Mike Stewart

Todd, Not sure if I can make it or not. I fractured my pelvic last week, I will know more tomorrow after the cat scan. I know I won't be able to ride, I may drive down. It all depends on how much pain I am having in the next few weeks and how well I can walk. Mike

I usually can take pain, but this pain is very sharp and gives no warning signs. Just a movement a fraction of an inch. of my legs sends me screaming. It is hard to tell now if my back is out of alignment and having a nerve pinch when I move (very sharp pain) I have a doctors appointment today, hopefully the pain issues can somewhat be resolved. The prescription right now is 2 5MG Oxycodone W/APAP every 4 hours and 600MG of Ibuprofen every 4 hours. This takes away the daily aches and pains, but does not get close for handling the sharp pains that I am getting. Mike

Very Cool, Boy Bob looks young there! Mike

Whart, My wife is up on the medical thing,she contacted my doctor and he also said to take an asprin a day to combat blood clotting. The xrays I saw at the ER were not the greatest, they even had to run me back in to have more pictures taken when I could not walk after they releasted me. From I have read, there is not much that can be done with a broken pelvis, it just takes time. Thanks, Mike

David, I don't like being under the sharp end of the knife either. I will be going to get a second opionion next week if improvement doesn't start to happen, perhaps a CAT scan is in order also. It is hard to tell if the pain I am getting is from other muscle pulls from tumbling down the straight (at age 48, I am not as flexible as I used to be). This is day three after the spill and I have heard the 2nd and third day are the most painfull after an accident. I am already thinking about the weight gain and also about doing some streaching and light workouts that don't require the pelvic region. I seem to forget that I am injured until I try to stand and take a step. A sharp pain screams out from the pelvic region and puts me back into my chair. Anyway, I will most likely speed a good portion of my time on this site during recovery. Mike

Paul, Janice did well, I waited till I knew the results at the hospital before I called her. She is a registered nurse by trade and the not knowing part would be the hardest for her to get over. She knows bikes go down and has not been negative at all with me doing track days when I heal up. I was lucky to have three friends at the track that packed up my bike and assorted track day gear back into my truck (along with my newly scuffed up Tamada Suomy helmet, GP leathers and Sidi boots) and also give me a ride home and not to mention, carry me into the house! Mike

Hey Guys, Ok, here it goes. I have been doing the track day thing the last month. I purchased a Kawasaki ZX6R solely for this purpose. The Rosso and Ghezzi-Brian are just too nice to beat up on at the track. So, I did a two day intermediate track class at Thunderhill raceway in California. 2nd day, the bike is working great with the stock Bridgestone 014. Never had a slip out of them, very predictable, love them... The next session the class was to practice two race starts and then do a three lap sprint (Cool). The first start I was in the top 1/2 of the class around turn 1. The second start I was third coming out of turn 1. Now for the three lap sprint. I was positioned toward the outside of the 3rd row and by the time I came out of the 1st turn I was in the front half of the pack. http://gotbluemilk.com/web050921/race2/index.html (I'm the green Kawi #87) The pack was thining out after the first lap, the Kawi was doing fine and I moved up to 9th position. This is where it got weird. At thunderhill there is a small S turn, I hit turn 12 which is a right turn and then leaned left for turn 13, I accelerated out of turn 13 at the apex while looking down the back straight, everything was going as planned, I hear the engine rpm go up, next thing I know, I see my green bike and then pavement and tumble and slide forever (ended up about 150 feet away from my bike). I just layed there in pain. I move my fingers and then arms, wiggle my toes and they move. It felt like the air was knocked out of me but I was breathing ok. By now the course workers were there aswell as the ambulance. They rechecked my movement of fingers, arms and feet and legs and then had me sit up to remove my helmet and gloves. They stood me up to see if I could stand, I did and was able to walk to the ambulance for the short ride to the medical office at the track. Once at the office, I could stand, but could not walk. I could not take any weight off either one of my feet to take a step. I was helped into the tracks medical office and where they took my vitals and started an IV. I was then moved by another ambulance and taken to the local hospital where I spent 4 hours getting xrayed. The pelvic pictures came out negitive and they said I was clear to go, I still could not walk and the doctor ordered another set of pictures. They found a fracture in the pelvis and said it would take 4 to 6 weeks for it to heal. My question is, has anyone else had a fracture pelvis? How long till you can take the first walking steps? How much pain did you have? What to do when your back also goes out of alignment and causes you great pain from a pinched nerve. I can only sleep on my back at the moment, if I twist my legs with out twisting my hips, a sharp pain from my pelvic hits me (not a fun thing at all). Even with the meds I have for the pain, it is still quite sharp. Thanks all, Mike

