audiomick

Ok, thanks. The nipple in the U-joint I bought looks very similar to the large one in your picture, but the thread is also larger.

When you've found them, let me know what the thread on them is. I might be interested in a couple, or a very precise specification (e.g. DIN number...) so I can try and source them here. I'm facing the same problem: I bought a uni-joint which would fit in, but the grease nipple on it is too big for the available space. The thread on the purchased uni-joint is bigger than that on the buggered one that I took out, so I can't use the old grease nipple.

Indeed. Your method sounds like it could work. What doesn't help is the rubber bit on mine is already deformed from being clamped in crooked. But wait, there is hope! It is apparently still available. https://wendelmotorraeder.de/gummi_gu19007700-p-1002330.html?ref=expl

Because there is a lot more shearing pressure on the crown and pinion gear in the final drive than on the "normal" gears in the gearbox. Also, I read somewhere recently that MOS2 can be prone to clumping if it is in somewhere where it is not needed, but I'm not at all sure of the details there.

Yeah, I thought that all looked a bit dodgy. Hope it is all ok, because the lid is back on. Next time... One question though: is there any way of getting the rubber bit in the hole where the wires come out back in the way the maker intended it to go? The one on mine was not in right when I took it out, and getting it back where it belongs appears to be more or less impossible.

Today I got on to tidying up the cable looms along the frame. Don't know if I got it right yet, as I didn't try and mount the tank and airbox. We'll see. Then I set about checking the backlash in the valve train. As it turned out, it was ok (but the spark plug gap was too big...). Since the whole back end is out at the moment, I thought it would be good to take off the alternator cover so I could turn the motor over. That is a very quick and easy task on my V35 Imola. So who the hell thought up the construction on the V11? Not Funny!!!

Have a look here, a user's manual for a V11 Le Mans: https://guzzitek.org/utilisation/gb/1100/V11LM_Nak_RC_082002_Util.pdf Tyres are on page 140 of the document, but my document reader thinks it is page 154. Click on "roues" in the index and step forward six pages from there. The figures there are 2.2 and 2.4 Bar solo, and 2.3 and 2.5 Bar with a pillion.

I've been reading up on the recommended oils for my bikes, trying to find out if I can use the same oil in all three of the Guzzis. In the course of that I've read exactly that from a couple of reliable sources, i.e. that modern synthetic gear oil doesn't need the additive. I'm still not sure whether I'll choose to believe that or not... PS: In the german forums, they generally refer to "Molykote 2" as the appropriate additive, which I think is a trade name.

Really good work.

Karsten is the bloke I know. I believe he still does it, or still has some on the the shelf. As I said, I can ask him...

As far as I know, the motor management on those can't be re-programmed like later ones can, you must actually change a bit of hardware. I know a bloke here who, I believe, can supply the part in question with an updated map. If you like, I can ask him what is really involved, und what an updated map can be expected to bring with it. The man in question doesn't ride on the road any more, only on closed tracks, but he used to have a Centauro. I believe that was his last road bike.

Did some more fiddling around with the rear end, i.e. swing-arm and wheel. The bearings in the swing-arm didn't want to come out, so I took that to the workshop to let the Meister have a go at it. I got the bearings out of the wheel myself, but it is not back together. I discovered that the spacer between the bearings is one that is only about 106 mm. long, and has an additional "slice" added to make up the 113 mm that it should have. (Thanks @Lucky Phil, I measured what it should be according to your advice somewhere here, or maybe somewhere else....). I showed that to the Meister as well, and he wasn't impressed, so I'll be getting a new one of those that fits properly. Wendel and S-D can both deliver, I just don't know how long it is going to take. I'm beginning to think that I wont get the Le Mans up to where I want to have it until late Autumn or so. Maybe.

Yes, it is. Still, I'll ask: did you replace yours, or just stick them (it) back on properly? I ask because mine has a nasty cough at about 2,800 rpm, so maybe I need to renew the boots on mine.

@ChrisPDX, looks good. Keep at it. I've got the swing-arm out of mine at the moment. Was hoping it would be just a matter of greasing the drive shaft and having a bit of a look at everything. It wasn't.... Still, I haven't found anything yet that is unsolvable.

I've had that, but on nicely asphalted roads. I had a job for a concert from Jose Carreras in a tennis hall in Lech am Alberg. Probably this building, I reckon. https://www.openstreetmap.org/way/121005999#map=17/47.21394/10.14905 We went up there in a 7.5 tonne truck (due to license and insurance parameters a common size here. It used to be the biggest vehicle you could drive with a standard car license...). That means the side window is about 2 metres above the ground. We drove in to the village, no problems, all the roads cleared and everything, but we were looking out the side windows level with the top of the snow next to the road. I was amazed. Up to that point, the deepest snow I had ever seen was about 2 feet.

I took out a uni joint on mine the other day. The project wasn't a success as a whole for a couple of reasons, but getting the joint out was. I looked at a couple of videos on you tube for hints. There are about 750,927 videos there in various languages about changing uni joints. Yes, the ones on the V11 are a bit tight. One tip I found from a bloke doing the joints on a Ural shaft was to get them as far out as you can, and then catch the end of the pin on the rim of the cap from the inside and hit it a couple of times more to get a bit more room. As it turned out, I didn't have to do that. The pins are just long enough to get just enough room to get the cross out. What gets in the way are the rollers. They start moving around in the cap, and get jammed between the end of the pin and the rim of the cap. I had to get in there with a pointed object and push them out of the way. One got in to the hole in the end of the pin (the "grease gallery") to about half its length, and the sticking out end was quite in the way. Anyway, I won. You just have to stick at it, look at what is happening and think about what your are doing, and don't give up.

Jeez mate, I'd be in there like a shot. Physics says it must fly, so why not. As long as Chuck would let me have a go...

As far as old bikes and dealerships goes, yes, the explanations apply pretty much all over. Specific to Harley: if the the turn signal module breaks, the bike doesn't run. And the part is obsolete. Hmmm....

Thanks for the link. That's too long to look at right now, but I'll get back to it.

Tom, no "h". Winter project.... The bike looks great. I might be just a little bit jealous...

The motor tells one whether it is happy or not. I listen to it. It's not hard. Most of the vehicles I have known for any length of time were happy above about halfway up the rev range, changing gears so they can spin up easily, getting revved out periodically, and never, ever being lugged. The control under the right hand (right foot in a car...) is where the music starts. Give it heaps....

You only have to get a couple of bits of bodywork to the the paint shop, not the whole bike....

We have a thing at work called a "surface". I believe it is a Microsoft product. Runs windows, and is effectively a normal Windows PC, but in the "tablet with touchscreen" form. I'd be looking for something like that. I have no real idea if the operating system on an i-Pad is the same as in a Mac computer, but believe it is not (i.e. Guzzidiag wouldn't run).

You may be right, docc, but the one he replaced (which maybe brought the improvement) was the only one that wasn't a GEI.

I think he is only talking about boarding, Phil, not loading. I've seen the process a number of times. They call up a block of seats and get them in, then the next block. Good idea, I reckon. It minimises the time you spend standing in the aisle waiting for some Richard to get his shit together so you can get past to your own seat (and hold up the people behind you who want to get past...)