EnduroGuzzi

It's a 2012 8 valve motor.

More than a thought experiment, I've been offered a Griso motor from a part out. i've seen plenty of these in Tonti frames, but does anyone have any idea as to whether you can put one of these new motors in a spine frame? my v11 is a salvage bike already so I wouldn't be lowering its value at all. Just looking for collective wisdom.

It's the most beautiful bike ever made, followed closely by the '97 Sporti and then by the v11 LeMans for which this sight is named. There were only something like 100 of them brought to the US, so they're rare birds, even tho' they aren't considered a "limited production boutique builder machine" (but should be.) 10 years ago you could still pick them up pretty cheaply [ie, less than their original MSRP], but their prices have been rising sharply the last few years. Sorry, not much else to offer right now, as I'm in the middle of a move and all my Guzzi books are packed away. No, I haven't sold my copy of Greg Field's Guzzi Big Twins yet, altho' if the OOP asking price keeps going higher on Amazon, I may be forced to just on principle that I'm too poor to afford to keep any book that sells for over $100... Good luck on your quest, don't be surprised if you wake up w/ a bump on your head and no memory of what happened to the Daytona RS you'd stumbled onto if you get in the way of my getting one! ;-) When I sold mine in 2000 (second owner) the grist was that there were only 35 in the US. As usual should not have sold that and sorta been looking ever since. Good luck

I have a set of Bub shorties for the Sporti and Centauro, might fit Lemans, but I think it would need a little modding. a few scuff, a bracket re-weld. To be perfect they would probably need a re-chrome. But they're not horrible either. $150 and you pay for shipping

I just had to wipe off my computer screen... Really nice special. The regrets from selling the RS never get a chance to fade.

Thanks, wasn't sure. I thought the SuperTwin was designed to use the 5 speed, I had not heard that they had changed the design to use the 6 speed box in the newer models.

Boy, I'd love to do a Monza kit. Are they still using the 5-speed or have they adapted the 6?

Sweeeet!, the Paul Smart was the only recent Ducati I've had any interest in. Nice acquisition. Vespa shouldn't be jealous. Though there is a nice salvage Multistrada on ebay that would make a great DS conversion.

Ouch with those prices, I guess my 2009 1200 Griso will be purchased as a deeply discounted 2011... Just like I did with my old Sport1100i, just like I did with my old Centaro...

Right on! One bit of sunshine in an otherwise dismal news (bailout, politics) day. I might even get some sleep tonight.

Hey, I'm in the club now! Mine went today at 8200 miles (04 Lemans). Stuck in second, luckily a person at work is also a long time Guzzi wrench who will save my bacon.

There must be some kind of trans-atlantic bike virus. I thought my bike was getting horrible fuel mileage (22mpg!) Then I matched the odo against the road markers and found it was showing 0.4 for every mile traveled. All within the last week.

So, I'm lazy and sick of things breaking. I've decided to replace the upper sump casting. Fortunately, MI (thanks Greg) can get me one in a week. Less painful than expected, $135 or something like that. Like I said the bike was a salvage from a former list member (who wasn't seriously harmed) who had an SUV pull a lefty in front of him. I've replaced all the "structural" parts, footpegs, valve covers, turn signals. Even though it did not look like it got whacked, the bike crashed on the side with KS and it could've gotten bumped. For your enjoyment: Thanks for all the advice. EG

Thanks BMG, Ryland. I had thought about doing the whole electrical system disconnect. I've Lost too much electronic equipment to bad electrical stuff (off-grid) to not have that painful memory right up front! I will learn if enough pain is applied.

Yes that's the belly pan, hmmm kind of pricey. Thanks for the link. I have someone with an english wheel and some other metal working stuff who I've talked to about a hybrid belly pan/skid plate. We'll see. I've decided to get the upper casting welded, on the bike. Might as well give it a shot. I'll try for this weekend. Regardless of the outcome I promise before and after pics. Thanks for all the advice

I too had performed the hole elongation trick with the dremel. Upon completion the bolt went through the newely elongated KS assembly and threaded properly, no forcing necessary. It could have been slightly mis-aligned, but I would think threading into the casting would still be difficult. Additionally, I ride that bike on more crappy gravel, dirt, rock roads than most (I believe) and I may have taken a rock hit without noticing it. Does anyone still carry the V11 belly pans (chin spoilers)?

"you mean the part between oil sump and engine block? That one costed me 320 bucks..." Yes sir, that's the one. 320? not as bad as I thought, bad enough though, thanks.

So I go to park my o4 Lemans when I notice the kickstand appears to wobble. Since I had it off awhile ago to install a sloper I thought perhaps one of the fasteners had loosened up. Upon closer inspection I see that the upper sump casting has broken around the radius of the bolt that pins the sidestand to the casting. I've always been suspect of the kickstand setup on spine frames, but 3 previous examples were fine. Does anyone know what aluminum these are cast out of? Any chance of a ghetto welding repair? I figure with the Euro/$ exchange this part will probably be $500. Welcome to Monday!

Cool, Thanks Mr. Ratchethack!

More a Guzzi, than Roper Plate issue. When removing the upper sump casting several of the bolts were a bit sticky, when examined it appears that the bolts (6 of them) were installed with some type of lock-tite. I have never heard anyone in all of the RP posts mention the use of lock-tite when re-attaching the sump. I'm pretty sure the sump has never been off, but would'nt bet a paycheck on it. Anyone lock-tite those internal M6's? Or could this have been some kind of "factory" thing? If lock-tite were to be used, what color would you recommend? My thoughts are blue, but I'm no regular user of the stuff so I'm not sure. The bike (04 LeMans) was purchased as a salvage (owned by a former member of this list) with a small amount of cosmetic damage, and very minimal "structural" damage. I find it funny what they consider totalled these days. Anyways just hours away from getting it going as a "rebirth". Traxxion forks, Wilbers shock, new pirellis and I can't wait to go! The body work can wait, I like my stuff to look "rally" Thanks for any advice.

My three previous spines had the D and S marks, my current 04 LM does not. I too was puzzled when I discovered that.

I dunno, last summer I rode the V11 to a gig with my bass (in a soft bag) on my back. The car died a sudden death and I was left with no other option. Was just like a back-pack, except the neck sticking above my head made some strange vibrations. Now thank god I didn't have to bring any amplification along also. Now this was an electric bass, not an acoustic stand up.

Hey, I am awaiting the install of a Wilbers on my Lemans, I should have it back this weekend. I'll let you know what I think of its on and off-road performance. I'm hoping

I've driven some flex fuel fleet vehicles on E85 and my initial impression was disgust. Hard start up cold or hot, flooding the cabin with alcohol fumes and some crazy surging when just driving around under ordinary load. Fortunatly I discovered that the problem with these vehicles lies with the manufacturer, not the fuel. Lately some subaru turbo tuners (and I'm sure many others) have been playing around tuning on E85 and getting crazy torque outputs, looking more in line with big turbo diesel torque profiles. With this Guzzi, you could probably run 12.5:1 (or higher????) compression on the street with cams and some uncommon (full race) timing changes. Some of this is just a quick revision away for all the common software tuning modules. I've seen 106 Octane thrown around as the listing for rating E85. With the tuning tools available, this is like taking one of the three wishes granted to you by the Genie "and I want to drive around on race fuel forever after" You pick the other two choices A new venue of research into hotrod tuning, what's not to like!?!?