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Rocker59's Spine Frame Chronicles...

rocker59

Cruisin' Guzzisti
Joined
Jun 3, 2009
Messages
139
Location
Fayetteville, Arkansas
I got this idea from a friend and fellow Arkansan, "eOR" over at ADVrider, who has chonicled his experiences with a couple different bikes he's owned over the past few years. Ulysses, R12GS, FXDX...

So, my intention is to talk about my experiences with my sporting Guzzis. The thread will probably ramble, so be patient. And, don't hesitate to chime in or add to the thread if you wish...

These are the two (current) subjects at hand. A 1996 Sport 1100 and a 2004 V11 LeMans Nero Corsa:
380173028_J7ZFN-M.jpg


I bought the Sport 1100 new in March 1997 as a 30th Birthday present to myself. It came from a now long-gone dealership here in Fayetteville called "Motorcycles International" that sold Triumph/Ducati/Moto Guzzi. An elemental Italian sporting motorcycle, it's been a great bike over the 24,539 miles I've ridden it... Here, it is pictured on a cold January day ride through The Hills of NW Arkansas:
122368926_nAUyy-M.jpg



The Nero Corsa came to my garage in January 2006. A friend who lives down in Ozark had bought it new a year, or so, earlier over in Tennessee. He only put about 2,300 miles on the bike during the year-and-a-half he owned it. I suppose that I've gotten along with the Nero Corsa much better than he did. The bike has now covered about 29,000 miles, so I've ridden it about 26,000 miles over the past three-and-a-half years. It has proven itself a very worthy sport-touring mount. Here it is pictured on a March day a couple years ago:
138644339_v6YWJ-M.jpg




Stay tuned...
 
Winter Projects...

I've got several things I'd like to get accomplished over the winter... One of those things is new fork seals for both bikes.

I've always thought the OEM fork springs were a little soft on the Sport 1100. I don't really mind it too much since I've learned to ride the bike smoothly over the years, but since the forks needed to come off for seals and oil, I decided to source some springs. I emailed "the usual suspects" and decided to send my Marzocchi forks up to Moto International for service and the addition of WP fork springs. Here it sits in my garage awaiting the guys in Seattle to do thier magic:
705871060_8DCnt-M.jpg



The Nero Corsa has the opposite problem. As delivered, the rear Ohlins spring is pretty soft (by sporty standards... It's still a log wagon in comparison to something like an '07 Norge ;) ). I've been keeping my eye on Ebay for Ohlins springs. Recently I won an auction on a 1093-36/105 spring to replace the 1091-26/85 that was original equiment on the bike. The 1093 spring is 10mm shorter, but much stiffer (600-lbs vs. 485-lbs), and should improve the bike's handling when riding 2-up, when loaded for camping, AND when I'm feeling like dragging a few hard parts on a nice Sunday afternoon:
705871218_uKset-M.jpg



stay tuned...
 
The beginning.

I was 15 or 16 when I began reading about Moto Guzzis. That was 1982/1983 and my obsession with cars and motorcycles was in full force. In my mailbox each month I recieved five or six different magazines. I remember reading about (and lusting after) the Italian exotica that was occasionally featured. Laverdas were particularly appealing, but there was something special about Moto Guzzi. The LeMans III was the first Moto Guzzi that I can remember. Guzzis weren't the fastest motorcycles at the time. AMA Superbikes were all 1100cc four cylinder Japanese bikes. However, the Guzzis seemed to garner respect and admiration in the reports and tests I'd read.
Moto%20Guzzi%20850%20LeMans%20III%2081%20%202.jpg


A couple years later, the LeMans made the news again when it was bumped out to 1000cc. I remember it being a pretty big deal, but by the mid-80s, bikes from makers like Laverda and Guzzi were well behind the performance curve and were beginning to be criticized by the press for thier "agricultural" feel and old school handling.

