Desdinova

LOL... yeah after I had a chance for my head to clear (allergies), and it sank in that it was the return line, I'm not going to run the bike. I started it to make sure I got it back together right, but I'm going to track down a proper replacement. no worries.. thanks.. I had disassembled in the middle of the garage, and just wanted to button it up and get the bike out of the way. After taking that hose out once, getting at it again, will be a piece of cake. In fact now that I have the clamps facing the right directions, I should be able to swap the right hose in less than an hour. It must be the original hose that came from the factory because there was no way those original clamps went on after the bike was assembled. Are there any other hoses that are prone to this kind of wear? There's just under 19,000 miles on the engine. Seems a little soon to be eating up an oil return line, and it was shot.. broke above the clamp, but the whole hose was shot. It looked like a dry-rotted tire when you bend it at all.

Well I replaced it with a bulk hose, but they didn't have the metric sizes so I had really force it on. I'm sure it will last until I get a replacement hose. Now that I know how to get into the area, shouldn't take but an hour to replace with the correct hose. The bulk hose would be fine, but the turns it has to make causes it to fold a little. It's not blocked, but just not right either. Was so happy it wasn't anything major I just wanted to get patched up and put back together.

Ok.. the good news... The part is probably going to cost less than a $1.00. The bad news... or... the just "it's a Guzzi" news... It's going to take most of the day to get at it... The darn breather return on top of the case broke right at the clamp. Just got old I guess.... like me.. Sheesh!!!! This is a bear to get at. I can't even get a screwdriver on the clamp from any angle yet... Gas tank and covers off, looks like fairing off might make it easier too, and the left side coil... move some hoses around... piece of cake... really big piece of cake... FYI.. Definition "Piece of Cake" = "PAIN IN the exASSperation's." good grief... it good have been worse...

I'll be getting to it today to do some research. It's definately coming from the BACK of the engine, near the bottom somewhere as it was clean forward of the kickstand stopper. I'm gonna see if I can get the bike elevated a little to get my fat head and some light under there.

Hello All, Well the I noticed the other day that there were a couple of drops of OIL under the Lemans, so I got under, cleaned it up, and it "appeared" to be coming from the two oil pan bolts that hold the kick stand stopper, but maybe not... hard to tell. So I gave'em an "umph" and they tightened a little. I checked all the others, and none would budge, so I figured I nailed it. Well we went for a ride today, it's now seriously leaking from somewhere in that area. I'm going to get under it tomorrow and have a look around, but there is oil all over the rear bottom, on the left side so I thought I would ask here if there were any "quirks" anyone could think of I should be looking for. My guess is the oil pan gasket, but that's just a guess and frankly seems a little odd to me, but it's all I got at the moment. Any thoughts? Any place else on the lower left bottom or back of the engine for oil to come from? I don't ride hard, and this just appeared. It was definately worse today, but not sure if it was cause I tightened the bolts and made it worse, or those bolts weren't the problem at all. (I'm leaning on the latter). -Miles

All bikes, kill switch. Always have. Just seems to make more sense. Start sequence is always key, then off/on (kill switch) to on, then press start button..... or back in the day.... jump on the kick start.

I updated my V11 page, Just 'cause. My LeMans

Hi, The images of 100+ temps, humidity, hurricane's, twisters, typhoons, and the like are all so surreal to us now that we live in the Pacific Northwest. This morning the weather "forecast" was Thunderstorms. Well Lisa and I gassed up, looked at the dark clouds to the west and decided Mount Baker was east, those black clouds looks low enough that at worst case we'd get wet on the way home. As it turned out, they must have broken up after hitting land and we pretty much had clear sky all day. The pictures below look a little "gray" because were were at 5077 feet, right at the cloud level (the fluffy ones, not the wet ones). Mount Baker, 5077 feet according to the GPS 65 degrees. A great day for a ride and a picnic.

