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Early gift for the Coppa, yes IPA time. Cheers Tom. Sent fra min SM-S906B via Tapatalk

And another couple

Couple photos of the completed LED turn signals, Mistral pipes, Rizoma mirrors, new levers and a good old polishing.

Hi folks. Adding a custom seat upgrade example in 2024. I bought my 2001 Greenie, and it came with a custom seat, but the leather was very dried out, and importantly, I thought the seat was at the wrong angle. As I rode the bike I was constantly being pushed up against the tank (insert your jokes here). I'll just go with - it wasn't comfortable. I live in Portland, Oregon, and looked up the maker of the seat. Turns out, 22 years after building the first one, he's still in business making custom motorcycle seats, now located in Kingston, Washington, USA, just outside of Seattle. Rich's Custom Motorcycle Seats https://www.richscustomseats.com He said he'd be able to re-do the seat. Either I could take photos and measurements and ship the seat to him and he would do his best to modify per my request, or I could come to his shop with my bike for a custom fitting. The shop is about a 3-hour van drive from my house, so I loaded it (the cold/rainy season has begun here) and took it to him. He had me sit on the bike and discuss, then pulled off the leather cover and modified the foam contours. I sat on it again and took it for a short ride, then another minor contour change, and a new gel pad, another tweak and...what a GREAT transformation. I was then given a wide variety of choices regarding leather, vinyl, color, stitching and so on. And while tempted by red flames or a waving Italian flag, I went with very simple and classic. Green bike and red frame are, IMO, already speaking loudly enough . I chose a black pebble-texture leather for the seating area (which I was told hides creases and wear over time), and black smooth leather for the pillion and lower sides of the seat, with double stitching. The contour they typically recommend (though they'll do anything you want) is a bit of a cupped shape with a gel pad under that. I went the cupped direction since the V11 is more of a back roads cruiser. I'll take my r6 to the track. From arrival at their shop to departure took a total of 5 hours. Which is pretty incredible considering they sculpted a custom foam shape, made a custom leather pattern, stitched and adhered it, and I took a test ride mid-way in the process. One person worked on seat disassembly and assembly, and another did the stitching. I hung out in the shop, chatted, and tossed the ball for the shop dog. Really, the experience and result couldn't have been better. They guarantee the work for a year, saying I could come back for adjustments or repairs if I wish. Their main business is, I think, cruiser seats for Harleys and the like. And they say the busy season is April-September, so plan on waiting a little longer those months. That said, they do offer the in-person fitting, same day service, all year round. Cost wasn't cheap, around $700, but the personal attention, truly custom result, high quality materials, made in USA workmanship, and so on...to me, it was a fair price in 2024 $$. Here are a couple photos. You'll see I went conservative/classic. The feel of the seat is really high quality - when felt with my hand, and with my backside. I think it'll look and ride nice for years with just occasional leather treatment.

I was showing my pup Austin how to adjust valves a few years ago. I told him you want it to feel like it would if you put it near the spine of a phone book, closed it, then pulled the feeler gauge out. He said, "Phone book?"

G'day folk's. On my way home from the hospital after visiting Dad yesterday, I stopped in at the servos to grab a burger at Maccas ( late lunch ). So I park the bike in the car-park and in the middle of the bay as you do to avoid car doors etc and in I go. So 20 minutes or so later I come out and am doing up the jacket and about to put my helmet and gloves on and notice a couple walking round it and looking at the bike, then they notice me and come over ( I was about 20 metres away )and start telling me that some arsehole just backed into my bike and drove off never bothering to stop to see if any damage or whatever! Instant panic but what the fook, bike is still standing and can't seem to see any damage or sign of impact.The bloke followed me back to the bike and explained the shithead reversed back and nudged the front wheel pushing the bike back about 8 to 10 inches and showed me the scrape mark the side stand left on the concrete. Dumbfounded I quickly checked the bike over and thanked matey for telling me as would never have even noticed it or known. Talk about dodging a bullet! Anyways I gave her a bit o welly on the fun part ( well the part without any mobile chicanes - bugger ) of the road home, and no handling issues at all. Then when I got home gave her a good looking at and the only damage if you can even call it that is a 5 or 6 millimetre scrape on the very front of the front mudguard. It's not really even a scrape but just sorta pushed the paint back a little without breaking the surface of the paint.If matey hadn't told me about it I would've assumed that it was a stone chip when I eventually found it. So, from now on I'm gunna be parking the bike next to the bloody front door and not anywhere near where we share space with the imbeciles and their conveyances.... End of rant folk's but be wary of where you leave your bike eh! Cheers

