audiomick

Two Australians. For those not in the know, the coffee culture in Melbourne has got to be one of the most refined in the world, I reckon. It started around the early '80s, I think, and has been developing and refining itself ever since. Driven by the large Italian immigrant population, but no doubt also influenced by the equally large Greek community. Anyway, to put it into perspective... My experience over the last couple of visits "back home" is that if you have really bad luck, and make a really bad choice of cafe in Melbourne, you might get served with a coffee that is only just better than mediocre. In comparision, here in Germany, if you get really lucky, on a good day, in a cafe that is an inside tip from someone, and the person making the coffee is having a good day, you might get a coffee that is nearly good. The term "Flat white" is starting to turn up here. Probably introduced by people who where on holidays in Australia, and saw it there. Every time I see it on a menu, I give it a go. Mostly it turns out to be a half a cup of foam, made with UHT skimmed milk, with about a thimble full of something liquid underneath it that may have seen a coffe bean at a distance. I love my Bialettis. PS: as far as the grinder goes, I was informed that the grind for a Bialetti should not be so fine, so the old hand grinder is ok. Seems to work well, at least.

Settle down, Pete. It works ok, and what "retro" model these days can afford to ignore the Hipsters?

I'm sure it is. I took a test ride a couple of years ago on a V7 Special. I found the level of mechanical noise a bit surprising, but otherwise it was an extremely pleasant motorcycle. I don't expect that Piaggio has gone backwards in the intervening years.

Me too.

I prefer a flat white to an espresso, mostly. For those that don't know: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flat_white So we are talking about a double espresso topped up in a fairly small receptacle with steam-heated milk. I "discoverd" the variation in Melbourne in the '80s, consistent with the Wiki aricle. Contrary to the article, it is usually served in a glass, not a porzellan cup. Anyway... I can do something very close at home with the Bialettis and a pot to heat the milk. The annoyance is, cafes here in Germany have discovered the term, and are starting to include it in their menus without finding out what it really means. What you tend to get is A cup half full of foam: WRONG: "flat" means without foam with just enough liquid milk to be able to say that it is not black coffee: WRONG made with UHT skim milk, fat content 1.5%. WRONG on two counts. The cream is what it is all about, and UHT milk tastes terrible. So I regularly take the risk and order a "flat white" here, in the hope that they may have understood the one true way. Mostly, they haven't. Maybe I'll learn one day...

Yeah, been there and done that with another forum where I am an Admin. You go with what you got. No worries.

@docc I think there are only two, the V85 "series", and the V100. The V100 is really new, water cooled, modern, and will probably (my opinion) be the basis for a number of new models. The V85 and derivatives is a development of the "small block" motors that were introduced about 50 years ago. The big step, as far as I see it, is getting away from the Heron heads. They were praised as "efficient" and what-have-you, but in fact, as far as I can tell, the biggest advantage for the manufacturer was that they were cheap to produce. They have inherent limitations regarding how much fuel-air mixture can be inducted on the intake stroke, and limitations on the size of the valves. The V7 IV, I believe it was, went to a head design with angled valves. Much better. The V 85 stayed with that, and made some more ground with it, as far as I can tell. As far as the difference between the V85 models and other new "small blocks" goes, I reckon the V85 and the new V7 850 have basically the same motor, but the V7 range is "reduced" to be cheaper to produce, and, more importantly, to maintance a difference to the "premium" V85.

So the forum software doesn't like that, because it is obviously not appropriate to talk about male body parts in vernacular. Starts with "D", and ends in "ick". And it is the most common nickname for people named Richard. Let's try, for the sake of equality, boobs, or pussy. Edit: Hmmm.... 'notheredit: I'm in for the valve clearances.

So somewhere between a bee's @#$$#! and a poofteenth. Thanks mate.

Which is exactly the point. The big block motors exhibit loads of character, but they are tractor motors. The small blocks (I've got a V35 Imola and a Breva 750) are also boat anchors, but they are a bit lighter. A more or less modern motor with a proper cyclinder head (i.e. not Heron) should work fairly well. The V85 TT has never been interesting for me, because I don't like chook chasers. However, the motor has been praised in many tests, and also by many people that I know personally. That new V7 with the "good" motor would possibly be exactly the combination that I would like. As long as it has clip-ons. But it's all day-dreams anyway. Just nice to think about....

Without knowing any of the details, I think there is a bit more to it than that. Although most of it might be in the engine management, I suppose. As far as the 80 hp goes, the original only had about 70, didn't it? So what do you want for nothing...

Yes, so do I.

Yes, definitely. The tyres on my Breva 750 had done 800 km when I bought it, after having been mounted ten years previously. They looked, predictably, brand new. Last winter and during the summer I got by with them, albeit aware that they were not really all that good. As this winter started, it was obvious that it was time. Still lots of tread on them, but they were just too old and were not providing any grip in the cooler, damper conditions. At least I got about 2,500 km out of them. With the new tyres on it, it is not like a new bike, but like the same bike with usable tyres on it.

No, not done, if you have the money. I bet that the V85 motor would just bolt straight in. Practically impossible to get it legally registered with that here, I fear, but a really tempting idea.

Can you do that one again in metric, please? I'm getting splinters under my fingernails trying to convert it.

Yeah mate, I know. I just like using the manual grinder, and the Bialettis. As I wrote further up, I want it to be a ritual, and those things do it for me.

Sorry... The one in the film must habe been similar to this when new. I got mine at a flea market, for around €20.- I think. Works fine.

Look for the brand "Leinbrock". I hadn't done any research, but a quick look just now reveals that it is (was) a German manufacturer in eastern Germany, which means it was in the DDR after WW II. The one in the photo further up is a Leinbrock that my girlfriend brought into the relationship. She had actually only bought it as a decoration object. I decided it needed to be used, and screwed it onto the wall the first time nearly 25 years ago. I suspect that all the neighbours in the building can hear when we grind the coffee, but I don't care. The grinder is great. On a whim, I went looking for grinders at a very big flea market here in Leipzig. The idea was to have more than one grinder at home, in order to be able to grind my own blends. That hasn't really panned out yet, but the very nice "table-top" grinder that I found at the time is the same brand. Shortly after I bought it, I found a stand on the flea market with a whole table full of grinders. They were all, or at least nearly all, "Leinbrock". I have the impression that this brand was a market leader in times when hand grinders were the normal thing.

Incidentally, they got the quote wrong in the Video. It should be "better, stronger, faster"... My goodness, that is 50 years old.

@Lucky Phil I really hope the machine delivers all it promises. I've gone down a different path. Coffee is a luxury that gets shipped halfway around the world before I get to see it. I want it to be a ritual. This is what I have at home. I know how many times I have to turn the handle on the grinder for each Bialetti pot, so the beans are ground fresh every time. A Bialetti pot for every occasion, a metal pot to warm the milk for my flat white. Amazing how in-depth one can get with even the simplest of equipment.

True. I managed to watch 52 seconds of that video, and that was an effort. Wont be watching the rest...

So that would be the Philosopher's Stone then, right?