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We are done! Don't hesitate to show your adorned V11 Le Mans jacket.... mine is out to be sewed on.

I thought it had/has a certain charm, just because of its lack of appeal. It reminds me of one of my early colleague with whom we rode to Grand-Prix. He had an MZ, possibly one of the least aesthetically pleasing motorcycle of these times, and an engine sound that went very well with it... He would never bother putting an anti-theft while parked, since as he said, absolutely nobody in their right mind would want an MZ. His did not look as "good" as this one, but sounded very similar. It was the cheapest bike you could purchase at that cube size. However difficult to look at, we grew accustomed to have it around, and it never ever left him down. Now, I have to say that not many feminine candidates were compelled to ask for a pillion ride. I suppose you cannot have it all...

You know what else miraculously removes minor rust from chrome? ... aluminum foil I just discovered this a few months ago while researching restoring chrome on an old Schwinn bicycle. It really is amazing. You just wad up some aluminum foil, and rub. Check it out.

Caruso gears

Note; last time apart, I lubricated my drive rubbers with silicone grease. Works a charm! Except for the part where when it gets warm it ejects blackened silicone grease out the cracks and paints my rear rim with gooey tar. Fortunately it cleans up easily. The message here is use lube sparingly. I'd use spray silicone next time, and just a dusting.

Then you can see 12 rubber pucks in recesses in the wheel hub. Some people grease the recesses and the non-metallic ring. I coated these with moly dry lube spray. You can see that I fitted only half of the pucks in my bike, and they were drilled to be more squishy. As you assemble, check that the O-ring is good, and there is wheel bearing grease on the spline plate bore. Before you refit the wheel, put a good layer of spline grease like Staburags NBU 30 PTM on the splines at the connection to the bevel box.

I know this is an old thread, but as a recipient of the warranty replacement engine cases for the bubbling 2002 finish, I can concur with Jaap that the replacement cases were the same fuzzy/textured black finish as the originals, not the later 03+ smooth semi-gloss/satin finish. The new cases were a near exact match to the transmission, although they were a bit darker since they hadn't yet been exposed to road grime, etc.

By all means have the whole thing balanced as an assembly. I have only removed and lubricated my cush drive once, so I don't really remember the process. I seem to recall @MartyNZ posted some nice insights on this job . . . edit: I found these nine search results: https://www.v11lemans.com/forums/search/?&q=cush drive&author=MartyNZ&search_and_or=and

That's it. Less rotating mass can make the motor snappier, more can make it easier to deal with in day-to-day riding conditions. I like "snappy", but that is just a personal choice. Reciprocationg mass is another kettle of fish, but that is not what we are talking about here.

Hallo Al, maybe know you my channel already ;-) The CalVin looks great... ... but the build quality could sometimes be really lousy. You have to invest a lot if you want a shiny bike and with the original mapping the bike is running much too lean. And even though my CalVin ended up being perfect, I think the power should be greater for such a heavy bike.

If you guys like to wear patches on your jackets, I got a V11 Le Mans in Red done; I needed only one, but 10 was the minimum order; If you want one of the 9, please PM me with your address. I give them away, postage domestic and international included. If you want to pay it forward, just make a silent contribution to this site.

I've seen photos of that series of MZ before. "Unique" is a nice way to describe it....

The spline plate can be hard to remove. The fins that engage the rubber blocks are tight, so you need a way to pry it out. A crowbar is bigger than you need, any pry bar is fine so long as you don't damage the wheel.

I'd say "don't disassemble the wheel & cush assembly" The tire can be changed as it is. Also don't lose the bush that goes on the axle between the wheel and the bevel box. It's needed to get bearing preloads right. If you're like me and can't help pulling it apart, then the following pictures may help. The retaining plate screws are likely to be frozen. Heat and penetrating oil are your friends. How hot, you ask? Well the rear disk can be red hot without other damage, but 60°C would be safe. Then you can lift the splined plate out.

I don't know if this is any help, but I found this image:

I'm convinced they didn't. And as far as the mice go, the bloke with the glasses "took a bet" that there were mice in the airbox before the even wheeled it away from the shed they took it out of. And then he didn't have a look to see if that was true before the tried to start it. I think the boys aren't really all that bright. Edit: It looks like it had a happy ending for the bike: https://wildguzzi.com/forum/index.php?PHPSESSID=adbcbd72268411ad01138e8e29437c64&topic=116045.msg1829928#msg1829928 In my opinion, Californias of that generation are pig ugly, but one doesn't like to see a Guzzi die a sad death. It's tragic that a bike with less than 7,000 miles on the clock was just left to rot in a shed.

2 left.

Just PMed,, thanks for offering patches to group, my red Ballabio looks very similar, will pay forward.

Moto Guzzi chain assy

Ducatis are beautiful , pricey , expensive and all your friends want to ride it. So are 21 yr. old girls. Their amusement park is ready to go 7-24 and they can get by on 2hrs. sleep. I want one but I don't need one.

I found the Vrroommm bicycle ad but wasn't smart enough or could remember how to put it up here. Also , we would buy the baseball cards , throw away the hard piece of gum and clip the cards to the bike not caring if it were Bob Gibson giving his life for my listening pleasure or anyone else . Also , we learned to tie ballons to the same spot . Not as good but annoying just the same.

Lots of info on the subject over the years, tank swelling and paint bubbling caused by the propensity of ethanol hygroscopic nature to absorb moisture which in turn is being absorbed by the plastic. This affected the tanks made of PA6 Nylon by Acerbis for Ducati, Aprilia, KTM and Moto Guzzi(V11, Norge, Griso, etc.). It affected Ducati’s owners so badly that a class-action lawsuit was filed against Ducati North America, which they lost, having to replace the tanks of thousands of bikes albeit with the same ones, only with a longer warranty time, thus kicking the can down the road... One of the solution to the problem for people unable to avoid filling their tanks with ethanol laced gasoline has been to coat the tanks with Caswell epoxy. Reports of successfully eliminating the swelling abound but also failure for some as the coating would not adhere properly to the inside of the tank. Most likely due to inadequate application process?! As gstallons said, use your best judgment... https://www.v11lemans.com/forums/topic/22148-fuel-tank-expansion-due-to-ethanol/ https://www.v11lemans.com/forums/topic/16928-caswell-tank-sealer-failer/#comment-181275 https://www.v11lemans.com/forums/topic/20071-install-deformed-fuel-tank/ https://caswellplating.com/epoxy-gas-tank-sealer.html

Well, then, I owe you another one, mate . . . I just cannot stress enough how the V11 just devours this cool, dry air. While the cylinders ring like trumpets at the gates of heaven . . .

Looks like you're starting to get good weather. It's slowly warming up (a bit...) here, but it is still crappy. And there hasn't been enough rain yet to really be sure that the last dose of salt has been washed away...

Alright, she doesn't just live on that dais with the footlights . . . I love these old train stations. Makes me feel kind of bold and enduring to be stopping by with a rare locomotive on the route . . .

Actually the buyer who is a collector who had bought all my bikes didn't ride it - and I always kept contact. I own now the California 1400 Touring, the V7ll Stornello and of course the Tenni - a nice bunch and a bike for every occasion.

Happy to be back. Sold number 050 a few years ago. Just brought it back home😀

The cases on my '01 V11 LM were redone through warranty. It came back with a wrinkled finish that almost matched the finish on the gearbox. I could only spot the difference from very close by. I believe it was done by a firm in Germany. Afaik they redid all the bad cases.

Hello, I’ve got #133 and am in Austin, Texas. The bike was purchased from part of Ewan McGregor’s personal collection. Thanks! Patrick Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk