Tom M

Hi Doc, FWIW TD recommended 1.1 Kg/mm springs for my approximately 240 lb geared up weight. They were awesome on big bumps but I thought they were a little too firm for normal riding, even with very little preload. I couldn't quite get the sags within range either so I called them and they offered to send me a pair of 1.0 springs to try at no charge. I asked them to just send me just one 1.0 to give me a 1.05 effective rate. That worked out great once I got the preload spacers right. Although they never asked for it I sent the extra 1.1 spring back to them. I found them an excellent company to deal with. I used 125/150 cartridge fluid (7.5 wt), wish I gone with straight 5 wt since I have very little compression damping dialed in and rebound is less than halfway in too. Any more compression and it feels a bit harsh. I'm thinking that 5 wt would make the ride a little plusher, not that it's bad now. I started out with 100mm oil height, have taken some out to increase travel, might go back in and take out more since I don't think I'm quite getting full travel yet. If I was to do it again I'd start at 105-110mm oil height. Also FWIW, I have a 1091-34 10.0 Nm spring on my rear Ohlins. I have no complaints, it seems right for my weight. It balances nicely with the 1.05 forks for me. Good luck with your suspension dialing! PS make sure you put the blue nuts on the right way at the right height. Somebody on this forum put them on upside down and his damping adjusters stopped working.

Hi Terry, The pictures show Cortech Sport soft pannier and tail bags that I mounted on top of the pillion seat cowl so that they would clear my high mounted exhaust cans. There's no mounting hardware, just 4 straps. The bags sit on thick soft neoprene pads included from Cortech. If I was going to ride with a passenger and luggage I would have to lower the mufflers and get a luggage rack because there wouldn't be enough room for the tail bag + passenger, not to mention the fact that a passenger would suffer greatly with the high mounted passenger pegs that are also the high mount muffler brackets. There are luggage systems for the LeMans available from Moto Guzzi (Tekno soft bags), Hepco-Becker hard bags, Ventura and others. Search the forum a bit and I'm sure you'll find examples of each. PS I don't think the V11 Guzzis are a good choice for 2 up touring if that's what you're thinking about, unless your passenger is quite small and flexible

That's exactly what my 02 was doing last year. I replaced the battery and it's been fine since.

I don't know who Crooz used but I used this place: http://www.headercoatings.com/ . Results can be seen in the picture thread here. They charged $20 per foot for their "performance chrome" finish that I got. After I had my pipes done I found out that a significant part of the cost is for polishing. In hindsight I should have asked if they would do more of a dull aluminum finish for less cost since I wasn't really looking for a polished finish anyway.

Thanks Rocker. I only posted this so my fellow high mount pipe types know that there's luggage out there that will work for them. I would have gone with HB bags (if I could find some) and lowered the cans if I was doing long trips like you do, because I beleive the HBs hold a lot more than the Cortechs, but since I only do a long weekend here & there the Cortechs seem like they'll do the trick.

I ended up getting the Cortech Sport bags for Father's Day from my wife & kids after I went to a local shop and verified that I could use them with my high mounted exhaust. I attached the saddlebags with the seat cowl in place so I could get plenty of clearance above the exhaust. I used them last week and they worked great. They were easy to mount and dismount, didn't move at all, didn't leave any marks, and I didn't even know they were there when riding. Getting on & off the bike might be a little tricky if you are well under 6' tall though. Here's a few pictures that show how much clearance I had above the exhaust:

Euro Moto Electrics came through with the rush order voltage regulator so I'm back on the road and headed for Laconia. A BIG thank you to Carl Allison, Gary Cheek, and all others who have posted some of their electrical wisdom on this board in the past. I'd be lost without the search function here. I especially thank Jaap for keeping this board going. Victor, if you're out there, I hope we cross paths in Laconia. I think I'll be at the racetrack on Saturday. Other than that I haven't a clue where I'll be.

Nice comparison Greg. Do you have a PCIII or something to change fueling when going from stock to aftermarket crossovers? My bike got lean with the FBF and airbox mod, I had to change PCIII maps.

Very cool! Thanks Søren.

