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Tech Session!

The bike is in mint condition. Its based on a 2004 Canadian imported Ballabio Sport. I have the full documentation and official paperwork from Guzzi to verify this. V11 SPECIFICATION DATE of manufacture: 2004 UK REG 1-1-2020 MILEAGE: 6786 MILES (may rise as the bike is used) MOT: Will have 12 month MOT dated from 31-8-23 MODIFICATIONS: New Ducati 900 classic fairing fitted with custom built brackets New LED halo headlight New LED taillight fitted and frenched into the rear bodywork New LED micro indicators fitted front and rear. New steel mounting bracket fabricated for rear indicators and license plate. Stock airbox removed and twin cone filters installed. New battery fitted New rocker covers fitted with vapour blasted / polished finish. New stainless exhaust fabricated with cross over and stainless Delkevic stainless silencers. Front and rear brake calipers stripped, powder coated graphite grey and fully rebuilt with new pads Wheels stripped and powder coated graphite grey. New bearings fitted. Silver rim decals made and applied. New stainless steel infill panel with Guzzi logo fabricated for top yoke. Full professional respray in Kawasaki candy burnt orange, graphite grey metallic with silver pin striping and off white tail panels. Guzzi logos airbrushed in. Various hexhead bolts replaced with new stainless items. New bar end mirrors fitted. Alternator cover refinished silver MECHANICAL- all worked carried out by Jason at 1921 Moto, Guisley. All fluids changed. Bike fully serviced. Ignition system, injection and timing set up. New clutch, pressure plate and release bearing fitted. Front brake hydraulic balance hose relocated. Brake calipers rebuilt with new pads. The bike runs beautifully £6999 UK sterling

https://www.mgcycle.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=170_174&products_id=4634 It's always challenging for me to find the right ones on forum searches,because I can never spell Valpolini,correctly the same way twice,lol. There's lot's of info that these in the a/m link are the ones you want. It gets confusing because for some reason MGCycle, never lists them by name,but if you read the product description,they're usually listed as metal core. I've had every possible type of valve cover gasket eventually fail over time,,,knock on wood,,,never these ones. fwiw ymmv

Not to steal LowRyter's thunder, but adding the frame brace, under the spine, is only applicable to the early RedFrame (short frame), 1999-2001.

This de facto concept is exactly why I am so impressed with this "forum"/community . MySport would not exist otherwise. Perhaps, nor would I.

10 psi on the bike and 15 on the cars that also have plastic reservoirs. The secret to perfect brakes on bikes is to remove the master from the bars and tip it up so the hose connections are lower than the reservoir and gently work the lever so you only move the piston a fraction (with the master off the bars you can't really apply any pressure anyway) This shakes loose air bubbles trapped at the master fitting and observe the air bubbles come back into the reservoir. I would do this procedure at least 6 or 8 times during the bleeding process along with tapping the hoses as well a lot. Patience is the key. I spent at least 45 min filling and bleeding the front brakes to get the best possible lever. Fluid replacement is quick and easy, air bleed from dry time consuming. Phil

From some early South'n Spine Raid [SSR III/2007], this tribe of F'karewe Indians in PowWow near the Nantahala . . . "Where the F'karewe ?"

Damn you've got me interested now, more work. I have the std green guard but it's such a PITA to swap them out and it's also got a minor crack at one mount point. The black guard is a nice carbon one. Maybe green with a clear stripe in the middle to display the carbon, maybe. I doubt I can spray/reproduce the original colour myself though as the process is a bit tricky. Phil

Maybe some red fork gaiters Chuck? Phil

2003 Moto Guzzi LEMANS V11 | eBay I'm selling my 2003 Moto Guzzi lemans. it's been a fun bike, but life happens. please reach out to me directly if you are interested and save us both some eBay fees.

Oil level just beneath Roper plate. Thrust Liqui moly, you don’t need a gauge to tell you what’s going on, ears and nose. Never mind, . Cheers Tom.

To expand on it, some are scared they can't weld something that they have used brake clean on previously. That is not the case. If you use brake clean on metal and then weld it any liquid brake clean still on the metal, or even possibly some fumes that are still hanging about (although that seems like a slim issue), will break down under the heat of welding and if it is the wrong type of brake clean it will create phosgene gas. Particularly common is small traces of liquid brake clean sitting in pores of the metal. But if you use brake clean and then thoroughly dry the part you can weld it. The key is, being sure all traces of brake clean are gone. As brake clean does not leave a residue on the part, once it has evaporated it is gone, you don't need to worry about welding a part you used brake clean on previously if the brake clean is long since evaporated. But if you only use the non-chlorinated brake clean on metal you are going to weld, or simply skip the brake clean and use other safer solvents, you don't need to worry about it. Since the possible results of welding metal that still has liquid brake clean on it are potentially lethal it makes sense to be overly cautious. I feel this is something you can't stress enough. Better safe then sorry.

I had one on my Harley, in 1979. But the Harley had a dry sump, so I did not have to check the level using the dipstick. How easy is it to check the oil level with this one? as "easy" as with the original dipstick? better?

