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Done now. Relatively "easy" following the excellent write-ups in this thread, Phils and belfastguzzis. Also helping is adhering to "RULE NUMBER ONE OF V11 TINKERING": "Thou shalt always remove any and all parts from thine V11, even the parts thou thinks must not be removed, for they shalt need to be removed anyways, sooner or later, to get to the part upon which thy desire to tinker" The old spring looked OK (but it isn't. See Chucks reply below.), but more compressed than the new one. Road test report to follow once the weather clears.

Welcome back I too saw my first V11 Sport, in green, on the cover of a magazine in the late 90s when it was first announced... and thought it was such an attractive and unusual bike, which is what often attracts me to things others aren't. It stuck with me, and some years later I saw a green V11 Sport parked up at Alice's in the Santa Cruz mountains, and it was even more interesting in person and thought I just had to have one someday. A couple years later I was looking for a bike to replace my 1989 FJ1200, and although still remembered and liked the V11 Sport, I wanted a fairing for long tours and thought the V11 Sport just wasn't going to work out. But that was when MG released the V11 LeMans. I went to Moto Italiano in SF, test rode the bike a couple times.... and bought it

Ha ha sounds like we're all a lot alike eh! I first saw a road test of a mark 3 le mans in Two Wheels mag about 1980 ish and fell in lust then! You never saw any Guzzi's in ChCh ( NZ ) in those days! Anyways fast forward a bit after travelling for a few years and lobbing into Oz, and getting back into bikes big time ( big jap sports bikes ) I test rode a mark 5 LeMans in 89! I didn't buy it as I was seduced by a Black and gold limited edition Zook GSXR 1100 instead, but bloody hell did that Mk 5 leave a lasting IMPRESSION ! Like many got out of bikes, married house etc ! Then about 10-12 years ago when the disease reappeared I thought, THIS TIME IT WILL BE A GUZZI. I couldn't make my mind up which one at first but circumstance and the universe brought a GREEN V11 SPORT into my life!! Love the bloody thing and I too will not part with her . Enjoy your bikes folk's while we're all still able. Cheers Guzzler

.... The reports of my death have been greatly exaggerated.

Yep after reading how hard this job is, I borrowed a mates slide puller that just had an "L" shaped hook on the end. Job done in what may have been less than 30 seconds.

Almost twenty years ago I saw a bike (V11 Lemans Tenni) on the cover of a popular motorcycle magazine and I thought, "that is the most beautiful motorcycle I've ever seen." I was riding a BMW R1100R at the time, quite a good bike, but something about the Guzzi caught and stayed with me. I found, and bought a red 2003 V11 Lemans in Kentucky, and rode it happily for years. I decided I need something for the mountain twisties where I'd later moved (not understanding the limitation was the rider and not the machine) and I bought a KTM 990 SMT. Now in my 60s and not well, I looked back and realized I'd never had as happy a relationship with a bike in my life as with my V11 Lemans. Last week I sold the KTM, an amazing bike on its own, and bought a 2003 Lemans from Arizona. It's being shipped in a week or so to me in New Hampshire. It feels like reuniting late in life with a first love -- I don't know why I ever left her. I'll have some questions for the forum I'm sure once the bike arrives, but for now I'm so happy just looking forward to it. Big thanks to Bruce, the seller, who has been great to deal with. Here's a picture --

I'm glad you mentioned this..I went out and looked at my Rosso Corsa after reading it today ,,,One side was an 'Inny" and the other side was an "Outty" I guess the P.O. did that..Now they are both "Inny's"...My OCD feels SOOOO much better..!! How could I ever have missed that?...I'm slipping!

The old spring is not OK. It has already taken a "set" from over travel, and will break sooner of later.. your number one rule on tinkering is spot on, however.

