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I have ordered a bunch of stuff from MG Cycles recently, and all three orders have been promptly shipped and arrived as quick as I could expect. And they had a surprising collection of parts in stock. I am happy to support people that are semi-local and keep this stuff in stock.

A week ago I posted concerns about replacing my original fuel pump at 125,000 miles/ 201.000 km. Turned out that restart stumbling was a fluke, perhaps a bit of "vapor lock." Has not recurred, so I moved on the my 5,000 mile/8.000 km oil change/ tune-up interval. Some observations: > I use the filter access cover to change the filter. Last change was the only time I found the filter stuck. This time I LIBERALLY oiled the gasket, both the surface and the sides. I remembered to inspect the old filter to be sure it brought its gasket out with it and also shone a light up into the sump with a mirror to be doubly certain no old gasket remained in the engine. I did not remember to peel the WIX sticker off the filter, but have run the label before with no issues. I prefer to remove them. "One less thing," you know. > The Sport ran so great yesterday, I was mildly surprised the spark plugs looked so awful. The gap had opened from 0.0275" to ~0.033. One side of the plugs showed a nice coloration and the other side (especially the right) was all crusted with carbon deposits. I'm thinking signs of needy valve seals/ guides. > I've been concerned my valves are sinking into the heads, especially the left exhaust. Pleasantly surprised that I relaxed the right side I/E maybe 0.0005"/0.0127mm just to get a nice, loose slide on the feeler gauge blade. I found the left side both at 0.007"/ 0.018mm, so slacked the exhaust a thousandth and snugged the intake a thousandth of an inch. Very pleased. > My TPS had drifted from 157mV to ~134mV. For the first time, I purposefully held the throttle firmly closed to set the TPS. This looked to make about a 10mV difference. I feel like I should be indexed to the map better. Thanks to all of those who have patiently helped me understand this importance. > I have been skipping the Decent Tune-up step of removing and cleaning the air bypass screws/circuit. Not sure the last time I did that, but the tips of the air screws weren't just sooty, but crusty and a lot of black gook and particle washed back out of the passageways with throttle body cleaner spray applied repeatedly until the wash-back looked clean. Again, pretty sure my old Sport is burning its share of oil via the valve seals, but I won't skip that step again. _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Out for a warm-up ride to balance the throttle bodies and, five miles from home, she coughs hard - sputters- picks up again- coughs - sputters- barely runs or idles as I nurse her in to a safe spot. She dies, making me think about that fuel pump again. Off the bike, I retrace everything I just had my hands on. There it is: I had left the TPS break-out harness connected and the bare leads had wandered their way to ground. Detached it, plugged the TPS in directly and motored happily away. Note to self: > After setting the TPS and removing the voltmeter, see that the break-out harness is removed and TPS is plugged back in directly. ~ ~ ~ " I won't skip that step again. " ~ ~ ~

Well, like my UJM riding shopmate always says, these Guzzis are “real men bikes”… and we all know real men don’t need instructions…

Fun day out yesterday, 3 days in a row of perfect weather to ride, and a nice rendezvous up in Navasota and surrounding areas...great to have lunch with P6X, look at the red LeMans, and enjoy a little run of the big blocks thru the back roads as well as pick up another tag on the Great Tour of Texas from a different angle than a day earlier.

I'm a little late to the post here but I had the same problem...couldn't tell what the trans level was because of pink crud encrusted sightglass. Well, instead of replacing trans oil with shockproof like the PO had been running, I replaced the oil with the specified amount of sae 80w90 (valvoline or the like because I was trying to be trifty) and called it a day. The bike needed so much other routine maint stuff I figured I'd deal with the sightglass some other time, I just wanted to get the bike running good. Sometime & miles later during an engine oil change I was pleasantly surprised to find that the trans sightglass was perfectly clean as it displayed a light tea colored oil on the other side of the glass. So, if you aint pulled the glass yet and you're not running the red stuff you may want to give it a few K miles, it might "self" clean. Art

I liked this better than the current MotoGP series; it is currently available to watch for free if you are an Amazon Prime member. This documentary revolves around Laguna Seca 2005, and the main protagonists are three now retired MotoGP riders: Valentino Rossi, Colin Edwards and the late Nicky Hayden. It is a truthful testimony of what a MotoGP week-end is, and an homage to the regretted Nicky Hayden who passed away in 2017. What makes this piece special are the post comments during the race from Valentino Colin and Nicky, describing what went through their minds at the time. John Hopkins is also a major contributor.