Thought I'd close this out by showing my (hopefully temporary) solution to fit the original steel swing-arm. Adding the widths of the components together, it was 6.7mm short of the designed 301mm between arms so I machined up a thick washer and milled a "T"-shaped brass block with 10mm reamed hole to take the brake calliper pin.

"De gustibus et coloribus etc", but I found this 2025 color combination for the V100S (and, most importantly, non-black-colored wheels!) most impressive

I dated a single back in college, but once you get started with twins, well . . .

Celebratory beer... Had to look a the manual's drawing to appreciate how releasing fluid would find its way to the splines. Removed the grease nipple and put loads of WD40 in that way. Reassembled my contraption, heated the heck out of it, and it finally let go.

Mate. It looks BETTER than brand new condition...! Gotta love how greenies just GLOW in the right light eh. Cheers

It is probably a long shot. But in August 2023, I experienced the same symptoms of sputtering, did not want to keep idle; Look at the picture below, and you can understand what happened. The rubber connecting the admission pipe to the throat was no longer properly sealing. You can see the small gap which messed up the fueling. Check that all your fueling components are sealing properly. No stray air entry anywhere.

It's been laid down on both the the left and right sides at one time or another. Left side of the fairing is actually ground down a bit. Tank has multiple scratches. Clip-ons definitely stay, been wanting those for ages. It will probably stay as a Lemans for a year or so but this is what I eventually want to build. At least the front fairing.

Leave the tire and oil threads to the amateurs. Here at V11LM.com, we take The Valve Adjustment from a maintenance task to the level of Philosophical Ritual.

And in the crank-case breather system. There are rubber hoses involved that don't stand the test of time all that well.

Having owned a California ‘Touring’ and ridden lots of other 1400’s I’m afraid my opinion is that they are overweight, woeful handling POS! Look, by all means, if you think you’d like to be ‘Cruiser Curious’ try one, and yes, the small port motor is delightfully torquey, but the whole package is fat and ponderous. Since the ‘Fortress’ is laden up with even more shit than most of them I’m sure it would disappoint me more than the other versions but others may feel differently. I had customers who loved them! I’d rather set fire to my scrotum than own another one. YOMV

Seems that, if Piaggio is going to cover the popular market segments with a family of V100 models, it has now completed two of the big three: an all-arounder/"sport-tourer"/travel model (V100 Mandello) and the requisite Adventure bike (V100 Stelvio). Is a V100 Audace (cruiser) next? I cringe . . . Don't get me wrong, I think that 1400 Audace is a really cool cruiser. In the cruiser world, it is a performance giant with a big attitude. I just hope that is not where the next V100 in the family is headed . . . Yet, Dave Richardson said this on a GrisoGhetto post about the V100 to emphasize that what we existing, even devout, Guzzisti are looking for will not sustain the company going forward: (Richardson): I remember being at the Guzzi factory in 2001 for the 80th anniversary and talking with their marketing manager. He said to me, “You see these people here,” referring to the vast crowd of Guzzisti in attendance. “These people will not save us.” [Thanks, @KINDOY2 for the link to the GrisoGhetto post!]

Hi folks, and thanks for sharing the how-to on this subject. Just sharing that this morning (November 2024) I called the Piaggio USA Customer Service phone number, 212-380-4400, and inquired about my V11 VIN number. The nice guy who answered the phone (the aforementioned Willie) was able to look it up immediately. He then said "Hmmm, what I see here is a Flex Hose recall". To which I was able to say, "That's it, the transmission recall". To which he was able to say, "OK...yea...well that work was completed on 4/11/2004". He had no more information, but really, that's all I needed. The whole call took maybe 2 minutes. I was pleased/impressed that they had the info at their fingertips once given the VIN and an accurate translation of Flexible Hose.

