Repeater

If you haven't already, right now is the time. The standard H-D incentive on the 1125R/CR is $5000 off. XB series bikes are marked down $3000. Some dealers are doing better. My friend paid $7750 OTD for an 1125R (one of the few white/blue ones in existence). Not as cheap as others have reported, but still insanely cheap for what it is all the same. ETA : I'll report back when I get to ride the 1125R. By all other accounts I've heard, the thing is an f-ing animal...

Definitely very sad - Buell is always a brand whose products I've loved for many years. They're neat-looking, the newer ones ('03) work quite well, and they're an absolute giggle to ride. If blasting down some curvy roads on a CityX doesn't make you smile, you're a soulless monster. A buddy of mine (an XB9SX owner) and I went to a local Buell dealer - H-D is giving incentives to clean out remaining inventory. He ended up buying an 1125R while they're still available. The sales guy said he'd sold more Buells in two days than in the past several months because of the heavy discounts H-D was offering on them. It's depressing to see that $5000+ off MSRP was what it was taking to sell such amazing motorcycles... but that's the state of our economy, and the American motorcycle-buying public as a whole. I had a plan to get onto a new Buell at some point - the CityX would be a perfect every-day commuter/time consumer for my needs - doesn't look like that'll come to be (I didn't have enough cash outlay to walk out with the XB12Scg I put a bid on), I'll have to find a used one...

Saw a fellow riding a silver V11 Sport this morning - about 8AM near Plato Blvd. and Lafayette in St. Paul - anybody here? Nice bike! Don't see too many V11s in the wild around these parts...

Egads! Good to know I'm in the same boat as someone else, so I'm at least not in uncharted territory! I'll check MPH - do you remember offhand how much the sump part cost? I'm kinda worried about that; I couldn't imagine it's cheap at all! I've got all the parts numbers I need now, so I just need to get time to start calling folks. Thanks to all who've chimed in so far.

I will try them, thanks!

Nope, like I said, I had liability only, so deer strikes wouldn't be covered, either. This'll all be out of pocket. Too bad... I don't think we've met... I wave to people a lot, but haven't done any of the Guzzi stufff, since I'd just gotten the bike in June. I appreciate the offer for help, though! I'd like to meet some of the rallies sometime, but the shoulder is too jacked up for the time being to ride... I have a feeling my season is more or less finished until next Spring. We'll see. I'm usually a 10-11000 mile/year rider, but I've got less than 4000 this year, I think, and aren't too likely to get many more.

Well, I haven't posted in a while, and it was mostly good - I installed my Roper Plate with no negative consequences, the valve adjustment seemed to have cut down (though, not eliminated) the odd misfire I was getting, and I thought I had it all sorted. Until I hit the brakes too hard on a freeway off-ramp and high-sided the LeMans at 15-20mph. More than anything else, I was embarrassed to make such a mistake, and injured my shoulder in the process, but worse yet, I pranged up the Guzzi a bit, too. All of my damage is on the left side, an was mostly cosmetic. But I need parts, some of them are a bit obscure and not available with aftermarket replacements. Shops like Bikebandit have online fiche readers that allow you to collect all of the parts numbers one needs for nearly every Japanese motorcycle you can find... but I can't find a similar resource for Moto Guzzis... I'd just like to get an idea of what the stuff would cost before I bring a parts list to the local dealer (Leo's South in Lakeville, MN). And just in case you're curious, here's what I'll need: New bar-ends (I'd like heavier ones if possible...) Engine guards - the left one was shattered in the crash. Upper sump assembly - the bolt that holds the lower part of the sidestand ripped out, shattering its casing. So the entire upper sump needs to be replaced. This is the worst damage of any of it. I couldn't imagine it's cheap, either... Left-side spark plug wire Left-side passenger peg mount (it's bent in, so the muffler doesn't hang right on it anymore) Left-side muffler (not sure if I want to replace this yet or not...) Left-side rear turn signal stalk New side stand bolt that contacts the sidestand switch (was ground off) and screw that mounts the sidestand into the sump Overall, it crashed well - the rash on the left side of the fairing and the sump bit are the most visible damage... I'd have preferred to not have crashed it at all, though.

Well, just found out that neither of my valve cover gaskets seemed to have survived in a functional capacity, as I have a bit of oil seepage up there. Looks like the Suzuki will get full-time duty until I can get new gaskets anyway! On a good note, I don't see anything amiss with the roper plate install...

