O2 V11

The difference between the bike before and after fitting the PC111 is "substantial". I still find it hard to to believe how the fitting of a PC111 can change the way a bike behaves as much as it does. Today I did about 150 miles. The bike is much more responsive to the throttle than it ever was. The idle is stronger, it will pull away with no throttle. I have never tried that before until today. My fuel consumption today was down only slightly on my first 1000 mile average but I am pleased with that. Today I pushed it harder than I had ever done before. It pulls cleanly to 7000 in 6th (running in speeds with only 1200 on the clock??). I ended up running into an Aussie who had bought his R1 over with him for a tour, I passed him and sat on about 80-90 having a blast. He tucked in behind me and enjoyed the ride. We ended up at home where I gave him lunch and he went on his way. Before he left he took some pics to post on his R1 forum. So it looks like he will get to post a pic of O2 V11 before me..... I'll ride it for a while then download that accelerator pump thingy, more fun to come my way. Rob

You are a very sick man.... but I like it. Rob

Thanks for your replies, especially Randy, my PC111 is now installed. What an amazing difference it has made to my bike. I set the TPS as per Randy's posting then went for a ride to warm it up before I began to adjust the idle setting and throttle balance. It barely idled as I expected but even though the throttle balance had not been adjusted it was much smoother and a lot more responsive to the throttle. Using my homemade manometer (thanks to IanJ) I then set the idle speed and throttle balance. It does seem unusual to set the idle using the air bleed screws but it works. It took a while to get the throttle balance right, when ever I adjusted this, the idle setting then need readjusting, but in the end I was happy with an equal vacuum at an idle speed of 1000 RPM and also at 3000 RPM. And the TPS was still reading 350mv which is what I had initially set it at. Tomorrow, hoping for a dry one, I will go for a decent ride and confirm just how much difference a PC111 does make to one of our bikes. Rob.

Could someone tell me what the TPS setting should be when installing a PC111usb with the stock map? With the great debate going on at present, I want to install my PC now to see what difference it makes to my stock bike before I commence exhaust and airbox mods. Thanks, Rob

I have finished doing the first service at 1000 miles on my bike. Quite entertaining. I took the forks to the shop for their oil change, something I will do myself next time. For anyone who hasn't changed their fork oil, here's something to think about. Everything had come off the rod in the right hand fork and was lying at the bottom of the fork leg. Next up I changed the engine oil, dropping the sump and cleaning the gauze screen. Really clean with only some small metal filings in the screen. I installed a new sump gasket. Next up replaced the gearbox oil and rear drive oil. Used Castrol Syntrax here with the moly for the rear drive. Amazing how the much cooler the rear drive runs now. Ended up putting 810ml in the gearbox and 370ml in the rear drive. I retorqued the heads and set the valves to the world specs, reusing the original valve cover gaskets. Interestingly they were at .004 and .008 which would explain why I have had no idling issues from new. The studs on my right head were that loose it's a wonder it never blew the head gasket. I greased both ends of the rear shock as well as the 3 fittings on the driveshaft. The only way I could get grease into the rear u-joint was to swap grease nipples with the one on the driveshaft itself. I got the front one relatively easy with a flexible hose on the grease gun. The valve covers were very clean inside, no scunge of any sort. With all these miles put on at temperatures of less than 15 / 65 degrees it seems the issue of milky scunge in the covers is one of how far you ride, not what temperature you ride at. If I go out on the bike it would be for at least an hour or more. I know, only 1000 miles in 7 months, I choose not to ride in rain... All I have left to do is make a manometer to balance the throttle bodies with and finally check the TPS setting. This has taken a lot of time for me to do but with the nearest dealer 360 miles away and not having a warranty anyway it is reassuring to know that it is possible to do most of the maintenance required yourself. It seems after this I may be inside my gearbox next as today I had a couple of instances of the gear lever not wanting to move up a gear but it would downshift... Rob

http://www.v11lemans.com/forums/index.php?...8&hl=grease+gun Brian, try this link for a solution to the driveshaft problem. My clutch rattles when in gear and the clutch is pulled in. When stopped at lights or whatever I just click it into neutral, no noise that way. There's a lot of happy owners out there who opened up their valve clearances to the world specs and found their bikes idled a lot stronger as a result. The PO would have drilled the holes to let the motor breathe a lot more. Some prefer to do this rather than fit the aftermarket lidless air filters. Retaining the lid on the airbox reduces the induction noise. I guess the battery's position is standard, my brake fluid reservoir is so close to my battery that it's not funny. Rob

