docc

Spooning tires on those soft alloy rims is a formula for lots of &%$@#* Surely you can find a shop who'll mount and balance your tires for $30-35. You can easily take the wheels off and bring those in so they don't have to disassemble your bike ( and you don't have to wrry about their technique). It's cake money for a guy with the machine as you'll probably be back at $60-70 a pop every year.

It's easy to lower the battery about 1/2" ( 12 mm ) by moving the carrier under the frame it's mounted to. It only requires grinding off the forward corners of the carrier basket.

I must agree on both counts. remember , thes ebikes have a substantial rear weight bias and any technique to reliably get the front to stick is good. Good reading to sharpen the technique: Total Control, Lee Parks

Ok, once again, THE reason for the low side is I went in to a 90 degree corner too hot to find out too late it was a 180 degree uphill, decreasing radius with a camber change , a pavement variation and a sedan in the oncoming lane. The lesson for me: ALWAYS see your exit before you commit. BUT, I've had the Sport over that far on other tires and still had grip. So, I'm seeking all the factors that will give me more certain stick at the front. You're teling me there are no Dunlop 220's in 160/70?

The consensus has always been 160/60 which I followed. But after the low side I'm determined to shift more weight to the front. . next time 'round I'll go with the 160/70.

Yeah, and golf balls have a smooth complexion. MJ, check into some deeper cylinder head guards. They're available from several sources including Joe Kenny. They do a nice job of protecting the heads in a rub ( gon't ask me how I know). just do a search for cylinder head guards on this forum. Looks like the Billabio ranks are growing. I guess we'll all have to clean up our act.

You guys aren't giving me any real good news. Something like, " Oh, yes, you can rebuild the sending unit with a toothpick without removing it from the tank." No luck, heh? The screen-tube on the stock petcock is white and , maybe, 4mm diameter. The black one on the manual petcock is more like 6 or even 7 mm. It was really a 'no-go' fit. I'll look again when the tank comes off next time as I'll be interested to see how much gunk has built up around it next time or that was all debris from Mandello. What could go wrong with a float-reed switch? Dirty contacts? Bent reed?

Now, Al, you know tires and oil don't mix well.

My Sport has never vapor locked . But I thought it good to take some simple precautions. Not to the extent Gio did but stilltrying to prevent trouble, I slid the fuel pump up in the bracket 15mm ( 5/8 ") and rotated the petcock to be sure the fuel line misses the head fins. Does everyone have a rubber coated pump and steel braid over the fuel line?

My low fuel light is not helping me out. Even after I drained the tank, then tipped it up and finally poured gas out the petcock hole. The light would still not come on. I can connect across the connector and the light burns brightly. Is the thing in the tank a potentiometer? Some kind of bimetel thing? What? BTW, when I refilled the tank after literally turning on end it would still only take 5.3 USG (specification is 5.8 USG). It also became amazing how much gas was trapped in the right side and in the two forward panniers. Also, I found a ton of crap stuck in the petcock screen. Perhaps from when it fell over, every scrap of junk dislodged to stick in the pick-up. I'm glad I cleaned it and perhaps it will give me a little more range. I intended to switch to the manual petcock but the one I have ( thanks to T.X.) has a pick up screen too large of diameter to fit in the hole. Any ideas?

'dk' These grips are indeed much more comfortable then the stock 'hammer handles' while maintaining a good sense of control.

I've never seen any slide right off but I have seen them migrate out enough to rub on the bar ends or bar-end mirrors causing the throttle to stick open or return very slowly.

OK , I'll bite. Whats the ' rest of the story?' I ordered one those accessory sticks but haven't seen it or a price yet. it occurred to me the plastic stick would be easier to check hot.

