Mike Stewart

I have read an article recently writen about exhaust pipe wrapping. The theory behind wrapping the exhaust is to keep the heat in or up in the exhaust system. Gas flow is greater with higher tempertures. More flow equals more HP. The down fall is high heat in the exhaust system can lead to damage to the exhaust parts. Nothing is for free! Mike

Yep, with the shock installed and shock bolts loose, I put a slight upward pressure on the swingarm to remove all the play from the mounting bolts. There is still slight binding/ rubbing from the driveshaft against the swingarm. See picture. I have raised the rear of my 03 Rosso and measured the clearance and there is about .060 inches (1 mm.) between the swingarm and driveshaft. The rear of the Rosso did sit about 1 inch. higher in the rear than my 00 Sport. The good news is the steering head angle is now at 25 degrees. The Penske shock length is adjustable but is adjusted to the shortest length. I guess I will be giving them a call tomorrow. The shock came with a dyno graph of the shock and had Moto Guzzi V11 printed on the graph. Maybe it was mixed up with another shock? Mike

I have been waiting about 3 months to install the rear Penske shock in my 00 V11 Sport. Picked up my bike that was at the dealer for two months (that is another story) and proceeded to take the bike apart to install the trick Penske shock. Everything was going as planed until the old unit was removed. I noticed that the Penske shock had smaller eyelets where the 12 mm. bolts pass through. Humm, No problem, I could machine new ones to fit. I then measured the length of the Penske shock (center to center) and it measured 14 mm. longer than the trusty Sachs shock. Now this is going to be a problem. With the shock this long the driveline comes with in a gnats ass of rubbing on the swingarm when the shock is fully extended. I wanted to raise the rear of the bike to steepen the head angle but this might be to close for comfort. Back to square one, Mike

Ahh, the reason for mounting the pipes lower was so I could lower the rear foot pegs location thus giving my wife a little more leg room. I will be installing the Hepco-Becker rack and bags and will be doing a modification to the rack to move the bags forward as well as lower. The ultimate touring machine is taking shape! David, the pipe runs in the same location as the stock pipe. I have burned my leg on the stock pipe when I was in shorts one day (Ouch). I don't think it will be an issue though. The reverse cone mufflers do sound different. I am not sure if it is from the reverse cone mufflers or the forward crossover that makes this bike sound so different than my 00 Sport with Mistrals. The bike is running way lean at the moment, so I really need to get the right map for the PCIII before I can tell how the exhaust note is. Hare Racing here I come. Anyway, the exhaust sound reminds me of the older Leman's/V7 from the 70's. Mike

Well, I needed some new tunes for the 03 Rosso but didn't know which way to go. I have carbon oval Mistrals on my 00 V11 Sport and they do sound great. I wanted to go with the reverse cone muffler but no one made them to fit the Guzzi. Most reverse cone mufflers are made for the older bikes and only come in 1.5 and 1.75 inlet openings. I ended up buying a used set of D&D reverse cone mufflers made to fit a Ducati Monster. Some cutting and welding and this is what the mufflers look like so far. Now I just need to get the new USB PCIII mapped for the exhaust upgrade. Mike

They still use the rear pegs, they are just higher..... Not really for using as a two up bike! Mike

The trans problem was on my 00 V11 Sport with 16K on the clock. My 03 Rosso does shift better, only one missed shift to date and I blame that one on me! Mike

Humm, While my bike was at the shop for the second time for the transmission leak, the transmission did let go. Yep, 3rd. gear came apart and wiped out the rest of the transmission gears. The shop wanted to replace the whole transmission but Guzzi wanted it repaired. Let me see, the parts came out to $2500. US dollars and the new trans was $2500. So the shop rebuilt the transmission and I was without a bike for 3.5 months. I should of charged them for a bike rental... So I just got a call today that my bike is ready after being in the shop for another two months, again for a transmission leak, neutral safty switch and speedo issue. My bitch is that I have talked to the Guzzi Rep, about the time my bike has been in the shop (over 6 months in 2 years) waiting for parts and asked if they could extend my warrantee to compansate for the down time the bike was not on the street. I never received a call back. I think Guzzi of North America is dropping the ball and needs to wake up! I love the bikes but customer service sucks! Mike

The Monster forks measure 27.5 inches from the center of the axle to the top of the forks. The 00 and 01 V11 Sport measures 28.5 inches from the same points. Now the newer bikes with the clipons mounted above the tripleclamps measure almost 30 inches. I could see using the Monster fork on the 00 and 01 bikes but not the 02's and newer. Mike

Hi Bill Ross, I had heard rumors that you had switched over to the Other side when I was at the Arizona Rally. Welcome aboard! I wanted to know more about the exhaust system you had built for your bike that was at Arizona. Where did you come up with the design and does it produce more HP? I think the guys on this site would enjoy a picture as well. I have thought of building one similar for the V11 Sport using a formula used for racing engines (for cars). Thanks, Mike Stewart

I am still not sure about the Monster fork fitting on the V11. My wife has a 2000 monster and the forks measure 1 inch. shorter than the 2000-2001 V11 forks. This would increase the fork rake quite abit while reducing ground clearence. I think the forks on the 2002 and 03 are longer yet due to the placement of the clipons. So who knows for sure? Mike

What year Lemans do you have? On my 2003 Rosso, the fuel light comes on at 120 miles. I have calculated 32 to 33 mpgs. My 00 Sport does mucho better, around 160 till the light comes on! Mike

