80CX100

Hey Gio, My family was from NS, father from Hants County outside of Windsor, mother from Greenfield on the south shore, I follow things very closely down in that area, truly a sad time for bluenosers and mankind in general. I'm not sure what area you're from, but this tragedy has touched a lot of lives, I think it's very fortunate that the numbers and the carnage weren't worse. Sending thoughts and prayers down your way. Kelly

There is no such thing as a sure thing, but the last I checked with USPS,Canada Post & other carriers, although running a few days slower than usual the Canada/US border is still open for mail and parcel delivery, fwiw.

Hey Nico, Tks for taking the time to reply, I've read that as well about the fuel line pressure, but I've found it wasn't necessary once I learned the right technique. For me the secret is keeping pressure on the fuel line and fitting as you work the female part of the fitting back and off; the difference is, on the newer modern guzzis, you press forward as you work the female part back, and on the V11s you pull the whole works in the opposite direction away from the fitting as you work the female part away from the fitting. fwiw good luck Kelly

Hey Phil, Tks for the heads up. Wherever he is now, he's got my gratitude for passing on the secret handshake for disconnecting those quick releases ;~)

Al, Thank you so much for taking the time to post these links showing how to Pull the fuel line,,,then Pull the grey female cover on the connector to get it to disconnect and release. I read about guys on here struggling with the quick release fuel connector,,, but I had done that frustrating dance on my California Vintage for hours until I luckily found a video on youtube showing how to push, then squeeze and wiggle, it was easy once I learned the technique, I thought my V11 was the same style and would be easy,,,,, aarrgghhh, it's completely backwards, I was getting nowhere with it. I've got a bunch of little jobs to do and I needed the tank off,,, it wasn't happening until I found your post. thank you for saving me hours of frustration Kelly

Tks for posting the videos and sharing the info. Your build has a very brutal look and sound, nicely done. I can't believe the ringing sound of fine crystal, coming from those timing gears, completely unexpected. I'm behind in my job list, but I intend to install meinholf's map very soon myself, I'm curious what valve clearances you used. Tks Kelly

That sucks! Really sorry to hear that. Was there not one identical to that for sale recently somewhere down in the US, I remember the color being relatively distinct to me? Very unusual to steal a guzzi, there's literally no market for parts, eccentric collectors a few in number.

From your description, all of the perfect ingredients were in place for a get off; glad that your daughter came out of it standing in one piece. Bruises, scrapes,parts and pride are all minor details; the best thing that ever happened to keep me safe as a rider all these years, was a similar accident set up 40+ years ago with an inattentive driver, her spidey senses and 360 radar should be in overdrive going forward, I know mine's engaged all the time. I don't know the name of the European suppliers and their countries, but from discussions I've read recently on line, there are a few dealers parting out guzzis semi regularly, in England, France, Gemany, Denmark? With the low Canadian dollar, it's good time for Euro parts, as you say, shipping with CV19 might be an issue. A couple of months ago, when I was searching for Mistral Exhausts, there was a towing/salvage yard? in the central US. parting out a V11 on EBAY, they had a Mistral crossover and mufflers being sold as one unit, they had other parts as well,,, their parts weren't moving quick, if you're lucky you might find the listing and be able to get some of the stuff that you need. Glad it worked out as well as it did, good luck with the parts search Kelly

http://www.mgcycle.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=26_336&products_id=2531 These are the ones I ended up with, le$$, but still pricey. I ended up ordering a complete system for my V11 & my CalVin directly from Mistral in Mandello, luckily before the borders got shut down. Due to the differences in shipping, customs duty, import taxes, brokerage fees etc and with my weak Canadian dollar, I saved substantially by dealing direct with Mistral, fwiw.

C&W, I've got a Guzzitech single pipe on my Griso and it looks all right, but I agree with you; I think most Guzzis look much better with a nice set of duals. I like low end torque, and a Basso Profundo rather than high rpm and a sharp exhaust note. With that as my goal, after much reading I picked up a Mistral cross over and a pair of their Carbon Fibre Ovals for my V11Lemans. I haven't heard them yet, but I'm confident I'll be happy with them. Good luck shopping Kelly

My old eyes didn't see the box end wrench bit, I thought it was some type of pry bar; but after Phil's excellent response and a second look, I agree with gstallons, some type of distributor wrench

Sad to hear that about Paul, glad that he's on the mend. Hoping for a full and rapid recovery Kelly

Early OTC slide hammer that can use a lag screw to pull dents in body work? If that's correct, Lucky Phil's turning comment gave me a clue,lol.

