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Rick’s Garage-mahal thx Rick for the awesome ride back to home base.

Me at 15.1/2 and my 1970 Honda CL100 in 1971. Been riding ever since.

My 1st bike and what I learned to ride on in 1964 ( not my actual bike) ...1964 C114 50cc "sports Cub"..Indistructible..the most fun I ever had. ..Well almost

KY Spine Raid cookout

I've been running a BC LiFePO4 battery in my V11 for the last 7 years. It is 1 size smaller than BC recommend for a V11 (mine is a BCTZ14S-FP-S 12V, 54Wh) but I needed this size to fit in the Ghezzi Brian tail. It is incredibly light. It puts out loads of cranking amps. I measured it using special resistive shunt and an oscilloscope, and the initial peak current was nearly 500A before it rapidly subsided as the engine cranked over. Yes they do seem to put out less current when cold so I agree with previous comments. But they do keep their charge remarkably better than a lead type, assuming there is little or no small leakage current to drain them. One thing to bear in mind is that their capacity is not as large (they are, after all a fraction of the weight and about half to 1/3rd of the volume). The 12V, 54Whr of the LiFePO4 battery corresponds to 4.5 Ampere-hours, while the original equipment lead battery fitted is 13Ah. This is really only required to make the lead battery big enough to reduce its internal resistance so it can give enough cranking amps. The LiFePO4 battery can do this from a much smaller size because it has a fundamentally much smaller internal resistance. Obviously, you don't need much capacity to start, so the smaller capacity is fine, but if anything does drain the battery while it is not charging (like leaving the parking lights on when parked or if your charging circuit has a fault) the battery will become flat about 3 times quicker. I have a voltmeter fitted to the dashboard so I can see exactly when it is charging as I have had overheating problems with the small 30A charging mini fuse holder but I have cured this by putting in a new, much larger, Maxi fuse-holder on a dedicated flying lead that is capable of taking 100A fuses: obviously I still only put in a 30A fuse but it has cured the tendency for the charging circuit to fail due to degradation of the fuse holder contacts. This brings me to my last point which is that when I put the bike on its intelligent charger its self diagnostic does not like the leakage current the bike takes and it says the battery is faulty. This is due to leakage current through the diodes of the alternator rectifier (I think more modern bike rectifiers have diodes with much lower leakage current), so I remove the 30A fuse to isolate it and all is well. This would seem to me to be a good precaution if you use a LiFePO4 battery if it is being laid up for any time, whether you put it on the a maintenance charger or not. In fact, for a standard V11 the rectifier is probably the only significant current drain and once this is removed, the LiFePO4 battery seems to maintain charge almost indefinitely.

Thanks folks, I will order a new switch tommorrow. Got the old one off and i am now replacing the tank to pump fuel hose. This forum is great. I would be lost without it

I’ve had it for 51 years!

Almost certainly what Chuck said The switches are well known failure points. If it was my bike, I'd order a new switch, but I wouldn't run the bike until I confirmed it, or put on a temp pressure gauge to confirm the engine pressure is good. Almost certainly the switch but even with the odds in my favour I wouldn't take a chance (but that's just me). Another quick and dirty (literally) check would be to remove one of the head feeds or the switch and whirl it over on the starter, you'll soon know if engine pressure is good.............hint wear coveralls and old boots Pulling the wires off the switch confirms that the wiring and connectors are fine, it doesn't tell you anything about the pressure Good luck with it

And you're still alive. Well done!! Ok, I'm just jealous....

That be the motor my dad used in the minibike built for a 14 y/o using a frame just like this

I've had Shorai batteries on all my bikes for the last 12 years..Norton's,KTM's,Harley's,Ducati's , triumphs,BMW's, Aprilias,Moto Guzzi's...Probably more than 15 bikes..I have had nothing but great use from them.., they crank exceptionally well.I wouldn't have anything else. The only people I know to have problems with them are people who don't follow the charging instructions that comes with them , or..if they happen to let it go totally dead the people don't follow the instructions on how to wake them up..which Shorai will gladly send to you if you call them...They are easy and simple to maintain if you read the instructions. As far as I am concerned..buying one of their charger's will be well worth it in the long run.., they are about $60 USD As Marty Said..When its cold.turn the key and lights on without starting for a few seconds to wake them up..and then then off for a second and before strarting they will give you a stronger crank.

Josh, thx for making it to the inaugural spring KSR! The V7 Sport looked and ran awesome 😎.

Class begins……

Those things sounded crazy. All of them, regardless of the engine capacity. Fantastic. Over the years I did a lot of work for one particular event technology hire company here in Germany. One of the founders rode motorcycles, and had a Kawasaki 750 triple. He managed to claim it on his tax return for a very long time as a "musical instrument".

