RichMaund

Most of these problems are caused by dirt getting into the buttons. Then they can no longer semi-float as they are designed to do. Clean them out with brake cleaner. Use rags to keep that stuff off painted surfaces though. Lube the buttons, wipe off excess lube and you're set to roll. This often takes care of the problem.

Jason's right about the tank protectors. That's what I use. Mine is from Lockhart. Looks like a slice off a Pirrelli tire! Attached with double sided foam tape. Does a fine job and still looks new 2 years later.

Hold it guys! Slow down now! Tank bras? No good way to attach them under the tank. Even my best industrial self stick Velcro will soften and pull free with engine heat to soften it. Not buildable with the materials available to me. Raymond Burr? Before my time. MANY projects aren't buildable. That is reality. I once had a customer here who told he wanted his seat thicker, but lower. I started to laugh thinking he was joking. He wasn't! I asked him what part of the bike he wanted cut off with a torch to make it happen. Eventually we parted on poor terms, but it was an interesting conversation. Another customer had a Yamaha 535 cruiser. He was a huge man. Built like a very tall bear. He pointed to the passenger seat and said he wanted me to move him back there. So I took the keys out of the bike and handed them to his lady friend and told her "Here, you're driving now." That solution didn't go over very well either. The customer doesn't always know best and isn't always right. Often, they are ignorant and shallow. They are paying me for my experience and knowledge of what can and can't be done for a seat. I had a guy pick up a K bike seat here last night. As he sat down to ride off he yelled out as though he had a orgasm! That was kind of embarrassing as my son was there in the shop as well. After he rode off, my son dryly commented "So, do you think he liked it?". My kid is as facetious as his old man! THAT project was buildable and apparently exceeded customer expectations! As a rule, I only tackle the jobs that I know I can nail the first time up. You have to meet or exceed expectations to stay in business. That calls for good materials, design and craftsmanship on my part as well as customers with good ideas and specific specs that I can meet. (That's why I weed out the squirrely customers.) You can't build them all. You CAN build the good projects that come along. Save the experiments for yourself and close friends who don't get mad at you if they fail!

Here's one of the tank itself. It's the centerpiece of the bike and is beautiful as it is practical! I do "true" custom work! Custom ain't supposed to come from a catalog!

Folks I know it's off topic, but I know many of you are curious as to the old Ural I ride. I just got it back together after all the custom work I did to it this winter. That 7.5 gallon tank took 30 hours alone to "Frankenstein" together from a new Chinese made Police tank! It's now a mix of my own parts, Chinese Chaing Yaing parts, Dnepr stuff and of course Ural and Sputnik! If you like ethnic diversity, you'll love this bike. I still need to build the canvas tonneau and reupholster the seat in gray, but that'll come as I have time. So, what do you all think of my handiwork on my "work bike"?

Dave has a good point. Once broken in, they'll be better for you. I taught a sidecar safety course in three days of rain when my Vanson jacket was new. By the end of the ride home it had dried on me and fits like a glove since! That did the trick!

Todd Egan has told me the PCIII is fully waterproof, but the serial port can corrode if water sits in it for a while. So I bagged mine, taped it tight to the cord and tucked it away in the tail piece. If I ever need to access it, I'll un-tape and un-bag it!

It sure is! I'd know Howard's bike and rack combo anywhere! I machined for him the alloy spacers in the pipe mounts and roughed in some .5" alloy plate that he later finished into a new brake lever. He has racked up some very respectable mileage numbers on that bike!

A USB adapter may be the way to go. Certainly worth a try. Another solution is to do as I did and just get a cheap low buck PII366 laptop off Ebay from Dell Financial services. I got mine for $360 complete with case, power supplies, modem card, the works. Nearly like new condition. Fits in the tankbag and it's old & cheap enough that I don't mind using it as a garage computer!

I have a friend in MD who got two Thrush steel glass pack mufflers from a K-Mart or something and put them on his Sport 1100. He liked them so much for sound & power he then sent them off for silver hi temp coating at Jett Hot! A bit heavy, but the sound is outstanding. Deep & resonant and crisp. Very economical too!

Pulling the heads and bead blasting them will clean them up nice. Cleaning the piston top is a bit of a chore as you don't want the stuff getting packed into the clearance between the cylinder wall & piston. Have to so it slow and easy. Todays fuels burn very cleanly and produce little in coking. If you're one of those guys who likes to add a bit of diesel fuel or some miracle oil to your fuel, you can expect coke to form. If you have worn valve guides or rings and your engine is using oil, you be making some coke deposits. An engine in good tune with little oil consumption has nothing to worry about. Water will clean it out violently and suddenly. I already brought up the downside. I prefer to just buy a bottle of Techtroline from Chevron a couple times a year and treat the gas in the tank with this cleaner. Then go on a nice hiway run and let that tank of gas slowly remove some/any deposits. How does it work? Hell if I know. I've never had to pull the V11S's head. Can it hurt? No. My bike had the minor pinging problem on very hot days when under heavy acceleration when new. The problem is a bit less now that the engine is well broken in and better tuned. (PCIII) So...... I either have no coke deposits worth worrying about. The bike came with coke deposits and they are now mostly cleaned out. You figure it out. I'd be more worried about coke forming in my Ural than my Guzzi.

