al_roethlisberger

Ahh, so I just called Lindeman Engineering for a quick chat now that they have done a handful of the Marz forks on the V11 Sports/LeMans... so I think I've answered my own question Indeed Compression-damping and Rebound-damping is happening only in one leg each, and comp or rebound is only adjustable in each leg. This is true both prior and post their modifications. So that doesn't change. Is it a problem? They say that after their modifications to valving and spring-rates... not really. Now that they've done quite a few, the results have been quite good. Also, I asked their thoughts about perhaps just skipping the modifications, and perhaps springing for some Ohlins. Of course one has to factor-in their own motivation to drum-up business ...but their comments were that the $2000 "Road & Track" aftermarket Ohlins weren't really that superior a component, and that I'd probably be best served just modifying the stock setup with their work... as Lex, et al have done. He stated that the results should be quite close. He pointed out that if one sprung for the high-end Ohlins race products, you would indeed note a significant difference, but the mass-market stuff was comparable with most other vendors once any of them were properly setup and dialed-in. His experience and many friends that have installed these forks didn't notice a significant difference from what they have achieved in the shop. ...but as always, YMMV They also didn't recommend springing for the Nitride coating. He said it was somewhat overkill, although admittedly it is a bit more slippery, thus helping avoid "stick-tion". But I think his impression was that it was more fashion for a street-bike than anything else... Their current turnaround is one week for just the spring and revalve. And if you don't want to remove your own forks, they charge $75. al

So here's a couple questions: With the pre-2003 forks, it appears from the fork-caps that Compression damping is in the left leg, with Rebound damping on the right. Have we ever confirmed definitively if this is true, or is it that Compression damping is only *adjustable* on the left, and similarly Rebound is only adjustable on the right?? Also, related... once LE reworks the shocks, is rebound and compression damping being performed equally on both legs, and are they both now adjustable? al

Not that I'm planning any of these modifications in the near future.... but it might be interesting none-the-less to start thinking about what it might take to refit 2002 bikes with some of the "improvements" of the 2003+ V11 Sport/LeMans bikes such as the increased diameter forks, integrated fuel-pump/tank, other?? Obviously over the next year, time will tell whether these 2003 changes represent any real advantages, but if they do and as wrecked 2003 bikes start to become available .... we may have to opportunity to change out some of the pre-2003 components if desired. However, to do that, one would have to research what was required. In my opinion, the only two 2003 changes that are attractive to me, and might be reasonably easy to retrofit would be the tank/fuel-pump and front suspension. So, in regard to the front suspension, I wonder what parts would be required? Obviously: 1) 2003 Front Forks 2) " Front Axle 3) " Front Bearing Assembly 4) " Bottom Triple Clamp Not so obvious 1) 2003 Top Triple Clamp(are they 43mm or still 2002-spec 40mm?) 2) 2003 43mm Bar Clamps(are they 43mm or still 2002-spec 40mm?) 3) 2003 Front Wheel 4) 2003 Inner Fairing(the thing with the holes for your fork legs ) 5) other?? It will be interesting to hear feedback over the next year on how much better, or not, the new 43mm forks are. So for example, with shops like LE, can one get similar performance as the 43mm forks modified or not? This might help one understand whether it's worth modifying the 40mm 2002 forks, try to upgrade to the 2003 43mm forks and modify them as well, or if just about as expensive, just go ahead and get some 40mm Ohlins.... Similarly, for the 2003 Tank, obviously beyond just getting it painted... I wonder if it is juse a "bolt-on" affair other than perhaps some modified electrical connections and fuel-hose routing?? Anyway, just interesting. al P.S. ACK!! ...this was apparantly the "post of the Devil" #666 Maybe no one should mix 2002 and 2003 parts now. Sorry for any jinxes guys

Hey Mike, here's another question on the 2003... We all know that the front forks increased in diameter 3mm over last years V11, but do the crowns in the top triple-tree still measure the same? Often manufacturers will increase the fork size, but to keep things simple, the very top of the fork's diameter will remain the same so they can retain the same triple-clamp up top as the previous year. The concern/question here is two fold: 1) Current bar-riser solutions are modeled for the 40mm forks from 2002 models and before. And if the top of the fork isn't still 40mm, that could relegate the 2003+ models to very few handlbar ergo options. 2) If anyone wanted to convert from the 40mm to the new 43mm forks, it would be nice if one could keep their current top triple-clamp. It would be one less expense to have to worry about Maybe you(or other 2003 V11 owners) could measure them once you get back? I'm very curious. al

..hrmm, I wonder if Jason will sell me the '03 Ohlins suspension for $2500 Somehow I doubt it al

