JesterGrin_1

What is terrible is I did not notice anything out of place at the TEXACO Station except for lack of business lol. And then I noticed the Oil tank top off pump lol.

I would be very interested in an Aluminum tank for my 02. So Yes please keep us informed.

What are the thoughts about the Loopers or so I think they are? You know the ones that were close to what the early and older HD FL's were? I know a good deal about the older HD's From Shovel down to knuck and without trying to hurt anyone's feelings they just really do not float my boat all that much as far as riding is concerned. I would not even be asking if it was not for this Hunk Of Junk 02 V11 LeMans and a crazy guy here that goes by Docc.

I wished to Thank You for the Video as it has pretty good sound and answered some of my sound questions on my 02 Le Mans as this is the first Gutzi I have owned or even been around to be honest. . The bad part is the longer I own it the more I get attached to it and its odd sounds.

I have to agree with Docc on this. It may have 3 relays but to myself it appears that in no way is this a factory installation.

By looking at these Wonderful pictures it makes me wish to ask if just a few came with complete stainless steel exhaust systems as it sure seems most header pipes I see are pretty dark instead of shiny stainless?

Very Glad to see that it is working out in the end. Well at least for another 75,000 miles

I have said it before and I will say it again. There is something to be said about Italian design.

Docc come on be honest you do a great job with re expression of poetic expression and or noticing the same. As people like myself are just lucky to be able to type lol. And if it makes sense WOW I am ahead of the game and find myself lucky once again lol.

Oil Cooler and just an FYI there is an Oil Thermostat available that does not take up a bunch of room. They are mainly used for High Performance VW Type 1 engines. Other then that I will have to reiterate what Docc said and that is simply WOW

How many tooth pics did you need or should I say boxes of the same lol. I ask since there is no picture of the brain bucket lol.

Well they look very nice. And you can look at it this way at 140 MPH you will be right at red line RPM's . Kind of wild that they set the gears up to match up with what the speedometer says at the top RPM lol. I could go on a rant on this very subject but no need lol.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/2PCS-BAY15D-1157-White-Car-Tail-Stop-Brake-Light-Super-Bright-33SMD-LED-Bulb-12V-/222314694159?hash=item33c2fd060f:g:yMgAAOSwal5YKdKh&vxp=mtr

The cheek pads will break in a bit. but you do not wish to have them too loose or you will have more side to side movement. But it also depends at what speeds you run at and how much you look around. Or to say the faster you go and the more your head is in the wind the tighter the lid needs to be.

Install the piston into the cylinder leaving the piston pin accessable and install the cylinder on the studs and slide it down until you can slip the pin through the piston and rod and fit the clip. Jobe done. Ciao Yeppers there you go.

A picture of that setup would sure be nice.

Well that is up to you lol. You can leave them on the connecting rods and then try and hold the cylinder correctly and slid them over the pistons but I have found doing so to be a pain lol. So yes I would just slide the pin through one side to remove the piston and then reassemble them on a bench that way you can clean everything easier and put on the new gaskets and everything else and then just slide everything back together. Just make sure to keep the pistons oriented in the correct direction. I have just never removed pistons from cylinders without replacing the rings with a new hone on the cylinders to enable the new rings to seat. As now when you reassemble the pistons into the cylinders the rings will have to seat themselves into cylinders again. And since they have been previously worn in I am not positive of there life span or if they will seat correctly for a good ring seal. But I have heard of people reusing rings. I have just never taken the chance.

Heck while you are there you could check the rod bearings and if there is no problems you could even replace them while you are there. You know just for grins. Whas this just a paint job or a rebuild.

