FreyZI

Or kinda stupid. Looks like that's an M10 bolt, so a wee bit small. My moronic moments continue.

I suppose this wouldn't work particularly well, as you don't have the benefit of tipping the bike a little left or right. Still, might be kinda fun.

@PressureangleWhen you do the diesel technique, anything after the diesel before refilling with transmission oil?

That definitely sounds more my style, if less thorough. I was planning to get Bubbles up to 50K miles and then treating her to a tank off/wheels off/decent tune up. I guess I can do that a little early.

Yes, sorry for the confusion. Have to admit that I had a moment. I indeed was talking about the transmission, and I do very well appreciate the difference. But my moronic moment makes me wonder whether one could put a sight glass on the back of the actual rear drive. I will have to check the color and clarity (or lack thereof) of the rear drive. Is there any other kind? Back then to my original, mistakenly worded question. My TRANSMISSION oil is the color and clarity (or lack thereof) of Texas Chili, without beans or other chunks. Procedure for "flushing" that? Same? Use a lot of oil and get it moving around? Cheers, Frey

I checked on Bubbles' rear drive oil level last week. Couldn't see squat through the oil level window, so I took it off and sloshed a little oil out. Looked about like chili minus the chunks. I presume that's a bit of rust coloring what started out as a nice amber oil. Changing the oil is straightforward. What's the procedure to "flush" it? While I'm messing with the rear drive oil, is it possible to improve the sight glass? I previously gave it as good a cleaning as possible and blew it out with compressed air, but still doesn't work very well as a "window". Is there a better aftermarket one?

Also not the hybrid, but a straight Anti-Gravity Re-start lithium battery. I have them in my R1200R and my F800GS; another in a V11. There's a disconcerting lack of push on a rather cold morning (never not started up, but you've got to wake up the battery a bit before it really wants to crank) -- not that that'll be a problem for you in Georgia.

Good Luck With (the) Sale

@fastaussie I'm a little late to this game but a few ideas: 1) If you're swapping plates (I like "pork chops", but others either don't like that or prefer "stilettos"), be aware that there seem to be two different versions of the plates with different size swingarm pins (20 vs. 22mm, by my measurement). If you get new-to-you plates, either confirm the correct size for your setup or get the pins with the plates. See 2) I got a set of plates powder coated. They are beautiful, though not presently installed. I wanted to get a visual sense of depth in the finish, so the powder coater shot them with silver first, then cherry red, followed by clear. As pretty as they are, I don't like them as much as the original Tenni anodized chops, as I discovered that I like the comfortable patina of the originals. I also haven't put them back on Bubbles (the champagne Lemans), feeling that's a little like putting lipstick on a pig (Bubbles is cosmetically-challenged). So Bubbles is wearing a pair of darker silver stilettos of unknown provenience. 3) Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Personally, I like the "pop" of red chops and valve covers. If we agree that the stilettos and the valve covers are roughly equal in exposed-to-view surface area, then what you're proposing to do is essentially just moving the red spot around on the canvas; no new pop, just the same pop somewhere else. Seems like a lot of effort. But, hey: you do you, as my daughter says.

Now $3800.

@mikev I'd be inclined to try the extraction. My motto is give it a shot and be willing to call in the experts if I screw it up beyond my abilities. Fortunately, I've never had to call in the experts, and so have become (if not adept) capable at many endeavors. Also, I'm cheap. Also, the beer will taste much better as you look upon your success. I recently sheared the small kickstand bolt that goes into the sump. A little scary, but took it slow and got it out. Agree with advice previously given in this thread (extractor), but FWIW, I got my sheared bolt out by drilling several small holes along the diameter of the shank to make a slot, then a flat-head screwdriver did the trick. Good luck!

This may be an age-related question. Thought I might be able to find a on this forum to speak to this: elbow pain (mostly acute, piercing; presumably from a little inflammation about the cubital tunnel or bursa) exacerbated by elbow armor and the office desk. I generally wear ATGATT -- MTGMTT. I'm tempted to do olecranonectomies on the elbow pads. Also thinking about a more elegant solution. Anybody ever deal with this annoyance?

That Fredericksburg Sport has been on Craigslist for a while. Apparently no bites at $4500; now offered at $4,000, as of two weeks ago. Speaking of $4000 Italian twins, there's a 2003 Aprilia RSV 1000 Mille in Westchester, PA. Thoughts?

FWIW, I think a more accurate description of the so-called suede would be "rough-out".

This may be my solution to the too long legs issue. Thanks.

Interestingly, my two minutes of research seems to point to VIN numbers and Tenni plaque numbers not correlating that well. My Tenni #112 is VIN ...114852. A website noting the auction of Tenni #108 associated it with VIN 114842. Perhaps the plaques were affixed to the Tenni(s) (what is the Italian plural of Tenni?) off the production line and so the loose correlation. Good luck. Please let us know what you discover. I wouldn't make up a number -- relish the mystery.