...I've yet to see one "in the flesh" yet. Maybe I'll catch one at the National this year? I agree though, for me.. in the photos my impression of the color scheme is that is looks a bit unusual, but many people have said that it looks much better and very striking in person. So I hope to catch one eventually. Given the price differential, I was somewhat surprised as well that the Tenni was mostly a cosmetic edition. Given that it was a tribute to MG's racing past, I wonder why MG didn't fit the Tenni with the Scura's suspension, or some other performance tid-bits other than the single-plate clutch? Who knows, maybe Aprilia/MG were just getting things rolling with the new models, and it was too soon to start mixing-and-matching. Well, no one can say that the new Rosso LeMans is a cosmetic limited edition ...although I'm not sure I like the checker-board paint scheme. But hey, I'm sure lots of people out there love it, and that's all that matters But bottom line, if you like the Tenni, it seems that there are some great deals to be had out there now as many have sat on dealer showrooms all year. BTW, the Tenni was supposed to come with both the suede and standard seat as part of the package. al

hrmm, this will be interesting to follow indeed. I know the bike Mike purchased, as I saw it days after Moto Italiano received it some time back, and have oogled it while visiting the shop many times. In fact, it is the bike that was up on the display "shelf" where I was able to note the new welded-on plate to reinforce the OEM x-over, as I reported some weeks ago. ...the reason I give all this background is that even though I was able to check out the bike several times, I didn't see the right-side of the bike, especially from under-neath, which from the photo above is where the O2 sensor is located on the x-over. So, Mike, does your new Rosso have the 02 sensor? I would be surprised if it didn't, as California has some of the most stringent emissions restrictions in the USA, and in the World. This would be important to note in our FAQ for the 2003's(do they all have this, or just the Rosso?) and also to keep in mind for future modifications, and the requisite retuning necessary or not. To that point, it will also be very interesting to see if the closed-loop system is well-thought-out enough to take reasonble modifictions, such as new cans, x-over, airbox, into account automatically or not. That would be very advantageous if so. Mike, you'll have to keep us informed! al P.S. Question: It's asked above if Mike has the catalyst or non-catalyst version of the OEM x-over. I could be wrong, but I don't think any of the x-overs, whether they have the new 02 sensor bung or not, are actually catalysts. As far as I know, all the OEM x-overs are something of a "muffler" that has some SS wool or baffles in the middle, which can be cut-out. But I don't think any of them perform any catalytic reaction??

*heh*... I know exactly which bike you bought Mike Congrats ...so, did you get a chance to "say hello" to my bike while you were there? al

Jaap might load it up in the "files" section if it's not too large??

BTW, I dropped "Williamsville Competition in Buffalo, N.Y. " that Val apparently got his risers from an email to confirm price and availability, but have yet to hear back. Does Val have a contact there he can recommend? al

...ahh, sorry for the confusion. Nope, this was the original ECU, with stock map. Changing out the ECU fixed the basic "not running" problem. I still haven't started on the ignition remap part of the project yet I'm waiting on getting the bike back, making sure all is well in "stock" form for a bit, then getting the coils, mounting them, and confirming with the "factory pro" fella that he can actually do the remap.... still a few steps left to go al

Excellent info Rudi! thx

....Moto Italiano just changed out my ECU, and now it runs fine One problem down.

Interesting, as this is one specific area where Mike Rich said dual-plugging would help... reducing detonation since I can probably drop one temp of plug since the ignition will be retarded. I guess we'll see though. I'm hoping this won't be an issue. Prior to the head-work, the bike did ping a bit when hot and under WOT sometimes as many of us have reported in the past. al

Jim, FYI... when I try to follow the link, I get the following from Streamload.com: al

...someone here may have one, but I'd also suggest contacting Todd Egan at Guzzitech.com He has a bunch of maps, and may have one that is close. He's always been happy to share in my experience al

Indeed ...something like a Ninja 250, an "old" early 90's Yamaha SecaII, a Nighthawk, etc .... all come to mind for an economy commuter. Any of these can be had for $1500-2500 in great shape. Plus since you can get any of these so darned cheap, you won't care if it get's dinged up, etc... and that's very liberating and eases the stress of urban riding In regards to "requiring" more performance or amendments to the OEM ECU with a PCIII... you are correct on all fronts. The V11 Sport varieties have plenty of power, honestly. 80hp at the rear wheel is nothing to sneeze at, and the torque is really what sets it apart as well. While there are a plethora of other bikes, mostly Japanese, that produce in excess of 100hp at the rear wheel, it's certainly not necessary... and as we all know, what really counts is torque and where in the RPM range that power-band/sweet-spot really lies. If that ~100hp is only attainable at stratospheric RPM, well, that's not terribly usable in the real world. ..again, IMHO. So, sure one can and should leave well enough alone if you are happy with the more than adequate performance of the bike. And while the PCIII can arguably remedy some OEM glitches, my opinion is that if there were more dealers/service-centers that knew how(had the tools) to properly tune/map the stock ECU in all dimensions, and not just CO/fuel-air without a dyno.... we'd have much less need for a PCIII, as the 15M is not a bad ECU at all. However, in my case... I just like to tinker And there certainly is a price to be paid, both in $$ and availability(my bike has been out of service for how long now?? ) But I think that for many of us, adding exhausts, PCIIIs, x-overs, bars, lights, horns, etc... it's just plain fun to personalize the bike, and tinker. So I wouldn't perceive our addiction for "gear" as a requirement for these bikes to run acceptably(I know you don't ) ...it's more that many of us just like to break what ain't broke at times Especially in the case with the PCIII, even if my point above were remedied tomorrow and every Guzzi shop could properly tune/remap the ECU, there would still be a hoard of people wanting the PCIII because they can tinker with the map in their own garage ...this may change though when people like Evoluzione soon offer software that you can run on your Palm-Pilot that can directly interface with the OEM ECU. We'll see. al

