Ouiji Veck

TaDaaa! True as it is funny..Or at least I hope so. I don't want a bike that needs special oil and special filters and constant manacuring and worshiping....I got a woman for that. I want a bike I can top off with kerosene I stole outta' a barn and drive it up over the mountain to the nearest gas station if I have to.

100% agree...even the Buell part. Rode 'em...like 'em and parts grow on trees around here.

Phew!! Had me worried there. Note to self...spare fuses..

Made me laugh

My first guess too ratchet...intake boot got blew off. It's happened to me twice.....Ya get the few seconds of a panic attack then do the while your buddies just roll thier eyes. Intended to REALLY clamp those babys on last time but my "mechanic sevant" (in green t-shirt) indicated a blown off boot shure beats a bent throttle plate. yea it does...

Beer is a constant variable........ Be shure you have plenty in case something goes wrong...

Good eye ratchet... Thats the way you do it. Run 'em the right way and they're NFG. R&D was a big part of it back in the day...(82-83?) Flat track tire..can't even remember the original brand or which genius came up with "I'm going to try running the chevrons backward." The beer musta been really flowing that night. The next day everyone was changing thier tire around and it's been that way ever since. (Actually I belive we stole it from the guys from Montreal that came down and kicked our butts regularly....the year they showed up with brand new KXs with thier goose necks cut and angled a couple of degrees down... we coulda puked!... Damned Cannuks! ...brand new!!...I was running out of money for tire patches. Alot of times they should just hand out trophies to the guys with the biggest wallets )

Big J Love those little "Wine Red" sports. Looks rode hard and put away wet too...arghhh beat on 'em. They're just tractors.

It's a little like juggling running chain saws ... When "real bikers" start showing off thier "biker" tatoos I show 'em the one I got from my ankle to my knee....artfully done by the rear tire of a CR500 I see where you get the KNEE thing...we were running our modifyed MXers back then rather than Speedway bikes...one of those would have laped us once a lap. What was this thread about??

I love the way mine handles even though my last bike was a Ducati (for sale if any of you want a real fun PLAY bike). The LeMans is defenately not a "flickable" bike....which is fine by me. I think it's more natural for me than others because I use my body (ass) to steer more than counter steering at speed...carving graceful turns. Next time your out, find your favorite corner, Set up early (wide) slide your ass a little on the seat to the in side of the turn...maybe get your knee out just a little and your chest in the direction of the turn and gas it out of the apex. You'll come out thinking "I could have done that 20mph faster" if you put it all togeather correctly. When it's all working real well for me I get the sensation of pulling the bike down to me. I'm not talking Joe racer here. Just graceful arcs. I can't say this is the best, safest, or correct way to ride but it works very well for me on the big moose and I've been riding like this for many years. Just a little body english. As a further disclaimer no one I know rides like this and they're all on big fat Beemers and ride the wheels off 'em. This isn't racing and I tend to do all my excellerating in the corner not on the straight...max fun and keeps the pace sane. In context to the thread ( I think I got off topic..?) I am only aware of inertia and mass which on the LeMans have the best feature of all....PREDICTABLE. Excellerating out of a corner I'm shure it streightens up by itself. I don't know what forces are in play but I'm not aware of it acting any different than my CBR 1000 (another moose) Then again I'm not riding extreem enough to tell if I have a full tank of gas or on reserve. Imagine how much difference that should make!..and with tools, raingear and a 12 pack in my tank bag!! ( I got a BIG tank bag!) Comming off a 600?? Yea..a Guzzi would tend to require a little adjusting to... and visa versa... Man! I do go on...screw all that...just have FUN.

Happy new Year from snowy New England. I find motorcyclist to be some of the greatest people in the world. Ones that are wise and humble and crazy enough to be devoted to Guzzi are a special breed. The more you like riding a motorcycle the more you should be riding a Guzzi. Thanks to the Admins and all of you members for the support and camaraderie. Here's wishing you and your loved ones all a safe and happy 06. Lets all ride further on more wonderful roads than ever!!!. HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

Hey Admins.... We need an icon for whipping a dead horse. Happpyyy Newww Yearrrr

Yep...careful...thats all...it's the stupid things that get ya. In and out of parking lots and intersections...following someone too close because your going soo slow. ...I'm pretty much a chicken around traffic.. I don't wanna get hurt just because I THOUGHT the old lady was turning left ... JUST BECAUSE SHE HAD HER LEFT DIRECTIONAL ON....I wait...I ain't goin' no where...I'm savin' myself for the good road.

Oh boy....here we go... The forward zerk is a tough one... I get mine @ tire change time...and use a "needle" tip on the grease gun. The regular "fat" tip just wont get in there...most have found an "angeled" tip that works for them...not me. Good luck..

