tmcafe

I too got my Moto Int'l guards from Greg after a minor lowside last year (leaning in on freezing cold tires ). Glad to know how well they're holding in a crash--though I hope I'll never find out first hand. I thought about painting them black like the originals, but not sure what's the best way to do it. Lowest priority anyway, I'd rather go and ride, but there's still too much ice, like never before .

Nice! Looks "flatter" (no pun intended) than I thought and what I remember seeing posted online. When I get a chance I'll check mine--after the TPS and idel rpm. Cold outside and no heating in the garage.

Dropping a bike sucks no matter how you do it. Glad to hear it's not that big a deal in your case. I too was wondering about perhaps trying the saeng edge. At least for the 650 Dakar windshield I remember they (saeng) were not recommending it. Perhaps it would work for the Coppa/Cafe windshield. If I had a reason to replace mine, I'd sure try it. You may check with saeng and see what they say. I remember they seemed pretty open about sharing that kind of info when I called. The shop stand works great, except for the fact that its width is about 1/4 - 1/8 inch broader than it should, so I've found it rests rather precariously on either bolt. I've tried to narrow the gap between the two arms of the stand by hitting it with a rubber mallet while the other side rested on a 2x4, but didn't see much of a change, if any. I've been reluctant to try tougher methods, and so far the stand has done its job great, except for that detail. I don't know how the stand contributed to dropping your bike, but all I can think of is that stupid extra distance that makes me paranoid about how secure it grabs both bolts.

Sweet looking Tenni !

Thanks Kevin. My best guess was also that the pouch/sleeve had to wrap around the end of the rack. Later I did find a copy of the instructions in the package, including the Italian version, which is much more detailed, torques and everythingi . I'm still not sure how to attach the straps (they say that the "superior", i.e. upper ones should attach to the top of the rack, which I assume to be the half circle that goes around the rear of the bike, and the "inferior" ones to the two 18 mm tubes. In any case, the wrap-around pouch solves much of the fitting problem. Now all I'm waiting for is the screws with which to attach the rack (for some reason they are missing from the package).

Thanks. No, it doesn't. Guess they got rid of the chinpad before my year model. I know one of us here had to do some extra spacing for a Scura with chinpad, there was even a picture posted of the adapted installation. Do you have this tankbag, or you had the fitting problem instead?

Hi SW Motech tankbaggers , Already looked up the opinions that were posted on this forum a while ago about the SW Motech gascap-mounted tankbag. I'm considering it as an alternative to the Guzzi one--the latter has good looks and fit, but feels overpriced especially as second-hand, and the attachment system is not something that I'd want everyday on the bike. I know there were some fitting problems with the older style gastank. Other than fit, I'd be curious what's your experience with it (silly red bovine logo notwithstanding--but we can always place a Guzzi tag over it :D ). TIA !

Hi all, Sorry to ask such a trivial question, but do any of you have both the Guzzi rear rack AND the rear bag? If you do, how do you attach the bag to the rack? I've tried several options, one of which would involve using the velcroed pouch on the back of the bag like a glove in which I insert the rounded rear tip of the rack--it fits the shape as if it was designed for it, and holds the bag snugly. Then use the short straps in the front in the rear buckles, and the long rear straps in the front buckles. Other variants would only use the rack and straps, no bag pouch involved. The bag is expandable and looks good, and--my favorite thing: it has a fairly wide shoulder strap. Oh, and by the way, nice rack

Very interesting points. Don't know about Dave in sunny SoCal, but my bike stays overnight in a garage with no heating, so in the morning the oil temp is whatever is outside. I'd go for the lightbulb thing, although technically there's no power in the garage (I'm using a cord from the dryer plug in the basement). A lightbulb won't hurt the landlord, I guess , being that I've replaced burned out bulbs in common areas several times. I'm also tempted to at least inspect the cush drive and give it a good preventive dose of silicone lube, unless the rubber is already hardened and ready for Greg's Swiss-cheese fix. And yes, perhaps I should only take the bike out for longer rides, or make the short commute long enough for the engine to warm up.

Okay, this sounds better. I know that much of the crappy mileage has been caused by these short jaunts, but didn't think it was going to be that bad. I got something like mid-to high 30s mpg riding it from Seattle. Still low compared to other bikes just as big. Haven't done the valves yet, and I may go for new (stock) spark plugs. I do let the bike warm up a bit, while I'm putting on my helmet and gloves, etc. Not enough, it seems. Now this makes me feel a little better too--sorry dlaing, no offense meant. Your weight and height may actually contribute to lower gas mileage. Also wondering why 89 would do better than premium (I heard the opposite too). Given that some tire mfg's (Metzeler is one of them) suggest that it's better to keep your tires at max allowed cold pressure, you may want to pump up your tires to probably something like 42.