Thanks Martin. Poor Teddy took quite a bashing throughout your ordeal Since no electrical gurus have chimed in and I have to get the bike back on the road by Friday I guess I'll order a new regulator from these guys and see if they can rush it to me http://www.euromotoelectrics.com $129 for the Ducati part isn't so bad compared to the $40 I just paid for the stupid neutral switch

I got the dreaded battery light when I pulled in from a ride last night. Put a volt meter on it, saw 12.4vdc at idle, no increase when I revved the motor. I saw 12.8v with engine off. I pulled the fairing and checked all connections and fuses, everything was good, no melting or corrosion at all. Disconnected the regulator and checked the alternator output, it was something like 48vAC and increased with revs. I pulled the tank and looked for damaged wires, saw nothing. I think this means my regulator is trash, right? I checked the resistance between the 2 yellow wires and saw .2 ohms which I think is good. I didn't see any other tests else mentioned in the threads that I read. Are there any other tests that I can do to verify that the regulator is bad? If it is the regulator do you recommend the stock Ducati replacement or the Electrosport? TIA

I just checked my "Moto Guzzi Titanio Kit" labeled ECU. No part number at all, just "02" written on the back with a sharpie Glad to hear that the shop got your bike running better Witch City...

"A sunny day on a motorcycle in Tuscany...does not suck" would be my sig line on this board, if only I had been the one riding my Moto Guzzi through Tuscany.

There's an MG tank bag in the classifieds right now: http://www.v11lemans.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=11501 I don't know about a laptop, but I can verify that the MG bag will hold a 12 pack of Harpoon IPA bottled beer when expanded

Nicely done Orson Kudos to you for your fantastic italy trip report too. " A sunny day on a motorcycle in Tuscany...does not suck." http://www.v11lemans.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=10819

I read somewhwere on the web (here?) that their are 2 different part numbers for the Ti kits, one for '02 and earlier bikes and one for the later bikes with the front crossover. Maybe you got the wrong one for your '04? Hopefully someone with the real info or a Guzzi accessories catalog will chime in. I'll post the part number for my '02 Ti ECU sometime soon so you can see if the part numbers are the same.

Great pictures! You live in a beautiful country mdude. Nice Centauro too. FWIW I saw a Centauro just like yours with a V11 LeMans fairing at an Italian bike show last year. Check it out... http://img246.imageshack.us/my.php?image=imoc06048qo2.jpg

If I were you I'd just ride it for a while longer and see if it gets better or worse. If it's still binding after 1000 miles or so you might want to pull the shifter plate off and see if you can figure out whats wrong. That would be a good time to check the shifter spring and boss too.

This German company makes some interesting (to me) tail bags that look like they would clear my high mounted pipes. http://bags-connection.de/hecktaschen/ I found a US distributor but can't find any reviews of their tailbags on the web. http://www.twistedthrottle.com/trade/productview/916 Do any of you have any experience with this luggage, or know of anyone who does? TIA

Yes it looked a bit Starsky and Hutch but in 1977 when I was 19 years old it was a VERY cool car. I couldn't see myself driving one very often now but it would be worth quite a bit of $$ these days.

I'm with you on this Gargoyle. The coolest car that I ever owned was orange. Just like this but it had a 383 instead of a hemi and no wings. Air grabber, pistol grip, strobe stripe, etc. Wish I never sold it...

Thanks for the suggestions guys. Richard, thanks for the tip on the discount N-R stuff at Dennis Kirk. Nose2wind, I think you're right in that I could probably get away with just a tail bag along with my tank bag. I just need enough room for about 3 days worth of clothes plus raingear. I've been digging around a bit and the Revpack tour, Revpack jr, and Wolfman Beta bags are all starting to look good. Martin, I'm afraid the Ventura system is more money than I want to spend right now. If I was going to tour like a lot of you guys do I think that's the way I'd go though. Please keep the suggestions coming!

My guess is the shifter linkage needs to be lubed.

I might be in the market for some luggage for the LM. I already have the MG tank bag (love it), thinking about getting saddle bags and tail bag. I don't think I'll use them much so I don't want to buy hard bag$, but I'm leery of fouling up the paint with soft bags. I had a pair of Cortech soft bags on my old Honda which were very well made and very secure when strapped in place, so I'm leaning toward the Cortech sport bag setup even though capacity doesn't look too great. http://www.newenoughhp.com/browse/view_product_images/158 Nelson Rigg looks like they have a similar set but with higher capacity. Anybody here have any experience with their stuff? http://www.newenoughhp.com/browse/view_product_images/1126 Another complication is I have MG Ti exhaust mounted in the high position, so clearance might be an issue if I don't change the to the low mounts or rig something to raise the saddlebags. Oh yeah, just me on the bike, no passenger concerns. Any opinions, suggestions, and/or experience would be greatly appreciated.

My FBF crossover and MG Ti cans line up just fine in the high position. I never tried the low position so i can't vouch for how well they line up like that. You probably already know this but be aware that the pipes between the crossover and the mufflers aren't interchangeable, the right side has more of a bend to clear the driveshaft. Get 'em reversed and the cans won't line up. Not that this helps anything but here are some pics of the stock crossover compared to the FBF (with added hanger)