Then came Dr. John and "the Guzzi Gang". For a few short years they made quite a showing on the AMA endurance circuit with the bikes they campaigned. Being a bit of a romantic, I couldn't help but smile each time I'd read of Dr. John's team. It was during this time that I began reading a little about Moto Guzzi and its history. My attraction to Guzzi grew stronger...
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I was still only a teenager, though, and The nearest Guzzi dealer was 250 miles away. Atlas in Tulsa, or Gene's in El Dorado. Add to that little logistics problem the fact that Guzzis were about twice the price of a Honda 650 and it was quite understandable that my first motorcycle was a 1983 Honda CB650SC Nighthawk, but Guzzis were never far from my mind... Especially when the magazines showed up in my mailbox featuring the Daytona 1000 in the early '90s. Wow!
GW275H207


Well, this new Daytona was something else! Based upon a design used by Dr. John on his race winning endurance machine, this bike was simply fabulous! These small companies with real and accessible people producing motorcycles really held my attention during the early '90s. Along with Guzzi, I had also followed the efforts of Erik Buell since his RR1000 racebike project. Companies and motorcycles like these just seemed so much more "real" than the appliances being pumped out of the large automated factories by the big players in the business...

Life gets in the way, though, and fate had me riding an old Sportster XLCH and then a Sportser 883 before finally "coming home" to Guzzi.
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In February 1996 I moved to NW Arkansas. I had sold my 883 a year before and was really craving another motorcycle. Then one day it happened. On a Sunday I was driving in my car and heard a radio advertisement for a Triumph Dealer. No mention of anything else, just the new Triumphs and the dealership was only 20 miles from my house! My afternoon was open, so I decided to do a little window shopping. I was thinking I'd be looking at Triumphs that day, but boy was I wrong!

Peering through the window I saw them. There was a pair of red Moto Guzzi sportbikes sitting there calling to me. I was stunned. I couldn't get the beautiful red motorcycles out of my mind all weekend, so on Tuesday at lunch I stopped by the shop for a closer look and to find out what it was that I'd seen while peering through the window...

Sport 1100. That's what I saw. Jeez! The good vibes were flowing from these motorcycles. I couldn't stop smiling. I couldn't stop staring. The seat was high. The bars were low. I didn't care. My connection to Dr. John, to Mandello, to all those people I'd read about who had been a part of Guzzi over the years was made real when I sat on the red Sport 1100, leaned forward, and gently gripped the bars...

That was December 1996... I became a regular at the dealership... They were a great bunch of guys... It took me a few months to put it together, but in March 1997 I became the very proud owner of a brand new 1996 model Sport 1100... I couldn't have been happier...

122368783_M3FPQ-M.jpg
 
Nice one Mike, by your dates of bike purchase, that puts you a few years older then me. My first street bike was a '85 Nighthawk 650. Self-adjusting everything and shaft drive too. I watched and admired Guzzis for much of the same reasons, and as a big twins fan, I liked them all. Aside the fact that my first two bikes were I-4's, followed by a Ducati 900SS... then many other twins that have followed since. My first real ride aboard a Guzzi was in '93 at a Rider Mag Rally in Pittsburgh. I rode the whole model line, but the green-framed 1000S really hit home with me. I knew one day I'd own one... but life had me in a different direction with racing. In late '99, my Cycle World staffer bud sent me a pic of the Jackal, knowing I was looking for a Guzzi at the time. I almost bought a real '73 V7 Sport, then a EV. I'm glad the photo arrived when it did... I ran up to the Triumph/Guzzi dealer in Salem, MA, showing him the photo, which left him scratching his head. He had no idea about the bike. No big surprise there all things considered. With the photo came an ad stating that the first 100 bikes sold would get a $500 discount. I wanted to be one of those... so after a *VERY* generous additional discount from Dennis at North River Cycles, I picked up the bike Labor Day weekend of '99. It's been all smiles since, and I now have a garage full of Guzzis at any one point (including a Spine, though still not my favorite of course).

Good story, thanks for the post.
 
Versatility.


