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The red paint is thicker. That decreases the clearance. Also, the front zerk has a special antigravity coating that repels the grease gun.

Figured I'd give you the good news first . . .

Just another data point for future thread readers; I re-installed my old, highly suspect cam sensor- I'd already confirmed intermittent switching with a DMM. But to be sure after thoroughly inspecting the ignition wiring/coils/wires/caps/plugs with new parts where necessary, I returned the old sensor to service. The bike ran very smoothly and cleanly but for a stumble about 4200 rpm. I thought perhaps it was due to overfuelling by the newly restored injectors but the following day on the third lap around the block to check fuel changes (to no effect I might add) it went down on one cylinder and weakly at that. I drifted into the gas station for a minute (left my wallet home so no gas) and after a couple minutes cooling drove back finely to the house, about 1.5 miles away. This was precisely the same symptoms I experienced when I first bought the bike- the sensor failed with heat. The before/after test showed the stumble at 4200 even in neutral, and completely vanished with the new sensor installed. Tomorrow I'll re-install the fairing and get a hot test.

I use this tip with the wheel off and swingarm dangling. Done it a few times. Have to attack it straight on, the point will open the zerk and settle in pretty well with consistent pressure to take grease. Some does escape around the edges but mostly goes in.

That O-ring under the head bolt is an often overlooked leak source that makes it look like it is leaking from the head gasket.

Woooo , what gear were you in ?

If it is a black frame , good luck. If it is a red frame , GOOD LUCK !

Being winter and you have time to play around, I'd let gravity & time work for you. I'd bungee the lever down(per Docc's suggestion),fill up the reservoir,remove the caliper put it down low on the floor,open the bleeder,put tubing on the bleeder extending over the height of the reservoir. Every now and then cycle the lever or move the caliper pads in & out, and tap along the reservoir/M/C/brake line/caliper to loosen any surface tension on bubbles blocking things. When I had such a biatch of a time bleeding my new clutch line this year, it took me probably 3-4 wks of dicking around on and off like that before I got a good firm pull. Once you get the air & fluid moving and the system filled up with fluid, it should start to firm up much quicker, at that point I'd move the caliper up higher for the final bleed. fwiw

Lagrasta, When I change the tire I'll be doing everything I can on the rear before installing wheel again. I'll get grease in there one way or another...I hope!

I deleted the post as to not mislead anyone. I just seen this post and it met me were I'm at. I spoke without knowledge, before doing the homework. It's just how my bike was and I think I shall now call the bike the Caveat Emptor Express because this machine has some really funny stuff going on.

Yes - I still have plenty of springs. Boxing a few today for shipment this week. Sorry, but I've been busy with various other stuff. Haven't even been on a decent ride for 2 months.

Praise report! There are no leaks, everything is tightened up proper. The bike starts, rides, idles as it should. This thing is so fast, anything after 4,000rpm! One improvement is fork height, within the risers. I have them at 15mm. At 10mm, it was better, but 15mm was dead-on for my liking. I repeatedly took road bumps trying to better dial in the suspension. I was displeased with the improvements I made in this area. I currently have them set at C6, and R12. It still takes bumps harsh at this setting. Please advise.

I tell you what, if anyone can finally figure out exactly WHY the ShortFrame front Zerk is so impossible (compared to the LongFrame), that is worth ten points and the championship . . .

Top. Gear. (Notice how the Neutral Light stays just out of view . . .)

@activpop I just tried yesterday, again, on my black frame. Two Zerks are doable, but there is no practical way for the third. Don't even try unless you remove the rear wheel. Once removed, you can do additional shaft maintenance.

I jacked the bike up, dropping, and raising the rear wheel. I even tried removing the shroud, nope. I GIVE UP. I'll wait until my near new tire wears out, then I'll remove the shaft for proper maintenance. Appreciate your post @docc, this will be a great reference should I plan to swap out the joints at that time as well. Until then, 2 out of 3 ain't bad.

Ahhhhhh , John Hiatt !

