Foxy

If in doubt I have a spare pair of V11 heads for sale

I found Halfords satin silver finish engine paint is a good match for the grey alternator cover on my V11, and has so far lasted considerably better than the stock paint. My rocker covers are bare polished metal, which made polishing out some scratches from a crash rather easier.

These days I exclusively use Altbergs. I bought my first pair several years ago: I've still got them, but don't wear them much any more as they're too warm for summer use. But after several years use they are as comfortable as an old pair of slippers, tough as old boots and still completely waterproof. They provide more than enough protection (CE approved) without resorting to nasty plastic, and as they have a proper sole unit they cope very well with walking duties too, as well as providing reassuring grip on poor surfaces - unlike Daytonas. Now I mostly wear these: Similar, but lighter and a better all year round boot for the UK. All the excellent qualities of the Clubman Classic, with the added bonus that work give them to me for free. Comfortable enough to wear for twenty hours plus, including plenty of leg work and standing around. Completely waterproof, nicely made. So good I have two pairs, one pair for day to day and one pair bulled to perfection for those special occasions.

Cibie Z-beam in a decent shell. BMW /7 headlight. Much better than anything else they've produced in recent years.

To paraphrase a friend and life long Guzzi fan... don't let the test ride put you off

It doesn't make it a bad bike, and there are few bikes out there that do it for me in the same way, but to deny the V11s are without a number of flaws is to close your eyes to the patently obvious.

If it's perfect you want then you're thinking of the wrong bike. The Le Mans is a heavily flawed machine that in the wrong place at the wrong time is a monumental pain in the 'arris. Of course in the right place at the right time then it's wonderful, which is why I put up with it. The only way I can get it comfortable is with an Airhawk, and even then mates wonder how I do it. If you do fancy it then got for it, just make sure you do it with eyes wide open.

R45. Glutton for punishment.

I couldn't possibly comment. Oh, all right then. I'm hoping I'm through the gremlin stage with my Le Mans. I really do hope so, because having not long ago spunked out on a new engine it'd better be fine. But so far, admittedly with only a couple of thousand miles on the new engine, it's been fine bar a minor oil leak in France and a fairing bolt vibrating lose today. It might even make up for leaving me stranded at the side of the road with just one cigarette and big end soup in the sump. My little BMW copes with most of my miles. It currently has 162,000 miles on it and gets used for 55 miles a day, despite being 26 years old. In the past year it's not been free of trouble, and is at the moment off the road with a leaky gearbox seal. But then you expect problems on a bike on this age, and even with ragging it up and down the motorway everyday it still refuses to use any oil between services. And unlike my Le Mans nothing has taken more than a day to fix. Shame it's a soulless old heap really. I will also admit that many people thought I was mad to take the freshly rebuilt Le Mans and thrash it round the south of France for 5 days last month and expected me to come home on the back of a truck.

If you were a rocket scientist I'd tell you that you don't need to remove any of the exhaust system to remove the alternator cover

Wish I knew. The odo has stopped a shade under 11,000 miles, probable mileage is still only in the region of 12-13,000. It should have had in the region of 30,000 miles on it so far, but took a knock in so far as it now has a new engine. New speedo is waiting to go in, rear wheel bearings being done at the moment (how bloody much!), numerous minor electrical niggles, paint that may as well be tissue paper and a new gearbox breather. Hopefully passing it's MOT today and I'll have it back on the road tomorrow. Will be quite nice to have an alternative to a 1982 BMW for the miles I do, I just wish it could be as reliable as my Indian made Royal Enfield. Fingers crossed though I'm getting closer to the point where it's sorted.

Fitted Monster pegs after binning my Le Mans last year. The rubber topped pegs are an aftermarket alternative for the Monster sold as a genuine Ducati part. They are far, far cheaper than genuine Guzzi parts and the rubber top suits my needs better than the originals which I found slippery in the wet. Another bonus is that unlike Guzzi parts Ducati parts tend to be in stock or available this side of the second coming.

