Mike Stewart

Humm, The higher idle speed is most likely due to the valve adjustment. If you opened up the valve adjustment spec. the bike will have a higher idle (300 rpm on my 00 V11 Sport). You will also notice that the bike has a stronger idle. I too have been using Mobil 1 in my 00 Sport for the last 20,000 miles! And use the moly additive as well. Mike

A good auto paint store should have what you are looking for. It is just a very sticky double backed tape. 3M may be your best bet but ask the salesperson which one works the best. It comes in different thicknesses so if the emblem back is recessed, go for a thicker double backed tape. If you use some type of glue, removal of the emblem will be very hard without doing any damage to the emblem or tank. With double backed tape, some heat and adhesive remover the emblem will just pull off. Good luck, Mike

Tim, I think I have a few screws for the muffler cover in my basement. You are welcome to them if you need them. Mike just over the hill

OK Northern Californians, Here we go again! The Doc Wong Guzzi Dinner is this coming up on Monday (May 10th) at 7 ish PM. Should be great weather and I expect to be there. Al, If you can make it there, I will clean your bike for you! Mike

You Da Man! Same grip I have used since day one on my V11 Sport. Mike

Jerroldt, The only noise my 03 Rosso had was a rattle noise that turned out to be from the front exhaust crossover. After I installed the Stuchi Xover, the noise was gone due to the more narrow Stuchi crossover (moved the header pipes in which pinched in the front crossover). Or you may have more noise from having a full fairing. My Rosso does have more engine noise than my 00 V11 Sport because of the fairing transmitting noise upward. On the oil leak you are having, neither my 00 Sport or my Rosso has any seep or leak from that area. Good luck, Mike

Al, I just removed the dang tip over valve on my 03 Rosso last night. The last few times I went into the garage, the tank was puckered in.. big time. It was even hard to open the fuel cap to release the vacuum. My valve was in the correct position but it would only take a very slight amount of vacuum to close off the valve. I removed the valve and the 3 inches of fuel hose and then just hooked up the fuel hose (over flow hose) to the right nipple. Now the fuel tank is vented like old school, no more tank suck to crack the paint. Mike

Docc, I took the picture of Carl's frame and drew a line in red where the 02 and newer frames are stiffened. The tubes that are higher and are welded by the steering dampener are not used on the newer bikes. How much this stiffens the front end is anyones guess. I'll have to leave the answer to Paul. Mike

The front crossover is pinched pretty tightly together ever since I installed the Stuchi crossover. So no luck on loosening the front crossover pipe. The Stuchi crossover is slightly more narrow than the stock crossover. The good news is, there is no front crossover rattle cold. I just finished checking the valve adjustments and they were right on. I ended up putting the trans in 6th gear and rotating the rear wheel (still a bitch). I watched the exhaust valve close and the intake valve open so I knew the compression stroke was coming up. Bumping it up slowly and then inserting a small screwdriver in the sparkplug hole, to find top dead center. Mike

I wanted to adjust my valves before my trip to Arizona. Last time, I removed the alternator cover so I could turn the engine over via the alt. nut. The cover is a pain to remove with the exhaust crossover getting in the way. I have also tried putting the bike in a tall gear (4th and 5th) and turning the rear wheel with the sparkplugs out. It was still pretty hard to get the engine to rotate to line up top dead center on each of the cylinders. Any other suggestions? Thanks, Mike

Paul, I just noticed how the newer bikes are braced differently on the front engine bracing. Never saw the difference till I looked under my Rosso. If I do the bracing for the front engine bracket and also in the rear, will I notice it when my bike is pushed hard in the turns or am I wasting my time by adding the bracing? Thanks, Mike

Funny, I was just thinking about the same setup this morning. I was thinking about mounting it to the shock bolt via some tabs. Good work Paul, Mike

My bad, It is sintered, what was I thinking. And yes, just about all the pad companies offer the HH compound. Mike

I have over 20,000 miles with the sinister HH pads and have had no problems with rotor wear (on stock rotors). I did have a problem with the Galfer wave rotors and the Sinister pads which they said to use. The rotors outer edge (wave section) wore more than the inside of the rotor and made it like a taper (in under 3000 miles ). This caused big pulsation problems. After sending the rotors back to Galfer and having the racing buttons installed to take care of the problem (at least what Galfer thought was the problem). The problem was still there (thickness variation). Moral of the story, less metal equals faster wear. To make a long story short, Galfer refunded my money for the rotors. Mike

