al_roethlisberger

The FBF pistons are supposed to be 11:1 compression. Have you noticed any detonation/pinging issues, especially duirng high load such as "roll on," since you installed the new pistons? This is a concern many of us have in mind if installing the higher comp piston kits. al

...yeah, I think just about everyone that ever drilled out a set of the LaFranconi's just delayed the inevitable purchase of aftermarket cans al

Summit Racing Catalog (www.summitracing.com) They come as a kit, as a pack of "100" (or so) connectors for about $50. Then you have to spend another $50 for the crimper, and extractor tools, which are well worth the money. Summit Racing Equipment SUM-900401 Pin Crimping Tool, Open Barrel Weather Pack Connector, 5-Nest Today $31.95 SUM-900402 Pin Tools, Weather Pack Connector, Extractor & Picks, 3-Piece Today $8.95 SUM-900403 Starter Kit, Weather Pack Connector, Asst. 4 Pin/3 Pin/2 Pin/1 Pin, 101-Pieces Today $49.95 al

....absolutely, good tips! I replaced many of my "bullet connectors" with the same AMP Superseal weather-tight connectors used throughout the chassis, especially the clutch connectors which were giving me trouble. I haven't done the alternator/rectifier connectors, but probably will as well. I'll have to look at the gauge to see if it's wise. If not, I'll do the same as you have and just clean and grease them along with heat-shrink. The only bullet connectors that I've kept in the harness are the turn signals, but those are "required" to be bullets on the LeMans in order to pull the wires out through the fairing. Changing them out to any larger connector would make it impossible to remove them al

No worries ....but it is a misconception that upsets me with Guzzi, as I too was looking for a WP shock when I bought the bike based on the literature. It is possible that some early V11 Sports may have been delivered with left-over WP shocks from the inventory of previous 1100 Sport stock. But I've never seen one. Previous Guzzis in the 90s, such as the 1100 Sports did indeed have WP suspensions, but as of 1999/2000 with the V11 Sports, they apparently discontinued their use in favor of the Sachs. I think it's just a case of Guzzi cutting costs with the new bike in 2000, and neglecting to update their literature. Instead being a bit devious(and in my opinion a bit deceptive = bait&switch) by saying in all V11 Sport/LeMans literature that the bikes could be delivered with WP *or* Sachs. But as I said, AFAIK, I've never in practice actually seen a WP on any 2000+ bikes as delivered from the factory Here's another photo of a current WP shock. The real give-away(other than a huge orange WP sticker ) is that WP shocks have gray plastic(perhaps aluminum in some cases) adjustment knobs as opposed to the blue knobs/end-caps of the Sachs product. al

Here is a photo of the White Power(courtesy of Paul ).... and it's worlds different. Lots of gray knobs And here is the thread where we discussed this a bit longer in-depth: White Power Guzzi

The "outboard unit" (nitrogen cannister) isn't marked Sachs/Boge anywhere as far as I know , although it may be as I've never removed it from it's mount But, as mentioned before, the place that most units have marked as Sachs/Boge is the bottom blue spring retaining collar/disc. If one looks up under the bike, at the end of the shock, this blue aluminum disc is stamped/embossed(inverse bas relief) with the name. But if the shock is a gold toned body, white spring, and blue aluminum end-cap/rebound&compression adjust/preload nuts.... you have a Sachs.

Compound("hardness") mixing via 'mismatched' manufacturers is one thing.... but the main problem as pointed out is that mixing models of tire, or more often worse, mixing of manufacturers is most problematic because of the difference in tire profile. If one examines tires from different manufacturers, and even often between models of tires within one manufacturer's range, one can observe everything from a hemispherical to triangular profile, with varying degrees in between. Mixing these different profiles can cause unpredictable, and often undesireable handling characteristics. To your point, the best "mix" of compounds I've seen consistently recommended for many bikes for a good balance between mileage and performance, not just Guzzis, is an 010 up front and the 020 out back. al

...yep, same here. White spring, blue alloy end cap. Sachs. Didn't we do this dance with Nemo about a month ago? al

