[Bambina Bicilindrica]

Many congratulations, Mick & Sam.

[Demise of a brand]

"Motorcycle style plays a big part in my motorcycle purchases." Sure rocks my boat. Hell I wanted a Cali 'till I saw this;

[Jokes]

Gordon Brown In Heaven

 

While on his morning walk, Prime Minister Gordon Brown falls over, has a heart attack and dies.

 

So his soul arrives in Heaven and he is met by Saint Peter at the Pearly Gates.

 

'Welcome to Heaven,' says Saint Peter, 'Before you settle in, it seems there is a problem. We seldom see a Socialist around these parts, so we're not sure what to do with you.' 'No problem, just let me in; I'm a good Christian; I'm a believer,' says the PM.

 

'I'd like to just let you in, but I have orders from God Himself. He says that since the implementation of his new HEAVEN CHOICES policy, you have to spend one day in Hell and one day in Heaven. Then you must choose where you'll live for eternity.' 'But I've already made up my mind. I want to be in Heaven,' replies Brown.

 

'I'm sorry . But we have our rules,' Peter interjects. And, with that, St. Peter escorts him to an elevator and he goes down, down, down ...all the way to Hell.

 

The doors open and he finds himself in the middle of a lush golf course. The sun is shining in a cloudless sky. The temperature is a perfect 22C degrees. In the distance is a beautiful club-house. Standing in front of it is Harold Wilson and thousands of other Socialist luminaries who had helped him out over the years --- John Smith, Michael Foot, Jim Callaghan, etc. The whole of the Labour Party leaders were there .. Everyone laughing, happy, and casually but expensively dressed.

 

They run to greet him, to hug him and to reminisce about the good times they had getting rich at the expense of 'suckers and peasants.'

 

They play a friendly game of golf and then dine on lobster and caviar. The Devil himself comes up to Brown with a frosty drink,

'Have a tequila and relax, Gord!'

 

'Uh, I can't drink anymore, I took a pledge,' says Brown, dejectedly. 'This is Hell, son. You can drink and eat all you want and not worry and it just gets better from there!'

 

Brown takes the drink and finds himself liking the Devil, who he thinks is a really very friendly bloke who tells funny jokes like himself and pulls hilarious nasty pranks, kind of like the ones the Labour Party pulled with the European Constitution and the Education, Immigration, Tough on Crime promises.

 

They are having such a great time that, before he realises it, it's time to go. Everyone gives him a big hug and waves as Brown steps on the elevator and heads upward.

 

When the elevator door reopens, he is in Heaven again and Saint Peter is waiting for him. 'Now it's time to visit Heaven,' the old man says, opening the gate.

 

So for 24 hours Brown is made to hang out with a bunch of honest, good-natured people who enjoy each other's company, talk about things other than money and treat each other decently. Not a nasty prank or short-arse joke among them. No fancy country clubs here and, while the food tastes great, it's not caviar or lobster. And these people are all poor. He doesn't see anybody he knows and he isn't even treated like someone special!

 

'Whoa,' he says uncomfortably to himself. 'Harold Wilson never prepared me for this!'

 

The day done, Saint Peter returns and says, 'Well, you've spent a day in Hell and a day in Heaven. Now choose where you want to live for Eternity.'

 

With the 'Deal or No Deal' theme playing softly in the background, Brown reflects for a minute ... Then answers: 'Well, I would never have thought I'd say this -- I mean, Heaven has been delightful and all but I really think I belong in Hell with my friends.'

 

So Saint Peter escorts him to the elevator and he goes down, down, down, all the way to Hell.

 

The doors of the elevator open and he is in the middle of a barren scorched earth covered with garbage and toxic industrial wasteland, looking a bit like the eroded, rabbit and fox affected Australian outback, but worse and more desolate

 

He is horrified to see all of his friends, dressed in rags and chained together, picking up the roadside rubbish and putting it into black plastic bags. They are groaning and moaning in pain, faces and hands black with grime.

 

The Devil comes over to Brown and puts an arm around his shoulder.

 

'I don't understand,' stammers a shocked Brown, 'Yesterday I was here and there was a golf course and a club-house and we ate lobster and caviar and drank tequila. We lazed around and had a great time. Now there's just a wasteland full of garbage and everybody looks miserable!'

 

The Devil looks at him, smiles and says,

'Yesterday we were campaigning; today you voted for us!'

