Mike Stewart

So, I finally made it to Alice's for the Guzzi Dinner! I went across the San Mateo Bridge and encountered a high cross wind, my friend on his Ducati 748 was hating life across the bridge. Once we turned off onto Highway 35, I thought we could crank up some speed. After a few turns we were in the fog and the road became wet so a slower pace was needed (still getting used to the Dunlop 220's). There were 7 at our table, 5 Guzzi's, 1 Duc, 1 Hog, we ate, talked and ate somemore. Had a fun time, I can't wait for next month! Mike

V11 owners, For those who are looking for a headlamp replacement for the V11 Sport, the Ducati Monster headlamp is the perfect replacement. You can find these on ebay for anywhere from $100 to $150 US dollars. The stock Guzzi lens goes for about twice this amount. The Ducati lens is the same as the Guzzi unit, the plug is also the same. Now the only difference is the housing which is a good thing. The cutout of the housing allows for more clearence of the speedo cable. This means less cable bind and should help with the speedo needle bounce. Mike

God, I must be brain dead! I was still confused with the 1st post which stated that the date was every 2nd Tuesday of the month. So somehow my thought processed the date as every 1st Tuesday. So, now I think I have it right after reading your last post, April 12th! I will try to be there! What time does everyone get there? Confused Mike

Dang, Missed another one. Just can't seem to remember what day of the month it is! Mike

It is best to use a block of wood between the axle and hammer. Sometimes they are in pretty tight and you could damage the axle if just using a ball peen hammer. Mike

I was just quoting your statement which was about your neighbors bike. If the dealer put on a set of different pipes and then they turned blue from running too lean, wouldn't you be pissed that your pipes turned blue from running lean? How about checking the CO and adjusting the fuel mixture to prevent the pipes from turning blue? It seems to me the dealer that your neighbor goes to is not doing him a favor. Humm, I remember years ago when dealers were trying to figure out how the keep the Harley pipes from turning color. Better chrome, double walled exhaust pipes, richer jetting.... End of rant! Mike

I just received a picture from Orrin on the progress of the Guzzi valve covers I sent to him to get polished. He said getting down around the bolt holes were a bi^#%ch, but he was able to do it. To polish these it was only $50.00 (the price might go up after this set) I was going to try to anodize them but after talking to JRT this past weekend, I was talked out of it. I guess I have to build a Monster Jackel or some other project that could use these valve covers. Mike

Humm, Once the exhaust turns blue, isn't it too late? Meaning, most Harley owners like all that chrome, once the chrome turns blue, it is time for another set of pipes. Mike

Steeltoe, On a 03 or 04 stock bike, you may not need a PCIII. Now if you have or plan to change the mufflers, you will gain alot from installing the PCIII. On my 03 Rosso, it ran great in stock form. I installed a set of carbon cans and the bike spit, spuddered and would stall. I added a PCII and dialed it in and the bike runs better than stock, gets better fuel mileage and sounds great too! The only thing I am not sure about is how it would work on a bike that has the feedback system, which some 03 and 04 do have. Mike

Al, I did not know the Guzzi could start out in 5th gear! I know I have started out in 2nd gear a few times without any problems. My shifter rod pivot bolts have come loose a few times and the last time it happened, I decided to add a few drops of Loctite to the bolts. Problem solved. Nice to see you at lunch today, we need to start a monthly get together on this side of the bay! Mike

Darn, Another lost sale. Mike

John T is 100% correct! On my 00 V11 Sport, I tried to steepen the head angle and the bike did not like it at all (or I should say, I did not like it at all). Way too twitchy and any speed. It was even hard going in a straight line and what made it even worst was using a fast turning tire. By going back to the stock steering head angle and then changing tires to the Dunlop D220, the bike feels near perfect. I just need to do some fine turning with the suspension. This brings up another question about using the Ohlins rear shock. The Ohlins rear shock is about 10mm. longer than the stock Sach shock. On the early 00 V11 Sport, this will raise the rear of the bike 20mm. and increase the head angle. I had my Penske rear shock adjusted to the Ohlins shock length ever since I have had it on the V11 Sport. I was always scratching my head on why the bike did not feel right to me. An adjustment to the rear shock length back to the stock length made a huge difference on how the bike felt. This is not a problem with the 02 and newer bikes which like quicker steering. Mike

I too had not been a Dunlop fan until I tried the D220. It seems it has cured the nervousness of my 00 V11 Sport. I have only put 40 miles on them but just riding down the street (scrubbing in the sides of the tire), I noticed how the bike rolls into the turn. It feels like a different bike. I had another problem with the bike following pavement edges (or seams), the problem is also gone. So if you have an 00 or 01 V11 Sport, don't go with the Metzeler Sportec M1, go with the Dunlop D220. Mike

