audiomick

Still not completely relegated to "lifestyle", I reckon, but that word (which I detest, in it's marketing sense...) is becoming more relevant in the "customer profile". Shouldn't surprise anyone, the motorcycle market just isn't that which it was 40 years ago. Not that I mean that in a negative, or in fact any kind of valuative way. It is just a fact. Another fact is, the entire automobile and motorcycle and vehicle market in general makes a large part of its profit through the sale of optional extras on new vehicles. With vehicles like semi-trailers, the extras can be justified with things like "cost of operation" and "safety" and "efficiency" (I am practically quoting presentations that I heard as a sound technician on a job here...). For extras on a motorcycle, there is not much more to be said than "and if you add this, you'll be really, really cool".

Well, congratulations on achieving your goal. Welcome to the forum.

Al, nice post. My thoughts close enough to exactly. How silly, indeed. And the blokes at the factory internal seminar at a German car factory I did the sound for around fifteen years ago were so proud of having developed the system. I could hardly believe they were serious, but they were ....

Looks like you're starting to get good weather. It's slowly warming up (a bit...) here, but it is still crappy. And there hasn't been enough rain yet to really be sure that the last dose of salt has been washed away...

Nice. I hope the "intermediate owner" didn't give it a hard time.

Thanks for all the good answers so far.

Hallo. I had a look at the fuel lines on my V11 Le Mans today, and noticed it was sweating a bit of fuel where the fuel line comes off the attachment under the tank. It looks like mine is this version, i.e. fuel pump in the tank: https://wendelmotorraeder.de/benzinleitungen-v11-02-le-mansskura-ex-30_3006_300602_30060203_3006020310_300602031016.html The link leads to a page of the parts lists at Wendel Motorcycles ( Wendel Motorräder ) in Berlin. Under the tank, instead of part #5 on the drawing, that apparently looks like this: There are hose clamps such as those that part #7 apparently are: so it would seem that someone has already been messing around with it at some point. I had already tightened up the outer clamp of the two, i,e. the one closer to the riders knee, which was loose enough to be able to turn it on the fuel line with very little effort when I took delivery of the bike. Today I noticed that it wasn't actually clamping the fuel line. I don't know for sure if I had tightened it onto the fuel line as intended, or if I missed the fuel line the first time round. The fuel line isn't pushed all the way up the "nipple" it is on, and I couldn't move it any further up today. Doesn't surprise me really, I was outside, and it was only about 3°C, so the fuel line was hard as rocks and not inclined to be moved. As far as I could tell, there was at least the width of the clamp of the nipple inside the fuel line, and maybe I have got it solved for now. I'll definitely be having another look at it though. Anyway, I have a couple of questions that I hope someone here can answer: I assume, since the fuel pump is in the tank, that the blow-off to regulate the pressure in the fuel lines is also in the tank. Going by the drawing, the two connectors are one each for the two throttle bodies. Is that correct? Edit: strike that one. I've had a look at a workshop manual. In there, it says that the "outer" line is the feed to the injectors, and the "inner" one is the return. How much pressure is in the fuel lines? Given that the fuel lines are held on by clamps, it can't be that much, can it? What is the considered opinion: should tightening the clamp (assuming that it is sitting correctly and clamping enough of the fuel line...) be sufficient to solve the sweating problem, or do I urgently need to have a closer look? I'm assuming, for the moment, that the hose is really fuel line, and not just some rubber hose that might be starting to disintegrate due to the effects of the fuel. One further question: from what I have read, the connectors that come off the bottom of the fuel pump, i.e. out the bottom of the tank, are a bit fragile, and need to be handled with care. With regard to that, I wasn't too keen on trying too hard to push the fuel line further up the nipple. Is that correct, or am I being too cautious there? Thanks in advance Mick

There have been photos posted in the German forum that confirm that. It's a bit hard to see what you're looking at on the photo, but I gather it is fairly obvious when one is actually looking at it live and in colour. Here, I know who the photo belongs to, and I don't reckon he would he has confirmed that he doesn't have a problem with posting it here:

No idea, mate. But I reckon there's a pretty good chance. I can't see Aprilia or Piaggio inventing new pegs for every new bike they release. I'd be looking for some second hand pegs, even ratty ones just to see if they fit.

Don't what those ones are, but if I recall correctly, a V11 that I was considering buying allegedly had Breva 1100 pegs. I could imagine they might go straight in.