I've been waxing all poetic about the Sport 1100 and neglecting the Nero Corsa... I'll get around to the NC soon, but with the much needed maintenance happening on the Sport 1100, I've been thinking about it a lot lately.

So back in 1998 I took my first "big motorcycle trip". A friend and I trailered from NWA to Steamboat Springs, Colorado for the AHRMA Vintage Days in September. It was a big adventure (even though most of the trip was sitting in a BMW M3 with a Ducati 900SS and my Triumph Sprint Executive following along in the trailer... I know, I know...) It was an eye opening experience! I got to ride the Colorado Rockies on a motorcycle for the first time, seeing things I'd only read about! Total mileage on the bike was less than 1,000 miles for the week, but man! it was fun!

In September 1999 the races were moved to Park City, Utah. Again, Derek and I planned on making the trip. He was dead set on not riding across The Plains so we trailered to Colorado Springs to meet some friends. From Colorado Springs, we would travel a circuitous route across Colorado and Utah to Park City. We'd spend a few days in Park City, then head on back to Denver to friends', then down to Colorado Springs for the AMA Superbike races at PPIR. The trip would be a little different... I would be riding the Sport 1100 !!!

This was pre-internet (for me) and pre-digital photography. I've never really scanned any of the photos to my computer. I guess I should sometime. Well, it was a great week! Don't let anyone make you believe a person can't tour on a sporting Guzzi.

For all you map geeks (like me), here's the route we travelled: Colorado '99 Map Link

About 1,750 miles in a week. I still had the HeliBars installed, but the seat was stock. My luggage amounted to a Marsee tank bag and a GiVi E50 bolted onto the pillion pad. The setup worked great and I actually had plenty of luggage space!

We met our Kansas friends at a hotel in Colorado Springs. Actually, we rousted them out of bed at 0700 after driving all night from Arkansas. A quick bite to eat in the hotel and we readied the bikes for the trip.

I'll spare you the rest of the ride report. No pics to support it. Maybe I'll scan a few sometime and add 'em to this thread. Here are the only two I've got handy:

Monticello, Utah at the junction of US-191 and US-666 (now US-491). There were some Indians selling skulls, jewelery, and blankets at the intersection. They kindly loaned me a skull for my obligatory "Devil's Highway" pic:
23315332_fayaq-L.jpg


Near Strawberry Reservoir on US-40 in NE Utah on the way back to Denver. My first "big ticket" on my second "big adventure". Ton-up, baby!
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The Duchesne County deputy actually turned out to be a motorcyclist and a pretty nice guy. No book was thrown at us that day, and for that I was thankful! As was typical of this ride, we were stopping to smell lots of roses, so this 500 mile leg took us about 11 hours... I was seven years away from my first 1,000 mile day!!!

This was a big turning point in my motorcycling. I learned that I really enjoyed long roadtrips. I learned that touring on a sportsbike was not that difficult. I grew to really love this Sport 1100...

I did encounter a few difficulties along the way. At some point on our leg into Park City, my bike began running on one cylinder below 5,000 rpm. Once at our destination, we went down to Salt Lake City to the Ducati/Moto Guzzi dealer to let them have a look. The Dellortos were running pretty rich at elevation, but my biggest problem was a bad connection between the spark plug cap and the wire on the left cylinder. Easy fix for the tech at the dealership. He also put in some fresh NGK plugs and ran about three pulls on the dyno. The Sport 1100 had the OEM Dellortos, a K&N filter in the stock airbox, and a Marsee Crossover with stock cans. It pulled 76rwhp on thier Dynojet Dyno. Not too shabby. The bike ran much better on the homeward stretch.

My riding has changed with my experience over the past decade. I remember how wiped out I was after that 500 mile day between Park City and Denver. Now a 500 mile day isn't really that big a deal. Funny our perspective changes with experience...

In 2005 I rode from my house in NWA to Mexican Hat, Utah in less than 24-hours to complete my first IBA sanctioned 1000 mile day on my 2000 model Quota 1100ES. This year, I participated in the Colorado Classic 1000 and completed my second documented 1000 mile day on my V11 LeMans Nero Corsa.

