al_roethlisberger

The owner of this 2002 Lemans is located here in NC, and posts in the MGNOC Facebook group, but isn't a member here. He gave me permission to repost the photos of his 2 year project to rework the 2002 into his cafe-style retro vision. Here is a link to the Facebook post: https://www.facebook.com/groups/mgnoc/permalink/10162477829008709/ I've asked him a few questions about the major components you'll see such as the wire wheels, metal (aluminum?) tank, and fairing. So far he's been able to share the following about the wheels... he had them built, in this case from a 1999 California's rims ensuring they were wheels with the dual disc brakes, removed the hubs and had the hubs powder coated, had a custom rear axle spacer made, and then Buchanan's Spoke & Rim (https://www.buchananspokes.com/) laced the hubs to Excel rims for about $800USD. Below is the "before" photo, then the bike with its new wire wheels

Just take care to double-check the weight limit before loading it up. I don't recall what the weight limit is, but it was on a sticker on the one I had. I sold my rear rack when I realized how little weight it was rated to hold.

I bought a 1998 California EV a few weeks ago, and it came with a one-piece Corbin seat, which I understand many owners like for its increased height and comfort. However the Corbin is not a good fit for me, and I personally do not like the aesthetics of the seat either. So I've been in search of an OEM (factory) seat that will fit. So far this has been a surprisingly tough part to find, even used. There are quite a few from 1997 and earlier available, which use a different seat latch mechanism, but for some reason the 1998+ seat just isn't as common. The 1998 EV has the old P8 ECU up under the seat, which normally would then require the 1998-specific main and pillion seats (the pillion is actually more important from a clearance perspective), but I plan to relocate the P8 ECU beside the battery which will allow the use of later seats. I have a later pillion already, so my primary need is for the main seat from this era, although I'd entertain a 1998 pillion as well if someone has one. I've posted this on MGNOC, Wildguzzi, and GuzziTech... with no responses. And I've spoken with Mark at MGC and he doesn't have any right now either. Harpers also is out, as their upholster has retired, and so they don't know when they'll have any more. So if anyone has a seat from 1998-2000ish (I think later than 2000 may fit too, but would need to check photos, etc), please let me know. I could probably also make an EV Touring one-piece seat work as well. Thanks!

About $80/yr for liability, and another $80/yr for "comprehensive" (fire, theft, etc).

I wonder if there would be any advantage to putting the plate on an EV? I mean I won't be doing any wheelies, but I can see people climbing steep mountain roads under acceleration, sooo

Do you recall what LED bulb you purchased for the Lemans light? Also how long have you had them? I'm always curious how well these off-brand LEDs hold up. Thanks!

Those do look nice, and the model for motorcycles allows you to buy a single unit for a reasonable price: VCm3 - 7 INCH LED HEADLIGHT KIT - Vintage Car LEDs

Very entertaining and quite a "spectacle"

I don't know if Module Masters rebuilds that part, but I have had them rebuild a couple different electronic modules from my Jaguar over the years and they have had good results. You might reach out to them.

Sold for $4,750

Sold for $3,750

Well of course not... you just sit and manually rev it constantly Just kidding

Thanks! According to the parts diagram, this is what the assembly is supposed to be, but of course I'd have to check what is actually on my 98 to see when this was adopted. BTW, as an aside... as you may recall, I was mostly out-of-the-loop on even thinking about my MG for over a decade as other life priorities intruded, and then there was 3+ years of pandemic... When I was first tinkering with the LeMans back in 2002 and in the years following, there wasn't much online to reference like these parts diagrams. So having these diagrams and part numbers readily available from various sites, and downloadable, is REALLY helpful now

That's terrible So when you say "Anyone with a 98EV needs to keep an eye on this issue in their pre ride inspection.", are you saying: 1) The twin cable recall doesn't fully fix the issue, so again keep an eye on the linkage? 2) Post-1998 EVs somehow fixed the issue, and if so how? Did the inclusion of the twin cable throttle after 1998 address the problem, or did MG do something else after 1998? But yes, my 1998 has the twin cables on the throttle.

Wow 270k! ... and 107k! You definitely get your money's worth out of your vehicles! Soooo hey, is Wayne Orwig still making those replacement stalks, and if so what is his contact info?

Yeah, the fella I bought if from had little Ukranian flags on all his bikes, just blue and yellow strips of electrical tape in actuality though Not from Shelby, NC, if that's what you were asking. The previous owner was up in the north of Raleigh, about 40 minutes away from me here in Sanford. He had the bike on Facebook Marketplace, and I think posted to the MGNOC group on FB. I think that's how I ran across it.

