Mike Stewart

Hi John, I think your best bet would be to take your forks off and send them out to a suspension specialist. Getting the correct spring rate is one thing but often there has to be a spacer machined to get the right preload. It would be easier if the fork had some kind of preload adjuster built in like the real world. The current going price for springs is $100. US dollars and the labor to install them is not that much. They will also service the fork while it is apart. I only know that the springs that went into my forks are .90 kg, and I weigh in at 200 lbs. butt naked. Are you going to the Guzzi Nationals in Washington this July? Hope to see you there. Mike

Hi all, European Motorcycle Accessories (EMA) which is located in Livermore California, has great prices on Ohlins and Penske shocks. Check out their web page at: http://www.ema-usa.com/index.shtml They also have the lowest prices on tires that I have seen. The Ohlins rear shock goes for $775 and comes with the correct spring for your weight, it has a remote reservoir and spring preload adjuster. The Penske 8100 shock goes for $750 and is valved and sprung for you weight. It takes 2 to 6 weeks to order the Ohlins and 2 to 3 weeks to have the Penske custom made. I think we might be able to score a discount if we order a few shocks at a time. Let me know and I will check into it. I have already ordered a Penske 8100 last week. Mike

Rich, It must be the rough road surfaces in California..... Mike

Jaap, Just incase I can't get my front forks setup the way I would like them to preform, can you check with WP to see if they make a fork the will work on the V11 and also a price? Their web page shows the different forks but no application list. There is only one importer in the U.S. I think we might be able to get a group discount if there are any other takers out there. Just a thought, it may be cheaper than going the Ohlins way. Thanks, Mike

Next year after my warrantee is up, I am planning to go through my engine as well. I agree Carillo rods will be the way to go, mainly to take out some heavy spinning weight. I am looking into having the crank knife edged as well and taking more weight off the flywheel. Of cource a nice balance job to smooth out the works is in order. I will have Mike Rich dual plug and port my heads and I wonder what compression ratio will work the best in the V11, maybe 10 to 1? Mike

Al, I don't think you can get the front forks to work as well as Ohlins with out putting alot of money into them. One of the things all high end fork companys do is to apply a nitride coating to the fork legs, this is very expensive. This coating is an extra $400. at LE. This plus low drag bushings and seals will bring the cost of having your forks redone up in the $1000. range. I have put another 300 miles on the bike since I cut down the rear shock bumper. The bike feels much better and is rideable now. It still can use some improvement. I did order a Penske rear shock last week and I will be doing a follow up after I install it. I went to the Guzzi breakfast this morning and meet Richard that has an 02 Lemans (I did tell him about this web site). Anyway, I noticed the LE stickers on his forks also. I asked how he like them and his responce was I am not really sure. I then asked him what he was feeling and was told that his ride was very stiff and harsh. He has also backed off on his compression and rebound dampening all the way. Anyway, we are both taking our forks off this afternoon and dropping them off to LE for another try. I wil keep you posted. Mike

Hi all, As you all have read, Lex and I have had our forks and shocks resprung and revalved at LE. The first impression was good, I felt the front forks were a big improvement because my main complaint of the massive fork dive when braking was greatly improved. No more huge fork angle changes. Well thats about the only improvement I have felt. I was still having problems with the rear shock. With every bump the bike wanted to launch me over the bars. I increased compression damping, things were just harsher. I increased rear spring preload to 5mm. static and 19mm. with rider. The over the bar syndrome was better on small bumps but not on the large ones. With every dip in the road, the bike would fall away under me. I increased the rebound damping, things got really weird. Now it seemed like the front end was all messed up. On a rough turn, my bike was all over the place. Felt like the tire pressure was at 100 psi. At high speed turns the bike felt unstable, never like before. It felt like the bike was hinged in the center. What was going on. Checked head bearing, wheel bearings, all suspension bolts, nothing. I made a call to LE and talked to Jim. He was not sure at first what was happening. Then he suggested that I put a nylon tie around the Sach shock shaft and take a ride. I did and found out the nylon tie was being pushed into the shock bumper. The bumper is there to protect the shock from bottoming (metal to metal), I felt the bumper was like an added spring and when a bump was large enough to compress the bumper, the spring and bumper would extend very rapidly and cause my over the bar syndrome. My rear spring sag was in specs. so I experimented by cutting off 1/2 inches of shock bumper (This was my idea, I don't know if Jim would agree). I went for another ride and the nylon tie was 1/8 inch. away from the bumper. The bike still did not feel right. I backed off on the rebound dampening a few clicks and rode again. Boy what a difference. A couple more clicks off rebound and two off the compression. It is now a different bike. The suspension is much more compliant over bumps. When riding over dips in the road there is no more drop off feeling, I can feel the suspension move. This is the first time since I have owned my V11 that I can feel the suspension work for me. The high speed cornering is back and I feel like the bike is on rails. I can't wait for a ride tomorrow! Mike