Just wanted to "cross pollenate" for those that aren't on some other forums/lists, such as the Wildguzzi Forum... For those that have bought one of the clearance K&N PCIIIs, you may want to consider checking into updating your firmware(not the map). A couple people on the other list had mentioned some reliability and performance issues with their PCIII, and Dyno said it was due to older firmware on the K&N PCIIIs. The tell-tale is anything from erratic idle, stumbling, to complete temporary failure. If your PCIII doesn't have a serial number, this is also apparently a sign that is of the older firmware revision, although the hardware is the same. The fix is that Dyno will update your firmware for free, as long as you pay S&H. Just contact them and get an RMA number. al

..yep, and there's one with side-car and all for sale down at Rider's Choice used motorcycles for about $6k I think... right down the street from me al

...funny you ask, because it apparently varies. This sorta ties into the various "airbox/ram-air" and "vapor-lock/fuel-pump" threads, because apparently MG has modified the location of both the voltage regulator, and the fuel pumps at least during the 2001/2002 model year. One can only guess as to "why", perphaps a result for the "parts bin" manufacturing process, or maybe a mid-year correction to address the fuel-pump overheating... who knows. But anyway, on *my* 2002 LeMans, the voltage regulator is smack between the two front horns. However, if you take a look at the photo of Jaap's 2002 LeMans below, you will see what appears to be the fuel-pump in that location(as has been reported on several other pre-2003 V11 LeMans) as opposed to it's location under the frame such as on mine. So, the answer is that on some bikes, it will be mounted above the oil-cooler, between the horns.... or?? I don't know the alternate location al

....what is the "special care" required? al

THAT is the million dollar question Completely ignoring the huge pink elephant in the room(the dual-plugging project), there are basically three things Moto Italiano has to finish up for me to get the bike. 1) Get the bike to run. Simple MGNA just called them back today, about a week later, and they are thinking that either the driver for the injector, the injector, or the ECU itself is defective. They are in the process of swapping out parts today from the last I heard. ETA?? ...your guess is as good as mine, but I can't imagine this should take more than a couple days, except maybe taking into account parts availability... Up to this point, they've done all their basic troubleshooting, and the ECU wasn't throwing any codes, so to protect their warrantee reimbursement from MGNA, they had to wait for the call from MGNA with the prescribed next steps. Policy and procedure it seems, but I understand. Otherwise they might put 3-4 hours into troubleshooting the problem, actually find it, but then have MGNA come back and say, "..if you had just cleared that with us, you could have found it in one hour, and that's all we're paying you for." 2) Mysterious rear oil leak. I don't have a status on this one... 3) Get the Leo Vince's mounted. I could have done this myself, but since the bike was already in the shop, and I bought the cans from them... why not have them put them on? Of course, now they won't quite fit in combination with the Stucci x-over, and the bracket got mysteriously bent and the rubber gasket torn while they were trying to make them fit Anyway, Leo is sending a new bracket and rubber thing, and they are machining a few mm off of the mounting bushing to try to get it all lined-up. 4) Various warantee work, mostly body related from when I originally bought the bike. Almost all of this is replaced, but they are waiting on some coping/moulding that goes along the inside edge of the fairing that didn't come with the part. Unfortunately, when I went to check on the bike a couple weeks ago, they tried to fit some edging that they got from some other source, that didn't match at all... and got glue all over the matte black portion of the new fairing piece. I suggested that this wasn't acceptable But all-in-all, it *should* be ready to go in a week or so... at least I hope so! al

BTW, Genmar says they had some "fitment" and "clearance" issues with their bar spacer kit proto-type, but should have some photos and more info in a week or two. al

I think I see a charity case here. This is like a muscle car in a museum and never getting driven, a sin I tell ya! I think we need to put a fund together to get Ian and his LeMans out on some open roads al

...looks very good. What tank bag are you using? It looks very convenient with the fuel filler accessibility. al