Tom M

Here's a pic of a white (& green & red) V11 that I found a few years back. I think that's a pretty nice looking bike. I'm surprised the owner doesn't have one of these:

The rear brake calipers on these bikes tend to stick if they aren't removed cleaned up fairly frequently. Here's a thread from the how-to section that might help. http://www.v11lemans.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=8476 I usually have to clean mine up about every 5k miles. Once I pull the pads out of the caliper I put a thin piece of wood between the pistons and pump the pedal a few times to extend the pistons, then hit 'em with brake cleaner and a brush. Bleed the caliper while it's out with the bleeder facing up then put it all back together.I've read here that there are no rebuild kits for these calipers available in the US so be careful not to tear any seals when cleaning the pistons. Cam, did you get your compression issue sorted out?

I have MG Ballabio bars and risers on my LeMans. They're real close to the fairing at full lock but they do fit if you slightly reposition the fluid reservoirs. I can dig up the rise/setback etc numbers on my setup if anybody needs them.

There's a link to the pictures that BFG had with his excellent pawl spring replacement writeup here: http://www.v11lemans.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=16348

Have you verified the TPS reading at idle yet Jaap? I look for 530 mV at 1100rpm (or 3.6 degrees if you can connect to the ECU). A significantly lower reading will cause a lean mixture leading to misfires & popping.

Running rough at low revs can be caused by a lot of things; the throttle bodies being out of balance, an intake boot leak, an exhaust leak, or a throttle position sensor that's out of adjustment, along with an incorrect PCIII map. It won't hurt to try different maps or to remove the PCIII completely, but I would suggest that you might want to check the stuff mentioned above before mucking with maps. Here's a old thread that might apply to your situation: http://www.v11lemans.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=15683&st=0&p=169513&hl=micha&fromsearch=1entry169513 These bikes are pretty easy to work on but if you're not comfortable trying the things mentioned in the thread above you, unlike many here, have one of the most experienced Guzzi mechanics in the country nearby, Micha at Moto International. He'll get it running right for you if you don't want to get into it yourself. Good luck!

Ha! I had completely forgotten about that show. My brother had one of these in first grade. We were big Fireball XL5 fans.

I don't know if your tach can be recalibrated but I may know why you're seeing the problem. The V11 ignition fires the plugs on both the compression and exhaust strokes (wasted spark). I'm guessing that the Q only fires on the compression stroke so the tach is reading twice the actual rpm. Maybe there's a device out there that can cut the number of tach pulses in half?

Me too. I do wish that the video creator would allow the bike sounds drown out the music when they're running on the track. At least they didn't pick annoying music like so many other bike videos on the web seem to have.

Welcome Night Rider! Sorry to hear you V11 is giving you a hard time. I'm no electrical expert but I suggest that you put a volt meter on the battery leads (which are clean & tight, right?) and check for proper charging. You should see about at least 12.5 volts with the key off, 13v at 1200rpm and 14-14.5 volts above 2500 rpm. If that's OK you might want to check the regulator connections to verify that they aren't corroded or loose. Since you think it could be an intermittent charging problem installing a volt meter would help you figure it out. If the poor running when hot isn't an electrical problem check the rubber intake boots for air leaks. Also consider doing a valve adjustment/TB sync/TPS check if they haven't been done in the past 5k miles. Good luck.

Yup. My bike got a little louder when I added an FBF crossover to the MG Ti exhaust system that was already on the bike. It accomplished what I wanted, more grunt, so the slight noise increase was worth it to me. I think Greg Field posted a crossover comparison a few years back that probably has comments on changes in noise and performance.

Somehow "one of the world’s most ordinary Moto Guzzi experts" just doesn't sound right Pete. Ordinary Guzzi experts don't fly around the world fixing bikes for free either. I should have taken you up on your offer to tweak my LeMans at the Heath Rally last year but you looked like you needed a beer more than you needed to muck with yet another Guzzi. I'm just glad that I got to have a cold one with you Back on topic...that is a damn good looking bike. Kudos to the builder. Yours is nice too Guzzirider!