I agree with Mikie, with every change in exhaust or even air filters, you need to think about the effects on the fuel system. Will it run richer or leaner from the mods just preformed. If you already had aftermarket mufflers and then added the crossover, you may have gone waaayy lean which made the loss of midrange more noticeable. I know when I put on the Mistral mufflers, I had a huge loss of midrange and to get any power, I had to be near redline. The Power Commander corrected the midrange loss as well as added more top end. As far as the Stucchi crossover goes, it really makes a difference in the midrange and by the feel of the pants, it feels like the bike reaches top speed faster (120 mph, kids don't try this at home). I have not noticed any loss of top end. I have only positive things to say about the Stucchi. Mike, no the other Mike Mike

Al, The rear brake lever comes really close the the Stucchi crossover. You have to must play with the pipes to gain enought cleareance. I have also filed the corner off of the brake lever to aid in the clearence issue. The picture does not show the filed off portion, just the tight clearence. I was told when mounting the Stucchi crossover, you must loosen all the pipes including the ones at the cylinder heads. On my bike the Stucchi crossover does not slide onto the header pipes as far as the stock crossover. I tend to get a small exhaust leak at that area (where the pipes have the cuts for more clamping and sealing). I had put high temp. silicone between the pipes in this area and it did rid my problem of the leak. I also thought about having the crossover and header pipes welded at these spots to make a cleaner apeareance. My first Stucchi crossover was defective and I could not even get the rear mufflers to line up close. The right muffler fit fine and the left one was about four to five inches away from the mounting bracket. The second one fit fine. Hope this helps, Mike

I had the same type of engine oil leak as Joe. It was my fault after installing a new oil drainback hose to my aftermarket sump. The spine frame uses the spine as a oil catch can. It has two holes at the lower part of the spine, where oil gathers after it condenses. On one side the oil drainback hose attaches via a banjo fitting and goes back into the engine case, the other side uses just a plug and copper washer. This is where I had my problem with too small of a washer. I have heard of one other that had a problem with a cracked oil breather hose, this would be another place to look. Mike

It is a pain to increase rear spring preload. The most easy way that works for me is to buy a Progressive spring adjusting wrench (get the one that is made with a 3/8 opening for a ratchet) that allows a long 3/8 extention inserted into it so you can adjust the spring collars from the rear of the bike (you may have to remove the rear hugger). This is the only way I was able to adjust the rear spring. It is still a slow process and is a pain, but you asked. If you think that is hard, wait till you try to replace the rear spring! Mike

I have put over 1000 miles on the longer shifter linkage and it is there to stay. I have not missed any gears since it was installed. Finding neutral was a little harder when my neutral light quit working in the rain. My oil pressure light was coming on also. Time to water proof.... Mike

Well I just think I found a way to keep my transmission from leaking on the ground! Now I just need $800. bucks to order one! Mike

The vibrations are usually at 3500 rpm. , When I get vibrations at other rpms, I always check the throttle body sync., just a little out of adjustment will cause more vibes. I think the engine is the smoothest at 8000 rpm. Mike

Hey David, If you send it up my way, I could cut it open to find out how the baffles are made. Then I could make one for myself. Cleaning it with alcohal would be a good idea. I had a staintune exhaust system on my BMW and finger prints would show up once the engine was fired up. You should take a ride up to Ojai to show the boys this weekend. I should be there weather permitting. I would like to see it, fondle it and hear it in person. Mike

