JoeV11

Well I'm going for it! My brother wants to keep his RD350 but I picked this RD400 up the other day, should be a fun ride! The guy maxed out his credit card with the intention of making a street terror but ran into a few snags, lost interest and bought a Harley! A bit better than stock, not sure yet if it'll be legal for Middleweight Production because of the swingarm? Anybody here know? I am going to hook up with the local rep for the sanctioning body in the near future and find out for sure. It would be great to have a few fans on the sidelines, too. Joe

yeah pretty standard contract terms over here for actors/performers/maybe even athletes - that's why steve mcqueen used to race under assumed names. Joe

I asked the seller, these are DOT but not SNELL rated, so you can't use them on most tracks if that's your plan. Smokin' good deal though for road use. Joe

It seems to be easy to get a Garmin 350/360 in the $200 range - but how important is the motorcycle only version? Joe

Woo Hoo that was fun! I've got to do that! The racing was great, the bikes really cool! Only one Guzzi, and that was a sidehack. Now that's crazy and the "monkeys" are quite entertaining, especially SpiderWoman. The most common racing bikes were yamaha RDs and BMW airheads! Go figure.... I'm going to talk to my brother about that RD350 in his garage that he has been meaning to restore for the last 15 years. Joe

Go on- how does one clear this vent? Mine does it in the parking lot at work, and thecompany fire department called me out to the bike the other day. I guess I need to fix it now. JOe

So it's open to the public? Sounds like the VSCCA of motorcycles. They are a layed back group of ex SCCA racers that run old Jags, MGs, Allards, Lotuses, etc around New England. Great group of people, and always looking for new corner workers! You've got me interested in going to Laconia this weekend - I'm thinking of riding up and back one day - are you going all weekend?

There are so many people riding to work that the bike lot is full! Now I have to get in early or park in the way back lot. It's good to see them out there. Joe

That's what I'd do - just replace the flasher under the seat with one made for LEDs. I'll bet you can buy one at any auto parts store. Joe

I had planned on going up during the week but the guy I was riding with bailed at the last minute. The weather wan't that good either. Hopefully next year! Joe

I don't think it's hard. You will need a 7 inch Bosch headlamp (shop around and buy a used BMW unit) and the two V11 Sport headlamp brackets. The turnsignals also mount to the brackets. There are a lot of mirror choices, too. I like the naked look better myself. Joe

Have you tried Progressive? They always had good prices for toys of any kind. Joe

I ordered a new cable for mine. I have the same problem many have with the bend just above the tranny. But as Jaap said, you can just unscrew the cable from the speedometer once you slide the rubber cover down. But you have a fairing blocking access. On a V11 naked such as mine, the speedo is right out in front. The cable unscrews from the tranny too (the knurled part, not the hex). The hardest part will be snaking the cable under the tank. I think I will remove the tank and check the vent and replace the air filter while I'm there. Have fun. Joe

Here's how you can ride the bike before you solve this! Just remove the rubber gasket from the gas cap. It will stink up your garage but at least you can ride withoug sucking your tank. Joe

Pete, welcome to our world! Since your bike was running so well two days ago, maybe you inadvertently filled it up with poor quality gasoline? Joe

When I park my '04 V11 Sport, after a while gas comes out of the overflow hose. If I open the gas cap there is a great whoosh of pressure being released (the tank gets slightly smaller too). It happens until I burn at least a gallon of gas from full, so I don't think it is from being over filled. Any ideas on how to stop this? If it matters, I removed the charcoal cannister when the Stucchi crossover was installed. Thanks, Joe

Those ports and hoses are for the emissions canister - you probably don't have that where you live. Joe

Well they agreed on $2000 but I am not sure if he should go through with it. One fork leg seal is shot, and the front calipers are grabby. It turns over fine but I can see deposits on the back of the intake valves through the plug holes. Paint's faded somewhat, and the pipes do look good from the outside. It's clean and had only one owner. Does that seem like a fair price? He thinks this is a $5000 bike when running. The owner says he got it running before putting it away and oiled and croiled it before putting it away. It does have a fairing and there are little brackets on the forks where the turn signals would go - there is a small box of the original parts, too. If he does buy it, we'll take that and the bags off, change the fluids, see about making everything work, then just ride it. It definitely needs tires and he'll need to have a mechanic look at the rear drive when he rebuilds the forks. It didn't have any noticible wobble when we turned the motor over with it, but I wasn't looking for any. I told him to expect to pay $600-800 for the forks, etc; is that about right? Anyone know a good BMW mechanic in the southeast connecticut area? Thanks, Joe

I tried searching but came up with nada. A friend is interested in a 77 BMW R100 that has been in storage for 7 years, and came from an estate sale. We are going to look at it this afternoon. The price is good, but I don't know what to expect. The tank has rust and the petcocks removed, so we probably can't start it. What can I do to assess the condition of this bike? I can see if it turns over, and general condition. Any suggestions? Thanks Joe

yeah, night riding is so much different - almost surreal - because you don't see anything outside the narrow beam of light. It's like riding in space, especially with the cooler temps. even city riding at night feels different, the color and angle of light changes the way everything looks, the traffic is less, the exhaust echos more. Of course that's what makes it difficult, not being able to see as much, or I'd do all my riding at night, in the summer, with a gorgeous blonde on back (one can dream, no?). Joe

Motorcycle Consumer News has varied reviews of bikes, tools and accessories. It's advert free, so a little bit pricey at $41 a year. But it seems like it isn't mimicing the press releases for the things they review. Joe Oh yeah, the last issue had a review of the new MG 1200 sport.

Wow,nice ride and I wouldn't be surprized if Moto Guzzi would use some of your pictures in their advertizing! Nicely done, but you confused me in the title - this is the Coney Island that I know: Named because of an overabundance of rabbits. Joe

That reminds me of a friend who was a volunteer fireman. He would occasionally get calls from people who wanted help getting their cat out of a tree. His first question was "why call us, is it on fire?" Having set the tone, he would reassure the person that the cat will find a way down, asking "have you ever seen a cat skeleton in a tree?" Joe

I hit the mother lode! www.bigbreastarchive.com Enjoy! Joe

you probably won't need one, but if you search, you'll find many recommendations to get one even if just to fix the poor factory fi mapping. I have a stucci crossover and aftermarket mufflers and don't have one. but the plugs are still OK looking. Joe