I wasn't going to say this earlier when I first read the thread, but now that Rich has chimed-in, I feel like I should... I have to say that although the only product I've ever bought from Rich Maund(...you know, *our* Rich ) was a tool pouch, and although I've never met him personally... I feel a great deal of loyalty to him for the time and comraderie he has invested in the forum. Plus, according to all of those that do have his seats, I've heard nothing but praise Now, I don't mean to disparage this "upstart Rich" from the West Coast(I'm just picking ) ... but IMHO, although I really like the seat Nemo had prepared, if it were me, I'd probably just ask Rich Maund to replicate the design if one liked it more, and give him the business, especially since Rich is a small businessman running a shop out of his own home. I suspect Rich could make whatever you liked, within reason, if just given the design. This is honestly no ding against Nemo.... especially since he is so new to our community, he may not have even been very aware of Rich. But I just wanted to say that considering how often Rich has posted his adverts in the For Sale section trying to drum up business, cutting deals for us, etc.... well, I felt kinda bad for Rich when I knew he'd see this thread. Anyway, that's just my perspective. (..but hey look at me, the hypocrite. I have a Corbin Although to my defense, I bought it before knowing about Rich. I love my seat, but I think I honestly would have bought one of Rich's later if I had been aware.) Bottom line, I am sure that this WCR(West Coast Rich ) does excellent work, and again not to suggest that giving them business is wrong or that for some reason we shouldn't, but OTOH IMHO I do think that ECR(East Coast Rich... did I mention he's *our* Rich? ) probably should get first consideration considering his contribution to the community. (Wow, that's a lot of "C" words in a row... ) But again, great looking seat! Let's just not forget our friends, especially in the Christmas season. I hope this didn't come across wrong.... but it was something that just came to mind. al

Look down about three threads The search function works great too (...sorry I couldn't resist ) http://www.v11lemans.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=1646 http://www.v11lemans.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=1611 ...both threads have comments interwoven on the two different current recalls(transmission, conn-rods) that are happening for the 2000-01'ish Sports. I don't know that anyone has had the work done yet under the recall, but Mike Stewart has a post or two in these threads regarding his transmission failure last year that sounds like it may have been related. He had his repaired, and I think it's fine now. A couple other folks on the forum have mentioned here and there that they've had their transmissions replaced/rebuilt as well in the last year or two under warrantee for what sounds like a similar issue, and I think all is well. Don't fret though.. you aren't alone. Just think, all the '02 guys like me that chose to have their engines rebuilt to fix the bubbling paint will be biting our nails as well worrying that a perfectly fine running engine will come back buggered.... We'll see Good luck, and let us know how your experience goes. My engine teardown is scheduled for Feb 03 al

I dunno, it IS awfully pretty Happy B-Day BTW al

Thanks ... feel free to take any posts I make and cc them if you'd like

..one of these days I hope to run into someone with a Rich Maund seat(or the Rich seat like Nemo's) so I can give it a test sitting to compare with my Corbin. I know they'll feel different, as the Corbin is very firm, but I'm curious which I'd prefer. Maybe I'll be fortunate enough to run into someone at a meet that has one. And yes, the Corbin is "stout".... but indeed seems to have more room under the pan than the stock seat. So I guess it's a tradeoff al

I understand where you are coming from, and agree to some degree. But I don't think it's a direct relation, and again MG makes some good gear and apparel as well, so al