Ahh, feels like the old days when playing with Volkswagen fuel injection. The main reason for the adjustable fuel regulator that Evoluzione sells is to adjust the fuel pressure to a stock pressure. A kit is also made for the Aprilia Mille and Falco, I was told that the fuel pressures were so far off from bike to bike that it was impossible to make a chip that would work for them. By using the adjustable fuel pressure regulator, one could adjust the fuel pressure where it should be (stock pressure) and then use the Factory Pro chip. I was lucky enough on my Falco to not need to use the adjustable fuel pressure regulator (though I do have it sitting on my shelf in the garage) with the Factory Pro chip. By increasing fuel pressure you wil richen the fuel mixture across the whole rpm range. I feel the PCIII is the way to go unless your fuel pressure is out of specs. Mike

The 00 and 01 V11 Sport use the 3rd bolt under the upper triple clamp for adjustment of the bars in two positions. If you want to adjust the clipons farther than the two indexing holes allow there is enough clamping area of the clamps that the 3rd bolt will not be needed. I have been using aftermarket clipons that are much thinner (a weight thing), and have had no problems with movement. Mike

The PC III is the way to go with the stock ECM. Way adjustable and less expensive than the factory remapped ECM. There is a new PCIII that just came out, it has the USB port plus a 9 volt battery powersource so it looks like you can download maps into it when it is off the bike. I have one coming in from Todd this week for my 03 Rosso. For your stalling problem on freeway off ramps, the 00 and 01 had the problem with this. Loosening the valve adjustment to Raceco specs seems to take care of this problem. Also make sure your idle speed is set on the high side. Happy 4th , , , Mike

There isn't a 1/2 Qt in the filter. I believe the oil volume spec. is on a dry engine, meaning oil lines and oil cooler are empty. There is no way I know of on how to drain the whole system without taking everything apart. There is an thermostat in the engine oil sump that opens when a determined temperture is reached that allows oil to flow to the engine oil cooler. Mike

The rear of my 03 Rosso Corsa sits about one inch. higher than my 00 Sport. I used to grind my side stand all the time on the 00 Sport. Cutting down the rubber bumper and increasing rear spring preload took care of most of the grinding. When I went with a 5.5 inch. rear rim and a 180 tire, no more grind. I have not touched the side stand on the 03 Rosso and I have no stinking chicken strips! Mike, on the way to New York!

It really depends on how deep the scratches are. If the scratches are light, a rubbing compound should work and then polish with a good wax. On deep scratches (down to the fibers) I have used automotive clear coat with hardener and dabbled some on with a brush just on the scratch. When dry lightly sand the surface with wet and dry sandpaper 400 grit working towards 1000 grit. Rub out with compound and then wax. Mike

I do use them on my 00 Sport. But, I will be going to the Sportecs when I steepen up the headangle! The 010 is the best tire for the early sports with the 4.5 inch. rear rim. IMO. Mike

The 00 and 01 Sports had a 4.5 inch. width on the rear rim and came stock with the 170/60 tire. Putting a 160/60 tire on helped make the bike more stable. The 02, 03 Lemans have a 5.5 inch width on the rear rim and can use either the 170 or 180 width. The Sportec M1 looks more narrow than the Bridgestones in the 180 size. I am compleatly happy with the 180/55 Sportec rear tire! It is a step up in performance from the Bridgestone 020. Mike

Nice!

I saw a nice set of aluminum reverse cone mufflers for a Ducati Monster on ebay so I called the selling dealer to see if Sil Motors made them to fit the Rosso. (the selling dealer is Motostrano in Burlingame California), Anyway his first responce was "did you just email me?", and my answer was no, So someone out there has the same idea as i do about buying a trick set of aluminum reverse cone mufflers for their V11. Unfortunately Sil does not make a set for the Guzzi yet, I was told it was on the drawing board. How could an Italian company not make stuff for Guzzi? If anyone in Europe would like to contact Sil Motors to tell them that there is a high need for a reverse cone exhaust system for the V11 series bike, I will buy one! Mike

Ahh, the owners manual says tightening of cylinder head nuts at 1000 miles! See page 145 in the owners manual for all 2003 V11 series. I would be pissed if I paid for the first 1000 mile service and someone overlooked retorquing the heads. Mike

Roger, You need to check your spring sag first! Ohlins suggest: Front 25-30 mm. without rider Front 35-48 mm. with rider Rear 5-10 mm. without rider Rear 30-40 mm with rider Once this spring preload is obtained, then you can start playing with the dampening adjustments. On my 03 Rosso, I was very disappointed in the way the suspension felt. It basicly did not feel any better than my 00 V11Sport. The rear end felt very harsh (almost needed a kidney belt to ride) and the bike wanted to go wide on rough turns (also wanted to bounce me off of the seat on sharp bumps) . The suspension was not compliant at all and it was hard to tell if it was the front end or the rear that was causing all the problems. I set my spring sag and added rear spring preload till it was within specs. , it felt worse! I added more rebound dampening and there was no difference. Two clicks down in the rear in compression dampening from stock and the bike changed compleatly. Now instead of going wide, the bike soaks up the bumps and stays planted. It is still somewhat harsh at the normal speed limit but is really great once the speed is cranked up. It looks like you are the same weight as Emery, you should try his suspension settings. Good luck, Mike (see you in San Diego)!

Jim, I wouldn't say it is an octane issue. It is most likely from the different additives the fuel companys use. Last year Chevron worked the best for me and if I chose a different brand, my bike would idle poorly. Mike