Scud

It goes with the Barry White song he plays when he gets busy... "Oh baby..."

I don't know about the wheel swap, but I had the same problem with losing some air pressure. I put in some Ride-On tire sealant and balancer and removed the wheel weights. Now they hold pressure, and I have a little insurance against tire punctures.

Does Bubbles' clankiness go away when you pull the clutch lever in? If so, you may have yourself a bike with a RAM single-plate clutch and flywheel.

Extra straps for security = peace of mind. But the factory stand is super-stable. It lifts the bike from a low middle point and the rear wheel is off the ground. I've never used the spindle that comes with it, which is intended to lift the front wheel. I prefer a platform jack for that - in which case both wheels are off the ground. I can remove the front wheel and it's still rock-solid. Before I had the factory stand, I used ceiling straps.

I've found that the Moto Guzzi factory stand and a front wheel chock are rock solid without need for overhead straps. Those two stands and a platform jack, serve almost every maintenance need I've. But rarely have to use all three at the same time (and all without overhead straps). Many wheel chocks have anchor points so you can run a strap to the bars or lower triple clamp for extra stability.

^ Like Docc said. Every fuel line and fitting. Start with the puddle and work your way up. Extra attention to anything you removed and reinstalled. It's also possible that you just sloshed a little gas around while installing the tank and that some ran down a drain hose. In that case, your problem will not re-occur. Maybe shake those vent lines to see if another drop of fuel comes out.

Hey nice progress. And damn quick fix on the neutral light. One problem down... a few more to go. Torsion bar and shock mount need to be addressed no matter what you do with the bike cosmetically. The tank and fairing are centered on the frame but the engine is offset a bit to the right. The fairing has two brackets from the heads that look deceptively similar, but are not the same. The longer bracket should go on the LH side to compensate for the engine offset. If the brackets are in the wrong sides, spacing around the tank will be too tight on the left and overly wide on the right. Fuel leak - try turning key (or kill switch) several times and check your fuel lines. The pump will keep priming and hopefully you can find what is wrong. Smoke - since it didn't run long, we can't rule out a bit of condensation in one pipe. Something to keep an eye on after it runs longer without leaking fuel.

The Ghezzi Brian rear fender can be mounted closer to the tire. The one I ordered recently has a longer bracket than the one I got several years ago - the modified bracket makes it possible to lower fender until it touches the tire - so you can choose whatever size gap you want.

Since y'all like the shim idea... and this is a first-time job for dbarb3, here is a bit more detail. Rather than use the whole length of the shim, I just cut a section that starts smaller than the gap and is only a few inches long. You should be able to jam it in by hand enough to release the clamping pressure (or a very light tap with a hammer - you don't need to expand it very much to release the fork tube. With shims in top and bottom, the fork could drop suddenly, so it's a good idea to have something to support it or cushion it. BTW - Those shims are also good for forcing the pistons back into the brake calipers. Just insert one from each side of the caliper, then force them together till they are slightly thicker than the brake rotor.

When removing and reinstalling forks, I like to use sections of composite carpenters shims. You can force them in the gaps (after removing the bolts) just enough the forks will slide easily. It reduces the risk of scratching the forks (learned the hard way).

I had to take the dash off so I could work on the whole assembly on the bench and get all the wires to fit inside the stock gauge cups. Here is how I finally organized everything so it would fit. and the back view of the finished product. I saved 5 minutes by not fully reading the instructions for how to set the tach, then wasted a couple hours of rework. But in the end, goal accomplished... The push-button is for resetting the trip meter.

My Stelvio has wire wheels, and I've had a little difficulty with air leakage, but I started running Ride-On balancer and sealant. Wire wheels are better for off road as they will bend more before breaking - which should not be a consideration for most Grisos.

Given that there is no dipstick like the engine and no spill-over hole like the final drive, the window is the only thing that lets you check the oil level. As for accuracy I don't know, but it holds only 850ml. And for cleaning the sight glass, it's been a while, but I think I cleaned the slight glass in an ultrasonic cleaner. I had a transmission where the redline heavy had turned to a solid gel. I probably used diesel fuel in the ultrasonic.

^ they'll find this site and realize what a special machine they have.

Haha, I thought about smoothing out the cast line when I got my triple clamps powder coated. Ended up not doing it - makes me feel better hearing you say it was waste of time. But you saved a couple grams of weight...

Belly Up gets some amazing big-name shows, as well as a lot of local talent and fun tribute bands. And we are gonna have to chat about those Chicago days... I love the Chicago Blues scene. Have you seen the movie Cadillac Records? It's about Chess records and does a pretty good job with the story - early emphasis on Muddy Waters. Beyonce plays Etta James... and wow.

BUDDY GUY I took my daughter to see him last night at the Belly Up Tavern in Solana Beach. All the "old folks" who were there early went to the tables with seats. So we walked right up to the stage and had an memorable "front-row" experience. Buddy even took my daughter's hand and had her strum his guitar in the middle of a song. He is a phenomenal showman and story teller. If you don't know Buddy Guy and his influence, check out his wikipedia page. At age 86, he is a literal living legend. So many potential songs to choose from... but here is one. The keyboard player and second guitar player in this video are still with him and played the gig last night.

1) if you mean the pivot pins as in your picture above, I don't think there is a torque value. I just spin them in with a hex-wrench until the swingarm is equally spaced between the plates and there is no lateral play. Then the large (30mm I think) chrome nuts lock the pins in place. 2) I think damn near none. I've seen this mounting bolt bent slightly on some bikes. Hold it against a straight-edge to test.

@FreyZI the drive looks good. You should probably remove the crinkle paint where the oil drain plug washer seats. It looks like you only protected the threads with a spare bolt. Did the paint require curing in the oven to get the correct texture? And on the swingarm pivots - this comes as quite a surprise. I have swapped swingarms and frame plates between various bikes without ever encountering this issue. If the pivot pins have different threads and different diameter smooth surfaces, that means different frame plates have different size holes, and different swingarm bearings would also be required. Like, Phil, I'd appreciate a bit more detail on this. Exactly what is the source of each part and what are the differences? Up to now, I have assumed that frame plates, pivot pins, swingarms, and swingarm bearings were interchangeable within the entire V11 production run.

The swingarm bearings are SKF. FYI - I got All-Balls wheel and steering bearings. Those were under $20 each.

I just bought a pair of swingarm bearings for my Nero. For some reason, these double-thick bearings were hard to find. Most sites show "not available" and I saw some priced at about $150 each. Finally ordered (and received) them from Harpers. Less than $100 for the pair. I felt like that was a bit high, but it was the lowest price I could find.

ac·ro·nym | ˈakrəˌnim | noun | an abbreviation formed from the initial letters of other words and pronounced as a word (e.g. ASCII, NASA, LASER, FUBAR, SNAFU, ANZAC). in·i·tial·ism | iˈniSHəˌlizəm | noun | an abbreviation consisting of initial letters pronounced separately (e.g., CPU, FBI, CIA, VIP, DIY, VB). GSB . . . "Green Super Beast"?

"exploding flywheel" - credit probably due to some poor soul owner of a Scura "bubbling engine paint" - any owner of a 2002 model. "spine frame" - I wonder who was first to use that? Or was it an official Moto Guzzi term? Lucky Phil Shift Extender Unbreakable shift spring

Raising the tank gave you a ton of room - you even moved the horns. Wow. I notice no hose between frame vent and airbox. Have you omitted that - or was that just mid-project?