OK, found out what the make/model of the mirrors are: https://www.ken-sean.com/product-display.html?id=961010 https://www.ken-sean.com/product-display.html?id=961020

And oh BTW, if anyone runs across on of these genuine MG "Sport" windscreens like Bill has on his EV, let me know. The MG part number for the smaller "Sport" windscreen is: GU03575102 I'll try to remember to ask Mark about that too.

Here are few, admittedly poor, photos of the non-OEM mirrors. I'll try to remember to see if I can see some information on the rear of them when I'm out in the garage later. But at the moment I have no idea what brand of mirrors they are, if they came from a particular model of bike, or are just generic aftermarket. They seem to be all metal though versus plastic, which is nice.

Rear "HD" turn signals. You can see where the previous owner chopped off the rotten OEM stalks, and used the special clip-in/bolt-on base to mount the replacement signals. Even these bases are starting to disintegrate though, so I'll probably have to come up with some sort of new adapter or somehow use the internal metal of the OEM to make it work. We'll see over time.

Front "HD" turn signals shown below. They sag and are twisted just a little bit, but I'm sure I can bend the adapter plate just a bit that the previous owner made to get them straightened out again.

Yeah, I really like the HDM livery quite a bit. I love 70s color schemes, and my favorite colors are in the orange family usually, so an HDM set would be awesome. Maybe I'll run across some HDM fenders, side covers, and a tank one day in great condition and just change out the Blue/Azure for HDM, and back, depending on the season... you know, keep things interesting ...probably not. It's probably cheaper to buy an entire bike! But it would take up a lot less space in the garage rafters But yep, I've been on the phone with Mark since earlier this week. Really nice and funny guy. He has a few seats that he's going to mock-up and send photos of for me to choose. He was very interested in my height, inseam, and weight to try to help pick out the best seat he has for a good comfortable fit. I thought that was going above-and-beyond for someone just selling used parts. I really appreciate the extra effort and clear interest he has in trying to help me out He says he has a matching BMS (Bill Mayer Saddle) main and pillion he wants to show me that he thinks would be a good fit for my height and is a bit better than OEM based upon the previous owner, who is a friend of his. I'm not, well wasn't, familiar with BMS seats, but after doing some reading about them I'm very interested to see that seat Other than getting it registered next week, a seat is really all the bike needs for it to be ready for me to ride. I could ride it with the Corbin, but I don't really want to since it really is too tall for me with that seat. The bike has non-OEM, I think Harley Davidson?, turn signals, and I asked Mark if he had some OEM spares. But he echoed what some others have said, which was that the OEM are junk and even if in good condition or new will likely have to be replaced again in a year or two when the "rubber" stalks crack apart. So he said the HD ones on the EV are honestly probably much better and recommended I just stick with them. I prefer OEM, but with that advice I'll probably just leave them alone then. They don't look wrong, but I do wish they were a little more torpedo/teardrop shaped like OEM. But that's a really minor thing after all. On another note, I wonder if these generations of California/EVs are eventually going to end up a bit rare in totally stock form due to just normal attrition over time and with people converting them to "retro" bikes? I've heard of, and now have seen, quite a few people doing that. Like many things that become classics or collectible about 25-50 years after they've fallen out fashion, people often look back on when those things weren't being preserved or saved and say "wow, if we only knew". Hard to say if this generation of California will be that case, but on the other hand, it wouldn't surprise me. Here are the HD (I think) turn signals that were adapted to the bike two owners ago. He apparently made an adapter plate for the fronts, and chopped off the base of the OEM signals to mount the rears. There are also some non-OEM mirrors installed, but I haven't yet looked closely to see who they are made by. I like the oblong OEM mirrors that are used on the California Vintage, but I'll give these a try and see how they grow on me, and most importantly how well they actually work as functional mirrors

Well, I had no idea I was famous, but then again... (See below, me with "Al" from "Tool Time". I actually met him sneaking out the back of a home improvement expo back in California) Yeah, I don't know how you missed getting my photo, as I clearly remember your trying to get a photo of the Pik-N-Pig sign without my big head in the way But I know at least one of the ADV guys was snapping "proof of life" photos, and I think took a few shots of the length of the tables, so you and I should be in some of those.

BTW Bill, I checked and the throttle does have the dual cables, so either it came from the factory with the correct setup or the recall you mentioned was performed. It was great meeting you in-person today!

Thanks, I've dropped Moto Machines a "Contact Us" question to see what they recommend. I'd hate to throw away six perfectly good cylinders, or spend $200+ on a set of locks. Seems wasteful.