Lucky Phil

I just vomited in my mouth:) It does however serve a useful purpose, that being to any budding motorcycle designer/customizers. Here's the LOW bar:) Ciao

I'm a bit lost here docc but you could put a V11 engine in a Centauro along with the seat frame and bodywork and come up with a 5 speed V11 Sport. Forks, instruments and bevel box would be a little different as well but it would kinda look like a V11 Sport. Ciao

I remember the 70's riders deaths as well and true the organisers had a hand in it but they rolled over to the F1 crowd and did whatever they bludgeoned them into doing. The organisers never really considered the riders safety BUT they knew as did the F1 drivers that Armco was going to make an already bad situation for riders even more deadly but went ahead anyway. Ciao

20mm longer, fwd of the front frame engine mount. Ciao

Yea Pete I'm hearing ya. The wife and I plan a rural move in the next few years. Priority is finding somewhere unspoiled, with it's own character that's not going to get invaded and destroyed. Well at least for the time I'm likely to be around. Going to be hard. You should have to pass a test to move to a country town these days I recon, keep the Riff raff out. Ciao

Moneys changing everything. My friend moved to a small rural "boutique" town about 20 years ago, a 6 hour drive from Sydney. Lovely town, eclectic mix of locals, it's own specific economy, tolerant welcoming warm people and great weather. I used to go there for a break on their farm from my stressful city job. Kept me sane more than once. Then it got popular with the big city folk that sold up and moved up there. Problem is when they arrive and settle in they eventually take over the local council and destroy the original charm of the place by modernising it and turning it into a suburb of the city they've recently left. A small intimate old world architecture country town now with a planned 3 story modern building with a supermarket on the ground floor right in the middle of it. Go figure. You move to a place because of the charm, elegance and lifestyle, then set about destroying it. Cashed up Bogans. Ciao

Yea understand docc but at some point you need to fight these people tooth and nail or they'll shutdown everything. I've been witness to 2 race tracks shut down due to "local" complaints. Tracks originally built well outside of the metro area but then over the years invaded by regional developers. Same story, build a track and then have people build houses next to it and get it shut down. Everyone that enters a race track to ride or drive it signs a waiver even on a track day. The reason the TT survives is purely down to local support, same for the Irish road racing. Dangerous as hell but the racers know the risks. Even riding on the road comes in for attack periodically from the "sensible people" and we have to fight them off. Ciao

Naturally I am saddened by the death of anyone especially if they are competing in anything. I'm more than aware of what it's like waiting anxiously for a friend to come around again at the TT with my fingers crossed. However, if we are going to ban everything that's dangerous or apply a risk matrix to everything in life then life will be a colourless, dour affair. i wonder if in reality the "car crowd" are somehow behind this? As in wanting more track time for themselves and larger car numbers and have looked for any excuse to push the bike guys out via pressure on the organisers. The "car crowd" have been responsable for the deaths of many bike racers over the years starting back in the 60's with pressure on the race organisers to line European tracks with Armco. Fine for F1 drivers at the time but deadly to the bike racers of the day. Not that the F1 drivers association cared about that. Ciao

Welcome to the nanny world. Ciao

I took the V10 for a ride the other day after all my riding lately being 2 up on the Royal Enfield 650 which has quite a nice easy shifting gearbox. The ride on the Guzzi reminded me how good the Guzzi 6 speeder was shifting. Feels nice and tight and precise as opposed to the RE which is direct and has a mechanical feel but looser. I still think the RAM lightweight clutch is a giant leap forward with regards to Guzzi 6 speed gearbox operation. Ciao

Yea cruisers just aren't my thing. Nor are hyper sports bikes anymore. I mean I love them from a technical, looks and performance angle but they are totally pointless on the roads these day. Still glad they make them but for me pointless now. Getting older I guess. Ciao

Honestly docc I wouldn't know one cruiser model from the next as I've never taken an interest. When I read Dave Richardsons book I had to keep looking on the internet to get an image of all the various V11 cruiser things he kept referring to. Older stuff up to our bikes I can visualise and know something of but the V11 non sports series are just a black hole to me. Same as small blocks, all horrible it's just a matter of which is more horrible than the other. Ciao