I have these also. I think if I had the choice to do it again, I'd go with the motobits from Moto International The downside of the Argal's from Moto Guzzi is if the bike drops, they break. I managed to get "extra" parts because two guys I knew dropped their bikes, while moving them in their respective garages, on opposite sides. So basically on guy had the a good set of the right-side, and the other had a good set of the left-side. I am also 6'4" and I think the MotoBits are bit more adjustable. Don't get me wrong, I love the Argal ones. They look great, and I dialed them in to the boots I ride with no problem. I'm just say'n for the money, if I had to do it over, I'd get the MotoBits.

I lived on Oahu for a couple years. I think more than anything it depends on the type of rider you are. If you are the "in the wind" or "knock out a few hundred every weekend" kind of rider, you are going to go crazy after a short period. If you are like me, basically a bike is my everyday transportation, then you'll probably love it. Getting around on a bike is much easier, although Honolulu has really gotten out of control with traffic. I always found new roads and new places to go, but I really like NOT having to fight for parking spots and such, and cutting down alleys etc. A bike just made getting around a lot easier. Now having said that, the claustrophobia is a completely different issue and very individual. The more active you are, the less you notice you are on an island. Bottom line is the only way to find out if you can live there, is to live there. No shortcut to that. It's not just another state. It's a different culture, different lifestyle. For me, I frankly can't handle the weather. I don't do "the sun" for the most part. Not 365 days a year anyway. I like seasons. December to May I was ok, June to November I was miserable.

I have the Nelson Rigg for my '02 Le Mans. I have the older version of these.. http://www.nelsonrigg.com/pages/Sport-Tour...L_combo-Big.htm I can't say enough about these bags and I also have the large RiggsPak for my cruiser. One of the best things is that when you wear them out, or they fail.... you send them back and they send you new ones.

I have owned the Ballabio, own a Le Mans and ridden the Cafe Sport. I vote go with the Cafe Sport. Based on the info provided, it seems like the Cafe Sport has the most bang-for-bucks because of all the added bits that would cost a small fortune.

Four words... It Must Be Wintertime

I guess I could take a better picture, but I took a pair of the generic cruiser grips and dipped them in this rubber coating that is normally intended for tool handles. These grips weigh about 2 lbs+ each. No vibration now. http://www.baronaudio.com/lemans/img_1025.jpg

But Derek.... what if one uses Amsoil ?

Totally agree with Derek, especially on a couple of points. Yes, on the dyno initially we ran max throttle for each gear/rpm range etc.. while trying to maintain the A/F ratio. Then we went back and looked at what was happening at indivudual rpm and TPS readings. Actually found a problem that later turned out to be a leak around my intakes... but that's a different story. The test-drive tweaks were to smooth out the acceleration in some area's and stop backfire in others. I am blessed/cursed with being very sensative to mechanical changes and am AR enough to get caught up for hours if it takes to find a little vibration or change in acceleration etc... but no matter... Everyone has their reasons for power tuning a bike, mine are for the best comfort of the ride. Accel when I need it, ride smooth, no backfire etc.. When we were done with the Dyno, there were signifant (to me) area's of lurching or lulls mostly noticed at accelerating up to highway speeds from a stop or on-ramp. Also I had one area where if I was chugging along at maybe 35 mph but in a gear to have the engine above 3000 rpm... you know those straight aways just before the twisties... if I backed off the throttle, just a little, it would actually accelerate. Oops.. Nothing drastic, I'm sensative to it, but it didn't help engine braking I can tell ya that. Anyway, those are some things to watch for and reason to not rely on just the Dyno machine to tune your bike. Ride it too. I'm not saying anyone isn't doing this here, but I have certainly seen it enough times. People roll the bike off the Dyno, and as long as it doesn't stall or backfire too badly they are done. If you are going to go through the trouble of doing it.... do it right is my opinion. One other note... I often see people installing a PCIII to "fix a problem." I'm of the camp that feels the bike should run pretty good before you go to the Dyno. You can easily mask problems with a map, but eventually the problem will rear its ugly head. Before you install the PCIII, the carbs should be balanced, plugs at least clean if not new. Check all vacume issues, air cleaner etc etc..

