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A sound of thunder across the Frisian countryside.

Docc, from the look of those plugs, I would do a leak down..just to have an idea of general condition of the rings/valves.

Super high temps in Oregon this week...no fun also. Oh, to be 55 degrees and cruising again. And 55 years old while we're at it.

Don't overthink it, just clean it and grease it. You'll be in there again in a few thousand miles anyway. Burn that rubber!

I kinda want to continue down the Path of Denial about my valves and guides.

MP3 grease from BMW is white. Staburags from Kluber is a v good grease for the splines. Clean EVERYTHING, and light coating. Cheers Tom.

Love the Rosso Corsa, I have one myself

It's lucky that you have a center stand on your bike, otherwise that would be really inconvenient. On my bike, I noticed that the lower bolt was slightly bent as I put it back, so I take your problem as as warning.

Yep, waiting on lines sucks, but it is a good time to work on your patience and watch people who have none, or elect to go elsewhere, as you suggested. Yet I feel the bigger concern is that population growth is taxing the planet to the point that Earth itself is overcrowded. Resources used up. The waste we produce. The chemicals we use. And don't get me started on plastics. All that is going to be our downfall because none of that is changing. Fighting a crowd to take a picture seems a bit lower on the scale. We ain't seen nothing yet. We are screwing ourselves...but money talks. It always has. Sorry to be a Debbie Downer, but that's how I feel.

Giving the Greenie a good clean, checking electrical stuff and polishing the exhaust before the new Mistrals go on.

Re-priming the fuel pump sounded "weedy." I thought I could "clear" the lines/pump/injectors by cycling the pump. Never worked out. At 5,000 miles, those plugs look "bad" to me . . . You can imagine my joy, starting the Sport up and riding away, after changing the plugs on that roadside after an hour in the immense heat . . .

Sounds like you had a disappointing day . Relay #1 is working because the starting motor works. Relay #2 is working because the headlamp is ( I assume) working ? The way to verify it is working (since you don't wont to lean over the bike) is to push the horn button. Relay #3 is working because the starter is allowed to crank. Relay #4 is working because it supplies +to Relay #5 Relay #5 would give you evidence of working when the fuel pump would (make noise) function . The #5 relay controls the + to the fuel injectors , ign. coils and the fuel pump.

Sad, indeed. I feel such a respect for Dr. John (as many of us do). While he never engaged with our community, I yet offer my respect.

Having a few bikes it's actually very recomended for a pensioner's health, shoud have been on blue subscription. Winther project started july last year, why not this year to with riding weather like this, -3 not far away. Gives me something meaningful to do since bikes always was a BIG part of life. Bit wet and on the chilly side here, but no thank you to 100+ in Houston. Remember well 43c in Barcelona with up north riding gear, TERRIBLE. Cheers Tom.

https://briggsauction.bidwrangler.com/ui/auctions/122350

Pictures will follow: Sold the V11 but still have the Magni Fairing,brackets, mirrors and bars available for sale. Has 2 windshields available. All the pieces are there but some of the bolts and screws have gone missing. No chips or damage of any kind. Make a reasonable offer. Pictures added: 2 Windsheilds (1 never used, still has wrapping from Magni and not a mark on it, both in great shape

Like Chuck said. Looking at your plugs, mileage, some quide wear for sure. I was lucky, bent valve outside the garage idling. Machinist told me when milling out the quide on my right head, the quide just dropped out after minimum milling. Not trying to scare, just a wear thing. 215600km not bad at all. Don't think the unsceduled pit stop had anything to do with wear. Just some thoughts docc. Cheers Tom.

134,000 miles, didn't you say? Some things don't heal themselves... If it gets urgent, I've got a brand new set of valves, and my motor has "only" (according to the speedo) got 65,000 km on it.

Like Tom said, Kluber Staburags NBU 30 PTM specified for BMW splines seems to work well.

4,000 miles, huh. I usually swap plugs at each oil change, but those look far worse than any I've swapped, V7 or V11. Glad you're safe, and back home, albeit a bit late.

The fuel supply from our petcock to the external fuel pump (on the early V11) has always been vulnerable to heat soak from the left cylinder/head. Proper grooming away from the heat source and heat shielding the fuel line is well indicated. One of the contributors to this problem in high ambient temperatures/ hot motor is the mapping that runs rich on EVERY startup for about 4000 revolutions regardless of the temperatures. V11 are likely to run very poorly starting when already hot and high ambient temps until past those 4000+ revolutions. @Lucky Phil could recite the exact number . . .

I enjoy traveling very much, and would hate to be limited. I believe with flights and accommodations being more affordable, more people are now traveling. I can't blame anyone, there is so much to see in this big world. As for being anti-tourist, it leaves a bad taste. I live near Laguna Beach, CA so I do see a lot of tourist, long lines, etc. I never considered doing anything about it. I pray we all stay safe.

Did this shop try heating it up w/a torch to bend it back ? I don't suppose there are ANY salvage yards there so you might try eBay or a MG dealership to get another one ?

