Tom M

Go HERE and scroll down to the photos section to see some neat old stuff including this grass track Guzzi hack. "Ivar de Gier sent me these photos of a Moto Guzzi grass-track outfit. Ivar told me : the grasstrack sidecar racer was built in the beginning of the seventies by Dutchman (later he moved to Norway) Maarten Mager. The engine was tuned with the help of the Guzzi factory, and the combination won a string of grass track races throughout the beginning of the seventies in both Scandinavia and Holland. "

The Nero looks great and has nice Ohlins at both ends. You could paint your bike and add Ohlins suspension front & rear, and would have essentially the same bike, but good luck finding the parts. No I won't sell you my Ohlins shock . I think a factory special bike like the Nero will always be worth more than a LeMans that's been modded up by an owner too. On the other hand, you know if your bike has or hasn't ever blinked it's oil light on a hard take off. That's an unknown on a used bike. Also, the header pipes on Sparky's bike are darker than any that I've ever seen. Is that due to heat? Has it been running really lean? That's a question for someone other than me... If you decide to go for it the Ti pipes will switch over no problem. I think the ECU's should stay matched with the header pipes. Here's a link to Sparky's Nero picture. I don't think I've ever seen header pipes so dark. http://www.v11lemans.com/forums/index.php?...ost&id=7688

Hey Ouiji, Is this you???

I tried a few different grease gun tips and hoses and finally found a combination that reaches the front u-joint zerk without needing to remove the swingarm or disconnect the shock, although I did remove the rear wheel and bevel box. Someone else here recommended this fitting in another thread but since I can't find that thread now I'll add it here. It's available at ACE hardware stores. http://www.acehardware.com/product/index.j...hId=22788313823 I connected it to my grease gun with a 1/8" npt union from the plumbing section there. I'm also replacing rear wheel bearings (left side is notchy) and servicing the cush drive while I'm at it. Luckily my cush drive retaining screws came out OK after a few shots from an impact driver, but I'll be replacing them with stainless screws to avoid the corrosion problems that others have had. FYI the screws are M6 x 20mm long button head. I ordered them along with some other stuff from McMaster-Carr, $7.74 for a box of 25. Part number 92095A240. I'll be bleeding the clutch too since I find access to the bleeder best with the rear wheel out. Hope this helps edit: I got the wheel bearings from McMaster too. Part number 6661K105. They are SKF 6204-2RSH/C3 GJM (made in Argentina). $10.85 ea. The grease gun fitting is available from them too. 1090K47.

I didn't get the email but there is a post from Jaap in the "Motha" section warning us that we're all on probation. I'd hate to see this fantastic site go away because Jaap is sick of the hassle of running it. Now might be a good time for some of you site regulars who aren't Goldmembers to step up to the plate and send Jaap a donation. It's been a year since I donated so I'm due again!

This is what I'm talking about: http://www.mobiloil.com/USA-English/MotorO...win_20W-50.aspx It contains ZDDP according to their MSDS which I've read is beneficial for flat tappet engines like ours. Automotive 15-50 Mobil 1 no longer has any ZDDP in it per their MSDS here: http://www.mobiloil.com/USA-English/MotorO..._1_15W-50_.aspx I don't see a 15-50 diesel oil on the Mobil 1 site Antonio, just 5-40.

If you go with Mobil 1 make sure it's their V twin product which has more ZDDP that their auto oil. Lack of ZDDP will decrease cam life. Do a search here for ZDDP to see why this is important. At those temps I'd run Shell synthetic Rotella 5-40. Nice and cheap a Wally world and adequate ZDDP (I think). Let me have it boys...

Those are really nice LD! The guy who made them really knew what he was doing. They're very similar to the ones shown here, but I think yours look a lot better with the 2 bolt pinch clamp instead of 4 bolts. I was thinking of having a set like that made but I seriously doubt those could be reproduced for less money than Twisted Throttle is asking for theirs. Swapping the stock mounts around to get the bars closer to the rider is clever too.

It sounds to me like you may have mixed up the two stub pipes from the ti kit. If you look at them closely you will see that they aren't the same. The right side pipe has more offset to clear the driveshaft. Of course Let's see those works of ART!

Thanks for the info Dan, and congrat's on making your bike as fast as your bud's S2R! I thought a custom map would be mandatory when you install high comp pistons. Not needing to do that would help keep the initial cost of that upgrade down. Hmmm. On what shelf did you find the map you're using? I'd really like to hear if somebody out there cured a pinging problem by installing the MR pistons. More power from a piston swap would just be a bonus for me. FWIW I went back to the stock ECU after I added the crossover and drilled the airbox because I couldn't find a map for the Ti ECU with my other mods. The custom map that I had for the Ti ECU was definitely lean after the intake and exhaust changes. My seat of the pants (there it is again ) comparison between the two is the stock ECU is stronger and smoother from low end to midrange but the Ti ECU seemed to pull a bit harder from 5k to redline.

