Mike Stewart

I just saw this conversion on Ebay. Will it work with the Ohlins Road and Track forks? Looks like it would be worth while! http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAP...2482892582&rd=1 Mike

View from the seat.

This bike had the 180 rear tire and I believe a 6 inch. rim. The clearence was tight in the rear. Look at the angle of the drive shaft.

Nice Wheels!

And another, Nice detail!

Humm, I would buy the Ghezzi-Brian like the one in the picture. Looks sweet! and it should be very reliable. The Aprilia Mille is cool, but the Ghezzi-Brian is super cool! Now if I could get one registered in California. This bike is a 03 and was at the San Diego Rally last year. Mike

I thought the same as you about the rear rack looking ugly. I ran my 03 Rosso with out the rear rack for a few thousand miles with just the 30 liter bags. No problems (had some flex), then I purchased a set of 40 liter bags and the racks do vibrate alot. So I ended up installing the rear rack and it does stiffen the rack up quite a bit. The flex in the rack would in my opion cause a failure in the rack itself over time. With the bags on the bike the rack is not noticeable. I am thinking of a way to remove the rack easily when it is not in use. But I really like the rear rack for it makes a great place to put the helmet when fueling up. Mike

A tire repair kit, this includes tire plugs, plug tool, CO 2's to refill the tire. I always carry one on longer rides, but have not needed to use it. Now if I did not have it with me, I would of had many of flats. And as bshpilot says, a credit card and cell phone are a must. Mike

Sometimes my bike will not go into gear and I have to put it into gear using the BMW way. With the clutch in, put slight downward pressure on the shifter lever to first gear while slowly letting out the clutch. The clunk will tell you when it falls into gear. Mike

Seanc, What year bike do you have? For the dying problem at stops when hot, check your valve adjustment FIRST! I would go to the looser valve adjustment specs. of .008" intake and .010 exhaust. These are way looser than stock and will make your bike idle much stronger. Also after you adjust the valves, sync. your throttle bodys and then set your idle to spec. Now for your surge condition, everytime you modify the intake or exhaust of the engine, you will need to have a new map for the ECU. There is a debate on which way to do this, but to me it is easiest accomplished by installing a Powercommander (PCIII). OK, on your rear brake issue, there have been a few things that can cause your problem..On my 03 Rosso, my brake lever was binding on its pivot and caused the rear brake to drag. The rear brake lever should move freely. If this is your problem, simply remove the rear brake lever and sand/file down the width to allow ample clearence. Good luck, Mike

cuz I can plug a tire ( tyre) on the side of the road & go on. Breaking one down & patching a tube is more than I want to do on the roadside. And what makes the wheel removal even harder, No center stand. Two thumbs up to tubeless! Also the tubeless tires will leak air more slowly thus giving ample time to figure out something is wrong while riding. A tube will let the air out quick and could cause a sudden suprise. The ride and weight difference of a tubeless wheel is also slightly better. Here is an article about going tubeless on wire wheels: http://www.motorcyclecruiser.com/tech/wheelseal/ And here is a place to make your wire wheels tubeless, they also do custom wheel building. http://www.wheel-works.com/ Mike

To keep the bags from sliding, you could put a length of rubber hose onto the bracket (you need to slice the rubber hose). I have done this from day one with these bags. I have also seen small clamps that can be attached to the bracket to keep the bags from sliding forward. You might be able to find something at the hardware store. I also do not have any clearence issues with the exhaust (carbon oval Mistrals). I have rode two up fully loaded for hundreds of miles and have not had a problem with the bags getting in the way. Hope this helps, Mike

Bruno, The Raceco specs. are .008" intake, .010" exhaust. The valve train will be slightly louder with these specs. but the bike will run much better in the lower rpm. range. Some owners split the difference between factory specs. and Raceco specs. and use .006" intake and .008" exhaust. The valves are so easy to adjust, I would start with the Raceco specs. first to see if it solves your stalling issue. Also, check your throttle body sync. after the valve adjustment. It tends to change if the valves were off. Good luck, Mike

Humm, My 00 V11Sport starts right up even when it sits for a month. But my 03 Rosso Corsa always takes at least two to three attemps to start before it stays running. I have no clue why this is. Is it a 02, 03 problem? Mike

Bill, What tires came on your Bike stock? My 03 Rosso came with Bridgestone 020 and I switched to the Metzeler Sportecs and the bike steered way quicker. I now use the Pirelli Diablo Corsas and love em! By going to down to a 170 width, you will loose some of the curved tire profile (tire will flatten out slightly). This would slow down the bikes steering. Also most 170 width tires are taller than the 180's. Let us know what tires you go with! Mike

