strider

I've been upshifting and downshifting on my V11 Le Mans for 6 years now. I do it with all bikes. Never had a problem - although the sloppy gearbox on the Bavarian Money Waster (R75/5) takes a bit of getting used to.

I’ve owned the V11 Le Mans for about 6 years. Yes, I’ve had the all too common relay problem but the latest one really had me stumped. Riding home from work the other day the engine died. I thought “Bloody relays again.” I took the seat off and switched relays around, turned the key on and sure enough, the fuel pump came on, engine fired up and I put the seat on and climbed back on the bike. It stopped again. I thought “Oh no… this may take a while.” I rang home to tell wife that I’d be late and get her to alert son with trailer. I played with the relays again and it started. Seat on and rode to within 2 km of home when it started missing, surging, backfiring etc. I coaxed it home just as son pulled up with the trailer. Now of course he had a go at me for riding a European bike, blah, blah… he’s too young to understand. Played with the relays again and all seemed well. Friday morning the bike started fine. I rode it to work and it only coughed and spluttered once. On the way home it died completely and while fault finding (power on) I noticed smoke coming from the rear of the relay block. The relays tangs had become so hot the diode attached to one of the wires de-soldered itself. This time I did need the trailer. On Saturday I did some rather intense fault finding. I disassembled the terminal block, separated the wires, repaired the solder joint with a crimp terminal (according to my multimeter the diode was still serviceable), checked all the wires for continuity – no fault found. I suspected a broken wire or a poor connection but everything checked out fine. I reassembled everything, went for a test ride and apart from one hiccup, all was ok. Sunday morning, club ride. Got on the bike, started it up and it conked out before the bottom of the driveway. Started it again and rode about 2 km when it started playing up again. Turned around, nursed it home and once more pulled it apart. No fault found… but as I was inserting the relays, I noticed the rearmost two slid in easier than the rest. I started the bike up and wiggled the relays. It coughed and spluttered and eventually stopped. I tried it a few times with the same result. What I did next was bend the spade terminals of both relays out slightly so that they would apply pressure to the mating contacts in the relay bases. I successfully started the bike up again and wiggled the relays. No coughing or spluttering. It appears I’ve fixed the problem as I’ve ridden the bike to work for 2 days now with no ignition problems whatsoever.

You say your tyres are two years old. I wouldn't mind betting that's where your problem lies. An instructor once told me that after six months, tyres start to go off. I remember an R75/5 Beemer that I restored wanted to skate around every corner and I realised the tyres were 'beyond their use by date' (for want of a better term!) I replaced the tyres and it still handled like a slug - but at least it didn't want to go skating!

Early model V11s had problems with the crappy relays under the seat. Easy fix is to contact Dan at http://www.dpguzzi.com/relay.htm He had the replacement relays to me within a week (and I'm on the other side of the world!) for a very reasonable price. Haven't had a problem since. Cheers Bill

Morris, if you want the full size version of the photo, PM me with your e-mail address and I'll send it to you. Cheers

In reply to Neville Forrest's post, (you are one of the Neville's aren't you? ) the MGOQ had been organising an unnamed rally for a while and during a meeting it was decided to give it a name. Some wag likened the MG eagle to a budgie and Pete Thompson (Thommo) suggested "Well why not Ruptured Budgie?" and the name stuck. This year's Budgie was pretty good. The creek was up a bit and several people ignored the warnings of the mud on the bank. Some of the Stones Bombs were good but i only saw one 'UFO' - and i think the Nevilles launched that. It was pretty cold both Friday and Saturday nights but one of the highlights of Sunday morning was watching several Ducatis (wonders of modern technology!) getting push started. By the way Neville, was it your Raptor that had a hard time getting over the creek?

Hmmm... you just reminded me that I haven't renewed my membership to MGOQ. I'll be there. Wouldn't miss it for quids! Cheers Bill

We're about 1400 ft above sea level and it got to a high of 36.7 C (98 F) today but it's now cooled down to 28 (82.4). It's now 2105 hrs, 2205 in the southern states. Cheers Bill

There are two types of flasher units. Resistive and electronic. You need electronic because the resistance of an LED is bugger all and won't cause the contact in the resistive flasher unit to make and break. Cheers Bill

Best all round motorcycle news site in my opinion is www.mcnews.com.au Best tongue in cheek site is www.motogpnews.com which often features stories about the Roman empress, Maxine Biaggi. Nobody is safe on that sight!

