bigbikerrick

What guzzis do you already have and what type of riding do you mostly do? weekend rides, or long tours?

Its kinda hard to see them in that photo as its a little blurry, they do look to be a wider "perch" though!

another thing to think of is if you change it to an skf yourself, and then it goes to shit due to poor design/insufficient splash lubrication, or whatever, and the rear drive sustains collateral damage, MG may not warranty it. I say let sleeping dogs lie,and if it aint broke, dont fix it!

Thanks Dlang, I currently have the MG ti system/ECU on mine and it runs awesome, I just thought that I could use the stock cans I have in the shop gathering dust to cobble up an exaust system like franks, and switch them back and forth .,using the ti ecu, but what you mention about the mapping would probably make the bike run shitty with the shorty cans. Ive got to keep remembering what my wife is always telling me...." If it isnt boken, dont fix it" Thanks, Rick(the perpetual tinkerer)

Back in 1998 , I bought one of the first Suzuki 1500 LC intruders that came out, got it brand new. I read on a website that the bikes were known to have the cable operated automatic compression release that was operated by an electrical solenoid when you thumbed the starter, mis adjusted,as the cable length had an adjuster on it. Since I love to tinker with shit, I decided to check mine. I had to set the front jug at TDC, and didnt want to remove the side cover to look at the flywheel marks, so I pulled a spark plug , and inserted a paper mate plastic ball point pen in the hole, then hit the starter slightly, darn if the long stroke on that bugger allowed the pen to drop completely in the cylinder as the piston went down. I tried for days to "fish it out" to no avail. I was about to trailer the bike to the dealer and admit I was a dumbass and dropped a pen inside my jug.( could you imagine the laughs /jokes I would cause in the dealership!) Then I got an idea, since I work in the medical field, i have a bud who works in a pulmonary bronchoscopy lab, I trailered the bike to the back area of the hospital,and he used a flexible fiber optic bronchoscope to go down through the spark plug hole and retrieve the pen, took all of 5 minutes! I still have that pen glued to the wall on top of my workbench with a blue ribbon attached to it that my wife wrote "dip wad award" on it

Dang, RB, You are fortunate to have a guy like Tony,and his expertise near you,not to mention hom being a Guzzi lover. If that happened to me out here in the "sticks" of southern Arizona where most frame (automotive only) techs have as pete roper would say" a bone through their nose" I would be screwed in the arse. Im curious what did you hit to cause such damage to the frame? Makes you wonder about some of the V 11 sports for sale on ebay that suffered a "mild crash, but mostly cosmetic".......

Frank, I like the look of the short cans mounted under the bike, can you advise how you did it? are they stock,or aftermarket cans? I would like to set mine up that way, any info /pics you can provide will be much appreciated, Thanks, Rick

I saw a 2003 lemans, at the moto guzzi dealer in prescott Az, with the jugs removed, I went into the shop with the wrench as we were trying to determine if a certain cafe fairing they had would fit my naked. I asked the wrench, what happened to the goose, he said one of the cam followers wasnt hardened properly and wore down, with the valve clearance getting huge ,and very noisy to say the least! It was still on warranty.

I thought they clubbed those to death in Texas.....HeHeHe

Hey, Thats pretty clever!

Mike, how do you re calibrate a beam style torque wrench such as the sears one Bill Hagan has a link to?

Hey Tex, my son TiVo,d the program and I saw it, pretty damn scary! a friend of mine who is a border patrol agent told me they have apprehended quite a few ms 13 guys here on the mexican border in the last couple of years. Shit, thats in my own friggen back yard!

Damn, Ben. you have traumatized me! I dont think I can ever eat a crispy creme again>

You mean a Pussy? .......

Yepper, Carl Ive used the S 100, with the precision spray tip, awesome shit, made in germany,and pricey, but worth it, It maker the wrinkle finish on my guzzi rear drive , and tranny look brand new again! Thanks ,Rick.

I dont have a problem with the term Pete, I just didnt know what it meant, I thought the parts were made in the south american rain forest somewhere. I think cannibalism is ok, if you are stuck on a snowy mountain or something,and starving by the way at a total risk of sounding stupid.... what does "frontbottom " mean?

pardon my ignorance, Pete, but who are the "cannibals" ?

Thanks for the info Tex, I enjoyed reading the link to the national geographic channel, and read the story about the reporter that did the story on ms13 with great interest and shock. I missed the program on the 12th but it airs again on 2/18, and im going to TiVo it. Ive worked in a correctional facility for 20 years,and im sure we will be getting ,or already have some ms members behind the razor wire. I will make sure and have my 22 year old son watch it also, as he also works as a nurse in the prison. Its important we stay as informed as possible, this really is a "plague" that is affecting our country.

Ok Pete, are you trying to beat out TX for the forum "funny guy" contest?? My wife tells me the same shit all the time,, " If the bike aint broke, then why are you Fuc---g with it?" I guess the Guzzi is just a bike that loves owner innvolvement, and it seems every thing I do to the blessed machine makes it "feel/run" better or smoother.. I could spray some friggen WD 40 on the seat, jump on it and go for a ride, and it will shift smoother, and sound better! man , I love this bike!!

Damn, Tex Thats some scary shit! I never knew that about MS 13.

Thanks to all for your responses, I bought my v 11 used with 3000 miles from the original owner, he took it to Orange County Motorsports for its first service,( the dealer where the bike was purchased) so I dont know if they re torqued the heads, or "overlooked " it. I guess I would be better off leaving well enough alone, because if they did retorque them and I loosen them up,and re tighten, It wouldnt be good for the gaskets that are already compressed, correct? The bike is running perfect with the Ti exhaust/kit, ecu combo. I dont know if it may do more harm than good to disturb the head torque........

when I did the first valve adjustment at 3500 miles on my 2003 v11(actually an 02) I just set the valves to world specs but did not re torque the head first. The bike has been running perfect, but I think with 7500 miles now I will re check the valve clearances again to be sure alls well. my question, is ,is it really inportant to torque the heads at this mileage? or is just making sure the valve clearances are ok enough? also if I DO need to torque the heads , do I need to loosen the head bolts and then re torque them ,or just check for sufficient torque? Thanks, folks!

Bwaaaahaaaaahaaaaa! ROTFLMAO!

That nurse in the background by the monitor screen looks "hot and nasty" HeHe He.

Senor Nuevototem, How did your gear lubricant look when you drained it? was it milky looking? do you ride in the rain alot? if you do I would suggest one of the plastic plates to block the water spray from the rear tire on top of the transmission. there is a place on this forum that shows a pattern for making one , real easy. also I would suggest after your gearbox is repaired, use redline shockproof heavy gear oil, it made a great difference in my bike (also an 03 naked) and in many others here. Keep us posted as to what is found in the transmission. Ricardo.