Heh he I remember an ole mate from school dropping round to show me his new to him H1 500.... It was an early one like Footgoose's too. This would've been in the late seventies but I can clearly remember the NOISE the blue 2 stroke haze and ole mate disappearing up the street at a RAPID rate o knots! As the beach was about 300 metres away he quickly learned about the Kwak's brakes or lack of them.... He did get it stopped in time and the sound of him howling off down Marine Parade could be heard for bloody ages! Ah another wee trip down memory lane! Cheers

Yes, it's the switch.

Ecco questa è stata la mia prima “moto”!!! (representative pic) sono immagini di repertorio trovate sul web ma il mio è esattamente così si tratta di un Cimatti bat baby del 1973. L’ho guidato per la prima volta all’età di 5 anni…era fantastico!!! Il motore che monta, è il classico Franco Morini della serie S 5 (esse cinque), monomarcia con frizione automatica in bagno d'olio. É ancora in mio possesso ma necessita di un restauro. Allo stato mi manca lo schienale ed il “db killer” 🤣🤣🤣 This was my first “motorcycle”!!! they are archive images found on the web but mine is exactly like this it is a 1973 Cimatti bat baby. I drove it for the first time at the age of 5…it was fantastic!!! The engine it mounts is the classic Franco Morini of the S 5 series (these five), single speed with automatic clutch in oil bath. It is still in my possession but needs restoration. Currently I miss the backrest and the "dbkiller" 🤣🤣🤣

With an over-voltage failure like that, watch your relays for signs of damage and malfunction . . .

Look at this: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lithium_iron_phosphate_battery#Safety The batteries that are sold for automotive use, i.e. also the ones as replacement for lead-acid motorcycle batteries, are all LiFePO4 They can be considered safe. The ones that have made it in to the various media reports because of fires in laptops and aeroplanes and so on were, as far as I know, other types of lithium battery. I have heard of a couple of instances of a LiFePO4 battery overheating. One in particular was in an SP 1000 Cafe Racer. I've seen the bike; it is a nice custom, but I reckon the bloke was counting the bucks when he did it. I assume the charging system was original, and not renovated. The battery was, I reckon, too small. I believe it was around 4 Ah. . Probably chosen more for price than anything else. Note that the battery overheated and started letting out the magic gray smoke, but did not catch fire. My theory is, the battery was undersized. It could start the bike, but was fairly discharged as a result. When the bike got running, the battery was pulling heaps of current out of the charging system, and getting warm as a result. Maybe the voltage was a bit high, too. The conclusions I drew from the story were, first, make sure you know what your charging system is delivering, and that it is ok for the lithium battery, and secondly, don't choose a battery that is too small, i.e. not the one that can just manage to turn the starter with no reserves. That way, the battery won't be sucked flat by the start process, and wont be trying to draw as much power to get charged back up. The theory is based in part on what is written here: https://www.silent-hektik.de/SH_LiMa.htm I've got one of those alternators in the V35 Imola (it makes a lovely whirring noise like the blower on the black Ford coupe in the first Mad Max movie...). The battery is still a Gel lead-acid one, but I reckon I'll be putting a lithium battery in there the next time it needs a battery. This is the first bit of the text under the banner "Technische Details" etc. . So, once again, I'm convinced the LiFePO4 batteries are safe to use, but a little more attention to the charging system is neccesary, and one shouldn't pinch the pennies when choosing the battery. Buy one that is big enough to have a bit of reserve.

Slovenian police

Another one

Oh mate, I've still got mine, almost factory perfect as I described before. Only non-factory mod is the MPH bar risers as described in https://mphcycles.com/handle-bar-risers/. You won't find another one that looks any better and I venture to say it would be worth the trip to Virginia to see in person. New tires installed and the elusive factory rear rack included as shown in 1st three pics of google photo link. https://photos.app.goo.gl/ergoERzXaEie8jiV8

Got a Shorai in the 1100 Sport bike, I used it due to space constaints and it works fine. The only problem I sometimes have is going from store to charge, I get repeated failures on the charger and I've got to reset it 10 or more, which gets tedious. It always gets there eventually. I don't ride at low temps so cannot comment on that but it's well documented. As said the batteries require balance charging to prolong life and anything longer than a few weeks off the road, I put the battery into Storage mode. LiFe give greater CCA but have reduced Ah capacity and I also balance charge it with a small hand held unit Shorai sent me. LiFe so I'm informed also prefer a slightly lower charging voltage, but my expereince so far is positive

Would love to have watched...there's so much to see and learn. Nothing beats experience.

