Dan M

Righto, Ryland. This forum is not too big or too small. Most of the folks are great people. Good info all around. Thank god it isn't perfect from the factory. Fine tuning both the engine and suspension is half the fun. I always had a place reserved in my garage for a V7 sport but never came across one. One day several years ago at a Norton meet, a local guy showed up on a V11 sport. First one I saw on the street. He let me ride it and I was hooked instantly.

Never used a clamp, never had a loose filter, never think about it until the next change when I notice that it is still tight.

Welcome Rac. Ah, the oil thread. You'll leave more confused than when you started. The V11 is a pretty solid lump and will run nearly forever so long as the oil is full and somewhat clean. Any decent quality oil is fine. I personally run Golden Spectro synthetic blend 20w50. It is a motorcycle specific oil, but that is more important in bikes with wet clutches and lubricate the trans with motor oil. Not so important with the Guzzi. Like I said, full & clean is the most important thing. If you are in warm or hot weather go for the heavier viscosity. As for the trans, that's a completely different story. Many here including myself have improved transmission operation with Redline Heavy synthetic gear lube. Just my humble opinion.

You've hit it. I still buy all of the magazines and read about everything new, but when I lust for a new model, I just ride the Guzzi and am completely satisfied. It was the bike of choice this past season more often than any other bike in the stable. The motor has enough character to allow me to keep my Commando on a stand in my office and that pretty much says it all.

It depends on what an individual wants. This MG is a basic bike making no performance claims, it's idea of retro is kind of like an Italian Harley. Many companies say retro with parts bin collections that look "old" and perform "old". I like Ducati's approach of old style flavor with modern components. Triumph is in the middle of the road getting the look right but falling a little short on the performance and handling. I wish Kenny Dreer would have gotten his idea of retro off of the ground. - http://www.nortonmotorcycles.com/

So you'd be about $1300 richer, but no V11. Even in hindsight, I'd still take the bike.

I've lusted after a G-B for near two years now ever since seeing a Furia up close. I've never gotten a response after trying many times to contact them. I don't think their website has been updated for a couple of years now. If you find an importer please post your findings.

Yea? Where? I'll take 2.

Goes both ways. 2005; Rossi's 2nd lap in a Ferrari F1 car is 3 seconds off of Schumacher's lap record. http://www.gizmag.com/go/4382/

I think the reference was to ignition timing variation at idle. My question is, what the hell is GLOGALLY???

It is likely there is crud around the pistons keeping them from retracting fully or dirt / brake dust built up on the edges of the pad or around the pins, holding the pads against the rotor slightly after the piston retracts. In any case, thorough cleaning should solve your problem. Edit: I'd stay away from Vaseline on brake parts, it'll run off when hot and may get places you don't want it. The seals should be clean & dry. You can use syl-glide on the face of the pistons but be sparing and keep the friction surfaces clean. Dot 5 will not mix with Dot 3 or 4 and the result is a gel mess. It is difficult to get all of the old stuff out so contamination is very possible, also, it is not hygroscopic. Naturally accumulating moisture will settle in the calipers instead of being suspended in the fluid causing future troubles. Stick with what the factory calls for.

Looks like a photoshop job to me too. I like the modern direction without being too "out there" but as Dave said it is trendy. At least there is no bazooka sized muffler.

I'm no mind reader Mike. Ratchet in post#2 and Kevin in post #15 both talk about bringing tires in that were purchased elsewhere. I'm not condemning the practice (well maybe a little ), I'm just saying that if you do, you should be willing to pay a little more than if you had given the shop the tire business.

Under most circumstances, I think most of us would be pretty happy getting in the ballpark of 14.7:1 on a non feedback MG. A modern closed loop system (which the 2002 LeMans does not have) not only uses oxygen sensors to control mixtures at a given time, but data from air flow, manifold pressure, altitude, intake air temp, coolant temp (if any), RPM, throttle position and a knock sensor. It not only alters fuel injector pulse width but ignition timing as well. It is far more accurate than what the 02 LeMans has.

Exactly right Greg. Unless a shop is willing to commit the space and dollars to a giant tire inventory, margins will be slim. If you are good enough to have a loyal following, those folks won't expect you to compete with on-line prices, they just want to be treated fairly and have someone they trust do their work. Some people measure everything on price, others are willing to pay for quality. Service businesses make their money on profits from both parts and labor. If someone wants to provide their own parts (or tires), they are asking you to earn less than you normally would on a given job. If a consumer buys tires on-line they should either mount them themselves or expect to pay a premium to have a professional do it.

As displayed though, it is a city bike and probably a pretty good one. Smooth, light and comfortable. I'd still like to see it in cafe trim, and if the overall performance was on par with say a Triumph Thruxton, I'd give it another look.

If you do it manually and have a sturdy mount like the one Greg mentions from Harbor Freight or a Coats like I use, this guy makes an iron with replaceble nylon ends for scratch free mounting. I picked up one up last year and recommend it highly. http://mywebpages.comcast.net/prestondrake/mojoweb.htm

needs a different paint scheme

The larger shops don't want to mount "carry in" tires mainly because they don't want the liability of possibly damaging and subsequently replacing a tire they made no money on to begin with. The possibility of said damage to tire & wheel is far greater in the big shop because they are shoving this kind of non technical work on their least experienced employee. In the smaller independent shop it is far more likely to have an experienced tech or even shop owner doing the job. The thought of damaging a tire while mounting is usually not even a consideration. edit: I use this rig for balancing, low friction, works great. http://www.beemerbalancers.com/standbalancer.php

I've used this place several times. http://www.tiresunlimited.com/default.htm

Me too on the Wilbers Randy. Terrific unit, transforms the bike. I'd sell you my low mileage stocker cheap if you were interested but the Wilbers is far superior.

Check for vacuum leaks around the throttle bodies.

Perfectly put Dave. As discussed in similar threads, these things are not feedback systems. Hence, to meet EPA regulations they are delivered running pretty lean and getting the mixture right be it with stock intake & exhaust or otherwise, covers many drivability evils. Obtaining proper mix throughout the rev range isn't that easy but they do run good when done properly. I chose the PCIII and am always tweaking. It does what I need it to do.

We are talking about the V11 right? Ping has to be heavy and prolonged to melt a hole in a piston. High compression, high load, high heat, lean mixture and low octane are a recipe for trouble. I've put cheap gas in my LeMans when it was all I could get and it didn't ping but others have reported ping from these bikes. Certainly you can run low octane and get away with it under the right conditions, but I wouldn't make a blanket statement and say you can't hurt them.

More like putting holes in your pistons if spark knock is heavy.