Gmc28

Interesting and odd week for all, including us Oregonians…(activepop) i left Great Falls Montana Wednesday, where it as 42f when i arrived day before, dropped to 11f but with wind when we left (that wind is a killer), and by friday it was -31 there at Great Falls plus a nasty breeze. -5 at our office in Fairbanks, which is a balmy day for them, but to have so many places down south be colder was the weird thing. But then i saw its snowing out your direction Docc…. Now thats what gets my attention. back to gray and rain soon here in Oregon, but not quite yet. Gotta head to denver soon to stash a new-to-me v85tt till the weather breaks in the spring.

I’m not a big camping fan unless a) there are no people around me, and b) its cool/cold outside, so that a warm sleeping bag can warm me up, vs the inability to ever cool off if its too hot. So i camp in alaska and northern canada, but not often elsewhere. John day in late june…. Probably quite warm or hot. I guess my Norwegian blood likes the cold air. So for now I’m at the best western, burning some Chase points. for what its worth, when i last rode through that area, after staying at Sylvies on a moto ride with a buddy from Bend, we took NF16 east from Seneca area, and there was some nice looking camping areas up that direction. Not that far, but presumably too far to ride to camp after an event at john day. I just liked that it was more remote and scenic. I see a couple NFS campgrounds listed up in that area which might be ok, not sure.

Agreed. When younger i would have openly scorned trailering a bike, but now accept that its different strokes for different folks, and fit the tool to the job. Meaning, ride there, but there are lots of variables, so whatever works. I assume at some point I gotta do the southern spine raid to meet some of the good folks on this forum, but no way i have time to ride from oregon to wherever it is out east where that happens (till retirement becomes realistic), so it’ll be a “fly-n-rent” visit. My alaska buddy has done the AlCan more than most, been-there-done-that, but has an old Stornello to pick up and a van to get south, so I’m assuming he’ll be trailering. You texans making the ride…. That’ll be long but excellent! No question that I’m jealous. My new-to-me V85tt will live on the road. I don’t have time to do the round trips I’d like to do, so i ride one-ways, then leave the bike and airline home. Repeat. The old KTM lived in alaska the last 5-6 yrs for that purpose, now its home in my shop all dolled-up to sell, and the V85 will replace it as the next itinerant use bike, probably based in CO for a while. back to the john day topic, i checked pricing at Silvies Valley Ranch , straight south from John Day about half an hour or so, in a sort of odd but nifty spot, but was dumbfounded by the price. It’s a neat place, but as i recall it was round $450/night, or up from there based on the room. Suffice to say that I’d recommend it for out of state visitors for a night, as it’s a cool place to stay, but not at that price, unless price is no object. If you’re an avid golfer, it’s got a great golf track out there in the middle of nowhere, and I’m told they can set you up with a goat as a bag caddy. I’ve not done that goat thing nor played the course, but enjoyed a night there on the V11 a few years back, poking around that area in the late season, and had a nice stay and a couple great meals. also a lot of great ADV riding out in eastern oregon, with a couple spots where its easy to jump onto the ORBDR for a short or long way, for those on that kind of bike. And i guess for what its worth, as an Oregonian I’ll offer to the forum that if someone needs a place to leave or fix a bike for some reason for the trip, I’m about 45 mins from Portland airport and have a large shop…. (But its still about 5hrs from John Day)

Perfect. You went black… I like that. But I also see I didn’t think to paint the backside of the fly-screen fairing. Didn’t occur to me till I saw yours. And which mirrors do you have? I think you’ve noted which they are in other posts. I forgot how beautiful your greenie is. Will stare more at some of your photos for ideas. Where’d you source that top stainless yoke nut? I’ve got some likely sources here local that I can check.

That’s a great idea

Hi Phil- that’s what I was thinking. I got the bike that way, and I think that’s what I’ll do (paint), though the chrome finish will be another thing.

Freed up another small chunk of time for Greenie today… so wandered out and popped the Stucchi fly screen on. ”Popped” is a stretch of a term, because what I figured would be an easy afternoon in the shop with a game on in the background and messing with the fly screen and then other stuff, turned into a few hours of me getting some good curse-word practice. Not hard, just a bigger production than I had figured. Fuel tank + body bits next. valves are done, so decent tune-up with the laptop magic will follow after that. The pic with the speedo shows the poor cosmetic condition of triple tree area, which I need to work on, somehow.

