al_roethlisberger

....just talked to Mike Rich, and my heads are *next* He seems to be right on schedule based on his estimate. He was shooting for 5-6 weeks, and he's had mine for about that time now. I should hear something next week regarding any findings he has beyond the typical, and if all goes well should have the heads back at the shop in a couple or three. ...am pretty excited Of course, then that kicks the "quest for coils" into high gear *sigh* al

...hrmm, you give your bike a "handjob"?! That's love for sure Sorry, couldn't resist al

Very nice ...well, I haven't heard back from Mike yet either, although I know he's had the heads for a couple weeks now. The last time we talked, he was about 6 weeks backlogged, so I probably still have 3 to 5 weeks at least left before I hear anything myself. Well, have fun with the new scooter Hopefully we'll have some more specific ideas on how to complete this dual-plug setup by then! al

Help me out here guys... ...why would a longer swingarm(while keeping essentially the same wheelbase) make any real difference on these bikes? It's not that I doubt you, but I'm just ignorant in this area. thx! al

Hi Jason, From our FAQ section: I've got the fender eliminator from Kelly Baker's Performance Unlimited, (661) 256-7246 mgv11sport@yahoo.com You can see photos of the finished product at: Photos of Kelly Baker's Kit I don't even know if he is making these anymore, but it's a quality kit if you want to actually keep the tail-light, but eliminate the entire rear fender and pull the signals "in and up" a bit. You can also see photos of it installed on my bike in my Yahoo folder(check my profile here). My version is black anodized aluminum, and is built like a tank. He was moving to carbon or ABS versions the last time we talked back in June/July of 2002. But I haven't spoken with him since. The last I heard, I had the last aluminum one he would make, and there were only 2 of those in existence.... But, I can say that it was a real pleasure to do business with him and he was great about customer service and walked me through some questions/issues on the phone without any trouble. A really nice guy. Anyway, hope that helps al

Jack, I guess Mr Ed's has gone up in price a bit. I just heard back from them and this is what they said: al

I dunno... it's certainly a matter of personal taste, but I've seen some "plastic" bags that aren't bad. It just depends on how well their design is executed. For me, and this is just my opinion, leather is a poor match for the looks of the LeMans... it's just a bit too fancy I'd prefer something a bit more sleek and "purposeful", as I would only have the bags on occassionally for actual trips... not for show. But I think the work done in this example is exemplary! I was just curious if BMW made another set of bags, similar, but with less flashy bits and more potentially durable and functional(not to say that these ones aren't)... that use the same frame and mounting. But again... great work! I think it looks very nice, leather just isn't my style al

Hey Jason, ...learn anything new regarding coil-choice, flashing the ECU, electrical, mounting, etc...? Nothing new on my end, as my heads are still off in NJ al

...that doesn't sound like a "ringing endorsement" of their customer service Can't wait to hear how it turns out, especially since they are right down the street from me. al

Will do Jack... ..I've dropped don@mredsmoto.com an email to check on pricing, availability, warrantee, etc... I've also dropped Ken at Evoluzione a note to check on his pricing. After checking out their website, I think the Penske with preload is about $1100 as you mention. I suspect the ~$750 he quoted me some time back was for the Penske without. But we'll see. BTW, you didn't happen to be "the guy" that Ken had such a hard time with installing the air-box kit on a LeMans are ya? If so, I'd love to hear your thoughts on the kit, experiece with Ken's shop etc... as I'll probably ride down there to get the ECU flashed when the heads come back. That is, if your review is positive thx! al

Jack, Coupla questions... 1) When you say it took a "really long time to get"... about how long? 2) Is this "gray market"... i.e. no warranty, etc? Or is it all kosher? I ask because I'm thinking about the Ohlins or the Penske through Ken at Evoluzione. Talking to folks, they are supposed to be fairly comparable, and at $750, the price is the same. thx! al

