Mike Stewart

Ditto for me, great looking parts! I guess we have to wait for the web site to be updated. Mike

The Galfer rotors were stainless steel, I don't remember what the number of the stainless they were using. I used the recommended brake pads which were the HH pads that tend to be rather hard on rotors. Mike

Al, The thinking behind the wave rotor is that the surface area of the rotor edge is increased by adding dips or valleys on the rotors edge. More surface area equals more cooling. If you measure the circumference of the wave rotor including the valleys and compare it to a stock 320 mm. rotor, the wave design will have a higher measurement, thus having more surface area. By making it a wave, there is also more material that is removed so the rotor also comes out lighter. Many racers say that they can feel the difference between the weights of the rotors. I have tried the Galfer Wave rotors and while I could not feel the difference in braking or even having the lighter rotors, there is some coolness factor that the rotors have. The coolness factor did not last to long. The rotors have a fast wear rate and mine were junk by the time I had 2500 miles on them. Very bad pulsation which made smooth braking a bitch. I talked to Galfer and he wanted the rotor back to take measurements. I sent them back and they could not find anything wrong with them. Just to make me happy, they installed looser fitting rotor buttons to make the rotors float more. I received the rotors back and reinstalled them.. A quick ride down the street and the brake pulsation was still there. I called Galfer back and asked him how he measured the rotors. He said that they were taken apart and layed on a flat surface and measured with a dial indicator. My reply was "you are only measuring one side" his reply was that they had been making rotors for a while and knew what they were doing. My reply was if you use a micrometer and measure the thickness difference around the rotor, you will find why I have a bad pulsation. Well, after a long conversation, Galfer agreed to refund 100 % of my money back . All I can say is Galfer backs up their product, I wish more companies would do the same. Mike

Russ, When you remove the tip-over valve, run a length of hose from the fuel tank over the engine and have it exit in front of the rear wheel ( I believe there are some other hoses that follow the same path). I like this method better than removing the o-ring seal from the gas cap. If the bike tips over, fuel will come out of the hose under the bike instead of coming out through the fuel cap. It is a safty thing, just incase you go down and caught under the bike, you would not want a lap full of fuel or the tank leaking on a hot motor. Mike

Russ, When this happens do you also get tank suck? On my 00 V11, I had to remove the tipover valve to prevent tank suck. Also, the electric petcock has caused some problems and the replacement unit is a manual petcock valve. Hope you find it, Mike

I have used the deep V sump for two years now and I am very pleased with it. By going to the deep V pan, all the plumbing is removed from the sump (yes that included the pipe Ian damaged) and the oil cooler is also removed. The only pain for installing this sump is that you will need to fabricate a piece to support the side stand. I went without a sidestand support for about a year and my bike seemed like it was leaning farther and farther over. Turned out the cast iron side stand bracket was actually bending. So a day cutting filing, bending and welding, I made up a bracket the bolts to the sump flange bolts to the side stand. Problem solved. Oh yeah, you will also have to weld on a tab on the side stand bracket to keep the side stand from resting against the exhaust pipe when it is the released position. The side stop is removed with the stock pan. As for the worry of the oil filter being punctured by debri from the front tire, just use a factory Guzzi filter, the metal is much thicker than the normal aftermarket filters. Mike

Mik My 03 Rosso has only the five relays that are inline. Where is the extra one that you have located? Mike

I was thinking of anodizing a set of rocker covers just to see how a poor casting will come out. If I remember correctly, if you polish the aluminum to a mirror finish and then have it anodized, the color will have more shine to it. Anyone else know anything about this? Thanks, Mike, Finally back on line!

Well Lex, It sounds like its time for a battery. I have been amazed how long my 00 V11 Sport battery has lasted compaired to the many batterys I have replaced in my last R1100 RSL Beemer. You can only check the battery via a load tester and not to many homeowners have one. One problem many batteries suffer from is plate seperation due to vibrations. The sealed battery in my Aprilia only lasted a year and a half, but it was way under rated. So do a search on the web for a replacement battery. Good luck, Mike PS, is there going to be a Central Guzzi Bash this year?