All of you are familiar with "Vespa", right? But in the South of Italy, there was another very common mode of transportation and commercial use. The "Ape". When I was based in Sicily, those would be everywhere, including at local markets, selling local produce. While browsing market place for Moto Guzzi, I got a hit for a very nice Ape. By the way, if you know what Vespa means in Italian, then you will easily get Ape. This one is in Dallas. This is a winner!!!

I don't know which part of Japan you are living, you should maybe put the name of the city in your profile card, but I don't know if you ever saw 46works YouTube videos, this guy is some kind of wizard for preparing Guzzis and BMWs. I don't think he would be interested in working on your bike, he is more like a custom prep, but giving him a call may be worth your while. https://46works.net/

Someone is already on to that...

Had a poor > no start issue. There is a multi-pin connector on the left front of the frame from the regulator/rectifier wiring loom. It is not a sealed connector and is exposed to rain, road spray, soap, etc. Separate it and clean the terminals on both sides using a pipe cleaner soaked in contact cleaner, denatured alcohol or similar. Probe as far into the connectors as you can, then use air or canned "duster" to blow everything out and dry it. Then, probe and swab the contacts using a fresh pipe cleaner with Caig DeoxIt on it, then plug and unplug 2-3 times to ensure good contact. I had no problems since. A check of running voltage with a multimeter will let you know if all is OK. Mine was 14.02V, which is "acceptable."

There's enough muppets around that can't be trusted to operate a vehicle in 2 dimensions let alone 3. I'm the exception of course so I'd love one:). No mention of range and performance. Phil

Update. G'day folk's, yesterday I had the forks moved up in the triples by another 4mm to make a total of 12mm (this is 12mm of fork plus the 3mm cap by the way as some seem to measure differently) and I have to say that I reckon this is the last piece in the puzzle for me! As I've mentioned earlier it was pretty bloody good at 8mm in the corners but felt the front was still a little vague / light cruising around without positive throttle input. I've only had one ride since, but I did manage to give her a bit of curry and I am chuffed with the handling now. The front is planted in a straight line and even more planted with greater feel and feedback through the bends! Everything I was trying to achieve! Thanks to all who have guided me in this as like many I was clueless about suspension! In summary to all this I reckon it started when I went from a 170/60 to a 160/60 rear tyre which is 6mm smaller than the former which alters the front / rear balance in an already skewed to the rear set-up. Then factor in the flaw in the compression fork leg which I tied to overcome with Progressive springs exacerbating the lack of feel there especially with no damping due to very old fork oil and then gaining an extra 10 kilos of body weight over the period and just to add to it wearing a backpack with about 10 kilos in it.....I rode her like this for some time in some pretty hairy situations and she was still ok if you rode accordingly. But bit by bit I reckon I've got her just so now (for me) and can't wait to get out there and really enjoy the ride! I don't feel like I have to compensate for any handling issues now! Sorry if this has been a bit long winded but just wanted to share how I got my bike sorted. Cheers Guzzler. Ps It's a 2001 Red frame and have the forks up thru triples by 12mm, the Guzzimoto fork fix (blocking the oil blowholes in Comp leg) Linear .95kg springs (I'm 90 ish kilos) The Comp is +4 and Reb at +12 from full soft ( set by adjusting from full hard ) Hyperpro steering damper set at + 4 and a Hyperpro 460 emulsion shock ( standard length 280mm ) which is set at + 28 of 50 clicks of rebound (comp/reb set in a fixed ratio) plus 15mm of preload on it..... And fresh oil ha ha...