The Sport 1100 has been mainly relegated to backroads blasts and track days because of other bikes in the stable. It's a mighty versatile motorcycle, though. Just after the Park City trip in September '99, I participated in my second Jason Pridmore's STAR School in October. I rode the Sport 1100 on the track for the first time at that school. Over the next few years, I took it to Hallett, Oklahoma a few more times for track days.
46255445_bNuvK-M.jpg


And, then ultimately I was fortunate enough to ride a track day at Barber's in Birmingham, one of the USA's premier road racing facilities.
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One of the reasons I'm spending money on the Sport 1100 right now is because I want to ride it more. Over the past few years I've been averaging less than 1,000 miles per year on the poor beast. Once my forks come back from MI with fresh seals/oil/springs, I'm going to lever on a new set of Pirelli Diablo Strada tires. It's not had sport-touring tires on it in awhile. It's going to need them, though, because I'm in the planning phase of my next IBA documented ride and this time I'm planning on doing it on the Sport 1100!!! So don't be surprised when you see a weekend ride report for my Sport 1100 where it covers 1,500 miles under me!!!

stay tuned...

;-T
 
GT-Rx said:
Nice one Mike, by your dates of bike purchase, that puts you a few years older then me. My first street bike was a '85 Nighthawk 650. Self-adjusting everything and shaft drive too. I watched and admired Guzzis for much of the same reasons, and as a big twins fan, I liked them all. Aside the fact that my first two bikes were I-4's, followed by a Ducati 900SS... then many other twins that have followed since. My first real ride aboard a Guzzi was in '93 at a Rider Mag Rally in Pittsburgh. I rode the whole model line, but the green-framed 1000S really hit home with me. I knew one day I'd own one... but life had me in a different direction with racing. In late '99, my Cycle World staffer bud sent me a pic of the Jackal, knowing I was looking for a Guzzi at the time. I almost bought a real '73 V7 Sport, then a EV. I'm glad the photo arrived when it did... I ran up to the Triumph/Guzzi dealer in Salem, MA, showing him the photo, which left him scratching his head. He had no idea about the bike. No big surprise there all things considered. With the photo came an ad stating that the first 100 bikes sold would get a $500 discount. I wanted to be one of those... so after a *VERY* generous additional discount from Dennis at North River Cycles, I picked up the bike Labor Day weekend of '99. It's been all smiles since, and I now have a garage full of Guzzis at any one point (including a Spine, though still not my favorite of course).

Good story, thanks for the post.

Thanks Todd,

Yeah, I'm 42. That CB650SC was a great motorcycle! A little much for a beginner, but I still think about it and wouldn't mind having one in the garage if I could find a clean one sometime...


Cool story about your Jackal!
 
A motorcycle the way God, Guzzi, & Dr. John intended... ;-T

We got a break in the weather this weekend! Yesterday, I had the new set of Pirelli Diablo Stradas mounted by my friend Jesse at a local dealership, so I took the opportunity of today's good weather to scrub 'em in...

This ride also gave me the chance to sample the new suspension. As mentioned earlier in the thread, I sent the forks off to Moto International for some work. WP fork springs, new seals, and 10wt fork oil.

My route was a familiar one. I picked it mainly because I knew it wouldn't be too dirty from recent snows with the remaining sand and chat. From Fayetteville, AR-16 East then AR-23 South to Turner Bend. Turner Bend Store is on the Mulberry River. There's a campground there and canoe rentals. The store is also a pretty popular place for motorcyclists to stop. Many of you may have heard of AR-23. It's known as "The Pig Trail" and is a popular motorcycling road.

My route: MAP

767006503_r8yRU-L.jpg


Well, intial impressions of the Pirelli Diablo Stradas are good. I wasn't pushing it real hard because the road is still winter dirty, but they have a nice, neutral feel. A little slow on the initial turn-in, but much better than the Dunlop RoadSmarts I have on the Nero Corsa right now. The Pirellis actually work really well and I can't wait to push them a little harder on clean pavement.