Took my girlfriend to hear Peter Tosh (from Bob Marley) when he came to town many moons ago on his tour featuring his version of johnny b goode. She was a fine young catholic girl, easily surprised when all the lights went out, by design, to just highlight the single spark/red glow on the stage, and how the crowd went wild…

Note that each U-joint of the V11, front and rear, gets the special 45º low profile Zerk fitted to the center of the U-joint body (shown filled with a black moly grease here): An image of the 45º Zerk in the rear U-joit:

For others interested in clipon to bar conversion, I just discovered this vendor. This seems like an easy, and affordable option. $122. https://www.officine08.com/p73297_fork-bridge-moto-guzzi-v-11-le-mans-conversion-kit-superbike-lsl-grey.html My apologies if these were already mentioned elsewhere.

Not sure if they come in the right size, but another option might be a needle zerk fitting. They need a different grease gun nozzle, but are inherently low profile. https://www.amazon.com/Low-Profile-Grease-Zerks-5-Piece/dp/B07B8WM3QZ I don't do Amazon, but this link is primarily so others will understand what I am talking about. Again, I don't know if they come in the required size, but if they do a needle fitting could actually work better in this application.

Oh and FWIW, I couldn't source a sensor shim; I was at 0.00". I found that a rocker arm steel shim is a perfect fit on the sensor body and fits between the screws, giving a nice 0.010" space.

Here is @Pressureangle's ebay link he posted for the special Zerks: https://www.ebay.com/itm/6-Pieces-Metric-Grease-Fitting-M8-M8X1-M8X1-0-Zerk-Nipple-45-Degree-Deg-L-CA/201786925134?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649 And his thread/post on the U-joints and Zerks:

The shaft on my '97 is different from the later 6- speed shafts, but I think the universals are the same; the zerks *are not* replaceable. I made the mistake of tossing one of mine with the old joint, to discover that they are a very low-profile zerk and it took me literally weeks and about 6 bags of ebay metric zerks to find one that fit in the joint and cleared everything in use. You can't buy the joint separately from MG, and certainly you can't buy just the zerk from them. A conscientious cleaning on the bench is your only real option if you can't get it working in situ.

And now for something completely different...I did my first V11 oil change...nice ritual doing the filter. Also drained all the fuel and put in a couple gallons non E. Who knew how long those fluids have been sitting in there with the bike last registered in 2015. Google is my friend. With no manuals yet I questioned how to check oil level on this bike with no center stand. Many old posts from this site popped up. Got it dialed in because of all the info here. Can't wait to tackle the driveline zerks. 😳

It seems there is minimal difference (for our V11 purposes) between a V-rated (149mph/240km/h) rating versus a Z-rated (149+mph/240+km/h) tire. Even an H-rated tire is probably fine (130mph/210km/h) unless you intend to ride flat-out across The Salisbury Plain for hours. FWIW, I've never seen mySport over 135mph. For the record, I didn't say I rode it with the Veglia pegged, just "never over" . . .

I've never seen a "torque value" for this fine threaded "man hole" filter access cover. Yet, with the O-rig lubricated, it is best to tighten it firmly with a proper tool. I prefer a 10" breaker bar in 3/8" drive through the correct 27mm hex drive. This is an important distinction that should be thoroughly understood regarding the V11's oil filter contained within the sump, out of sight. Somewhere in the lore of installing external canister oil filters, the method was to lubricate the filter's gasket with motor oil and install "hand tight" or "finger tight." This is a DISASTEROUSLY BAD IDEA for the V11 ! V11 have been known to let their oil filter come loose. There have been theories, and contributors, to this potentially catastrophic failure: 1) Early, or a batch of, factory UFI filter gaskets were faulty or inadequate. 2) The "Hand Tight" method is not for this application. Based upon a respectable evaluation by V11LM member Ryland3210, I adopted the "one and one eighth (1 1/8) turns past first gasket contact" to good effect. (I have only had one filter stuck to the point of removing the sump and destroying the filter to remove it. ) Others have resorted to installing a hose clamp on the filter as a stop to prevent the filter from backing off. Beware a V11 unfamiliar to you that may have this modification. The oil filter cannot be removed through the access cover, but only with the sump removed.

If you have the 4.5" wide rear wheel I would recommend the 160/60 rear tire. It will fit the narrower wheel better. The wider tire is a bit pinched on that size wheel. That leads to a poor profile shape and a less than optimal contact patch. Later V11's have a 5.5" wide rear wheel and it fits the wider tire fine. Still not my favorite, but it is what it is.