al_roethlisberger

...yes indeed, a "kit" would be a great idea as there are several "tail-light/fender eliminator" kits out there now that pose the same challenge. I'd buy one if it's reasonable, and nice looking. It should in reality be no more than a 6 inch or so black bar/rod with eyes on the end for the bolts. Anyone could make one, but a premade, measured, and powdercoated one would be an easy sell I would think.

Here's a question in regard to Paul's very nice tail kit(carapace, LED light) in regard to useability with the Tekno(and others?) bags. Jaap, this should be very relevant for you since you have the bags as I recall, and have ordered Paul's kit. So, for those that own the Tekno bags, you know that part of the frame bolts to the license and OEM fender bracket to hold everything firm and aligned. With Paul's kit, this subframe is eliminated, and thus a significant portion of the Tekno frame cannot mount to anything, without modification. Jaap, have you given this much thought? I suppose one could build a kit to support the Tekno frame in lieu of the OEM bracket.... al

OK, now that we seem to have a number of craftsman very active in the forum, and the membership has grown to be fairly broad.... I thought I'd ask if anyone has thought about modifying the front turn signals such that they are more integrated into the fairing on the LeMans? Although I have to admit that this is a minor thing, and the OEM signals aren't all that bad looking, something more integral to the body would probably look a bit more sporty, and less of an afterthought. If you take a moment to inspect your fairing, you'll see that where the signal mounts is an indentation and crease that could potentially house a streamlined signal quite effectively, as opposed to the current stalk arrangement. I've seen this exact application on similar bikes such as the Yamaha FZ-1(Fazer 1000) and it's fairing, but it was a low-volume custom application made by an FZ-1 afficianado. I suspect that this would have to be the case for the V11 as well. Anyway, with all the talk of "stealth" mufflers, new streamlined tail-pieces, etc.... has anyone given any thought to this yet as it falls into this same realm. ...thought I'd just ping everyone. al

...hey, Harley's rock!! ...we all know we'd ride them instead if we were only so worthy And, I take personal offense at the "flooder" term being used so perjoratively since it was coined for my own initial verbosity... hrmm...ok, no I don't really All kidding aside, depending on your weight and riding style, we've found that adjusting the preload on the OEM springs will only get you so far. For some people, that's "far enough," but for others a new shock/springs is the only answer. As some others have pointed out, let us know some more details of your fully loaded weight you expect to carry for this trip, expectations, etc... and maybe some folks can offer more specific advice based on their experience. al

Well, Mike got my heads finished, and they are on their way back to Moto Italiano... here's his report: He is continually "impressed"(sarcasm alert! ) by the lack of consistency and quality of Guzzi parts I think. His words were, "...offically, these were the worst heads[Guzzi] ever..." and it took him an extra three days or so to be able to wrangle the right flow out of them that he was aiming for. He was joking that they must have put an apprentice on my heads as there was so much taken out of the port by the factory that it was nearly impossible to machine it properly. Further, when he dual-plugged the head, casting inconsistencies have proven to make it impossible for him to standardize on a single repeatable process and to have any reasonalby consistent expectations. He makes it work just fine, but each set is a new adventure apparently. Anyway, the good news... He got about 126CFM(125.4/125.7) out of my intake side, from a stock 112 approximately. And the exhausts came out at about 82-84 CFM. The intakes were at the bottom of average(referencing his difficulties porting them above) while the exhausts were on the high side of average for his "Stage II" effort. But then again, he has historically only gotten at best around 130CFM even for "Stage III" race-application porting on the intake side, so it's not a major difference. Plus he said you won't feel the difference between 125 and 130 CFM, but from 112 to 125 CFM will prove a distinct improvement mid-range. He says the general rule-of-thumb is .43HP per CFM gained on the intake. So in general, so we're looking at about 5.8HP potentially from each side, gross. Who knows though. The dyno, and other dependencies will make the final impact and report So, hopefully I'll have the bike back in a week or two, then can get a map for the PCIII... and I can report rear-wheel HP and torque. I'll let you know more once I know more.. ...and of course, the dual-plugging will be later once we nail-down the coil selection, and I have access to some software that will adjust the timing as well. For the time being, the extra/new plug hole is well.... just "plugged" al