Does your bike have the stock exhaust or does it have an aftermarket exhaust system? When I installed the Mistral exhaust on my 03 Rosso, the bike would cough and even die while riding. The only way to fix the lean condition was to install a PCIII. World of difference! thumbsup: I am a firm believer in the PCIII. Mike

Yep, they are LOUD! Just make sure you stay behind me. Mike

GGuzzi, What do you mean by starting problems? Does the bike crank over and not start? Or does the starter not spin? I had a problem with the clutch safety switch circuit and at times my 03 Rosso would not crank. I by passed the clutch switch at the connector under the fuel tank. There was a wire that was grounding on the coil pack. If it sounds like the problem I had, try turning your bars lock to lock while holding down the starter button. If it cranks, look for an open in the clutch safety switch wiring. Hope this helps, Mike

The Avon 45/46 tires look to have a less rounded profile than the Pirelli Diablo Corsa's. Looks really close to the Dunlop D220 that I am running. Only way to really find out is to try them. If anyone wants to donate money to the experiment, I am game. The Avon 45/46 is the tire I would like to try out on the 00 V11 Sport next. I still love the way the 03 Rosso feels with the Pirelli Diablo Corsa tires, it is like the bike is on rails. I have 3500 miles on them now and they are wearing very even in the rear. Of cource I also like the turns! The Metzeler Sportec M1 and Pirelli Diablo have the same tire profile as the Pirelli Diablo Corsa's. The only difference is the tire compounds. The Sportec M1 tire has always worked well for me, but the Diablo Corsa's feel slightly better. Again, I reccommend these tires for the 02 and newer bikes with the longer wheel base. Mike

Moto is correct! This is a quote from Todd Eagan (Guzzitech) This is for the Jackal, Stone, EV. 4. On the intake side of things... a modified airbox lid - see picture here - works as well in the low-to-mid then any seperate filters... No, it doesn't look as cool, but it's worth almost 5 hp/5 ft-lbs through the meat of the midrange over the stock airbox lid. Seperate filters? They finally caught the modded airbox near the rev-limiter, and did post a 1+ hp gain right before it popped the rev-limiter. *A noisy note: The "open-lid" airbox gives a near deafening honk at full throttle... as it probably tries to suck the paint off the bottom of the tank. It works, but don't say I didn't warn you. Cut away at the airbox lid, just simply leave the lower "rim" (with bolt holes) to hold the element down. We were in search of the best street-able combo. That said... the picks are: modified airbox with K&N/BMC or Foam filter. Stock headers (unless you want to spend the ducats on the Stucchi X-over headers for bonus points at the next rally), H-pipe crossover, and a decent set of aftermarket mufflers. I have modified my airbox top by taking it and running a pass through the band saw. Much more intake noise now, but the bike does run stronger. Mike

I met Gary Egan last month at the Ducati May Madness ride up in Weaverville. I have to admitt, he is a man of a different breed. He stopped and talked to me for awhile about the Avon 45/46 tires. Like the article states, if there was a better tire out there, he would be using them.. Many Ducati ST owners have switched over to the Avons and really like them. They are suppost to work well in the wet and the dry plus you will get some high mileage out of them. Gary also stated that what tire works for one person, may not work for someone else. It depends on your riding style. He also said that he could get 8000 miles out of the rear tire and riding style has an effect here also. Hard acceleration out of turns and braking hard causes the center of the tire to wear faster. I am planning to try these tires next after my Dunlops D220 wear out. At the May Madness event, I did walk away with an Avon hat, Tee shirt and tire depth gauge. Now I just need the tires! Mike

Jaap, The Oregon State Rally is on July 23rd and 24th. I do not know what type of turnout they have but it might be worth while to check it out. It is at the Silver Falls State Park. There is one very small chance that I will be there, but I kind of doubt it since I will be on my way back from Iowa on JRT Jackal. Good luck and maybe we could get together in the Bay Area for dinner or such. Mike

Should the stock Guzzi spring be used or one of the aftermarket ones that I have seen listed somewhere ? And does anyone have the part number so I can get one on order before I take my trans sidecover off? Thanks, Mike

So, is this still just a 2002 problem or should I carry arround the tools and spring anticipating that someday or sometime I am going to be stranded on my 03 Rosso? Thanks, Mike

I don't think there is a clutch adjustment except for the 4 way adjuster at the lever. On my 00 V11Sport, the clutch engagement point was like yours, way out even with the lever adjusted in the 4th position. What I did to correct this problem was to adjust the adjustment screw out about one turn on the lever itself. This screw is what pushes on the clutch master piston and is covered with a glue like substance. Just dig the glue out (make sure it is out of the screwdriver slot) and back it off till you get the right engagement point. There is a clip that only allows so much adjustment of this set screw, so be careful not to overcome the clip. Good luck, Mike