a top rider. Since we now know that Jorge Martin still wants out of Aprilia, who knows... Honda has clearly said they would not poach any pilot with a signed contract.

It seems like Liberty has finally cleared all the hurdles from the European authorities, and they will officially announce taking over MotoGP from Dorna, possibly this summer. One of Liberty's main objective, is to get more audience in the USA, so they may have a plan to do more than just the one COTA GP each year. I don't think Maryland has a racetrack though... you would have to travel a bit to get to it. I don't see anyone else capable of matching his regularity. Last week, he still managed third in Silverstone. It is clear the Ducati GP24 is the only one capable to compete with Marc Marquez on the GP25. Looking at what is happening on the racetrack, it seems that Alex could be the only serious competitor. I read an interview from Bagnaia, stating that changing the GP25 to suit him better is not something that is going to happen overnight. At best, it will be after the summer pause. But given the point's difference between MM and FB, it seems an impossible task.

I discovered that old British show on YouTube... when it comes to humor, English are hard to beat!!

See? this one is from Stein Dinse in Germany.

Sometimes, there are more than one way to fix a problem. It depends on how you want to tackle it. I experienced a similar problem with my V11; the admission boot between the cylinder intake pipe and throttle slipped out. As you can see in the picture below, there are two of these boots; the throat is in the middle. I could have done it in multiple ways, but the clamp screw was on the other side, so unaccessible. I had to loosen the boot to be able to rotate the clamp next to the admission pipe. Just do whatever seems the most practical and easier to you. No damage to the engine, but of course, the left cylinder did not work properly. Also, but this is just me, since you have one of these boots that broke, now would be a good time to assess the remaining three, and maybe change them all? As to finding the parts, look at one of the spare parts catalog available on the web, and type the part number. You will most likely find a lot of hits. Europe has much more availability for parts.

Why Assen only? Mugello? Le Mans?

beautiful, isn't it?

By the time I was in age to enter the SNCF, they had stopped training people to drive steam locomotives. I was not interested in diesel or electric locos. I still studied mechanical engineering, though. Actually, just because we are talking about it, I attended a conference by one of the locomotive engineers, who was in the last ever promotion that formed steam locomotive engineers. This guy was also a photography buff, and he documented all his training and steam locomotive life, until it lasted. It did not go long, since the SNCF got rid of the steam quickly. I have is dedicated book somewhere in Buenos Aires.

I still remember the peculiar smell of the steam locomotives. In the 60's, while on vacation, each day I was going to the station to witness the departure of the train from Quiberon to Auray. The locomotive was a 231 Chapelon. The engineers were seeing me every day, and one time, they got me inside the cabin, and showed me the fire.... I will never forget the experience. At the time, I decided I was going to be a steam locomotive engineer.

His 242 A1 beat the fastest Diesel/Electric locomotives of the time. If you want to read something that is going to captivate you, I recommend this book; I own an original print like the one below. La Locomotive à Vapeur, André Chapelon currently sold on Amazon for USD 90 dollars. It is translated into English.

If we believe the Italian media, the GP25 Ducati front end remains an enigma to everyone riding it, except for Marc Marquez. Somehow, Francesco Bagnaia can't ride it as he could the GP24. Marc Marquez never got "spoiled" since he never rode it during races. He was promoted from GP23 to GP25. DiGiannantonio don't seem to match Marc's regular performance on it either. I don't really like the way this season is turning out. I don't see anyone else but Marquez being world champion this year.

Sofuoglu, the manager, said it's a done deal....

I do not think this would necessarily qualify for being the Moto Guzzi of locomotives, depending on what meaning you want to give it. As someone who actually loved steam, and had the opportunity to grow up when steam locomotives were still operating, while being phased out, if I had been born in the USA, I would have most likely picked the Big Boy. Now, if we want to really give the prize for the best ever, the Moto Guzzi of steam locomotive, I would award the title to the Chapelon 242A. André Chapelon was one of the prominent genius of the Steam locomotives. His magnificence was illustrated by the 242 A; this is the mother lode of Steam Locomotive. So good, that the French Railways scrapped it as fast as they could, since it was better than their diesel powered locomotives. I wish they had kept that locomotive for the museum, but as even politics were stronger than engineers. They made the best steam loco ever designed to disappear to not shadow electrical traction.

hmm... I am waiting for the eBay one, said to reach me sometimes around the 7th of June. If the bevelled box is too beaten up, and I don't like it aesthetically, then I will get the current one reconditioned with a set of new gears. It does not matter the cost; where I am going, I will not need money anymore.

Both Davey and Mike said if it was theirs, they would not replace it. But yes, how did it look before? The one that I purchased will help for the evaluation.

Finally, the pinion carrier was taken out at the MPH shop... it shows the difference when you have the proper setup to work... Here's a macro photo of each of the 8 tooth... I suppose few of us have seen one in the flesh. This was my first time too. You can see the metal has lost its surface treatment, and the teeth had metal being torn apart. I have ordered the one from eBay.

Here's my bevelled box; you can understand why I am not so eager to replace with a rough looking one. I am going to fix this one. Replacing the gear ring and pinion set. I tried again to remove the pinion carrier without success. This afternoon, I am taking it o MPH.

Thanks... They all look aesthetically beat up, and more expensive, by far, than the one I found on eBay for $200. Quick calculation, the best looking one is 425 EUR minus VAT 21%, you add the cost of shipping, the import tax, now than the below $800 exemption has been revoked. Tomorrow, I will take the drive out, try one more time to remove the pinion carrier, and head out to MPH; Mike never responded to my email about the loss of my drain plug. MPH have a lot of Guzzi spares from their dealership days.