Thanks for the replies, gentlemen!! @po18guy, It occurred to me that the coils could be "tired" and contributing. @Joe, The tank heat shielding is intact. @gstallons, On the side of the road, I would liked to have had some freeze spray or electronics cleaner to selectively cool components, especially the petcock, fuel line, and pump. They were too hot to touch.

It is quite common the fasteners gets loose, making the bracket vulnerable to bending. The small, lower faster should be snugged up routinely (say, at every oil change). Realize that the larger, top faster torques to 70 Nm (!). I don't recall anyone trying to straighten a bent bracket back.

They started plating the center / ground electrodes to prevent wear of the material and increasing the air gap. The better the plating material , the longer the lifespan . It ain't gonna prevent build-up like is on Docc's spark plugs . I am still "sitting on the toilet" musing about what caused the breakdown on the bike yesterday . the fact it was a no start after a hot-soak....hmmmmm. Chemtronics sells Freeze Spray . r-134a in a can that will COOL down any electrical component to diagnose "if" it is the fault. BTW , Docc , these smaller relays will get so hot you are going to think they will melt . Mini and Micro relays are used in everything and I cannot understand why they are put in high current situations.

Hey audiomick thanks for your precious reply.

I think crappy coils might be part of it, ancient aircraft style combustion chambers are part of it and a cranky F.I. system is probably part of it. As to plugs, I replaced my OEMs with Iridium plugs. I had to know: Iridium is in the platinum spectrum, and is the most erosion resistant of all known metals. Curiously, it is deposited around the earth's crust in two distinct layers. Meteor strikes are suspected. Yet, it's here for a reason, so on my spark plugs it is.

IDK why these bikes EAT spark plugs . The deposits on the plugs do not look good but there is nothing you can do easily to fix this condition.

AFA spark plugs , I have to keep 4 NGK spark plugs here at the shop all the time . If the bike does not start , I have to put new plugs in.

The rest of the diagnosis is needing to be packing a spark tester. If you had more than three hands you could unscrew a spark plug cap and hold the end of the plug wire near the head while cranking to test for spark. The fuel pump (vapor lock) issue would be up to you to diagnose. You would have to remove a lot of stuff (on the side of the road) to test fuel pressure .

YES. Cheers Tom.

Following a weekend of riding on wet, sodden roads (another appalling wash out of a UK summer), I cleaned the filth off my burgundy V11 today

WAN and LAN; wide area network and local area network. Internet used to only be gotten via a wired cable from either a switch or a router connected to a modem. In any case, WAN and LAN are still valid terminology. Some of my equipment is connected to my modem router via an Ethernet cable, not much, but I have my own "Cloud Storage". Let us not forget that Ethernet cables have also evolved and have much more bandwidth than WiFi itself. A cable can move 1 Gbyte per second, much better than the best WiFI. My ISP provides my Modem Router, and I have no clue what WiFi standard is in use. Today's latest is WiFi 6. I have had access to email since the early days, when I connected to my company's main frame via an acoustic coupler. Lol, do you remember those? you plugged your phone receiver into them.

Take one for a test ride, I reckon. From what I've read, the Stelvio is good, maybe in some points better than the Mandello, maybe not. The size of the rider seems to play a part in preference. Take one for a longer test ride. Go there on the Mandello. Then you have the direct comparison, and maybe a better idea what suits you better. Or keep the Mandello and add a Stelvio...

Seen at Moto International in Seattle in 2015. A nice-looking Rosso Corsa.

After my night at "El Cosmico" in Marfa in 2023, I am apparently ready for just about anything.... Kidding aside, I also had a bed bugs experience in 2022 in a shabby motel around Coleman, where my neighbor had a fight with his fiancée in the middle of the night, threw her out of the bedroom, and she kept banging on his door for a long time after that.... I learned a few explicit words which I had never heard before. I think I am properly prepared to face the dreadful Cedar Vale lodge if it comes to that.

Second time this happened to mySport in high heat after a short run up the road (thirty minutes), and a very short stop->restart (minutes) attempt, then failure to run. Like a "vapor lock." First time, it cleared out suddenly after maybe twenty->thirty minutes. Like it never happened. This time, (High heat: 95ºF/ higher "heat index"), I got maybe 200 yards and the Sport would not recover. Tried cycling the fuel pump (a dozen+ times). Opened the tank cap several times. Chatted with several concerned locals stopping to check on my plight. After an hour pinned between the edge of the road and the guard rail, I thought it would restart after "cooling off." Fanned the petcock/fuel line/fuel pump over the left cylinder/head. No joy. Started to fret over the Timing Sensor. The ECU. Swapped in a fresh #5 (fuel/ignition) relay . . . Figured I fouled the plugs with so many restart attempts an decided to swap in new plugs (always carry new plugs!) thinking the bad plugs would be wet soaked from so many restart attempts. After an hour cool down and fresh plugs, started up and rode home . . . Yeah, they are "plugs", just not *spark*-plugs! Right as I was celebrating turning 134,000 miles . . .

Anyone else had this problem - The lower bolt that attaches the bracket that the side stand attaches to broke and bent the bracket beyond 90. I've got local enginerring co trying to bent it back to 90 but they weren't hopeful. See photo in my members gallery. So I'm on the hunt for a new one. Harpers have one but its a bit expensive [docc added image]