Lucky Phil

There really isn't a compelling technical reason to install the gears with the exception that you do away with a cam chain tensioner and the inertia of a double row chain flailing about. If you need to renew the cam drive system and tensioner because of wear and add up the cost of the new Guzzi components then the upgrade to gears isn't to expensive at all. Docc did the numbers on it a little while ago. Ciao

Can you provide a comprehensive data sheet for Motul oil, any Motul full synthetic oil? I've never been able to locate one. Ciao

About as basic as it gets. Thicker (higher viscosity oil) absorbs more power than a lower viscosity oil. Too low a viscosity doesn't provide the mechanical protection and as oil gets hotter it gets thinner. Here's a tip, with a full group 4 synthetic oil you should aim to run the lowest W viscosity you can get while still observing the upper viscosity requirement. In the Guzzi BB engine ZDDP content is an important issue and you should aim for nothing less than 1000ppm preferable 1200ppm minimum. Ciao

I read in the book " Not much of an engineer" By Stanley Hooker a massive name in RR the classic line from Hives who ran RR during the war when he first had a meeting with Frank Whittle to discuss RR building Whittles jet engine. Whittle said to him that his jet engine was a "simple Engine" to which Hives replied, "Don't worry we'll engineer the simplicity out of it" lol. Classic and true to this day. I've worked on American, European/American and English RR turbo props and high bypass jets and RR always seem to do it the complex way. Ciao

Yea, you wont get fuel boiling in the tank. You get weird venting noises sometimes but there's not enough heat coming off the engine to boil fuel in the tank. The temperature is high enough but there isn't the required BTU's to raise that quantity of fuel to boiling point. In a small metal fuel line there can be though under the right conditions. Ciao

Really? Ciao

This makes no engineering sense at all. If the heat shield needs extra support to stop resonate vibration you just weld a small 10mm x 8mm round threaded button to the header pipe and an extra 6mm button head cap screw in a dimple mount pressed into the shield similar to the image. The only difference is the unit in the image apart from the material used is it's an add on and relies on SS clamps around the pipe to hold the fixing nuts. A production version would use what I have suggested or formed sheet metal tabs welded to the header with captive nuts. You wouldn't be using something like the new Guzzi uses to control heat shield vibration or heat shield support. Ciao

Yes that's true John along with the exhaust gas velocity which was calculated to be the equivalent of 150 hp from memory. The Germans also used to calculate the exhaust velocity and convert to a HP number as well. Hives did a deal with the head or Rover to do the overhaul of the Meteor engine in exchange for the contract to build the whittle gas turbine which the war department in their wisdom had given Rover the contract to build. They did the deal over dinner at "the club" RR gave Rover the factory and overhaul business and RR got the jet engine to build and develop. Ciao

Thicker paint doesn't necessarily mean better. I have another late tank here (same colour in fact) that's "taken a hit". The tank itself is fine but the paint has delaminated in large pieces back to the plastic. I had a Ducati 1098 tank ( on a bike that I'd owned from brand new) repainted about 10 years ago and when the painter went to sand it back he found it had been fully painted at least 3 times. He called me up and I had the tank stripped back to the plastic and then he painted it. Seems at the factory they were having some automated paint problems and they just kept feeding this tank back through until it's quality of finish was acceptable. So it had paint about 1mm thick which the painter wouldn't paint over. Ciao

Yes you're right. I was thinking of the Meteor engine but that was sans supercharger. As for the Messerschmitts supercharger being better well as Greg points out in his excellent video (along with all his other stuff which is great) their "drive" was superior but holistically their supercharger system wasn't necessarily. Ciao

I've got a brand new never had fuel in it identical one if anyone needs it. Not that cheap though. Ciao

Well I'm not prosecuting a case that the new bikes deflectors are the last word in aerodynamic efficiency or functionality but I can see aerodynamic logic and function there although a better view up close would be nice. Time will tell I guess. BTW a header shaped like this doesn't need any mechanical support, it's a pretty basic header in the scheme of things really and not even very long. A std v11 header is considerably longer than this one and so less supported. Ciao

Well I won't. I always let the "first adopters" "must have the latest and greatest" "everyone look at me and my new model bike" crowd finish off the R&D for the factory, iron out the production issues and let the dealership mechanics use their bikes as a learning tool first. I usually slide in after a couple of years when the design has had a bit of time to "mature" Ciao

Umm, I think you're taking the opinion of a non technical, "social media commentator", millennial a little to seriously. As an aircraft engineer I figure I know something about aerodynamics and as opposed to a previous poster that proffered the idea it's a mechanical support of the header I actually think its an aerodynamic guide/redirector/deflector for hot air from the back of the header away from the foot peg area and riders feet. If you look closely it appears the deflectors forward edge is a little bit inside the line of the inside of the header pipe and captures the the trailing hot air from that area and redirects it back outboard across the lower part of the header pipe and heat shield and away from the riders foot and lower leg. Guzzi have a fairly proud history with regards to aerodynamics which guarantees nothing but it seems to be functional to me. Ciao

What makes you think a fights going to start, but since you mentioned it. I know pete had in his mind the context of modified automotive/motorcycle engines here but because I'm a front bottom I'll remind him anyway that without the Supercharged/turbocharger spark ignition engine we'd all be speaking German now, lol. Mind you without it there probably wouldn't have been WW2 to start with. The supercharged spark engine was fitted to aircraft, tanks, patrol boats plus probably other stuff I can't recall. Ciao

Yes unless they are designed for it from the drawing board. Both my cars are Turbos but they are designed for torque not top end like days gone by. It's quite amazing when you drive a new 3.8 litre V6 and it feels like you need to rev the tits off it compared to your 2.0 litre turbo SUV daily driver which thoroughly out grunts it. Ciao

Well either way, I guess. There is the "nobody else's got one like this" factor which I don't get either personally. It's a big deal for some apparently and for those that it is rationality doesn't seem to come into it. Being "different" overrides everything else. Maybe I'm just weird. Ciao

Your new fitting will need std 5/16 or 8mm injector hose. The female hose QD fitting is a std type I believe. Pretty sure I've seen them advertised around. Ciao

My bike has a very low set toe piece on the shift lever, that's why the stand is an issue with the lever still fitted. YMMV. Ciao

If you mean the air temp trim then it's influence isn't massive. When the sensors fail the ecu generally has a "default" or std setting so the engine will run pretty decent on a std day. May be harder to start and/or warm up but unless it's particularly hot or cold it should run fine. So a std V11 air temp trim only varies about 3% from 0 deg C to 40 deg C. The engine temp trim about 18% from O deg C to 90 deg C operating temp. Same for the baro sense. The original baro sensor in my bike had failed and I rode around for years no knowing because all my riding is at sea level. On a std V11 map you'd need to ride at an elevation of more than about 2500 feet before the baro trim would affect running to any appreciable degree. Ciao

But why? I can understand people wanting to give expression to their mechanical/design skills but surely that needs to be tempered by some rationality. So you add weight and complexity to an already overweight combination and introduce extra heat and cooling issues to an engine that already suffers in that regard. The compromises made are pretty outrageous. I haven't even sat down and looked at it in real detail but the air filter mounted where it is and the acute bends in the pressure ducting makes me not bother continuing any further examination. Modifications need to have a little more to offer than the "look at me" factor in my view. Irrational engineering is a pointless exercise. Ciao

Guzzidiag isn't designed to work with the MYecu as far as I know. Have you contacted Cliff Jeffries? I have a Myecu and it has it's own stand alone communications system. Ciao

The ultrasonic cleaner. Pull the entire brakes assembly off including the hoses and master then run the callipers only in the cleaning rig. Ciao