mik
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Posts posted by mik
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Gone to Canada
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After owning several water cooled motorcycles and still riding one, I am wondering about the heat issue of the v-4 engine. I am betting that the heat thrown off from that motor will pretty well cook a rider's legs in warmer climates. Living in south Florida, I can say that the cylinder configuration of my air/oil cooled LeMans is comfortable to ride while my water cooled Tiger can get a little uncomfortable in traffic when the cooling fan kicks on.
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Q, you need not look inside the transmission. The selector plate gears are what needs to be aligned dot to dot then ratchet it thru the gears to neutral.....look beneath the selector gears and you will see a pin pop into a slot........for the neutral light, I suppose. That is neutral. Then the fun begins, line up the little forks inside the box so they correspond with the slots in the selector gears.....when the cover goes on easily, you have done it. Look at the picture Baldini has posted, he is correct. I did mine this way and it works fine, I also have no leaks from the box, lucky me. You can do it.
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It doesn't matter what gear it was in when the spring broke. If you look between the selector gears there is a notch in one of them for a pin to pop into when the gears are lined up in neutral......then just line up those selector forks.....it took me some fiddling to get it lined up. Be patient and don't have anyone looking over your shoulder while doing this. I was laying on the garage floor with sweat filling my eyes and my wife getting on my case about playing with my Guzzi.....grrrrr. Take your time and it will happen.....I just used a little high temp black silicone on the mating surfaces and all was well.
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Yes, I think that many of these broken springs were of poor material. The spring on my LeMans broke at 6000 miles and in the same spot that yours did......there were no clearance issues. If it occurs again, I am going to assume it is just poor design as I have owned a few other motorcycles that have gone many, many more miles without anything other than a clutch cable breaking.
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Maybe there will be some V-Rods there. I heard a rumor that H-D bought Ducati
...........of course that was from a friend who is a member of the HOG. -
Maybe doing the repair roadside would be easier. I finished the job in spite of the interference from my wife.
The new spring has a much livelier feel than the original. Back on the road again
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My spring went at 6002 miles, It was in first gear as I was about to enter the on ramp of the freeway. Lucky for me the trip home was less than two miles and early enough for very light traffic.The removal and disassembly of the plate and spring replacement was not difficult.....getting things lined up and the cover back on is not so easy. I would not be able to do this on the side of the road.
I obtained two replacement springs and they came labeled as "MG improved spring", I hope so. My spring broke just before the first bend of the coil. The clearances are correct and filing of the plate would seem pointless, although I did clean up the edges. It appears to me that the spring broke because it was made of inferior material. I use my clutch and am not overly abusive of my LeMans and so I hope this problem won't occur again. Cost of springs.....$5.75 each. Cost of labor........I don't know as I will attempt to re-install my pre-selector cover today.
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Switch gear on Guzzis is as good as anyone else uses these days and has been for a number of years. Common with Honda Yamaha Ducati Aprilia etc etc. Start witht he simple stuff, looked at your battery terminals lately? Are they clean and tight how about where the earth connects to the frame? Then start lookinf at the various side stand swtches kill switches etc etc they usally tend to build up a green cooper corosion on the contacts which is not conductive. I would find it very unsual not to be able to disasemble switch gear but havn't looked at the V11 recently couple of screws undernath. If you havn't taken a switch block apart before be very careful as they usally have small ball bearings and springs that are ready to jump out a disappear given the slightest oppourtunity.
The problem is definitely the kill switch.....it is a press together unit that is not made to be disassembled. I was able to douche it out with electronic contact cleaner and there was an overabundance of grease in there. The problem, however, seems to be just an overly sensitive kill button. I have never used the darn thing to begin with, but toggling it to keep or get the bike running is only exacerbating the problem. The way I see it, I have a few choices here....try to locate a new switch assembly, which includes the starter button, try to pry the old one apart and bend the cheesy contacts so that the tolerances are a little more forgiving......or just snip the wires and tie them together under the switch housing.
All other connections are clean, dry and tight.....if the kill button is just moved less than an eighth of an inch, the motor dies, so I imagine a vibration from road surfaces can cause it to happen too. It's just a sloppily made switch.