Emry, Great job! , do you have the same amount of shifter throw as the stock setup, or did your conversion make for a less throw? Thanks, Mike

Gthyni, Why are you changing the triple clamps? Going to different style or were the old ones damaged? Mike

Fellow Guzzi owners, I have owned many bikes over the years and none of them were perfect! From Japanese bikes to European bikes they all have faults if you look for them. Just go to the different bike web pages and all you will find are complaints about that type of bike. I guess boards just bring out the Negative issues. If one bike has a problem, it does't mean all the bikes have that same issue. My 00 V11 Sport has over 20,000 hard miles on it (has seen many long days at RED line and keeps wanting more) and while I have had a few bitchy problem, I blame the dealer for most of them, not the product. Yes, Guzzi needs to get their act together and take care of the customer. Maybe that is why they are getting rid of some upper management at Guzzi. Just my two cents, Mike (Now just go out and ride)!

Well, I missed another one. I came down with the flu again. I will aim for next month for sure Mike

I have not tried the Michelin Mans tires but I did have a set of Metzeler Sportec M1 tires on my 03 Rosso (which I thought were the greatest) then I tried out a set of Pirelli Diablo Corsa's and I liked the Diablo Corsa even better. Very stable, fast warmup and sticks !!! Mike

Are the 03 pistons the same as the 02 and earlier piston? I know the 03 has some kind of oil jet for cooling and more lubrication. Something I would look into first before tearing into the engine. Mike

Al, The insulators are for vibration only. The coils could short out internally if subjected to heavy vibrations. The rubber insulators that I used for replacing the broken coil ones were for a battery box on an older hanging tit model. Battery plates have also been known to separate with vibrations also. Mainly a Harley problem though. Mike

Yep, Go to your Guzzi with hanging tits :-) dealer to have them match up the coil insulators (the length of the insulator is important to keep the coils from hitting the frame). The Guzzi with hanging tits :-) insulators have studs and you will need to buy some 6mm. nuts to secure them. Have fun, Mike

Emry, I drive by Ron Simms shop every day on the way to work and they do have some pretty trick stuff. You should of posted that you were headed up to the Bay Area so some of us Guzzi guys could get together. Maybe next time. Mike

Here is a picture of the side cover behind the starter. The leak is coming from the pressed in pin above the neutral safty switch. I have all types of neat stains on my Stucchi crossover and a cool smell of 90 weight that only a Harley rider could love. This is a picture after I picked up my bike from the dealer after it sat there for three weeks. They replaced the speedo and the neutral safty switch (left the rubber cover off the connection and did not even atempt to fix the trans leak, I guess they couldn't find it ). Mike

Mikie, I had a KLR650 some years ago, fun bike but you had to get used to the bars moving back and forth at it's max speed around 105 mph. Living in Florida, I wouldn't think you would need electric heaters in your clothing. In the Bay Area it has been in the low 40's the last few days. Other Mike

Well Mikie, The good news is, it ain't air that you let out of the shock. The bad news is, it was nitrogen. Take the bike to your local shop or suspension guru to have the shock recharged. I don't know the pressure off hand, they should know. Good luck, Other Mike

You have missed another option, How many 00-01 Sports had the trans leak repaired and are still leaking. After leaving my bike three different times for having the leak repaired, the trans still leaks. I had two different leaks, one from the rear of the transmission (reseal fixed this one the second time around) and also one from the side cover behind the starter (where a pin is pressed into the sidecover). Humm, maybe they can fix it when my bike goes in for the recall. Mike

Yep, I have a place on the spine frame to mount the transmission bracket in question, but no bracket. It would not be hard to make one of these brackets, it would be faster than ordering one from Guzzi. Mike

My 00 Sport was in for repair for the transmission oil leak earlier this year. While the shop was test riding the bike to locate the orgin of the leak, the transmission got stuck in 3rd gear than neutral. Shop had to get it towed back to the shop. The trans came out and apart, every gear was damaged in the transmission and needed to be replaced. The thought at the time was that 3rd gear broke into 3 pieces and wiped out everything else. I have a feeling it was from the parts pointed out in the recall. Either way, when this type of failure happens at high speeds, it could cause the trans to lock up (with the rear wheel) and you will be going for a slide. :!: Mike

Humm, I had their site bookmarked and it would not work for me last month. Looks like their site is up and running now. Mike