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Red Wheels!


RichMaund

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...so aaaaaaaaaaanyway :rolleyes:

 

 

The red wheels look great Rich. I've been tempted to do the same, but I really can't think of a color other than maybe silver or gold that would look better than the stock black wheels on my Champagne colored Le Mans though. Red would certainly be a bit much on my bike I think.

 

Ah well, that indecision saves me a hundred or so bucks I guess, so no worries :lol:

 

But it certianly looks great, and a really good price to-boot!

 

al

 

 

P.S. -- BTW, Rich, I'd love to hear your thoughts on the valve wear issue I related from Mike Rich in the "dual plugging" thread.

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That's why I was sad to see Guzzi go with fuzzy black engine paint, black frames with cheesy plastic pieces to try to hide the frame. And then they went with chopped up color schemes that ruin the flow of the bike. The 2000 and 2001 bikes set a high standard in their style. They had no where to go from there but down, so down they went. Just my opinion. I was glad to see the changes for '03. Especially the new engine paint. But Man! I miss seeing the red frames!

 

Picture a metallic black Lemans with red frame and wheels and matching black Givi bags with red trim. NOW you're talking style AND function!  

 

 

...hey now, I'm offended :rolleyes:

 

I agree, even though I have one of those bikes with the "fuzzy black engine paint" and "black frames." I love the look of my bike, but I miss the red frames, and am glad to see solid color-schemes returning. And although my engine paint hasn't started to flake off, it is turning a more definite "grey" than black....

 

As I mentioned above, I love the powder-coated rims, but other than a muted "gold" I really can't think of a color other than black that goes with the color schemes my Champagne bike has. dunno...

 

...maybe one day I'll strip it all down and coat the frame red :P:

 

al

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Al

I found the posts on the valve guide wear fascinating. If they have a hardness problem, they will wear! Especially in the relatively high state of tune they're in for a air cooled twin.

My bike will use a half quart between changes. 10K+ miles. But I tend to attribute that to often using yellow line as a shift point. Run them hard, and you expect increased oil consumption. It has stayed steady like this since new. Hopefully no worries yet. If it ever approaches a quart of use between changes, it'll be time for testing and possibly a bit of top end work.

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Some of you folks put a lot more miles on your V11's than I do, so I'm interested in the valve train story as well. I'm also jealous Al got TiN coated valves. It just sounds cool enough to make me want to spend money. :blush:

 

So...what other options for wheels are there? I'm not disrespecting your's Rich, I'm just curious. Stock wheels are kind of heavy- has anyone changed out to lighter rims? I recall seeing something on Rick's website (webbikeworld.com) about a guy who was tricking out his V11.

 

Cheers,

Jason

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Stock wheels heavy? Not really. The dual disks weigh about as much as the front rim! I don't see it as a problem.

I went down one size on the width of the rear tire. I fitted a 160 vice the stock 170. With the rim width the way it is, that is much more appropriate to it. So now it'll handle better with the tire running at it's proper profile and with less un-sprung weight as well. The 160 tire weighs less than the 170.

Please don't try to tell me that larger tires offer more traction! If you never use up all the available traction as it is, having more available is useless! With 80 rear wheel horse power, a 160 width radial will give the bike all the traction it needs.

Bigger tires don't always handle better. They're just bigger. The larger size has it's own problems to deal with. More mass = more inertia. More sprung weight slows down suspension response. Everyone I have read about who used the narrower 160 tire on the stock 4.5" rear rim came away happier about it.

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Have a look at the Oz wheels on the Ghezzi & Brian website (I

suspect that very deep pockets will be needed).

 

...just a matter of personal taste of course, but I don't find the OZ wheels at G&B to be an attractive alternative for the Sport/LeMans. They look too angular to me, and seem to clash with the "swoopy" lines of the Sport, and especially the LeMans. Of course, others may disagree... and that's OK :)

 

And yes, I bet they are a "chunk o' change" :lol:

 

 

...but if you are looking for lighter wheels that could compliment the lines of the bike, another alternative is Dymag. I've seen a couple bikes with these rims, and they look quite nice, albeit mostly OEM looking... nothing radical. But as a caveat, I've also heard that it's horror to actually get your hands on them :wacko:

 

al

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