Lucky Phil

The Image docc posted takes me back a bit to the old days of images taken on film. Anybody notice the obvious issue with the image? Phil

If you wanted to convert a Centy into something else then the V11 Sport is the natural choice. Petrol tanks, seats, subframes and seat cowls are all pretty much readily available at somewhat reasonable prices. Thats the most popular and easy way of building a replica of my bike it's just you don't get the 6 speed gearbox and a few other things. Engine parts are a big issue though. Phil

One of these two bikes in the images was shaped by function and the other was a styling exercise. Guess which is which. Phil

There's an old saying that comes to mind "just because you can doesn't mean you should" These type of projects just about always end up going nowhere simply because the time it takes to try and assemble parts takes so long and the modifications so labour costly the person naturally runs out of enthusiasm. Remember the person here that was going to build the Titanium framed version of my bike complete with a Dynotec built engine? Never eventuated, as I knew it wouldn't because it just gets too hard and too expensive esp when you need to pay people for some of the specialised work. Better to pick a more achievable project maybe based on a Griso or something. I'd never attempt to build my bike again now if I needed to start sourcing parts etc. Phil

Buy a dye check kit to be sure. Cheap to buy and worth it. Phil

In practical terms, no. EFI versions need a different fuel tap with larger connection threads and also a return fitting for the pressure regulator which the carb bikes don't have. The fuel level sensor types are different as well depending on the model. Carb bikes have float sensor and EFI bikes thermistor so connection flange differs. Anything is possible if you throw enough money at it and can find an "expert at tank welding and fabricating but as I said not "practically" possible. Phil

Half the stuff you've mentioned is unprocurable these days and if you can buy it extremely expensive. ( Sport fuel tank, fairing etc) You'll need a rear seat frame or the equipment and ability to modify the Centy one. There's a million things before you get to the engine itself, the parts for which no longer exist in reality so it's buy bespoke cam gears, oil pump, etc. Remember Guzzi made less than 3000 of these engines in total across the Centy and Daytona models. The 8 valve engine isn't like the 2 valve big block engine with regards to longevity. The heads are a high wear item as are the cam drive and oil pump gears and oil pump. The project you're thinking of is about 10-15 years too late to be a practical, rational idea. I know I've half done it and am currently building a 95mm bore 8 valve engine which makes so little sense I'm considering abandoning the idea. By the time it's finished it will probably have cost me $8000 in parts and thats with me doing all the machining and labour with the exception of a crank re grind. Read this.

Makes sense. The lever always seems to remain solid indefinitely after the procedure though. Phil

Yes thats right Mick, not my bike and no I wouldn't use heat bandages. My friend that ran the DDT for a few years wrapped this same bike and header system just like the image. The carbon mufflers lasted 1 practice session before exploding literally due to the heat they now had to absorb. Wrapping headers is for hot rodders and to keep under hood temps down not Superbikes. Back in the day before they had a total handle on 2 stroke expansion chamber harmonics they wrapped them as well for some theoretical advantage or change. Then they invented exhaust valves. Phil

Well it's 12.7 actually. I'm fully conversant in both and can do the smaller calculations in my head. By instinct I measure something in fractions of a mm say .24 and immediately say to myself "oh yea that's 9.6 thou. Don't know why, no idea but my equipment in the last 20 years has been metric. I'll stop it one day I guess. Metric still makes more sense to me. Phil

Not sure if I've mentioned this before but I've been trying to understand why tying the brake lever on overnight significantly improves the lever feel after bleeding. I've had the question in my mind for a few years but never had an answer. My only thought is that the constant brake pressure over a longish period dissolves any formed air bubbles back into solution in the brake fluid where they don't have an effect. In other words the compressibility of a formed air bubble is different to the same amount of air suspended in solution in the brake fluid. Naturally this has to be within reason but I wonder if it's like the fuel drain checks I used to do on jets earlier in my career where the water suspended in the jet fuel wasn't a major issue until it was enough to separate out of suspension into straight water with a dividing line with the fuel. Same concept but different. So the question is does a quantity of dissolved air or air molecules suspended in a given amount of fluid in a sealed system have less affect on the compressibility of the fluid than the same amount of air in a formed bubble within the same system. It's in the realms of a scientific question and I've not been able to find an answer. I need a physicist. Any takers to answer this? Enquiring minds need to know. Phil