You mean like this: , This has been around for years, the stock LM1 fairing will not fit with out major work. Been there, done that. Mike

Well, the first picture is of my V sump on my V11 Sport. Yes it does work, it does make your bike lighter. The best avantage is that the bike does not starve for oil on hard turns and when braking. No worries about seeing the oil light when braking. $500 dollars is steep, but I think it is well worth it! Mike

Boy, this is a though one! I had a 94 R1100RSL and I thought this was my last bike!. Not!...... I purchased a V11 Sport and now I am SOLD on the Guzzi. I can't explane it, but, the BMW is perfect except where the V twin comes into play. The BMW has no SOUL!, the Guzzi DOES PERIOD. Yes it does vibrate through the bars, but it is blessfull and a few thousand miles will keep the grin on your face ! Yes, they are not bulletproof, but you will love the V twin feel if you give it a chance. Mike

Ditto, What Carl said! Mike

Tiny, Looking Good! Mike

I heard that the front entrance of Laguna Seca is closed to cars/bikes and only buses can use it. The other two rear entrances to the parking lots are for the cars and bikes. Also, all the motorcycle parking was sold out which means you will have to park in the dirt (maybe on some hill). I might just catch a bus from my hotel and take the easy way out (no helmet or leathers to drag around all day). Anyone hear anything different? Mike

Joe, I just happen to have a pair of K&N pods with a long runner, like Al R's setup. I never got around to using them, if interested, you know where to find me . Mike

The sparkplug gap pays no attention to the valve specs. It has to do with compression ratio and how much the ignition coils can put out. Stick with the factory spec. of .028 (twentyeight thou.). Mike

I think Todd tried it and it was going to be too much work. The driveshaft exits in a different location so alot of modification needs to be done to make it work. Also the final drive ratio is different. I do have a 6 speed transmission if you need one. Mike

The best my Guzzi's have ever run is when it is cold and damp/foggy out. Seems like the bike is in harmony, humm, maybe the rider is in harmony . Yes, most machinery likes it when the air temp is cool and has some moisture in it. I guess it is cooling the air intake charge and making it run better or is it just bringing the air cooled engine down in temp to make a better seal between piston and cylinder. , now my head hurts Mike

Well, it looks like I will be missing this one as well. I have plans to meet some other friends for breakfast. My wife will be riding her new Ducati S2R! . I will be up for a ride with you all soon. The Ghezzi-Brian with it's smallish tank is only good for 100 miles from station to station . I have already ran out of gas once . Have fun guys, I know I would. Mike

Mike

Yep, yep and yep, you forgot to mention that the turn in is way better too Mike

Just a thought, Pull the fuel tank up and make sure the air box air temp sensor is plugged in. Also, check the same at the temp sender in the right cylinder head. The sensor resistance change with temperture, that is why jrt had the chart. Now if I could just read it . David is also correct about the high fuel pressure causing this problem. So you now have a few more things you can check. And, if the sensors are ok, there still could be a problem with a wire being open or shorted from the sensors to the ecu and there could also be a ecu problem also. I wish you lived closer so you could borrow some parts to try out.. Good luck, Mike

I am still a fan of the Pirelli Diablo Corsas, used them on the last track day on the Ghezzi-Brian and the bike felt great! The temperture was in the mid 90's the first day and it hit over 100 degrees on the second day. The tires held out better than me. Never slipped, always predictable. What is weird is, my buddy was on his new Ducati 999 and it had the Michelin Sport (?) tires and his tires were melting off after the first few laps. He was right in front of me and we were going the same speed etc. My tires just barely showed some signs of this. I do agree, I would like to try out the Michelin Powers the next time around to do a comparison of my own. Mike

David, After seeing this unused attachment point on my spine frame, I would think just by adding the brace would stiffen up the whole works. It would be added support for the transmission and also help the spine from flexing (twisting) in hard cornering. I would go for it! Mike

Ratchet, I think the ticket would be to run a 1/2 reemer throught the whole works to make everything perfectly straight and this would also make a perfect 1/2 hole (.500 "). We are only talking 1 mm. larger than the original bolt. You could then have a precision machined (ground) rod and have theads rolled into them ( I would go with a fine thread for more threads per inch). This should cure your problem of bolt stretch and make things very rigid in the frame/trans area. If you would like to have my virgin bolt (well just used once), send me a PM and I will ship it out to you. Just a thought, Mike

Rachet, This stud had some torque on it when I removed it from my V11 Sport. It has a 12mm diameter and should be able to be torque to at least 36 or so foot lbs (most likely more). Mine too made a snap noise when the nut broke loose. Are you threads free of oil when it is torqued? Mike