Well, they certainly look better than the Tekno's I've got Do the BMW racks accomodate a little more "utilitarian" bag versus the leather "look" bags you've got mounted in the photo? If so, I might be interested, especially if you find a way to keep the stock passenger-peg mount/exhaust hangar. Keep us in the loop if you decide to make more of these. I suspect a couple of us might be interested, depending on cost of course al P.S. I notice in the photo that you've mounted the back of kit to the mud-flap under the license plate. If I were to have one of these kits built(if you ended up selling them) I'd need that brace to just go under the tail or similar as my mud-flap/tailight eliminator kit disposed of the OEM rear fender last year

Ken at Evoluzione quoted some general pricing for the work in this thread: Forum Suspension Mod Thread ..Lex has his at LE right now, as mentioned in the thread above. I don't know if they actually replace the front springs as well, but they're highly rated also. al

EXCELLENT WORK al

Evoluzione has software in the works, and some ready. They already have the diagnostic software for the Palm, and are supposed to have the whole she-bang, including adjusting timing, ready this Spring. ...at least, that's the last I heard from Ken. al

Hiya, ...well, I'm not a Scura owner, nor do I have a CF top on my tank... so you may wonder why I am responding Well, I just wanted to offer this thought. Unless your CF top is cracked, you may just be able to loosen the bolts a bit and "blue" loctite them so they won't come loose. I've noticed that a lot of the fasteners on these bikes, as delivered, are over-tightened on the bodywork(why the heck don't they "overtighten" the bolts for the engine/tranny instead?! ) ... and often deform and crack the part in quick fashion. Since the holes in the panels don't have any bushings, the overtightened fasteners just crush and bend the panel around the hole. Since CF isn't very flexible, the results are probably even worse. Anyway, if your panel isn't cracked yet, just loosening the bolts may be a solution. ...just a thought. al

In my email to John regarding his post on Guzzitech, I had asked about: - Why he chose the 1.5 Ohm coils versus matching the OEM .7 Ohm coils? - If he knew if all the FIM software could adjust timing, as my dealer didn't think so. - Why he decided to use a "relatively complicated" solution of relays... - ...any other "lessons learned" The following is his reply:

Thanks for the link to some great info ....although it sounds a bit more convoluted/complicated than it has to be?? I'll probably drop him a line to find out more regarding his reasoning and experiences though. There may be some catch-22's that Jason and I aren't yet aware of. Obviously there will be some modifications and adjustments required, as that's just the nature of the beast. But I'd ideally like to find a more seamless installation than requiring extra relays, etc. BTW, I wonder if his Bassa uses the same ECU, coils, etc... that we have on our V11 Sport/LeMans? Anyone know? That might matter.... Jason, you learn anything new from your mechanic lately? There's not much I can research or test until I get my bike back, and that will be 4-6 weeks or more from now. thx again! al P.S. I sent John a lengthy email and cc'd Jason. I also invited him to contribute to this thread. It would be great to get his "lessons learned" from his experience dual-plugging the Bassa.

*laugh*... carbs as jewelry eh? Of course with most bikes, except maybe the R BMW's, the carbs and TB are hidden within the frame or behind body-work to some degree. Ours on the other hand, are sticking right out there for everyone to see I wonder if it would be worth the effort to polish them, or something else? ...probably not. Personally, they don't really bother me, but I have thought a few times that they could look a bit better. Everything else in that general area is fairly well sorted and finished, so they stand out as somewhat of an afterthought. all-in-all, I'll probably leave mine alone... it's certainly no where near the top of my "priority list" to do anything about them al

Feel free as far as I am concerned.... ...I don't make the rules here, nor mean to sound like I'd like to. Hopefully it didn't come across that way. I was just making a general comment from my perspective. Like I said, I'm not trying to be the "sensitivity police" or impose any politcal correctness al

