Lamedog

Greg. I am surprised by your response. A waste of time perhaps, but for a man with your aesthetic sensibility I would have thought you first to admit the squarehead no longer worked after they moved past the angular body styling of the 80's and ealy 90's bike. By Daytona's and certainly the '00+s LeMans and Cali's would have done well with a return to rounded fins IMO.

I agree that a file would be easier and adequate. This fellows work is beautiful and finished engine looks marvelous.

Tom: Thanks for the link to Mike's - These help. The Mistral's are a bit long for what I'm after but they are pretty things.

I like it. I've been struggling with the exhaust for my '81 Tonti cafe project, and keep coming back to reverse cone megaphone. I'm willing to step up in price (since the entire project has become for me an exercise in tossing money down a very large hole) - however, I haven't found anything that is much better than the Roadhawk or near-equivalent. Higher end options (MIVV xcone for example) are lighter and maybe quieter, but very costly and still have a bit too contemporary look. You chose a great length for your Paul Smart, they look great and seem a bargain. Questions: Are these stainless under the chrome (I presume so), and have you given thought to removing the chrome and giving them a brushed look (something short of polished). Did you (or anyone) have a quieter and not chrome megaphone option? (Supertrapp with reverse cone ends and MIVV are close but not quite what I'm after). By the time you add two good quality slip on mufflers, its cost effective to have Price Sloan fab the thing as near as I can tell.

I'm very happy with the Buell conversion and it was inexpensive (I do use "sorbothane" insoles to my boots to dampen the vibrations), and have custom bar risers that give me about 5 cm ht and ~5 cm less reach. I'm happy for 12 hrs, and really happy on curvy roads at tempo. Not sure I could say this with forward controls, but I'm beginning to see some Harley's move surprisingly fast in these conditions. (Am I the only one?) For what its worth, I'm 188 cm (6'2") tall, with 86 cm (34") inseam.

Look, my heavily modded SP wears a Harpers outsider sump extension and a plate. My Convert has a sump extension but is plate-less, it simply doesn't need one. With the SP it is, IMHO, overkill but since I had one knocking about? In it went. Either way a plate is unlikely to be vital on your machine but if you want one I have them and they do work and have an 'Invisible Bling' factor if you're into that sort of thing. You could always build it and run it and then see if you need one, simple as that. Pete Pete: This is just the candid and credible response I appreciate from you. Not looking to turn the bike into a boat anchor. I'll look about for a sump extension. Thanks.

Pete: I love your frankness here, and could use your help. I'm building a cafe bike from an '81 G5. The engine has been pretty done over with high compression pistons, flowed heads, timing gears, Carillo rods and like. My observation (not experience) is these bikes were typically fit with a deep sump, and often an external oil filter while they're at it. I'm looking for your opinion on the relative merits of a slop plate vs. deeper sump or sump spacer. I've fancied what I recall being a "Deep Vee" sump with external filter, but haven't seen any about lately. Perhaps these don't work on the older engine configuration?

I'm 6'2". Lowered pegs 3/4" (search Buell peg conversion, its cheap and doesn't require mods to controls. I have 2" bar risers and an MRA touring screen. Stock bars and seat. However, I normally have the seat cowl fitted and my knees don't fit the cutouts unless I sit still on a straight road. Comfy for all day rides. For any real life moving about, my knees are not in the dents. I don't see that this really creates an issue as mileage is not significantly affected and I'm not overly busy washing bugs off my knees.

Mille - Again you're killing me. Pork Chops and Sweet Potatoes both! Seriously pretty. Can't wait to see how you connect point A and point B. The world is waiting for an elaborate crossover.........

Indeed Paul - Those be they. The context is lacking a bit - Why (other than to shame those of us that purchase and bolt up, rather than truly create)? I take it these were used for the V12 project bike to support the different tail section and reaction rod? Or was this about weight? They are beauties - but I miss the holes. I'm probably alone in thinking the 90's Daytona "Porkchops" were a masterwork. I can understand they were at odds with the V11 side panel design. But I regret their loss. Especially the holes. Thanks for sharing...

As I'm watching Mille108 handcraft a beautiful new bike, I seem to recall a similar effort by Paul Minnaert to machine custom pork-chops for his race bike. I searched but cannot find. Was this a dream? Gotta say, both Mille and Paul set a high standard, but makes me proud of the tribe.

Say a guy liked the looks of the early 90's Daytona's for a "not historically accurate" Cafe project, but preferred honest to goodness spoked wheels. Anyone familiar with a spoked wheel startpoint? I haven't contacted Rossopuro, but thinking one of you guys knows off top of your head....

Sad news for sure - I'm disappointed. I split my business between Todd and Greg, stopping by MPH when in Houston for business. Todd was responsive, fair, and made me feel welcome. I've been eying an Aprilia as a second bike - largely to avoid major (Japanese) brands or the "cost and mental overhead" I view in BMW and Ducati options. Guess its time for a run up to Washington...