Taking a tip from 4corsa’s earlier post, I put a set of TechSpec tank grips on the Greenie today. As pointed out by Phil in that earlier post, an opaque tank protector will show uneven paint fade over time when removed, but these sound like they work well and I’m curious to try. I’m not sure how I feel about the center piece. I may take that piece off and replace with clear. Anyway, here is what a Greenie looks like with slabs of rubber of her tank:

I'm probably in the wrong place to post this..if so..apologies..I'll figure this out soon.. Some of you probably know my bikes better than I do..at this point as both have been listed in this forum before, My "Greenie" was formerly "Scuds Greenie", and My Rosso Mandello is #49 formerly owned by Surj. Ive been riding Italian bikes over 50 years..Mostly Aprilia and Ducati..I havent owned a Moto Guzzi for 3-4 decades when I had a MK1....I Re inspired my self on MG while Riding in Italy 2 years ago and spending some time At Lake Como and in Mandello del Lario..And now I am seriously hooked on the V-11 I love these bikes and just cant get enough riding in, ..that is until this Covid 19 came along. Anyway I'm very proud to own these two bikes and be a part of this addiction ..I havnt put many miles on the RM..but have racked up a few several hundred mile rides on Greenie and she runs just flawless..Kudo's to Scud for all of his Fine work! Thanks All..I'm trying to learn as much as I can from the forum with out being too much of a PITA...lots for me to learn.!!

Not sure what the added "1" designation is. I do not see it in the product description sheet from OMRON ("R" is surge suppression /built in resistor): https://omronfs.omron.com/en_US/ecb/products/pdf/en-g8he.pdf Indeed, the #1 Relay is the only 5-pin, but they (5-pin/"C" pattern) can be installed in every position, and therefor moved about freely as necessary. $10.80 each? Yikes! Why not just get them for $3.91 each from onlinecomponents, fill every slot and have an extra set?

Hi Randy, they don’t list the Moto Guzzi V11 on the website, but they have a templet for it on file, at least for my model 2001. They made them for me the same day and I received them in two days. They were nice enough to add a center tank protector for an additional $5. The ones I have are made from their Snake Skin material. Give them a call and tell them the year and model and they’ll help you: www.techspec-usa.com Ph: 775-783-5110 Good luck!

My brains hurting now Ciao

DeOxit is magic in a can. Trust me on this. Your Siemans relays are OEM, and known to fail. I have a drawer full of them that I've replaced on Guzzis. Get some good relays, take apart electrical connections, squirt some DeOxit on them, insert, wiggle around.. oh you know.. do a tuneup, and you'll be good to go. Welcome to the best place on Earth if you have a V11S, btw..

Hey Al, Glad to see you back here in the flesh; Your post may have been 12 years old, but thanks for leaving the trail of bread crumbs, it was just the right info and fix that I needed. Tks Kelly

I'm sure I have a thread on here somewhere about the external pump and internal pump tank capacity and dimensional differences when I was chasing the vapor lock issues and finally just went out and bought a used 2003 internal pump tank and retrofitted it to my 2002. Although I obviously had to modify the fuel lines and electrical connections, which was trivial, the tank itself dropped right on with no modifications. So although I doubt the 2003+ tanks will fit a short frame bike, the 2003 tank will fit a long frame 2002 bike with no problem. What I also noted back then, even before the swap, was that the 2002 tank looked a bit too short at the nose on the bike to me, especially when looking at earlier bikes. This turned out to be because the long frame extension apparently was done at the head tube, and created a larger gap between the nose of the tank and head tube than was present on the short frame bikes. When I installed the longer 2003 tank, that unsightly gap between the nose of the 2002 tank and head tube closed up and looked better, more like the short frame bikes.

Swapped # 2 & 3 relays and went for a short 5 mile spin. Seems to be running normal now, but it's much cooler at 11pm in Ohio. I'm thinking that I siphoned old gas out in April and refilled with new, but, I have CRS syndrome. Maybe I'll siphon it now and put new in just to be sure.

Thanks Docc, she is a cream puff. Picked her up 5 years ago with 12.5k in York Pa off a cool old Millwright. I just received a Motion Pro carb synch tool that I think should help, and have a Fluke DMM to measure tps. I will swap #3 to #2. They are Siemens A1001-A402's. I will check on the Omrons, thanks.

