docc

Indeed, this appears to be an'02 (Aprilia) issue along with the earliest of '03s.

I try to avoid too many video documents so I can always fall back on Capt. Willard's line,"Sir, I am not aware of such an operation, nor would I be at liberty to discuss such an operation if it were to have existed."

Loctite tells me 601 is a euro spec compound most similar to 609 here in the States. 609 is green and specified for bushings and sleeves in housings for shafts of fractional horsepower motors. Still sounds like it will contribute to destruction of the plastic housing with any removal attempt.

I can't remember anyone ever saying or doing anything inappropriate at these rides, the joking aside. I even took my young son to Barber's with a couple of these guys with no untoward effects. Except, perhaps, that he recalls David breaks the tops of his beer bottles off while the rest us just remove the caps. I'm sure you'll take the time to coach Kathy on the Female Presence we are accustomed to after the example set by the Super8 Queen year one. Remind her that she actually doesn't have to leave by patrol car on night two. I'm not certain we'll actually get near the Biltmore and the RA rallye. I'd feel better if all pooled one tenth of that fee and sent it to V11leMans.com. I don't think I could otherwise bring myself to pay to park my bike and walk around rather than ride in the mountains. I hope everyone remembers the South'n Spine Raid is not a rallye, there's no fee and only two rules. 1) Have fun 2) Don't crash Aww! Everyone else is developing epizootics as the week goes on. You're looking a little pale . . .

For sure on the ground. callison had posted an extensive thread on opening the instrument and securing the mounting posts. Have a go at Carl's post at Guzzitech .

There are some threads on vapor lock. At least one of them is quite long. Try a search on that. It is pretty common that the left side fuel line from the petcock to the pump lies against the cylinder fins. A little grooming by sliding the pump forward in its bracket may be enough to gain clearance. The state of tune can be a real issue in hot weather. If it's been 6000 miles since the last relly thorough 0.006-0.008 valve adjustment/plugsTPS/TB balance/idle set this can work absolute wonders. Air bypass screws at a full turn out has always helped my Sport idle in the south'n heat. I've never seen intake leaks be intermittent. usually the surface cracks don't go through. A solvent test or wrap of electrical tape will tell you if the idle changes. The relays are certainly a possibility especially with an intermittent problem. Have you changed the GEI yet? Lately I've been thinking about heat soak and the location of the air temperature sensor in the air box. Lying between the cylinders above the motor it seems like it would get awfully hot in there with bike sitting for a short while. Longer sitting would then let the air box cool as well. It's those short stops, longer than fuel, but not as long as lunch, that might heat soak the air sensor and give the ECU some really wacky input.

Seems like last year we rolled in pretty early ( mid afternoon ) and went off to the BBQ place for lunch. You should be there in time to order in pizza after the tarmac festivities have been in full swing for a while.

Thanks, but I got 'em back sorted. I still want to change springs and look into the Ohlins for the rear. I think I can mount the preload adjuster on the right by the seat release. You going to east Tennessee a day early so you can stay at the Athens Super8 for a night? Who knows, ya might see Bill there trying to make the most of The Raid.

I'm not now entirely sure it was so recent. I rode to town to get an extra quart of oil and noticed a change pulling in the parking lot over a seam. Always, well for as long as I can remember, the front end would make a 'plinck' when bumping a sharp edge at low speed. I never could find it and finally assumed it was play in the Heim joint for the steering damper. It was so surprising today not to hear and feel it! I rode around town bumping through rough pavement before coming home. The Sport is now sorted for the South'n Spine Raid. It's amazing what valve adjustment, plugs and a throttle body synch will do. Shifted into second at about 7000 rpm and she snatched the front tire off the road!

The 'foot valve' is the bottom of the cartridge assembly which bolts securely (or not) into the bottom of the fork tube with an anchor bolt which is inserted from the underside, its T50 Torx head recessed up in the bottom of the fork strut (which is attached to the tube and mounts the axle and caliper). The foot valve has a hex head which drops into (or no) a hex recess in the bottom of the fork tube allowing the cylindrical case of the cartridge to shoulder securely (or not) to the bottom. Apparently, this foot valve never dropped into engagement in the hex recess. Eventually it bounced about and rotated enough to line up and fall in which introduced the play. Perhaps this occured when I was monkeying around trying to remount the spring and spacer. Peering down into the tube it was apparent that there had been some banging about But probably not for more than the 126 miles of the morning ride. The hex on the foot valve is aluminum so it couldn't have stood up to those kinds of tolerances for long. One of the mysteries is I don't recall removing the cartridge in the four oil changes I've done. If it was done by Marzocchi, you'd think my damping will be much improved. The front fork diagram in the workshop manual at F26 does not show the bolt (or 'screw') which goes up into the bottom of the fork strut/tube (23), nor does it show the set screw which anchors the head of that bolt and inserts through a 5mm threaded hole inboard and above the axle. Like a dope I thought it was just a casting feature. Being inboard the hole was mucked in and the tiny hex head recesses probably 3 or 4 mm. Even after forcibly turning the anchor bolt (gouging the head circumferentially) I had to drive the bolt out from the inside (marring the head longitudinally), such that I am certain the set screw does indeed act as a keeper for the head of that bolt. The whole thing has been a menagerie of , , and followed last night by and this a.m. by and