[Matt black paint for Bevel drive box.]

Harley-Davidson black texture paint. Many of us here who had the blistering engine paint have used the Harley paint with very good results. No primer is needed. I did my engine 3 years/15k miles ago and it's holding up great.

 

Here's a link to one of the many threads about this:

http://www.v11lemans.com/forums/index.php?...mp;#entry110415

 

Cheers Tom, I've e-mailed a local-ish HD dealer, hopefully they'll stock it. Regards, Mike.

[Matt black paint for Bevel drive box.]

Hi all, The black engine paint on my V11 is pretty much intact. Sadly the paint on the bevel drive has largly jumped ship. I intend removing what remains with a Dremel, Will remove all oxidation etc at same time. should I use a special primer and top coat with it being alloy? I had intended using heat proof engine paint but then it occured that the drive will not get that hot and may not allow the paint to cure properly. Any thoughts out there? Cheers, Mick.

[Transmission failure on my Coppa Italia]

Are there any symptoms leading up to failure? A couple of times I've noticed that after a down shift the pedel sticks momentarily before springing back up and tapping the base of my boot. Gear shift etc is fine up to now, mileage is approaching 12k miles, Bike is a 2002 model according to the guide on here but was 1st registered in August 2001. Cheers, Mick.

[Beaten senseless by the ugly stick]

I'll bet if most of the people in here were given a chance to ride one, I bet they would not want to give it back. What a bike looks like really doesnt matter a whole lot once you're on top of it & rolling down the road. The thing about a Honda is that they just plain work. However.. one major drawback of owning a bike like that is I would be afraid to do anything much more than change the oil in it.

 

I know what your saying but..................................................! Time and time again I find myself stopping in the middle of nowhere to enjoy the view etc. and every time I look at the bike and think WOW! Maybe I'm just wierd.

[Post a pic of your V11 - No words]

 

 

 

Need to paint the bevel box.

[Last Weekend's Ride (Some V11 Content)]

Great write up/pictures, really like the sound of the roads over there. Made all the better as I look out the window at thick fog and persistant drizzle. Mick

[Continental Forum meeting 2010]

Now it's in our Diary too. Mick & Sam.

[Replacement cans,]

The "race" ECU that came with the Ti exhaust kit needs a Power Commander [or similar] just as much as the stock ECU, unless you're using it w/ the Ti pipes it was developed by the factory to match.

 

If your bike has the Ti pipes and the matching "race" ECU, then you'll still benefit from getting a PC3, but only if you go the full route and get it Dynolink-tuned to match the PC3 map precisely to your specific bike.

 

In answer to your question in the post that started this thread: No, the sensors don't make any allowances for changes to the stock set-up - any changes you make require changes to the fuel map. Guzzi used "alpha-N" fuel injection [aka "open loop'] on the V11s; even their latest models are only closed-loop at low rpms, going open-loop at something like 3k? rpms [which is where the engine starts making enough power to start to move the bike...]

 

If your V11 runs well, why don't you just go out & ride it before worrying about making any changes to it? It may turn out that you love it just the way it is & won't want to spend money chasing any kind of hp chimera!

 

Hi Skeeve.

Bike runs well enough, just a little quiet. My main concern when starting this thread was that fitting after market cans (read louder), migtht upset the way the bike runs, Regards, Mike.

[Replacement cans,]

Dear Nekkid V,

Read the above comment 3 times and DO IT!

The plot thickens! I've been back onto the guy I bought the bike off. The bike was the personal ride for the press officer for Moto Guzzi, Confirmed by Corsa Italiana, started out as issued by Moto Guzzi (He actually bought it at some stage as his own bike) she has a "performance" ECU with no rev' limiter and has no need of a power commander, (last owner's words, not mine). A local dealer's bike mechanic (Guzzi enthusiast, V11 le Mans etc. etc.) has ridden it and said "Bloody hell", Will have to look into what I've actually bought. Gaaaaawd, I love this bike! Would help if I knew vwhat I was looking for. Regards all, Mick

[Replacement cans,]

Apologies if this is a dumb question but....................... All my past bikes were fitted with conventional carbs, if I changed the silencers or air filters to let the engine breath better I had to change the jets to compensate. As the V11 is fuel injected will the various sensors pick up the change in back pressure etc. and adjust the fuel injection rate to suit. The bikes a 2001 model V11 sport, standard as far as I know. Cheers all. Mick.