OK, I went out and bought a set of Dunlop D220 tires. I mounted them today and man what a stiff sidewall. Must be twice the stiffness of the Metzeler Sportec sidewalls. The tire profile looks alot like the Bridgestone 010. Can't wait for the ride to work tomorrow. I can only hope that the tires settle down the 00 V11 Sport. Mike

Or just buy an Ohlins shock! Mike

Yep, The reverse cone mufflers that I used were made by D&D for the Ducati Monster. At idle the bike was not too loud but anytime you were on the throttle it was not too pleasent on the ears. The beautiful exhaust tone was lost and it sounded more like it had no mufflers at all. I have heard the Sil mufflers are loud as well. Humm, back to the drawing board. Mike

Thanks Carl.... that's the type of answer I was looking for So, do I have to do the "pry apart" surgery to get in there and JB-Weld it? Or can I repair the stud without disassembly? BTW, just as an aside, can one replace the instrument bulbs without prying apart the bezel to get to them? Just curious. al Al, I just happen to have a spare tach lying around if you need one. It does sound like a ground issue and I know of the stud that comes loose. You can always ground the tach housing anther way if the stud is loose (drilling a hole into the tach housing and pop riveting the ground to it is one way). It just might be a loose fit between the bulb socket and housing. Either way, the tach needs to come out. Just two 8mm. nuts hold it into place. Mike

Thats what my problem is. The paint around the bolt holes of the valve covers are chipping off. The problem with anodizing the valve covers is that the quality of the casting/aluminum is not that good and may not anodize that well. I think polishing first will make the anodizing look more uniform. This is basicly an experiment. Mike

I was looking at motocycle parts on Ebay and came across an auction for polishing your motorcycle side case. Well, I emailed the gent for a quote for polishing two Guzzi valve covers (wanted to polish the valve covers and then have them anodized red). The quote was for $50.00 which to me is very cheap... Just the materials for polishing them myself would be over that, not including the time The gent (Orrin) is retired and will polish anything aluminum, no matter how hard it is to polish. Check out his site (look under photos)! POLISHING PAGE http://home.mchsi.com/~jdm366/wsb/html/vie...home.html-.html HOME PAGE http://home.mchsi.com/~okm36/wsb/html/view...home.html-.html Mike

Humm, after being pulled over by the CHP (California Highway Patrol) on my 03 Rosso, I must say that the speedo is right on. Of course I said that I was only doing 75 mph. instead of the 85 mph. that I was really doing (told him that Italian gauges are usually off as he wrote me a ticket). Mike

I told Sergio I would post his bike on the forum, I have a feeling Jaap will be moving this post soon. Hey Carl, why don't you buy this bike so you will have something that runs to ride. You can put your Mistral exhaust from your 01 V11Sport on it and then put the Bubs on your Sport 1100i. Just a thought Mike 2000 Moto Guzzi V11 Sport ($6530): - Only 3K miles - Bub Exhaust System - Pro Italia Bar Ends - Garage Kept, Very Clean http://www.ducativille.com/4sale/2000%20V1...port/index.html Contact: sg916@pacbell.net

I emailed the owner/seller and here was his answer: Hi Mike, I got the Bub Exhaust from: http://www.bubent.com/ 09-1036 1100 Sport System with X-over 625.00 It was originally made for the 1997 Moto Guzzi Sport 1100i, but fits on the 2000 v11 Sport. Thanks for your help, -Sergio ----- Original Message ----- I had been on the Bub site before and did not know that the Sport 1100i exhaust would bolt right on. Humm, perhaps an exhaust change in the near future. For $625.00 , that is much cheaper than the Stucchi crossover and mistrals, plus it comes with the header pipes. Nice finish also! Mike

Well Jeff, with all those bikes 9000 miles on the Guzzi is quite a bit. So if I figure correctly, if you multiply 9000 by 4, you would have about 36,000 miles on just one bike! See you soon at Winter's, Mike

I was crusing Craigs list and came across this V11 Sport with Bubs exhaust. Looks great! Now I wonder how loud it is? Have a look at: http://www.craigslist.org/sby/mcy/26609486.html Mike

There are may out there that use the K&N pods. Just use a nylon wire tie and strap the air intake temp sender to the harness. There has been a growing debate on which system produces the most horsepower (pods, air cleaner lid removed or the stock air box). Someday someone will have a dyno graph of one bike with all the different options done on a dyno! Mike