Thanks for the great input guys! I should have mentioned that I did do a de-carbon procedure and it didn't help. I wonder why my bike pings at 5k when others have problems at 3k? Anyway, it looks like I have a few solutions here that I can try when I get the bike back on the road. From easiest to harde$t: 1. Add octane booster 2. Add fuel with PCIII (even though I don't think it's lean there based on the A/F chart that was done with the custom map by the previous owner) 3. Install Mike Rich pistons? 4. Have head and/or barrel machined to adjust squish band. This is beyond my capability but I'd be willing go this route if there was a local shop who knew how to do this for a reasonable amount of money. Guzzimoto, How happy are you with the machine work that you had done? Were you setting your bike up for street or track?

My bike sometimes pings from about 4900 to 5100 rpm under load in higher gears above half throttle. It's not a big deal, I can ride around the problem (downshift to pass on the highway), but I wonder if this could be completely cured? FWIW I run the 93 octane gas as that's the highest available in my area. Background: When I first bought the bike the it had a custom PCIII map done for the bike with the following setup: Ti ECU, MG Ti exhaust, stock crossover, K&N air filter. It pinged very badly at 5k with this setup. Once I manually tweaked the map in the problem area it got a lot better but the problem did not completely go away. My present bike setup is stock '02 ECU, MG Ti exhaust, Ferracci crossover, K&N air filter, Phil A airbox mod, PCIII with downloaded map from a fellow board member who has essentially same bike setup. The guy who sent me the map reported no pinging at all on California pump gas which I believe is the same formulation as the gas we get here in Massachusetts. The bike runs great except for the aforementioned pinging. I haven't tried richening up the map in the ping zone yet, but it is richer than stock there now. I'll give this a shot when I get back on the road. In some ping discussions I remember reading on this board I believe it was said that the squish band and the piston crown have a lot to do with detonation. Some folks who went to FBF high compression pistons reported more pinging, some reported none. I don't recall ever seeing a Mike Rich high comp piston buyer ever mentioning pinging one way or the other. So after all that I guess my questions are... Has anyone got rid of a pinging problem by installing aftermarket pistons? FBF, MR, or other? Has anyone got rid of a pinging problem by machining the cylinder or head to adjust the squish band?

Not Holger Aue, but more Guzzi humor. I don't need to know french to figure this one out

from here. I don't know what it says but I like the picture

I stripped and repainted my engine with Harley TEXTURE paint while it was still in the frame, it looks great. See here: http://www.v11lemans.com/forums/index.php?...&hl=texture

Please let me know if you have a good sidestand switch for a V11 Lemans or Sport that you don't need for a reasonable price.

You don't need a different map to go back to stock, just unplug the PCIII. If for some reason you want to keep it plugged in you could easily create a "zero map" with the Power Commander software which you need to load a new map anyway.

That's terrible news Foxy! Did the oil pressure light come on before the motor quit? I think a few guys who had similar problems (most due to the oil filter unscrewing itself?) were lucky enough to clean up the crank journals and throw in a new set of bearings. A search on Pete Roper's posts should turn up some good information for you. edit: I checked some of your old posts and I see you crashed this bike shortly after you bought it. Do you know if the motor ran for very long while the bike was on its side? If so maybe the oil pickup gulped some air and that's what did your bearings in. Again, sorry for your misfortune

Dimitris, Here's a picture of the hose clamp installed on the oil filter so it won't unscrew. The picture was taken from Greg Fields Roper plate installation procedure in the how-to section here. Luhbo, When I tried to change my oil filter through the manhole cover last year the UFI filter was so tight that Guzzi filter wrench just spun on the flats without loosening it, deforming the bottom of the filter. I had to drop the sump and put a strap wrench on the filter to get it off. I believe that any mechanic who tried to change a hose clamped filter without knowing the clamp was there would just deform the bottom of the filter, drop the sump, find the hose clamp and charge you double . No real harm would be done except to your wallet, which you would deserve for not changing your own damn oil and filter

Hi Ralph, You probably already know this but here are the part numbers for the Buell mirrors that fit the LeMans. The extended version is from the 01-02 Firebolt. I don't know which model used the short stalk mirrors, or if the boots are available separately. I think a trip to the Buell parts counter might be your best bet for a new boot. The entire mirror assemblies were about $25 each a couple years ago. Buell part numbers for extended mirrors to fit LeMans: N0161-2A8 (left side) N0162-2A8 (right side) Buell part number for standard LeMans mirrors (note the zero in front of the 2): N0161-02A8 (left side) N0162-02A8 (right side)

Pre-buyout Belstaff stuff is still available at here, including the old waxed cotton Trialmaster. FWIW I have a five year old Belstaff Zodiac jacket that's held up well except for some sun fading.

I replaced some rubber trim on my LM fairing with some neoprene edge protector from McMaster-Carr . Type "edge protector" in their search box and you should be able to find a profile that will closely match the factory stuff. Here's another option: http://www.saeng.com/4000.htm . Some reviews I've seen on the web say this stuff works, others say it's useless Maybe a search here would turn up some first hand knowledge? Happy Holidays to you too!

I seized a few 2 strokes due to too lean or partially clogged main jets. I never heard of one seizing from being too rich

You're right on the rear spring Dave, my bad!