[Support Guzzi at the world stage]

Despite works best efforts I am making the long treck (3000+kms) to Philip Island with my bike to watch the motor GP and do a track day afterwards. I put it in the show and shine as I figured it was secure parking for three days more than anything but it turns out there is a online componet to the voting and the field doesn't look that big, so if you go here http://www.motogp.com.au/default.aspx?s=european_motorcycles and vote for the corsa if you wish to vote for the V50 I have no problem with that it would be a laugh if it did well providing we keep the machines from bolonga at bay. Cheers

 

. And it looks like you can vote more than once,

[My 2 favourite ladies]

alright unless you want this thing deleted for lack of indecency I'm going to need a new one Much Larger and the girl to wear an outfit to better match the bike, v11 sport naked

Sam says; " Your a mucky old bu%%er and besides she'd hate to put you off your dinner"

[My 2 favourite ladies]

Planning does work. JUst last week my wife was out cleaning/sweeping the garage. Got dust all over my bike. Needless to say the seat was totally ruined (wives are like this). No worries though, Rich Maund is now in the process of fixing it up for me!

 

Bob

RESULT!!!! I wonder if its worth pointing out that the OSpipes are carefully matched to the seat? Mmmmmmmmm!

[nearly beaten by a harley]

I raced a Harley the other day, and after some really hard riding I finally managed to pass the guy. I was riding on one of those really, really, twisting sections of Mountain road with no straight sections to speak of and where most of the curves have warning signs that say "15 MPH".

if I was going to pass one of those monsters with those big-cubic-inch motors, it would have to be a place like this where handling and rider skill are more important than horsepower alone.

 

I saw the guy up ahead as I exited one of the turns and knew I could catch him, but it wouldn't be easy. I concentrated on my braking and cornering. Three corners later, I was on his tail. Catching him was one thing.

 

Two corners later, I pulled up next to him as we sailed down the mountain. I think he was shocked to see me next to him, as I nearly got by him before he could recover. Next corner, same thing. I'd manage to pull up next to him as we started to enter the corners but when we came out he'd get on the throttle and out power me.

 

My only hope was to out brake him. I held off squeezing the lever until the last instant. I kept my nerve while he lost his. In an instant, I was by him. Corner after corner, I could hear the roar of his engine as he struggled to keep up.

 

But now I was in the lead, and he would no longer hold me back. I stretched out my lead and by the time we reached the bottom of the mountain, he was more than a full corner behind. I could no longer see him in my rear-view mirror.......................

 

 

 

 

 

 

I don't think I've ever pedalled so hard in my life

RAFLMAO.

[My 2 favourite ladies]

alright unless you want this thing deleted for lack of indecency I'm going to need a new one Much Larger and the girl to wear an outfit to better match the bike, v11 sport naked

 

Good point, but in the interest of keeping my dangly bits where they belong I'll abstain from suggesting that one to Mrs NakedV. Next step is to point to a mark or two on the cans, blame her shoes and then suggest a nice pair of OS pipes from Santa, I love it when a plan comes together, Mick.

[My 2 favourite ladies]

Yes indeed. Just hope she didn't scratch your exhaust with those shoes?!

 

My thoughts exactly, LOL

[My 2 favourite ladies]

Gawd, I'm one lucky guy!!!!!!!!

[Moto Spezial Deep V Sump]

Mick, having installed two Roper plates (my own and assisting a friend with his '04 LM), it depends on how you ride as to "how bad a problem" it is. My friend is partial to hard launches and frequent lofting of the front wheel. I had often noticed his low oil pressure light coming on from starting out behind him. He'd never paid any attention. After working on him for a year, he finally came around to the idea that he couldn't (wouldn't, really) change his riding habits and that I might be on to something with my assertion that a torched crank was simply a matter of when -- not if.

 

If you ride conservatively, pay attention to oil level, keep it up as your dealer advises, and NEVER see the oil press light come on when launching from a stop, the probabilities are pretty good that you will never have a reason for any concern.