Geez, yeah... THANKS JOE ....ohhhh NOW you post pictures some 3 months after I ordered my Ti Leo's Just picking at cha! The wheels looks nice Joe. I'll have to try to strategically park your bike close to mine the next time we go for a ride to try to visualize how those wheels might look on mine ...oh, and BTW... where/whose fender kit is that? It kinda looks like mine, but in Carbon?? Just curious as I've not seen another of mine on anyone's bikes. al

..hrmm, well I do like the Buell, so that's a bright side. I guess But I have to admit I am a bit stymied here. I too have been the victim of the elusive and hard to reproduce "vapor lock" issue, and am a big advocate of it's "existance".... but it was only in the hottest of environs, 100 degrees, and at high altitude(Yosemite) where I ever had it(so far) rear it's head. I have ridden my LeMans long distance through the desert, and regularly here in California in the 90's on blacktop, with no problem.... other than the one incident mentioned above. And even with that Yosemite event, I was able to coast down the hill for about 100 yards, and it started right up after cooling a bit. That being said, I don't doubt your experience, but I think there may be something else conspiring to make your experience worse and/or more extreme. It really sounds like your case is even further removed from "normal" than what many of us have experienced. I still plan to get some of the heat sheilding from Whitney, and maybe try to fabricate a shield for the pump. But so far, my "vapor lock" issues have been only under the most extreme conditions, and was only an inconvenience, not debilitating. ...it just makes me wonder if something else is amiss exacerbating the problem, such as the pump itself being flakey, the relay, etc?? Good luck with whatever path you choose though. Sorry to hear you are having such a big problem with this. al

The Quota PC should be the same, you'll just have to change the map. Check out this thread: V11 Forum Power Commander Sale at K&N Thread ....hope that helps! al

...wow, now I like those! But $350 seems a bit steep. The Genmar may be a similar solution when available, as they just raise the OEM clamps up by an inch or so. And that will be about $100 I think. I'll have to keep these in mind though. Nice workmanship. al

...hrmm, reminds me of my innumerable(really) slow speed tip-overs on my old FJ-1200, especially when loaded with luggage I got so used to them over time that they didn't even bother or embarras me anymore... I'd just lay it down slowly, step away, shrug my shoulders and laugh ...most people got a kick out of witnessing it, so hey, I'm glad I was entertaining!

...I'll try it again on the "left side" once I get the bike back with the Leo's installed, but as I had mentioned as well before... with the stock cans, at least on my bike there's no way the stand can be used on the left. The handle just won't clear. al

I'm not certain about the x-reference, but... You also can buy Magnecor(or similar) wire, caps, etc... and make them yourself as an alternative. But as an aside, I'm sure Magnecor wires are good, but any "good" wires of the right spec will do. I wouldn't put too much into the hype that a set of wires is any better than another and will somehow make any real performance difference... obviously conversely realizing that cheap or "bad" wires of course are indeed a "bad" thing Talk to Carl, I think it was he that ordered genuiiiiiine Guzzi wires, and it ended up costing him a bank, then realized later he could have put some together himself for next to nothing www.evoluzione.net also sells some "high performance" wires for the V11 Sport/LeMans, although they are unfortunately yellow instead of red. al

I don't remember what I'm paying exactly, but I found State Farm to be the least expensive *by far* in my area, Nothern California. But I think a lot of it has to do with location, and how a company classifies a bike. With State Farm, they rate a bike simply by displacement, not by "class" so that can make a huge difference. Progressive, Allstate, and some MC specific underwriters wanted exhorbitant rates for the Guzzi and when I was shopping around for a Yamaha FZ-1(Fazer 1000)... something like $1100 to $1500 a year! Crazy. I think I pay something like $600 a year for full coverage now, and if I didn't carry collision it would next to nuthin' al