I communicated with Becker-Technik about selling directly to the US; they said there is a liability issue. This liability does not exist for third party vendors. Too bad your suggestion to use Stein Dinse to purchase came too late for me. I added the link to my original post. I know that MG Cycles is more expensive, but I don't mind paying a little bit of extra so they continue to thrive and sell V11 spares in the USA.

Stop #27: Navasota Classic Rock Café; This is actually my third Texas Tour stop, but the other two were done in my 911, so I did not report them even if you are allowed 5 without your motorcycle. Today's ride was nice because it gave the opportunity to meet with @PJPR01, so we could hit the road with two Guzzi instead of one! Here's the detail of our trip today: 130 miles, with two Bluebonnet stops on farm to market 362, and an ethanol free gas fill at Buc-ee's Waller. A very pleasant excursion, in a incredibly nice Texas weather. Nice because we had a cooling wind tempering the heat. On a less positive note, there is oil on the right hand side of the sump. I was so happy to have the starting cured....

Farmhouse Inn B&B had 85 reviews on Trip Advisor, 81 were excellent, 5 stars. Motorcycle friendly a block away from Tellico Grains.

Doc, so my wife and I are going to ride down to Tellico Plains and ride the Cherohala Skyway(on the Indian Chieftain). While the Lodge at a Tellico Plains is booked, but the owner guided me to the Farmhouse Inn B&B in town. Very classy move can’t say how thankful I am. But anyways, while talking about the South N Spine Raid, he told me that one room was still available, so I booked it! It’s official, going to make the rally this year on the Rosso Mandello.

I will add Cadre Cycle in Cincinnati to that list. Just because they had new OEM V11 LeMans badges for the side covers IN Stock!

UPDATE: Took her for a run, a long run. She's running perfectly again. Slight hiccup, but what a machine. The V11 Sport is criminally undervalued. She's a bargain modern classic with such soul!

I have ordered parts from MG Cycles in the past and they are a great vendor, in fact, I still have a running wish list with them. I also order from AF1, TLM and Stein-Dinse as well as Ebay vendors for used parts and I am glad for ALL of them to exist in supplying the bits needed to keep our steeds running. As for the purchase of the Becker stand, the savings were a bit too substantial to ignore, not only the base price at MG was almost twice that of S-D, they wouldn’t even disclose their shipping charges before purchase. To me, operating my moto passion on a limited budget, not knowing how much I’m gonna be charged before I order doesn’t make me want to pursue that particular transaction.

Thankfully....no. Connectors are both totally different, even my stupid self can't screw it up as they won't match. I fired her up in the garage just now...on high enrich/choke...seems fine. It is very wet outside, so my road test will have to wait until tomorrow. I love this machine, and enjoy riding it so much.

Yeah, after reading posts in this thread and in another one or two, I'm going to add a 6th relay. In a former post here somewhere I saw a diagram by Stewgnu where a 6th "High Current" relay was added, that will be the way I proceed with this to prevent a potential future problem. I think it is along the same lines as what Gstallions described above. On my 03 Lemans, I've got, what seems to me, a 16 ga. brn/blk to the starter solenoid....not very heavy gauge wire for carrying any kind of substantial current. So, I'm kind of wondering how much current is actually flowing through there once the solenoid hold-in coil takes over after the pull-in coil has been initiated. I have a couple things going on with Lemans right now but once I get it somewhat more together where I can re-connect the batt, etc., I plan on jumping battery+ to the solenoid spade terminal with an ammeter in between to see what the draw is. I imagine the draw might be high for the first few milliseconds but after that I would expect to see 8 amps or less. Just curious I guess....and maybe too much time on my hands.

