txrider

Dri-Slide could work. It's moly suspended in a solvent which evaporates and leaves only a dry moly deposit.

Well, being the cheap sort myself I made a work stand that fits under the bike same as the Guzzi work stand out of some 2 x 6 and 2 x 4 board stock. I used u-bolts to clamp short pipe stub to one side screwed to a 90, and a 4' x 1" pipe for a lifting handle.

I had a problem recently on a particular day when it seemed I was getting false neutrals when downshifting from 4th to 3rd. Happened 3, maybe 4 times trying to deal with traffic. Later, I started with the simple stuff liking shifting technique and since have had no problem since changing my technique to be a little more deliberate and positive, particularly in downshifts. The 6-speed seems light and quick in shift action and so it's tempting to give'er a nudge and expect that's enough.

I've been thinking about shock upgrade myself and was about to suggest this- http://www.guzzitech.com/RearShocks-Wilbers.html as a possible lower cost option until I checked the price. Expensive at $775. A friend who rides an FJR 1300 just participated in a group buy on Wilbers and saved 20%. Maybe that's an option.

Looking forward to seeing you in this part of the country. You can't be too far from Ft Worth.

Got it. Jumping ahead again looking for answers.

My 2004, low miles LM apparently was assembled less the spline lube. I imagine that means tranny removal to get at the affected wear points. And a moly paste applied sparingly to the inner spline surfaces to avoid clutch contamination. Great. Looks like a winter project. I thought I was getting away from this when I sold the BMW RS. Sorry for the hijack, but this has been bugging me from when I first got the bike and I had been told it was "normal".

Interesting comment. Does that spline require lubrication? Because my clutch screech sounds exactly like dry metal to metal contact.

Occasionally the question will be asked about what to use to seal an electrical item, connector, whatever and I recall we absolutely could not use acetic acid cure RTV's in out aircraft display manufacturing at wotk. Instead we used alcohol cure RTVs but at the time they were expensive and hard to get. Well here's some good news- http://www.logwell.com/tech/servtips/RTV.html A good article on what to use and finally a low cost and easy to find material for use around electrical components.

No problem from this quarter on discussions like these, I may be inflexible at times but definitely on the look out for ways to improve the bike and my methods in working on it. On a note of further explanation and then I'll shut up- This bike, previously owned, showed signs of having been tweeked and worked on by one a whole lot less particular than myself plus it had an annoying screech with clutch release that I wanted to fix. So my mind set when I began disassembly and maintenance was to make everything as perfect as my ocd-like self could make it. The less than close fit of the cross brace bugged the hell out of me and I deliberated at length, including discussing it with you, Ratchet about what to do ( realizing that you disagreed with shims at the time). So, nontheless, in the shims went. Not too happy with having to do that but it seemed better to do than to see main frame compenents give a bit during reassembly. I appreciate the discussion and this handling of a little disagrement. Other forums I've frequented there would be fireworks and name calling. By the way, I never did fix that screeching clutch release. Love the bike anyway...

Here's another perspective on causes for l/h side tire wear. Makes a good point about the wear area being nowhere the road contact patch. http://www.rattlebars.com/valkfaq/tirewear/ I wouldn't have believed it at first, that we cover that much more distance in left hand turns.

Ratchet, as I said before you're much more qualified on Guzzis than I am and I feel I'm out of my depth getting into a debate with you about this. However, my reasoning is as follows- it appears the porkchops are located by the 3 bolt circular fittings on the spine cross pieces. That establishes the inside distance/location of the porkchops. And I'm making an assumption that that distance is correct. When the lower cross brace is installed it should come into contact with the porkchops at all three attachment points on l/h side and two on the r/h side. Otherwise the porkchops will have to flex(bend a bit) somewhat as the hardware is tightened. A few thousandths I can imagine but not 0.040" That's the part I have a problem with. I think the porkchops were not intended to flex/bend that degree during installation of the cross brace. Just doesn't seem reasonable from an engineering design perspective. So I measured the gaps, and machined and installed sst shims of the proper thickness to eliminate that flex. As for the question about why shims would be required in assembly when they weren't there in disassembly- First, I can't honestly say if those gaps developed when I removed the cross brace because I wasn't looking for that. But they were there at assembly unless corrected. And as much respect as I have for the guys that designed and assembled the LeMans I know from having been there that manufacturing tolerances can be tricky, especially welded up assemblies like the crossbrace. And if we can accept that errors can be made in shift pawl machining, improper heat treat in gears/shift dogs, improper selection of valve/guide materials, etc. then it doesn't seem a stretch to accept that a crossbrace could be made undersize and need shimming for proper fit.

