Keith Foster

I rarely get any false neutrals. But coming from BMW's I have developed the "BMW shift technique". That is: I keep light upward force on the shift lever as I release the clutch during upshifts. Usually I don't detect any feedback through my toe, but on occasion I can "feel" that my light pressure has helped things engage cleanly, smoothly. The Bemers are the same way, many riders of this brand do this. Maybe the new-new stuff is different. If you are used to riding Japanese stuff (and maybe some other brands) the Guzzi takes a slight technique adjustment compared to others.

John T, the '00-'02 Ti kit is at MPH Cycles, www.mphcycles.com. Look under the "factory accessories" section I think.

Per an email with Mike at MPH this morning, the Ti kit he has is for the '00-'02 models, without the alternator cross over. I'm looking for the '03-'04 kit, with the alternator location crossover.

To the contrary Belfast, my dealer has a Ti kit on order for me, it's been a month now and no cans yet. Others have said they are back ordered until December. With our Italian friends on holiday until the end of the month, my head aches!

...best to yank off the tank and do away with the switch all together

The best discussion of it is here: http://www.v11lemans.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=268&hl Regards.

My $0.02, I agree with bshpilot and TX. Not that I have a lot of selection in dealers in my area, but I bought from the closest dealer, didn't haggle over price, paid for it up front, probably one of the easiest deals they had that month I could have driven to FBF, or shopped other places, but this dealer was closest to me (110 miles), has been around for many years, was close to BWI (as I travel semi frequent I figure it would be handy to combine business travel with service work on occasion). And if I did have any warrenty issues, I figured I would have a better position than if I'd "danced with another" as TX so eloquently phrased it. Sure enough, I had some issues, the day I picked it up (search for "The good, the bad and the ugly" if you want to know more) and a bit afterward. Result? - I was taken care of, helped out, they busted their hump to get the bike fixed, had the 1st service done no charge for my troubles, and established a relationship with the shop. No coincidence in my book - well worth the extra coin it cost me - to me. I know a dealer is "required" to do the warranty work somenewguy, but these fine machines we enjoy are still cared for by humans, and humans remember who you dance with at the party. For sure my 2 day turn around for my work would have been a lot longer from the dealer, in the middle of April, just as prime east coast riding season was kicking in, if I hadn't bought the bike from him. To compare buying an appliance .. oops ... car to buying a MG anthro, well these are two birds of a different feather. BTW, I read somewhere else this week that John Stoddard had been named the new head cheese with MuZ N.A. in FL. It said "former CEO (or whatever was his title) of Moto Guzzi N.A. The plot thickens.... But hey, tomorrow is a high of 75, sunny, I get to ride to work !! maybe I'll try leaving my neighborhood in anger

I just got some slight condensation in my tach this week, from the day the bike sat out at work and a couple of thundershowers came through. The next day it was sunny and warm, the next time I looked, it (the condensation) was all gone. Other than this one time, I've not had any condensation issues.

I too recommend the MG "factory" stand. I've had mine 2-3 weeks and it's the way to go IMHO. It works, fits, built stout, is a great price from MPH and holds the bike rock solid.

You can cap or plug the hole where the brass fitting threads into the intake port. The hose that runs between them goes to the "T". The "T" then heads down to the vapor recovery tank-ma-jig just ahead of the rear wheel. While you are at it you can remove the tank also. The big hose to it goes to the fuel tank vent I believe. Leave it hang or remove it too along with the tip over check valve under the tank. There is a good thread on this here: http://www.v11lemans.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=3284&hl= or search under "vacuum nipples" if the link doesn't work.

Last night I also modified the bend in my speedo elbow per Jan's pic's and suggestions (thanks!). The sleeve/elbw bends quite easily. The metal is fairly soft and I was able, using moderate force, to take a lot of the bend out of the stock elbow. A pair of vice grips and slip joint pliers was all I used. I didn't even need to remove the cable, just loosen the collar at the trans. to lift up the elbow, pull back the boot and have at it. Bend, then remount and check clearances, repeat as necessary. I feel confident that this will help the cable life greatly. Along with some occasional lubing, I hope will have it lasting tens of thou miles, 2750 on it now. We'll see

I had a bit of a time to get mine to open up properly, but with some help from JRT I got mine to work just like it should. Things have to be in the righ place, but it does work - persevere!

