Dan M

The LeMans has a 5.5" with a factory tire size of 180. I should have gone with a 170 when I replaced the tires last spring.

Soldering is good but be careful, those fumes tend to hang around and you may end up with a different shaped tank! I've used this product on two tanks with absolutely excellent results. It has been in the tank of my Norton for 11 years now. http://www.por15.com/PRODUCTS/COMPLETEKITS...62/Default.aspx

If there is one complaint with my LeMans, (well, let's face it, there may be more than one) It is that the steering is slow. It's tough to describe this bike as "flickable" In fact, it's noticeably easier to change lines on my much heavier RT than on the LeMans. I've switched to Wilburs springs in front and a Wilburs shock in back & dialed in sag as has been discussed here before. As well as raising the forks in the clamps by about 10mm. The bike is much improved but still heavy handling. I keep the steering dampener dialed all the way soft and I know my 180 rear tire is not the optimum width and when worn I'll switch to a 170, but I'm looking for more. I've seen offset steering head bearing kits that reduce rake by 1 degree. Sounds like a good idea to me. Anyone tried this on a long frame LeMans? I don't want it to be squirrelly at speed but it is sooo stable now that one degree may make it just right. Thoughts?

Nice stuff, thanks for the link Paul.

She's a beauty Greg. I like those rotors too. How's the bite compared to the stock Brembos?

Italians and their products are typically sexy performers who are at the same time a bit unreliable (OK, in the case of Fiat perhaps more than a bit). As far as us falling apart prematurely, not true. Refer to the photos of Sofia elsewhere on this forum!

Slug, oldbutnotdead & ferguzzi all got it. The bikes themselves and their riders are plenty quirky.

Sorry about your spill Slug, Thankfully your injuries are relatively minor. Tow companies who are in bed with the authorities and get the accident calls are mostly pirates. Even here in Chicago where folk songs have been written about such things, $182 /hr for "emergency" work seems out of hand, especially on a single vehicle accident. It's not like they had to upright a semi trailer. I've been in the automotive business for decades and although we don't do recovery work, I'd think $100 - $150 for the hook + $2-$2.50 per mile is more on par with the rest of the industry. Further, the "emergency" part is the recovery. If they are going to charge by the hour, it should be for time at the scene. After that it should a mileage charge.

Great example of a couple of posers riding over their heads. Talk about target fixation, the idiot who went off looked himself right into the ditch and the next one almost did the same. Looked like the Harley rider's technique of "rear brake only" came into play as well.

she do can that in the ocean but please, not in the pool

Way to go Richard. I always like someone who opens & improves rather than just changing parts.

Hey Greg, What is the overall length of these turn signals, not counting the stud?

Here you go: http://www.geocities.com/rgmaund/RichsCycl...olsteryHomePage

These Pro Grips work great for me. Softer than stock. http://www.progrip.com/default.asp?tip=3&ite=gri#top

It appears you guys are in tune to what's going on with your engines. It is more than likely that there will be some symptoms for awhile before "catastrophic head damage" occurs. If your valves / guides are turning to mush as we type, you're going to notice things like low compression, oil consumption, lean backfires, valves that won't hold adjustment and t-bodys that are always out of sync. Typically when you take something apart and everything has gone to crap, the operator has ignored the obvious for some time. Doesn't sound like either of you to me.

Like he said. I've been in the auto repair business for near 30 years. Unless you feel the need to upgrade, taking an engine to pieces that shows no symptoms is silly. There have been posts about cams & big end bearings too. Why stop with the heads?

Ditto on Rich Maund. Great work, great service.

The cardan bar is above the driveshaft running from the frame to the differential. It's purpose it to hold the angle of the differential constant in relation to the driveshaft during suspension movement.

What is siping? The way the treads displace the water whether due to depth or pattern Modern motorcycle tires, at least the ones in question here do not have sipes. They have tread grooves . Sipes are the very slim cuts in the tread blocks in automotive tires. There are no voids in the rubber, just a slice to make the blocks more flexible. They are there for wet traction but motorcycle tires would be pretty squirmy with them. I agree with the theory that Stradas & the Roadtecs are essentially the same tire & compound with slightly different tread pattern. And, as Skeeve says, this has been blown way out of proportion Sorry to interrupt the dlaing/ratchet spat - continue now.

After reading Jaap's post yesterday, It got me thinking about those cool spoke wheels again. (damn him) I e-mailed Alpina directly and they responded already. They say there has been much interest for V11 fitment. A prototype has been made and they should have the wheels available by the end of the year. Maybe just in time for Christmas

Everything he said. I got 7500 from Z4s on my RT (which weighs 100lbs+ more than the V11) and the Z6s are supposed to last longer than the Z4s. So add that info to the calculation, subtract the weight difference of the MG, add in the torque difference, weigh the wife, and the answer is...... They should be pretty good

I use the heavy. The only trouble I had before the change was the shift pawl would hang up periodically when hot requiring a wiggle of the shifter to select the next gear. That has not happened since the change to Redline. Not to take anything away from the product but the box had a lot of metal paste in the bottom before the change which probably contributed to the problem.

Couple of beautiful Italians!, especially her

I stuck with the 180 size. I've always thought the steering on the LeMans was a tad slow & heavy so I wish I'd gone for the 170. It feels better than the bridgestones but I set up my suspension around the same time so some of that improved feel is due to the suspension. I was all set to buy Z6s for it, but was considering Pirellis for the silly reason as to have Italian tires on my Italian bike. Still leaning toward the Metzelers, the 2 for 1 deal came out & I jumped on the Pirellis. Not dissapointed at all.

Very nice And, oh yea, what about those spoke wheels anyway? Looks like they'll be an over the winter job if we can get them by then.