...true, considering how picky the Italians seem to be in regard to style versus function, I have always been surprised how unattractive the TBs were in both design and finish, especially when compared with all the other bits surrounding them, including the engine as-a-whole. It seems that they could have easily made them more integrated or "finished" looking. Not a big deal, but just odd....

uh oh, we are treading dangerous ground here now! al

Indeed, I too am not a girl I hope you don't mind my using you as a "poster child" ... no worries al

....my point exactly So I'll defer my judgement until I see some installed. Because honestly, it's often hard to tell how something looks until it's put into context. I'm not saying I want or am considering buying these TB covers, but all the same I don't want to condemn them just because they aren't something I find attractive after a cursory review. I'm willing to "give them a chance" Certainly one is entitled to their opinion, and I would *never* say otherwise or discourage anyone from espousing it.... as that would diminish the value of this forum. But in this case, consider that one could convincingly argue that these little covers somehow "protect" the throttle-body bits on top, even if just a little.... if that's something one is concerned about. Personally?? ...I'm not concerned about protecting the throttle-bodies, but hey it's OK with me if someone else wants to dress up their bike with these and thinks they offer some technically functional, even if small, benefit as well. So, I hope I don't upset anyone at this point, but I wanted to comment on this a bit... In the last few weeks, we've had 2 or 3 threads comment on how "ugly" someone's idea was... including my own comment on how ugly that Ghezzy-Brian "Cylon" exhaust is! ...ah hem, uhhh, sorry... But here's something to keep in mind... I think we've all added personally aesthetic items to various bikes, cars, houses, etc... in deference to whether or not it necessarily adds functionality or if anyone else thinks it's attractive. And that's OK in my opinion, after all it's all a matter of personal taste, and accessorizing and personally customizing one's bike is one of the most entertaining aspects of this hobby Jan might think these are nifty, and even if everyone else thinks the covers are ugly... we should respect his personal sense of style, and try to answer his questions about applicability, not just brush them off because we don't find his idea attractive. Consider that this reaction might hurt his feelings a bit, and make him less likely to participate in the forum in the future... which would be our loss. After all, open communication and bouncing ideas off one another is the value communities like this offer. And I don't want to discourage that. Bottom line, please understand that I'm not trying to impose any morality here or be the "sensitivity police" ...... but at the same time... just as a friendly reminder: We have to be aware that email is sometimes no substitute for face-to-face communcation. And even with cutesy smileys and such, it's easy to step on someone's feelings and convey the wrong meaning, even if well intentioned or just poking fun in a format like this. Heck, I know I've been guilty of the same many times in forums and email over the years, so I try to be as careful as possible to not give the wrong impression. But I'm not perfect either So I just wanted to let people know that when I pick on something, I am just "picking" and having fun. If you think something looks snazzy, "to hell" with everyone esle's opinions ... GO FOR IT! Then post pics and let us know how it turned out, because I bet there's going to be at least one or two other people lurking out there that also think your idea is a good one ...and hey, the worst that could happen is that you'll be the only one with this part on your bike, and being different isn't really a bad thing Anyway, just something to keep in mind... I certainly don't mean to upset anyone, and I'm not referring to anyone in particular BTW. My thoughts: Just take a minute to read your post, and if afterwards you aren't quite sure if someone will "take it wrong" or not... err on the side of caution and add as many disclaimers and smileys as necessary I just don't want to get to a point of too much "brutal honesty" around here such that people become afraid to post unique ideas for fear of public ridicule.... Calling the "bad taste police" is pretty funny, but just telling someone their idea is "ugly" might be a little brusque... but of course that's only my opinion Let's keep up the open and honest communication, but just take care. Apologies in advance if this came across as too heavy-handed ..."clunk" [stepping off of soap-box] al [bTW, Jan has not said that his feelings are hurt as far as I know. And I am using him as an example completely without his permission.... apologies Jan ]

...or you could just go Diesel Sorry, I couldn't resist! Man, a diesel bike would be a hoot!! al