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General Discussion / Re: 17" front on a V85?
« Last post by ridingron on Today at 11:23:37 PM »
I think that would be some rather extreme braking (with ABS too), in a really rare extreme situation, for the forks to deflect enough to matter. Rare, as in finding chicken teeth.
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General Discussion / Re: Best looking motorcycle
« Last post by bacongrease on Today at 11:19:08 PM »


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General Discussion / Re: Best looking motorcycle
« Last post by bacongrease on Today at 11:18:08 PM »


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General Discussion / Re: Best looking motorcycle
« Last post by bacongrease on Today at 11:17:08 PM »


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General Discussion / Re: Best looking motorcycle
« Last post by bacongrease on Today at 11:15:34 PM »


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General Discussion / Re: Best looking motorcycle
« Last post by bacongrease on Today at 11:12:45 PM »


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General Discussion / Re: Ever-shrinking list of Guzzi rallies
« Last post by SemperVee on Today at 10:22:51 PM »

  The reason attending stopped for me - M E D I C A L

 As long as I can wrench I ride, but not far. Anymore.
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General Discussion / Re: Why Do We Buy a Guzzi?
« Last post by Gaertn on Today at 09:00:38 PM »
Sportsters are great.  I've owned two.

I got lost in your sentence structure.  Guzzi should have the edge on range.  My 2014 V7 Classic would go forever on a tank of fuel.  250-miles on several trips.

The 1200C has a 4.5 gallon tank.  The 08-12 V7 Classics have a 4.5 gallon tank.  The 13-up V7 Classics have a 5.5 gallon tank.  HD and Guzzi get about the same fuel economy.  The Sportster 1200C has good range, but the V7 Classic's is better.  The extra rear suspension travel of the V7 Classic would make me lean that way for long distance travelling.

Yeah, I was a bit clunky with how I wrote that. I meant the Sportster has the big tank vs the little peanut tank on many Sportsters... and that since I enjoyed the Harley much more than I expected, I might even consider touring on it.

I've had 4 previous Guzzi's: 850T, Sport 1200, Griso 1100, and a 2017 V7. I missed having a Guzzi in the garage and even though I found the V7 a bit underwhelming, it's very easy to live with, so I bought a 2014. Having it alongside the Sportster will take the pressure off the V7 needing to be all things, so hopefully I'll get it well sorted and put a bunch of miles on it. The big blocks are amazing but they have a bit of a weight penalty when pushing them around the garage or driveway. The Sportster is heavy but it's low height helps it feel lighter than it is.

Regarding the "why", I was an airhead guy for many years, but once I rode a Guzzi I knew my BMW days were over. Guzzi engines just hit different with more mechanical character that is really hard to shake off. I know there's lots of overlap between the Guzzi and Airhead communities, but I find Guzzi's more akin to Harleys with their kind of mechanical rowdiness, if that makes sense.
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General Discussion / Re: “Innovate or die?”
« Last post by Tkelly on Today at 09:00:22 PM »
Schwinn bought Henderson in 1917 and dropped it in 1931,thinking the depression would last 8 more years.Pat Fitzgerald a Chicago Guzzi guy has one of the last and best model and rides it up here in WI occasionally.Scwinn made the coolest bike ever in the 1950s,the Phantom,a cruiser with balloon tires so you could ride over curbs,springer front end ,built in horn and headlight,and luggage carrier on the back so toy could transport a buddy.
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General Discussion / Re: 17" front on a V85?
« Last post by skippy on Today at 08:15:31 PM »
How much deflection do you estimate you're getting during extreme hard braking?
To make such a calculation we would need a tremendous amount of proprietary information regarding the physical and mechanical properties of all of the components between the contact patch of the front tire and the lower triple clamp. Such as the modulas of elasticity of the inner and outer fork tubes, the exact spec mean inner and outer diameters of said components, the stiction of the spec tire (couldn't even begin to comprehend all the variables of all of the tires available).
When we have all of this information we can play it into a formula that accounts for the full, laden weight of the bike, the distance between the axle and the lower triple clamp, amount for said modules of elasticity, and swag the total deflection of the fully compressed forks, of a fully laiden bike, at maximum grip, with the upper fork tubes 1" closer to the axle than designed.
Or,
We can remember the cautionary tale Kevin Cammeron wrote about decades ago about his observations while building for,  and supporting race teams, when he observed the evidence of Racers pushing their fork tubes further and further up the triple clamps in an effort to lower the front, tighten the steering, and improve upon what the factory had already designed. The evidence Kevin observed was scorched tires, and polished exhaust headers with a noted decrease in rider performance as the lap times plummeted when, as he surmised,  the front tires were pinched between the axle and the folding bike behind giving way to the modulas of elasticity in the components of the front end.
This observation scared the he'll oit of (then) young Kevin, and he later wrote about it as a cautionary tale about fracking about in stuff you don't know.

I remember this story decades after I read it and I, of course recant it in a brief, paraphrased version here. But it is a real observation about things many, pedestrian, riders don't consider when mucking about trying to make a motorcycle they want with a motorcycle that the factory built.

With all of this said, have I ever slid the fork tubes up into the triple clamps in an effort to quicken the steering geometry of my bikes? Yes, yes I have. Did I do this with full knowledge of the potential consequences in mind? Yep! Now all of you can consider the implications of mucking about with your OEM geometry.

Skippy
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