I pulled all relays and #2 had a lil verdigris between base and relay, but, not severe I thought. Cleaned said verdigris up and sprayed all fems with WD 40 & plugged back in. 30 amp fuse did show a lil heat, some slight distortion (bubbling) near top of fuse body. Replaced it with new.

Thanks Bbennett , Tomchri & Lucky Phil. Having read this thread I shoulda checked this first! I just checked battery: ign. off-12.98v; 1k rpm idle-12.72v; 3k rpm-14.22v ; 6k rpm-14.52v. 2 year old Optima PC 545 battery and connections were tight.

I've got to write all this relay troubleshooting down on a plasticised card and carry it on the bike. Ciao

Yeah, been running one for a few years now. I machined up the housing for it to replace out the old chrome one. Later I met a local entrepreneur who runs and owns Purpose built moto and he now makes them and sells them as part of of the Flashpoint series. He also has a couple of dealers around the world too. Have a look at his website.. https://purposebuiltmoto.com/ Sent from my ELE-L29 using Tapatalk

Yep definitely winter now!. Guzzi work continues. At 65000 kms I am pulling the ohlins rear shock for its first service. Why not since everything else around it is on the bench. I think it just makes me happy about not pulling the swingarm bearings yet............. The St4s is a fine machine. Highly underrated is the ST series from Ducati.

+1 more on O2V11's reply about the correct volumes.

4corsa, You need to put more oil in your gearbox, I put 850 ml in mine. The diff holds 370 ml. Rob

I'm about to re-assmeble with new Scudd spring. Can anyone tell me if this rotating plate needs to be in a specific position? Could not see it during disassembly. Thanks.

You're speaking of belfastguzzi's thread? He was an early pioneer of dealing with the failed springs, even changing one on the roadside! Rather surprising, but his image links look to still be up . . . Also worth referencing is LuckyPhil's outstanding thread "V11 Shift Improvement" . . .

Hi Bridge Oh, what an introduction! I applaud your introspection - heartfelt, insightful and with a lovely hint of hard-earned wisdom and world weary resignation looking back on love once lost. That futile sweet and sour journey of having moved on, moving forward embracing the future - and yet the yearning to feel the embrace that first inflamed your senses lingered. I hear you man. It’s indeed a rare event that the planets align perfectly and paths intersect for a second chance... She’s a beauty. Don’t blow it this time! 🍻

Why does everyone else's bike look PERFECT ?

I'm happy to report that the bike has been recovered. There is some damage to the ignition, seat and turn signal. It's still in the tow lot and I haven't gotten to check it out yet.

Isn't that like asking what a Scotsman wears under his kilt, or an Irish roadracer wears under his leathers? (Okay, okay, my brackets are inboard like NicoNZ's)

They look prestine! You have me thinking about getting the Guzzi valve covers..

Somehow I dont think Al is around now 12 years after making that post. I'm sure he appreciates the gesture though wherever he is:) Ciao

Al, Thank you so much for taking the time to post these links showing how to Pull the fuel line,,,then Pull the grey female cover on the connector to get it to disconnect and release. I read about guys on here struggling with the quick release fuel connector,,, but I had done that frustrating dance on my California Vintage for hours until I luckily found a video on youtube showing how to push, then squeeze and wiggle, it was easy once I learned the technique, I thought my V11 was the same style and would be easy,,,,, aarrgghhh, it's completely backwards, I was getting nowhere with it. I've got a bunch of little jobs to do and I needed the tank off,,, it wasn't happening until I found your post. thank you for saving me hours of frustration Kelly

I kinda doubt that bike exists for sale. The kind of ad that smacks of fraud. I could be wrong. Lots of other reasons why it’s half price....

Sometime last night my 2002 Lemans was stolen out of my garage in St Louis Missouri. Red and grey color scheme. Rich Maund seat. 44,000 mile Please keep a look out. attached is a recent photo. If you see it or hear of it, please contact the police Thanks Todd Davis St Louis Mo, USA