ponti_33609

I still have to chuckle that folks think that fiddling with the manhole is a time saver.

I try to always keep her > 4K. Upshift >5K and downshift in the 3-3.5K range. Mine rides fine in the 3's but she just seems to be happier at 4K up. Because I am primarily city riding I spend a lot of time in 2nd gear.

EXACTLY!

Someone long ago cut a bunch up and there is a post here somewhere. As I recall, the only thing significant was that the Fram's were very poorly constructed. I think the others were all quite similar and the Walmart brand was actually a Champion Labs filter. I do not think the outcome lead you down the path that UFI was superior. Anyone know where that old thread is? Bob

Bob, When you drop the pan, do you change the gasket each time? What do you use in the way of gasket cement? BTW, good picture of the hose clamp, I will follow the example. Thanks Roy Hi Roy- 3 oil changes for me. Changed gasket once. I only coated it with oil. I have not had leaks. Bob

I would be willing to bet that I could drop my pan and change the filter with clamp faster than messing with wrestling that filter out of the manholde cover and "hoping" she will never loosen on you (Well maybe not but I bet I am no more than 5 minutes behind you!). There are many posts here about this and although not everyone uses a clamp, there are reports (By respected Guzzi folks - Greg Field of MI has seen more than 1 as I recall) of more than one spinning loose and causing engine damage. So whether those people do not know what they are doing when they did their filter or something else is going on, why would you ever risk your engine for $1.95 at Home Depot? Just a thought. Bob

Quickie x-reference Amsoil SMF125 Mobil 1 M1-102 Fram PH3614 (Bad Reviews on this site) SuperTech ST3614 (Walmart Brand, built by Champion I recall?) Purolator PL 1024 Champion PH2835 AC PF53 Motor-Craft FL-793 I too have been using UFI but many of these others, that are well respected like Champion/Mobil1, are available for around $4 bucks in the states (so at least half price and available lots of places) making it economical and easy when the urge to change the oil hits you! Bob

The man-hole cover is a 27mm and many have welded a 27mm nut to a handle/wrench. I bought something off eBay that fits on a socket. You can, in theory, change the filter through this opening without dropping the sump. Because I chose to add a hose clamp on my oil filter (to prevent un-screwing in the sump), I have always removed the 14 bolts and really doesn't take any longer IMHO. I tried to do a quick search and can't find it but ther IS a thread here that contains all the cross refrence numbers. I know many have used the Mobil1 cross referenced filter and is carried at many Walmarts'. Bob

I bought mine at Ace Hardware ~$12 at the time. I know McMaster-Carr sells them as well. The "key" was to really grind the swivel head down due to the clearance issues. You only need to grind down 1 side. When you have it ground enough it will pop right on for you! Bob

Yes, it is very easy and many post here say it helps if the tire is off. I did not find this to be true. The key for me was the variable swing head and you also have to grind the heck our of it with a Dremel tool or the like. Start from the back through the tunnel and if you gring enough off (clearance issues) it will pop right on. Bob

Jaap - Love what you did and whether it is a moneypit is probably up to debate. A good, used, V11 in the states can be had for under $4,500. Adding a kit like this brings the bike to what a new bike would cost but you can't get anything else like this for what this would come to IMHO. Very unique ideed!

Hi Kev - FWIW. I have the older red fram V11 and after reading many posts, I went 1 size smaller on my rear at tire change time and it was significantly better in handling IMHO. The "fat" look is a matter of taste. I think our bikes have a little retro look to them and I do not think they look bad with thinner tires. Those fat tires look like they belong to a SuziKawa something anyway!

Are they relatively easy to remove or lots involved to support the bike? Bob

A Ballabia and a Stelvio?! Spoiled! Bob

Dan Prunuske [dan@dpguzzi.com]

This was posted years back over on the MGNOC site. Not sure if this is what you are experiencing? Premature Rear Brake Wear on V11 Sport and Others Seatmaster Rich Maund describes a problem he found on his V11 Sport, and the solution: I have read a number of letters in different places about premature rear brake wear on the V11 Sport type bikes. Mine has always had a slight "wup.....wup" sound at slow parking lot speeds. But the rotor wasn't warped and the brake functioned well enough. Not strong, but okay. No signs of overheating and melting anything either. So I never gave it any more thought. Last week with 8000 miles on the bike I tore into it for some preventive maintenance. I flushed all the hydraulic systems and tore down the rear drive to grease everything. Actually a much easier job here than on a Tonti framed bike. I found one rear wheel bearing felt notchy. That was depressing, but I was happy to have found it before it completely failed. The local bearing shop sold me two bearings the next morning for under $17 to replace them. Smooth as silk now. The real surprise was finding the rear brake pads worn to under 1/16 inch thickness! Here's how I believe the problem came about: The rear caliper mounts upside down. So the vent for it is on the bottom. Air bubbles float up right? When I bled it, I did so by removing it and placing it upright to get a good bleed on it. I did find some air trapped in it. Any chance the factory bled the system with the caliper installed so that the vent was on the bottom when they vented it? I think so. Sheesh! If air was trapped in the caliper, it would be warmed by the hot brake pads/pucks and expand as I rode the bike, thus making the brake drag a bit. Remember I mentioned mine made a "whup whup" sound at low speeds? Apparently it was dragging a bit ALL the time. I just couldn't hear or feel it. I did check to see that the pucks moved inward smoothly as I pumped up the rear brake. No problems there. No binding. After re-assembly the unit worked very smoothly. NO dragging and no more noises. May be my imagination, but the rear brake has better feel and power to it as well. 100 miles now and it continues to work quietly. No more dragging noises. I believe the air in the caliper was the problem. It's very simple to remove, flip right side up and bleed the rear brakes on these bikes. I recommend you try that if you have noises similar to what I have experienced. It could get really expensive if you wear the brakes down to bare metal.

Hi Woodburn - I think these are relatively new....previously I had only seen the "can" ones too. Why I was pleased to see these. Even the Mrs says........."your bike looks smaller" which translates to taking up less garage space in her mind which is a good thing to her! The more I have them the more I like them too! Bob

WOW!!! Last year when I changed tires I asked a similar question regarding torque of the rear wheel. The most technical advice I received was "tighten it till you fart"! Guess that was accurate as well cause the tire is still on there. Bob

Hi and thx. They are made by Mistral and I picked mine up from MG Cycle (Gordon). For Regards, Bob

Me too!

Hi Joe, I think when this was offered over at Wildguzzi.com, there were folks that didn't go for the one displayed here because they wanted to retain the original light! Yours looks great and good luck! Bob

Congrats Jamie. I grew up in Amesbury/Newburyport! Love the color scheme. You got a great deal. Post pic's when she arrives. Bob

Yes Dan, Rizoma Dynamic mirrors. Funny........the Mickey Mouse ears are MUCH larger but vibrate so much on my bike you couldn't see anything......the Rizoma's are smaller but for whatever reason, do not vibrate so I can see. It only took me a couple days to get use to the size difference. BAck when I bought PJ's was the only guy......seem to be more carriers in the states now. Bob

FWIW - I would rather pay a couple dollars more to have embroidered on the LS T-shirt rather than silk-screen. Bob

FWIW - I have a VDST (scan tool) and have experienced this..........My vaguelia is just not that accurate! Look, she starts at 750 rpm's! Bob