Hi all, I've been away for quite a while and just discovered this thread and would be very interested in adding this bespoke piece to my Café Sport! I don't have that bike near me and can't measure the weave or remember the finish to say definitively what options I should chose. Does anyone have an idea on the closest match to the OE Carbon fiber and if any of the options come close?

Are they still using the same connectors that better not be reversed?

I too have opted for the Becker stand. I have been using one for the Griso for years and I've been happy with it, getting the bike on and off of it is quite easy once you've done it a couple of time. Once attached to the bike it pretty much functions as a good ol' center stand. I actually find it easier to attach to the V11 than the Griso. My V11 came with a MG factory stand that had been altered to work like a Becker with two 18mm sockets rather than having the support directly on the porkchops lower nuts and although it works decently on the ground, I didn't like to use it on the lift as the handle ends up outboard of the platform and requires to be supported by a block of wood about a third of the way down the length of the handle. The Becker is much more compact and doesn't get in the way when working on the bike. Also the MG stand in its original configuration had left some nasty bite marks in the porkchops from its (mis?!)use by previous owners... I toyed for a minute with the idea of modifiying the Becker stand I already had for the Griso and adapting it to the V11 which shouldn't be too difficult but that meant changing the fittings back and forth every time I needed it for the other bike and negating the possibility to have 2 bikes on the stand at the same time. Not worth it for the price of a second stand imho. I got both of my stands from Stein-Dinse in Germany at quite a bit of savings compared to MG Cycles. I actually received that last one for the V11 last week for about $120 including shipping, along with other parts I needed and it got to my door in 3 days...! Very well packaged and faster than most suppliers in the US.

Back to the Becker-Technik Central Lifter: I purchased a 26 inches breaker bar; Thus, foot+breaker bar means I can now deploy on rugged surfaces. I will add a video once I get a tripod for my DGI Pocket 2.

All correct Cheers Tom.

I detected a certain sense of entitlement in dealing with them. Hey! A member co-op!

Just so I clear up any confusion: like any quality long-term relationship, I'm willing to put in the work for my baby. She idled like she had two cylinders after I reattached both conectors...sounds amazing. I enjoy the Mistrals in sound and appearance. They so compliment this machine. I'm still obsessed and in love with the V11 Sport. Can't wait to really scrub in my Diablo IIs tomorrow!

Yes, doesn’t that fry the fuel level sensor?

Well, Bill.. it's much better to figure it out in the shed than sitting at a gas pump at night in the rain with a no start condition.. It's pretty simple.

I put my rear wheel up on the Pit Bull stand, pull the spark plugs and rotate the wheel with a finger on the hole; when it comes to compression, you can get close to TDC by finger. Then I use a round-bodied flat blade screwdriver to turn the flywheel tooth at a time to find the marks. 6 speed has the same flywheel hole as a 5 speed, yes?

Not the pump, but the fuel level sensor and the electric petcock. That electric fuel tap was only fitted to the early V11 Sports and many of us decided to go to the manual option to eliminate that point of failure.

Thank you very much for adding me to the registry. I’m looking forward to getting out on the Tenni this summer. thanks again Neil

Think I found the offending parts responsible for my being left stranded. Appears the left throttle linkage caused two connectors, one for fuel (?), one for the left fuel pump (?) to BOTH come loose. After some fiddling (thankfully, didn't have to remove the tank), they are both connected again. I will use zip ties to add clearance from the linkage tomorrow and then, cautiously, ride her a few blocks several times. Glad it was obvious what it was, and why it was intermittent---because the connectors were both barely connected! Whew. My first Guzzi crisis cleared, if she runs well tomorrow...