What you have are the original keys, the number on the small rectangle on the reverse of ZADI is the serial number of your key. Rob

Recently a friend of mine finished rebuilding a damaged MK4 LeMans. While doing this he needed a new front guard (fender). He purchased a fibreglass replica and a fibreglass extender, which he had to bolt on in a similar fashion to the Pyramid product. I rang the man who made these products and found out he has 5 Guzzi's. Ranging in vintage from an Ambassador to a MK5 LeMans. We talked for a while about an extender for my V11. In order to do this he needed a guard to take a mould off. I volunteered mine and he will make me a complete new lengthened rear section rather than just an extender. He thought the completed painted product would work out at about $100 but I expect to pay a bit more than that. As soon as I get the guard back and fitted I will post pics. Watch this space..... Rob

Thanks for the input. As kenr stated, I may have not had the front of the tank positioned correctly on the front rubbers. If I can't get it to sit any better I will have to put an additional washer under the rear as per ratchethack's solution. Thanks, Rob

The flanks of my tank are rubbing on the sidecovers. The left side is worse than the right. I have only had my tank off once, that was when I first got the bike to remove the EPA canisters and associated plumbing. The front of the tank when fitted has a vertical movement of about a 1/4 of an inch as well. Is this normal? I have included a couple of pics of the tank mounting bolt and the sidecover itself with the tank lifted to show the contact area. Is there anything different here to anybody elses? Thanks, Rob

Carl, Between the frame lugs the measurement is roughly 3 1/8 inches. Rob.

Could someone help me locate a used seat for Rich Maund to rebuild? Like a lot of people I find the stock seat far from perfect. If I can't locate one here I will wait until winter and ship my seat to Rich. Please PM me with details. Thanks, Rob

It is now Christmas morning here in New Zealand one of the first countries in the world to see the day in. Season's greetings to you all, where ever in the world you are. Rob

Any chance of a posting a pic of your mods? Rob

Chris, Personally I would go for a GL-5 myself. I am going to change mine any day now. I will be using Castrol Syntrax 75W/90 which is fully synthetic. Below is what I found on a UK website regarding Agip Gear Synth 75W/90 which is the recommended oil. "AGIP SYNTH GEAR SAE 75W-90 AGIP GEAR SYNTH is a part synthetic gear oil for the lubrication of gearboxes and final transmissions of bikes with particular EP characteristics (API GL-4) and an exceptional viscosity-temperature curve which guarantees high fluidity at the lowest temperatures. API GL-4 / GL-5" Rob

stormsedge, I would disconnect the battery before charging just to play it safe. When my battery was flat I jumpstarted it, something you're not meant to do. After that I had it charged. I removed the battery and took it to the experts. It requires a constant voltage charger, well that's what the manual says. My battery is OK now, it just went flat before I got my bike on the road, why does yours need a trickle charge? Rob.

Shortly when I do my first service I'll be doing the synthetic thing myself. Only it will be Castrol Syntrax 75w90 with the required splash of moly. Rob

AJ, I understand there a 2 part numbers for a suitable filter CG-9002 which is listed for a Fiat of some description. Also the more common 332682 part number. Someone will correct me if I'm off the mark. Rob

Now my bike is on the road, I was wondering how hot does the oil get? Has anyone got any information? I'm not interested in going down the synthetic vs. mineral road. I'm only looking for facts to make an informed decision. Out riding yesterday I found that my low fuel does not work... Took 20.39 litres / 5.38 US gals. Put in our 91 octane, only unleaded available here. If anything slightly better performance than the original tank of Californian gas that would have been at the end of it's life. Really smelly stuff, what do you guys put in it? Rob