As for the forks... Man, what a difference! The forks match the shock now for the first time. Much stiffer springing. Much better damping with the 10wt oil. This 80 mile shakedown has me very excited about rides to come this year on the trusty old Sport 1100 !!!

767066201_f3DZe-L.jpg


;D
 
Nice read Rocker :) :) :)
I can recall from the seventies a few big mile days from when I lived in Western Australia in a Iron ore mining town near Tom Price and wanted to go to the only "Moto GP" event in Australia. It was held on the other side of the country near Sydney so I organised a couple of weeks leave, did a 'Single mens quarters' Carpark service on the T3 and headed off to Perth a 1000 miles away to catch up with a friend who was up for it . The oil light seemed to be coming on at idle but that only happens at fuel stops so "push on". Catch up with mate and hit the piss and "see ya in the morning" at designated place. Late start in morning so I'm running 2hrs late and miss 'em so "Push on" and Rattle ..Rattle.??? blow the big ends pushing up Greenmount.! The seal on the oil filter was kinked. My Fault. No big ends in stock but a container on the warf has some in it says Stolowski's No bad damage to crank so a bit of emery and waiting waiting :whistle: :whistle: 2Days then they're in!.... its 5 pm and I'm off!! How am I going to catch this bloke (as this is pre mobile phones)? O well they're two up on inferior jap stuff I'll just tuck in behind the R90s fairing and suck through some super. The big ends were nursed for 150 miles then forgotten about, the oil light hadn't come on and I reckoned I could get to Norseman have a snooze then attack the Nullabor run in the morning. Slept on the side of the road in the bushes (there are none)sometime after 2am as the last 150 miles were covered in Roos( bastards jumpin everywhere)so it was slow going. I've just done 500miles after the shops shut...
Up just on sunrise 5:30 and fuelled up grabbed a pint of milk and away by 6am! No time for meals(had a big one last night so should be good for a while) only piss stops and fuel with a pint of milk while I put my gear back on.
Asked at lots of the fuel stops if any bike two up had passed through recently and started to get a couple of maybes late in the day. I checked out a couple of caravan parks around sundown but couldn't see'em, so I pushed on towards Adelaide as I new Mum would give me some lovin' and attention. Struggled a lot to stay awake the last 200miles even after a few coffees!! Got into Mums place around 3am and crashed til midday . I'd just ridden 1200 miles in 21hrs.
Mate rang mums after lunch and said they'd missed the arranged departure back in Perth and didn't get away till late in the day. I'd passed them o'night and they were not going through Adelaide and catch up at the races in a couple of days. Jeez louise
;) ;) ;) Big days!! well I love'em!!
ps that crank is still in that bike and that bike is still in my shed. Going to Tassie on it next week in fact :D :D :D
 
Just back from a daytrip into the wilds of Northwestern Missouri. 646 miles in 12 hours to retrieve my new trailer.

Yep! I picked up the trailer I'll soon be pulling behind my Nero Corsa!

For months I've been mulling over what to do about a trailer. Build my own. Buy used. Buy new. What to buy. What to build.

I came up with a plan to use aluminum tubing and a 25x54 Thule cargo box, but just never could get motivated to collect the parts and start the project. I still like the idea, but I just haven't had the time to mess with it. I thought of a UniGo, but couldn't find one used. New ones are too pricey for me right now. Same goes for most new trailers. I did find a cool trailer on Ebay that I liked. It's about the right size at 36x57. Streamlined and would look good with the Nero Corsa. But, with shipping, still a little too pricey. I really like it, though:

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Well, I finally stumbled upon Bob Carr up in NW Missouri. He's been playing with a cool idea in trailers. Refrigerators! Yep! He took a vintage fridge and made it into a trailer to haul his camping stuff in. People liked 'em, so he's made a few more. I saw an ad for one that I really liked, so I sent him an email, then visited with him on the phone.