Anyone that rides their bike to PI deserves everything they get. I've been to PI track about 1 gazzillion times over the last 40 years and I learned in the first 2 years never take the bike. I always take the car and packed in the boot is the appropriate infostructure for everything from freezing hail and gale force winds to 40 degree heat and sunstroke and everything in between. This can happen all on the same day withing an hour, no exaduration. You can't carry enough stuff on a bike to cover off those conditions comfortably. Many times I've spectated from the car for a few hours in freezing driving rain only to be applying sun block an hour later. Phil

@Lucky Phil I really hope the machine delivers all it promises. I've gone down a different path. Coffee is a luxury that gets shipped halfway around the world before I get to see it. I want it to be a ritual. This is what I have at home. I know how many times I have to turn the handle on the grinder for each Bialletti pot, so the beans are ground fresh every time. A Bialleti pot for every occasion, a metal pot to warm the milk for my flat white. Amazing how in-depth one can get with even the simplest of equipment.

20 years old is a pretty new bike by my standards. My previous bike was an 83 XS650 I rocked as an only bike since 2018, and owned since 2008. Believe me, I am no stranger to repairs or maintenance. I'd still be riding it if we both hadn't been squashed under an Ecosport back in June. I have been riding mostly non-stop since 94. The price is right on a very desirable model. I was looking at a V9 Roamer, a W800 or maybe a Bonneville to replace the XS, as it had given me a deep affection for twins and classic bikes. The XS showed me there is a lot more to riding than droning around at 1/8 throttle on a litre bike. The V11 promises an extra bit of performance and handling than those other bikes, while still being fun at sane speeds. I have a 1200 Bandit I'll be selling on in the spring, sporting carbs and pipes worth more than the bike unfortunately!

The idea was to investigate the common lore (I would say "myth") that the valves have to be "stone cold" to adjust, hence the infrared temperature reader and the stone. More on that here:

I'll dive in! First, welcome to this V11 SpineFrame community! Yes, indeed, you are in the right place! All our V11 have the "Nylon" tank. Best not store ethanol fuel in it for long periods. Use non-ethanol for storage. If you are running the fuel through it regularly, a high octane premium with ethanol is probably fine, while not "ideal"." All of the oily haze looks like she could use a good cleaning. Yes, there could be a weep here or there (especially at the timing chest at the front of the engine). The "crinkle black paint" is a known issue with 2002 V11 and 2003 "Carryover" Sport that featured that beautiful burgundy tank and grey accents. There is a passenger seat cover missing, BTW. What year is this Sport being sold as? The rear fender has been removed in favor of a "tail tidy" mount for the license plate and closer signal brackets. Lots of folks like the cleaner look, but expect more road spray from wet roads. The white face Veglia speedometer/odometer are rather notorious for failure, usually because of the angle drive at the right side of the gearbox driving (or not driving) the cable. Numerous approaches to remedy are known, yet the mileage could be suspiciously low and hard to know if the speedometer has been changed. Or replaced more than once. (I'm on speedo #4 ). Honestly, looking closely at the typical road-wear places, she looks really clean, more like she's been sitting up quite a lot. Did you ride it to see how the speedometer needle (and odometer drum) act? I get $4000CAN as ~$2870US. Pretty easy money for an awesome bike if you can accept the foibles and "a certain amount of some owner involvement" . . . Best to you on this journey, @MacMcMacmac !

Watching dash cam videos on YouTube makes me want to stay inside. I think it is terrible everywhere .

Our TPS connector is this Aptiv (Delphi): https://www.eficonnection.com/home/product/delphi-3-way-gray-metri-pack-150-2-sealed-female-connector

I understand it is a limited edition model being released specifically to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the opening of the Stelvio Pass. https://www.cycleworld.com/bikes/moto-guzzi-stelvio-duecento-tributo-first-look/ Rob

Yes, the blue is great. With some of my stash of various Carabinieri decals on it, it would look even better ... 112! Oh, and @audiomick, there is something fetching about "slightly bored looking" girls ... or, at least for me, that one. Bill

Did a little research on Boz Scaggs and he was talking about Steve Miller being an influence for (hmm.. Steve Miller that's someone I haven't thought about in awhile).