I've printed the link and saved it--for when (if ) I get smarter with electronics, or when I can show the project to smb. who can help me or make sense of it . Not sure which kind of winter sucks most. Here I can ride most of the time, except for the few days with snow and ice in town (around town is much worse though, it's wintersports area). But still always on alert: will it snow, will the rain turn to ice, blah, blah etc. In other places I guess it's all clear. Unless you're a hero and put on studded tires (assuming they're street legal), you can just enjoy reading motorcycle stories or work on your bike until spring. Like some northern states in the US, most of Canada, Finland, etc. Most of the year it's okay here though, even in the summer--hot and dry, and it cools off at night.

Sure wouldn't mind waiting to 2050 to break it in, especially if I stay as young as I am now. Okay, I got the bike brand new just two months ago. First ride about 700 miles in one stretch (with stops for refueling). Then speedo cable needed replaced under warranty, wanted to service it and didn't want to put miles on it since both odos were frozen. And then, you guys in Sydney, remember, here in the civilized northern hemisphere there's something called winter--you know: ice, snow, long cold nights. Seriously, I used to walk to work, but I like this bike too much to leave it home. Occasionally I've blasted on the highway or went up on some twisties (until I saw ice in the middle of the road at about 4-5k ft. Revved the crap out of it, even pushing it to redline, and to about 110-120 on the interstate, and the gas mileage still was still better than the dreaded city run. But I suspect there may be a few more tweaks that can help. Ooops, just noticed I misspelled Sydney. Fixed! (I hate bad spelling, esp. names of people and places)

This thread is rubbing it in for me. I asked a tech at Moto Int'l, who warned me that very short trips on a cold engine may give something like 25 mpg Basically the ECU reads "cold engine" no matter what and gives it a lot of fuel accordingly. So I calculated at the next fill-up. Sadly, he was dead-on! It wasn't even 26 mpg! Since my mpg is at the other end of the scale vs. Kevin H's, here's more info: - my trips home to work are about 2 miles each way (that sucks). - I try to keep it around 3000 rpm (actually I like the way the bike purrs around those revs). - average city altitude is fairly high: under 3000 ft but by not much - mileage on bike: a little over 1k - everything on bike is stock (except for me ) - first oil change 10W40 Valvo m/c - tranny 80W90 Lucas - rear drive 80W90 Lucas and Kawi (run out) + PowerPunch - Chevron middle grade (89 I guess) - 175 lb, 6'1" - don't carry extra (a shoulder bag) - tires about 34/36 front 38/40 rear - speeds around 35-45 in town - weather was cold recently, often in the 20s early morn. and night It's not the cost that worries me about the bike's gas mileage. Even if the gas was free, I'd still feel just as bad. In my book, the bike (bikes in general) is the coolest motor vehicle on the road in most/all respects, including that they're the opposite of fat-a$ gas guzzlers. And now this.... 25 mpg... even Hardly's do much better. And the portly Breva too... not to mention many of the Ducs. And Beems. Looks like with this bike Italian style seems to ignore the gas mileage issue. Maybe Kevin has a magic spell for his bike... Seriously, the tech at Moto Int'l also told me that I could get a PC and have the FI mapping redone for this bike at a dyno shop. Perhaps not right now, maybe later. How about exhaust cans? Do the Ti offer any advantage, other than looks and a few pounds shed? (and are they louder, btw?). Spark plugs have been checked too. Valves soon.

Thanks, I haven't gotten a chance to check the drain plug. Last time I filled up, however, there was no water at all, maybe that's why I forgot to look into it again. Will do it

When I was there (not long ago, 4-5 years) this trend had already started, although neither I nor any of my direct colleagues lived in Lowell. Nice town, environment, history, mix of people. It should continue to get better with Boston so close and house prices down there going through the roof.

Dry days? I've been riding on ice since yesterday morning . Seriously, that thing looks like it should go through a bolt or something like that. I'll have to look underneath again to see where it could go. JackBoots, I miss your area. Worked in Lowell for a year.

Sounds like the square washer I can see right after the collar nut on the left exhaust. Never had to unbolt that yet, but it looks like what you're describing. On the right muffler, however, there was no such thing. Thanks, at least it confirms that there's some degree of resemblance between your Cafe put together by Giuseppe, and mine, by Giovanni.

