docc

Gettting a crank when the bars are locked back and forth suggests the two "bullet connectors" for the clutch switch that lie behind the head stock along the left side of the frame. Clean, crimp, grease, and seal! These will only stop the starter from turning. The running of the pump is elsewhere - probably relays and relay bases.

All the urethane bushings I've bought were "stiffer" than the stock rubber components, both for suspension bushings and motor mounts. I've got that whole Swiss cheese thing on my list of more things to do . . .

It appears like it may be a front cover issue. I removed the tank, retorqued the pick up and the oil lines, restarted, and within minutes had oil pouring from the top cover again. On the ride home, it was enough to coat the shoulder of the rear tire ! Ah well, thanks again for the responses. It shouldn't be that big of a deal to fix... After chasing an elusive oil leak that I thought was timing chest, or even a crack, I found the O-ring in the timing sensor had played up. Easy fix and no more wetness.

moved to tech topics for better discussion. *just a reminder*: the How To forum is for explanations, procedures, and descriptions. This is the better place for questions and discussion . . .

How many miles on the Guzzi when the U/J failed? Front or rear? Was it just noisy or worse? Thanks for feedback!

Oh no! I forgot about that one! I just walked over and gave a little tug with my thumbnail . . . and it popped right off! I see it brought some of the silver paint with it. Saved, again, by V11LeMans.com and its members.

Oh no! I forgot about that one!

moved here for more viewing enjoyment!

Skeeve's point is well taken: there is no going back from my approach. I cleaned all the adhesive off and roughed the backs of the aluminum badges with 80 grit paper, then scarred the side plates with the Dremel and affixed with high strength epoxy. Any repaint will have me masking the badges off. I still can't believe the thing fell off in my hand at the fuel-up.

Forget that. This is just to make the light bulb work (illumination). Has no effect whatsoever on the tach. Common fault on the white faced tachs seems to be break in one of the coil feed lines, which tend to break from vibration. This is fixable. I do see the diagram shows separate ground paths for the instrument and the illumination. It does look like the instrument itself grounds back through the harness. Certainly, the mounting studs only appear to ground the illumination. The diagram also shows two separate AMP connectors between the ECU and the tach. Before I replaced the tach, I would track those down for a cleaning and dielectric grease. It does appear the tach gets its signal from the ECU. From there, I would think the signal comes from the phase sensor. G2G, how does that fault in the coil feed lines figure in? Where would we look for that?

I would certainly try to restore the ground path through the mounting studs first.

Fueling up yesterday, the small eagle badge on the top triple clamp fell off. I was amazed it hadn't jumped off on a lonely stretch of back road. At home, I pulled at the badge on the swingarm side plate and it fell off in my hand! The adhesive appears to be a proprietary olive oil based foam. I'm in the process of roughing the surfaces with 80 grit paper and using an epoxy to reattach. Don't let yours get away!

Good safety tip there, Ray! Don't cross the streams and don't ignite the brake cleaner in the presence of argon. "Mustard gas" - nasty. Same as mixing bleach with ammonia. Sure it gets the shower clean, but . . .

Ah! There it is: page 80 in the Owner's Manual. Good work, Guzzimoto. The LeMans may have slightly higher rear axle loads as the wheel is wider and the tire is bigger. The frame changes from the Sport might also affect the loads. Any one out there with a LeMans manual? BTW, my Ohlins remote preload adjuster is cable actuated. Again, I'm not sure if the stock Guzzi Ohlins has remote preload adjustment.

Hmm, I don't see a published GVWR for my 2000 Sport in the Owner's manual, Workshop Manual, or the sales brochure. Many of us have found that anyone who has ever been aquainted with cornbread or bratwurst might have more personal mass than the springs were designed for. Swapping to correct springs is not that difficult or expensive and really transforms any/the bike. Carrying passengers or adding luggage really makes remote rear preload adjustment a nice bonus. My aftermarket Ohlins has it, but I'm not sure if the Ohlins equipped LeMans of '03 and '04 are preload adjustable.

So, what does your tachometer show the idle speed to be?

I've had those same results from too much Grappa.

I guess it's just me hearing Wagner's Ride of the Valkyrie . . . I had a bike once that rode to Buddy Guy's Damn Right I Got the Blues . . .

moved here for more good dancing and louder music.

Now, that's funny! Now I know what to say to those guys: "Yeah, I used to own that bike, too!" Otherwise, it would be unfortunate for much of the general discussion to fragment off into subforums since just about all the experience applies across the range of models. Plus, you just can't have a subforum for the early bikes. Those RedFrame guys are like herding cats.

The very best common sense advice right there!

I've always been grateful to my older brother for many things, but definitely for interesting me in motorcycles. His SR500 single set the hook and twenty years on, the crisp ring of air cooled cylinders is music to my whole soul. Recently, he asked me how others feel about the song they might hear on the road. Here's what he told me: Does your motorcycle sing? I swear mine do. I've got an '81 Yamaha SR500 that belts out Springsteen's "Born to Run" at the top of its lone lung at anything over 4000 rpm. Below that, it thinks its Barry White, and who am I to argue? But get it out on the open road, run it up through the gears and before you know it, the fool thing thinks it's The Boss. I don't mind. It's kind of cool. Keeps me looking for fast roads. Now, the funny thing is, I have two bikes, and they are very different beasts. The second machine in the garage is a '79 Vespa P200E. Now, before you give up and whine that it's just a scooter, let me remind you that it is a 200cc single cylinder machine with Ducati solid-state ignition, a four-speed manual transmission and the ability to pull some very serious wheelstands, even with the sidecar. Even with someone in the sidecar. Got yer attention now? This one, at 40 mph and above, will offer up a fair rendition of Shiller's "Ode to Joy", and I have no idea why. I was expecting Italian opera- something by Verde- but no. At speed it gives you the last movement of Beethoven's Dreaded Ninth Symphony with full chorus. Go figure. I like it when bikes sing, and I like to keep my bikes happy. Get 'em out on the open road and let them put those vocal chords to the test. What would you like to hear?

Hard to imagine the PC545 weighs 5 Kg or 11 pounds. But, so they say. Swapping my stock LaFranconi cans to the Mistral cf rounds did cast off ten pounds.

Certainly one of you computer types could give us that image with a proper V11? One with a RedFrame and a little smoldering from under the seat perhaps?

Found this thread a great prompt to put the battery charger on. Now planning next year's travels. A shameless plug for the South'n Spine Raid Seven in 2011 for those of you in the easternish US. Or others of you jetting in from exotic world wide destinations to squander the staggering win falls of internet forums. I still owe three or four of you a beer. Oh, yeah, you know who you are . . .