JRD

Hi Bill- I attended the changing of command at Ft. Bragg when my son was assigned there. Quite an impressive ordeal. What is up with the Norge? Tune up time or just replacing those leaky valve cover gaskets? And.....................................which bike will you ride to the SSR this year? Jerry

Excellent documentation and photographs! This is one of those projects that we hope we never need to do, but when we do, it's great to have the step by step procedure already done and available. Thanks for posting. Jerry

I have neglected the LeMans since March while I was preparing for and doing the trip to Nova Scotia on the Norge aka "the Silver Bullet". We finally got back up to our place in the mountains last Saturday but house chores and a birthday for my Wonderful Wife prevented any rides. FINALLY TODAY, aired up the tires, checked the fluids and took the beast for a nice one hundred mile ride thru the beautiful mountain roads of North Georgia. As much as I enjoyed the Norge during the trip up north, the LeMans feels totally different. The LM suspension is much more firm, power delivery feels like more low end GRUNT, and the sound from those two carbon fiber Mistral cans never ceases to put a big grin on my face! Sunshine, twisty mountain roads, no traffic, and an awesome bike, what more could a guy ask for? Jerry

Scud- did you ever determine what was causing the noise inside the engine?

Cant tell you how many times we would be stopped for gas and people wold ask "Moto Guzzi, who makes that?".

Hi Folks- brought back a nasty head cold from our ride and finaly got around to posting some pictures over on Wildguzzi if anyone is interested. Jerry

What really puzzled me was the fact that mine started eating fuses even with the MPH S/I pigtail installed. Removed the pigtail and it popped the fuse. Installed the 20 amp fuse and that seemed to cure it for several days until the ambient air temps here in Florida got into the high 80's. Re-installed the pigtail with the 20 amp fuse and STILL popped the fuse. Removed and inspected the starter solenoid and connections, all like brand new. Since the starter motor was off allowing easier access, I decided to replace the orange/yellow wire up to the relay with the heavier gauge wire. Re-installing the MPH S/I pigtail, replacing that one wire and installing the new relay has cured the problem so far. My friends '09 Norge did not have the MPH S/I pigtail so I (we) ran two new wires. One from the battery directly to the relay, and the second from the relay down to the solenoid and that seems to have cured his problems also. Temps on the ride ranged from the low 40's to the 90's with only six days without rain so I am confident we have cured the problem. My main fear was stalling the bike at and intersection, not being able to restart it and getting run over from behind. Cant thank you guys enough for your help and guidance. Jerry

Well its been several months so I thought I would update this post. As stated above I replaced the 15 amp fuse with a 20 amp and the problem persisted with and without the pigtail installed. Next step was remove the starter and inspect the internals of the solenoid. Spotless and no indication of corrosion inside or on any of the terminal ends. OK, what is consistent on this bike and others that have reported the same problem? The skinny yellow/orange thin wire from the starter relay to the starter solenoid and also, the LI starter relay. Called MG International and learned they had been having a run on these relays recently. Hmmmmm. Ordered new relays. Two days later (kudos MGI) received two Mitsubishi relays in the mail. While waiting for the new relays I replaced the skinny 18-20 ga. wire from the starter relay to the stater solenoid with a heavier 14 ga. wire. I even went back to the 15 amp fuse just to be safe. Well I am happy to report that after 4,500 miles in a 22 day trip from Florida to Nova Scotia, Canada and back, I DID NOT HAVE ONE SINGLE STARTER ISSUE!!!!!!! During the trip the 2009 Norge also on the trip began blowing the starter fuse. Replaced the relay to solenoid wire and used my spare new relay and he had no further issues either. Conclusion, I think the "startus interruptus" problem was caused by faulty relays, the wrong wire gauge or a combination of the two. Anyway, thanks so much to Wayne and everyone else who contributed information on this issue.

Just thought of something, I had a 1980 BMW R100T and was surprised to discover you could actually adjust the clearance between the rocker arms and rocker shaft towers. Is it possible a shim got left out on re-assembly allowing the rocker arms to shift and make that clatter sound? Just shootin in the dark here. Valve train, piston in backwards, anything that would make a consistent clatter sound like that.

Congrats on the new ride Bill! A friend of mine had one that he road raced back in the 70's. Tons of things you can do to those to really make them rip. The Yamaha two smokers ruled the AMA road races for years. Pretty sure you can still get all the info on modifying the ports for more go power.....as if those things needed it!