Confirmed my alaska buddy is driving down in a van, as he’s moving to lower 48, in retirement. He bought a Stornello, i think in Washington, and I’m assuming he’ll trailer that to John Day. He’s then driving to New York. Retirement life. Back to the AK route briefly, the Alcan and the Cassiar are both good, but are different. I’d want additional time to peel off over to Prince Rupert area, and side trips like that, if I were to do the Cassiar again. Alcan is just a matter of trying to do it when its not too busy. For P6x thoughts on variation…. I’m in process of buying a V85tt out in Denver. Looking at where I’ll try and store it till the weather brakes (spring). But for John Day it would be the V11 for sure… a perfect trip for me on Red, about a 5hr run, via several nice route options. I was surprised at how comfortable i was on the V11 when going from Texas to oregon a few years ago, but i still prefer an ADV type bike with larger windscreen for long treks, and prefer the V11’s for the weekend/shorter trips. And my Multistrada Enduro is getting nervous in the corner of the shop, sensing that I’m looking at the new Stelvio as a possible replacement.

Sorry for late reply - I’ll ask if he’s riding or flying… he’s got a bike or two down south here, so he may just be flying down then riding. I used to leave a bike up there for the same reason, that it takes so long to get back and forth that it makes it prohibitive to be able to enjoy the riding up there. Last year I brought my bike down the AlCan, and in years past have done the Cassiar. AlCan was a great run, and I’ll admit I had been blind to how nice it was, after assuming for years (decades) that it was another version of the Cassiar but more crowded. Not so… the Cassiar is nice and has its own charms, but the AlCan has the Canadian Rockies that put it in a different category. For what it’s worth, i can offer a few thoughts, perhaps mostly on a different thread or message. In short, most of the important details are readily available, like: careful fuel planning and including carrying an extra reserve strapped onto bike just in case (there’s plenty of fuel, but sometimes further apart and sometimes not open when you need it). Look at the “milepost” publication for guidance on fuel and sightseeing stop, an online guide (used to be published, and probably still available in hard copy). And the obvious great things to see are indeed great to see, like the Banf-Jasper area, and the northern Rockies lodge & environs (and nice place to stay). Up toward Carcross there are some choices, like heading up toward Whitehorse (which is fun), and/or heading down the lovely one-way-in/out Atlin. Then I usually have spent a night at Discovery Yukon Lodge on my way up toward “the big part of” alaska, after spending some time poking around Destruction Bay (south of there). I’m already writing too much, but there’s more to say, so I’ll call it good for this string. Oh, except to say that taking the ferry back down south at the end of such a trip, from Haines or skagway (to prince rupert, or Vancouver, etc), with the bike, is a hassle to set up, and takes a ton of time, is now foolishly expensive, but its quite enjoyable.

Fair enough. Zero question that all such things are simply in the eye of the beholder. For me, the stock signals have always been somewhat of an eye sore, looking a bit hokey and out of place, from the first day years ago when I saw my friends otherwise beautiful V11. But I also don’t like the look of most obvious mods. It’s mostly a “who cares” thing, but i happen to need to repair the signals on greenie anyway, so I’m wading in to trying to figure out what I actually like, which is something that isn’t the stock setup, but also which blends/fits in. Those little black ones on back are probably a bit too small for my preference, and maybe too “brit-bike”…

My jury is still out on those little LED’s on the back end. I like that they’re less gaudy, but not necessarily a home run. Price wise they are nice, as compared to the nicer, slightly larger but similar option from a British retro bike site. The ‘03+ signals on front (or in any position) look slightly but clearly better to me. In the eye of the beholder. Fly screen going on soon on the front. Which sort of changes the look, but not having the old yellow signals stick way out there is a good step in my humble opinion.

confirmed - the '03 and later signals fit, as expected. the damaged signals on back are now a retro-look LED, and up front its the '03 signals minus the metal spacer, which I think cleans up the look. jury is out on the rear retro signals... not sure i'll keep those. pics may follow for those interested.

excellent route. Million dollar highway i wrote off as too crowded to do any more, but caught it on a fall day, midweek, cold, clear after morning frost (and thaw), and it was magnificent. In june I’d think hard about being out the door with the sunrise for that run, and I’m not a natural early riser. That whole route you laid out is really top notch. For ADV riders, there’s a lot of great stuff in central and eastern oregon as well. I’m in oregon, so have no excuse to miss the gathering other than work emergencies, so I’m planning to shoot out there. Heard about it being in my own back yard from an old guzzi friend in Alaska, who’s coming down for it.

Thanks, and makes sense. Was chewing on whether to try and stay “authentic” and stock on this very-low-miles greenie, or improve a thing or two along the way. Have half-hearted leaned toward staying authentic, but I got the bike with pods and bar end mirrors already installed, so have become more inclined to mod little things that are easily reversed back to stock, and the signals are one of those, if done right. I see lots of info on the LED conversion, and I’ve converted other bikes with little issue, but seems more of a process on the V11’s. And its not a daily rider, so I don’t think i care about the LED advantages, which leaves me with a couple after market halogen options, like the 2003+ signals which look slightly less dorky in pictures, or some of the brit bike sites that have some nifty looking options that fit the look of the bike, and look like they’ll be almost “plug and play” for fit, but are pretty spendy.