Coke deposits on the piston and head can lead to hot spots that cause pre-ignition (Pinging). Trickling water in while you run the motor can clean off the deposits. BUT!!!!!!!!! (There's always a "but".) The deposits that come loose and snag on a valve seat and stick keeping the valve from seating well and perhaps causing burning of the seat. Little bits of the coke can travel down into the sides of the piston and foul a ring or cause scoring. The technique can work to clean coke deposits. But it has a downside as well! No such thing as a free lunch!

Never assume your ignition switch is good on a Guzzi either. I have had four of their switches go bad on me over the years!

You can look them up on the web. A guy here in Va. sells them. Mine really isn't mine. It is on a semi-permanent loan from a friend who hates turning wrenches. I check the synch on his bike when he drops by from time to time! It is more accurate than my old mercury sticks. I have compared the readings one after another and the sticks are off! As sensitive as these bikes are to proper balance, a Twin Max is the best way I know of to get you there! I just serviced my bike this last weekend. Only 2k since the last service, but it was trying to stall at lights occassionally and would "pop" once in a while as well. Darned if everything wasn't a touch off! Three valves were tight .001". Synch was a notch off as well. Set it all back up and she sang! This bike loves to have everything "just so". When you achieve it, she lets you know it! If anything is off, she grumps for attention. Thankfully, it is very quick and easy to service! If I knew a easy way to safely dispose of my old sticks, I'd do it in a heart beat. The Twim Max is the best tool for this job I have ever used.

Geez! All you Lemans owners going on and on about new handlebars! Simple solution! Just remove your fairings! Seriously though, y'all make me glad I bought my V11S. Those wide adjustable clip-ons and the best bars I have used since BMW invented their R90S bar! Changing the bars on my bike is the last thing I would comtemplate!

LHS? The Chrysler my Dad used to own? Sorry, couldn't resist!

I have to agree with Mike and Carl as well. Compared to all other Guzzi's I have owned, 12 total now, this one has the best low range gearing. All the others felt like I was starting off in 2nd gear. Riding this bike made me feel I finally found a Guzzi with a gear for all occassions! You can change the ring & pinion in the rear drive. They have made about 6 different ratios over the years. That has to done carefully to make sure they are properly shimmed for proper gear tooth contact. But how will you change the gears in the speedo drive to get the right reading at the speedo? I don't know that those are the same as the older 5 speed tranny sets. May be more trouble and expense than it is worth.

Ha! You have no idea how happy I am to hear the Rally will continue. This is the first one I have missed in almost ten years! The weather here and into MD was so incredibly bad that I decided to stay home. I didn't have the funds to drive 1000 miles in the RV to get there! Judging from the 90 car pile up and deaths on I-68 that Friday, I probably made a good choice though. That would have been on my route to get there. The bad weather had me aching in my hardware (In my legs.) and I just couldn't face riding two up 1000 miles round trip in the rain. So I stayed home and worked. I'm glad to hear he had such good attendence! Those are good numbers for a year that isn't a National Rally as figure in all the rain. I love that little town. (New Cumberland.) Like a second home for us! Seriously? I was missed? I figured everyone would enjoy the peace and quite of not having me there talking Guzzi's until I was hoarse!

If you're interested, I build tool pouches to fit these bikes that are double the size of a stock Guzzi tool envelope. I have thick black leather in stock and can build you one on a day's notice if you like. $30 plus shipping. Here is a pic of my own in red leather (Can't get that anymore, sorry.) Contact me at rmaund@pinn.net if you're interested.

These have been discussed here recently. I have them myself. 1000 miles on them. I did downsize to a 160/60 rear for my 4.5" rear rim. I consider them great tires with better rainy day grip than the BT's had.

If you plan to move the pump, put it as low as possible and away from heat sources. On my Cali 1100 it was low on the left side of the frame aft of the tranny. Bitch to get to, but a good location from a NPSH and cooling standpoint. No worries with it in 23k miles.

I noticed that too. Mine is under the spine vice above. They probably did it to provide more net positive suction head (NPSH) to the pump allowing it to self prime more easily and prevent vapor binding/cavitation at the suction end. Seems to have worked on mine as it has no issues with vapor lock like some bikes do.

I have to say I share Al's technique on this. I wash them when I wash the bike and dry them to prevent spotting. Otherwise, I leave them alone.

When I got these new Michelin Street sport tour tires, I did downsize to the 160/60 rear. You'd never know it was a smaller tire. It does seem to be a better width for that rim. I believe it's plenty wide for a 80 HP bike! The tendency to stand up while using the front brake in a corner is less than before also. Yeah, I know... That's a really poor technique and means I didn't set up my entrance speed well enough. But I never claimed to be perfect! I would hesitate to mix brands as well. They are engineered to work together.

Al They made the bike feel new again. I'm afraid that's the best way to put it. My old tires were very worn after 10k miles and made the bike feel lousy by comparison. Amazing what you can get used to if it comes on slowly enough! The old rear was worn almost bald in the middle from too much freeway riding. The front had cupped signifcantlt ruining cornering feel. Now it feels light and neutral. Just right. The tires never "push" in corners. They just stick. Change your line in mid corner? No problem. Just lok through your new line and t he bike goes where you look. I'd forgotten how well the bike felt until I got these on and scrubbed them in!