Hi Folks, late to the game as I have been busy preparing the Norge for the upcoming trip to Nova Scotia. Scud, have you done a compression check on the bike? First thing I thought of after listening to the video is quite similar to a cracked piston. Possibly between the ring grooves? I know not what you wanted to hear but a possibility? Jerry

There are a few videos on YouTube on how to adjust valves on Moto Guzzis. I just stumbled across one the other day. It was for a Norge but the process is the same. With the valve covers off its easy to watch the engine go thru each cycle, Intake, Compression, Ignition, and Exhaust as the valves open and close. Set your valves at TDC. Both valves will be completely closed and you will be able to wiggle the rocker arms, if you cant, the engine is not at TDC on the compression stroke. the .006" Intake - .008" Exhaust seems to work best for most folks to eliminate the hiccup and stumble. I always rotate the engine thru a couple cycles after setting the valve just to check my work. Take your time, and dont be intimidated, its really quite easy. Hope this helps. Jerry

I would definitely ditch the lectric and install the manual petcock. Just one less electrical component to worry about. If I recall, some folks were having problems with the electrical petcock failing to open until there was enough vacuum or pressure to activate the switch. The greenie I had and my LM both equipped with manual and never had any problems.

Obviously you have owned your bike for some years. Have you noticed any improvement (or not) with different brand tires? I realize that changing the tire pressure can affect the way a bike handles, but that seems to be treating the symptom, not curing the ailment. I agree whole heartedly with Chuck, until you get the sag right everything else is just a band aide. Unfortunately getting the sag right is probably going to be expensive. Look at it this way, if you didnt spend the money on your bike you would probably waste it on things like your house, food, clothes, your wife, the kids, etc. Not necessarily in that order.

docc- a friend of mine has an MV "Brutale" . They sound AWESOME!!!!! Other than our Guzzis, I still get a kick every time I ride my "old" 2003 Rotax powered Aprilia.

Hey guys, sorry I havent been on the forum in several days, we have been really busy the last couple weeks. Swooshdave, I installed the smallest black plastic "nut pocket washer" between the rubber hose and the brass nylock nut. Parts number "D" and "F" in the kit. When you tighten the flat head machine screw it compresses and flairs the hose which holds everything in place. I dont recall having to take the chrome lock nut off, but that was over two years ago, if it makes installation easier, go for it. Hope this helps Jerry

Have a safe ride and enjoy the new bike

..and if you think you're packing too much, you probably are. ........ Lets see, 600 miles two days......one pair of jeans, one tee shirt, one long sleeve, 2 pair of socks, tooth brush&paste. Tools? AAA card, cell phone and a credit card to cover meals/hotel/gas Oh I forgot clean under wear...naw just go commando!

Just met him at last years SSR, what a genuinely nice guy. Another terrible loss for "our community".

Nope, just popped the little cover out of the steering stem tube which is hollow. I had purchased two RAM Fork Stem Base kits. One for each of the bikes I had at the time. I ended up using the fork stem ball, the flat head machine screw(the allen head screw that goes thru the mount down into the S/H tube, the 5mm nylock nut, and one of the nut pocket washers. I did not use any of the rubber expansion plug that comes in the kit. I just cut a small piece of rubber fuel line tubing to use as the expanding/clamping portion of the kit. I sent a picture of the entire kit to Swoosdave earlier this morning, hopefully he will be along soon and post so you can see what the parts are I am referring to.

Maybe if you have a 13" flat screen attached but not with the standard 4-5" screen GPS. I have seen guys with much longer mounting arms who have not had any problems either. All the torque is transferred to the stainless allen head screw. If your worried about the vibration just loosen the adjuster nut on the mounting arm, let it slip on the mounting balls a little. Like I said before, this is the unit I have had for over two years with no problems what so ever. I thought it looked more secure than mounting it to clutch master cylinder reservoir. I suppose a better option would be to stick with paper maps

Dave, that is as far as the base mount can go. It is not very "tall" at all. Just sent a photo of the kit I purchased for another bike of mine.

Chuck-The steering head tube is hollow. And under the cap is a smallish hole. I have that RAM mount on my LM and use a Garmin 1450 GPS with it. Have had it mounted there for two years now with great results. Easy to see when moving, just glance slightly lower than the speedo/tach, and I can even hear the directions when not at highway speeds. Only drawback is you have to reach around/over the gps unit to get to the ignition key. I have a picture on my computer but cant get it to load onto this site since we installed chrome. Jerry

Yea that is the steering head tube. Just a hollow tube with a fancy little cap covering the hole. If you can get the cap to pop off by gently prying it up, try a long thin screw driver from the bottom. Jerry