I replaced all the relays in my 2002 Lemon with ones I got from http://www.dpguzzi.com/relay.htm Haven't had a relay problem since. Even with postage costs to Australia I got 5 relays from Don for the price of 2 if I purchased them locally. He also accepts PayPal. Excellent service. Bill

A friend of mine also went through three cables on his Rosso Corsa before finding out the problem was at the speedometer end. Not sure what the exact fault was but he didn't have to change the speedo. Check both ends! Cheers

Reports say that the Philips 'Vision +' globes are very effective with the same power consumption as standard. A friend of mine had the same comment as Guzzirider - "It was the difference between being blind and able to see at night!" Next time I have a blown globe I think I'll give 'em a try. Cheers

Roos... yum! Cook 'em on a very hot barbecue plate. Don't overcook or they'll be tougher than bootleather. Very little fat so it's quite healthy. Bill (If animals aren't supposed to be eaten, why are they made out of food?)

I lost the left front lens on a dirt road. Same thing, the plastic post was all that remained. The dealer recommended coating the screw with soap when I put the new lens on. He said it helps to lubricate the plastic as the screw cuts its new thread. He was most emphatic about not over-tightening. As an extra precaution I used silicon sealant. After market lenses cost AU$15 while the whole assembly cost AU$25.

The relays in my Lemon are Tyco, not Siemens, but even they gave me strife so I replaced them. I ordered the replacements from Dan at dpguzzi.com. His prices and delivery time were a whole lot better than trying to purchase them locally. Cheers Bill

I had a similar problem Robb and it turned out to be those bloody relays under the seat. Cheers Bill

Don't know about Steve G but I like the theory that growing old is mandatory but growing up is optional. Alright... I'm 53. I scraped the Guzzi on a track day. I don't ride that way on the road... honest! Drinking? I prefer Guinness.

This article describes suspension set-up for racing, however it is also relevant for the road. SHOCKS.DOC

On the right it's the can, on the left the sidestand. I don't know why they've got 'hero knobs' on the pegs.

I hard wired a cigarette lighter receptacle into the spare fuse in the fuse box. This is easy to do. Besides the phone charger it can power my little electric air pump for my blowup mattress. I attached the receptacle to the frame using tie straps. Cheers Bill

All, I was sent this URL yesterday: http://www.kandpengineering.com/applications.html It describes reusable oil filters - the one for the V11 is the S4. Rather than having to traipse 130 km down to Brisbane (or order COD) every time I need a new oil filter, I'm seriously thinking of investing in a reusable oil filter for my V11. Does anybody have any experience with these filters? The specs look quite good and I've estimated it should pay for itself within three to four years. Cheers

The BT020 OEM tyres made it to 13,000 km rear and 18,000 km front. I'm now running a Pirelli Dragon on the rear and after 8,000 km it's wearing nicely. I hope to get over 13,000 km out of it. I replaced the front with a BT012. I like it. It handles well wet or dry and sticks like shit to a blanket. No significant wear on it yet after 3,000 km. My commute to work is a 65 km round trip, mostly highway with light traffic. I only take the Guzzi once a week and ride the Land Barge (ST1100) every other day. Weekends and holidays are a different matter. I avoid towns and cities as much as possible and prefer back roads. 1,000 km days are fun! Cheers

Alcohol removes the release agent from the tyre as well. A good tyre shop will remove the release agent for you. Two Wheel Tyres, Blacksoil, and Motor Trade Machinists, Goodna; (both in Queensland Australia) have the attitude that nobody will have an accident on a bike that leaves their premises because of a dangerous substance being left on the tyre(s). Got to admire that attitude. Most other dealers couldn't care less. I read an article written by Avon Tyres once that recommended bedding in tyres by riding smoothly for approximately 160 km (100 miles) and avoiding heavy braking and fast accelleration. I forget the exact figure but they stated approximately 10% better tyre life. The article explained that this allows the plies to properly align. Haven't had the Lemon long enough to do a comparison but it seemed to work on my ST1100. Cheers