docc

I had long thought the swinging needle was from the early version's bevel drives, but it appears the later, with the bent tubes, also wags. I'll try to damp the cable in housing with the engine assembly lube and see what happens . . .

This is too ominous. I'm planning on doing this tomorrow while my wheel is off. And, eek, it is Friday the thirteenth! Good thing I'm not with the Knights Templar. I'm sure my clutch bleeder would be booby-trapped . . . Really, all I need to do tomorrow is put in some new brake pads, but thought it best to pull the wheel, clean up the grease splatter (hoping that my rear drive seal change is holding) and bleed the caliper (which requires flipping it upside down). In the process, I think it good to follow this advice in FAQ: Maintenance Checklist while the wheels are off

$ 206 Canadian pesos, not as bad as i thought. I hope this one lasts a bit longer! What year is your LeMans? White face gauges or the black (different cable set-up)?

Oh, crap! Now you're scaring me a bit Mikie as it's outta warranty! Hope pasotibbs story fits my bike $wise! Like Pasotibbs, I jiggled that kill switch a number of times and I kinda got a sense(errant?) that it had more to do with subsequent restarts than anything else I'd wiggled! (stopped near a bush, 'mose well drain me sump!) I getting a sense that this seems to be a fairly common problem though throughout the V11 years. I was hoping that being one of the "last of the V11's" things would've been a teeny bit sorted than the early examples. Oh, I forgot, it was still made by the same fella's - probably after lunch. If a cycling the kill switch seems to work I'd say relay or kill switch contacts are likely to be the cause. That's not bad thinking, and the run switch is pretty easy to open and clean with a contact cleaner; worth doing! Yet, a couple of us found that repeatedly re-energizing the relays would finally wake them up. Again, cranking depends on current through the run switch. If she cranks, the run switch is passing current from either the side stand switch or the neutral switch/middle relay. Also, if Relay 5 has played up, it's worth checking the yellow wires from the stator under the alternator cover to be sure one isn't coming apart. I've seen two of these that kept showing up as relay failure.

I've run out about six sets of Diablos from Corsa to Strada along with Metzler, Bridgestone and Michelin (which my Sport was allergic to), and Dunlop. I do like the Pirellis best (the Sport was delivered with Dragon Corsas which were gone in 2800 miles!). I'm currently using up the new Angels which feel great. We'll see on the miles since I keep good records and can compare to the various Diablos. I do think they make our local roads from ground up sharks' teeth and the ambient temps are intense lately, leading to what I call the 90-90 wear pattern (90 mph at 90 degrees F). Reaching 4000 miles on a rear tire is for celebration! While the wheels are off, have a go at some good sorting: Maintenance Checklist, while the wheels are off in "FAQ.":luigi:

docc, have you lubricated the speedo cable? You can pull the inner portion out (while watching for little washers that may or may not be there) and put Lubriplate engine assy. lube into the cavity and reinstall the cable. You cannot get too much grease in here. This should help. I wiped the cable down liberally with RedLine ShockProof. I do have some CRC engine assembly lube "with moly-graphite." You think maybe i should completely coat the cable with this? And, will it work on my ZUMO?

So it is that Relay 5 is your most likely culprit, yet there area couple simple things to look and listen for if she cuts out again: When the key is on and the run switch is pushed on, is there a brief whir from the fuel pump? If so, Relay 5 (the rear most relay)is working. Does the starter engage and the motor crank? If so, then the Run Switch is working. Try to engage the starter in neutral with the stand down. If no crank then the neutral switch and the middle relay are suspect. Power to the run switch only goes through the sidestand switch when it is up and the bike is in gear. Are all the lights and horn functional? From your post it sounds like it is cranking, but not firing which brings us back to relay 5. (Again, most likely).

So, the new Veglia is "fixed", meaning it rather (somewhat) shows the speed , nearly. Rolling away from a stop it wags wildly. I do love the look of the white faced clocks. And while the Veglia was down, the Garmin ZUMO presented a perfect dashboard. I could ride on with confidence using the satellite link. Except that the ZUMO locked up and had to be sent in for remediation, perjunctivication, or forpostification, or for whateverthehell they do to electronic devices that no longer function. For the record, both of my Veglia Speedometers outlasted the ZUMO 550.

Did the stumble go away? You must have over 70,000 miles on Kermit now.

Looking forward to seeing your results!

Simplest solution is to adjust the valves to "world spec," freshen the plugs and balance the throttle bodies. Turn your air screws to one full turn out. Longer answer found here: TPS Setup and Throttle Balance Tuning

Your pawl spring may be faulty. But, before going there, try carefully cleaning, greasing , and shimming (if necessary) the foot lever's pivot points. Many also report improved function with the RedLine Shock Proof gear oil.

Wow, RAZ! I don't think I've ever seen a picture of your Sport. That is magnificent!

Now, admittedly, this is all quite over my head. Still, could we use a Pulse Width Modulator to approximate the advantages of the three-phase system?

The bleeder is on the slave cylinder attached directly to the back of the clutch / back of the gearbox. It's probably easiest to get to with the wheel off. And, it's just far enough from the lever to require assistance on the squeezing and releasing.

So, after 40 years with this engine architecture, it has never been successful? I'm not sure Moto Guzzi hasn't been "essentially bankrupt" since their inception in 1921. That they haven't disappeared or been "resurrected' is a phenomenon indeed; quite apart form engine architecture.

I suppose it would be most common to recall that "eight or ten" were at the meeting. That you would recollect "nine or eleven" is most telling. The bottom line, so to speak, is that Guzzisti are, well, not common. It is absolutely amazing that this brand is still being produced. No MBA graduated in the last twenty years would think it possible. Well, okay, maybe the left-handed ones . . .

I was concerned more for the foot lever and all its associated pivots. as the pivot gets dirty and loosens up, shifting can degrade. The hand levers are pretty wobbly, but the play to engage should be pretty minimal. When my hand lever engagement play increased too much, I found the master cylinder spring had broken. Into four pieces.

The two simplest things (besides fluid that Gene already mentioned) that contribute to degraded shifting are: 1) cruddy, grabby, loose shift lever... quite easy to remove, clean, shim, and lube. 2) diminished clutch function - bleed the clutch and be certain there is not excessive play at the lever which could indicate a broken spring inside the master cylinder. Otherwise, I would assume your gearbox has had the nefarious gearbox recall performed?

Early Sports were mounted connector up. And their seats are bad about mashing on the battery, cutting into the battery hold strap, and pushing on the relays. I thought they flipped the ECU over in 2002 for better cooling. Come to think of it, cooling is probably better with the fins down . . .

I guess I'll need to protect the line at the top area of contact also. In other places on the bike I've used "zip-ties" as contact guards: (There, done! Just in case . . .) Thanks, again, Mike!!

Okay, then, it's here: Mine was in contact also. Just loosened the fitting and rotated the line for clearance. Thanks for the tip!

[posts moved here from "How To" for discussion.] TD, any good gear oil will serve well. Adding a moly additive to the rear drive is "recommended" if you are not using "Shockproof." I use "blue" RLSP in the gearbox and Heavy (red) in the bevel drive. The trouble I've found is that it is quite easy to overfill and build pressure leading to leaking seals. I'll bet some 50 ml clings inside the rear drive even draining when hot. There's this brief discussion to view: Gearbox and Rear Drive - What Oil

That's not that hyper-zoot synth left over from your SHO that's, like, thirty bucks a quart? If I had some of that stuff, I'd use it , too!

The failure was here?