Cool trick... Oughtta do it over @ wildguzzi to...see where everybody is.. Though thats not all V11s

Steve...the trouble is "over tightened" I "BROKE" 3....count 'em 3 ..oil filter wrences...by the time I got the filter off it was like a crushed up beer can... Whoever put it on either over tightened it or didn't oil the rubber gasket..or both. It was Sttuuuuck... Not the first I've herd of it either. That was several changes ago and haven't nor expect to see it again.

ratchet I haven't raced since '91.. Ancient history..though if I was still back in my home town I probably would. My friends still do. We just wore our MX gear. That was the impitus for ice racing ...What to do all winter? Nothing special on the knees. Foot flat on the ground ...iron shoe, flat track style. It was the absolute most fun for the money. Wide open down the straight.. blip the throttle, toss it sideways and whack it wide open and roost all the way around the turn...stand it up exiting...repeat. Lotsa friendly rivalry. Talk bikes and wrench.. invent screw patterns, fix flats, suspension setups.. fix more flats..all week. Practice all day Sat...race Sun. Oh well....springs comming.

I got my LeMans in April....Immediately did an oil change. By the time I got the filter off (2 1/2 hrs. and 3 wreches) I wanted to sell it. Thought it was a bad omen. (It took about 2 months and a trip to Nova Scotia before I finally decided it's the best bike in the world, no matter all the teething problems... and they're just that.) Anyway...I did have to resort to the "drop the pan...put a screwdiver through the filter) method" It shure made me feel like crap. It was a right of passage...Ya gotta think "tractor" and "ditch pump" with these things. Needless to say I now don't torque the filter on too tight...nor the allens on the pan. I always wonder about the "manhole cover" too. Tight....but not too tight. Could you imagine that thing falling out! (Cold shiver down my spine!!) Anyone ever lose one? Wonder if it could be safety wired?

Yea....it should be pretty loose the first year...rules and regulations will increase as the years go by. I'm talking camping and general foolishness....and the hard core, tuff guy, biker dudes, wont be trailering thier choppers up there, and wrecking a good time, for years. Opens up the summer for the Virginia rally too.

I'm of the "Ride like it's rainning" for half of the day, then like it "had been rainning" the rest of the day mentality. Good way to put it. 36yrs...lots of tires.

The first year ice racing we all learned: If your bike is pushing out wide exiting the corner...drop your triple clamps down...putting more weight on the front tire. If you go to far your back tire will skate and not hook up. Re-set...re-test...repeat. ..untill you got it...for that track..that day. 10 years of fiddling with the geometry of a motorcycle all winter and I would be uninclined to do so with a street bike. An error in judgement on the track and you might get out of shape or you might fall and slide. An error in judgement on the road you might fall and have your head run over by a Buick. Tripple clamps down...front end bites more back is looser Tripple clamps up....back tire hooks up...front tires looser I guess a half inch one way or the other might be safe to try but I'd be shure which way guzzi-tech is talking if your already dealing with a condition. And I'd be shure to have my steering damper employed. I'd watch carefully how the bike is entering corners and exiting under hard throttle. Is the back trying to pass you entering? Front skipping it's way out? Just passing on my observations...and have a caveman tech background.. "Team Ducktape"

Absolutely true. But to say "They merely disguse a symptom of poor setup. "...? I never saw a top race bike without a steering damper........they gotta be doin' sumptin'

I manage to get sideways a few times a year but oddly enough never because of a new tire. I'll do alot of weaving to get the sides scuffed and be judicious with the throttle and jump on a gravel road if I see one....the back tire is not the problem. On second thought I guess it was in this case. Thats some serious damage for 10mph. Too bad...Your friend has my sympathy. He musta grabbed a handful of that R6

Yea...crappy handling bikes like the Aprillia RSV1000 factory bike. In brief the R and the Factory look about the same but the Factory gets a few lighter pieces, Ohlins front and back, radial Brembos up front and OZ forged aluminum wheels. If you have the disposable income, the extra $4000 or so for Ohlins forks, shock, steering damper, radial Brembos and a set of OZ rims is a screaming deal.

Oh Ben! You is a trouble maker... Dav.. Congratulatons!! Get the GEI relays to replace the wimpy Siemens http://www.dpguzzi.com/relay.htm I paid about $15 for a handful (5). Much more robust from all accounts. There's also rumors of NO grease in the rear end as shipped. Not good. Thats 2 things really worth looking into. The Siemens are notorious for failing...at just the wrong time. The rear wheel will have to come off to address the rear end which means getting a shop stand...which you'll need any way.(Why oh why don't these things have center stands?!) I actually use a $50 MC stand from PEP boys quite succesfully. Forget the air filter...that waz Ben looking to make this thread 100 pages. Of course there's the PC IIIs and Mistrals and cross overs but you can do that at your lezure. As for break in.......go by the book as long as you can stand it.. Your gonna love riding that thing. Big barking gobs of torque. Just plain FUN. What Euro bike did you have?