Glad this old thread burbled to the surface, that is an interesting factoid about James Blunt with a V11. Blunt has the most unique haunting voice I've ever heard. I cover a lot of people in my own mellow, finger picking guitar style, but I've never been able to do Blunt's music justice; I think he is mostly piano based, and his voice is a few octaves up there, it's a sound I've never been able to capture. tks for the thread bump

Hey Chuck, That sounds excellent, I'll save the trannie jobs for later on, it'll give me time to read up on it, sounds like there are 3-4 things worth doing while I'm at it. I'll pm you with my info. Tks very much for once again putting the work harness on and helping us all keep these guzzis running right ;~) Kelly

Hey Docc, That's excellent, tks for jumping in, helps me plan my work a lot, knowing that if I change the shift spring and put in good Redline gear oil I won't have to dump it to do this job, Chuck if you happen to see this, definitely put me down for one. Tks Kelly

Hey Chuck, I assumed that this "Phil extender" that I had seen mentioned was to do with an extender on the exterior gear lever, but when I start ripping through all the info, it looks like it's a redesigned internal shifting arm? I really don't have time or head space right now to research the whole thing, but if it is a worthwhile mod that "should" be done on my 2003 V11 Lemans, please put me down for one. I was planning on doing the shift return spring job soon, but if it makes sense to hold off and do it at the same time as the "Phil extender" I'll wait. I'm jockeying bikes on lifts right now, planning work; if this extender job happens, what time line are you looking at, or are you still waiting for final numbers? Tks very much Kelly

If you don't have access to fluorescent tubes, your idea about chalk lines and a straight bow string might be a good one. I forget what they're called, but essentially little wooden stands to run your strings on, when you're laying out foundation or a construction area on the ground. You could do the same thing with 4 axle stands or any other things suitable to support 2 strings anchored on one end and a weight on the other to keep the strings tight, position them behind and in front of the bike, run them up close on either side of the rear wheel and you'd get a good idea if the front wheel is aligned straight.

I've never done it so it didn't float to the surface of my memory banks, but Foto is absolutely right about fluorescent tubes, that's an excellent redneck tip if you could get a couple of assistants to hold them in place

Like Bob Maynard has echoed I think you might be onto a redneck fix that would work. To help you see if things are out of alignment, it would help if you had 4 good long straight edges, clamp 2 on the outside of the front wheel/tire up 3-4 ft in the air, do the same on the back wheel/tire and then stand far to the back and front and see if those straight edges are still parallel. Good luck with it Kelly

I like Foot's photo of the frame with the 2 cylinders at either end and his idea of throwing a 6' sraight bar through the back holes in the pork chop area. The pipe/bar may give you a visual idea if something is wonky, but if you measured it carefully and secured it centered in the frame, the ends of it could give you a point of reference to verify measurements to vital parts of the frame, fwiw.

I know it's been said already, but I've read also that spiney's don't crash well, I think one of the main concerns might have been cracks on the transmission case for engine or frame supports? IIRC. If you're thinking about getting it back and putting it on the road, if you can go over all the frame junctions, especially the steering head area, with a real bright light and good glasses looking for spider checking in the paint from bending stress. If you took real good measurements from both sides of the bike at fixed points from the front to the back and top to bottom you "might" be able to confirm if the frame is still relatively square/even or bent/mismatched, ie axle/swingarm, steering head/swingarm,engine mounts/swingarm/axle etc. Sorry about the get off, that sucks; but very glad that you came out of it better than the bike. Take your time to heal up well. Good luck, take care Kelly edited: I should have read all the posts before I replied,lol. I see that Chuck has you covered re the info on the engine and timing chest mounts, but wth, you could check the tranny mounts while you're at it too,lol. If it looked straight and damage free for major components and I knew and loved the bike, it would be in the garage,js, glad it's you making the decision and not me,lol. good luck.

Hey Meinolf, Thank you so much for taking the time to respond with such a detailed reply, and especially how variations in the valve clearances would affect the fueling. I'll be studying this and a lot of the other material you've previously posted, I look forward to being able to get this bike tuned up and running as sweet as I can. Your generosity in sharing your knowledge and expertise, is very much appreciated. Tks Kelly

Hey Meinolf, Thank you so much for jumping in here. I went back through all the information that I've saved and I've got numerous files that people mention the wider clearances attributing it to you, but you're correct, I apologize, none of the posts were made directly by you. If I loaded your map with a Mistral Crossover/Oval Exhaust with .15 & .20 clearances would it be less wear and tear on the valve train? Would it run poorly? If your map is designed for .25 & .25 clearances, am I understanding it correctly that if I change from those clearances that I will screw up the timing built into the map? Tks Kelly

I ripped quickly through a bunch of material; from Guzziology and this site, the cams, part # 3705 3305 on the Sport & V11s are different, there is mention of them being higher lift and if I'm reading the charts right, longer duration. I also read a reference that the valves themselves are larger, just slightly smaller than the size on the old big valve engines. I'm starting to get a better understanding of why Chuck and others have described the V11's as the last of the real hot rod guzzis. The more I'm learning about the bike, I'm getting anxious to get it on the road. Tks