I get a slight whine in 6th around 60-65 mph, but I'm not there very often, so I mark it off to some resonance going on. I don't think it's worth fretting over. At higher speeds, all's quiet. (Man I need to get that Ti exh. can kit! )

I too have noticed a slight pulsing when around the, ah..10-15 mph and lower speed. Say the last 2-3 seconds before coming to a full stop. Like JLB I can't believe I've gotten them hot enough to warp. I recall that there was no pulsing the first several weeks of riding the Nero brand new. I guess it has gradually crept in as I've accumulated some miles (2500 now). My BMW K75RT had the same issue after I swapped out the front rotors, but it eventually went away. I suspect it might be a pad bedding in issue, but it's just a hunch, so I ignore it for now, and will likely continue to. What is the "WD40 trick"? I know what WD40 is, but what do you do with it? Clean around the rotor buttons with it?

The threaded portion of the brass nipples are 15 mm, that is why I selected the 10 mm long ones for the screws I used.

I ordered a spare cable after reading the various speedo cable comments. It came in like a week or two after I ordered it. I haven't put it on, but it looks just like the one on the bike now. I have been lubing the cable at the trans bend as a precaution, so between this and a spare cable in hand, I doubt the OE one will ever break! The PN from my receipt is 01760480 or the cable, $27.50.

I just took my stuff off last week, I went the bolt and washer route. The size is 6mm dia x 10 mm long. The local Ace Hdwe had black oxide steel hex head bolts this size for - um $0.27 each I think. To be really cheap I reused the aluminum washers that were already there under the brass fittings. A dab of never sieze and wala' - no unsightly black hose, no worries of cracking or loosing caps. The best 54 cent clutter reduction work I've ever done!

So far so good for me, 3 months and 2400 miles and nothing has loosened/fell out on my '04 Nero.

This morning I topped off my tank with 4.95 US gal. of 87 octane gasoline, after running 195.6 miles for 39.5 mpg. I'm sure I could have cracked 200 miles, but the next station was a bit too far down the road to continue. This was after several days of steady/moderate highway miles back and forth to work, 65-75 mph in 6th gear. I recall the light starting to glow around 155-160 miles. This is with total bike mileage of 1950 miles.

I did try, and wham, did it light off after two revolutions of the engine. I think maybe Al's method might not work with the later model stuff as the earlier models had the external fuel pumps and pressure regulators. And I have never heard my fuel pump sound like Al described it. And Al's method didn't work for me. this was the 2nd time it's ever started on the first try. The other time was "choke" on and no throttle. Now to stir debate, would the instant, but high rpm starting technique create detrimemtal engine wear? My thought is this, does this technique do damage as no oil pressure has built up when the engine roars to life? I'll start messing with throttle position to ramp down the starting rpm. I can run different arguments that it does no harm, film strength of modern oils, components are relativly lightly loaded at start up, short duration. It's kind of one of those "Does one crank their engine over with the kill switch on after changing the oil" kind of threads.

Al, my friend, it will be several years before you get away on a long trip. It's been ah...7 or 8 years since I went on anything more than 400-500 miles (a day trip, and the youngest will be 2 in September, so I'm thinking 3-4 more years). But then, maybe you are married to an angel !?

Hi Dan, I offer the title below to my experience with my Nero. My New V11 Nero Corsa picked up this week ( edit: added link ) The good thing is, now 1000 miles later, the Guzzi is sweetly crusing along. So my vote is to swap out ECU's. And I agree with Al, they are the same ECU's from the different models. I did notice my replacement ECU was different (meaning markings and such on the data plate) from the one that the bike had on when I picked it up. And the dealers can reprogram/tweak the ECU programing. My my dealer has mentioned it several times. Good luck, something will turn up!

My '04 Nero is hard to start in the same way. I have to try 3-4-5 timesto get it to fire. I have been careful to not crank too long. Per comments I've seen on the forum (Thanks!) this week I've been blipping the throttle at the end of a 3 or so second starting sequence. I'll try the 1/2-3/8 throttle when I leave work today.

Even though this example is not truly along your topic, this week I bought 2 of the crossover gaskets/sleeve things - $19.50 each! an a spare speedo cable - $27.50 for a total of $72.50 with shipping to my house. Pricey stuff for sure.

Long-oval noggin here, so it's an Arai Signet, on my 2nd. Most comfortable, best fitting helmet for me. 1st class materials, visors, interiors. I doubt I'll ever wear anything else for the street.