al_roethlisberger

I know nothing about the FBF first-hand, but beyond some units that were a bit out of spec, I can say that the Stucchi crossovers are built like tanks, so there is some expense in the materials there. al

I think new-member Kraz said he was 22 or something.... Cute family BTW I have an 8 month old, aren't they fun!

I thought about replying... but just am not honest enough

Holy Shit... that's eerily the same as my life story... Are we twins separated by some tragic event, like an alien abduction I think, from my vague recollections of that foggy time so many years ago... that the only discrepancy is that Snipe Hunting was also among my final family experiences. Spooky

Awesome work! Your route is almost exactly the route I took in 1998 via backpack/train, although in reverse Can't wait to see more, especially the English subtitled version, as my French is very poor Cheers. al

...and why weren't you doing this last month when I was stuck there for 3 weeks? P.S. I know you told me a long while back, so forgive me, but what is the show she is working on again?

Interesting... they shoulda I've seen countless 2001 and earlier bikes with the pods, just like yours, directly on the TBs. And Jaap's bike is a first year LeMans(well...was a LeMans ) ... so he has all the external fuel stuff too. It doesn't matter either way, and your solution is of course fine, but just an FYI al

.... I think it is equally funny to imagine a "Crosswagon Garment" I'm sure he'll be a hit swaggering around the factory floor

Cut and paste works snazzily as well .....so are you suggesting I am a quantity versus quality kinda guy BTW, I vote for the Stucchi as well, only based on my sole experience with it though.

heh, thanks ... but honestly, I've simply gleaned the little that I know(and it is really just a flash compared to folks like Pete who know the ins-and-outs of these machines) from a few years of reading this very forum, and others like Wildguzzi ... oh, and my share of "tinkering" or "breaking" things on my bike over the last few years al

First check that you haven't overfilled the transmission... it is very picky in this regard, and many leaks are caused by an overfilled condition, and cease once some fluid is removed. Other than that, once the point above is verified/addressed, if I know the area you are talking about... you can clean the area extremely well and put some silicone there to stop weeping. This is just the press-in plug for the shaft(s) in the selector plate. al

The Buell windscreen looks good. BTW, I assume you just cut the "trumpet" or "flare" from the end of the intake runner in order to get the K&N over it eh? I've thought about retrofitting my K&Ns, even though they incorporate their own "intake runner" to accomodate the stock intake/clamp, just because it would smooth the airflow a bit and provide for a more positive clamping surface to the TB... but I'd have to cut the "flare" off of the end, and I'm not sure how they'd fit, as my K&Ns are substantially larger(longer and in diameter) than the conical ones like you have posted. al

Is the FBF an "H" or "X" type? I've never heard/seen it confirmed which design they finally went with. Either way, you may find the following comparison informative: http://www.v11lemans.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=4658 al

EXCELLENT FIND! Finally I think we can see definitive, objective data comparing the Mistral(and similar styled H pipes) versus the Stucci(and similar styled X pipes). I've added it to the Exhaust FAQ al

Frank, I'm really sorry to hear about this... and I know how you feel. Someone rammed into my Suburban a couple months back, left with ~$2k worth of damage, and drove away. My only silver lining is that based upon the paint transfer, and the "durability" of my old truck.... I know their vehicle took some serious damage as well. Oh, and the guy that ran our 8 month old Honda Pilot off the highway at 70mph in SoCal, along with a Porsche?? ...turns out that he had no insurance... nice Well, anyway, really sorry to hear abou this. Check with Reboot Guzzi Spares for a spare sump spacer. I don't think you want the weight of the bike on half a threaded socket. al

FYI, as of the last day or so, apparently Moto Guzzi North America has shut down their webpages to honor Mr. Todero with the following simple tribute on a black field: http://www.motoguzzi-us.com/ How many other manufacturers would do the same? ....that's respect

The neutral switch is inside the transmission, although you can remove it... thus draining your trans fluid in the process though If you look down by your shift linkage, you will see the wire hanging off of the switch. It is just a simple plunger switch, and it is immersed in the trans fluid, so "lubrication" per se usually isn't the issue. But, they do stick. If you can't get it to work, you can disable your sidestand switch cutout, and a search of the topic should turn up several threads, or I'm sure someone here that has done so will provide detailed info on how to short the clutch and sidestand switch circuit. But, specifically to the neutral switch sticking, I know some folks disagree... but I picked up a tip from another list that worked for me. The tip was that parking the bike in GEAR, not in neutral, will help keep this from happening, and even "free up" the switch. I used to park my bike in neutral all the time, and the switch started to stick quite a bit. Then once I heard the "tip" and started parking the bike in gear, my switch rarely stuck ever again... so take the advice with an appropriate grain of salt, but it worked for me al