I'll admit I haven't read every post in this thread, but I just have some comments. - My Dynorun was pretty high (it's the MKB Dyno 82.37 hp run on GuzziTech). It's probably a little higher now, at least in the 2500-3500 range (I'll explain below). - I did a TON of research by comparing similar Dynoruns from everywhere I could find. The Stucchi X crossover is the key to mid-range power. I think the FBF Carbon Fiber Pipes help, but the crossover is more important. I think the stucchi crossover with stock cans and filter would make a significant difference, but I don't know anyone who has tried it. Luckily my bike was already setup with the bits I wanted, which is really why I bought it. - I spent several afternoons "tweaking" my PCIII. If I noticed a rough spot at a speed, I would work on that area until it was corrected. Make a change, test ride, revisit. This is why I believe my number will probably be higher now than when I did the initial tuning. - The highest numbers are not as important as the overall curve. When tweaking my setup, it was not for max pull. I wanted the bike to start and run smooth at low (parking lot) speeds and not be jerky, yet as soon as I hit 2500 rpm, it's hang on sloopy time. I also wanted to be able to do serious engine braking without any backfiring. ON acceleration, each time I let out the clutch it feels the same as the previous gear. - I also agree that peak numbers are fine, but they are relative and subjective. An "overall" gain (hopefully gain) is more imporant than a "peak" and spending hours fretting over 2 hp at xxxx rpm, or 3 ft lbs at xxxx rpm is a waste of good riding time.

The Norge is the first bike in over 30 years of riding that I have said (repeatedly) "THAT is my next bike!!!" or "That bike is me." It may even turn out to be the first bike I buy that I do absolutely NOTHING to, and just ride it. All of the bikes I own and have owned, on first glance, I liked them, but also immediately started thinking of things to change, mostly for comfort. I can't wait (well I guess I have to) till these make it to the USA.

Good on'ya. Glad you nailed it.

I have a Street Pilot III that I use on my bikes. RAM mount also. I decided for the extra 15-minutes is took to just run a battery tender connector from the battery up front. It's zip-tied in all the right places it's finally attached to my right upper fork tube, a little out-of-site. It's handy there for using the battery tender, hooking up the GPS, hooking up the mattress inflator, etc.. I do need to remember to turn off the GPS so it doesn't drain the battery, but it's still pretty convenient.

When I first bought my '02 Lemans, it already had the tranny spring recall, which I didn't notice anyone mention here. Unfortunately, either it wasn't initially done properly, or something didn't go together correctly. I had full on random shifts. Maybe 1st to 6th, or 3rd to 1st, or 2nd to neutral. Anyway, I took it back to the dealer, they redid the recall and noticed one of the springs wasn't right. Since then, I don't think I've missed a shift or had a false neutral. The only bike I have that shifts smoother is the Bonnie America which I can routinely shift without the clutch it's so smooth. There is a longer throw on the Le Mans, but I have big feet, so that's just fine with me. I have the controls adjusted for the boots I wear, and it's "like buttah."

