Mike Stewart

Thanks KB, I completely forgot that the early bikes also had linked brakes , So now I need to figure another solution. Mike

I think you are lean. When I put Mistrals on my 03 Rosso, the bike ran badly. The PCIII was the only way to correct the problems. Of course this is in the old good USA, which has no O2 sensors. Mike

It will be about another month till she gets on the road. I still have alot of little things to figure out. What I have learned about the Tonti framed bikes is that no matter what year you may have, many parts are interchangeable. This 2000 Jackal now has a 1991 fuel tank from a 1000S, a Bub exhaust system from a 1978 Lemans 1, Agonstini Lemans 1 rearsets, Lemans 1 lower frame rails, V7 side stand. The only problem area is the rear brake master cylinder which has an adaptor plate to mount the larger newer master cylinder. I will have to relocate the mastercylinder or go to an early style master cylinder and hope the bore size will work with the later rear brake caliper. Oh yeah, I need to make a battery box to relocate it under the bike for a lower center of gravity. Mike

Tim, This is what the Jackal looks like now And now you guys know what I have been doing with my spare time. Mike

Well Tim, If you got the time, I got the welder Looks like just the headlamp and brackets need to be removed inorder to get to the steering stop. Mike

MG Cycles is a great place to deal with! Mike

Try MG Cycles! http://mgcycle.com/main.html , They usually carry them. I have purchased two of them my self. Good luck, Mike

I guess it depends on your passenger height. My wife is 5"3" and I have done 500+ mile days riding two up with luggage. While not as comfortable as my BMW R1100RSL due to a slightly more cramped riding position, we can do as many miles. By the way, I sold my BMW. Mike

David, The metal jacket is to help keep the battery plates squezzed together and is a must for high tempertures (expansion) or heavy vibration. Many Harleys had battery failures due to the vibration jarring the plates loose in the battery. My 2000 V11 Sport battery just took a sh%t , so now it is time for an Odyssey. You can buy them on ebay all week long for about $50.00 and with a two year warrantee! They say the stock batterys are a gel type and do not leak. My V11 Sport has a white fungus that is coming from the battery and has leaked onto the battery holder. Time to neutralize it and finally make a new battery holder that sits abit lower toward the shock. Mike

Cool, That is just on the other side of the Grape Vine for us in Northern California. I hope to be there! Mike

Al, Are these a drop in design (same diameter and weight of the stock pistons) or does the engine need to be rebalanced? And does Mike have any infomation on any horsepower increases with just the piston change? Thanks, Mike

I think your best bet would be going on ebay and look for a Ducati Monster headlamp. It uses the same glass and trim ring, the housing is recessed to allow more room for the speedo cable. They usually go for $125.00 and up. I have also heard the the buell is the same but have not had my hands on one. I dont know of anyone having the headlamp mounts, the dealer might be your only option. Good luck, Mike

- I'm thinking about just buying a buffer/polisher. Anyone have any ideas of a good/but-not-too-expensive tool? I have polishing equipment, the problem with the Guzzi valve covers is that the paing they use is very hard. No paint stripper I had would soften the paint. After many tries, I sent the valve covers to Orrin. A few days after he had received them he emailed me and told me that his aircraft paint stripper wouldn't touch the paint on the valve covers. He had to hand sand the valve covers down so he could polish them. To me, I saved a bunch of money and time by shipping the valve covers out to be polished. Mike

Yep, Been there myself. You need to raise the fuel tank up (a 2 by 4 works well under the fuel tank to help prop it up) and trace the clutch switch wire harness to the connector. This will be about where the coils are mounted. Clip the two wires on the main harness side (I hate connections) and strip the insulation 1/2 inch. off the ends and either solder or use a crimp connector to connect the two wires together. I have also done this to my sidestand switch. Have fun, Mike

Check out this post on valve cover polishing. I had my valve covers polished and they came out great. This is where I had them done at. http://www.v11lemans.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=2362&hl= Good luck, Mike