...although I haven't ridden my bike in MONTHS ... I recall that my mileage is about on-par with yours Ian. Maybe it's our "special" gas out west In town, maybe high-20's if I'm lucky. However, on a longish touring excursion I was in the mid 40's consistently. I suspect much of it my riding style around town. But who knows. It will be interesting to see how my mileage is affected after the porting, etc... though. al

...just a matter of personal taste of course, but I don't find the OZ wheels at G&B to be an attractive alternative for the Sport/LeMans. They look too angular to me, and seem to clash with the "swoopy" lines of the Sport, and especially the LeMans. Of course, others may disagree... and that's OK And yes, I bet they are a "chunk o' change" ...but if you are looking for lighter wheels that could compliment the lines of the bike, another alternative is Dymag. I've seen a couple bikes with these rims, and they look quite nice, albeit mostly OEM looking... nothing radical. But as a caveat, I've also heard that it's horror to actually get your hands on them al

...hey now, I'm offended I agree, even though I have one of those bikes with the "fuzzy black engine paint" and "black frames." I love the look of my bike, but I miss the red frames, and am glad to see solid color-schemes returning. And although my engine paint hasn't started to flake off, it is turning a more definite "grey" than black.... As I mentioned above, I love the powder-coated rims, but other than a muted "gold" I really can't think of a color other than black that goes with the color schemes my Champagne bike has. dunno... ...maybe one day I'll strip it all down and coat the frame red al

...so aaaaaaaaaaanyway The red wheels look great Rich. I've been tempted to do the same, but I really can't think of a color other than maybe silver or gold that would look better than the stock black wheels on my Champagne colored Le Mans though. Red would certainly be a bit much on my bike I think. Ah well, that indecision saves me a hundred or so bucks I guess, so no worries But it certianly looks great, and a really good price to-boot! al P.S. -- BTW, Rich, I'd love to hear your thoughts on the valve wear issue I related from Mike Rich in the "dual plugging" thread.

I just got off the phone with Mike Rich today, and after everything is done, the total will be about $1350. Because of some issues with the valves, it's about $200 more than the initial quote. So here are two issues to keep in mind: 1) Remember to have the shop send your intake manifolds to him He didn't mention that to me when we were going to ship the heads, but I guess, ummmm "duh" My fault there No big deal though. He said the porting was one of the last things in the process, so if I ship him the intakes "3 day" that should work out just fine 2) Apparently MG has used relatively soft valves in our bikes, and had a rather sharp guide. Mike has noticed(and warned me ahead of time) that the OEM valves he's received have worn significantly over relatively minimal mileage. He's seen bikes with 5000 miles with .005 wear, and the guides worn similarly. This is caused by the lateral forces on the valve-stem from the rocker, the guide having a very sharp top edge, and the softness of the valves. He tested the valves and consistently find them to have a "Rockwell-c" hardness of 29.5-30, where in his opinion they should be at least 35. My valves' stems were worn .002 with only about 3000 miles on the clock. While not a big deal yet, one can extrapolate that as this wear gets worse, it will only accelerate, and then the guide and even the boss that the guide fits into will wear out. Result?... oil burning, poor valve-train performance, binding, etc... So, the moral of this story? Keep an eye on the wear of your valve stems and guides, and if you have a chance to change them to a better set, you may want to take that opportunity. Because Mike says every late model Guzzi he's worked on has this valve wear issue. BTW, this added another $160(~$38 per valve) to my bill, as he's installing Rockwell-c Hardness 38, and nitrile coated valves to mine. They should slide easier and last "forever"... more or less I should have the heads back in a week or two at this point al

