rbt1548

Hi Paul, I take it the insert are rotating?, as they are not load bearing screws that will be put under pressure, maybe some 'metal weld' around the edge of the hole to stop the insert rotating and if necessary, if the thread is damaged, some into the hole and recut the standard thread.

And here's me trying to forget my first love

On mine the left hand one fits to the outside, the marks on the exhaust hanger bracket where it comes into contact with the metal spacer in the rubber bush on the pillion hanger indicate this. Also if I try and fit the hanger to the inside the hanger bolt heads would clatter against the hugger and the pipe will not marry up with the pipe from the collector box.

You could buy or make a piston stop which fits directly into the spark plug hole Once you have done that, turn engine completely one way 'til piston stops, mark that , then turn it the other way 'til piston stops; TDC is exactly in the centre point between both marks.

Does the switch come with the rubber boot That protects the terminals !!!. If not does anybody know the part no. For it, or a suitable alternative, mines has disintegrated with the harsh unforgiving scottish sun beating down on it. Gary You could use shrink wrap to protect it if nothing elase available.

Here you go. 22 14 65 70 50 1 Interruttore stop Stop microswitch Interrupteur stop Stop-Schalter 23 90 Taken from here , Illustrated Parts book.... http://thisoldtractor.com/gtbender/mg_manuals/spare_parts_catalog_v11_lemans_2002-07.pdf Cheers

Will do, but got wheels off just now for cleaning, but will PM you the instructions straight out of the owners manual in case that helps just now.

That about covers it for me too! I had a wee look last night, In the ownwers manual, it says 6 turns fully open to closed for the rebound screw, I get 5; and 15 for the preload nut fully open to fully closed, I get 15. The rear according to the manual the knurled adjuster on the remote for compression should be 43 fully open to closed, I get the 43; but at the rebound knurled adjuster it says I should get 34 open to closed, when I fully close,(clockwise), I get 9 clicks then no more clicks but it still will rotate anti clockwise for a good few turns. The spring preload length is 152mm which the manual says is standard. Anybody enlighten me on the rear rebound settings , any help would be appreciated. Cheers

These are the caps that were fitted to bikes up to 2003, the 2004 seem to have the other caps fitted, there must have been a change over. I have one , a friend has one and the caps are the same. Also the owners manual shows the later type.

Hi PDoz, both my caps have "R" only on with arrows to the +&- and the small triangle, just took a pic of my own, hopefully it will be clearer for you. Multi adjustable suspension is a black art to me, I think I'm someone who doesn't like too many options, and multi adjustable suspension is a bit intricate for me. I appreciate that some people will adjust their suspension to the Nth degree, but when talking to a suspension guy at a bike show he said some adjust their suspension just 'cos the manual says you can turn it a click this way or that and a lot of the bike mags are encouraging people to mess about with suspension settings that are prefectly fine from the factory but only if you were Rossi you would notice the difference. We all know you do have to change some settings if you maybe change from solo to a pillion and luggage, but sometimes I wonder if the mechanic was correct and we change them too much because we are encouraged to do so. I realise that your problem is totally different, yours is all over the place and needs to be sorted, at least you know what your are doing and what to look for , whereas me, I would go to the standard settings and only adjust if I had to, I realise that is probably sacrilege to lots of people but I'm not confindent enough on suspension to mess too much with it. Any idea what is the fully closed direction on the rear? Good luck and I hope you get it sorted! My caps;

Regarding the wiring being stiff and difficult to bend, there is a thread on starter wires on the Norton forum, basically it suggests using welding cable gauge 6AWG it is made up of many strands of wire and is very pliable and gives a good cross sectional area to transfer the current. I did make a set and they are very easy to make by crimping on the connections and insulating them with shrink wrap. Also they do work, Norton starter motors are notoriously slow to turn over but I have noticed a big improvement since changing the cables. The bonus of doing them yourself is, it will not be as expensive and you can cut them to whatever size you need. 6th post down from link below http://www.accessnorton.com/post26121.html?hilit='welding wire'#p26121

