al_roethlisberger

Good news! Well, as far as "needing" the emissions sticker, one is better safe than sorry, as we've seen inconsistent enforcement at various CA DMV offices. I think it just depends on the perogative of the DMV officer one is working with whether they demand "proof" that the bike is CA emissions legal... as if a decal is really "proof" anyway Have fun

Here's the link to the other half of this story: RECOVERED

Hrmm, I'm not sure what you are saying about yourself... or your customers there Pete

I guess I am a freak, as I freakin' loved my "upgrade" P.S. To be fair though, any suspension, no matter how "elite", must still be tuned to one's appropriate specs, such as weight. Once I had my Ohlins resprung for my weight, that made them "just right". I suspect that a similar respring with the old Marz would have helped them quite a bit too, but there are limits to the old 40mm Marz forks, and if one still found them too harsh, additional surgery might be required... or yes, changing to some higher spec suspenders like Paoli, Ohlins, or top-shelf Marz units.

Awesome news We've had at least two Guzzis stolen in the last year with the same results... where someone stole the bike, rode it for a few miles, then parked it Of course, I don't know what this means with regard to how much people actually LIKE riding Guzzis once they get their hands on one .... but at least it seems to guarantee that they often don't go very far BTW, it was very interesting to see how "far and wide" this made it across the various MC forums. I saw it on no less than three other boards, not counting Craigslist Hooray for the community Now, if we can just find Zebs Daytona that was stolen last year al

I am very sorry to hear this. Oakland and SF City are bad news when it comes to bike thefts unfortunately, and if one can't afford an enclosed garage, it can make for a nervous ownership for sure Heck, even San Jose was pretty bad about thefts, even in secured apartment/condo garages But, be sure to have him x-post this to BARF(www.bayarearidersforum.com) and the their "Stolen Bike Database" and SBR(www.southbayriders.com) if you haven't already done so. Good luck, and keep an eye on eBay, Craigs list, etc.... al P.S. BARF is apparently down for a server upgrade, but I'll go ahead and x-post to SBR real quick.

Thanks guys, I'll have to keep that place in mind. We are still shopping for land to build a house, and are actually looking at the Chapel Hill area, so that might work out just right al

...yeah, just do a search for one of my many "vapor lock", "fuel pump relocation", or similar threads and there should be several posts with model numbers, sizes, and photos of the installation for the tyipcal aluminized mylar over fiberglass tubing heat shielding one can pick up at any local automotive "speed" or "hot rod" shop. Basically anyplace you can buy braided SS lines and AN fittings, you can get the tubular heat shielding. Now, that being said... I think it's application is helpful, but not the full monte. Here's why... First of all, not every bike seems as susceptible, and no one is sure just why. But heat *and* altitude, along with a near empty tank, can exacerbate the issue. Also, the location of your fuel pump can affect the liklihood(see FAQ for three locations). And of course, if your bike runs hotter than another, that also can increase the problem. So depending on the combination of these factors, your bike may be more susceptible than others. And as mentioned, some people in very hot climates have *never* reported the VL issue, while others in milder climates had the problem repeatedly. But, with regard to the heat shielding one can get at the local "speed" shop, it's application is certainly helpful, but the real culprit here is static "heat soak" versus heat radiation. Of course, one may say this is the same, but in practice the problem is simple. The VL issue really only raises it's ugly head after the the bike sits for 20-30 minutes, where the heat gets an opportunity to not just radiate, but soak into every part of the bike and yes still "radiate" but radiate from every angle, much like an oven. To protect from this situation, the consumer heat shielding would need even more extreme insulating characteristics than I think it can provide, and so the benefit... while still there... probably can't always solve the problem. However, it may be true that commercial grade, or aircraft grade, fuel line and pump insulation may work well. I did not try that. Again, the only sure-fire way to solve this is to fit a 2003+ tank with the in-tank pump, but that will probably only work on 2002 bikes, as the longer 2003+ tank may not fit the shorter framed 00-01 bikes. If I didn't have the 2003+ tank option, I personally would look into getting some aircraft grade shielding as Jim pictured. And if it really became a problem, I would look at mounting the fuel-pump "out front" as on Centauros and Sport1100i bikes(and a few 2002s) as I think all of those seemed immune to the problem. i.e. Jaap's 2002 has the fuel pump mounted out front above the alternator. Good luck! Al

