O2 V11

Points on your driving licence 12 and you are a pedestrian perhaps. An 11 pointer would be someone on the cusp of losing it then.

Martin, this series has made the news here in N.Z. as a police officer has been suspended from duties for forwarding an e-mail containing everything you posted. Some people definitely lack a sense of humour but the top brass are saying it is a case of misusing the police e-mail system. Rob

This is quite common with the Veglia gauges. Mine does it as well. The solution is to drill a hole in the body of the tacho. I haven't done this because it doesn't worry me at all. No one apart me has ever noticed it. I think the speedo doesn't have the same problem because it is naturally ventilated to the degree that a bug of some description entered mine. I posted a pic of this some time ago. Rob

This is what I use to grease the front grease nipple. I do this whenever I have my wheel and bevel box off for a tyre change. It usually only takes me a couple of attempts to clip the fitting onto the nipple. Two or three pumps later the job is all done. The flexible hose ends up very kinked but it works every time. Rob

I would say you pumped in too much grease. I do mine every time I have my wheel off for a tyre change. I only give it a couple of pumps, just enough to hear the grease oozing. The front one greases the splines as well as filling the cavity that allows the inner and outer drive shafts to slide without bottoming out. As your rear wheel raises and lowers the excess grease is pumped out along the driveshaft. It will eventually expel what isn't needed. Rob

Rac, my fuel light has never worked from day one, I rely on my tripmeter. My average fuel consumption from new is a smidgen under 40mpg. A high of 46 and a low of 36. I generally target 150 miles between fills but never more than 170. I have put over 21 litres into my tank twice. So when it starts spluttering you know you have about 5 miles to go, more fun than a fuel light in your face. Rob

