80CX100

I only have a 15kms test ride on my V11 Lemans, but I agree with Dave; compared to my Griso, albeit with risers & higher seat, the V11 felt like a nimbler smaller sport bike underneath me. fwiw Kelly

I love your bike, but admit to being biased, I recently purchased the exact same model and color, with bizarrely a similar back story of the one that almost got away. My low mileage 2003 V11 Lemans in black, had been for sale locally for a few years, but naturally I waited until it was bought and being resold 4 hrs away before I decided to buy it. Congrats on your new to you bike and welcome to the forum, you'll find the knowledge and community support here, second to none. Ride safe and often take care Kelly

Hey Phil, Tks for posting the article and the photos The innards on some of those engines are like beautiful works of art. It's hard to believe that something that looks like the workings of a fine Swiss watch, can power a race bike , screaming around a track. Kelly

I can't believe some of the bargains south of the border. Beautiful bike,very well bought

Posted 6 hours ago "Hey Docc, You're right I should have added the qualifier, " not to install poor quality timing gears." Iirc I think our bike engines evolved, from a design originally based around a good set of timing gears, and do well with a good quality refit. Quality comes at a price; I've never looked hard at them, but my impression is good timing gears are either rare or expensive. I'm not into rare and expensive, so I cheaped out on my bike and cut my own timing chain from Mercebes Benz stock, partly due to ease of sourcing in Canada. fwiw ymmv Kelly" Hey Phil, As noted, I should have expanded on my response, which I did, fwiw Kelly

Hey Docc, You're right I should have added the qualifier, " not to install poor quality timing gears." Iirc I think our bike engines evolved, from a design originally based around a good set of timing gears, and do well with a good quality refit. Quality comes at a price; I've never looked hard at them, but my impression is good timing gears are either rare or expensive. I'm not into rare and expensive, so I cheaped out on my bike and cut my own timing chain from Mercebes Benz stock, partly due to ease of sourcing in Canada. fwiw ymmv Kelly

Well if a picture is worth a thousand words, there's a gazillion reasons NOT to install timing gears. I don't think verbal restraint is one of Pete's endearing qualities,lol ;~) I always wondered what timing gear carnage would look like, now I know. Tks for sharing Kelly

Hey John Welcome aboard the V11Lemans train. Your reputation precedes you. There will come a time that I will have to crab one of my old Tontis and dive into the 5 speed transmission; it's a job waayyyy above my pay grade, but like many others , armed with patience and your instructions and guidance, that you've so generously shared, an impossible challenge becomes doable. My bike and I thank you for your meticulous work in putting this together and sharing it with the guzzi world http://www.thisoldtractor.com/guzzitech.dk/gb_en_complex-technical_gearbox-rebuilding- I look forward to reading more of your mechanical adventures as you get deep into the blood and guts of what makes these bikes work. Btw, Those are beautiful looking bikes. Welcome and thanks, stay safe and take care Kelly

Hey Gio, My family was from NS, father from Hants County outside of Windsor, mother from Greenfield on the south shore, I follow things very closely down in that area, truly a sad time for bluenosers and mankind in general. I'm not sure what area you're from, but this tragedy has touched a lot of lives, I think it's very fortunate that the numbers and the carnage weren't worse. Sending thoughts and prayers down your way. Kelly

There is no such thing as a sure thing, but the last I checked with USPS,Canada Post & other carriers, although running a few days slower than usual the Canada/US border is still open for mail and parcel delivery, fwiw.

Hey Nico, Tks for taking the time to reply, I've read that as well about the fuel line pressure, but I've found it wasn't necessary once I learned the right technique. For me the secret is keeping pressure on the fuel line and fitting as you work the female part of the fitting back and off; the difference is, on the newer modern guzzis, you press forward as you work the female part back, and on the V11s you pull the whole works in the opposite direction away from the fitting as you work the female part away from the fitting. fwiw good luck Kelly

Hey Phil, Tks for the heads up. Wherever he is now, he's got my gratitude for passing on the secret handshake for disconnecting those quick releases ;~)

Al, Thank you so much for taking the time to post these links showing how to Pull the fuel line,,,then Pull the grey female cover on the connector to get it to disconnect and release. I read about guys on here struggling with the quick release fuel connector,,, but I had done that frustrating dance on my California Vintage for hours until I luckily found a video on youtube showing how to push, then squeeze and wiggle, it was easy once I learned the technique, I thought my V11 was the same style and would be easy,,,,, aarrgghhh, it's completely backwards, I was getting nowhere with it. I've got a bunch of little jobs to do and I needed the tank off,,, it wasn't happening until I found your post. thank you for saving me hours of frustration Kelly