Some thoughts and observations concerning engine warm up and operating temps- I have an 11 year old Volvo 850 that apparently has a cooling system designed to come up to temp fairly quickly. Coolant temp shows normal within 5-6 minutes although I'm sure the oil temp takes somewhat longer. It seems to me that water cooled engines have more control over rate of heating up and possibly stabilized operating temperature due to thermostat controls in the cooling system. I can't name the source, I've forgotten it, but I read recently where an air cooled (Norton)bike engine oil temperature was still stabilizing after 10-12 miles of medium speed operation. So, with aircooled engines we don't have a lot to play with in engine warmup control except to block off cooling fin area which, unless done with aid of careful cylinder temperature measurement could cause other problems like uneven cylinder temps and maybe even cylinder distortion. I think installation of an oil temperature gauge and a sending unit properly placed in the pan could at least provide information of when and if the oil gets to minimum of 212f for moisture boil off. If driving conditions don't allow this temp then the suggestion of buying a Japan made beater bike sounds like a good approach. In fact I'd be interested to know if anyone has installed such a gauge and if so how they did it. I'll bet some of the experienced gurus like Pete Roper have done this to monitor engine oil temps in racing.

Ratchet, while I humbly defer to your greater experience and excellent judgement in all Guzzi matters I believe if you could see first hand the item we're discussing it would be apparent that the rear lower cross brace on my bike is slightly undersize at that junction. Those gaps were present after complete removal of the brace and then upon reassembly, carefully re-torquing of all fasteners in a criss cross manner which attach to the pork chop. In fact I tried loosening, retorquing twice to see if there was any change. The result was the same. After assembly the rear wheel alignment was checked using your laser level technique and all was in order. Plus the bike tracks well moving down the road. So for now, at least, the bike checks out and I'm trying this setup. Thanks for the concern and I'll let you know if a problem develops with this approach ( they don't call me bullheaded for nothing).

Amen to that. We do short rides in the morning only to be back by noon. Pavement in the Ft Worth/Dallas area acts like a huge heat sink so there's minimal cooldown at night. Life's a bitch, ainnit?

Ratchet, I had some of the same concerns when I was working in that area of my bike. I do recall that disassembly was accompanied with a loud "whack" when I broke the torque on one of those nuts so I reassembled using 35 Ft lbs which seemed ok. I did shim the 0.040" air gap at the cross brace-r/h pork chop joint so there was minimal or no flex of the pork chop during re-torquing.

I bought this LM in January, used, low miles, brought it home and immediately began partial disasembly to check lubrication, fastener torques and generally going over the bike to insure reliability. I was in no hurry, took my time detailing and refining some items, particularly the battery tray arrangement and so the project stretched into several months while I researched and worked. Well, it's complete and on the road and the bike is much better than I imagined. I kept the stock crossover and Staintunes that came with it as well as the Titanio Racing ECU all of which make the bike run pretty strong. I guess it's the engine that makes the bike so much fun to ride at 70-75 but roll ons over that and the sound produced is really great. What an incredible ride and the bike's appearance has elicited several compliments from my usually tight-lipped riding buddies. I'm adjusting to the bikes ergonomics for now, the bar position is rather a reach for my 5'8" height but at speed seems fine. But the seat is good for maybe 1-1/4 hours before I need to get off and stretch my old body. Maybe Rich Maund or Sargeant can help with that (the seat, not the age). Finally, thanks to the folks maintaining this site and to others, particularly Ratchet for all the tips and help in maintenance and info. I recognize fellow gearhead types when I see'em and a lot of you guys really know your stuff. Compliments on that and I can see I'm in good company.

That's the one, given to me by a BMW owner/friend. Probably should have posted on 24/7.

I got this from friends this morning at breakfast. Enjoy- http://24.22.66.12/photos/hangentitten.jpg I mean really, we can't be dealing with problems ALL the time!

Cal, I've got some like those on the Futura and they're good pieces. Problem is the fitment into the tank fuel pump plate which looks as if it is made for oem fittings only. Maybe that can be threaded or modified for different qds. I may look into that later, one of mine popped loose on startup shortly after I got it running again and sprayed fuel all over. Scarey. I reseated the red fitting and no problem since but it caused me to consider a different setup.

Second that on removal of the 5mm cover screws. And thanks Ratchet, for the mention. Also, I used a hand-impact tool which made the difference once the slots were cut. Of course I had to replace those screws.

I used a rubber lubricant called Syl-Glide during the take-it-apart-and-look-at-it new bike ritual I usually follow. As for why, I'm a lubrication junkie and it just looked like the thing to do. Plus, upon disassembly I found some rubber bits in the cavities and thought this might minimize wear of the rubber blocks.

Lots of suggestions have been made on improving readibility of the curiously designed ribbed dipstick so I'm adding mine- Use a Dremel tool and a small drum sander and remove a 1-1/2" section of one rib. Smooth with 280 grit sandpaper and you have a flat surface to read the oil level on instead of peering around those ribs.

One of the more bike savvy posters over on apriliaforum says one of the first things he does on a new bike is go over all the wiring looking for possible chafing issues and services connectors, applying De-Oxit. He's had no electrical problems in 24k and two years ownership with his Futura, unlike some, and attributes that to this initial treatment. Makes sense to me and I've done the same on my new LM. And did you notice the bit about relays? The relay failures mentioned so often here could be due to partially oxidized connection raising the resistance and heat within the relays. Interesting possibility.

Guys, here's some info on contact anti-oxidation solution. I've used the De-Oxit on all the connectors on two of my bikes and it seems to do the job. http://www.intendedacceleration.com/html/tip_14.html