Thanks. This was my first thought, since the forward part of the mudguard is loose. Glad you picked up on it too. OTOH I discounted it almost right away since the shape of this thingie didn't make sense to me for that purpose. It actually looks like Luigi found the washer/spacer as he was searching in the parts bin for some buffer between the sw-arm and mudguard. I mean, it's a washer, albeit very thick for its diameter. Shouldn't it go on some kind of rod, screw, etc? If only tension between the two holds it there, then what's that shape for? Why not a rubber bumper in a hole, like the ones they put to hold back the license plate? I also thought about the muffler spacer. The left muffler apparently has a thin spacer that seems to be square in shape! Anyway, thanks everybody for your suggestions.

I decided to tackle greasing the notoriously hard-to-reach front U-joint fitting on the drive shaft. Hoping to find a slightly easier way around--without lowering the swingarm, I took off the right muffler and the top mudguard that's attached on both sides of the swingarm. Turned out that I would need a smaller hand, or an insane amount of patience, the latter in order to remove the third screw about 1/2 way on the inside of the front U-joint guard. The smaller hand would have the advantage of positioning the 5mm allen wrench with a little less guesswork. Otherwise it would take forever only to feel your way with the short end of the wrench and undo the screw a tiny fraction at a time. I decided to postpone the whole thing until I change the rear tire, which has now less than 1k miles on it. Oh well... But here's the crazy thing: after I had removed the 4 screws that attach the mudguard, while I was trying to remove the mudguard something, rattled and fell down: it was a spacer or washer, Luigi issue (not Japanese perfect), and for the life of it I still can't figure out where it came from. Of course I saved it assuming it may have been part of the assembly. Well, I looked pretty much everywhere it could have come from. I looked under the seat, underneath the fender, at the other exhaust mount, rear drive housing, etc... I went and searched the parts manual for "spacer", and the only one that could be suspect was a spacer listed in the muffler installation. Well that spacer is inside the rubber washer, so no, it wouldn't even fit the mounting screw. Eventually I resigned myself to leaving it out and blaming Luigi (who's probably innocent). Here's the suspect's description: steel, coated with that silvery galvanized (hey, it's Luigi, really: http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9035937/Luigi-Galvani ) thing , dimensions: Int. diam: 7 mm Ext. diam: 15 mm Thick: 5mm The outside edges are very slightly (and approximately) beveled at something like 45˚. On one side it has a vague darker smear/skid/rub-off mark, on the other side it looks like it may have pressed on something circular, about 11 mm in diam. The bike is working fine without it, but I'm a bit paranoid about this left-out spacer/washer, let alone very curious! So what's your best guess? TIA

I guess we all know the lesson--in theory, that is, until we learn it first hand . On the plus side, looks like neither of us had to learn it at high speed and in heavy traffic. Plus you won't have to worry too much about icy roads in DFW

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Moto-guzzi-...bayphotohosting

You may have noticed this already: it seems that water leaks underneath the gas cap lid. The plug part that actually stops the filler opening may be tightly sealed by a washer (hopefully). However, there's a circular area around the opening about 1" wide, and water often pools there. It's annoying because I've got to watch for it when I fill up. Sometimes I grab a paper towel and mop it dry trying to hold the bike upright so that the water won't drop inside. Am I missing an O-ring or washer underneath the gas cap lid, or is it just Luigi's design ? Another question, potentially related to the first, is directed at those of you who've had experience with either Lugggage Locker or SW Motech tankbags: how sturdy are the screws/attachment plates for the tankbags? Could the tankbag gas cap attachment, and the weight of the tankbag, create problems with how tight the gas cap is, or its integrity? TIA

I wish I had done that a year ago before I got stuck on my Dakar in the desert just within 5 miles or so from Winnemucca, NV, around 3:30 AM, freezing cold and semis blowing by.

Thanks. Sure putting gas in cured it. Also I noticed that when the light goes on, it seems to act kind of like a dimmer switch that gets turned up until it's full on. My speedo cable broke and was replaced with the upgrade about two weeks ago. The tach cable most likely is still the original. I'll see if I can have my local dealer replace it based on the Guzzi tech bulletin, even though the cable it still works.

Thanks for the replies. Good info. I'll probably also wait until I put a new rear tire. I guess I may have put too much grease trying to drive out the old one. I'd be curious if anybody has used GreenGrease. I called and checked for moly (I was told it doesn't have any). Also it's lithium-based yet synthetic. It's been around for a while, used for heavy-duty, high-pressure applications, though not for retail. Can be found at Autozone.