Won't even mention the camouflage effects of bright lights, or risk homeostasis, or that defensive riding will always be safer than mechanical aids. Might as well cover the bike in reflective graphics and swear by a white helmet... On the flip side the headlight as bog on the V11 is sufficiently crap even the rider tends to struggle to notice the difference on main beam, even at night

And how does that help you see where you're going? And while it might be standard practice where you are it is still pretty stupid.

Only City of London have them, not the Met.

Having been through about ten fuses in the course of two days riding with pretty much identical symptoms might I suggest that if nothing else is obvious check the horn feeds. Mine chafed against the horn brackets, causing a short and blowing a fuse if I so much as brushed the horn button.

Was about to suggest M&P, saw an ad earlier this week. But 20 years out of a pair of boots? You do know you're supposed to put them on your feet too?

I know City of London Police are running at least one, possibly two Norges on trial. Whether or not they'll make it onto the full time fleet I do not know.

Excellent work, cheers for that. I will be doing this to the shiny new speedo I have sat on my bench while I wait for everything else to go back together.

They're not too shabby at all, especially this latest version that cuts power to the grips if battery voltage drops too low. One of the few genuinely good bits of kit Oxford make - good enough for Honda to rebadge and sell as their own grips.

Indeed I am about, cheers for asking. Not had chance to do much at all to the Le Mans bar starting to take off, clean and bag up the bodywork. Other projects have been getting in the way, but are just about done. There is also the lack of heating in my workshop! Only looked back in because of an email telling me I'm on probation...

Well the good news is I'm back to two functioning bikes, having just about finished a rebuild this evening. Bit of head scratching to be done with getting the timing spot on and then start on the running in. Just got to service my BMW and then, finally, I'll be able to start on the Le Mans. I'm keeping an open mind on what I'll find, but think that any problems should be apparent on removing the head, barrels and inner sump. My only concern is over parts. I've got enough contacts to sort out specialist engineering help, but the saga over something as simple as a replacement speedo makes me wary of how easy it will be to deal with any official outlets. Are there any dealers or other specialists anyone can recommend for parts? Obviously I would prefer UK, but given the strength of the pound I wouldn't have too many qualms about mail order from state side.

The items in the sump are a mixture of ferrous and non ferrous, can't say too much more as I haven't cleaned them or done anything more than pass a magnet over them. They vary in size from less than 1mm to about 3mm, of which there are hundreds to a couple of large shavings that are about an inch long. What I do know is that they were not in there when I changed the oil and filter a thousand or so miles ago. And that the engine is therefore really not well. I'm still not sure what caused the poor running previous to this but as it ran better after flushing the fuel system brought about an improvement and I haven't yet put any fresh petrol in I'm not convinced this is directly related to the contents of my sump. I do know that the battery is definitely past it and have wondering if this is responsible for part of the problem. The noisy running persisted for a short time before me coming to a halt, at which point the battery wasn't up to even turning the motor over. On a fresh jump pack it started up on the second thumb of the button. When it sounded absolutely horrific, prompting both me and the recovery chap to leap towards the kills switch. My plan so far is simply to investigate what I can as simply as I can. I'll be making a start by removing the heads and barrels and inspecting the state of the rods and big end. Mercifully these engines don't require dropping the engine, splitting the cases and then splitting the crank to do so. But I'm not in an enormous hurry as thankfully I have a couple of other bikes to keep me mobile.

Yup, managed to throw her down the road pretty well. No idea how long it ran, if at all on it's side as I seem to recall it wasn't running by the time I picked myself up off the ground. That said I still managed four or five thousand miles since without a hitch. When it happened the only warning I got was rough idling, no oil warning light. Oil filter was still on tight, and the oil level didn't appear to be low. Had been coming round to the idea of fixing her up, and what you say does give me some heart, especially the possibility of not needing to split the cases and pull the crank. Are there likely to be any major hitches if I try and do this myself? So far my engine building experience is limited to classic British singles, broadly similar technologies but rather less complex. Just wish this had cropped up while I still had a warranty! Cheers for your advice so far chaps.