Lucky Phil

Well, yes,they would be, since a slight improvement to the rod ratio isn't going to affect the valve or ignition timing; this isn't a 2smoke, after all! Well if you want to be really picky about it then Rod ratio will have a slight effect on what the ignition timing profile is. Rod ratio has an impact on the pistons "dwell time" at TDC and therefore the ignition curve required. Ciao

Really.....I'd be concerned if the bulk oil temp was regularly "below" 100deg C. It needs to be around 100C to burn off water vapor,unburned fuel etc and keep oil dilution at a minimum. As for the glowing headers as you describe...I wouldn't worry about it.Thin walled headers,dark night etc etc.My 1198s rear header also glow bright red at times even in the shed under lights. Ciao

Great to live close to the ocean but the reality is its hard on everything, bikes,cars,homes,and electronic equipment. The more the breeze blows off the water the worse it is. If you get regular sea mists then forget trying to keep anything long term especially electronic stuff. AS for the Guzzi it will suffer more than most bikes. The finish isn't that durable on them to start with but living near the sea will kill one unless you can hermetically seal the thing between rides. Ciao

Just pull the caliper off the mount and with the old pads in place use a big screwdriver between the pads to lever the pistons all the way back into the caliper. Just make sure the oil reservoir isn't totally full or the pistons wont go all the way back in.You may have to remove a little oil from the reservoir. Fit the new pads and refit the caliper and pump the brakes. Shouldn't take more than about 15 min. I wouldn't be to concerned about the uneven pad wear unless the side with the remaining material wont go back into the caliper and is seized. While you have the caliper off it would be a good time to replace the fluid as well.Just crack off the bleeder and nip it up again BEFORE you loosen the caliper fit the new pads put something about 6 mm thick between the pads and hold the bleeder with a tube on it upright and bleed until fresh fluid comes out. The real question is why you need to replace the rear pads in the first place. Mine never wear out as I only use the rear brake to hold the bike on a hill at the stop lights and sometimes to help it hold a line mid corner. Have never changed out a set of worn rear pads in 40 years of riding. Ciao

I bought some on ebay about a year ago.Undercoat,colour and clear kit from www.bikecolours.com. About as gods a match as you could realistically expect this sort of thing to be. Ciao

Just be aware that using full synthetic comes with certain risks- Wont read all that cos Ill proberly agree, or easier put a big thumping twin will mash that fancy syn shit to a pulp, I never said anything cos the topics been done to death many a time...I as said run a semi syn... altho at times I think the old dyno goo would be the best way to go. So hows your Guzzi run on Carburettors,points ignition,spoke wheels,cross ply tyres,and 85 octane fuel? well? I'm with you,all that new tech stuff,cant trust it. Ciao

Mobil 1 0w-40. Ciao

Carefully place a decent screwdriver (say 8mm wide blade at the tip)under the lip of the seal so you can get behind it a little and lever on the end of the crank CAREFULLY.If you do it correctly you wont damage anything except the old seal. I generally machine up a driver to seat the seal but you can do it with a say 10mm dia flat punch.Just dont drive the seal in to far or you will need to remove it and start again and that will damage it for sure. Ciao

I'm almost ready to buy those..from MGcycle. These are "Agostinis" from Funnily enough Agostinis in Italy.They sound better than the Mistrals I had on it (like a bevel ducati but softer,without the edgy crack) Ciao

I disagree,high and low speed comp allow you to not only adjust for the type of roads you typically ride on but also for pillion and carrying extra loads when touring.Why would you want some suspension guy from Europe guessing what damping I need on an Aussie road.I seriously doubt the Wilbers guy knows how bad our roads are.So its nice to be able to "fine tune" a little. Ciao

Try these,look great,sound great ( a lot better than Mistral megaphones)and cost effective. Ciao

I have the 641 fitted to my V11 Sport.Adjustable comp (high and low)rebound and ride height as well.Really nice shock,just as nice as the Ohlins fitted to my 1198s. Ciao

Fail.... Ciao

Thats great Roy but no point posting this without details so we can learn something. Ciao

Good color that green. Ciao

You dont need to navigate anything,I supplied the direct link. Ciao

The drive plates and flywheel/pressure plate are all held together as one unit when the clutch is engeged but the drive plates can still rattle on the gearbox input drive adaptor splines.This is where I believe the noise comes from.I think flicking the clutch causes the drive plates to misalign slightly with each other on the drive splines and take out the slop.Letting out the clutch slowly allows the drive plates to both align on the same side of the splines and creates a little play and it rattles. Ciao

I think it is the cost-reduction. Parts same as on aprilias and etc (those with two wires on gas command) Also, later models of V11 has two wires instead of one. If it was twin cable throttle assy then the other cable position would be on the opposite side. Ciao

Its the clutch and a little gearbox as well,but mainly the clutch.You will find if you dip the clutch quickly it will be almost entirely eliminated.This is the two friction and the intermediate plates realigning in the flywheel and taking out the slack so it doest rattle and clunk.If you dip the clutch slowly it will still tend to rattle/clunk at idle. I just give the clutch a flick if I'm warming it up so its quiet. Ciao

Mine is a Stucchi luigi from MG cycles.Same as Bbennetts. Made to order painted and also available in Carbon.Nice piece fits well. http://www.mgcycle.com/product_info.php?products_id=2643 Ciao

There are a few parts that would be worth buying, but other than that it seems pretty far gone. I've heard that even after fairly low speed crashes, spine frame Guzzis don't recover well. Pretty far gone???? That my friend from the photos is a very lightly damaged motorcycle.Please call me if you ever fall off your bike,I'll buy it off you for a song. It looks like some clown that doesnt know the trick to undoing the fuel couplings has used wire cutters to snip the fittings but apart from that most of the damage looks cosmetic and fairly minor. Me personally,I would ditch the fairing and replace the broken bits with good SH stuff off ebay and have a nice Naked version. Ciao

Ok,soaked the large pinion ring nut in wd40 and managed to loosen it with a hammer and alloy drift a little.Just to get it moving.Couldnt get it to tighten any more than it was previously,so the original play still exists. Ciao

Was checking the drive shaft on the V11 sport the other day and noticed some play/movement in the pinion shaft.I removed the bevel box/drive assy and I have approx .4mm total radial play and approx .075mm axial. Reading through some old posts I came across Peter Ropers thread on this from 2004 which was very interesting. I tried to tap/drift the large ring nut tighter and looser but it wouldnt move,so I guess I need to make a tool. Question is.....is the play/movement I have excessive for a 40,000klm old unit? I know in an ideal world it should be next to zero but I dont fancy pulling the whole unit apart to check bearings that may not be new but stll quite ok to continue in operation. I also drained the oil to check for metal contamination but the previous owner has obviously used some sort of Molly additive and the oil is as black as tar and its almost impossible to see anything in it.The mag plug came up fine with just some black paste I would expect to see.So apart from the noted pinion shaft play there is nothing else I am concerned about.....thoughts? Ciao

First ones ok,the second 2 are pieces of sh*t. Ciao