We came to a deal, so this morning, I hit the road and headed North to his place in the Suburban to pick up my new acquisition:
787620459_KeNo3-M.jpg


The one I chose measures out to 24x44. Total width is about 36", something I was trying to stay close to, as that's the width of my NC with bags. My new trailer is a vintage mini-fridge made by Frigidare sometime about 50 years ago! It's got independent torsion axles and 8" wheels/tires.

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Bob is a cool guy. Has a nice shop where he tinkers with projects like this during to winter months. Here's his trailer. It's all tricked out with LED lighting:
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He's working on one I'd have bought, if it had been complete. It's a "Cromwell" fridge and has the coolest door I've ever seen. It's got an automotive style center crease/peak and some faux louvers. Very '50s looking. It's 30x57, I think. Very cool!!!
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So, after visiting for awhile, he helped me load my little trailer into the back of the Suburban, and I headed South for home. Nice drive today. Temps in the 30s, but it was foggy most of the day. The freezing fog this morning was cool. I really enjoyed seeing a part of the country I'd not yet seen. This was my first trip up I-35 North out of Kansas City.

So, here are a few pics I snapped once I arrived home and unloaded the new trailer:
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So there you have it. Now all I have to do is install and adapt the UniGo hitch I have in the garage. Hopefully I'll be pulling it to Fools on a Hill in a month...

;D
 
Whew! This has been a bad winter. I finally got the Nero Corsa out for its first ride of the year today. Temp got up to around 50-degrees. Sky was partly sunny! Not bad!

Today's ride was just a backroads ramble with a new passenger. We were gone for a three hours, or so, and covered around a hundred miles, I guess.

No complaints from the 5'-9" passenger... Who says you can't ride 2-up on a Spine Frame Guzzi?

Points of interest included Devil's Den State Park, Lake Fort Smith State Park, and Artist's Point on old US-71. Oh, and some really great twisty Ozarks byways...

Fools on a Hill in Two weeks! Woo, Hoo!

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Finally got the Ohlins spring installed on the Nero Corsa tonight. The roadtrip to Fools on a Hill with Marcia and camping gear really overtaxed the wimpy stock 1091-26/85 spring.

Last week, I added some eyebolts to the ceiling of the garage so I could accomplish this task more easily since I still don't have a centerstand on the Nero Corsa.

833159351_ZxvZq-L.jpg


To get to the shock, I had to remove the fuel tank, the side covers, and the airbox. I then unbolted the shock and pulled it off the bike. Then, I used the tool I bought from Moto International to loosen the stock spring, remove the collar, and slide off the old spring...

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Then, I reassembled the shock with the new 1093-36/105 spring. It's about 10mm shorter than the OEM spring, but much stiffer. I added about 15mm of preload, then reinstalled the shock into the Nero Corsa, then reversed my steps from earlier... Airbox, sidecovers, fuel tank...

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Marcia happened to be over at the house, so after buttoning things up and putting the tools away, we hopped onto the bike for a little roadtest...

After a few miles of bumpy twisties near the house, all I can say is "WOW!!!" What a difference the new spring makes in the way the bike feels two-up. Night and Day! The bike was actually fun to ride with a passenger tonight. It felt more like work with the soft stock spring, but more "normal" with the new stiffer spring.

Tomorrow, we'll go on a 200 mile ride with the folks from the locak BMW shop. I'm anxious to see how the bike performs...
 
Funny how a stiffer spring can make such improvements.
Also funny how adding preload doesn't actually make the spring stiffer, it just changes ride height.
Did you consider getting the shock valved to match the stiffer spring?
Did you at least add some rebound dampening to go with the stiffer spring?
 
GuzziMoto said:
Funny how a stiffer spring can make such improvements.
Also funny how adding preload doesn't actually make the spring stiffer, it just changes ride height.
Did you consider getting the shock valved to match the stiffer spring?
Did you at least add some rebound dampening to go with the stiffer spring?


So far, I'm happy with the dampening available and don't think having the shock revalved is needed.

