rocketman

Boy am I glad to here that. One less thing to worry about. Thanks txrider. Rocketman

Is this an issue with the newer 2004 Lemans? I would hope that guzzi made the necessary changes since 2002. Rocketman

Congrats! Yes, the Throttlemeister people are very nice. You will really appreciate the cruise control. Now you can enjoy longer rides without the annoyance of throttle wrist fatigue. Rocketman

Lee, I have an 04 lemans and the tank capacity is 5.5 gallons. I believe the MG spec is 1.5 gallons reserve. I don't know what year your ballabio is so yours might be slightly different (I bet it's the same 5.5 gallon tank). Anyway, this is how I calculate it. When the light first starts to show I think you have a little more than 1.5 gallons. The light comes on and goes off when you accelerate, slow down, go up or down hills. It's when the low fuel light stays on consistantly that I consider to have hit the reserve mark and have 1.5 gallons left. So, if you are getting 40 mpg then you can go 60 more miles before you run out. In your case, low fuel light comes on at 130 miles, you can go 190 miles before you are SOL. Adjust the miles based on your mpg. Here's my example. I just filled my bike tonight. I had gone 175.1 miles and it took 4.942 gallons to fill. So I got 35.41 mpg. I had approximately .5 gallons left, so I could have traveled another whopping 17.5 miles. A total of 192.6 miles. Rocketman

Pete, Can you tell me why my 04 Lemans with dual plate clutch makes so much racket with the clutch lever out. The noise changes intensity, anything from clunk, clunck, clunk to donk, donk, donk to clack, clack, clack, and will actually go away when I pump the lever a few times. See my previous posts for more details. Rocketman

Richard100t, Mine is a 2004 Lemans with the dual plate clutch. With the clutch pulled in it makes the expected chink, chink, chink sound. I think KFZ and I are talking about the noise we are experiencing with the clutch lever out. Are you saying that these descibed sounds are normal? Nothing to worry about? Rocketman

My 04 Lemans does the same thing. I started noticing it at around 2000 miles. I now have 11,500 miles on it and it still does it. I'm not sure if it is getting worse or not. When mine is doing the donk, donk, donk thing I can pull in and release the clutch lever several times and get it to shut up. There are about 3 different levels of noise anywhere from donk, donk, donk... to chink, chink, chink... to clack, clack, clack...to quiet. I don't get it. lately I am wondering, is it the clutch? Or, is it the transmission? Really bugs me. It shifts fine and the clutch is smooth and performs without a glitch. So far this is my only real dissappointment with the bike. I can tolerate and almost enjoy the other common guzzi noises. But this one has me worried. During normal country side romping I usually wear ear plugs and the bike is just wonderful and it is not an issue but when putting around town without earplugs I'm really bothered by it. Reminds me of High School, riding my old BSA 441, when I thought for sure it was going to come apart, but it didn't, it just kept on going donk, donk, donk. My current plan is to ride it until it breaks. It seems that's what it will take to get my dealers attention. So far my dealer says it's not an issue, sounds normal. If it doesn't get resolved eventually I would consider one of those single plate RAM low inertia clutch kits from MG Cycle. Rocketman

Ramaxx, How did you achieve the red stripes on the wheels? Very original, very nice. Rocketman

I have had the 14 ouncers on my 04 Lemans for about 2 months now. At first I was a little dissapointed. I expected them to calm the vibration a little more than they actually do. But, I must say that my hands have not fallen asleep since I installed them. So, they are certainly doing their job. I really like the cruise control. Its' so great to finally find much needed relief for my right hand. You can precisely control the tension from a little to a lot. You can apply just enough tension to make it easyier on your wrist but not so tight that you can't still work the throttle and front brake fairly well. When you need to you can lock it in tight and just groove on the scenery. It never gets so tight that you can't back it off. You do have to fiddle with it a bit to maintain constant speeds (hills, traffic, etc.). They are not perfect but neither is my Guzzi. They are definately a worthwhile improvement. I can ride longer now. Now I just need a better seat. I bought mine from Ibike.com for $139.00 shipped. Rocketman

My dealer suggested doing that but I said no. I wanted to be sure all of the sludge and contaminants were removed. The sludge would be left behind with that little bit of oil that won't such out. Also, when you take them apart you can pump new oil through them to be sure all of the sludge has been removed. My two cents. Rocketman

I paid my dealer to do the front fork service. Forks have to be removed for service. Inverted fork is drained from the top. Cost me $225.00. Seals were good so we didn't replace them. They were actually pretty clean inside. Did mine at 7000 miles. This is the only maintenance procedure so far I didn't want to tackle myself. You are a braver man than I if you choose to do it yourself. Rocketman