Hrmm, well at the risk of this turning into a HD "culture" bashing thread(and I don't mean for it to...) .... 1) First and foremost, as Jaap pointed out, I don't think I would equate the quality of some outsourced branded apparel with the motorcycle itself. I think within a few minutes at any HD boutique, or any shop that sells any manufacturer branded gear, we could all find cheaply made or poorly styled/designed examples. Since the manufacturer rarely makes any of the apparel in-house, and simply licenses it's branded use(if at all), there can't be much of a conclusion derived regarding quality of the bike from apparel. However, indeed while I guess I would prefer than any vehicle manufacter branded clothing would be excellent, I don't factor that into the buying decision for vehicle itself. At the risk of offense(again not meaning any though)... I think that's just silly if anyone bases said buying decision upon that premise. And as an aside, Guzzi does have some excellent branded gear available like the Granraid apparel. 2) I typically don't really want to buy into gearing up into a Guzzi apparel culture as HD has cultivated. Sure, it's been an ecomonic boon to "The Motor Company" but it's far too superficial and just a bit silly to me. To each their own of course, and admittedly I personally own 4 Guzzi related t-shirts, but that's probably about as far as it will go. There's nothing wrong with being proud of your motorcycle, truck, car, etc... brand, and again... to each their own... but at some point it becomes cultish and brain-dead to "buy into" a faux culture by purchasing the company line uniform, trying to be different by being just like every other cliche'd automaton. I would like to think that Guzzi owners are a bit more mature and truly individualistic to care too much about whether they have a complete set of gear embossed with a Guzzi eagle For those that profess udying fierce loyalty to any brand, whether it be HD, Chevy, Ford, or any number of other manufacturers... and wear their badge proudly... I wonder how many of them realize that said manufacturer could really care less, and just laughs all the way to the bank every time another branded baseball cap is sold They have no loyalty to you, honestly. I think the decision regarding apparel should be pragmatic - is it what you need, is it well made, does it do it's job, and do you like it... In many respects, while I'd like to Guzzi to endorse/license quality accessories, I hope it never becomes the HD model, as that would be a real turnoff for me. BTW, I have the Guzzi branded tank-bag. Is it the best out there? Naw, but it's pretty darned nice Why did I get it? Because it fits ...pragmatism al

Thanks... but BTW it doesn't "have" to be built on the stock pan. My Corbin has a custom laid fiberglass(or some sort of resin) pan. That's why I still have my stock seat for any future project al

So, I assume they built this on your stock seat pan? Or do they build a new pan for the seat? Very nice looking seat al

More general info: This just in--- MGNA has announced a 2-part recall: per Bulletin SRI01EB5: All V11 Sport models produced from Oct 99 thru April 2001 (ZGUKRAKR8YM111929 TO ZGUKRAKR11M114435) will have "new,improved shift rings and a redesigned cush-drive assembly" installed in the gearbox. Units affected:680 Per Bulletin SRI01EA5 All V11 Sport models produced October and November 1999 (ZGUKRAKR8YM111929 TO ZGUKRAKR9YM112099) will get, in addition to the trans work, "new, redesigned connecting rods and bolts". Units affected: 64 The required parts are being unloaded at the Guzzi warehouse, and dealers have been notified to file claims upon request from customer. The dealer cannot have spare sets of parts sitting around, so get your orders in early. Definitely a "beans and cornbread" ticket for the dealer-- pays 3.2 hrs for rod replacement, 8.8 hrs for trans slider work. _________________ Todd Haven Parts Guy MPH Cycles

...hrmm, yeah that would "do it" Mike had a similar issue with his wife's Ducati a while back if I recall. al

Yeah, the light from the tail-light is plenty to illuminate the plate... although it is red. However, since it is exactly the same light as used on Ducacti Monsters, you could always get that option with a clear underside for illuminating the plate. FBF's replaces the OEM tail-light with a different unit, so I don't know about theirs. al

OK, well "stage II" is well on it's way, and hopefully will be complete by this weekend. I've removed the OEM fuel pressure-regulator from the tank, and installed the second manual petcock. And from the photo below one can see that I've installed the new 3.5bar external regulator, and plumbed everything for hookup. I'll clamp everything down and heat-shield it tomorrow, and hopefully it will work as expected. Will this make a big difference? I don't know, perhaps not a great deal in balancing the fuel level. But since I had already relocated the pump to successfully combat the vapor-lock issue, and half the plumbing was already done... why not I'll let ya'll know if it functions acceptably. al

I pulled all four plugs and they looked very good. The right hand side plugs were a bit more black/sooty than the perfectly coffee toned left ones, but they still looked reasonable. So that's a good sign. It'll be interesting to see how well it all works out after I have the new 3.5bar pressure regulator(that's the small blue cylinder on the right side) installed tomorrow, and can get the bike down to Hare Racing perhaps next week for a new map on the PCIIIusb. al

Here is a shot of the dual-output/tower OEM coils installed on the right side...

Here's an overhead photo of where the second plugs are, and their cabling...