@footgoose, this one is more like a sponge. Do treat with anything, wash periodically, etc.?

I don't know anything about mounting sheep.

@docc, that's a sans sheepskin pic. Bum against the bumstop is about 2" back, but knees still aren't inside the scalloped facet of the tank.

I have been riding my V11s (Tenni and Bubbles) for the better part of ten years now without complaint about the ergos. And I will not complain about them now, either. I will say, however, that my legs are a bit too long for the V11. In my youth, I was pushing 196cm. Still, hopefully, not too far from that mark, and well-proportioned . Here's a pic of where my knee is in a normal seated position on the V11. As you can see from the daylight between my thigh and the tank, the usual tank grips would be worthless. Any other tall V11 riders out there? Have you done anything? maybe a strip of grip rounding the "corner" of the tank? Maybe something more like a pad -- with some thickness -- just aft of the corner? Maybe just continue riding and loving the V11 experience and be grateful I can flat foot pretty much any bike?

Greetings. As there have been a few rather hot days this summer, it has occurred to me that getting onto a seat that's been baking in the sun can be unpleasant. Meanwhile, my daughter finally did a big clean in her room, dumping things she didn't want in her room into the hall. Among the unwanted items was a sheepskin. So, I found a couple helpful websites and a sewing kit and started into project seat cover. From a plethora of cam straps I grabbed two. Advice said use floss, so I found some Listerine mint floss and eventually got it through the eye of the needle. Though I used a needle with the smallest eye I could, it was a bit of a bear to pull the needle through the leather, especially in warm and humid conditions, as my fingers had trouble getting purchase on the shaft of the needle. I was a bit lazy and thinking I should go raid the son's climbing gear for some chalk, but fortunately that was unnecessary as I found that drying blood actually gives some good grip. After several hours and several times that number of non-life-threatening injuries (the stick under the index finger nail still smarts), I had completed this masterpiece: Very happy with the aesthetic; it matches Bubbles' personality quite nicely. I was very excited to try out new seat cover today; even treated Bubbles to a little cleaning. While she was outside awaiting this cleaning, it started to drizzle, so I threw some plastic over top of her to keep the new seat cover dry. However, just a few drops and this thing smells like a wet dog. Definitely don't let this thing get wet. Figured I'd let things dry up for a bit before my inaugural ride, so I came in here to post on my excellent work. Started reading @Oxfo-Moto 'give me one reason' post, then start writing this post, then look outside. It looks awfully grey out there. Could it be raining heavily? Yep. Shite. Guess I'll be waiting for this thing to air dry before I report on how comfortable it is. Still, it looks great, IMHO!

When I got Bubbles-- sight unseen -- she came with a H&B rack and a pair of Junior 30 cases. Sadly, the cases were damaged by slides/tip overs on both sides, seals missing, and hardware (older style) less than perfect. Found a pair of as new Junior 30s in southeastern CT on CL for a very reasonable price, so Bubbles and I had a back roads, as-nearly-as-makes-no-difference 1000 mile loop this week. Damn the rain. Very nice seller. He had bought a Breva 750 for his wife to ride (with him on the most pristine pre-2K R1100GS you're likely to see). The PO of the Breva had bought the rack and cases and stored them unused, as did the gentleman who sold them to me. Encountered a lot of rain on the way home and the cases stayed dry. I'm rather pleased with them. Also brought home the H&B rack specific to the Breva 750 -- thinking I might do some modification to mount them to another of my bikes. Anyway, the old cases are going out the curb unless someone here has any use for any part of them. PM me if you want more specifics/photos. Also, if you want the Breva 750 rack, I'm happy to part with it. Say $100 delivered contiguous U.S.

Took an old roto-ho to some farmer friends over the mountain. Got a few vaguelia looks along the way.

As my buddy, Jim Anchower, says, I know it's been a long time since I rapped at ya. Work got me down, house turns a hundred this year, so no end to house projects, yadda, yadda. However, I did take advantage of the Harbor Freight 20% coupon and got myself a motorcycle lift. I was so excited to do some work on Bubbles and the Tenni. What a difference it makes. No more dreading the cold concrete floor. Some months ago, before things got busy, I had purchased four sets of front brake pads for the two V11. Took off a front caliper and opened a package of pads before I realized that somehow I ended up with the wrong damn pads. As it's been months since I purchased them, the vendor won't take them back. Now I have four pairs of EBC FA308HH pads -- suitable for most 600-1200 Yamahas, I gather. PM me if you have a Yam or two that need new front pads. Cheers, Frey

@KINDOY2, did you ride with this outfit? I'm currently entertaining a pipe dream. Kid is doing a tour with a school group (performing various places), flying into Milan late June, leaving Rome early July. She'll be traveling with the group the entire time; my wife will intersect with the group's itinerary for a few day, but I have other ideas: to wit, Mugello for MotoGP, then renting a Guzzi, hitting Mandello de Lario, and points north, ... then intersect.