Dr Gil

Moto Guzzi expandable tank bag in excellent shape! Comes with all straps and a rain cover. I bought this bag from tomsp here in this forum just last November for $70 and am now selling the bag for the same amount I bought it for. I will cover the shipping costs for the U.S. This tank bag is very handy and looks great on my Le Mans. The only problem I have with it is that it is a bit small for my touring needs (I'm a known overpacker). Its measurements are about 14" long by 11" wide and 5" deep and can expand an additional 2" in height. PM me if interested.

My wife and I are just recently returned from a week's stay in Rome. Yes, Rome as in Rome, Italy, the Mother Country, the homeland of Moto Guzzi, of all things pasta and Italian. During our stay I, of course kept my eyes peeled for the vital signs of our beloved marque. Sadly I must report that during our week's stay I saw a total of FIVE (5) Moto Guzzis...yes, I kept count. I saw more Brit bikes (Speed Triples seem to be very popular) than Italian. In anticipation of this trip to the homeland I had packed my favorite "Moto Guzzi" T-shirt hoping to gain some glory from the indigenous population and to help endear me to them. Nothing. I engaged locals in broken English/broken Italian motorcycle conversations and managed to work in that I actually owned a Guzzi and showed them pictures that I had also packed of my beloved Le Mans...to almost no affect. Finally in desperation to find "our" people I made a point to visit one of the only two Moto Guzzi dealerships in Rome. They had a total of 7 bikes on the floor one of which was a used and quite sad California. They carried almost no swag what so ever. I must admit I came away a bit humbled and with perhaps a bit clearer picture of myself, of my tastes and of my true place in this world. So here, in all its glory is the main Moto Guzzi dealership in Rome, Italy. Those of you who question the vitality of the company and its promise for the future, take that!

I'm afraid it does look like the timing cover gasket has failed. In rebuilding my Le Mans after a crash I discovered I had cracked my cover and this is pretty much what it looked like. Removal and repair is pretty straight forward and even I, of marginal wrenching skill and of only simple hand tools was able to do the job with the help of members of this board. In my case I had to drop part of the sub-frame to get the cover off. The entire thread can be viewed, complete with step by step instruction HERE Good luck

I'm confused. As some of you may be aware I crashed my Le Mans last year due to my neglecting to put up my side stand and then riding off. The side stand kill switch has been disconnected by a previous owner. When rebuilding the bike I reconnected the kill switch. Now the bike will not start unless the sidestand is up. Once started I can put the sidestand back down, put it in gear, whatever and the bike still runs. This is the only bike I've ever seen like this. On other bikes if I were to put the stand down while the bikes in gear it would kill the engine. I just figured it's a "Guzzi" way of doing things." Am I to understand that my side stand kill switch is still not working properly?

Great pictures, gorgeous weather, beautiful bikes! Thanks for posting this stuff Martin...I look forward to seeing more pics as they become available.

No Way! A fellow could put yer eye out with that!

Cold weather or not, I'm still jealous. I'll be there with you guys in spirit and physically be in northern Wales in a couple of weeks (sans bike). Hope it warms up and drys out before then. Have a great ride and take lots of pictures!

Nope, they all seem to be present.

Oh My! That is SO 70's. Is that really a hubcap that's bolted onto the front of that Wankel?

Yes, congrats Pete! I live in the same remote area as Bill and also count on you and this forum to keep me on the road. I think you should now move to our town.

Am I reading the shop manual wrong? In mine it says the "front wheel spindle" (which I took to mean the axle bolt...never sure about these Italian to English translantions and how "they" name parts) should be "90 (division sign) 100 lbs." Me, I translated this to torque to 90 Nm. Am I wrong here?

I agree...what a beauty! She is no Sport-Tourer though...maybe I need a second Le Mans

Interesting point. I ran across this young lady in Salisbury, England a few years back. She was wheelchair bound and didn't have the use of her legs. She rolled up into the sidecar, hoisted the ramps and then pulled herself over onto the saddle. All the shifting, braking and throttles were done with hand controls. The sidecar was her way of overcoming her disability and still be able to ride. True grit!

Yeah, I put mine back on Martin. I just don't ride the Le Mans so hard that I scrape the body parts.

Wow, scary eh? Glad it worked out ok for you. The solution you've come up with is the only one I've read about...either cut the stop down or remove it entirely. Fortunately this is a problem I don't seem to have, I ride more "conservatively" (read as "I'm a big chicken") than many here do.

...offered without comment:

Now I'm embarrassed. My kill switch problem was that I had accidently hit the kill button while screwing around looking for the VIN numbers and didn't realize it. I don't generally use the kill button and just start and stop with the ignition switch. I simply didn't ever think that it may have been off. I can't help with the inner workings of it...sorry. I always like to go with the simple fixes first on a thing like this though. If it's not that your kill button is engaged I would certainly try cleaning, lubricating and manually manipulating the sidestand kill button a bit...if not that...well, you see where I'm going. Easy stuff first.

soloNH, If you do end up ordering a pair of these please let us know what type you ordered, how installation went and how well they work (with pics if possible). I too am sick of sliding into my tank and these look to be a stylish and reasonably priced solution.

Yep, had the same circumstances...kill switch. I was in the DMV parking lot getting the Guzzi's VIN #'s certified when it happened . I had even called a tow truck to haul me out of there.

I live in a wet area Carl and my tach also fogs up. A possible solution to this problem has come up in other threads ( HERE). It requires drilling a 1/4" hole in the bottom of the tach...only the metal, outside part, NOT the inner plastic. Rain is predicted here on the California northcoast over the next few days so I think I'll take the opportunity to pull the fron fairing off my Le Mans and deal with mine.

Hmm, seems like a "do it yer-self" thingie to me. These prices are ridiculous. What's to prevent a person from getting a can of "Testor's Italian Red" and doing it yourself? Am I missing a step here?

...be still my heart! Could this possibly be the bike we're talking about?

Well I pulled off the fuel tank just now and poked around a bit tracking the "fluid flow." I think Andy nailed the problem with the culprit being that large banjo bolt on top of the frame. I snugged it up about 1/2 turn. The what I now know was oil (no, I didn't taste it) was seeping out of it and down that plastic cover that covers the frame up there and then running down the lower forkbrace and onto the underfairing splash plate. I hope the "snugging up" fixes the problem but even if it doesn't I know where it's coming from and can replace either the bolt, the washer or both. I'm going to take it out for a test ride now and see if anything develops. Thanks to all who contributed...I hope this is the last you hear of this.

Nope I'm afraid not Jaap. I replaced my Bitubo with a Hyper Pro just a couple of weeks ago and I checked it over pretty carefully for leakage when I spotted this "fluid"...nothing.

txrider, I'm not sure I understand. The front end has not been removed and the steering stem bearing has not been repacked. Does this free me up from worry about it weeping? As best I can suss at this juncture the first place I can spot the leak is VERY close to the lower stem bearing. I'll know more tomorrow when I remove the tank...I hope.