Lucky Phil

This is called the Dunning Kruger affect.

Thanks for the tips, I'm hoping Monday is a little less fraught and we can tour around a bit more. I plan on visiting Agostinis while I'm here just to say I've been there. I've bought stuff off them in the past including the mufflers still fitted to my bike. Images from our hotel room. We're up in the hills. Very pretty up here. Phil

Same for me in 1997, closed. This time I waited to make a booking online which you need to do now but they only open the bookings a month in advance. When I went to make a booking the time of my visit was booked out! Then I found out about the big Guzzi weekend thats on now and we went down to town and just walked in with everyone else. They were obviously not taking bookings over the special weekend period. Got there anyway at last. It's totally manic in Mandello at the moment with a gazillion people and streets blocked off to cars. It's no place to be seeking out alternative routes to your Hotel through the maze of super narrow back streets half of which are one way. We drove to Bellano for the day today to get away from Mandello and the drive through town was a nightmare. Will walk the 2klm into town from now on even though it's the steepest 2 klm walk you've ever seen. Just not worth the agro in the car.

More from the museum. Met up with V11_meticcio today. He rode his Guzzi up to our hotel in the mountains and we had a nice chat. Very nice guy and very happy to meet him. Grazie Mille, Massimiliano. Phil

The movie did the man no real justice in the grand scheme of things. The book is a must read as is what I'm currently reading on a totally different theme, "The Gulag Archipelago" by Aleksander Solzhenitsyn. A truly remarkable and disturbing story. Not only was it instrumental in the bringing down communist Russia but gives insight into the Russian mindset. Phil

Just the image I think Phil

Sounds good. Give me a time and place Phil

Arrived in Mandello today and went straight to the Guzzi museum for a look. Lots of people in town for the Guzzi weekend so lots of enthusiast stuff happening. Here's a Greenie from the museum and an image through the gates of the new factory under construction. Phil

Wandering the streets of Roma and Milano you rarely see any Guzzis. Considering they build the things only 65klm's from Milano you'd think they would be commonly seen on the streets of Milano but nope. Here's a few I've spotted. The most common non scooter around the cities? The big BMW GS's in all their forms over the last 15 years or so. Hundreds of them. I've even spotted 2 old BMW K100RS's a blue and a red one both in beautiful condition the same as the new ones I toured Europe back in 84 and 86. Blue in 84 and red in 86. Guzzi's though are rare birds. Off to Mandello tomorrow. Sure to see some Guzzis there, maybe.

Nice story. I hadn't heard of this. A little surprised that there were so many newcomers that didn't know their way around on their first escorted lap as most including the year we were there with a newcomer we did a lot of laps before the practice week even started. There was no escorted laps in those days for newcomers. Phil

I use it for many many things. Cleaning the bugs off helmets and visors, the brake dust off bike and car wheels, and the whole bike really including the paintwork and screen. It's the racers bike cleaner in a toolbox at the track and has been for over 40 years for me.

I've got one word for you all, Mr Sheen. Phil

You can often drive the old bearing out with a largish flat bladed screwdriver of a 1/2 inch steel punch with a sharp edge by inserting the punch/scredriver into the axle hole from the opposite side and levering the spacer to one side to get the punch onto the inner race edge. Once one side is out the other is easy. I then grind a notch in one end of the spacer so next time the screwdriver gets onto the inner race easily. Heat the wheel hub with a heat gun and have the bearings in the freezer and they often just drop in and you can use the old bearing as a driving tool on the outer race if you need to.

There are aftermarket bushes available you need to measure the bush dimensions and order for a model thats applicable to that. Sometimes thats the only way. Phil

The valve is fine and the buildup to be expected on a 2 valve engine thats done a bit of suburban/commuter riding. Production port finish, same as just about any of the time