Welcome Kraz ...take minute and pop into our "introduction" section and tell us a bit more about yourself, where you live, etc It's definitely great to see another ST'er over here, say hi to ksann WRT your questions, I think they've been answered from a high level. But there is a bit more depth to all of them scattered about. A quick search of the forum for "cable", etc... will probably turn up several threads on the problematic speedo cable for example. Whats interesting is that the Veglia speedo hasn't really been a problem for anyone AFAIK, although the Tach has a horrendous track record. As mentioned, with the speedo, the cable is almost always the culprit. On your model, the angle drive on the transmission sometimes "explodes" and/or if the cable is poorly routed(which doesn't take much), the speedo will behave as you describe. Later models, 2003+, changed the angle drive to a simple bent tube for the cable, but that too had issues... As far as fender eliminators, yes the FBF kit is probably the cheapest and most simple. Check out the fender-eliminator FAQ for more options: http://www.v11lemans.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=460 WRT to the front brake switch, the little switches on the our bikes' levers are also notorious for getting fouled with dirt/debris... even bugs. I'd check out the switch to see if the wiring or mechanism is gunked up. I'm sure someone will chime in on their standard maintenance schedule, but the MG is so basic that it can vary quite a bit. Most guys just do the "major" stuff once a year when Winter arrives, and do the standard oil changes every month or few thousand miles depending on how/where they ride. But, the manual you are being sent will clue you in on some of that. Additionally you should get "Guzziology" the bible of MG maintenance/repair. It is written by Dave Richardson of Moto International in Seattle, and can be had on Amazon. And yeah, parts... again, where do you live? I see that you are in CA, but where? As mentioned, online, MG Cycle, MPH, and Moto International are great sources for our bikes, and aftermarket sites like FBF have goodies too. However, depending where you live, you may have a dealer or two local to you we can recommend. Well, hope that helps a little, and welcome again... Hope to hear more from you, and if you are in Northern CA, maybe once everyone finally has their bikes back together up here... we can have a ride again Cheers al

Interesting... Did you just buy a "NOS"(new old stock) Tenni? I didn't think any were still available "new", and at this point, 3 years later, didn't think MGNA was doing any more case-swaps or SWAG deals BTW, I am supposed to get my bike back from its case-swap this week They've had it since early December. al

One of the folks on Bay Area Riders Forum converted a similar vintage, and apparently quite famous, sidecar racing rig into a street legal bike... which really wasn't hard to do apparently, even here in California. It looks marginally safe for real world riding, as it is so low to the ground, but it is interesting.... al

Sport-touring.net has a whole host of regional "Greasy Spoon Archives" threads dedicated to nothing but good "motorcycling food destinations" You might want to check those out too S'lmkoj0k,lko,ko,ok,ook,mikom,lok,l`koi,`on`'?jh'juj';huj'ujiu';l`.`,m,,,;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;`./,kl,a ...the above was contributed by my 8 month old daughter al

heh ....what, did MG only stock enough "special paint" for the Scura "R" to make enough to ship merely 4 to the UK Although a nice bike, AFAIK there is nothing too terribly special about the "R" over a standard Cafe Sport, or other Ohlins equipped 2004+ Sport. than the special color scheme/striping ....although I have to admit it is a nice looking bike al

....also true, and a point well taken. However one other perspective to consider is that a large percentage of the aftermarket for mass-market sportbikes are pretty cheaply made, where the few options for our bikes... by their limited nature... are generally of fairly high quality. Obviously this is something of a generalization, but I think that in many cases it is a quantity versus quality scenario.... as the only people biting the bullet(and in some cases making very little money) to make accessories for our bikes, embark upon doing so with a good dash of passion, versus pure profit motivation But in all things, YMMV depending on just which "farkle" we are talking about You know, in some ways I wish there were more alternatives for various parts out there, but that would just make getting them more tempting Plus, I count our blessings in the relatively huge number or accessories we have now-a-days as compared to just a few years ago when the Sport, and even a couple years later when the V11 LeMans was released in 2002. Heck, even in 2002, Throttlemeister officially didn't have a model that fit, and things like high-comp pistons, tail-light/fender eliminators, and airbox kits didn't exist The start of this forum in 2002 was the genesis of many such grass-roots driven products, and the mind-share that made Ohlins conversions and other projects now a paint-by-numbers affair .... which prior, were one-offs, or yet to be attempted by some brave trail-blazer al

It is true that it is all "relative" but $90-ish bucks for spark plug wires, or brake/clutch levers that are twice as expensive as the exact same part from Ducati .... and the fuel pump from my FJ1200 was $250, which I thought was ridiculous, until I heard the pump on 2002 and earlier Sport/LeMans were over $400 al

Heyelllll Naw.... Taco Bell