My adjusters are both the same too, Marzocchi's, 2007, (late registered, late 2004 ), Le mans, I think they changed them in 2004 to both the same. First pic is of a 2003 model, second pic is a 2004 model the same as my own. My friend has also a 2004 and the fork caps are the same. Is it possible someone has fitted a later pair of forks? It also says in the owners handbook... "The motorcycle is equiped with a hydraulic telescopic fork with separate adjustment of the shock absorbers during rebound and preload", nothing about compression. Does anyone know , on a 2004 model , when it says "from fully closed" which way is fully closed, especially on rear. On front the book does say "3 turns anti clockwise from fully closed so fully closed in the front's case is clockwise, but what way is it fully closed on the rear? Cheers Robert 2003 2004

Meant to say mine is a 2007 reg, (04 built), Le Mans and I'll need to get 2 q/rel couplings. The markings on one hose states 8mm I think they are both same dia on mine.

Hi All, because of the not so nice weather I decided to strip my bike down and clean out the nooks and cranies, and check the air filter as I hadn't had chance since I bought the bike a month ago. I looked at Haydnr's great video on how to release the fuel couplings and it all seemed straightforward, the problem I have though, is a few years ago, I broke both my scafoid and thumb and can't seem to get enough grip/purchase on the couplings. Now I don't know if anybody has done this or has considered it, but, not wanting to risk snapping the plastic elbows by using too much brute force at the wrong place, as documented on the site, I thought about inserting a quick release coupling into the fuel lines, the type that just has a metal button to release, and securing them into the line with fuel clips. That way it may be easier for me to disconnect and connect the fuel lines to the tank. Is it a viable option?, all opinions welcome. Thanks Robert

Aye, but you can't boast that "it was a bargain from e bay at $62k "

To add to what was said earlier about ABS/ servo brakes on BMW, they do indeed give you very good braking, but that is one of the reasons I don't have mine now. I had a 2003 Rockster Edition 80 and the ABS failed whilst riding it last year, and when the ABS fails on that particular ABS unit you have virtually no brakes, as the servo fails too!, not too clever an arrangement when howling up to a roundabout!!!!, I ended up dropping down a few gears while pulling hard on the front brake and pressing the back brake, and made it round. It seemingly is a known weak spot on the BM's ABS2 system. I took it in for a reading just to make sure it had gone, the front pressure should read between 12 & 29 bar, mine was reading 133 bar, I still have the print out, it was as if the abs was on all the time. Cost to fix?.........."£1400 for the parts + labour + Vat to you sir!" for some reason I luckily took out a warranty a few months before and it got fixed under warranty, but on riding it home all I could do was look at the red warning light to see if it was on and you can't ride like that thinking it might fail so I sold it right away. Yes ABS may be a great advance in braking and may help you on occasion,(I had it on mt R1200ST and it was good), but things can become too complicated, especially if they affect other parts of the bike. I'm happy with the V11's brakes, maybe not as powerful as some, but enough for me, you change your braking style to suit, same as you change your clutch style or method of changing gears when riding another bike as most are slightly different , after a wee while the new way becomes like second nature.

I got the V11 home and on going round it noticed a few things needing a bit of tlc, l/hand mirror is one, as it is badly scraped, if I can't get one I'll fill it and paint them both. Also some scrapes on rocker covers, may also either repaint them or polish them. Finally a clutch lever may be needed. If anyone has any of these items for sale I'd be interested. Cheers Robert

I thought it was an age thing!!!!!!

Hi all, well I bought one and it finally arrived, but due to the weather at the moment and the fact that the kitchen is being redone, I haven't got out on it,(how much stuff can be in one kitchen???). Mostly pleased with it, a couple of bits here and there that need a bit of TLC, but I'll get there. It's a 2007 registered Le Mans, going by the frame number it was manufactured in 2004, so it must have sat in a crate somewhere before being registered, 6,500 miles on clock. At the moment it's bog standard, once I start riding it I can then decide what needs doing or adding to. Cheers Robert

Could someone please tell me is the spring and pawl issue only a problem for certain year bikes or for all V11s? Thanks Robert

Really pleased for you getting it back, it is the worst feeling in the world going round to go to work on your bike and it's not there, it's happened to me twice, first time I just stood there and looked at the space at the back of my mother's house and thought , "I must have left it in the street",which I never ever did. I was 20 at the time and it was my first Commando and had had it a year. I hunted miles for it but never saw it again; 35 years later and I can still remember the feeling!!!!!!! Am really glad you have got it back.