Scud

Worth doing that, for sure. Especially if the bike's been sitting a while. Probably worth flushing the front and rear brakes while you're at it. The clutch is needed more on downshifts than upshifts. In fact, these transmissions do pretty well on upshifts without using the clutch at all.

A lot of shifting issues get solved by adjusting the linkage, without getting into the transmission. Make sure everything is snug and has enough free travel (no interference). If that doesn't solve it, you could pull the pre-selector off and polish all the contact surfaces on the shift arms.

I did suck down a cold can of apricot nectar at the top of the mountain while talking with the Ducati and Aprilia guys (animals?)... Geese, Ducks, and Apes... and various other American, Japanese, and German bikes on top of the mountain today. Then I visited some other tight and twisties... Couser Canyon... West Lilac... Olive Hill... and saw a lot of EXTREME FIRE DANGER signs and flags on this hot and windy day. Gotta slog to LAX at 0-dark thirty tomorrow. The K75s gets freeway duty and airport parking duty.

Great bike. If you pull the clutch in with engine idling, and it gets quieter, you have a single-plate clutch. Most likely that means you have an original clutch and flywheel. Remember, the clutch itself is not the problem; the original aluminum flywheel is the problem. If you pull the clutch in with engine idling and it gets noisier, you have a standard, twin-plate clutch like most V11s. The noise is caused by the pressure plate backing off and allowing the many parts to rattle around inside the flywheel. I am not sure what causes the noise at idle on the single plate. But we do know it's a risk factor. It's a relatively low probability that your aluminum flywheel will explode, but the consequences are potentially very bad. There's lots of information and speculation about the single plate clutch/flywheel. Now if you're wondering if the bike was updated with a Ram single plate clutch and steel (not aluminum) flywheel, you'd need to get a magnet on the flywheel. I think this could be done with some sort of magnet on a flexible stick. You could try through the timing hole... but it might require removing the starter to get access. Also, the aluminum flywheel is round, while the Ram steel flywheel has three arms.

Went for a romp up Mount Palomar.

Swooshdave: "I assume you just provided them the drawing?" No, I sent the drawing and one of the springs that Chuck made. The manufacturer messed up the angle, but we may have messed up the spec on the arm length - or the wrong angle had something to do with the way the length was measured. I'm sending Chuck a few of the new springs and the two parts that the spring fits into. Chuck will figure it out and we will persevere till the springs are right.

I think the manufacturer will work with us. The rep responded by e-mail that they have a 10 degree production tolerance. I measured that they were off by 15 degrees, so they are beyond their own stated tolerance. He offered to rework the original material, but I don't think we should accept that - I think we need to prove this design with material that has been shaped only one time. I'll try to talk with him tomorrow and figure out the options. Given the difficulty of replacing this spring, and the "chronic" nature of the problem, I think a re-run with new material is our best bet. Perhaps we should be prepared to pay a little extra if we also want the arm shorter.

I think the arm is 0.7 inches as you specified, but the hand-made ones you sent me were closer to the 0.62" measurement that you originally had on the drawing. However, the angle is 30 degrees on the new springs, not 1 degrees as you specified. The caliper is open to exactly 0.70 inches. I think we would be justified in refusing these springs just on the basis of the angle - and asking for another batch. But if we do, should I change the length specification back to 0.62"? Or maybe the 30 degree angle (vs 15 degree as specified) has contributed the issue. From what I can see, the spring will work. The short arm doesn't move around on the stamped piece - and so long as it can't slip off the shoulder it should be fine. (and it cannot slip off the shoulder - I tried). Chuck - it might be good to talk this through. I'll be available this evening.

I fitted one of the newly manufactured springs to the spare pre-selector. It shifts well. The short arm of the spring is noticeably longer than the original, and contacts the stamped steel part further out, by the shoulder (rather than in the curve). Here's pics of how the spring fits.

Yes, after I am sure about postage cost I will give prices and payment options. I think I might put some of the details in my profile, since that is only visible to members.

I have to review my various messages to see who was interested in taking a batch in which countries. I'll assume your question is an expression of interest to take a batch into the UK.