Yes docc, I thought of that angle and hence the " All the V11 Sport/Lemans series" in my first post. Why does it need to be so hard:) Why did they call all those cruiser things V11 as well, they already had a damn name. Ciao

Thanks, my aim was to produce something that looked "factory" Ciao

It has to be simple docc cause I don't do complicated anymore:) Ciao

The simplest answer to this question is the 6 speed didn't exist until the 1999 V11 Sport. Everything before that was either a 4 or 5 speed for a Guzzi twin. All the V11 Sport/Lemans series had a 6 speed Ciao

I could never get over the stupid valve cover extensions/oversized covers thing, then cut bloody great chunks out of the fuel tank so they fit. Looks like something the Guzzi social club came up with after a long lunch when the styling department were made redundant. Ciao

Good idea to buy a spare second hand transmission. Ciao

Personally I'd be inclined to start with a guided 3mm pilot hole. So what you could do if you have or know someone that has a pedestal drill is get anything that has 2 flat parallel faces and is around 10mm thick and approx 10mm or square or rectangular doesn't matter as long as it sits flat on the top of the clamp The bigger the better for holding by hand and put it in the pedestal drill and drill a 3mm hole through it. Then get someone or yourself to hold it flat against the surface as a drill guide. It doesn't need to be held in a really hard or complex way its just a guide, and drilling carefully means it's pretty easy to hold. After you've got the first pilot hole through you can open the hole in the guide to the finished size and do it again. The other thing to do is make up a small right angle triangle cardboard square to check you tap the hole straight as you go unless you have a tiny mini square already. Having a straight parallel hole is no guarantee the hole will tap straight, you still need to start it for the first 2 threads perpendicular to the top surface. When I make these home made drill guides I usually just hold them by hand and drill slowly with the battery drill, it's pretty easy to do. I drilled these holes for my steering stop extensions insitu and tapped them using this technique with a drill bit in my air die grinder I generally only use for porting as thats the only thing that would get in there. Perfectly straight and square. Would never have been possible by hand insitu without the guides. Ciao

Personally if you can get the kit I'd buy the kit. Your current cover has been modified to the point where the std eccentric wont work with it I shouldn't think and although it's saveable with a workaround or re machining I doubt you have access to that? Ciao

Holding by hand is not the perfect solution but it's a lot better then freehand if that's all you've got. You can use some lockjaw pliers to hold the guide and reduce the issue, that's why the larger dia the better for the guide. Downward pressure on a large surface area to keep it perpendicular. If the pilot holes not straight neither will be the tapping hole. Ciao

Your cover has been "messed with" at some point. It appears to be the later style, maybe from an upgrade kit with the banana link missing and the small eccentric removed. That needs to be replaced with a pin or preferably an eccentric. It also appears that the shifter input/stop assembly has had the weld ground for some reason. The cover wasn't tapped where this one has a brass plug fitted, it is a plain hole and the eccentric fits the hole with a nut on the outside you loosen for the adjustment. So your cover has been modified and is now a chore to return back to a state where you can fit a pin. Either that or make a bespoke pin/eccentric. Why do people do this sort of thing. The upgrade kit was pretty cheap at the time I bought mine, maybe 80USD or something I recall. Ciao

Here's a tip if you are using a hand operated drill for the holes. Obtain a bush with the pilot hole size in it with the thickest wall you can get. I usually just make one on the lathe from a piece of aluminium. So I would drill a 3mm pilot with a 25mm long bush with a say 15mm OD with a 3mm hole through the middle. Hold the bush flat against the triple clamp surface as you drill the pilot hole and this will act as a guide. That way you will get the hole square to the face. Ciao

You operate the shift mechanism and find the point in the travel where the edge of the pawl arm is closest to the eccentric pin and set the clearance at that point. I can't remember the precise point on the arm but the object is to limit the movement of the arm during the shift operation in case it tries to disengage. The range of adjustment to get the required clearance is not achievable over the full length of the arm from memory so adjust at the point where the arm comes closest to the pin. It's been a few years since I did this so I'm not precisely sure which point of the arm it is. You dont want it adjusted so there's no clearance at any point in the travel. I "think" it was on the raised lug. Scudds roller bearing detent is also worth doing I think while you're in there although I haven't done it personally. Ciao

I would say it's been backed into/over by a truck or something large while parked. Nothing is scraped or grazed. Ciao