beauchemin

What!? You rode your V11 Sport to the Laverda rally instead of your Jota? Are you getting soft?

What about the Tour Pack from Revpack? I just got one - and I really like it. http://www.revpack.com/motorcycle/products/TourPack.html

Hey DeBenGuzzi -which model of Buell is that fly screen from?

Good used condition, with 1 minor flaw, and 1 paint chip. The flaw is that a small piece of the perspex screen is broken off - see photo. It's not noticeable since it's behind the fibreglass. The perspex screen has no cracks. The paint chip is on the right side, and is less than the size of a dime - see photo. The fibreglass is in perfect condition with NO stress cracks. The paint is the original Stucchi finish. All hardware included. $125 US + shipping.

I would love to get a hugger that really works. I'm very surprised to see someone is making an expensive version of the original hugger. It's terrible - it doesn't protect the shock or transmission from road debris. Does anyone make a proper hugger that really protects the transmission and shock?

Hi Martin, I don't mean to be a nitpicker, but the 10th character indicates the model year - not necessarily the same as the date of manufacture. The actual month and year of manufacture should be indicated on the headstock.

Is the PDA used for storing a selection of maps, and then downloading to the PCIII?

Wow! I'm impressed - looks very tidy.

Hi Dan - I agree that it is dorky. I usually wear my black leather pants with hi-viz Darien jacket - and that looks a little less dorky than the full hi-viz of a 1-piece Roadcrafter. Living in the northwest, rain is a regular occurence, so the leather pants are a pain except for during height of summer. For me it makes sense to have the all-weather option for most of the year. Yeah, I can have rain pants, but I hate stopping to put on raingear - the rain stops right after you get going again! I'm starting to think that the 2-piece Roadcrafter, like JRT has, is the way to go - that way I can get black pants with hi-viz top. That setup looks great (at least once you get past the initial "yewww" of the 1-piece hi-viz). JRT - would you choose that option again? I also find it appealing that I can strip off the suit in 10 seconds - great for roadside stops during the summer. Not so easy with leather pants, given that I wear skivvies only underneath.

I have found everything I need.

My paint started showing a few tiny blisters at @ 400 miles. I can scratch them away with my fingernail, and then all you see is a tiny spot of the semi-gloss black undercoat. I would take the accessories in compensation - I can't bring myself to dismantle a perfectly good engine for purely cosmetic reasons. To me, it seems like an invitation to other problems.

Steve, I've had two Darien jackets (my current one needs the right arm replaced from this get-off, but that's easily repairable at the factory) and I've been very happy with them. My arm and shoulder didn't even have a bruise, so I like the Aerostitch crash safety. I'm going to replace it with a Roadcrafter for two reasons. Number one reason - I can't ignore or forget the pants when I go for a ride. I've given this reason some serious thought. Secondly, it's easy and quick to don and doff. You wear your regular clothes underneath, so if you are riding in hot weather you simply take it all off at your rest stop. Aerostitch gear isn't cheap, but I think worth the money. I'm going hi-viz with coffee ballistic patches.

Ooops - what I meant to ask is, do you have an emergency supply of some parts?

Beat you to it - ordered one today! I also ordered a set of Pirelli Diablos. I can't say that the BT020s are necessarily at fault, but since new I've never had much confidence in the front end. New tires certainly won't hurt. The other interesting thing is that Staintune will sell single mufflers. Hey helicopterjim - are you serious?

Thanks for your comments. My scabs are doing well, my left knee now bends most of the way, and my limp is slowly improving. I've submitted all my paperwork and am now waiting to hear back from the insurance company. Brian - thanks for your kind muffler offer, but I still have my originals just in case. I thought that if I kept them, then I would never need them... Pete - that's quite a story story! It would be funny if not for the injury! Bento - the tires are the original BT020, with about 750 miles. They were well scrubbed, but the day was cold (2 deg Celsius) and I had only been on the road for 5 minutes. My new mantra: All the gear all the time. (I'm thinking of getting a one-piece Aerostitch suit, that way I can't get lazy and forget the pants.)

I attempted an emergency stop (from 50 km/h) to avoid a car trying to enter my lane from a parking lot, the next thing I knew I was sliding down my lane behind my new bike! I must have locked the front wheel on a greasy patch and went down hard on my left side. The car jammed on the brakes just before entering the lane, otherwise I would have hit it. Jacket, gloves and boots did their job, but I wasn't wearing my armoured leather pants - now I have two bruised knees with a patch of roadrash on my left knee. I usually wear my pants, but got lazy yesterday. We all know this, but even for a short trip into town, don't forget to wear ALL your gear! The bike did fairly well. Heavily scraped (Staintune) muffler, broken shift lever, broken cylinder guard (into 3 pieces!), scraped valve cover, scraped bar-end weight, scraped clutch lever & master cylinder, scratched fender, bent/scratched Givi bikini fairing, broken sparkplug cap, scraped sidestand tip.

Geez, I thought some smartass would point that out. What you see is the result from my most recent ride in wet & dirty road conditions - those chicken strips you see are just dry dirt. The real chicken strips are much skinnier. Honest. OK, I take my reputation in my hands by responding to this criticism since protesting too much is usually the sign of guilt. But alas, I can't help myself (foot in mouth disease).

I did some internet surfing of fender photographs and decided that the SV650 ('99-'02) had a similar front fender to the V11 Sport. I decided to take a chance, and ordered the Pyramid "fenda extenda" for the pre-2003 SV650 (Pyramid # 05010). The cost was $29.95 USD + $8 express air mail to Canada. The profiles of the two fenders are almost exactly alike - the curves match very well. There are only two minor differences. #1 - The shape of the trailing edge of the V11 Sport fender is more square than the SV650 fender - this does not require any modification (but there will be a difference in shape where the trailing edge of the V11S fender meets the extenda). #2 - The forward side edges of the extenda need to be trimmed to match the shape of the V11 Sport fender. This requires some care to match the shape of the fender's side edge, but is not difficult.

I've decided to replace my Boge shock. My first inclination is just to buy Ohlins and forget the rest, but I guess I should do a little research. Any other opinions out there? I definitely want hydraulic preload, and low/high speed damping adjustment would be nice if not too expensive. Penske, Wilbers, any others? One other thing - who to deal with? A decent level of customer service would be nice. thanks for your input Chris

Pete - thanks for your response. Two questions remain: Is it acceptable to release and re-torque one bolt at time? Is 30 ft-lbs sufficient as long as you re-torque annually or as a major service item?

The manual says 40-42 Nm (which is 30 ft-lbs), but Lex's excellent FAQ entry on valve adjustment says 34 ft-lbs. Is the factory manual wrong?

I never said ratchetback was wrong, just that the best solution (IMHO) is to replace the spring with one of the correct rate and length. OK, I realize I'm being picky, but what the hell. Come to think of it, I made a mistake when I said that shortening the spring increases the spring rate -- what I meant to say is that shortening the spring does not decrease the spring rate. The shortened stock spring only SEEMS softer because of the lack of preload.

Shortening the stock spring will actually increase the spring rate. The only advantage to shortening the spring is to reduce the preload. The best solution is a replacement spring with a thinner diameter wire (i.e. lower spring rate).

See this thread http://www.v11lemans.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=3907

How does the sound compare to a pair of conventional mufflers?