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JRT, I have just recently had this problem with my 03 LeMans.....on the way to work I have no problem, but after the bike sits in a lot near the ocean all day I get some stalling and stuttering and the engine dies completely at times. I am tired of cycling the kill switch and I'm thinking it is the switch that is the problem because when the motor falters the second the switch is cycled the problem stops. I have ridden this bike in a lot of rain and now it sits in the hot sun all day by the ocean so i'm going to get a can of electrical conatct cleaner and spray hell out of it. The switch doesn't seem to be able to be taken apart and cleaned, but there are spots where I can get a straw in there and flood it. I'm hoping it's just a little corrosion on the contacts of the switch. I guess I'll find out soon enough
mik -
I was going to end up in Phoenix but I am now living in Florida in the West Palm Beach area. I was wondering if there are any members near here and what dealers there are in the area. I have searched and located a few within an hours ride or so. One is in North Miami and another north of me along the turnpike and I belive another is on the west coast near Naples. Any information would be appreciated. Thanks, mik
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Thanks for the encouraging words, TX
Now if I can get out of here with my scalp intact after the lawyers get through with me, I know I'll be fine. -
Thanks to all of you for the information. I don't know if I'll have time to attend a rally as I'll need to find a house and make sure of employment. As for the weather, I'll just have to adapt and do as best I can. Chicago weather isn't exactly wonderful...temperature changes of thirty degrees in short time periods are not uncommon. About the only thing that can be said about the weather here is that if you don't like it, wait a few hours and it will change. I am having my bikes shipped to Cycle Moto in Mesa as it is close to where I will be staying temporarily. It would be nice to meet up with you all when I get settled in somewhere.
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I will be moving to the Phoenix area the first week of April. Do any members have advice on a good Guzzi dealer out there?
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" Can the clear coat be repair?"
You can try a product called Imperial Hand Glaze by 3-M. I have used it with success removing scratches in clear coat and windscreens.
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Orson, great travelogue. I particularly like that beautiful picture of the Tenni on the curve in the mountains.
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Phil, My buddy called Italy and told them he wanted them to buy his LeMans back so they air frieghted him a new cable the other day. He hasn't seen it yet but I have, they sent him the old style cable with the little offset drive for the gearbox. Either they know it will work or it's just a stalling tactic on their part
. I'll let you know how it turns out. -
It would be nice if Guzzi had those bikes at any show, considering that they advertised the 1100 Breva in their 04 pamphlet. So where is it? I was at the show in Chicago in February and the MG booth was pathetic....my dealer had more MGs to look at. I ordered a Griso from him and he told me to look for it in early 06
I don't know what the employees of MGNA do all day...they don't have any spares to send you if you need them, they are always on vacation, and they lost the warranty on my LeMans. At least my dealer is sympathetic and does all he can for the Guzzisti. It really is a great machine, too bad the manufacturer doesn't give a s--t! -
philbo, If you find replacment cables please post the information about who has them in stock. Mine broke this Spring with 1200 miles on the clock and I was lucky enough to get a replacement . My buddy's broke on his LeMans with 300 miles on it and he has been waiting well over two months for a replacement. The dealer has been on MGNA all summer about replacement cables...none are to be had from them
. I guess I got the last one on this continent. I tried to get a spare from MG Cycles but no luck there either. Also tried Ferracci, I was able to get CF cans but no cable. Good Luck. -
The carbon hugger is very nice too. Maybe I'll try he mag cleaner on my pipes, yours look great.
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As soon as my back- ordered speedo cable shows up at the dealer I think I'll attempt to take some of the bend out of the existing one
. What a great solution to the problem, why couldn't the engineers at Guzzi have come up with this design in the first place? 
My thanks to the riders who figured this one out -
I've noticed a few, small depressions in my tank that weren't there when the bike was new
. I'm not going to worry too much as the polymer tank on my Triumph developed a couple little dimples too and they haven't gotten any worse. Raised bumps sounds like bubbling and you'd think that they would cover it under warranty. Even if they did, it might take a very looong time to get a replacement. -
Do you have the right adapter kit? It takes the "APR1-H" bar end kit.
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rons, I've gone through one cable on my 03 LeMans. My problem is trying to find a back up cable somewhere. Everytime I try to order a spare, MG sends the cable for the earlier bikes with the right angle adapter and the Veglia gauges. I don't think the head end of the earlier cable will work with the ITI speedometer. Before I put the replacement cable on, I shot it full of cable lube from both ends as it looked totally dry except for a little grease at the head end. Hopefully this will help the longevity of the new cable...it is a rather quirky design. I don't like the fact that the cable is crimped into the outer sheath
, it would have been nice if it could be pulled out of it's casing and lubed that way. I will be disconnecting it at both ends and shooting the oil in regularly.....getting a spare out of MGNA is not easy. I emailed Italy and got a rather terse reply from MGNA...as if they were on top of the problem 
Let me know how well you fare.
Naples, Fl. Guzzi mechanic?
in 24/7 V11
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You may want to check out Freedom Powersports in Cape Coral.