Dan M

Shocking!

It's the old "you get what you pay for". Ohlins are arguably the best. There are several approaches to take with the Marz fork that will give terrific results. At minimum, get the proper spring rate, set sag correctly and change to a light synthetic cartridge fluid. Doing that is relatively inexpensive and will transform the bike. Beyond that, further mods are considerably more money and then you are narrowing the $ gap compared to going toward Ohlins.

So what you were experiencing was the flash to pass lever had no effect?

Hey Doug, Why? Is it leaking? If so, where from? There is an o-ring that gets gummed up and can leak. A clean up will fix that. Unless it is leaking from the vacuum port it is probably OK.

Great shot bertie

From the switch the low beam wire is yellow with a green stripe. Goes through only one connecter (12 pin) before the headlamp socket. Check for power first at the switch then at the connecter. You are getting power to the switch if the high-beam works. Does the parking lamp work?

I haven't seen anything current. It is true tires are changing at a rapid clip. I'd like to see some comparison info on these dual compound or even more recent blended compound tires. Until then, we'll have to trust those that have already been proven. The good news is, what we've been using is not too shabby.

That is certianly true if you have a ring ridge. That's a lot of mileage on coated cylinders. My cylinders were clean with low mileage. I touched them up lightly with a ball hone just to break the glaze but not damage the coating. If I recall, (it's been more than a year) Mike specified piston flush to deck at TDC. It took thinner base gaskets to get there.

+1 on the Diablo Stradas. Excellent all around tire, unbelievable grip in the wet. I'm currently mounting up Diablos (one step more sporty from the Stradas) We'll see how those do. On a related note, I just put on a set of Continental Road Attacks on my RT. They are really nice. Every bit of the Z6 set they replaced. I developed uneven wear rapidly with the front Z6. (2000 miles) I'm hoping the Contis do better.

Mike will supply thinner cylinder base gaskets for this purpose. Worked perfectly for me.

Great stuff.

Actually I'm pretty well set already. I needed two 47mm OD, 20MM ID, 12mm thick bearings. I found 47, 20, 14. Just need to cut a new center spacer and cut an end spacer 2mm narrower to make up for the thicker bearings. Much less hassle than I thought.

Don't think it didn't cross my mind. I'm already way, way past the point of silly if I were to do a cost/benefit analysis though. I think I'll stop the bleeding on this project, at least for awhile.

Finally, Fred tells me they're sending a cush drive from Italy so I figured I might as well mount up the front. I mounted and balanced the tire, swapped the rotors and noticed the bearings are different. Larger inside diameter. (when one of my guys comes to me with a problem like this I usually get on him about not matching things up before mounting the tire ) I'm assuming they are for the Ohlins equipped V11. I thought I read something about the Ohlins having a larger diameter axle. So I pushed out the bearings to swap and not only is the inside diameter different but so is the outside and the width as well. So now I'm shopping for proper bearings and since the new bearing spec is narrower, I'll need to change the spacer too. Sigh... I thought this was a good idea... I did weigh the whole assemblies. There is a net savings of near 4lbs. on the front.

Don't despair. Yes, you can get fuses at any auto parts store. Something caused it though. Something as simple as a faulty bulb or maybe the mechanic popped it during his work and didn't notice. they usually come in a box of five or so, so you'll have spares. (get the same amperage, they're color coded) If you replace it and it doesn't blow instantly check that all the bulbs work and you should be fine.

Well he says it is haunting him so I'd conclude the new owner is looking to recoup something. Unless he gave a warranty with the bike this trouble is on the owner. It is always prudent to sell a vehicle with a bill of sale that reads "as-is with no warranty"; friend or not, it leaves no room for doubt. I agree hitting the rev limiter is not the issue, it is there to save the motor. Seems likely though, that a teenager that admits hitting the rev limiter multiple times was probably doing worse than that. They don't just seize for no reason.

Cool ride report Slug, looks like a good ride. Welcome T

Actually I thought the initial answers were pretty clear and right on point. From there, the debate on what is or isn't sensible, and how others have achieved more power and where got started. It seems like a pretty natural progression in an arena like this. (just ask about oil viscosity or tire pressure and see what happens) This is an internet discussion board. The whole idea is sharing of information, ideas and opinions. It is true on any board that some like to argue, pontificate, or just read what they have written. That is all part of this cyber communtiy experience. I usually find it amusing. If I don't, I stop reading and look elsewhere.

Check out his focus, a man on a mission. Lucky bastard

Well put Skeeve. I agree that there is plenty that can be done without too much sacrifice in terms of reliability. Some choices are better than others. Some are indeed a waste of money. One thing that governs most in terms of these decisions is money. Once past the common external mods, the price ramps up quickly causing some to put on the brakes so to speak. Of course others with plenty of money to spend often do move ahead at full speed with a "give me everything" approach. In many cases, this ends up as a costly mistake, which is in a nutshell what RH is saying.

there are image files here http://www.v11lemans.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=1399

All right, all right, lets get back on point here. Al, your bike has the usual mods and good ones at that. It seems at this point your map should be optimized for best running. If you want to do a little more I'd suggest Mike Rich pistons. I had pretty close to the same mods as your bike (although different brands) and the bike ran much better than stock. Probably not much more power but certainly far better. I added the pistons and felt a noticeable difference. Again, the map has to be correct. All the mods in the world are useless if the fueling is wrong. I think the side point here is, (and really shouldn't get anybodies panties in a bunch) if a person doesn't know much about such things, they can easily get over their heads making modifications. I've seen "professionals" modify without a plan and wind up with motors that run like crap and sometimes make less power than when they started. To put it out there that you can just bolt things on and the bike will perform is not only not accurate but it's not in anyones best interest. Some people come here for advice. I think both sides should be put out there and let the person seeking the information decide for themselves. This is after all an internet forum, information shared here should be taken with a grain (or maybe a block) of salt.

Actually, we are under the same restrictions, we can just get away with more... at least for now There is nothing wrong with improving power and making it run better. The trade off with most power producing modifications, especially mechanical ones is decreased durability. The question is how much do you want to trade? It is true that no matter what you do, you will not keep up with a Yamakawazuki 600 in a straight line. I'm always looking to make things a little better. Not that elusive extra horse at 7000rpm on the dyno but more like better power in the meat of the powerband with no flat spots.

+1 on the Motobits. There is an added bonus of better gear change action. Call Greg, he used to stock them.