Excellent - thanks, guys! It's appreciated. I'm pretty confident in my valve-measuring ability, so what I adjusted it to is definitely greater than what the US Spec is. In that, I think I have no worries. Good advice on the Crossover - I'll get to work on it when time allows. Thanks again.

Good afternoon. After about 700 miles on the LeMans I bought a few weeks ago, it was running up close to 6000 miles, so it was time for some service. Picked up a bunch of oil, a new filter, prepared to install my Roper Plate mod, and do the valve lash adjustments. To my surprise, the Roper plate installation seemed to go quite smoothly. Fiddly, but I took my time, and it seems to have paid off. I have the side stand back on, but I didn't cut the relief in the bracket, so I'll probably do that sometime in the not-too-distant future. I also managed to cross-thread one of the valve cover bolts on the right cylinder after the valve adjustment, but that's neither here nor there - stupid mistake on my part, as I think I was rushing it to do the other side. Anyhow, all of the valves seemed very, very loose. About twice what the recommended gaps are! This made me think - I know you're supposed to use a 'slight drag' on the feeler gauges to get the correct gap. But it makes me think that that slight drag might be close to no drag at all or "damned close to forcing it in there", depending on whom you talk to. What metrics do most folks use? Any rules of thumb to be aware of? I tried going with the .006/.008 spec this time around, so we'll see how it goes, I guess. My second question this time - my LeMans has the crossover pipe right in front of the engine... but it's loose. Not just a little loose, either, it's really, really loose. Is it safe to assume that it's not supposed to be loose, and it's missing a gasket of some sort? Both clamps on both pipes are as tight as they'll go, but the crossover pipe remains very loose...

Good evening, all! Today I purchased my first Moto Guzzi - a 2003 LeMans, black and charcoal in color, just over 5100 miles on it, and nearly stock, save for some CRG levers. Which are nice items, by the way! Like many others, I have a few questions about ownership of my new-old cycle. I've read the FAQs for quite some time tonight, and I'm getting a good bearing on what I have and what I need. First off, I noticed the classic oil-light flicker under hard acceleration from a stop just a couple of times, and just momentarily - under 2 seconds each time for sure. Of course, this is a result of the oil pump location in the sump, and I completely understand why this happens, but it still concerns me quite a bit. So I've decided I'm going to need one of them "Roper Plates" that folks speak so highly of. Seems simple enough, and seems to be a nice bit of engineering, too. So, all I want to know is whether or not there are any shops in the US that stock them? I've seen he sells them direct, also, but I'd only seen mentions of PayPal, which I don't have an account for... The last question I have on this topic - how much of this behavior (oil starvation) does it actually take to damage the engine? I know, it's a bit of a nebulous question, but it's just something I don't know a lot about. I could imagine winging up a 20-second wheelie would mess things up in a hurry, and I could also imagine frequent 1-2 second intervals of low/no oil pressure would also do some bad things. But how much is too much? It's really academic more than anything else, as I do know that low oil pressure for any length of time isn't helpful to anyone... Second, I'll need a shop stand, and it seems like some of the vendors mentioned on the site frequently carry them... so I guess I don't really have a question in that regards! It looks almost as if I could get my Redline Engineering stand to fit under the swingarms, but I wasn't quite sure if lifting the bike this way (as I had with my other chain-drive cycles) would be appropriate. Third, I'm enjoying the symphony of clatters and other neat racket that this "ditch-pump" engine makes. But I guess I don't know which ones are good and normal, and which ones are "oh, crap!" sounds. Clutch rattle - I know that's normal. A bit of clacking from the rockers - also normal. Is the ticking I hear from 2500 to 3000rpm also just further valve clatter? It's tough to tell... I'd also noticed a very slight whine in 3rd gear - how much transmission noise do these puppies normally make? Four - Bar risers and footpeg kits - who has them? Internet searches have yielded very little... Lastly, I don't have an owner's manual. I checked the downloads section for manuals, but none of them seem to currently be online - short of going through the manufacturer, where else can I find the maintenance intervals and such? I got the bike for a very fair price, and although it isn't half as comfortable or nearly as fast as the '96 GPz1100 I just sold was, but it is a more visceral form of entertainment. The sound is great, it goes pretty well (though, the oil light on acceleration will put a damper on that for now), and it's probably the best-looking motorcycle I've seen to date. I hope to have it for a long time, as long as I can condition myself to the riding position!