Bumping my old topic, as greenie slowly starts getting some attention again... Anyone know if '03 lemans turn signals fit on the older Lemans or sports (99-02)? In pictures on MGcycle the signals for the '03+ look a little less ugly, so am thinking about those as an option. Looking at other options too, but am curious if anyone knows if the later model signals will work as an option. Re-assembling the speedo cluster and addressing some of the little issues there. On the triple tree the paint is not looking so great (common), but more concerning is the bit of rust on the chromed center... about 1/3 of it is just rust w/no chrome. Noodling how to address that.

Touché, absolutely. My evil twin, my alter ego. Truth is I unabashedly lobbed that question in as a lazy attempt to divine the answer that I knew had been answered at some point previously, which I noted. I just forgot which thread it was in or the right search terms for that topic. I’ll accept the requisite scolding for my laziness.🤭

Well hold on here docc… First, is that an MC mic in the foreground? And what’s the rock n run story (a different thread somewhere?). And can u remind me where you proposed I put that air sensor from the sport, that on my greenie was taped to an empty water bottle under the tank?😎

Finally got back to working on greenie, after waaayyy too long of letting it sit on the rack. Finished valves (well, just confirmed they were adjusted, as it appears I did them earlier and forgot). Valve covers and valpolinis back on, awaiting new head protectors. cleaning up one small area of rust where the PO bad storage season caused the rust. Re-assembling Speedo. next gotta go back and figure out what to do with that air sensor that’s floating (taped into an empty water bottle, from PO). I think docc or someone told me way back of a good place to affix that (it came with pods, so no air box). And then decide whether to tidy up the existing turn signals (1 bad housing, 1 bad bulb, one bent stem), or upgrade. Trick there is to find that will nicely fit the existing mount setup…. Will an ‘03 turn signal fit on a 99 sport mount? Looks the same (and still halogen).

Good eye scud…

fwiw, the stand I have my Greenie on is the shop lift type, hydraulic. I do have a couple stands of the type mentioned in this thread, though i rarely use them for the V11's (for no particular reason). I like the look of that becker-technic stand.... but I tend to have them up on the hydraulic stand for the "annual maintenance", or just on the side stand so they can get moved, started, and ridden, though I also ride the V11's very seldom in winter.

Ouch, 2 yrs! I’ve been feeling bad about only getting Red out on the road this summer for a handful of rides, my “least riding miles” year I’ve ever had. Came back from Mandello last week, where I rented a V85tt from Agostini’s (Lucca… good man), and had a great time on the back roads up behind Perledo, into Esino and back in that area. Motivated me to roll Red back out when i got home, re-installed the FOBO tire pressure monitors, put some fuel stabilizer in in anticipation of winter storage, and took her out for a lovely spin on our own great backroads near home. She’s sweet. Will assemble the misc items for her winter maintenance coming up in a couple months, albeit with only about 1000 miles put on her this year. Greenie still languishes on the stand. And scheming how to unload Greenie and Goldie to make room for a V85 or V100…

You Texans are crazy. Up here in rain country riding in the rain is often a necessity, but don’t think I’ve ever said “ah what the heck, i could drive, or ride a bike with a big windscreen to hide behind, but i think I’ll take the LeMans”. Good way to stay young? riding through big rain is one thing, but then getting back on that bike when you’re all wet is another level of “not fun”. I’ve had a couple surprise deluge’s in north Texas over the years, when passing through, and one consolation-prize with those thunderstorms was that i went from sweaty-hot, to “drowned rat”, to mostly dry again pretty quick, after exiting the storm into blue sky and hot, dry air. I don’t suppose you had that advantage on this ride…. In regard to the thread topic, I’m still moaning about lack of time to work on my V11’s, after spending too much time this summer getting my Alaskan KTM back into shape after years of it only getting dealer maintenance. So many rattles, leaks, and issues i’ve been cursing my way through fixing. Hopefully about done with that so i can get back to messing with Greenie restoration, and chasing down the no-start issues on Goldie. But Red is running excellent on my rare days of getting her out of the stable. Going out today for a bit, and not in the rain!

No time or priority these days for Goldie (02 lemans), as Red is (lovely) rider, and greenie is on the bench and needs more focused attention. But i need to run Goldie now and then, and it’s always a problem. Last year she’d start, but ran poorly. Then she wouldn’t start, and i couldn’t hear the fuel pump running, soi finally changed the fuel pump (a few months ago), then the fuel filter (last week), and now the damn starter is just “machine gun” clicking. Good voltage, and the friend i bought it from a few years ago says he replaced the starter not long ago. Will just have to dig in and figure it out. The old girl doesn’t like sitting, as she was rock-solid reliable when i was riding her regularly some years ago, but along came Red, the apple of my eye, and Goldies been just sitting for last few years, and every time i try and start her and run her something else doesn’t work…

Good eye. But i don’t think thats a short tank? Hand’s noticed the clip-on’s till you mentioned that. Looking closer…