Bill, Here's a shot of the relays zip-tied to the right side of the spine. The stock horn wires will reach them there and they are grounded to the mount for the fuel pump using star washers. The relays are the old Siemans that came out of the bike when the Bosch went in. I'm theorizing they'll be OK since each is only carrying 3 amps and they are only activated when the horns are on. Still , I elected for a redundant back-up circuit by using a separate relay for each horn. EDIT, November 2006: One of the horns started blowing poorly. I swapped out the Seimens for the Bosch relays and all is well. I'm using GEI for the bikes main relays now. EDIT, September 2009: The bike's main relays have moved on to sealed OMRON while the Bosch relays (one for each horn) continue to blow FIAMMS though a 10 amp fuse.

I'm feeling like the world is , "once again, spinning on greased grooves" (Steinbeck). I went to the garage and checked on that blue Gearoil. Sure enough, it's in a sealed container and says "Red Line Synthetic Oil" on the front. It goes on to say "lightweight SHOCKPROOF� GEAR OIL."

You're officially allowed to say "1100"

See what I mean? Straight from dyno charts to chimps with Glocks! You guys are great fun to have at a party!

I'm pretty sure that is the shortest post Al ever made. If you,ve never followed an "oil thread" before, you should enjoy this. There is always a thorough mix of advice , zeal, humor, frustration, zeal, religion, economics and zeal. Did i mention the zeal? We love oil! And like certain orfices, we all have some. Pete posted an interesting observation recently that ( I'm paraphrasing deeply), no , synthetics don't make leaks but if you switch from one type oil to another it can stimulate some leaking. I have observed this in my auto. These 6-speeds are another story. The most highly recommended product is Redline Shockproof Gearoil ( which is a synthetic - blue, too). I'm running 75-150 which they consider "Lightweight". The Superlight is lower viscosity and heavy weight is higher. Lots of guys use the heavy depending on their astrological sign and degree of zeal.

I recall each LaFranconi from the Sport weighs 10 pounds and the round Guzzi (Mistral) carbon fiber canisters are 5 pounds each

What good are 'serious horns' without serious hooves?

Nemo, That would be like telling you once and for all that there is no Santa. You're probably better off to marvel at the roar when you push the button. I became afflicted rather early on. Instead of studying Algebra in eighth grade I thought it better to crawl under the dash of my brother's Austin Healey and attempt to make the little switch work that said "OVERDRIVE." Never did get that overdrive to kick in ( I don't think it really had one, just the switch) but have been chasing ( chased by?) little electrical challenges ever since. As the old Airframe and Powerplant (aircraft) mechanic once told me: " The hardest thing is to get the smoke back in the wires."

Wouldn't you have to use 'ceramic coat' ( like Jet Hot) to withstand the heat of the exhaust?

Well, for sure the clutch switch is out in the funk and benefits from a periodic clean, dielectric grease and seal. Just from the wirng diagram, it routes power from the start button to the starter relay to engage the starter solenoid. There are three points of concern in the run circuit : 1) The power to the ECU/FI relays goes through a single connector located under the relay stack. While it is a weather tight AMP connector, it does sit just above the rear fender and will benefit from a clean, inspect, dielectric grease. afterall, all the power to run must go through it. 2) When in neutral, the power to the run switch is through the middle (neutral) relay referred to as the " safety relay for stand " in the manual. It is not activated by the side stand but by the neutral switch. The neutral switch is prone to sticking ( always park in gear) but will not interupt running, just that the neutral indicator light will stick on. 3) When in gear the power to the run switch is through the side stand switch situated on the leading end of the side stand. This switch is really down in the muck! And all the power to the run switch goes through it. Periodically inspect ( along with the wires which run along side the alternator cover), clean with a spray contact cleaner and force in dielectric grease. If power to the run switch is impeded through the side stand switch , shift into neutral to see if normal running is restored as the 'neutral relay' provides an alternate route for power to the run switch . Keep the smoke in the wires!

Where from? KB,Cymru KB, Check out these threads: broken shift spring transmission springs

mik, Your LeMans is a Rosso Corsa or a Nero Corsa? ((My turn signals went on the fritz yesterday. Darned bike must have caught wind of this thread. Rampant animism! ))