richard100t

I have 34,000 on mine & it runs better than new. So far nothing serious other than routine maintenance.

The best way to find out if its worth what you're asking is to post it for sale here and on Ebay. If someone is willing to give you what you're asking then its worth it The guy that you're trying to trade it off on is only trying to figure out if he can turn the bike into a buck. My guess is that you're at the upper limits of what a 6 plus year old motorcycle is worth.

You should probably go to a more sport touring oriented tire like the Strada. The Diablo is a lot more of a sport tire that doesnt last as long anyway.

I have a Rosso Mandello as well & I run the 160 rear tire. It does ride & handle better to me with the 160. As for brand the Pirelli is a very good tire, no doubt. I'm currently running Continental ContiForce front & rear & I think they are the best tires that I've tried so far.

I tried running a google search of it but I need more information.

Check the linkage first. If thats not it, remove the gearshift cover. Then check the springs inside. If thats not it check the upper gear cog with the pegs that catch when you shift the gears. I know I'm describing it badly but that mechanism can get out of whack & need to be taken out & put back in properly.

Make sure you dont get one of Rizoma's earlier reservoirs because they leak through the window.

When my bike was having trouble getting into the first two gears I took the cover off and found the washer from the speedo cable against the magnet. I thought that may have been the problem but after closely looking at the shifting mechanism I determined that the upper gear that has the shifting pin catches had gotten off track somehow. I took the whole thing apart & reassembled it until it worked smoothly & I've never had any problems with it since. I think that old washer probably fell right down to the magnet & had been lying there for about two years so it wasnt the cause of the problem at all. I'm thinking it was more likely I shifted too hard or missed a shift & it jumped track a little. Anyway what you describe sounds like the problems I was having. Take the cover off & try to turn the gears by hand. If they dont turn easily BOTH WAYS you can bet that its the same problem I had.

I'm wondering how hard it would be to scrap the shaft drive altogether & go with a chain drive? That would drop probably 25lbs right there.

I think the Griso has a more relaxed riding position so that would probably be a more comfortable ride than a v11. As for the suspension, there are lots of good aftermarket mods that you can do to either bike to make it suit you. For example Hyperpro makes very good replacement springs & shocks.

This sounds like yet one more good reason to pull out the airbox & put on some K&N pods! When I want to adjust my preload, the pods come off with the turn of a screw & its all wide open for you. Oh yeah, & those side panels belong on a shelf...probably next to the airbox. There are a few people that dont like the pods for various reasons, but they sure do make it easier to work on.

The guy didnt spin the tubes around after he had the caps on. What he did was put the tubes in, clamp them tight then he put the caps back on. I'm sure he figured it was easier to leave it that way than to loosen all the clamps & spin the tubes so that the lettering was right side up. If he didnt take the time to make sure both tubes were at the same height I would be going over that bike with a fine toothed comb. Check everything to be tight, valve clearance, fluid levels...everything.

Well for the tubes being slightly above the clamps, he probably wanted a sportier riding position. As for the caps reading upside down, when you change the fork oil you have to pull the tubes off the bike. When he put the tubes back in he probably clamped everything in tight before he put the fresh fork fluid in & then put the caps on. Its an easy enough thing to change if it bothers you. Theres a pinch bolt at the top on each side then two other pinch bolts lower down the front of the fork assy on each leg. Just loosen them up & turn the tubes. You may have to take the weight off the front wheel though, I'm not sure.

Do you mean the new flywheel went bad? Or is it just the friction plate is worn out? Either way is bad because you have to take it all apart. BUT a friction plate, like a brake pad is a wearable item.

Ok I think from what you are saying that a larger portion of the weight goes to the rear than the front. Therefore a heavier rider will send more weight to the rear than a lighter one which makes sense. 37/63 is a pretty big spread, I had no idea it was that far from even.

I may have to finish this whole pot of coffee before that completely sinks in! lol

I have an enquiring mind, so I would like to know... If a heavier rider shifts the weight rearward, why would a rider that weighs less shift the weight forward? Given the riders sit on the bike in the same way the weight should always head in the same direction shouldnt it?

I was thinking about a layer of insulation first, then some lead shot, then more insulation. Thats not as cool as nitrogen filled shock absorbing carbon fiber anti fuzzy mirror stabilizers, but its the best I can do.

Oh well I'll just have to fishhook the insulation out & remove the lead shot.

Now I've compared a mirror with lead shot plus insulation to a mirror stuffed with just insulation. The mirror with the lead shot plus insulation was very much more clear at freeway speeds than with just insulation. You will pay the weight penalty for a more clear view, but if you arent using your bike as a racetrack tool then you should be just fine. I'm thinking that about a pound or so of shot & then stuff it in there with the insulation is the way to go.

Ok now that I've test ridden it I can tell you that it does indeed reduce the fuzzy look at highway speeds. However I could see the size 6 lead shot working its way around my mirror! I'm going to say (for now) that you shouldnt use lead shot & that you could probably get the same effect with just stuffing the insulation in there. I'm going to do the other mirror with just insulation & see how that looks on the highway.

Well I drilled out the mirror & filled it with shot. I can tell you that it will hold several POUNDS of lead shot. what I did was put some lead shot in there & packed it in with fiberglass insulation to dampen the shot from moving around. I'll take it for a ride & see how much difference there is between the shot filled mirror vs a regular mirror.

I may have to give that one a try. I filled my bar ends with lead shot to quell the vibes so I have the shot. I also have a new set of oem mirrors in case something goes horribly wrong.

Its kind of hard to explain just what it does. I can tell you that if you have large feet you'll want the ajustment to be farther out. If you have smaller feet you'll want to dial it in a few turns.

All is well that ends well. The bike is all sorted out now & shifting as well as ever. I discovered a good way to adjust the linkage too. First put the bike in 6th gear, assuming you have the starter off & the shock remote off too. Then only remove the front linkage nut & bolt turn it out & put the bolt back in & pull up on the gear lever until the rear eye bolt hits the frame when its in the upshift position. Now you know you are at the widest you can go. Then you simply turn it in once or twice & go for a ride. If its still to big for your feet keep pulling the starter off & turning the front eyebolt in a turn or two until it fits your foot.