Yeah, it's been a little flakey at times lately... al

What brand "front wheel grabber thing" are you using? al

...very cool bike, and congrats on the baby as well

Just give Mike a call, or drop him an email, and he will be happy to talk to you at length about his products, and general performance upgrade options. He has years and years in the business building engines, flow-bench testing/porting, for some big outfits, but now just does custom work and kits for MG and such. http://www.mikerichmotorsports.com/ Mike has great customer service, is very happy to sit on the phone and work out problems, and even sent new rings ASAP to my shop when they broke a few installing my pistons during the engine rebuild. BTW: Mike had worked closely with the "Cooked Goose" Land Speed Record team, which is how I found out about him. www.cookedgoose.org al

Maybe it's something we should start two other threads on? ...oh wait, it's been done already (Apologies, couldn't resist )

Did they do a good job on the window? I hate when they miss a bug splat or two

Here is a thread on the Mike Rich variety as well, and some photos: http://www.v11lemans.com/forums/index.php?...3879&hl=pistons

Yeah, that's a lot of dough for folks in the US right now: For that kind of money, although I think spoked wheels would look AWESOME, I'd be hard pressed not to fit some PVM light-weight wheels or similar. BTW, since they aren't tubeless, what would the be impact of running tubes in standard modern tires? And I wonder what these weigh? They don't look like they are alloy. If steel, I bet they are heeeeeeeeavy al

How well does the MG rear pack work out in conjunction with the tank bag for trips? I've got the tail rack, but never installed it, and the price of the rear bag was something of a turn-off... but I have considered it. al

....what's so "nice" about it? I can't tell it from any other fully faired race-replica under all that plastic But seriously, I'm sure it is a great performer, and technically it does sound very cool. But it is also stratospherically expensive, and honestly, it just looks like just about any race-prep Honda-Yama-Zuki I like bikes that "look different" from the pack. But glad to see something other than just a V-twin come out of Ducati. Maybe MG should take notice al

The FBF kit has been well received, and many V11 Sport/EV owners have installed them. But(and I don't mean this negatively), one should also consider the Mike Rich kit, as he also specializes in Guzzi solutions(as well as others). Mike is very knowledgeable, and of course has his opinions. But I think any potential buyer would be well served to call both FBF and Mike Rich and get their feedback on their respective kits and make your own conclusions. Both kits are great, and I've heard nothing but good things from those that have installed either. Fast by Ferracci: http://www.ferracci.com/ Mike Rich Motorsports: http://www.mikerichmotorsports.com/ http://www.mikerichmotorsports.com/MGproducts.htm al * Disclaimer: I am a "Mike Rich" shop, and all my major mods have been supplied from Mike: High Comp Pistons, Cam, TiN valves, valve springs/retainers, Dual-plugged heads

Well, that's a new one for sure.... but very interesting! Glad to hear you finally have this tracked down al

Nope, and apparently can't easily get it(unless I have FIM or something like TuneBoy). TLM wouldn't provide their map, as they said it was proprietary to the fella they outsourced this to, and that would be akin to giving it away. So, I have to go on some degree of "trust" for sure, but TLM is a reputable outfit, so I wasn't too concerned. al

TLM has done a lot of dual-plug conversions, and they used to(may still?) offer a service where you exchange your stock ECU for a reprogrammed ECU with the correcly adjusted ignition curve for dual-plugged heads. When I had completed my dual-plug conversion, there wasn't any other easy option to adjust the timing curve, other than Manley which was too far away. Believe it or not, there was NO ONE in California that while they may have had the FIM software, would attempt to remap the ignition curve on the Guzzi. These were mostly Ducati dealers/shops. TuneBoy either was nonexistant, or at least no one here seemed to know about it, and anyway, it would have guesswork on my part to adjust the timing anyway. So, I exchanged my ECU via TLM And for the fuel/air mapping, I have a PCIII, simply because.... at least back in Calfornia, there were many very good Certified PCIII shops that would map it with a custom map for about $200. al

...thanks for the accolades guys But I really need to update that article on pashnit.com... whew, it's "dated", and it needs some new/better photos. I am making a note now to ping Tim al

Yep, I spoke with Doug a few years back, but since he wasn't exactly "close" and shipping or riding the bike up to him was out of the question at the time, I went with a mapped ECU(adjusted timing for DP heads) from TLM and a PCIII. I don't know if TuneBoy was available then or not, but no one had mentioned it at the tme when we had the long "dual-plug" thread, so I never looked into it. If I had been close to Manley, I would have preferred to go the ECU flash route, just for simplicity, *BUT* then I would have had to do it at least one other time as I've added other modifications since then, so the points about cost/flexibility are also accurate. I still ping every so often in stinkin' hot weather, but not as bad as before. al