V11UK

Not just any old oil leak the main drive (between engine and clutch) oil seal has gone so it all has to come apart Oh well......still love the bike

After 41,000 (almost) trouble free miles my V11 has developed a serious fault..... I noticed a small blob of oil under the engine after a run this weekend - yup, a real genuine oil leak. I can now join that select band of disgruntled V11 owners and not feel left out

I watched my mechanic carry out this 'tweek' - there is a small amount of adjustment that can be made to the standard ECU to stop the bike running too lean when fitting after market silencers. The spark plugs have always been the correct colour and the bike runs very cleanly.

Keith, (who's Paul? ) My V11 is standard apart from Mistral's and a tweeked std ECU. The dyno run confirmed it is correctly set up by http://www.motostrada.co.uk who are my local dealers . If you contact Speedaway direct I'm sure they'll confirm what you need to know. Chris

Keith, Try http://www.speedaway.co.uk - not a million miles from you. They have a Fuchs BE1251 dyno which is the best on the market. It gives a read out for crank, gearbox and rear wheel. They ran my V11 on it after the UK rally in June and I was very impressed with their set up. Hope this helps, Chris.

We all owe Jaap a big thank you for organising the rally - it rounded off a brilliant week for Jane and I. The total for our 10 day round trip to Mandello Del Lario was 2,083 miles (3,377 km) and both the V11 and the Nevada ran faultlessly.

Funny, just been talking about this with Jane. The dates are in my diary and another trip to Italy is being planned

Compressed air not an option I'd considered - I'll look into it I'm experimenting with Nitrous Oxide but it makes me giddy

I think we should have the following sub-sections within the technical section: If its running OK - break it Don't ride it - break it How to obtain 150 bhp from a V11 - and break it

In keeping with the classic nature of my V11 I've converted my lighting to acetylene. It never rains in Yorkshire (its all fallen on Ireland and Lancashire before it reaches me) so my box of matches stays dry I forgot to mention that above 10 mph the little flame in the headlight goes out...

Yup, I'm one of the select few in the UK who've bought a Bulldog. Not the most powerful thing on the block I grant you but it does what it says on the tin - a high quality, comfortable shaft drive V-twin which is ultra reliable. Viva la difference! as they say in France. I like it anyway BTW Belgarda Yamaha in Italy make the BT1100. See, the Italian's do have a sense of humour....

That statement brightened up an otherwise dull day at the office - thank you

For V11 owners in the north of England I can highly recommend Moto Strada in Shipley, West Yorkshire, for service and warranty work. Check out their web site http://www.motostrada.co.uk Their service technician is Jason Sutcliffe

1999 model 34,800 miles / 56,000 km and no breakage - fingers crossed

I've run Mistrals with the stock ECU for the past 25,000 miles or so. My dealer just tweaked the stock ECU mixture settings so the mid-range doesn't run too lean. No problems encountered, spark plugs correct colour, bike runs fine with no pops or bangs.

You failed to mention the part number for the chicken....

UK law permits up to 10% error on speedo readings and my V11 reads 8% fast. It helps if you have a 'friend' with a calibrated police speedometer. What's a Kawaski Concours? We don't have that model over here...

I thought exactly the same thing when the mechanic showed me the parts he'd removed from my V11 - nowt wrong with them after 31,000 miles. But better safe than sorry...

Hi Stefan, my gearbox did have a slight oil weep from new - but cured itself after several months. Clever things these Guzzis - my V11 must have a 'self-fix' capability

As a matter of interest, what happens at MOT time? When I had a Ducati with only mph on the clock I had to change the face to a euro friendly one that also had kph on it. Does the MOT accept a kph clock, although we actually use mph in reality? Preumably there is a secondary mph scale on your clock? Yes it does have a secondary MPH scale - but working out distances involves a bit of mental arithmetic

Wicked sense of humour BTW my V11 has a KM speedometer so I'm totally confused

Metric v Imperial.....buy a Buell a fascinating mixture of fasteners on these machines. Only the American's could manufacture a motorcycle that has both metric and imperial bolts (no offence intended )

I use these torque values on my 1999 V11 Rear wheel spindle nut 117NM (87 ft/lb) Front wheel spindle nut 93NM (68 ft/lb) Fork leg/spindle pinch bolts 10NM (7 ft/lb) M10 Front caliper mounting bolts 34NM (26 ft/lb) M8 Rear caliper mounting bolts 24NM (18 ft/lb) Spacers - I assume you mean the 2 flanged for the front wheel and 1 plain for the rear wheel?

Al - excuse my British sense of humour You need to get out more.

The Bagster system needs both the base/tank protector (tank bra as the American's call them) and their bags. The tank bag fastens to the base using d-ring hooks at the front and clips at the rear. Removal of the bag for fuel stops is easy - or you can even hinge the bag backwards if it isn't full to its limit. The most popular tank bag is the Alpha - expandable, not too big, not too small. I've used this bag for years with excellent results. The Bagster range allows the use of any bag on any base because all the bag mounts are exactly the same. I use my Alpha tank bag on both the V11 and the Yamaha - just clips on and off, easy peesy. http://www.bagster.com/en/