Thanks mate. This is how it was.
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Today, I fitted oilite bushes to my V50 frame for the gear and brake pedals. As expected, they closed up a touch when pressed in so I ran a reamer through them and it hit on the gearbox before getting right through so I had to drop the lower frame rails. All done now and pedals fitted. They now have a nice smooth action with no slop at all. Lovely.
I then realised, it now has all the necessary bits to move under its own power so I rode it a whole 5 metres!
Only the tail lights and indicators left to sort and weâre ready to hit the road. I canât wait. Im so much more excited by this project than my last Suzuki project (rare four cylinder 1982 GS500E)
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I rode it! First time one this bike and my first time on any Guzzi. What a lovely thing. Itâs surprisingly grunty for a little 500 and makes a beautiful noise. I was surprised how smooth it is as well, even at higher revs. My dad came along for the ride on the old GS500.
I assume a bit of a whine from the transmission is normal?
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Went to J&S at Oakmere for a bacon & sausage bap plus a nice mug o coffee. Sat outside the cafe and watched the coming and goingsâŚ.a few nice bikes to see. Wot a lovely afternoon 
.
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Yes a bit of whine is normal, sometimes just in one or two years.if in all gears keep an eye on bevel box oil.
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yes the whine is normal, before I did the decat on the v85 the whine was a bit annoying, now I canât hear it much because the exhaust isnât as quiet so it doesnât bother me.
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Did you get much of a power increase after removing the cat from the V85?
itâs very noticable, pulls from lower down, doesnât immediately start rapidly slowing down when you let off the throttle like it did stock downpipes/cat, and picks up quicker.
much more fun to ride.
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On my e5 (with no other mods) it was a subtle difference. A bit more low midrange response.
But, when polished, it looks much better and easy to change the gearbox oil.
As those were the only two reasons I changed it I am pleased but it does smell of unburnt petrol when starting.
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Was doing the gearbox oil on the V9 when I noticed a slight oil seepage on the corner of the engine sump where it mates onto the block.
Put an Allen key on the securing bolts to find that the corner bolt could be unwound by hand 
. The other bolts were checked and the two either side needed quarter turns to secure them. Went round them all and the rest were ok.
Luigi must have forget to torque those three down. Cleaned up that area with gunk and after 30 miles re-checked and now totally bone dry.
On the subject of oils - I always do engine oils and filter every 2k miles, gearbox every 4K and rear bevel ever 4K.
The reason I do this regime is
- keeps everything in top condition/extends component life.
- internal seals such as engine and gearbox main seals can be affected/prematurely fail with contaminated/aged oil/higher mileage oils being left inâŚ.sometimes for years on some bikes.
Itâs pennies in terms of cost on guzziâs to do this regime and if you have basic tools( inc a 24mm crowsfeet socket for the tranny drain plug) and can weld a spanner then itâs satisfying to know itâs been done right when you do it yourself 
Perhaps a good idea to carefully check your sump bolts every few thousand miles or if you see any evidence of seepage as itâs an easy job
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Nothing particularly flash done to the V85TT today.
Just got it out of hibernation and put a bit of air in the tyres ready for the ride to work tomorrow. Not that itâs a great distance, only 6 miles. But Iâve been desperate to get back out on it so itâll have to do. Maybe a little longer route home.
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Whenever I ride to work the ride home is always at least twice as long as the ride there. Not sure whats going on there. Must be some sort of disturbance in the space time continuum.
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Nice run up to Carter Bar from Darlington on the sp, lovely and warm in Darlo, not so much up hereâ
.
Have been investigating a pulsating front brake, which resulted in me replacing the old and manky looking discs for new, and refurbishing the calipers and pads. Alas, the vibration was still present. Removed old bearings on getting back homeâŚ.one of which had a slightly gritty feeling, which I had previously missed. New front bearings ordered, see how that goes. Otherwise, the relatively new to me bike running very well.
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Completely agree.
I find that if the weather is better than expected that somehow magically makes the route longer. Must be all the roadworks they do in the summer. 
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My wife once sent me to the garden centre on a sunny day so I took the bike. 150 mile round trip and its only on the other side of town. It was such a long diversion i had to stop for fish and chips on the sea front.
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MindâŚ.. I think I left my kidneys somewhere north of Tow LawâŚâŚ
Potholes+old guzzi suspension=đ
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Ouch, the sport fairing can be repaired, they are like rocking horse poo to find. If you are going through insurance I suspect they would write it off, which would be a shame as they are lovely to ride.
Hoping YOU are OK? âOut of actionâ as in âbothâ doesnât sound reassuring?
Get yourself fixed first. The steed isnât going anywhere I guess. Never good to hear of folks getting off! Best wishes! 
Hope you are okay?