Steve, I have a 550 lb spring for the Sach shock if you need one. It was too stiff for my 200 lb weight but it will work well for yours. Mike

So I think you want to make your Lemans into a naked Sport? The Ducati Monster headlamp can be a direct replacement for the V11 Sport headlamp. It has a different shaped housing, but that is a plus for the speedo cable routing. The Buell headlamp is suppost to be the same size also, but I have not compared them side by side. You will also need the Guzzi V11 Sport headlamp brackets to mount the headlamp. Mike

Cut the side stand bumper down and then check the rear suspension sag and tighten er up if the sag is too much. I hardly ground the side stand after this was done. Also, with a 160 width tire, the sidestand will rub sooner. This is due to a more narrow tire. Mike

I once had a strange problem with my 94 BMW R1100 RSL after its first service. The fluids were replaced with BMW synthetic oils. After riding the bike for a tank full of gas in hot weather at freeway speeds, the bike would get stuck in 5th gear. I would really have to bash down on the shifter to get it to come out of 5th (usually when at a stop by now). Now this only happened when you did long jaunts at freeway speeds in hot weather. I had the bike back at the dealer many times for this condition and the dealer always came up with nothing, they drained the transmission and looked for metal etc. Still no problem found. Anyway, when I had the next service preformed (at another dealer), they filled the transmission with Moto Guzzi trans oil which has the moly added. Presto, no more sticking in 5th gear! Why would moly help you ask? I think the moly acts as a dry lubricant as well and coats the shifting componets which was most likely causing my issues in the BMW trans. Synthetic oil is great stuff, but I have learned my lesson about adding moly. Mike

Yeap, and just add some moly Mike

I think Guzzi Dealers are stuck between a rock and a hard spot. First, the bikes do not sell as fast as other brands. They stay on the floor for long periods of time and cost the dealer flooring each month. Then Guzzi dumps bikes to certain dealers for cheaper than what other dealers buy the bike for in the first place. Then these dealers sell these bikes for way under list while the other poor dealers take it in the shorts trying to sell their more expensive product. This usually means that they loose money on the bike. This doesn't mean the dealer has to be an ass, but it is true that the dealer needs to call MG for an claim before any work is done under warrantee. If the dealer goes and repairs the bike before the OK, the claim can be rejected and the dealer is out of cash for the repair and parts. If there is a place to bitch, I would start at the top with MG because they are the ones that tell the dealers how they want the repairs to be done. There are ways around this for the dealers but it involves being really dishonest (fraud) and pulling the wool over Guzzi on every warrantee repair. This is a bummer but the dealers need to keep the customers happy and make Guzzi pay for their mistakes. Just another view, Mike

There is not too much clamping area under the triple clamps on the 02 and newer bikes. I had to machine a shim for the fork step down in order to get enough clamping area. This is on the Ohlins fork, I do not know if the Zokes are the same. Mike

Al, Give me your address again, and I will try to make it by. Now with Jaap coming to town Tuesday, I need to see if I can make both events. Mike

Other situations too? Humm, don't let my wife see this! Mike

For dropping weight of the bike, why not start with the big, larger bolts such as the wheel axles. I would love to have someone make me a titanium front and rear axle for my bikes or even a hollowed one made out of a higher grade steel. Of course this would only apply to the older models with the solid front axle. But honestly, the best bang from the buck would be going to a lighter set of wheels. You can save 12 to 13 lbs. of rotating weight by going to a set of Dymag wheels. I will let you do the math on what the ounce per dollar cost. Tires also have different weights. The Dunlap's I installed felt like they weighed pounds heaver than the Metzeler's that I was replacing them with. The next place would be all the engine fasteners that hold on the sump, valve covers and front cover. This would be costly with titanium but you could save about 1/2 pound. The little 5-6mm. bolts made of aluminum will save weight but add up slowly in the weight saving department. Yes, I have been a weight junkie on my bicycles and the best place to start loosing weight is on your own bod. Well, I still like a light bike. Mike