This years National Guzzi rally was held in Mapua, 30km from Nelson the major centre in the north of New Zealand's South Island. I live in Invercargill at the bottom of the South Island. My plan was to travel to Mapua, spend 2 nights there, another night at Franz Josef on the scenic West Coast and home the next day. The timing of the rally coincides with our Labour Day holiday, this commerates the introduction of the universal 40 hour working week introduced in 1840. This holiday is observed on the 3rd Monday of October. I took 2 days off work to make this trip, the preceding Friday and the following Tuesday. Day 1 I set off bright and early on Friday October 19th at 6am. The day was clear with an unseasonal frost of about 3 deg C on the ground. I was planning to travel 1000k/620 miles so the plan was to stop every 50 miles or so for a rest/photo stop. My first stop saw me catching the sunrise on the back road. http://i227.photobucket.com/albums/dd216/O...t07003-Copy.jpg After another stop on now sunny but breezy day I found myself in Dunedin affectionately known as the Edinburgh of the south. New Zealand's first city by population growth in 1865. It is now NZ's fifth largest city widely recognised as a University city whose students are known far and wide as "scarfies". The central streets of Dunedin are shaped in an octagon and who else but Robbie Burns would have a statue in his memory in the centre. http://i227.photobucket.com/albums/dd216/O...t07004-Copy.jpg The trip up the east coast is nothing startling at all, another photo stop was at the 45th parallel, halfway between nowhere. http ://i227.photobucket.com/albums/dd216/O...07005-Copy.jpg The day continued sunny but now windy which kept the temperatures low around 12-14deg C at max. A couple of gas stops later I found myself turning off SH 1 in the direction of Springs Junction over one of our mountain passes, the Lewis Pass, at its highest point 907m ASL. Travelling along a long undulating straight piece of road, along way ahead in the distance I see some flashing lights, instinctively look down and I am doing 85 mph. As our speed limit is only 100kph (62mph) and an instant loss of licence at 40kph over the limit I was fearing the worst here. I slowed down to the speed limit and as I approached the parked patrol car I continued to slow waiting for the door to open and the inevitable invitation to stop be extended my way. But nothing happened, what I couldn't see was the little boy racer car parked in front while he received his ticket. I continued on my way at a somewhat slower pace. A nice road which winds it way through some magnificent sub alpine scenery. http://i227.photobucket.com/albums/dd216/O...t07009-Copy.jpg The going gets a little tighter once it enters the bush proper. Eventually I arrive at Springs Junction my last fuel stop of the day. The time is 4.30pm and only 210k/130m I am feeling good. I head off north to Nelson now on my last leg knowing I should be at Mapua in about the 13 hours I had allowed myself for the journey. At a rest break in Murchison I run into another 2 travellers who are heading to Mapua as well. Both from Auckland one on a V11 LeMans the other on an MV Augusta, they had had a quick look around the top half of the South Island. I head off leaving them to it, enjoying the winding well surfaced roads on offer. This leg of the journey was the best as the wind had died down now and even though it was the evening it was the warmest part of the whole day. About 50km from my destination approaching a little place called Belgrove the back of the bike starts wobbling frantically. I stop thinking I have a flat rear but no that's not it, my left rear wheel bearing is toast. I turn back to the hotel and stop. Inside, I ask for the local phone book, find the number of an old friend I haven't seen for the best part of 18 years, fish out my mobile which my wife insists I carry for such emergencies to ring, when of the patrons ask what network I am on. I tell them and they say sorry no service there. All is not lost though the bar owner hands me her phone to ring. Eventually I get picked up bike and all and taken to Nelson where we remove the rear wheel and after a lot of catching up I get some well deserved sleep. Day 2 A nice sunny day dawns on Nelson, we remove both wheel bearings and replace them, refit the wheel and about midday I am off to the rally site at Mapua. The Saturday ride for the rally entailed heading over the hill to Takaka and there was to be lunch at a salmon farm. You catch 'em and they cook 'em. But as I have a workmate living at Takaka if he was working I was going fishing but as he was on days off I was going to catch up with him. By the time I arrived at Mapua nearly everyone had been gone for more than 2 hours. I enrolled and headed off to Takaka. I fuelled up at Motueka and headed into threatening skies and the unknown. I had never been to Takaka before which involves the Takaka hill. By the time I started up the hill it was raining, not heavy, just enough to dampen my enthusiasm. By the time I reached the summit the rain had stopped and I continued on damp roads in sunshine. Encountering rain wasn't surprising as it had rained for 18 of the 20 days of October in Takaka. http://i227.photobucket.com/albums/dd216/O...t07011-Copy.jpg http://i227.photobucket.com/albums/dd216/O...t07012-Copy.jpg Once down the other side and through Takaka North the road was made for motorcycles, nice and flowing. At Takaka I stopped off and had a cup of tea and visited our workplace there and headed off back to Mapua about 5.00pm. I missed some more afternoon rain showers and had a nice ride back in evening sunshine. The hill itself I didn't enjoy, I found the corners too tight for my liking, alot of first gear stuff. As someone said later on in the evening about the road, they ran out of 25kmh warning signs so they put up a 15kmh one instead. Once back in Mapua it was time for the rally dinner. About 120 people attended the dinner and thoroughly enjoyed the live music that followed. Day 3 I was up in time to see the WRC final at the dinner venue. South Africa had the Poms on the ropes by half time and that was good enough for me. I left and wandered round the camp site taking photos of some of the bikes that were there. There was street racing on at Greymouth 290k/180miles from Mapua and my intention was to watch some of these. I was late getting away, the trip to Greymouth meant I covered some of the roads I travelled over two days earlier and they were much more enjoyable this time around. The day was cloudy and breezy but heading towards the Coast I encountered patches of rain but nothing serious. This meant the ride down the Buller Gorge which is rated by some as one of the best motorcycle roads around was spoiled by the intermittent rain and wet road. Once out of the Gorge all the mountains were shrouded in mist and this continued all the way down the Coast to Franz Josef. I stopped for fuel and fish and chips at Westport and arrived in Greymouth in time to watch the last 2 races. From what I saw we should see some really exciting races at Wyndham during the Burt Munro Challenge weekend later on this month. I got some fuel at a little place on the Coast called Ross. This was a step back in time, no fancy computer inside, the shop assistant had to go outside and read the pump to see how much I had purchased. I arrived at Franz Josef in time for a couple of free bowls of vege soup the hostelers put on every evening. Day 4 The day was an absolute blinder no clouds in the sky at all. The road was dry and I was off, 575km/375miles to get home. http ://i227.photobucket.com/albums/dd216/O...07014-Copy.jpg Nice flowing roads, just the occasional tighter sections things were looking good. After a stop at Fox Glacier for a photo stop there was even a decent straight for a triple digit blast. At my first rest stop I looked down at my front tyre and this is what I saw. http ://i227.photobucket.com/albums/dd216/O...07016-Copy.jpg Here I was a million miles from anywhere, a public holiday and just me and my tyre. I set off at the sedate speed of 80k/50mph getting passed by all and sundry. After a couple of stops it didn't seem to be getting any worse, I continued home. A fuel stop at Haast meant I had only 433k/270miles to go. I carried on with another gas stop at Alexandra and arrived home thankfully without any other incidents. In total nearly 1400miles/2250km in 4 days at an average fuel consumption of 39.48 imp mpg/7.19l per 100km. Apart from the wheel bearing and the front tyre and camera troubles the trip was really good. Seeing parts of the country I had not seen before and catching up with people I hadn't seen for two years. My camera or more correctly memory card failed me miserably. I had intentions of taking some video clips of the rally so I borrowed my daughters 1 GB card. I unfortunately came home with only 14 images saved on the defective memory card instead of the nearer 50 I took. The following day Tuesday, I had a nice day at home then sadly back to work as usual on Wednesday. Next years rally will be in the North Island, I can't wait. Rob