Dunno about a "sweet spot", but Ernst (who really does know what he is talking about, far more than me....) mentioned a crucial point. He suspected con rods heavier than spec. You wrote about having changed the pistons. Both of those (can) mess up the balance of the motor, and make it vibrate (and in the worst case, self destruct.). As far as the conrods go, if one were to suspect that as an issue, one would have to find out the correct weight and weigh the ones in the motor. As far as swapping the pistons goes, I would weigh the old ones and the new ones. If there is any difference, the crank should be re-balanced (as far as I know). Same goes for swapping the conrods...

Well, at least it is green there most of the time. I grew up in Cobram on the Murray. If it weren't for the irrigation, it would be brown there everywhere all summer.

Well, if you will insist on living in Gippsland...

I got to mix that once, i.e. Concert, PA, me on the mixing desk (with another bloke, not alone). The local "Schiessverein" = something like "gun club" were there with canons*. Fairly small canons, but fair dinkum canons that really went "boom" when they set them off. That was really, really good fun. And there was fireworks to go with it. * for the "uninitiated", the 1812 has canon shots written in to the score. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1812_Overture

The later models all had that, as far as I know.

I know that road. A mate of mine's father lived up there. That was back in the late '80's. A few of us went up there from Melbourne a couple of times. Doing the run in a Suzuki Sierra (belonged to my brother) was a distinct advantage...

Well that's a good start.

Uummm, no. There are definately better alternatives.

Solution: Find out what shims are in there, so that you know what the next step is when you check the clearance and establish that it needs adjusting. Then you only have to order the appropriate "next step up", and put them in when they arrive. It's not done in one hit (which I would find frustrating), but if one is well prepared and organised, there should be no down time. Which are? (I like playing around with guitars, although "my instrument" is actually trumpet and flugel horn, or would be, if I ever practiced....) Yes, I thought it would probably be as simple as that.

How do you reckon I feel? It's cold, windy and wet here, I've got a V11 Le Mans that I have hardly ridden, and the last time I was in Australia was in 2016.

I expect there is, but only for official dealers. The German language forum that I am involved in got hit too. We got a lawyer involved, and made the point that the forum is not commercial, and that using a trade name for non-commercial purposes is not illegal in Germany. €2.000 later, things have gone quiet, and we are assuming we are back off the radar. Mike at HMB is, however, commercial, but has no official connection to Moto Guzzi. He chose to take the route of least resistance, and change his domain name. There is another place, run by Martin Hageman, that is specialised in the "small block" Guzzis. Good bloke, good service, and well stocked with parts. His business name is "Guzzi e piu" (Guzzi and more). I noticed today that he seems to be changing his web adresses to "gpiu.de", where it has always been "Guzziepiu.de". Maybe he has been targetted too. There is a lawyers practice that has been contracted by Piaggio to search out instances of "Guzzi" on the interweb, contact them, and issue "cease and desist" demands. They first contacted the service provider for the above-mentioned forum, and then the chief admin of the forum whose name is on the bottom line of the forum. I gather Mike at HMB was contacted by the same bunch of lawyers.

That would be this post: https://www.advrider.com/f/threads/moto-guzzi-centenario-v100-mandello.1517279/page-148#post-46992227 Yes, fairly easy by the looks, but not without a certain amount of fillyfarting around. Good point. I reckon what causes most concern regarding taking the cams out is, firstly, simply not having done the job that often, and secondly and more important, concerns about getting the valve timing messed up when putting things back together. I noticed in the "instructions" posted in that link that there is, for instance, a special tool to lock the crankshaft position, and another one apparently to lock the cam position or something. Probably not hard to acquire or fabricate, perhaps not absolutely neccessary.

I'll take the liberty of paraphrasing something that lucky phil wrote in the german language forum that I am involved in: He suggested that it might be possible to get at the shims without having to take out the cams. Going by the drawing here on page 46, part #21 (look at the left side of the drawing. They got the numbers 20 and 21 mixed up on the right side. ) https://www.af1racing.com/ProdImages/st3/GUV100.pdf and from here (I linked this further up...) https://www.motociclismo.es/fotos-motor-moto-guzzi-100-mandello_69296_113/11312012.html this photo it looks like it should be possible, with the motor at the compression (combustion) TDC, to remove the c-clip (part #21), pull the shaft that the finger rockers are on, and lift the rockers to get to the shim. Seems plausible to me.

That's the thing. As far as I know, the JW Speaker headlights have ECE approval. If I change the headlight (and I find the "adaptive" bit very intersting) the replacement must be approved. Going without that here can generate far more trouble than it is worth.