I'm with you 100% on this ScuRoo. If Guzzi built a bike exactly like that Motus I would be first in line at the dealer to try one. If it worked as well as the rider in that video claims it does it would be the first bike in my lifetime that I would buy new. The 8v Griso is the only bike currently offered by Guzzi that interests me in the least. A rorty sport tourer like that Motus would do it for me.

Here's a great looking LeMans cafe bike that probably goes like stink. http://www.bikeexif.com/moto-guzzi-le-mans#more-11927 "To extract every last ounce of performance and reliability, Matt had the top end, the gearbox and the clutch tweaked by local legend Peter Roper—one of the world’s foremost Moto Guzzi experts, who fortuitously lives a brisk half-hour ride away from Matt." Italian Motor Magazine is going to feature it in an upcoming issue too. http://italianmotor.blogspot.com/

Yup. You probably checked and adjusted at TDC on the exhaust stroke instead of the compression stroke. That would explain why they were so tight when you checked them. This time start looking for TDC just after the intake valve closes as you're turning the engine over.

This might be what you need: http://www.v11lemans.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=1399

Since I started this thread I'll try to finish it. I removed the starter and verified that all electrical connections were good. I took the starter completely apart and didn't find any problems at all. The brushes were good, magnets were good, and there were no loose or broken parts. As I was putting it back together I cracked the plastic brush holder . That part is available from EME as part of their "tuneup kit plus" but since I didn't find anything wrong with the starter before I screwed it up I decided that I didn't want to rebuild it only to have the same starting problems that I had to begin with so...I bought a new Valeo starter from EME. So far the bike turns over and starts every time I hit the starter button. Problem solved? I hope so.

I believe the smaller screw is an M6 that passes through the sidestand and a spacer before screwing into the case. Here's a diagram from the parts manual that should help. Unfortunately I can't tell you the length of the M6 screw or the thickness of the spacer but you should be able to work it out. More than a few people here have reported stripping the M6 threads in the case so don't be surprised if you need to install a helicoil there.

A common fix for what you are experiencing is to pull the gas tank and clean, lube, and tighten the bullet connectors on the left side of the frame. They connect the sidestand, clutch, and maybe the neutral switch to the starter circuit. At 50k you could have an ignition switch issue too but cleaning up the bullet connectors is a good place to start. I'm exhausted just thinking about trying to bumpstart a V11! That can't be fun.

It's a pressure switch Doc. I didn't completely remove it to get a look at the whole part because I didn't want to bother with bleeding the rear brake again, but it might be the same as this one that's used on a number of older Guzzis: MG Cycle gets $40 plus shipping for this one. MPH never responded to my request for a price so I ordered one from a dealer near my workplace. I've never done business with them but they seem to have a good reputation among the New England Guzzi guys. http://www.seacoastsport.com/

Almost $50 for a brake light switch seems a bit much to me but I ordered one anyway.

My rear brake light switch has packed it in. I jumped across the terminals and verified that the brake light works but the switch doesn't close the circuit. Anybody know if there's a replacement available from an autoparts store? I tried searching here but couldn't find any posts on this particular part.

My tank insulators were in the same shape. I was able to reuse them by holding each piece in place while the fast dry 3m spray adhesive set up. That said Jegs or Summit carry heat shielding sheet stock that should be similar to the factory stuff. http://www.jegs.com/p/Thermo-Tec/Thermo-Tec-Adhesive-Backed-Heat-Barrier/750869/10002/-1 The trick to getting the tank off without interference from the petcock and fuel pressure regulator is: - pull the bolt and lift the rear of the tank so it clears the tailpiece - slide the tank backwards as far as possible - lift the front of the tank a few inches so it clears the front mounting pads - slide the tank forward then lift straight up.

The Ace hardware grease gun tip is at the bottom of page 2. It's also available from McMaster-Carr: http://www.v11lemans.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=11020&hl=grease&st=15

Loose tank insulation partially blocking a lidless airbox would definitely fit with your symptoms, including the fouled plugs. $8 for a can of spray adhesive and an hour or two of your time could solve your problems.