Perhaps a bit of a clue would generate some interest? Rob

Mission Impossible Ducati He was a really bad actor Australia BMW

tm, welcome to the fold. Oil choice and filter choice is up to the individual owner, use whatever combination you feel comfortable with, as I believe as long as they are of a decent quality there is no right or wrong oil/filter combo you can use. I am more than happy to use Castrol Activ 4T and a Group 7 V241 filter. From my experience I would recommend re-torquing your heads, applying grease to your rear shock mounts and driveshaft. Generally give the bike a good going over as in the past quality control was some what lacking, lets hope it is a lot better now. Take your sump off to remove the filter, you may find some crud in there and the factory fits their oil filters really tight. Change all your oils, it is amazing what you will find in there. The most significant thing I noticed after my first service was the huge drop in the bevel drive temperature following the change to a synthetic oil. As far as your relays go, I have never considered this as issue at all. Rob

dp, I have 8300 miles on my bike and am on my third rear and second front. The original hopeless Bridgestone rear was worn out at 4500 miles. The front badly cupped as have many others. I replaced both with Continental Contiforces, a 170/60 rear and a 120/70 front. Going down a size on the rear as many have found is worthwhile. These tyres are a marked improvement over the original fitments. This rear was worn out after 3000 miles. I don't like mixing brands so this was replaced with another Continental, this time the standard 180/55. The front has lasted well, this will changed when the current rear tyre wears out. The front is an interesting dual compound, softer on the sides and harder in the centre, you can see the higher wear rate on the sides. I guess our roads being of the coarse chip type are a lot harder on tyres than roads in other parts of the world. My aggressive riding style as well isn't conducive to long tyre life. There is a lot written here about peoples tyre preferences, just do a search on the subject. Don't forget to grease your drive shaft while you have your rear wheel off. Rob

Dave, if yours is the same as these but in the right hand dip version all you need is the lens. The reflector is the same. On my U.S. new bike the part number for the lens I changed was 1305 604 0179 (lower right on the lens), if it helps. Check previous posts as there was one that may suit you for sale recently. Rob.