So there she sits for another week while I will be away for work. But that gives me to time get some supplies. And I could use some advice, because this is first time I've put pistons in anything. I'm going to get new base and head gaskets (one of each was damaged during removal). It looks like a good idea to replace all the O-rings around the long studs - between block and cylinder, and up top, at the head. I'll get new O-rings for the access plugs on the heads. Questions: One of the top studs came out with the special cap-nut (the one under the oil line). Any worry there - or just separate them and reinstall the stud? How should I install the cylinders over the pistons? Please treat me like I don't know anything about this, because I don't. Tools... cleaning... assembly lube... what do I need to know? I know that you are the type that gets excited and just jumps straight into something but at times it helps to ask a few pointers before doing so lol. Like lets say pulling the cylinders off. I would have slid the cylinders up just far enough to slide the pin through the piston and out of the connecting rod so that the ring orientation and piston orientation would not change in the cylinder but oh well lol. That is if the piston pins are free floating of which I do believe they are. So since you are there I am a little torn on how I would go but to be honest I would probably check the size of the cylinder bores to make sure they are not to worn and then if good get a new set of rings and by going by the instructions from the ring manufacturer put a fresh cross hatch hone on the cylinders. And when you reassemble just use a regular high detergent oil and of coarse for maybe 1000 miles no synthetics to let things wear in again. I do fully agree in the use of all new gaskets since you are there but I would use a product called Gasgacinch Gasket Sealer http://gasgacinch.com/ as it is some great stuff and will greatly help to prevent leaks. OOPS sorry forgot these lol. For the pistons putting the pistons back in it depends lol. But I have found it far easier to set the top of the cylinder down on a bench top and with the piston situated going in from the bottom just simply use your fingers to help compress each piston ring to slide into the cylinder. And just leave as the needed room to be able to push the piston pin back into the rod and reinstall the circlips. Make sure everything has a coat of oil. Not running off just a good film. Also when wiping out the cylinders and cleaning these items use a paper towel not cloth. An Add On. If you do not wish to pull the pistons from the connecting rods then you can do the same thing as mentioned above by just sliding them back into the bores or you can borrow the correct size ring compressor from an auto parts store or even use a suitable size hose clamp around the piston and rings and just tighten the hose clamp just enough to enable you to slide the cylinder over the piston and rings. As for the studs I would do as you said and just reinstall them correctly with some of that Gasgacinch on the threads going into the block to help prevent oil seep going by the threads. But I am sorry as I do not know if these studs require a certain torque when being installed. But I would think just a snug tight would be fine or for what I would call a 1 finger snug lol. One more thing. BEAUTIFUL WORK.

The Bridgestone Battlax BT-023 also looks like an interesting tire. But I will say that it sure seems as if the advancements in tire technology is astounding. Without going too far off of the deep end I would think that with the age of the majority of riders on this forum we have lived with far worse tires or tires that would be greatly designed towards a particular way of riding. So to that end of which I could be completely wrong but would not the new tire designs designed for mainly touring be as good or maybe even better than performance tires say 35 years or so ago? Well except of course the R (racing) compound tires of the day.

I was wondering as I have been looking around at the expensive ways that people have had to go to raise and or change the angle of there handle bars on the V11 LeMans and thought why not just make new bars in the shape of a Z that could raise the handle bar an 1" or 2" and maybe change the angle of pull back? Seems like it would be easy and could be done cheap. But hey I could be all wrong.

Semi Totally unrelated to the topic but yes when doing anything with a machine the main thought should be Smooth. Of course other things apply lol.

Curiosity ?. V11 LeMans Long Distance Tire choice? I know from reading posts that many here like and use the Pirelli Angel GT's. But what if one plans say up to about a 10,000 Mi trip? Of course one could find someplace to stop and have a rear tire replaced along the way but I was wondering that there has to be a good tire for our V11 Sport/LeMans bikes that would serve well in such a situation?

With these now being the best available.... are they better than the NLA G8HN-1C2T-R DC12? I see minor differences in the spec sheet but I can't decipher them. I ask because I recently installed the latter in both my LM's. I would heed what Docc says here as the No.5 on the 2002 LM failed now and again to activate the fuel pump. You would hear the Relay click but no go. So until the more heavy duty relay shows up I switched the No.4 and No.5 around and for now all is good. But I am not going on any trips lol. Just near my house and trailer use.

Long story short. Removed battery and tray,Removed rust and debris,Repainted with some black and let it tack and they a couple of coats of bed liner. Let that dry and then reinstalled with 4 new stainless bolts and washers and charged the battery. And found that the relay that goes to the fuel pump is weak so I will need to replace that. I swapped it for another for the time being.