Tks for posting the videos and sharing the info. Your build has a very brutal look and sound, nicely done. I can't believe the ringing sound of fine crystal, coming from those timing gears, completely unexpected. I'm behind in my job list, but I intend to install meinholf's map very soon myself, I'm curious what valve clearances you used. Tks Kelly

That sucks! Really sorry to hear that. Was there not one identical to that for sale recently somewhere down in the US, I remember the color being relatively distinct to me? Very unusual to steal a guzzi, there's literally no market for parts, eccentric collectors a few in number.

From your description, all of the perfect ingredients were in place for a get off; glad that your daughter came out of it standing in one piece. Bruises, scrapes,parts and pride are all minor details; the best thing that ever happened to keep me safe as a rider all these years, was a similar accident set up 40+ years ago with an inattentive driver, her spidey senses and 360 radar should be in overdrive going forward, I know mine's engaged all the time. I don't know the name of the European suppliers and their countries, but from discussions I've read recently on line, there are a few dealers parting out guzzis semi regularly, in England, France, Gemany, Denmark? With the low Canadian dollar, it's good time for Euro parts, as you say, shipping with CV19 might be an issue. A couple of months ago, when I was searching for Mistral Exhausts, there was a towing/salvage yard? in the central US. parting out a V11 on EBAY, they had a Mistral crossover and mufflers being sold as one unit, they had other parts as well,,, their parts weren't moving quick, if you're lucky you might find the listing and be able to get some of the stuff that you need. Glad it worked out as well as it did, good luck with the parts search Kelly

http://www.mgcycle.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=26_336&products_id=2531 These are the ones I ended up with, le$$, but still pricey. I ended up ordering a complete system for my V11 & my CalVin directly from Mistral in Mandello, luckily before the borders got shut down. Due to the differences in shipping, customs duty, import taxes, brokerage fees etc and with my weak Canadian dollar, I saved substantially by dealing direct with Mistral, fwiw.

C&W, I've got a Guzzitech single pipe on my Griso and it looks all right, but I agree with you; I think most Guzzis look much better with a nice set of duals. I like low end torque, and a Basso Profundo rather than high rpm and a sharp exhaust note. With that as my goal, after much reading I picked up a Mistral cross over and a pair of their Carbon Fibre Ovals for my V11Lemans. I haven't heard them yet, but I'm confident I'll be happy with them. Good luck shopping Kelly

My old eyes didn't see the box end wrench bit, I thought it was some type of pry bar; but after Phil's excellent response and a second look, I agree with gstallons, some type of distributor wrench

Sad to hear that about Paul, glad that he's on the mend. Hoping for a full and rapid recovery Kelly

Early OTC slide hammer that can use a lag screw to pull dents in body work? If that's correct, Lucky Phil's turning comment gave me a clue,lol.

Glad this old thread burbled to the surface, that is an interesting factoid about James Blunt with a V11. Blunt has the most unique haunting voice I've ever heard. I cover a lot of people in my own mellow, finger picking guitar style, but I've never been able to do Blunt's music justice; I think he is mostly piano based, and his voice is a few octaves up there, it's a sound I've never been able to capture. tks for the thread bump

Hey Chuck, That sounds excellent, I'll save the trannie jobs for later on, it'll give me time to read up on it, sounds like there are 3-4 things worth doing while I'm at it. I'll pm you with my info. Tks very much for once again putting the work harness on and helping us all keep these guzzis running right ;~) Kelly

Hey Docc, That's excellent, tks for jumping in, helps me plan my work a lot, knowing that if I change the shift spring and put in good Redline gear oil I won't have to dump it to do this job, Chuck if you happen to see this, definitely put me down for one. Tks Kelly

Hey Chuck, I assumed that this "Phil extender" that I had seen mentioned was to do with an extender on the exterior gear lever, but when I start ripping through all the info, it looks like it's a redesigned internal shifting arm? I really don't have time or head space right now to research the whole thing, but if it is a worthwhile mod that "should" be done on my 2003 V11 Lemans, please put me down for one. I was planning on doing the shift return spring job soon, but if it makes sense to hold off and do it at the same time as the "Phil extender" I'll wait. I'm jockeying bikes on lifts right now, planning work; if this extender job happens, what time line are you looking at, or are you still waiting for final numbers? Tks very much Kelly