Gary, this is what the lens you are asking about looks like. Rob

www.v11lemans.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=7612&hl= Lee, have a look through this earlier posting on the subject of that front grease nipple. It can be done, it's not easy but it is not impossible to do. I have no experience with tyre plugs but I'm sure someone in the business would be able to give you good advice. Rob

I don't own any stands myself so I have improvised. I have a block of wood roughly profiled to match the bottom of the sump. To remove the rear wheel I lift the bike with a trolley jack under the front of the sump.Then place my block under the rear of the sump and lower the bike down. This leaves the rear wheel off the ground. To remove the front wheel it is the opposite, lift at the rear and block up the front of the sump. Once I have either end suspended I then tie the handlebars to the rafters to give extra stability. When removing my rear wheel I remove the brake caliper and tie it out of the way and remove the bevel drive with the wheel. I find the wheel easier to install this way but others may have differing thoughts on this. With your wheel off it is a good time to have a look at greasing your driveshaft. Rob

Welcome Zagato, I can understand you concerns about the V11's handling in tight corners, your other mounts are completely different motorcycles to the V11. I found the same thing when I started riding mine, a rather top heavy machine that needed more inputs than just leaning into corners . This may seem silly but you need to learn to ride your V11 like I did. Understanding your suspension is a good start, on your favourite piece of road experiment with your suspension set up if you haven't already. By adjusting both front and rear from one end of their range to the other you can feel the difference in the bike's handling. You don't need to go and spend mega bucks on new suspension in order to have fun and feel confident on your bike at the same time .Once you have your suspension where it needs to be try changing your riding style to suit the V11's needs. Try more input from the bars, moving around on the bike when cornering, little bit of rear brake on tight corners etc. These bikes need to be ridden to get the best out of them. You never said how tight the corners were that you found intimidating. Slow corners for me, under about 30mph are a challenge with a combination of on-off throttle transition, drive train take-up etc not helping so don't feel bad about it at all. I agree a track day with expert tuition is the best place to start but if this is not possible get out there and have fun getting to know your bike. Rob

Dudette, welcome to the Moto Guzzi V11 Le Mans forum, if a little bit of Hardly bashing upsets you , you are obviously in the wrong place. I have ridden 3 in my lifetime many years ago when I was tearing around on a T140D Bonneville at the time. A '74 Skirtster, a '78 Slowrider and a 1980 XLS Toadster. Never in a million years would I want to ride another one, that's my choice. They sell heaps of them but they are just not for me. People can express their feelings about these bikes and anything else that conforms on forums like this. If you don't like what you read... tough, move on, if not when someone really gets on your tits you put them onto your ignored user list, works a treat for me. Rob

I've never had any trouble using all the gas in my tank. I have added more than 21 litres on 5 occasions. This has been at distances ranging from 205 to 299 km. I have never had to slosh or tip the bike over to use this fuel. My mileage is a bit low but it all makes sense when I do the maths using the following equation: Fuel use + tyre wear = fun factor. My present mileage is a low 7335 mile and I am on my third rear tyre. The bulk of this at addictive "recreational open road" speeds, next to no round town or commuting done here. Rob

I read about them a long time ago, from memory there was two options for carburation, big or bigger Bings, what stuck in my mind was the larger option was a certified 100hp. Here is two links to some more info http://www.dropbears.com/f/foran/reports.htm http://www.dropbears.com/m/models/guzzi/lm3stucchi.htm Rob

KCS, was it something like that? Rob

Slug, This is the price they gave me back in March last year, I couldn't see them being any cheaper now. Please see prices as follows. 1xset of polished or brushed finish stainless steel oval mufflers $1285 incl gst 1xset of black chrome finish oval stainless steel $1370.00 incl gst The v11 sport mufflers and made to mount on to the stock muffler brackets&have inserts to accommodate the heel plates. Expensive buggers, even here in N.Z. Rob

Tom, If you're keen on those parts (seat, belly pan and fairing) e-mail me. Rob

Carl, I recall a posting of someone's tripmeter reading differently to the odometer but I would say it would be an exception, not the rule. Your gas mileage is very good, my '02 model which is stock except for a power commander, has done at best a fraction under 37 US mpg. Rob

Allan, if your LeMans has Veglia clocks and the chinpad on the tank then you have an external fuel filter. Rob

The colour scheme worked for both the original V7 and then the V11. Being polite, I don't think it works at all for the Griso. Rob