Just caught up to this thread... To answer questions from the last page: I thought the quality of the rebuild kit was quite good. The brakes felt superb after the rebuild (and after the initial seating of the new pads on the new rotors). Sadly, the LeMans has "left the building" along with the new brakes so I can't do a long-term test. Ironically, she left in trade for my Ducati ST3, which has the same rotors and calipers as the V11 - but a different master cylinder. @LowRyter - that's funny.

OK Chuck - I've got 100 3x5x1 inch boxes on the way. I send you five springs to abuse, install, or regift. I'll also send five to Docc to install or use as party-favors at the next spine raid. I should be able to send these out by the weekend. I'll factor those no-charge springs into the unit cost for everybody else. Then I'll know how much the postage is (hoping I can just do this with stamps to make it easy). Then I can give everybody a final price along with ordering instructions. Czakky gets a bonus gift with purchase: a free cupped washer for his steering damper.

I'm probably going to buy some tiny boxes from U-Line. I was concerned about the 90-degree bend poking through an envelope. Kind of busy with work and other stuff around the house. Will get this organized as soon as possible. If anybody has a tranny open or breaks a spring, let me a know - I can ship a few immediately if needed.

We have springs. I measured everything against Chuck's drawing and they seem to be correct. The cut edges are a bit rough, but a few strokes on a mill file will take care of that. Now I need to figure out a little package to ship them in and come up with some final prices for you guys. I'll work on that, and install one in my spare pre-selector as a final check.

Two of my daughters thought the leather bibs were so funny that they went and put on some bib-overalls of their own and "made" me pose for a photo with them. You won't be seeing it.

Uhh, I know from hard won experience that 6 machines own you. ...and what if some of those machines can fly?

Ha - guilty as charged. I've been hanging around the MEBC (Moto Euro Breakfast Club) in San Diego. It meets clandestinely at remote cafes near twisty backroads. The "average" member is a retired guy with more European-made motorcycles than his significant other knows about. Some even have one (or more) stashed in Europe for use when visiting. A bunch of real-life heroes. Very aspirational. If my Beemer sells, the remaining bikes will not just be all-Euro, they'll be all-Italia, because my Husky is from the MV era. I took the wee-brick to MEBC breakfast last week and found to my pleasant surprise that I could still fit in my 30-year-old BMW factory leathers (which have bib-overall style pants and brilliant red satin lining). I was the epitome of retro 90s BMW snobbery with my period correct blue bike (with all three factory hard cases) and blue and grey leathers. What was this thread about again?

I don't go out of my way to watch this type of thing. But when I do, I like to "imprint" where I would have made a different decision. There is (almost) ALWAYS a moment where a different decision would have prevented the crash.

Haha... the Greenie is cool in person, especially in bright sun when that candy apple green really shines. When my greenie wandered into my garage she took over the Red LeMans' spot. But she knows not to try to compete with the Scura. But gosh... I like almost all kinds of motorcycles.

There's low speed steering, such as U-turns, where you do turn the bars in the direction of travel. Then there's high-speed steering, where you "push right to go right." And there's an inflection point where the bike changes which input works better. For grins, go ride your bike slowly and try to figure out what speed that is. I think it's somewhere around 10-15 mph on a V11. A scooter rider who is used to going slow all the time could get confused on high-speed corners when a different kind of input to the bars is required. Interesting chat we are having about steering in general - but I agree that the video is just highlighting inexperience.

I'm assuming Ken has a spare wheel with no bearings or spacer - and has a complete wheel on the bike, which he prefers to leave intact. I say go ahead and powder coat the spare, knock a bearing out of the wheel that's on the bike now, and put the spacer and new bearings in the powder coated wheel. Then you'll know for sure what the spacer looks like - and if mine is a match. You can also put new bearings in the original front wheel.

I have this spacer, which I think came out of a 2002 LeMans. ID=20mm, OD=25.5mm, Length=133.75mm It looks different than the part in the diagram - but the one in the diagram seems familiar too, so I am a bit uncertain if I have the right part for you. It's not hard to remove the spacer in your current wheel. Just knock out one wheel bearing - then you'll know for sure.