It's Italian, that's why. I ran into that mystery myself when I thoughtlessly took it out without noting how it was installed. The workshop manual doesn't coherently describe how it's fitted, but reading a bit back and forth gives that the groove (where the missing teeth are) in the timing rotor should be positioned about 180 degrees away from the pickup when left cylinder is at TDC with both valves closed.

First 30 odd km driven. No problems so far. The sound alone is probably adding 12HP and 20NM Like others have, I noted a rise in idle of about 200rpm. Still early days, but so far I've had none of the ~3000rpm hick-ups at low load. My chain tensioner showed visible grooves after 65000Km so there might have been an issue with (whatstheword?) chain lash? affecting timing.

You can always just put it in gear and rotate the engine docc. Ciao

Totally agree about the alternator cover especially routing the wires at the top

I want to do this, but my brain fades and it all becomes "qvatch". I'm sure I'll figure it out eventually.

Frankly, the hardest thing about adjusting the valves is removing and replacing the alternator cover to rotate the motor to TDC "destra e sinistra ." Be aware that this operation is what strains the yellow stator output wires. Yet, this is the time to refresh our alternator cover that skims the road behind the front tire. The weather wasn't right for a clear coat, so just scrubbed it and a good coat of Carnauba wax . . .

The cough? Change out the rubbers and synch the throttlebodies.

Holiday here in the UK today, took the opportunity to do some workspace tidying, consequently no riding only pushing bikes in and out of the garage

I agree with footgoose. It could be something else, but it really sounds like water in the fuel tank. I had that on my Buell. The water sits at the bottom of the tank. When I would go up hill the water would run to the back of the tank where the fuel intake for the fuel pump was. It would misfire. Then once level or downhill again it would stop it after a minute or two. One of the joys of buying a used bike this old is fixing all the stupid stuff that is wrong with it. But this could be an easy fix if it is indeed water. Drain the fuel tank into a translucent fuel can and look for water in the bottom. If there is water in the fuel it will settle to the bottom. While paying someone a bunch of money to fix a motorcycle can work, it is often better to learn how to do it yourself. And with the smart guys around here and all their experience you can learn. If I can learn from these guys you can.

I'm not sure what stores you have local to you, but up here in Canada, Princess Auto and especially Canadian Tire, has those big 1/2" drive bars on sale all the time. I think I've been picking them up for less than $10. They're not top quality but despite my best efforts, I've never broken one, I've bought a bunch of them 3-4? I've got them all over the place, I keep one in my car with a socket to tighten my lug nuts if need be, and I've got others in both garages in case a fastening gets fussy and won't come undone, those johnson bars and if needed a pipe extension for more leverage have never failed. Just a wag, but I think Harbor Freight, Pep Boys, Wal Mart or something similar in the US should have them cheap. fwiw

Oh, and next valve adjustment (130,000 miles/ 209.000 km), I really should replace the original valve cover gaskets. Get-me some o' those hi-zoot Valpolini . . .

We haven't sen @Van since 2016, so I entered your edit in the first post registry. Happy to see you have your Tenni back, @Birdman !

A group of pilots were at the Alcarrás track, minding their own business; that was the same day Marc Marquez picked to check his physical condition on a Honda 600 RR 105 hp. One of the pilots, Johann Flammann is a pro racer and instructor, using his Kawasaki Ninja ZX10RR 204 hp. As you can see in the video Marc Marquez has no problem making up for his power deficiency with his ability to pilot. This must have been a dream come true, to be able to measure yourself against one of the best of the bests....

I got gas at BucEe's and the MPG Tracker on my Corvette lost about 4 mpg and never caught up to the previous readings despite costing a dime+ more a gallon. Then the stores are so big you have to walk two blocks from the gas pumps to the bathroom. And TMI, usually when I stop, I need to go. BTW- the crap sold there, whether consumable or not, ain't cheap, and it ain't special. Just another instance where Texans think they invented the first gas station, or BBQ, beer, kolaches, tacos, football or any other common place thing or idea. Just making it bigger and expensive or putting a star on it doesn't make it better or even as good. I could tell ya what I really think but I think I'll keep tactful about it.