Well, if you bring it to the shop now, you might have it back before summer is over. Assuming that you don't run into a parts problem. We need to know if your leak is from the engine or transmission in order to guide you on. We need to get together for a ride! Mike

I know which tube you are talking about. There is still a least 6mm. of clearance when the shifter is pulled all the way up. It won't hit even if I get excited when riding hard! Mike

I bought a set of Dymag wheels, went through the lengthy wait process (4 months) and spent a whole lot of cash for them ($2000). The result is a great looking set of wheels but I did not notice any difference in performance from the weight savings and I can't say the wider rear wheel helps anything but looks. If I had a chance to do it over again, I would of just sent out the stock wheels to have them powdercoated the color I wanted. This is just my opinion. Mike

The shift lever effort is about the same as stock. There is more of a clunk when shifting, which to me means it is going in gear and not a false neutral. My bike came with the shifter linkage in the upper hole. Even in the upper hole, the shifter had mucho play. I just picked the new length, mainly because it was the easiest to work with as a starting point. I made the bracket bolt on just incase I had to return it back to stock. If it works out, I will make a new lever that will replace the stock one. Mike

Yep I am at it again. It is easier to work on your bike when it is in your own garage and not in the shop. Yesterday afternoon, I decided to pull the shifter lever and linkage off the bike to see if I could change the ratio for less sloppy shifts. I made up a longer lever that attaches to the shifter, thus increasing the throw with less foot movement. I can shift into higher gears easily by pivoting my foot on the peg while shifting. Before I would pivot my foot while pulling up on my leg to help find the next gear. The results are good so far, there is a noticeable amount of less slop, finding neutral is still easy and shifting feels much more positive. The only negative issue might be if you are in a area near freezing and have 90 wt. in the trans, shifting may be a little slow when cold. Other than that, I think the factory should check it out. I will know more after this coming weekend, I plan to hit Ojai for the Guzzi gathering. Mike

Lex, I went to my local BMW dealer in Walnut Creek and it was no problem getting the rubber insulator mounts. They are 8mm. shorter but will work. I had to remove the tank to gain access to the coils. I thought it would be an easy job, but the coils are jamed by the frame and engine breather hose, not to mention the main wiring harness is also tied to them. The shorter insulators required a few washers to increase their length to keep the coils from rubbing the frame. I think the Beemer mounts should last till the Guzzi ones get here. Mike

I called Peformance Cycle yesterday and they did not have one in stock. They have only replaced one before and it sounds like Jeff was the one that received it. I did not want to order one through them because I would be stuck with two coming in. Mike

Hi Jeff, The California Sport has great styling like the rest of the lineup and I mainly purchased it to replace my BMW R1100RSL for my two up bike. I bought it with out a test ride and while the bike is great, the riding position causes me back pain. After riding for an hour or so, my upper back starts cramping up (feels like I have a knife stuck in my back) and the pain stays with me for a day or so. I can ride all day on my V11Sport with the lower clip-ons and only can take at most a few hours on the California Sport. I could change the bars to a lower style, but it has the 30mm bar clamps and those would have to be changed also. The peg location would have to be changed as well with the lower bars. I just can't see putting hundreds of dollars into it to see if it cures my back pain. Anyway, I just talked to Moto Italiano and the speedo drive is still on back order. I will give the dealer in your area a call. Thanks, Mike

I just received my new policy from Formost. It has almost doubled to a whopping $800. a year. 46 years old, 20 years on a bike and with a spotless record. At least it is still less than Progressive. It would be cheaper to sell the Guzzi and buy an Aprilia Mille R. Needless to say, I will be calling every motorcycle insurance agency in America this week. Mike

Me again, I am still waiting for the 45 degree speedo drive on the transmission. It is getting quite old riding with out a speedo. Does any one know if it is a 1 to 1 ratio through the 45 degree unit? Or does it increase or reduce revolutions to the speedo cable? I have another observation on speedo needle bounce from the kink that occurs at the speedo head. I noticed when steering to lock to the right, that the speedo cable at the speedo head tightens up and causes the cable to kink. Just a thought! Mike