 

I put one in mine because I'm occasionally partial to hard launches. Prior to the plate, I was able to make the oil press light come on with a medium-hard launch with oil level at the high mark. Maintaining the level higher than that, I would get oil in the airbox after "inspired" riding. After installing the plate, I can't make the light come on regardless of how hard I launch. Ditto my friend. It also allows maintainence of an oil level well over the high mark on the dipstick without concern of blowing excess out through the breather and condensor, even at extended high RPMs. In the event of low oil level (hasn't happened yet, except by deliberate test) it also allows confidence that the oil pickup in the sump will not be exposed. In other words, since my Guzzi doesn't use appreciable oil between changes, I really no longer have to check a-tall with the Roper plate in there. Of course I do anyway, just as a sanity check.

 

Hope this helps.

 

Cheers for the quick reply. I'm not into skying the front end and to be honest my hard acceleration tends to be from a rolling start, ie overtaking, merging with traffic etc. I'll be watching the light for a while I think. The Roper baffle plate sounds like good kit though and a damn site cheaper than a toasted bottom end. Might have to see how much one is in £ sterling including postage etc. Mick.

[Moto Spezial Deep V Sump]

Ah. Aesthetics have never been my strong suit. If you'd ever met me you'd understand why. There are few people as ugly as me so anyone who meets me is so goggle eyed with horror looking at the sight I could have the most beautiful motorbike in the world and nobody would notice, even if they were retching on it!

 

As I said in a previous post the main thing I worry about in removing the cooler is not that the engine will get too hot but that it will have a tendency to run too cold, especially in the wet. If you don't ride in the wet very often, or hard, this won't be a concern. Do remember though that the deep sump was designed to address a completely different set of engineering problems on a similar, but different, engine thirty years ago. It'll fit on the V11 donk one way or another, that's not the issue, and there are lots of people, Jaap among them, who have them on V11's but I still maintain they are not the best sollution to the inherent problems of the V11 sump design.

 

Pete

Hi. I've heard quite a bit about the oil starvation problems on the V11. Mine is a 2001 model and I'm wondering how bad a problem is it? I do not wring the bikes neck and generally stick to 85-90mph on the M/way. As advised by a main dealer I keep the oil level topped well up, (to the mark with dipstick NOT screwed in). Is it a thrashers problem, or a more general problem that will inevitably kill my engine? Mick.

[Winnipeg-v11 help]

I'm 6'2" and at 47 no longer as bendy as I was but have no problems with the standard set up on naked sport. Right handed too! Regards, Mick.

[Setting up a V11 Sport.]

I also had a feeling that I'd be loads quicker through turns with my beloved LM I, before I looked at the speedo on my Rosso Mandello while cornering. The feel when cornering a V11 is more vague, unprecise which I attribute to wider tyres.

 

When I rode the V 11 for the first times it steered wide especially when cornering at low speeds but once I got more km's with the bike, I've adjusted my cornering accordingly and don't shoot wide anymore.

 

BTW I just changed a soft compound front tyre to replace the Pirelli Dragon and it resulted in a much more precise handling in cornering. No doubt it will wear quicker, but the better handling more than compensates it!

Well I've clocked about 700 miles and no more problems, I think it was a mixture of a little too much weight when 2 up for the settings as bought and me not really knowing the bike. Well happy, Cheers all for the advice, Mick.

[Setting up a V11 Sport.]

The V11 is a bigger softer thing than Mk11 LM & needs suspension to be set up for rider - mainly cos it's actually got some (as you've noticed)...It'll not work well for you until you set sag to suit your wt. Have you done this?

 

It might help to increase rebound damping at forks & rear spring preload. But really, you need to set sag from scratch & take it from there - even if you haven't done this before it's really very simple & doesn't take long.

 

As others have said, dropping the triple clamps down the forks helps weight front. Also helps to get your body wt over the front by sitting right up the seat.

 

V11 runs on big fat tyres, which will never give same feel as skinnies fitted to LM11 but some tyres steer quicker than others, & wear patterns can also affect handling. Most with 4.5" rim find 160 gives better turn than std 170, same for 5.5" - 170 turns better than 180. Check tyre pressures too.

 

As for steering damper - try it backed right off see if it helps (do bars turn easily & freely?), but unless you've got it wound right up or it's knackered I don't think that's your issue.

 

oh...& welcome to the modern ( well sort of ) world....

 

KB

 

Cheers all for the advice. I've looked at sag and when solo it's not that far out and handling is great. It's looking like the suspension was being asked a little too much whilst 2 up!

I'll just have to tell my wife she's too heavy . On second thoughts I'll go naked crocodile wrestling, It'll be safer .