txrider

Lubrication of speedo cable- I mixed up 10w-30 Mobil 1 and some old Kalgard Engine Gard moly liquid, 1:1 and dribbled some down until it came out the bottom fitting. Don't know if that will work but I'll know soon enough.

As a last going over of the 2004 LM prior to getting it back on the road I noticed the throttle lacked the smooth friction-free action that my other bikes have. Disassembly of the throttle assembly showed no lubrication (surprise) either in the barrel, the rotating assembly or the cable. Grease on the barrel/bar, light grease in the rotating bell crank and finally, moly/oil mix dribbled down the cable yielded dramatic improvement.

I was sitting in the garage last evening nursing a margarita and admiring the LM while at the same time gauging how far to the rear of the bike the rider's weight is. That's totally contrary to the trend of current day sport bike design with more forward weight bias. So, I'm in agreement, that even less front weight would call for a corresponding adjustment in tire pressure. How much? Measuring temperature change before a ride and 30 minutes into the ride should serve to guide one in pressure adjustment. Thing is, I know 10% temperature increase is used in racing but I'm not certain this correlates over to the street with substantially different tires and riding conditions.

It's a relatively easy job. I expected more crud in my forks at the 5k change but the oil was pretty clear with a hint of darkening due to wear of springs/fork internals.

I'll do like-wise. This'll be a good use for the new IR thermometer... I'll start with 36-40 and see how close to 10% that yields from cold. Incidently, thanks for your advice during the inspection/lubrication project of the LM.

This question comes up at a good time since I am just returning my new/old 2004 LM to the road. I have virtually no miles on it and am still learning about the bike so checked the owner's manual to find recommended pressure fr- 32, rear- 35. Those seem really low since most other mfr recommendations are in the 36fr, 42 rear range. So, what are you hefty boys in the 200-205 lb range running? Further, isn't there a rule of thumb about proper tire pressure being indicated by a 10% increase in tire temperature from cold to hot?

Sounds likely. Handprints and other soils, compressor oil in the air lines, operators not following process guidelines, there's any number of variables that apparently got out of control in the paint department. There's a term, "intercoat adhesion" which denotes coat adhesion to substrate and between coats which apparently is very weak or non-existent on those engine cases, wheels, rear drives, etc.

Followup on the fork maintenance- Easy process to remove the forks, disassemble, change the oil and reassemble. As to the question of fork oil quantity I had differing info of "do what the manual says, use 400 cc", "use 440cc", "use 435cc" (thanks, again, Mal) so I decided to measure freeboard from surface of oil to top of fork after carefully draining the springs into the fork as they were removed. With forks fully compressed, spacer installed and damper rod down that measurement was 77mm airspace over the fork oil. Then, measuring carefully what was drained including pumping the damper rod numerous times and hanging the fork overnight that volume came to 828cc, both forks. Figuring about 5-6cc for surface adhesion each fork held close to 420cc's. So, anyone doing this in the future on the 43mm forks there's two numbers to work with- freeboard measure and volume. I have to say, I'm spoiled to BMW, Yamaha and even Aprilia shop manuals which give all this pertinant info and keep it up to date. I'd much rather torque and maintenance info was more universally available especially after spending for the MG service manual then finding it lacking.

Ratchet, I also wear Bates boots and if they are comfortable here in Texas in the summer (which they are) you might give them serious consideration, venting or not. These have been resoled 3 times, are over 15 years old and still are comfy and look good.

Thanks again, Mal, useful info and from a good source, apparently.

Thanks for the info, Mal. Mind if I ask what your info source was?

Phil, here is a chart from Traxxion Dynamics that might help. http://www.traxxion.com/technical.springrate.shtml

The last part of my going through this new/used 2004 LM is pulling the forks for an oil change and general cleanup inside and out. All was pretty straightforward on disassembly except the fork internals are different from the late model V11 LM/Sport shop manual I purchased with the bike (surprise). Totally different cap/spring/spacer arrangement than the manual shows. But the most noticeable thing is the spring comes out first, then the preload spacer. At first I thought this was a screwup in assembly but the cap is machined with a recess the spring seats in. Unusual. The manual also shows 400cc of 10wt oil for refill and that's the quantity that drained out but someone posted some time ago that 440cc was correct for the 43mm fork. Can anyone confirm this? A tip for anyone considering doing this- make a temporary spring retainer by slotting a piece of 1"steel strap or similar to fit the damper rod. Compressing the spring by hand and fitting this hold down under the damper nut makes disassembly a bit easier.

I had to remove mine to fix a leak and it occurs to me they may not have taken the trouble of measuring off the cam to get the proper gap with that new sensor. Good to hear you may be getting your bike back finally so we can hear about performance with the Mike Rich heads.

