tmcafe

Thanks, I did use a little blue loctite. Also I'm thinking of using a tiny dab of paint as a torque check mark. Anally retentive? Probably.

Thanks, last time I cleaned it I think I used brake cleaner and brake fluid for the pistons. No, I won't use oily stuff. I was thinking of a solution of simple green as I saw somewhere on this forum. I have a torque wrench, should pe pretty accurate. Didn't think about the 'breakaway' torque value, I'll try that. Also looks like there was some threadlocker on the screw.

I know the subject has been discussed a lot, so I apologize if the questions are silly, but here goes: Looking to cure the screeching noise from my rear brake I noticed that the pads are gone so they need replaced pronto. Are there any common pads that can be found at any bike shop that happens to be open on Saturday? Also while removing the caliper to clean it I unscrewed by mistake one of the caliper screws instead of the one that holds the caliper to the bracket. The screw looked like brass and it's most likely an M8x1.25. Given that they hold the caliper together how critical is it for them to be torqued to an identical value? I don't know what they were torqued to by Brembo. Assuming it's about 25-30 Nm given the size of the screw. Any suggestions what to do? Thanks in advance!

Thanks for the replies. Yes, it did get bumped (sidestand, that is, so indirectly the bracket, screw, &c). And sure enough, that's a Roper plate. I did enlarge the bracket hole with a Dremel, but perhaps not enough. As far as whether I have enough thread left in good shape for a partial JB Weld job, without filling completely, drilling and tapping, here's some more pics, hope they could give you a better idea (in retrospect, I should have removed the bracket to take the pics but was in a rush). The screw thread got effed too, as you can see. I'll be getting a new one soon. So what's your assessment? Thanks again.

Hello everybody, As you may see in the pic, part of the bump with the inner thread in which the sidestand bracket lower screw goes into the sump broke off. I'm thinking of using some filler (I got something like Steel Putty, some JB Weld), then drill and tap (don't have a tap). Or should I use one of those thread repair inserts? What's the best way to fix it? Thanks!

You could also try Honda Moly Paste for the splines, comes in a small tube around $9, lasts forever.

3 grease nipples, one front. Greased the front with wheel removed using a swivel attachment for the grease gun as mentioned here. Second the cush drive and rubber wedges maintenance/mod (see the step-by-step writeup in the pinned section). Get a stand if you can. There was one for sale not long ago.

I have this one (Bags Connection from Germany): http://www.twistedthrottle.com/trade/productview/2130/451/ It expands and has two side pockets. Very well made and good looking. Comes with shoulder strap too. The best part is that it is extremely convenient to attach and remove in a second with no residue on the bike other than the ring on top of the gas cap.

The only time when the airbox absolutely has to be removed is if you want to remove the rear shock (I had to replace mine under warranty). Either way, it's a PITA to adjust shock preload. Wonder why in the world they put a C shock spanner in the tool kit (which doesn't fit the Ohlins anyway).

Mine could be the very first one judging from the VIN

We need sound files Jasper

I've set my idle and balanced the TBs a few times, but never reset the TPS nor have I set the idle trim to 0. (don't have any software or a dealer around here). However, the bike has been running fine, absolutely no problems. Anything to worry about, or ain't broken don't fixit?

Maybe pigcensored?

Swearing is a useful tool when all else fails, especially if it's done in a language other than English (depending on the language, it may provide a much richer repertoire, plus avoid shocking any innocent bystanders or passers-by).

Thanks Greg! I may take you up on the offer, although you must have enough projects already. Maybe with some coaxing from the voodoo priestess, and bourbon-flavored grease the speedo will work smoothly and the twitchy demon will go away. To recap what I did: I cut the speedo open in two spots to grease the gears per Greg's "how to" post: . In those openings I stuffed in Belray waterproof grease for the gears, then sealed the openings neatly with ducktape. I also sprayed a bit of Lithium Teflon grease with a straw on the couple or so pinion spots accessible. I didn't fill the case with silicone grease, nor did I drop any bulbs on purpose, and I retrieved all the bulbs that I could detect (just retrieving a bulb that has touched grease is enough of a test in patience and persistence). Maybe I put in too much grease--my bad. In retrospect I should have looked more carefully at the pics of the speedo removed from its case to avoid getting grease where it shouldn't be. Also I may have avoided the dropped bulbs, but as I'm not as resourceful as Ratch, who completely replaced the sockets and bulbs with more secure ones, I thought I should try to make the originals work, as Luigi did at the factory--eventually I cheated them into staying put and working. However, bulbs do occasionally fall inside the case: Speedo Fix. As far as ITI speedos go, they're junk because they seem to fail on a regular basis. If I made a few silly mistakes trying to prevent my second speedo to fail like the original one, this doesn't change the fact that they're poorly made and not even greased to help them last longer. Speedo update: both odometers work fine it seems, counting the miles with reasonable accuracy. The speedo needle still stops around 15 mph on its way to zero, and seems sluggish to react to fast changes in speed. Suspecting some stray grease getting in the way.