Amen Rich I don't really want to get into a debate over this issue in this forum though. War is unfortunate, and should always be a last resort. Although I've never had to fight in a war, every veteran I've ever met has had this same perspective. I will say this one thing though, with the exception of a small handful of people(I think I know 3 at this point), everyone I talk to has serious questions and concerns over the justification and wisdom of this action. If I were the lone voice urging concern, I could write it off as my being purely naive... but... So yes, I worry, and question. So, to Jaap's question: Here are some links to the Mall incident. BTW, depending on who reports the story, the father and son were either: 1) Just casually wearing their shirts, then accosted by Mall Security or 2) Actively annoying and engaging other shoppers, and asked to leave I think what really happened is that a zealous Mall Security over-reacted from their experience some months prior with a larger peace demonstration in the Mall. You read for yourselves and draw your own conclusion Lawyer Arrested for Wearing Peace Shirt in Mall Lawyer Arrested for.... another news article BTW, bottom line though, everyone I do speak with on this issue supports our troops and country 100%, regardless of if they question our government's decision. And as Americans, not only is questioning and voicing our opinion our right, but I firmly believe that is our duty as framed by the founding fathers. Good luck to all... al

Current status/feedback from Genmar: So, I'll check back with them in a few weeks and let everyone know what I find out. al

Hi Buck, I too am very sorry to hear about your experience with your bike and the extended service periods. While I also am more than happy to shout accolades for the fun and excitement these bikes bring, I've also been very vocal about my disappointment with MG's apparently poor manufacturing QA and service track-record. That being said, all we can do for now is choose to work around it, and/or keep needling MG in an effort and hope that it will improve over time. I don't have any specific tips in regard to your instrument failures, but here are two suggestions. First, there is a thread or three here in the forum discussing speedo/angle-drive/cable binding/failures, especially in regard to applications where handlebar kits were installed. Here is one: V11 Forum - Speedo Cable/Angle-drive Thread Second, you may want to do a search on "Tommaselli" as well, as I remember a thread discussing their installation, and the catch-22s. In regard to the tank-suck, while Jason's tip to remove the rubber plug may be one practical fix to the issue, here is our FAQ that addresses the actual causes of the problem... and some more holistic remedies: V11 Le Mans Forum - "Vapor Lock" and "Tank Suck" FAQ Well, good luck, and I hope you are able to sort out the problems such that you don't have to give up on the bike. We'd hate to lose another owner and Forum contributor simply because MG let you down. While this is no solace for your particular problems, I am hoping that the problems many of us have experienced with the first year bikes(2002) have been addressed in the subsequent models. They've certainly appeared to address this issue to some degree with regard to the new integral fuel pump in the tank on 2003+ V11 models.... so who knows. Take care al

...it's like the "Master" of a Masonic, Elk, or Oddfellows Lodge... On the Flinstones, it was the leader of Fred's lodge ... Grand Poobah(or something like that) Thanks for all the accolades guys, but to be fair "quantity doesn't necessarily equal quality"... and not to say my posts are vacuous , but I have to nod my cap to folks like Rich, Lex, Jaap, Paul, Carl, Janus, Jim... etc... that may not have posted quite as many, but have arguably had more "content" to their posts on a regular basis. Thanks to all of you for contributing... al P.S. So ...now that we're done with all the niceties... would one of you please go figure out which coils I'll need?

....hey now, I hovered in the 490's for weeks since I don't even have a bike to talk about! I've mostly been in "lurk" mode.... I just thought it might be prudent to "mark" this historic event al

Todd and company at Guzzitech have several maps they can provide. I think they're trying to compile something of an archive. Visit the website and drop them an email with the setup on your bike, and they may have something close. Of course, nothing beats a custom map at a certified Dyno center, but a "close" map should get you going until you can or want to get one custom made. al 500

Yep, I'll(we'll... Jason and I) will have to no doubt get our timing adjusted. I think the stock ECU on the V11 will be fine though, and with folks like Evoluzione and FIM making software available(so I hear) that can adjust timing as well... we should be able to dial it in. I'll just have to find a shop to take it to. We still have to figure out the coils though. I'd rather not add complexity by having to install relays and such(just something else to break IMHO)... so maybe we can figure out a suitable swap-out replacement for the OEM coils?? I have no idea yet though. We'll just have to see. This is currently my biggest hurdle. At this point, I've forgotten what my bike looked like I think! al