I use a Progressive spring tool SW-783: http://www.progressivesuspension.com/preload-wrenches.html Just put the bike on the shop stand, use 3/8 extensions as needed and a few busted knuckles, some swear words and your preload is set. It is also easier if the rear hugger is off, but who uses them anyway? Mike

Any pad with the Sinister HH compound will make your bike stop much better hot or cold. I put a set on my 00 V11 Sport to get more stopping power and it works great. On the down side, if your fork springs are weak you will get a noticeable fork dive. Mike

I agree with emry, I have that same sync. tool buried in my tool box somewhere. I used it to sync. webers and solex carbs on Porshe and volkswagens in the early 70's. What memories! Using a carb stick is easier than using the flow sync. tool. Mike

Mark, Excellent job on the ride report and pictures (nice bike too!). I know that I have been on that road before, but I think it was on a bicycle. Breath taking photos, I really like the one with the barbed wire, reminds me of highway 25 (slice and dice). I wish I was not in a hurry all the time, going from point A to point B and not being able to stop and smell the roses. Mike

Callithrix, The easiest way to install the Aprilia Mille/Falco forks is to use the Forks, front axle, fender, and front wheel from a 2000 to 2003 Mille or Falco. You will still need spacers/shims to mount the 53mm. Showa forks into the place of the 54mm. Zokes. The stock clip ons will not work either. You can make a shim to also work with the stock clip ons or go to an aftermarket set, such as the Two Bro Racing bars in the picture (53mm). The front brake calipers will also have to be shimmed out about 2 to 2.5 mm. since the Guzzi triple clamp width is wider. The stock wheel can be used but it will take alot more work. The bearings will need to be replaced to match the 25mm. front axle and a spacer will have to be machined to fit between the new bearings. A Ducati 999 front axle will be needed ($100.00). Now, the rotor spacing on the Guzzi is wider than the rotor spacing on the Aprilia, so now the calipers need to be machined to bring the calipers outward a few millimeters. This was a pain in the *%#@. As I had posted, the forks are about 20mm. shorter than the stock Zokes. This will make the bike handle faster (25 degree rake). I did not like the quickness but I was running the Metzeler Sportec tires. The Dunlop D220 may be the answer but it is alot of work just to see if it will work. Have fun, Mike

So, I was thinking about adding the extra cross bracing like the 02 models to my 00 V11 Sport. I can make the bracing and weld them in myself, but I would like to also have the bracing that mounts to the sides of the engine case. How can I get my hands on one of the warranteed black wrinkeled engine cases? Mike

What ever method you choose, make sure when tapping the threads they come out straight. If the threads are not straight, you will always have an oil leak from the plug. Also, if you use an Heli Coil, a wider crush washer may have to be used on the drain plug. And do not ride your bike till you get it fixed. Good luck, Mike

Callithrix, The main reason for installing the Aprilia Showa forks on my 00 V11 Sport was that ever since I had the stock forks and shock revalved and resprung, the bike just did not feel right. Meaning the suspension was way too stiff, would run wide on bumpy sweepers and was just not fun to ride anymore. I did send the forks back to have the dampening loosened up and it did help, but they still were not compliant. I had talked to Todd Eagan this last weekend and he had the same results when he had his forks revalved. He too ended up sending the forks back to have the damping reduced by 30% ( this was a different tuner). The main problem with sending your suspension parts out to have them revalved and resprung is that the suspension tuners do not know Guzzi's. I feel they could do a much better job if they had the bike and could feel what is needed before the revalve. The Showa fork is a nice fork and worked very well in stock form on my Aprilia Falco. While the Showa fork worked equally well on the Guzzi, there was a problem that the fork is 20 mm. shorter. This made the bike even more nervous in the turns. A tire change to the Dunlop D220 may of corrected the nevousness. Anyway, Jaap had a pair of Ohlin forks and a carbon fender that I bought to install on my 00 V11 Sport to bring the geometry back to stock. It has worked out well with the Penske shock in the rear. If you are still interested in the swap, I can tell you what parts are needed. Mike

I think you meant, I wanted to paint my valve covers? I would buy a set of valve cover gaskets before you decide to do the job (just in case one tears). After removing the valve cover bolts, take the palm of your hand and pop the valve cover with it to knock it loose. I have done this on both of my Guzzi's and have never had to replace a gasket yet. Now I have two sets of valve covers gaskets awaiting the day to be replaced. Mike

The answer to how loud the Bub shorty pipes are by Todd Eagan isthis: Nascar Loud, which means very loud, but they sound good. Mike

Al, I rode the 00 V11 Sport to see how the Dunlop D220 would work. Due to the damp/wet roads, I could not push the bike as much as I wanted to. And, yes, My bike was the newest bike. Mike