The logical version. Metric Phil

Bought one of these recently. Brilliant tool. Makes setting up a lot easier and measuring how flat and straight things are. Phil

The governing factor in the case of a 90 degree V twin with regards to the exhaust scavenging is the point of cross section dia of the secondary pipe. So the first major cross sectional change is what generates the negative pressure pulse. In multi cylinder engines they combine this with the collector shape so the designated cylinders "talk to each other" as well. This is a Ducati Corse 888 "spaghetti" exhaust. The small short link pipes between the front and rear cylinders primary role is to create the large cross sectional change in pipe dia to generate the negative pressure wave to help with cylinder evacuation and subsequent filling. It's not there specifically for splitting the exhaust flow to both mufflers. Thats a secondary benefit. There are two link pipes and the second one is obscured but you can see it's retaining spring underneath. Phil

Sorry F1 engine sound is just appalling noise to me. Add that display and you have F1 in a microcosm. Phil

Think the top flow injectors are hard to remove try the Daytona/Centauro side flow injectors. Nightmare. Phil

My advice is don't try to separate the throttle bodies unless you have no other choice. Phil

Exactly, this is the way I do it. If you think about the geometry of it it makes sense that the angles and dimensions are what they need to be for the bodies in their mounted position not an inch further away when released from the rubber connectors. Remove the aluminium manifolds and connect them and the rubber sections to the throttle bodies and then move the manifolds back onto the head. Easy. I can't believe people muscle the whole assembly around by the other method. Phil

Yes John it's actually an MGS-01 shaft which is just a std jackshaft cut down and machined to accept a 6005 roller bearing for the front case instead of the plain bearing running in the case. I seriously might just remove the rear jackshaft bearing and run the std front plain bearing in the case. The roller is good for friction but you lose the internal oil feed to the heads. I can see no reason at all Guzzi didn't do this on production engines. The rear jackshaft bearing on an 8 valver does no support that I can see and just adds friction and another oil loss path. Phil

Yes I have a set of Joes new gear and his updated pump. I thought I posted an image here a little while back. I had him make my cam gear 4mm narrower the same width as the V11 gears because a steel gear can have a higher tooth loading than the cheesy aluminium one and we save weight. His latest pump has reverted back to a plain bronze bush for the drive gear to minimise oil loss through the original oem style needle bearing. The new gears also have a different surface finish due to the previous providers of this going out of business I believe. So they are now a silver low friction finish. EDIT.. Oil pumps L to R Joes new pump, std, some aftermarket version which was almost impossible to remove due to the alignment pins being oversize. New gears and MGS-01 jackshaft

The Governments of the time were sold bullshit by the oil companies with regards to diesel powered cars because they make more money per barrel of oil from the far less refined diesel and the yield per barrel is higher so more profit. The rubbish they pedalled to European governments was better fuel economy (true) and "don't worry about the pollution we have future tech in the pipeline that will solve all that" (rubbish) The car manufacturers were on board because they could charge more for a given car because it used less fuel and the Bureaucrats bought it hook line and sinker. Does all this start sounding a bit familiar? Governments being sold bullshit by people with their own agendas. The diesel issue was a simple one, money and profits, easy to understand. The environmentalist agenda is a little more complex and is routed in politics itself and power. Don't kid yourselves into thinking it's because greater powers are trying to save your children's future. Phil

Really? What sort of mechanical noise? Clatter or whine? I have 2 sets of joes gears in engines and a 3rd set on the bench to go into another engine. Phil

The inch of virgin rubber on the edges of the tyres on bikes that are supposed to be ridden around corners fast. Phil

Up to probably the mid 80's when the KawasakiGPZ900 and the First GSXR750 Suzuki were released the Japanese were almost 100% focused on the US market and what was the US market focused on? Straight line acceleration. I remember those days where people would ditch their near new bike for a model that came out that was .1 seconds faster down the quarter and all every Japanese big bike owner could talk about was 1/4 mile times. Us European owners were like leapers there for a decade and a half or so, lol. Thankfully time have changed and now I'm surrounded by 25 year old wannabees in full racing leathers logoed up identical to their racing hero's on $80,000 sports bikes with one inch chicken strips on the tyres telling you how great the handling is. Oh hang on, can I go back to the mid 80's please. Phil