Scud

Good read. Interesting that they showed a magazine from 1996 comparing the Ducati to a Moto Guzzi Sport. Those were competitive options when new. The design of the slab-side 900 is a classic. Will still look good for years to come.

Nine months later? There is a little twinkle in your eye. Don't need the details...

Spineazoic: the era of Moto Guzzi sport motorcycle evolution characterized by the successful adaptation of a skeletal mutation spawned by Dr. John Wittner. Further mutations saw the spine frame gradually evolve from thundering carbureted wild beasts to the partially domesticated V11. The V11 DNA proved inherently unstable, with the most notably unstable example being the "limited" edition Scura. As the spine lengthened and changed from red to black, excessive variations within model years made genealogical tracing virtually impossible, however, the LeMans gene was successfully reintroduced during this era. A phenomenological study of the V11 noted that long-lived green variants developed a hyperactive ego with narcissistic tendencies. The spineazoic era concluded with the advent of two significant mutations: reliable electronics and the cardano reattivo campato (CARC).

Spine-oza : a monistic, metaphysical awareness that you, your V11, and the road are a singularity. Apologies to Baruch Spinoza

Here's a nice video about my first bike, the CB 350-Four

My very first would have to be some lawnmower powered minibike. Not sure if it even had a brand name on it. I just ripped up and down a long gravel driveway in upstate NY when I visited my father (that's all I was allowed to do). But my first street-legal transportation motorcycle was a 1972 Honda CB350-Four. Candy-apple red. Not sure if I have a photo of it. But I did buy a 1973 version a few years ago and putted around on it for a while. Re-owning the first bike did not re-capture the magic. It was just tragically slow, but it was fun for a spell. Rode that for a year and some change then got my first new motorcycle, a 1986 Yamaha Radian (also red). That was such a great little bike, and I have not seen one in a long time.

... or some UK-based enthusiast may have a spare stash of springs that we built and you could acquire locally. Otherwise, happy to send one along, but I might not be able to post it for about a week.

I had some spare banjo bolts and new washers on-hand. Sorry I don't know the part numbers. But I'd feel 99% confident getting the ones @speedfrog mentioned.

...archaic mechanics... too funny. I'm rather fond of my Stelvio. Took it out and rode it like a sport bike last weekend. No protest whatsoever. Brought home 25 pounds of oranges.

Hey - nice work. That was a clever solution to make a bigger contact area out of a nuts and stepped washers. Glad the household lamp fixture was useful for you.

Some of us hoarders probably have a spare ignition switch. If a local hoarder is not willing to part with one, I'm pretty sure that I have one I could ship from the US.

You could easily pay $7,000 for an unmodified bike in this condition, then drop $2,000 finding a perfect set of Titanium cans, HB painted to match bags and racks, a Russel saddle, and the other mods. For somebody who wants this combination of features, the price is reasonable. If you don't want all the extras, maybe you don't like the price.

Yeah... California, Nevada, the Stelvio National Park, and LeMans are gonna have to think of something quick.

Good to know... gonna get one on order for my Stelvio.

Upper Sump Gasket: Moto Guzzi P/N 01003650 Replacement Part: Moto Guzzi P/N B063861 Difference from original: Metal reinforced gasket as used on 1400 motors. Prevents blowouts of paper gasket that can reduce oil pressure with an internal (hard to detect) oil leak. As suggested by @Rolf Halvorsen

@Rolf Halvorsen have you put one in a V11? It looks like you laid the metal gasket on top of a paper one for the V11 and the holes align perfectly. Would you mind re-posting this advice in the Encyclopedia of Compatible Parts topic?

I chased a low pressure situation for a while on a 2003 LeMans. Turned out that part of the gasket (as pictured in Rolf's post) was missing. This internal leak allowed oil to escape but maintained low pressure - the light would sometimes come on at idle, but would always go out with a blip of the throttle. It ran like that for a long time without any failure, but I did find excessive wear on the washers on the rocker-arm shafts. The problem with the warning light is that it only tells you about dangerously low pressure. If you care for a lengthly and somewhat philosophical exchange about this issue, see my topic about it at: "Oil Pressure vs. Oil Flow"

Do you have an added oil pressure gauge that shows the pressure, or just the standard oil warning light on the dash? (It sounds like you have just the light or you would have told us the oil pressure in numbers). And do you mean you rode the bike for 10 minutes with the oil pressure warning light on? And if so, did it eventually go out? Assuming your oil level is correct and your filter is still on tight, you might want to test the actual oil pressure with an external gauge.

Those covers started off kind of orange anyway, right? Like the Rosso Corsa and Nero Corsa that don't match anything else on the bike (porkchops were darker red).

That's a lot of miles on a Ski-doo. I am intrigued by the snow-bike kits that put tracks and skis on dirt-bikes.

I had an MRA briefly. It was easier to tuck under the wind. But for most riding I sit more upright and it put the wind at my helmet level. I went back to the stock height, which kept the wind lower. For reference, I am 6'0" tall.

You can put in another hydraulic hose and position the bleeder valve much higher. This is what all the CARC bikes do. Here is a link to the part:

When police first started using BMWs I had a friend who worked at Irv Seaver BMW (Orange County, CA). They were constantly repairing the back ends of the BMWs because the police on Harleys would crash into them when the BMWs stopped too fast.

Haha... Captain Obvious needs zip ties. For the coil mounting, I too re-glued mine, but I also put zip-ties around the bracket and the subframe that keep pressure on the rubber dampers, as I'm sure the glue will fail again.

While that doesn't seem very friendly, there is legal need to maintain trademarks and not let them slip into the public domain. I would hope there are licensing terms where a shop can use Moto Guzzi in signage or advertising without claiming a business name that includes "derivative" or "confusingly similar" mark.