Somewhere on this forum someone posted the torque values that were published in the v11 shop manual. Try doing a search. Rocketman

Txrider, Good article. Makes perfect sense to me. We put more going left miles on the front tire than we do upright or going right miles (How do you like that for grammer). Splains it purdy good. So, I withdraw my original notion that this is abnormal tire wear. This is indeed normal tire wear. Rocketman

Tomsp, are the 014's Bridgstones? The shape looks different. Sharper angle. Especially the rear. Looks like it would turn in quicker. Does it? Dlaing, I am really curious about the kind of front tire wear you are going to get with the new Ohlins suspension. Are there any Ohlins owners out there that have experienced the kind of front tire wear we have been talking about? Rocketman

Dlaing, sorry it has taken so long to reply. My original rear tire took a big fat screw to the center puncturing the casing. That happened at 2000 miles. So the new rear has 4000 miles on it and is wearing really well (fingers crossed). Just now noticing a little squaring. I just remembered that I rode for approximately 1000 to 1500 miles without a speedo due to cable breakage. So that means I got about 6500-7000 miles out of the front tire. If I ever get to the place where both front and back need replacing together, I will consider another brand. Would like to try the Pirelli diablos or corsas everyone is raving about. Rocketman

I like MPH and just about purchased the M4's from them but I stumbled on a MG Ti pipe kit and bought those instead. MPH said the M4's were plug and play....good fit...uses the stock hangers. MPH also responded timely to email inquiries. Good luck. Rocketman

Thanks for the input. I think you guys are correct. The left wears faster due to the crown of the road. I ride mostly two lane highways, very little freeway stuff. When I do travel the freeway I'm always in the fast lane going fast. And, because of greater visability which inspires confidence and higher speeds going left vs right. I guess I need to quit whining and face the fact I probably got all I am going to get out of my front tire. 5500 miles is all she wrote. Rocketman

I have an 04 Lemans with 5500 miles. My front tire is wearing crazy...almost bald on the left side. Right side wear looks normal with some cupping. Is this possibly suspension related? I was hoping to get at least 8-10 miles out of it. As far as cornering goes I know I don't favor the left side over the right. I am scheduled to have the Marzocchi forks serviced soon. Looks like I will be replacing the tire too. I hope this corrects the problem. Has anyone else experienced this? Please share your thoughts with me. Rocketman

Yea, the guzzi term "extension adjustable", is what we all know as Spring Preload. Rocketman

I have an 04 Lemans with the 43 mm Marzocchi fork and it's my understanding that the available adjustments are Spring preload (big nut on top) and Compression Damping (small screw adjuster). There is no rebound adjustment. The Ohlins fork has all three. Rocketman

I have had two speedo cables break. 1st one at 1000 miles. 2nd one at 3500 miles. I now have the new and improved one from guzzi. I now have 5400 miles on my lemans. Both replacements were covered under warrantee. rocketman

DeBenGuzzi, I say hold out for the ones you love. I was just in the right place at the right time, kinda the may my career has been. These are just the first kits to hit the US. You should start to see them at many dealers. I spoke with Paul at Atlanta Triumph, Ducati a week ago, his sources told him to expect the kits by mid May. I hope they sound as cool and fit as cool as they look. I too have been undecided. I just about purchased a pair of oval carbon M4's but at the last minute decided to hold out for the ones I really love. I also struggled with the high mount of the MG titaniums. Because of loosing the soft luggage option (my logic just about got the best of me). Purchasing my Rossa red Lemans didn't have anything to do with common sense or practicality. It had everything to do with passion. Hang in there my friend. You will get yours. Rocketman

Moto Italiano in San Hose has only one kit left and I am in the process of buying it. Yes, I know, it is a bit pricey, $1221.00 plus shipping. However it's better than the $1500 or $1600 to get em from the uk. I really shouldn't spend (charge it) the money, but I can't hep myself. I have been chomping at the bit to get these babies. I want to here the music. Kind of like Betowven's frustration when he had lost his hearing. He kept demanding the orchestra play louder, and louder. He desperately wanted to here it. It does seem as if they are being produced again and should be coming to a theater near you. Gotta love the Guzzi. Rocketman

I just ran across a used 2003 red and black lemans with 920 miles for $8250.00 OBO. Go to this site and check it out. In my humble opinion the 03-04 bikes are more desirable than the 02's. But than again, I am partial to red, and I don't like the flat black wrinkle engine paint on the 02's . Happy shopping. http://www.mgnoc.com/Classifieds/classifiedads.htm Rocketman

Wanted new or used set in good condition for 03-04 V11. The MG part number is 97.32.60.90.00.14. Will pay reasonable price.