I've never been a fan, but I needed a light weight at all costs battery for my little homebuilt airplane. Did the research and found one about the right size and cranking amps. It weighs practically nothing. Since I needed it to mount it and leave room for all the other things on the firewall, I bought it first. From the time I bought it until first start was about a year and a half. Cranked right up.

Hope springs eternal! But, whatever the weather, watching those who know what they’re doing wrench V 11’s in the garage is pretty fun and fun, too. Bill

@guzzler Mine has 78 HP on the chassis dyno and it's got a pipe and PC. I don't know what it weighs with me on it, perhaps over the limit? It's gotta a nice power curve matched to the transmission and is a hoot to ride. agree that nice bikes aren't losing any money. It's a classic for what it is. Nothing looks better, sounds better, or handles much better for that size.

G'day folk's. I've been reading the March issue of Bike magazine. There's a piece in it about our V11's being classy/ good looking and overlooked... Also reckon's in the UK prices are round the 6 k mark and rising! He does mention the weight and that performance is underwhelming but charming, yet in another part of the mag they test the new Norton 961 and are complimentary about it's 77 horsepower and 230kilo weight! My V11 has roughly 84 at the wheel and weight of about 215 ish dry and I'm pretty happy with it and have no problem with it's weight either on the move or in the garage! Certainly don't want or need a 200h/p sub 200kg guided missile that has to be neutered so mere mortals can ride it to the shops! Anyhoo sounds like more folk are starting to notice our bikes! Cheers

Here is the picture that Revilo put in his post. His link is to a GIMP image. Not everyone has GIMP, so I exported it as a JPEG. @Revilo bear with it. Best of luck with the restoration.

There was never a question about when, only about how many. It'll take a minute to run through the quoting process, as materials, supply chain, and labor rates have all increased substantially since the first batch. I'm already on it.

Check voltage regulator, main fuse and relays. Also check all your grounds. My tach died by the same method, wires detached from posts with some burning around the solder joints. I don't have the hands of a surgeon and my resoldering attempts were unsuccessful. A bad ground likely fried my Voltage Regulator. I was returning from a long ride when the tach died, when I got home and pulled the seat I had 18 volts across the battery terminals and a melted 30A fuse! Fortunately I didn't incur any other electrical damage and my ecu survived. Grounding issues are now fixed, voltage in check and I'm getting the 'right' frequency off the tach wire but haven't put a replacement tach in to confirm. Good luck!

Sadly I don't have my own picture, but this '78 DT400 was my starter bike. I sold it after it seized because of failure of the oil pump. Being a poor student I had no money to repair it.

The separation might not have been so “recent” if that mop is any indication...

First "real" street bike. Recent separation from the Army. '69 H1 500 Dad-built Honda powered Rupp was the true first.

i've got this Daytona...

First licenced street bike at 16 was a souped up 100ccm Zundapp. Sailor for a while, and a new Suzuki 500. Along comes 750 Kawasaki H2, very simple had to be had. First Le Mans ll in 84. As younger multiple bush bikes ripped of everything not needed. Tempo, Villiers, NSU, Royal Enfield. Almost for free those days. Cheers Tom. Sent fra min SM-S906B via Tapatalk

Here's a nice video about my first bike, the CB 350-Four

And here are some photos of the bike as he continued to transform the Lemans into his vision of a cafe-styled retro bike

Finally got to ride one. White Base Model. The bike rips and I only had it in T mode. I got it well over 90 criss crossing traffic in a couple of miles of city Interstate. Certainly faster than any Guzzi I've ridden. Didn't quite feel like a Guzzi, I didn't notice any torque dip with the throttle. The bike was little more upright -I could use a little more rear tuck with the pegs. It was stable in traffic, great pick up from the engine and sharp brakes. So far as handling, I didn't have a chance to run it in many curves, the riding position could be better IMO with a little more leverage for the pegs. No doubt that's a rider's preference deal. In tour mode those little wings deployed and the bike was stable in very strong sidewind. The owner told me that he could feel the difference when the active aero was on. I'd say the closest bike would be the Yamaha 900 sport tourer in feel and performance. The only thing I didn't like was chintzy header covers. They just gotten the Green one in presold.

The V11 came out of hibernation yesterday and took a few shots. Took this YT video also with some gratuitous blipping. No motorcycle sounds better to my ears.

Approximately 2 years later...

Believe it or not, but this is how it looks now... Only the frame, gearbox and drive-shaft are still original

Time to show a picture of what my V11LM looked like