I have had some experience with my LeMans using a Power Commander. - First, to find out what map you actually have, hook up the computer to the bike and do not start, but just flip on the power and turn the key. This will send whatever is on the bike to your computer. If it doesn't (I actually have this feature turned off) you can just click "get map" from the software. I would never trust some file someone gave me. Get it from the bike. - Being that you bought the bike used, and recently, I would save the onboard map locally, and then I would bypass the Power Commander. Just unplug it (make sure the power is off) and run the stock ECU (or in your case the race ECU). The bike should run pretty good. The reason for this step is to ensure the bike has nothing major out of whack that the PC is masking. I had this problem and the PCIII is a powerful unit that can "seem" to fix a lot of things. - If you have a set of mercury tubes, I'd check to see that the carbs are balanced. The PCIII can mask this too, especially if the cylinders were done separately. - Anyway, if all seems ok, except for lack of any performance increase, just hook it back up. - As others have said... clean and gap your plugs. - Now for the trick. So you think at 5K there may be an issue. Using the buttons on the power commander, increase the mid range by 2 bars. You can get the manual online here if you don't have it. http://www.powercommander.com/manuals/User_Manual_6.pdf Remember to wait 15 to 20 seconds after making a change for the PCIII to "save" the change. Anyway, take it for a spin. If the problem is worse or better you know you are on the right track. If worse, then drop it 2 bars below 0 and see what happens. If nothing happens either way, try this on the high-range bars. You get the idea. This method is simple because you can take the bike out, and if you want to make a change, just pop the seat, change the setting, and jump back on without returning to the garage hooking up the computer again etc... If this actually fixes the issue... then you're done. As far as tweaking the map with the software, which you may still want to do, it will take some trial and error. I'd recommend, with the bike off but hooked up, make little chalk marks on the throttle where 5%, 10% 20% 30% 40% throttle are, unless you can safely strap the laptop to the bike when you test ride. Based on "factory Ti exhaust, race ECU, stock crossover, stock airbox, K&N air filter" I really can't see what you would gain from tuning the cylinders separately if that's what they did. WHen you get the map from the bike, check to see if there is a difference in the two cylinders at all. If there is no difference, or nothing significant, why bother? If you were running new cams, pistons, crossover, open air box, etc etc... then maybe.. But this is just my opinion. Also, make sure to test drive after any changes. One factor besides throttle position and rpm, is load. A test drive is important. A couple of notes.... Don't let the bike overheat when sitting. Also, when you take your test rides... and in making adjustments, make sure the bike is up to full operating temp. That's my opinion. I had some strangeness on my bike and could have saved myself a lot of time and effort if I had done the above steps BEFORE getting the bike Dyno'd. It was just running a little rough, and figured it was because the PCIII had only been adjusted manually, and the map was from some download, so I figured I'd put in on the Dyno and get it max'd out. Turns out the PCIII had nothing to do with the running rough problems. My carbs weren't balanced and I had an intake leak.

I have the Conti Road Attack's and they seem fine, although I don't have a lot to compare to. I'm not an aggresive rider. I have had a total of about 20 miles of dirt/gravel road on rides and they and me did ok. I guess my point as someone mentioned.... all around it's good comprimise if most of the riding is street. Having said this, I may look into Metzlers the next swap as I have them on my Vic and it was like getting a new bike when I put them on. I just haven't looked into their sport offerings yet.

I see a lot of us (me included... I said us) are getting bogged down in the numbers, but the issue still remains... on similar bikes... some people can leave the bike sit all winter and just hit the starter and drive off, while some of us can only let the bike sit for a few days or a couple of weeks and it doesn't have enough juice to start.

I'm not sure what this all means... just reporting data at this point.. 1. It's been one day without the #1 fuse in place, and voltage across the battery terminals has dropped another .1 volts, just like it does with the fuse in. 2. The voltage across the currently empty fuse slot... now down to 5 volts from 6. Some history... - THis is Battery number 3. I replaced the first one not long after getting the bike because the bike had sat for a long time and I thought it's not holding a charge was because it was the original battery. - Number two was replaced, because I thought... well... they call it coincidence for a reason. - #3 battery charges fine. No other indications that anything is awry. - FYI... the number 2 battery sat on my bench for a couple of months, and it that time didn't loose any charge to speak of. I actually was occasionally using it to power a radio I salvaged from an old fairing for some tunes in the garage. Bottom line... something is causeing a slow drain on a battery when it's in the bike. Not fast enough to be a short... or one wouldn't think... but also fast enough to be annoying.