I haven't really spent any solo time on the bike since adding the new spring, though. It's been all 2-up. This past weekend, it was 2-up with trailer.

The OEM spring was really soft. I actually can't believe I've lived with the bike for four years with the stock spring after riding it with this stiffer one.

I'm very happy with the results...
 
Yeah, it is when you are riding solo that you may need to add some rebound dampening. There may be enough adjustment from the clickers, but it depends on how big a change in spring rate.
Time will tell. Either way, it sounds like a good thing.
 
GuzziMoto said:
Yeah, it is when you are riding solo that you may need to add some rebound dampening. There may be enough adjustment from the clickers, but it depends on how big a change in spring rate.
Time will tell. Either way, it sounds like a good thing.

Rode the Nero Corsa solo today for the first time with the new spring on a favorite local curvy backroad.

Man, it sucked... Way too much damping... Rode like a log wagon... When I had the weak stock spring, the ride was way too soft and I cranked in damping on both sides to try to bring things under control when riding 2-up. With the new spring, the settings were just too harsh solo...

Settings were:
Compression; 6 clicks out from fully closed. (factory setting is 12 clicks out).
Rebound; 5 clicks out from fully closed. (factory setting is 14 clicks out).

When I returned home, I changed the settings a bit:
Compression; 9 clicks out from fully closed.
Rebound; 10 clicks out from fully closed.

I went for a short ride on the same road and could feel some improvement. I'll ride it some more and get it dialled in. I guess I may have to come up with two sets of numbers. Solo and two-up.

We'll see...
 
I haven't posted to this thread in awhile. There area few ride reports out there that mention pulling the trailer with the Nero Corsa. It's actually working out quite well and has allowed me to haul a passenger AND camping gear to some great events this spring! Swamp Goose, Uncle Calvin, SWMO... I've got some refining of hitch and trailer to do, but 1500 miles of 2-up trailering under my belt and I'm really digging it!
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This weekend was something different, though... I wanted to make the 25th Annual MGNOC Illinois Rally... I'd heard lots of great things about the rally, and I'd never been to that part of the country, so I decided to check it out. Work's been tough lately, so I could only make it a one-nighter. People looked at me funny when I told them I was riding 500 miles to camp one night, then riding back home... But, hey, the destination is great and all, but riding is what it's all about...

I've got some fresh Diablo Stradas on the Sport 1100, and I've been wanting to test its legs for an IBA BB1500 I have in mind, so the decision was made: Leave early Saturday morning and quickly ride the 500 miles up to the Illinois Rally, enjoy the scene, then take in some sights along The River Road coming back. Well, the bike performed flawlessly even though this thousand mile weekend was more miles than I'd ridden it in the past year! Fast, comfortable, and great fuel economy! Who says you can't tour on a spine-frame?

The outwardbound leg covered right at 505 miles and nine hours. With a bit of a tailwind, it returned 49mpg on the first tank,48mpg on the second and third tanks! Not bad for a bike with a pair of Keihin FCR41s, Staintunes, and a K&N in the airbox! The homeward leg covered about ten additional miles and took me an additional hour-and-a-half because of photo stops and a lunch stop!

I couldn't be happier with how the bike performed!

Preparing for departure at the Faux Chateau:
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At Big River State Forest, home of the Illinois State Rally:
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High Noon Sunday in Hannibal, Missouri:
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The Landing in Hannibal. Those bricks/cobble stones feel real funny on a motorcycle!:
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A storefront window in Hannibal. What a pretty picture!
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Been awhile since I've added to this thread... Didn't ride a lot during July and August. It was hot here this year, and it was the busy season at the office...