I missed sending the picture with the last posting, I'll try again Rob

This morning dawned fine and frosty. Once the frost had lifted I took a 65 mile ride. Certainly took care of the condensation problems. I certainly am a bit rusty on the corners but the bike is really nice to ride. Having read so much about handlebar changes I was expecting something different to ride, no problems at all. Being 6 foot tall with a 30" inseam, I seem to fit the bike well. Bit early to make a call on handlebar vibrations. This time of the year in the south of N.Z. even on a fine day if it gets to 10 / 50 degrees we are doing well. More temperature related than anything else. Heaps of grunt and unbelievable engine braking, spent all the time between 4 and 5 k doing 60 to 90 mph. Very enjoyable. I just can't wait for summer... In my post I said I have no warranty, this is because firstly M.G.N.A. never replied to my e-mail requesting a transfer of the warranty. The warranty that came with the bike covers North America and the E.U.only. Secondly I contacted a representative of the N.Z. importer and he politely told me that as he was an individual importer he did not think M.G.N.A. owned by M.G. would re-imburse him for any work he would do. Translated roughly, if I had spent a lot more cash and bought from him I would have a warranty. al, I didn't buy from OC but yes,the service and price was the same as theirs by all accounts. I'm pleased you enjoyed your stay in N.Z. Ian, I'll be checking for the rest of your posting. We live at the bottom of the South Island, a lot less people and more sheep than Auckland has, ..baa... Yes, I intend to leave a little bit of sidestand on Queen Charlotte Drive myself one day. Really interesting your perspective on Kiwi drivers, we just make do with what we've got and get into it. Another interesting thing, one day while in my shed I leant my bike way over to the left and when I put back on the sidestand I noticed this really rusty puddle on the floor and a few dribbles on my bike. At the time I couldn't for the life of me see where this rusty water came from. Yesterday, after removing my canister I could see where it came from. It was from inside my swingarm, you can see in the picture where the crud dribbled down the swingarm as I leant it all the way over. Rob

It all started about Christmas last year, like it does to some of us, I knew I just needed (not wanted) a new V11 Sport, which I was going to import into New Zealand from the U.S. Having previously owned a V65 and not having owned a bike for 16 years it really was time. I had my heart set on a Green 2000/2001, but it seemed I was too late for a new one. I did not want to buy a pre owned one. Eventually I decided to go ahead and buy one of the many leftover 2002 Sport Naked models which were designated 2003 by M.G. I settled on a grey coloured one.The driving force behind the decision to import was the value of our dollar vs. the greenback. At the time ours was on a 7 year high. So on Feb 12th I paid $7145 for the bike and freight to have it delivered to my shipper's yard in Sun Valley from Marina Del Ray, CA. So far no problems, my shipper who deals in car parts and travels regularly to the U.S. was a bit behind schedule so I asked they hold off delivery until he arrived. When it was time, the sales manager who has since left was very unhelpful, it took my man in CA at least 4 calls to get the delivery made (he was just too busy to talk at the time...). From the onset I had been e-mailing these people asking that all the sales documentation be posted to me in New Zealand and copies be delivered with the bike. You guessed right, the bike eventually arrived in N.Z with no documentation at all, I was told the M.S.O. had been lost somewhere between the shop and my shipper!! After e-mails and phone calls, I received a faxed bill of sale which satisfied our Customs people. I picked the bike up on June 18th. I could not register the bike here unless I had original documentation, no faxed copies thank you very much. One reply to an e-mail requesting original documents was unbelievable, basically the sales person was told by the G.M. that he couldn't send anything more. I eventually contacted one of the co-owners who said it would be sorted. In the mean time I had been talking to the entry certifiers here and they were happy with me only needing this documentation. Once the much awaited letter arrived I was off to the testing station only to find the guy I was dealing with had left.The new man had no experience in dealing with new bikes like mine only zillions of used Japanese cars which we import into N.Z. After another two weeks of waiting for him to get guidance, yesterday July 28th, I finally got the bike on the road. The biggest problem was the headlight, after changing my lens to the right hand drive BMW ($125 N.Z.) part, it still had on dim, a slight kick up to the right. In order to get the big tick on the checksheet, I had to rotate the lens to the left! Today was spent removing all the pollution crap (including tip over valve) and fitting licence plate. No fun taking the tank off, after removing the fuel line only to find the tap was still dribbling fuel out. Had to get the pump pliers on to the tap and put real pain on it to stop the gas coming out. I'm smiling now... When I paid for my bike in Feb. I could have bought the same bike here for $23995, mine owes me only $13,300 excluding on road costs of $490. Given the fact I had never seen a V11 in the flesh until I picked mine up. As well as having no warranty with the 2002 model (warts and all) I am very,very pleased. For me it is back to basically learning to ride all over again, first impressions after a 2 mile ride each way to the testing station yesterday were all good. To the technical side of this post, do other bikes when initially started, drip water(condensation) from the exhaust where the muffler is attached to the crossover? Everything is tight and in the right place. Rob 02 V11 Sport Naked