mikie

It was a bad realy connection (fuel pump relay) that had me pushing my bike the last mile to work a couple of weeks ago. Fixed that up and it's been fine ever since.

[That.. and the current relays, as the original relays are problematic. For ~$30 you can replace them all.] I was going to pick up a spare relay last weekend at ProItalia, until the parts guy quoted me a price of $37.00 for one! Where do you get them?

The owner of Frog Specialties is a friend of mine, and I've used a lot of his products on various bikes. With respect to the turn signals, whenever I've mounted them on a bike, they looked great!!! Unfortunately, I often got comments from riding buddies that they weren't very visible when turned on, so I frequently coupled them with hand signals. If you're into the pose factor, though, you can't go wrong with any of these.

I saw this topic after posting my electrical problems topic a few minutes ago. Just wondered whether the motor was turning or not when you were attempting to start it?

I rode the bike (V11 LeMans) to the office yesterday and while cruising along it stalled and then turned over but wouldn't start. When turning on the ignition, I noticed the fuel pump wasn't turning on. Ended up pushing the bike the remaining 1/2 mile to work. Later in the day I checked the fuses (all were fine) and was going to look at the relay connections but couldn't figure how to do this, so just tapped everything and made sure to the best of my limited abilities that all was tightened down properly. In the end, the bike started. On the way home it stalled again while riding, but then started up. I was thinking of going to WSB in Monterey this weekend, but am now a little leary about riding the MG up there for fear of being stranded somewhere. Any experiences or suggestions would be appreciated.

I just had the same problem fixed under warranty. At first it was thought to be the tranny seal, as I was told that Guzzi used inferior sealant and it's a common problem. When they started working on it, though, they discovered a faulty bolt was the cause, so one was ordered, and now the leak is gone. Good luck.

I presently have 3400 miles on the stock 020's, and it appears I'll have to change both of them within 1000 miles. But I'll probably go with the same ones, as they feel just fine to me.

Looking at the MG Cycle website, it looks like you can buy this kit (4 bearings and 8 washers) for about $30 instead of the $120 that the dealer quoted me, unless I'm missing something he said. No one here has tried this yet, eh?

I'm not very mechanically minded (I should begin all of my posts with that line); however, I was looking at an interesting set of berings and washers developed - so he said - by Matt Capri at South Bay Motorsports last week when my bike was there for some warranty work. He said that these go inside each rocker arm on the Guzzi, so there are four sets per bike (bering sandwiched between two washers), and that they tighten up the clearance so the valves don't bang so hard against the rocker arms. He also claims that these quiet the valve noise down significantly and prolong the valve life while making the adjustment requirements much less frequent. Might this be a solution for the above-mentioned problem, and has anyone on list had experience with this and endorse this modification? Total cost is $120 for parts plus one hour labor.

This is good information to have - thanks for passing it on. I've heard somewhere about an external filter kit that can be bought for these applications. Would that be a fix to this problem?

I use Honda Spray & Shine cleaner - kind of like Plexus, but I like it better, as it doesn't seem greasy. It works great on all surfaces, and no water is required.

Thanks for the input and the cautions. I was going to buy a filter tool from Proitalia, until I discovered they want $111.00 for it, at which time I figured I could scrounge something else up that would do. While I haven't yet changed the oil/filter on my Guzzi, I kinda thought the process might be frought with issues that are not common on other bikes. I guess I'd better pick up a workshop manual.

Will someone please tell me the size of oil filter wrench I need to buy for the '02 LeMans? I had a friend who owns a machine shop make me a very nice hex tool for access, so now I just need a normal socket for the filter. Thanks in advance.

My many previous bikes' (mostly Hondas) owner manuals also gave wide intervals between oil change recommendations. As I recall, the intervals suggested for my CBR 929 was around 8,000 miles, which of course I didn't adhere to. For warranty purposes you're safe doing what the manufacturer suggests, but my own comfort level dictates that I change oil and filter every 3,000 miles. That's why I don't bother with synthetics.

Try going to this website, and click on Frog Eyes turn signals. The owner is a friend of mine and I've had numerous sets of his turnsignals on my bikes - they look good and work well. http://www.frogspecialties.com/ Mike

It's too bad Manley Cycle isn't a bit closer to Pasadena, or they'd certainly get some business from me - they sound like they know what it's about. Yes, the other Mike and I are in agreement, as whenever this type of modification is done it generally needs some compensation in fuel delivery, one way or another. (I don't suppose you're the same Mike Stewart who used to sing with We Five?) Mike

When I've experienced problems like this on other bikes, after messing around with the exhaust or airbox, I've usually found that corrections could be done by either rejetting or, in this case, installing a power commander with a proper program. If you haven't done the power commander thing yet, you should probably give it a try. Mike

The way I interepret your post, Rudi, is that the Gianelli mufflers won't allow the use of passenger pegs if they are mounted the way nature intended; however, if they're mounted with the Guzzi's bracket rather than the Gianelli's bracket, and a lot of jerry-rigging and futzing around, the passenger pegs can remain. Is that correct? Thanks to all (excepting the "thread hijacker", of course ) for the replies thus far. Mike

I'm about to spring for aftermarket silencers, and the ones I'm leaning toward are Gianelli's. I've heard, however, that the rear passenger pegs need to disappear if I use these, and as I sometimes take passengers with me, that would not be a good thing. Both of the local dealers that carry these do not know the answer. I would appreciate hearing from anyone who uses these mufflers as to whether they were able to retain their passenger pegs, and if so, whether the position had to be altered much.

Hi, As a fellow newbie to Guzzi's and to this website, I can certainly empathize with your having to adjust to the distinct character of this bike. I bought my new '02 LeMans a couple of weeks ago, and prior to that my bike was a Honda 929. What a difference!!! But I went on my first long ride on it through the local canyons yesterday, and I really like this bike a lot, quirks and all, and I'm looking forward to a much longer relationship with it than I've had with my many previous bikes. I hope your experience is similar. Mike

This looks like an interesting exhaust, but personally I'll stick with nice, relatively conservative aftermarket slip-ons. So if anyone wants to get this and would like to sell their used Mistrals, Staintunes, etc. for my brand new '02 LeMans, drop me an email at mstamm@earthlink.net