All this connubial, brass nipples, vinyl tubing . . . I must be missing something using mercury sticks. ( the ports are 5mm)

Dave, Remeasuring with an alloy, analogue Vernier caliper I get the following values (not sure how they compare with what was posted before): Outside diameter, Ohlins (Guzzi spec spring: 1.475 " Outside diameter, Marzocchi spring ('00 Sport): 1.374 " Inside diameter, Marzocchi fork tube 1.415" As they say in gunsmithing,"go,no go." I wish that they had worked. Now back to the archives for a source for good springs since my chance of losing 40 pounds is rather, ahem, slim .

I hate this. If it weren't for the internet I could have privately humiliated myself with my comedy of errors and never left the garage. Now the world knows. What a . First, I'm not sure how the play got in the cartridge ( I don't remember ever breaking it down that far), but the foot valve was not seated in the bottom of the fork tube. Luigi maybe? But if so, what a Homer for me not to find it for 50,000 miles. Maybe it was tied down well enough and only recently rotated enough to start moving up and down the 4-5mm. It gets worse. I don't care who makes your 8mm hex drive when the fastener actually is a T50 Torx. Sure the #6 screw extractor got it, but it was ugly. And gets uglier. There's a set screw that keeps the anchor bolt for the cartridge. Did I say set screw? I meant SET SCREW. The screw doesn't show on the schematic and isn't mentioned in the manual's text. I'm sure any decent experienced technician would have known. Fortunately, I learned the delicate craft of tuning from the finest of sweaty, ham-fisted redneck tractor mechanics and got the thing apart in spite of how it was put together. The Maxim oil looked really bad ( after 126 miles!!), so I'm glad it's gone and sorry it's still in the compression fork. The 5wt Silkolene is a synthetic, so I'm still uncertain about this whole "cartridge fork oil" thing. So the Sport sits back on her own feet. Tomorrow I'll slip out and see how she feels.

Talk about friends. You ask for a fork and a guy offers you a bike!

I was hoping to convert the thing to a Torx by hammering it in. A T50 is exactly 8mm so I'll have to go up a size. I'm not sure what that is in Torx. Even the body of the T50 I have is too large to insert in the fork's recess. You're right about the Craftsman of course ( how'd you know that's what I used?) Great Neck is even worse by far.

Motley indeed. Perhaps more and more motley all the time. Are you guys gonna make me ride in the back if I bring the GB500? Tell me it doesn't look that bad: Watch the unfolding at The Fork Thread. Better yet, maybe one of you could overnight a rebound fork leg to rescue my sorry a**.

To complicate matters, the manual specifies the torque value with Loktite 601. Isn't that the red stuff?

I seem to remember reading those lyrics were based on some truth of arlo crashing his bike. A Triumph was it?

Less than a week to The Raid and I've had worse nightmares. Like when my high school girlfriend missed a period. Three times. Indeed it appears the cartridge ( or some part of it) has 4 or 5 mm play up and down. The anchor bolt is tight. So tight , in fact, that it is no longer a hex drive. More of a round drive. And 8mm is certainly bigger than a #5 screw extractor. Where could the play be coming from and how in the world to get the thing apart now??

Yeah,this is my fourth oil change and if I've overfilled them a little (or more) each time they've gotten progressively harsher with less and less air gap. I've gotten somethng munted though. The rebound fork makes abit of a clunk when compressed and doesn't appear to be damping. I don't think I set the thread height above the blue lock nut correctly.I spun it all the way down then brought it back upto lock the cap. Back to the shop now and try to sort it out.

You'll be amazed what can be accomplished right on the tarmac of the motel. Looks like Bullock will be joining us on the TDM.

No, really, I had the forks apart and the Ohlins springs don't fit. Something must be awry with the OD measurements on the springs They are a little funky to measure and I didn't retry as I was all anxious to get it back together to ride. Meeting some folks today for a painfully slow cruiser ride with a novice wife-rider in tow. But it is riding and her hubby is a fine fellow and a State Trooper. He actually let me go on a 64 in a 45 on the Sport before we met otherwise. It is , as g.forrest has said, time to ride.

Look for a fuel line lying too close to the cylinder fins, especiaaly on the left side. Otherwise, a cracked or loose intake rubber could give these symptoms . . .