Lots of good info offered. surely seems like the early input from audiomick on your charging system would be a smoking gun. but exactly what/where in the system you have failure would be the question. assuming you love your V11 and plan to keep it, and/or just want to cover your bases as you tick off possible causes for this current problem, just going through the charging system from end to end isn’t that painful of a process, and I’d say advisable for about any older italian. As stewgnu noted, solder/connections on the front end, the wire and connectors back to the VR, the VR itself, and then the grounding connections, are all things that can cause headaches. I’d say inlikely that the VR itself is failed, but could be, and even if not, on my “keepers” i just replace it anyway with a MOSFET unit, including of course the connectors with upgraded pieces (probably more important), check and/or replace original connectors in that run from the alternator, and really clean up and/or upgrade the main ground to frame. Whack all those moles at once, and just remove all or most the hassles that can come from that bundle of electrics, and probably solve your actual problem as well. As chuck noted, a battery going to zero volts would normally be unlikely to want to come back to life, but hard to imagine that it actually went all the way to zero (though anywhere close to zero is usually pretty lethal to a batt). if you’ve got it back to normal or near-normal voltage, then roll with it, but keep your eyes on it. i’ve had lead-acids come back to life quite nicely, semi surprisingly, but my last Li-Ion to go down to under 2V was “killed deader than hell”. damn shame, as that was a spendy one, on a Duc that had a mis-behaving relay and sat for a few months without “adult supervision” (Duc service bulletin came out for that known issue, but i hadn’t seen that till it was too late… sigh). but you can check that battery health within reason.

I saw this cartoon with a cat on a "table" of the Earth and the caption stated "if the Earth were flat , cats would have knocked everything off by now"

Oil either passes through or bypasses the oil cooler governed by the thermostatic valve in the oil distribution unit in the sump depending on the oil temperature. Phil

We will see what next year brings. Marc Marquez seems to struggle with the Ducati's propensity for loosing the front. That may continue to be an issue for him. If he can't adapt to the Ducati he may not be the factor so many seem to think he will be. He may be a guy who will win races but also a guy who crashes too often to win the title. I suspect others will be more of a title threat. The racing between Pecco Bagnia and Jorge Martin is getting serious. But impressive how hard they are able to race each other while still showing respect. Very refreshing.

Golly. The easy answer is GO-NOGO. Insert the one you want for spec, then try to insert the next size up. If your spec goes and the next doesn't, you're there within a half a thousandth. Besides, there's more difference in 'factory' and 'RaceCo' spec than you can error at any given point. Don't overthink it. My engine is much happier with the hammering elves in the valve covers than the quieter factory spec, too.

LOL. I can see I'm treading for the first time down a well-worn path. The swingarm itself needs a good clean-up. The powder coat is flaking all over the place. I guess I'll get it blasted and recoated. I've a 2000 Cali arriving next week too so there'll no doubt be more to do there. I just want to retire and spend all day on this stuff but my Mrs said something about bills....

Are you quite sure you weren't in New Zealand?

Not very wise here.. but a common failure is the voltage regulator from a dodgy ground. This would have let the battery run down. If it was truly 0 volts (!) it may be dead even though you charged it. Battery's don't like being totally discharged. Once you have replaced the voltage regulator and ran a solid ground from the regulator case to the engine block and most likely replaced the battery..report back. Oh, and welcome to the best knowledge base on the V11 in the world. Somebody else may have a better idea than me shortly..

That's rather nicely put. I'm presently in the Isle of Man which has many parallels with the north of the UK. History at every turn, and picture-postcard views in every direction. The natives are friendly too. Tourism plays a diminishing part in the economy. It's certainly not like it was in George Formby's day. So we survive by helping the super-rich stay that way, and housing most of the UK's online gambling companies...

In I think 2003 a mate and his wife flew down from Sydney and stayed with us and we had stand tickets at Lukey heights. We sat there in miserable cold heavy rain and winds the only people in the stand until the MotoGP warm up was over and I said to them, we can either sit here and get soaked and cold and hope it clears or if we bail out now we can be back at my place for the start of the days racing and watch it on TV. You have come all this way, you decide I'm easy either way. They opted for the bail out. Got home an hour and a half later turned on the TV to watch the races with the island bathed in brilliant sunshine and everyone in shirt sleeves.