GuzziMoto

I use Wix/Napa filters anyway.

Haven't had to get parts under warrenty or otherwise in a while, but in my experience that sounds like a dealer issue. Some dealers are better at working the system then others. I have not had any parts supply issues with either my Griso or my wifes V11, which just got some clutch work this summer.

I'm a Mesa Boogie man myself.

I thought it was "Hold my beer, watch this".

It's the classic "New and improved, now with shiney bits" syndrome. I do like the new Guzzi's. I wish my Griso could have come with wire wheels, though.

Checking and adjusting the valves on a Guzzi is about as easy as it gets. If you can change your own oil I think you can handle it. I have a dealer two blocks away, but I do everything I can do myself (sometimes time is more of a limit then difficulty) and if i need a dealer I drive an hour and a half to a dealer I trust. Having a dealer who knows what they're doing is more important then having one who is close.

No, that's Mike Myers. Michael Myers is the killer in the Halloween movies.

A modern F.I. Harley Sportster gets over 50 mpg. While 40 mpg out of a Guzzi is doing pretty good for a Guzzi, it is not good for its size. I do agree that riding style, air pressure in the tires, and state of tune/condition of the bike make a difference. But I doubt you're likely to get over 50 mpg out of a Guzzi. They are just to primative for that. But that primative nature is part of their charm.

I believe an Imperial gallon is bigger then a US gallon.

While I would agree that 38 mpg is pathetic for a 1100cc twin, it is normal for a Guzzi. It may be due to the lack of proper squish in the head or just bad head design period, but they are not efficent at burning fuel and thus have mediocre power outputs and mileage stock.

I prefer fixing bikes myself, but I had a very good experience with Europa Macchina in Harrisburg. They seem very detail oriented and genuinely care about doing things right. Tell them Michael Myers sent you.

Sorry for the slow response. Fell off my SuperMoto and broke four ribs (among other things). Yes we have gangs of dirt bikes in our fair city. It's an old problem. Atleast a couple years now. The cops can't catch them, and are even afraid to chase them most times for fear of someone getting hurt. I avoid those parts of town as a rule, so it doesn't affect me. But they have proposed solutions as extreme and far ranging as banning dirt bikes in the city (not sure how that would help) to building a dirt bike riding area (nice idea, but I don't see how that would help either). I think it's pretty funny as well.

Another possible issue is the spring for the fast idle lever may be too stiff. This does not allow it to fully open and may be an issue. Many people swap the spring from the seat release with the fast idle spring, saying it fixes two issues at one time.

I'm curious what the full story is. I don't see how a center stand that drags the ground if you lean the bike over too far is a factory defect. They all tend to do that. Maybe there's more to the story, but any bike will crash if you lean it over too far. Edit: Guzzi didn't do something stupid like put the pivot for the center stand at the back so that it swung down from the front?

The Ulysses is a great bike, and more reliable then the tube frame Buells. But it lacks the soul and ride quality/feel of the tube frame Buells. I wouldn't say no to a modern aluminum frame Buell but I would have prefered to see Buell spend their R&D money on fixing the few flaws the tube frame bikes had than re-invent the wheel as they did with the new bikes. The tube chassis of the older bikes definetely made for a better street bike then the aluminum frame, which is too nervous and sensitive to set-up. The older bikes did not have that many problems and most of them were not that hard to fix. In fact, the new motor fixed most of the issues and about all that remained was to redesign that rear suspension set up to a proper design.

Don't believe there was a V1100 sport. There was a 1100 Sport made from 95 on to 98. It was then followed by the v11sport.I don't have one, but a friend has a Daytona, which is much like the 1100 Sport but with a two valve engine. His did not have two batteries that I'm aware of.here's a link to more info. http://mgu.mtnsub.org/sport1100/index.html

While neither option is the best, between the two of them I would drain it before you leave. My reasoning being old oil can be acidic. But I don't think either option is horrible. And I doubt there is much benefit to one over the other.

As you can see, the definition of sport touring is as varied as the bikes people would choose. I have toured on 3 bikes, An FZR 400, a Buell X1 Lightning, and a Griso. The Griso is an excellent sport touring bike to me. My wife feels the same way about her V11.