I rode the Sport 1100 over to the Oklahoma Chow Down at Okarche in early July.
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...and again to the Four States Chowdown in early August. Two-up, this time...
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August 21, and it was the Nero Corsa's turn for a two-up ride to the Oklahoma Chow Down in Ponca City.
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And that's where it happened... Rolling in to Barnsdall, Oklahoma (200 miles from home) the Shift System Spring in my Nero's tranny broke, leaving me with only 5th gear... I wasn't about to end my trip early, so I (very gingerly) babied the bike onward to Ponca City, then to Cherokee, Kansas for the night. Luckily, the country out there is big and flat, with few stops. The trusty Nero Corsa made it home, travelling over 300 miles two-up with trailer stuck in 5th gear...

Well, what prompted this post tonight was an email from Todd at MPH, letting me know that my parts were on the way. This is actually the first breakdown I've had on a spine frame Guzzi after riding the two I have for a total of almost sixty thousand miles. Pretty good track record, me thinks... The Nero Corsa has travelled just over 32,000 miles with the broken odometer at 12,000 miles the only repair I've had to perform... Heck, I've never had to mess with the efi, or anything on this bike! It's been a good one!!!

Now, I have a deadline looming and work to do on the Nero... In a couple weeks I'm planning to leave on an all-Guzzi road trip to Northern New Mexico... Santa Fe/Taos/etc... 2,000+ miles of moto-goodness... This weekend I'll be performing surgery on my trusty mount and readying it for this year's western adventure.

Stay tuned for the gory details... B)
 
As promised, here are a few photos from the job. A short road test after reassembly seems to indicate a successful operation! :BEER:

After reading a few old threads here and at v11lemans.com, and looking at the exploded diagram in the service manual, I started Saturday Afternoon by draining the transmission gear oil out in the driveway.
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Then I pushed it back into the garage and began removing things... The starter cover, the battery, the starter, all of which came off the bike quickly...
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I removed the battery mainly to clean out the tray and the area around it since I ride in all weather and hadn't cleaned it up in awhile...
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After the starter came off, the pre-selector assembly cover was in full view...
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I removed the shifter mechanism from the shaft, removed the bolts holding the cover on, then gently pryed the cover. Once the gasket sealant (what little of it there was) gave way, the suspect spring's broken part fell out the bottom (along with the remaining tablespoon of oil in the tranny).
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When I finally coaxed the cover off the bike, this is what the backside looks like. Disassembling this assembly was next on the agenda. Snap ring pliers are helpful here, as there are two on each shaft holding the gears on. Disassembly actually only takes a couple minutes once you look at how it's put together...
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While cleaning the gasket surfaces, I snapped a photo of the transmission's innards... Pretty clean looking in there.
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Reassembly of the pre-selector assembly is a little tedious and I had to do it a couple of times to ensure that the gears were timed properly after taking it apart to install the new spring. You have to start in neutral and there are a couple of marks on the gears to help with this. I tested the assembly in my lap several times, making sure I could run it through 1-N-2-3-4-5-6. It seemed to be working...

At this point, I'd been piddling around with the project for about three hours. Time flies when you're having fun, right? ;) It was time to take a break and get cleaned up for some Saturday Night fun, so I left the project sitting over night...

So, about noon today I get back after it. I applied some gasket sealer to the mating surfaces, then slid the assembly back in place. it took a little coaxing, but I was finally able to get it secured with its screws and wiped away the excess gasket sealant. I tested the shifting by spinning the back wheel with my hand as I shifted up and down through the gears... I was sweating a bit, but it seems to shift fine, if a little notchy...

At that point I reinstalled the shift linkage, the starter, the starter cover, the battery, then 850ml of Mobil-1 gear oil went into the transmission...
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A short road test confirmed that it's shifting through the gears in a pretty normal fashion. It seems a little notchy, but that may just be me. I can put it into a false neutral between 5th and 6th, but it may have been that way before, I don't know... I'm probably just being hyper-critical of my work after digging so deep into my trusted touring bike...

Another road test is in order this afternoon. Probably go run 50 to 75 miles just to put my mind at ease. Having the bike back together feels good! This means the big ride to New Mexico at the end of the month is still on, and I may even bow to pressure from Marcia and Peg, and make Mo-Kan next Saturday Night!

We'll see...
 
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