Here's an item that can give you that oil temp info...some folks here (myself included) have it...yes, it's a farkle, but it's quite nicely built. Easy enough to check off the bike while you're tanking up or at a coffee stop. https://www.mgcycle.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=5327

I found another brand that seem to sell better quality instruments and brackets. It will post about it as soon as I have received the thermometer and clock with the mounts. Their instruments glow in the dark, unlike Formotion ones, and you can also change the battery yourself on the clock... They sell Oil gauges too....

Thanks guys, much appreciated!!

Couldn't help myself... :-) Here's a quick & dirty photoshop

if I hadn’t just bought two loop frames I would be on my way to Indiana right now. Black 2003 Lemans with 4500 miles. $3500 https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/504276461825580/?__cft__[0]=AZWLfS-sdq_Ruf8crx0mJvI_f_vulcJCJTobTG-Epxi8jCu1CRAryGyz45smHbpp8Wape0pTWPwEg8cx_DlfLQfMSIO2pWt93gdaQhtK22vKv84dpPbg6CF81IQsT1xyOb4yR0hJ0tk0O1M_Vx7vGCB31RcCBH5VgTU1kujeujWVOmNOvYHGy9tfMDVtkGEbKLBFpYZAQ_q0OxSGy7iYRrAf&__tn__=-UK-R

Thanks for the updates (and heads-up!) @Randy . . . Pretty sure TWOS/Suches,GA is our most reliable Saturday destination, by whatever routes. Lunch meet-ups at either TWOS or, maybe, Rod's Rockin' Rolls in Ducktown on the way back to Tellico Plains . . .

What's really sad is these bikes always pop up 3000 miles away.

I've said it a million times, you need to give brand new designs time to mature. People still don't believe it though. The new V100 Mandello is a case in point, lots of small but niggly detail faults ( and one major safety one) all so far connected to production issues but the design issues always take longer to make themselves apparent. People still seem to think engine designers have got it 100% nailed but nothing could be further from the truth. I recently spent a lot of time in researching issues with the new cars I was considering buying and there are a ton of serious problems with LOTS of major brands that require major mechanical invasion work thats never a good thing when you consider the skill of the average dealer mechanic these days. Here's just a few that come to mind. Mazda 2.5L turbo with the cylinder on demand system, that fails catastrophically. Recall for new head. Same model without COD and cracked heads around the exhaust port header mount. Replacement head. B58 BMW inline 6 oil pump failures and recall to replace the ( new) plastic pump gears. People are generally non technical these days so are totally unaware of these common problems, until it happens to them that is. I could be here all day on this subject but it's a fact. Buy a clean sheet design at your peril. Patience is the key and let the designe mature. It's been the case for nearly 100 years and is just the same today. Phil

That's a helluva good deal for someone with basic mechanical skills who is willing to give a freshening. You could probably even drop it off at a shop and get it back ready-to-rip for a small fee.

Ok, that is starting to make sense. Going back to the Wiki article: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brake_cleaner in the section on "Composition". I could see something with a chlorine base producing Phosgene when heated, although I didn't find any hard facts. By the way, Phosgene here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phosgene However, as can be seen in the quote I included, the chlorinated brake cleaner is sometimes sold as "non-flammable". Clearly this is then not suitable for finding leaks in the intake system of a combustion engine. The brake cleaner I was referring to, and incidently the only type I have come across, is the sort that is hydrocarbon based (see, once again, the "Composition" section of the Wiki article). That is most definiitely not "non-flammable".

In my line of work, we had to deal with H2s, or Hydrogen Sulfide. But nothing to do with brake cleaner or welding.

If I was serious buyer I'd just message him on ebay with my mobile number and get him to give you a call or visa versa. Phil

Others have mentioned this but it's better in real life and if I was an expert in photo shopping so I could see what the variations would be I might consider it. The green is such a vivid and stand out colour though that it's easy to have too much of it I think. Anyone that knows how to photoshop really well I would welcome showing me versions with the fairing/and front guard in green and combinations of both. Maybe just the front guard green. Phil

Two three hours should wrap that up.?

Oh . . . my! Coming on two weeks out! I need to get my silly$#!t together. "Hand me that spanner !" . . . .

Looks like that route comes back through Ducktown. Makes me think: Rod's Rockin' Rolls . . . https://rods-rockin-rolls.business.site/

A couple years ago Nicole and I found this Gas station Ice Cream shop just south of the Tellico Lodge. It's home of the smallest ice cream size the "Sissy Cup".

Yes.

yep. Chance of TDOT fixing all that in the next three weeks is slim. Thanks, @Randy, for the heads-up!

I can jump that, np . . .

Well done, be happy you don’t have an oil temperature gauge to disturb you. Cheers Tom.

Decided to check how arduous riding in this weather still is.... a little 139 miles loop to Brenham via Sealy Tx and back through the 290. I was not disappointed! it is not even the temperature, but the heat index. Opening your visor in the suffocating ambient air does not provide any relief. They are announcing a "colder" front coming next week. I am looking forward to it.

I've used them for *years* on Guzzis, but have made my own mounts and used sticky back foam to mount the clock to the mount.

The Chinese LEDs are pathetic. We install these @ work and 1/10 of them go out as soon as you apply voltage .