Thanks all. I'm mulling startpoint (later model Bassa or Jackal, vs an older bike eg T-3) considering the purpose to which I would put such a bike. Particularly: what ratio of "wrench to ride" do I want to live with, do I go for roundfin beauty or the larger but uglier recent engine, and whether the ergonomics can be made livable without unduly compromising the aesthetics. All this is discussed elsewhere. Certainly seems possible to end up with a reliable and distinctive bike that is as comfortable as an '02+ V11 sport. WitchCityB and Guzzirider - I'm anxious to hear and see how your projects turn out! Thanks much

Recent threads on Zagato Guzzi have placed a bug up my bottom to try a winter project converting a T-3 (or other) to a Cafe bike. Have searched here and elsewhere but haven't found many options for metal tank and seat (outside Tank Shop which has a limited web site). I recall seeing a builder in the Pacific Northwest (Oregon/Southern Washington), but can't find the link again. Any recollections or other candidates?

Rims on my Champagne '02 LeMans are scratched up and its time for new tires. Local shop advised powdercoating, but cautioned against a gloss finish. Anyone given thought to appropriate rim color for a Champagne LeMans with Fuzzy Black engine? I like Rich Maund's comment around the necessity for Red, but I'm not sure it fits for me. Is this the time to lose the black engine paint and go for gold/aluminum? (Or will this look like a Sumo wrestler with skinny ankles?) I'll post a photoshop for comment but expect someone has already done this...

Yes, your treatment of the back really cleaned it up. Looks great!

With my '02 LeMans pretty well sorted, I've been looking for another money pit. Higher horsepower has been appealing, but outside Aprilla, nothing floats my boat in recent offerings. So up truns a '97 Sporti for what looks like a fair price and comes pretty well sorted. Regretably it has "pillion butt". Open to opinions Pro and Con as well as possible sources for pillion seat cover..... (yes, I will search this site to turf up helical vs square-cut, but its been quiet on the forum lately...._

Thanks. Surprised I didn't find the threads. Your work is definitive - just not the answer I'd hoped for. Oh well, I'll stock up on beer and expect it to spend some time at it.

I've had the darndest luck with the simplest problems. My new needle bearing and inner race finally arrived. I'd planned to punch the old needle bearing out from the inner side of the bevel-box. With the drive removed from the bike, the stack inside the drive housing is loose enough to allow the spacer slide a bit so I can get a purchase for the punch. A couple easy taps didn't do the job and I don't want to use any more force until I'm positive I'm not driving against a fixed part (esp. a cast part of the box housing). The figure in the '02 Guzzi parts catalog "D3" is unclear and the manual isn't helpful. Any tips on removing the needle bearing? (or I'm off to borrow a blind bearing puller....).

From work Work and Home. Most popular bike in the poll by a good bit. Least until the Harley Boys wake up.

Greg: Seeing Diesel's bike has given me a clearer picture of what to do after I win the lottery. The cost of spoked wheels is off-putting and the fender eliminator looks great but my back would get wet. So I'm down to a couple of lesser considerations. One is to remove the stalk from a set of Rizoma turn indicators so they may be "near flush" mount, and the 'tother is to replace the piss cups with the Ti colored Rizoma product. A bit unsure about the combination of anglular signal and the fairing lines. Perhaps Diesel could try this out for us? Please? (They'd look great on a grey bike)

I don't understand "bubbling", but mine looked pretty rough. An autumn afternoon with a beer, some paint stripper, wire wheel, and polishing compound produced a fine polished cover from under the muck. It's stayed nice for a couple of years and is easy enough to touch up when the time comes. If time is money, buying a new one may be cheaper overall - but it doesn't seem the place for carbon fiber. Each to his own in this case.

Jim: My '02 LeMans came with modified stock pipes. The previous owner removed the outer oval sleeve from the actual muffler, fabricated an oval tube 1/2" smaller ID than the outer shell, filled the gap with insulation and through-bolted the stock inlet and outlet caps to the lot. This is not vastly different from the MG Ti or some other unbaffled aftermarket pipes, except the ratio of diameters for the inlet and outlet pipe to the oval can is way off from optimal. He was a machinist (not a fluid mechanics guy) and did a beautiful job. Looked better than stock because the outlet cap no longer had the small exhaust pipe sticking out. The sound was wonderful - but horribly loud for a 55 year old guy with a family. So I bought a set of used stock pipes from another forum member. Installed them and rode less than 100 miles before pulling them off and putting them in a waste bin. They are hugely heavy, made no noise and severely cut the bike's performance. (The bike had been tweaked to meet CO for the opened pipe and I didn't redo this, it also didn't have a power commander, so performance could have been improved a bit - but why use this as a start point?). A week ago I finally stepped up to a set of MG Ti pipes, ecu and PCIII. Goodness, what a change. In my mind I had justified the Ti pipes by trying to be a responsible adult and not offend the neighbors. Oops, this didn't happen. In my opinion, the Ti pipes are no quieter than the completely open pipes. Tone is a little deeper and very beautiful, but not quieter (Either will be quieter than your experiment, however). Performance without the new ecu is bit better reflecting the improved hydraulics (presumably lack of a "sudden" entrance and exit at the oval. With the ecu, the performance is much improved over the original open cans. And adding the PCIII has added another large step in performance improvement. Good Luck. If you elect to live loud PM me about a set open cans.