Thanks Ratch! I'll check with them, I'm in no rush. Still wondering what caused the wacky behavior of the speedo. I know somewhere there's a repair how to posted by Greg. From my vague understanding of the speedo innards, something (dropped dash bulb) may have gotten stuck between the magnet and the drum? And maybe then it moved to get the needle stuck at 20? At least for now I can rely on the odometers (whereas the ones in original speedo quit). Thinking of a benefit in disguise, maybe the speedo reading high may help me avoid speed tickets. And the bike is running fine as it always has.

Yes, I heard Veglias were better, and V11 was born before the Aprilia takeover. Doesn't make me feel any better...

After I finally managed to stick back in the silly rubber sockets, bulbs working, I thought the speedo wars were over, at least for a while. Was not to be. Tonight on the highway the speedo needle jumped to zero clockwise and sat there for a while, than slowly went back to what was my ballpark speed at the time, about 80. Upon stopping, it would slowly go back to about 20 where it got stuck. Odometers seemed to work fine--tested the trip against the mile posts and it's almost accurate, like .9+ per 1 mile. Right now I don't have the time and energy, not to mention confidence in my ability to fix the problem, to cut the case open and see what's wrong (probably one little bulb that got stuck or grease that migrated where it shouldn't, or likely both). This is the speedo I got under warranty. Perhaps one day I'll open the original--whose speedo works, and maybe the odo could be repaired. Guck Fuzzi, Iuck FTI, or whoever dumped these junk instruments on us.

I'm aware that this is a trivial matter, so sorry about that. I'm willing to agree that I'm an idiot as I'm assuming there's a better way to insert the little wedge bulbs into the socket and the socket into the instrument case. After all, Luigi must have done it and the whole assembly has stayed put. Last night I had one more attempt. Bulbs finally lighting, took a spin to test if speedo & odo worked, everything seemed fine. But when I got back I noticed that the little buggers weren't lighting anymore, and upon removing the sockets the bulbs feel out inside the case again just as they did before. After many tries (of course every time the speedo needs to be removed from the bike for this) I managed to get out not 2, but 3 bulbs. So I'm thinking there may be an easy trick to make bulbs stay in the socket. Just wedging them between the tabs doesn't seem to be enough to keep them in while the socket is inserted in the case. I wish I could see one as inserted by Luigi, but no way am I going to pull out any of the remaining bulbs just to see how it sits in the socket. I'm thinking of wrapping the little wire contacts behind the contact tabs inside the socket, then pulling the rubber socket back over the tabs. Also wondering what that bump in the metal tab is for--perhaps as a stop for the bulb? Here's some pics in case somebody may come up with an idea. Tab: notice the bump. Both tabs inserted in the rubber socket Bulb (found image).

Thanks Ratch. Are the replacements rubber too? The rubber has some logic, but it tends to shift the bulbs in the mount and squeeze them out as the connector is not stable enough to keep the bulb in.

Guinness for me (now I feel even better that it's recommended by the doc ). Sleep next. And cursing whatever comes to mind, including, obviously, Luigi.

Definitely some progress: dropped a third bulb inside the case, but this time I managed to retrieve it! Otherwise same scenario: once the socket is inserted the bulb either stops lighting (bad contact) or just falls out inside the case, then touches some grease and gets stuck somewhere. The only way to dislodge it is to shake the case, though it may take quite a while as the grease seems to stick real well when you don't want it. Maybe that's why they don't grease those speedo internals at the factory, so that Luigi won't have trouble extracting the bulbs that fall inside Although I'm still waiting for that lightbulb moment when the secret of the bulb and socket insertion gets divinely revealed, for now I feel like it can't get any worse. I'm almost beginning to enjoy the game, kind of like visualizing what it would look like in a Laurel and Hardy movie (given that the technology isn't much different ) For now I'm thinking of getting better tweezers

Thanks, that's what I suspected. But that was the easy part. Getting the bulbs to work consistently and sticking them back into the speedo is a fking nightmare (see the other thread). For now I'll sleep over it...

I did use silicone grease every time I tried to twist in the sockets. The bulbs were inserted the right way--I remembered an earlier post and checked to see how the remaining bulb that worked was positioned, otherwise the fuse would burn. If the bulbs didn't work it was because there was a problem with the contact. I cleaned up real well inside the sockets with electrical cleaner. Still, those little wires on the bulb don't make good contact nor do they keep the bulb from popping out the socket.

Now I'm almost sure I have not one, but two instrument bulbs trapped inside the speedo case!! How? I tried again to slide in a bulb in its rubber socket and again the bulb fell inside the case. It rattled a little, then stopped--it got stuck in the grease I put on the gears as prevention. I shook the case to dislodge it, but then it would get stuck again near one of the holes where I was hoping to be able to pick it up with tweezers. Then it either got stuck in the gearing or grease got where it shouldn't, because when I turned the speedo drive the needle would jump to high right away. Eventually it went back to its normal behavior. This is likely to have happened with the first bulb that fell inside the case. So I guess unless some divine wisdom reaches me misteriously, I see putting back in the rubber sockets without bulbs, installing everything back on the bike, and see if I can live with it. And no, I'm not going to open the speedo case, at least not the new one. If everything happens for a reason, there may be a deeper meening to this shit. I'm still trying to figure... Any ideas?