Ratchet, some of the Brit Aprilia Futura riders who use their bikes as commuters rack up a lot of miles and follow this same regimen with additional recommendations. One, carefully extend the pistons (short of coming out) so they are more exposed to cleaning. Two, some have used, sparingly, a brake cylinder lube around the piston seals to keep them soft and pliable and extending their service life. I believe the item mentioned was Sylgard, silicone based, available at NAPA stores.

I know this doesn't help with your problem but I had a similar experience with Corbin on a Ducati 907ie some years ago. First seat didn't fit, so I returned it and got a second seat that didn't fit either. I had little recourse but to partially remove the covering, carefully mark the seat pan overlap up front, then reshape with a drill powered circular file. After recovering all fit well no thanks to Corbin's efforts. I can't "unrecommend" them enough. The other issue with their seats when they provide the pan is they are extremely heavy due to the overthick fiberglass construction.

Todd or Mike Haven at MPH Cycles might be able to help on this. Those guys are good with Guzzis and probably have encountered this before. Check their website for phone number.

Anyone check the charge rate at the battery with engine running to check alternator output? What are the numbers supposed to be at idle and at 4000 rpm?

Reading Brian's post about removing that frozen axle/bearing ( glad you didn't experience a get-off, there Brian) brought to mind some tools that would have been useful and that I use frequently. #1- The odd ball is a 3-lb rawhide mallet that has the heft to dislodge most items a 1-lb ballpeen hammer will only dent/score. #2- A 4-1/2" disk grinder. Incredible what this tool will cut through, axles, bolts, sheet stock, you name it. #3- A Dremel rotary tool with assorted accessories. Particularly useful is the 1-1/2" cutoff wheel and the sanding drum. Great for small detail metal work and deburring. #4- 6" dial caliper for checking hardware replacement diameters, o-ring replacements, etc. #5- Optivisor with at least 4-power lens. For old guys like me with failing vision who need to look at fine detail. These are only a few of the many tools required around a shop/garage used in maintaining the bikes but they are incredibly useful and might not be considered in getting started in this wonderful pastime.

Well, I'm not real big on thick grips, just that the originals that come on the Guzzi seem particularly thin and replacements might provide better control. It's as you say, two different perspectives.

"So the outer circle i.e. the grip, has a longer distance to travel to move the throttle cable by the same amount." Correct, larger circumference, more distance to move. "That gives a mechanical disadvantage as opposed to advantage. I don't see where the leverage equation applies." If you define mechanical advantage as requiring less effort, remember, the lever is longer (larger diameter gip) so it is easier to turn. As for Rossi and the GP riders I think you'll agree ther're in a whole other class, with the best equipment money can buy, and I have no idea what they use on grips, but I imagine it's whatever pleases them. Look, all I am suggesting is that one way to add a measure of precision and smoothness to throttle control is to try a larger diameter grip. I've done this, it works as I described but as many other details on bikes it's a matter of personal preference what one uses.

Brian, I think of it like one circle (the throttle grip) being inside another circle (hand grip diameter). The larger the outside circle, the more hand movement required for the same amount of throttle barrel movement. No relative change, both are still fixed. Plus the larger diameter of the new grip serves as a longer lever ( od further from the pivot center of the bar) for better control. I'm good at offering complex answers for simple solutions, bear with me here and I hope I've offered a better explanation for my original suggestion.

The oem handgrips on my 2004 LM seem unusually small both for comfort as well as finite throttle control. A fix in addition to ratchethack's excellent solution might be to try a bit larger grip like the Oury Road Grips. Larger diameter for the hands= more twist leverage, better control, slightly less throttle cable movement for the same given hand movement.

I'm going to be in the minority on this but after riding Texas farm to market roads for years and seeing the dust collected on bikes that were clean prior to rides I'm opting for piece of mind by sticking to paper filters. I certainly wouldn't begrudge anyone using K & N or gauze type filters for better airflow. However there are some used oil analysis on bobistheoilguy.com that show increased silica amounts in engines that used gauze filters to cause me to stick with paper type. Being an old guy, I don't ride that fast anyway. For more discussion pro and con here is additional discussion- http://theoildrop.server101.com/cgi/ultima...;DaysPrune=1000

Clean every trace of oil residue, really make it spotless. Dry off. Use a paint brush to dust talcum or cornstarch around all suspected leak sources. Then do a slow ride around town for 15 minutes, stop and check for darkening of powdered areas. That should pinpoint the source. I think the possibilities of engine oil drain plug washer or overfill of trans are the most likely sources.