I just got a great chuckle out of picturing someone pulling the fast idle lever to pop the seat and needing a key in the seat latch to set the fast idle.

The V11 pistons should have a larger valve pocket as well.

Who in Maryland stocks the odyssey batteries?

If all you have is 10 volts at the battery, stop right there and deal with that issue before you worry about your starter. Odds are there is nothing wrong with your starter, the battery is probably your issue. Charge it and see if it takes and holds a charge. Then maybe get it load tested at a shop (if it still won't start the bike). If after all that it still won't start but you have atleast 12.5-13.0 volts at the battery. Then post back for advice.

Not sure about it but I believe Ferraci makes a highmount set that looks alot like that. The picture on their site does not show the highmount pipes, they use the same picture of the low mount pipes for both sets. But they have an oval cross section and mount just under the tail section much like those.

That is very good news.

Well, better late then never. Here's the story. The wifes V11 needed some work before our trip to Indy for the MotoGP race. The bike developed an oil leak after having the trans recall work done at the local dealer and the clutch would slip under heavy load. I did not have time to do the work myself. I found a dealer on the south side of Harrisburg Pa, Europa Macchina, that seemed like a good place to go. I had a little over a month before the trip to get the work done. Seemed like it would be fine. As mentioned, dropped the wifes V11 off at Europa Macchina. Very pleasant experience. Well, when they took the bike apart they found a small leak from the rear main seal, a larger leak from a missing clamp on a crank vent hose (where may it have gone?), a worn out clutch, and a broken lower mount on the shock (a common occurence for some reason). Everything except the shock they had fixed in a reasonable amount of time. The shock I decided to replace with a performance version, just did not know which. Turns out the only company I found that could supply me a shock in a short enough time frame was Penske. And as it turns out, They got me the shock in less time then they promised and I was completly satisfied with their service. Michael Himmelsbach was outstanding to deal with. I can't recall ever getting treated that well buying something for a motorcycle. So, after getting the shock to Europa they installed it and then sync'd the throttlebodies. In the end, the bike was done in time for our trip to Indy for the MotoGP race. They did a spectacular job, and I will gladly take my bikes to them for service again if I need to take them to a mechanic. So, now we've got the bike back about a week before we leave. All seems well. We rode to work a couple times together and rode when we could to make sure all was well. Then on Monday (we are planning to leave Tuesday) we rode to work with no issues. My wife rode the bike at lunch out to the bank, again no issues. We go to leave work (we work at the same place) and she gets nothing but clicking from the starter. I assumed she had left the key on or something. We push start the bike and go home. When we got home we shut off her bike then tried to restart it. No joy. It did the clicking thing. After some testing to determine that the starter was okay, I determined that the battery (not that old, two or three years) took a dump. Tried every where I could think of to locate a stock size battery. No luck. Finally I found a battery that had the same length and width but was an inch taller. Figured I could make it fit. I spent the better part of Tuesday finding the battery and making it fit. I had to heat the subframe with a torch and beat on it with a hammer to make the room. Will try for pictures at some point so you can marvel at the desperation engineering. Finally got to leave after 6 PM on Tuesday evening. Original plan was to take US 50 from Winchester Virginia out to I-79, then south to 33west. That would take us to Ohio, where we were going to follow the Ohio river to Cincinati and then 52 up to Indy. This delay blew those plans out of the water and we blew out I-70/68 to Morgantown WV. in the rain (of course my Griso speedo did not work due to the rain but atleast our Aerostitch suits kept us comfy). Stayed there the night, then went down I-79 to US 50 west. Took that out to Ohio where we picked up on our plan to follow the Ohio. In the end we made it to Indy in time to walk the pits on Thursday and see the bikes. Wow. They sound like crap. Nothing like the sexy sound of a F1 engine. TV does not do them justice on how bad they sound. But they are amazingly fast. We had a steller time. We camped out just south of town and missed all the crazyness, but slept better. The only disapointment was the race day wheather shortend the MotoGP race and cancelled the 250 race. But we will be back next year. Be there or be square.