Archimedes

Thanks everyone. Useful stuff. I think I'll go with the Mobil 1 20w-50 option. I appreciate all of the answers! Cheers Paul

Grazie Phil Paul

Thanks David. P.

Hello All Does anyone have any experience of using a fully synthetic oil in their V11? I ask because I had great results when I used fully synth in the past for Hondas ( both 2 and 4 wheel variety). Thoughts? Best regards Paul

Bang up job Craig. That bike and that fairing were made for each other. Blue....I'd heard that there are motorcycles that are not black (and occasionally the other colour - red). But I've just never seen one. Blue....wow whodathunkit?

C'mon Craig...show us the goodies!!! Then the pressure is on the rest of us to get our bikes similarly in fine shape!

Thanks for the responses Fede78. It is inspiring stuff: I am on the cusp of ordering a 750SFC fairing. The red one looks as perfect as I can ever remember seeing a V11. If the Mandello factory had done them in the single colour paint job with the bikini fairing EVERYONE would have wanted a V11! I love the shade of red the Czech guy whose bike inspired this thread is painted in too. that said, Hattori Hanzo's bike is pretty sweet too. The only elements I don't like are the wheels. It is validation that the bikini fairing was made for the V11 though. I am now just waiting for Craig to put up his Azzuro Corsa pictures: it's pretty clear that placement of the fiaring is critical to the looks. Did anyone else notice that on the red Czech bike the 'ears' on the Laverda fairing have been cut (or more probably ground) down. I have been A/B ing the red bike versus some original SFC750s and it is clear that the guy who built that Guzzi spent a lot of time on the details: the line of the bottom of the fairing in line with the bottom of the tank, dropping the bars so that they are mid way within the inner vertical curvature of the fairing, the front bullet indicator placement under the SFC fairing, the little badge just under the RHS screen, the high quality paint job on the engine and the beautiful plum colour of the rocker heads. Man,I have spent hours staring at the pictures of that bike...the only thing that worries me about the conversion is dropping the bars by that much (which, as far as I can tell, is going to be mandatory to achieve that look...) But then if your ride looks that good, who cares if your wrists are murdering you?

Fantastic work Fede78. A couple of questions for you: Where did you get the 900SS carbon fairing from and which model Guzzi heads did you use? I really like the old-school look of those. Cheers Paul

Either Agostini or, I suspect, Lavizzari exhausts on that beauty...

Guys It was the petcock not opening. All fixed and sounding normal now. Thank you to everyone who responded. Not only for helping me to fix my bike but also for helping me to increase my confidence in tackling the problem myself. Best regards Paul

Guys, Thank you so much. Guess what I will be doing later this morning... Thanks to all and I will let you know the outcome! Best regards, Paul

Hello everyone This is my 1st tech' post. I am the proud owner of a 2000 V11 Sport with only 7000 miles on the clock. I have had the bike since March. It has run just fine until now bar a couple of small niggles that were easily sorted. When I first turn on the ignition the ECM runs the fuel pump for 3-5 seconds to pressurize the fuel system and ready it for starting. However, instead of the 'clean' whoosh the pump usually makes, my bike now sounds like it is gargling in the priming phase but the pump still works. Once I press the starter button the pump turns on again and stays on continuously while the bike is running. Under the sound of the engine I can still hear the gargling noise of the pump. The bike has suffered no loss of performance but I am concerned the pump is on its way out. There is no smell of fuel from the bike so I am not concerned that there is a leak. I took the bike to our local bike shop: a Yamaha dealer. They more or less said from the beginning they were not sure about fixing it. They did however listen to it and say 'Yeah your pump is dodgy'. I rode the bike home as I did not feel these were the best guys to be looking at my bike though they said they would 'try' to fix it. So, I have a couple of questions which I hope someone out there more experienced than me can advise on: - on the basis of the evidence I've outlined,would you agree the fuel pump is the problem? - if not, what do you suggest may be a fruitful route of investigation - I am not a bad mechanic (just not an especially confident one) and I know the fuel tank will need to come off (I don't know how to do that yet) and the pump removed. I do know how to test a pump though. Who thinks I should tackle the job myself and, if not, who would you recommend I take my bike to in the Southwest of England who is a good Guzzi specialist? I want to get to know my bike better and I have almost convinced myself I should do it! I don't want to botch it and leave myself with a very expensive paperweight in the garage... Many thanks in anticipation of your replies everyone. Though you didn't know it you sorted out two electrical problems for me with the posts that have gone up over the past couple of months. So thanks for that too!