al_roethlisberger

Well, I didn't "remove the eagle" so much as I replaced the tank My original tank split, and was being replaced under warantee. But before I received the waranteed tank, I had found a wrecked 2003 LeMans and bought the tank and it's guts to get the advantage of the new internal fuel plumbing. So I just had the black 2003 tank painted "champagne" and glued on the MG badges. So I didn't remove the eagles, I just didn't put them on the 2003 tank ...then I sold my 2002 tank to cover the costs. The head gaurds are from Harpers Moto Guzzi. I had the valve covers, sideplates, and a couple other bits custom powder coated. So, apologies, you can't just go out and buy them ...and yes, although in the Sport Bike communities I've already heard people complaining that "riding season is coming to a close"... I just have to roll my eyes. This cooler weather is perfect al

Here's the thread on Wildguzzi: http://www.wildguzzi.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=7403 And photos: http://www.wildguzzi.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=7235 al

Thanks .... yeah, actually it did break in the driveway ... as I was riding it to work. I actually have ridden the bike to work relatively frequently, but it's such a short trip that it doesn't add up to much. I rode it a good bit when I first got it ~15 months ago, then it went immediately in the shop a couple times for things like the timing cover gasket blowout and the trans real seal going south. But this last year(esp Summer) has been something of a "bust" for motocycle riding in our household what with the new baby in June and some other family issues like kid's soccer, and a myriad of never ending home improvement projects that always seem to take precedence The bike also sat in the shop for something like 3 months earlier in the year, then had a handful of other running issues on-and-off that nit-picked time, and yeah, I had it all buttoned up and running well again(so I thought)... and the spring breaks going out of the driveway Some of it is my own doing what with tinkering, but to the greater extent I've yet to have much confidence in the bike taking me much further than my neighborhood without worrying about some "issue". Currently it's now got some weird "shudder" at low RPM in the clutch that it never exhibited before... just something else to "track down" I guess And it's going in the shop again soon for an indeterminate amount of time for the case replacement.... more down time. Still love the bike, but whether it's blown gaskets, relays vibrating loose, ECUs dying, or shift linkages falling off on the freeway.... just about 1 out of 3 rides yields a new "surprise" that doesn't build confidence that inspires more long distance, or frequent, rides I think this is just indicative of some of the '02 QA issues. Earlier and later bikes seem better sorted. al

heh heh.... well that would be true if I lived in Southern CA It gets into the 40s at night at times here on the coastal mountains, even in the Summer. And it's regularly getting into the 50s at night now. In just a few weeks it's going to start to regularly get even chillier at night.... and at 60+mph.... brrr And of course, although this last 18 months has been a "bust" for any long trips, but when I used to take them.... my favorite areas have to be the Western basin, and high deserts... which get cooooooooold at night. So I'm just preparing And of course, the Battery Tender hookup is just super convenient I highly recommend the Powerlet products.

I don't know how many dealers are doing so, but the requirement to get a replacement arm seems to align with what we've suspected here. I just ground mine down to ~15mm instead of replacing it. Originally the boss on it was a fraction over 16mm. al

...yeah, it sounds like you may have done one or both of the following: 1) You are a "tooth" or two off on the selector wheels. It's easy to do. I had marked mine with a marker, but still ended up being one tooth off on the first reassembly. It was visually apparent by watching the neutral switch pin drop into(or slightly miss in this case) its dimple 2) As you suspect, you may have missed engaging one(or more) of the selector forks into the slot on the wheels. I worried about this myself, as it seemed to be something of a "crap shoot" to get them to all line up. But it seems mine did, even though I bumped one and had to guess where it was from memory. Maybe there's a trick to this portion of the reassembly, but I don't remember anything mentioned Well, I wouldn't worry too much about it though. Unfortunately you will have to take it back apart, but I doubt you've hurt anything. al

Heh, thanks for the current opinions guys ....but this thread/question was over 6 months ago.... and the 2003 tank has long since been painted, and fitted with just the "Moto Guzzi" badges.... no eagle More info here: 2003 Tank Retrofit Thread ...well, not knowing exactly to which "thingie" you are referring, I will assume you are referring to the Powerlet Outlet I have installed. This is used for an easy quick-connect to my battery trickle-charger, and a power hookup for any future heated garments, etc... al

They are Throttlemeisters, the "heavy" model al

BTW, my spring died whilst the forum was down, so here's the whole story on Wildguzzi: http://www.wildguzzi.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=7797 al

Mine did the same, a search should turn up my thread on the subject with some photos of my defect. Eventually the "bump" split and the paint started to come off. It started out as a barely visible "crevasse" in the paint under the clear coat and eventually got worse over time. MG replaced the entire tank under warrantee with no questions, and pretty quickly too I must say I suspect that eventually the paint will separate, so the options are a tank repaint or a new one. I don't know the cause, but I can only speculate that there was something contaminating the tank surface(like a finger print) when painted and/or tank-suck causing the failure in the finish. Sorry to hear about it though. al

No, it will look "normal" ...just wider. al

OK, got mine installed.... well, got ONE installed Let me explain Following Richard's instructions, in combination with my more precise bushings, I was unable to grind enough material from the back "side" of the peg without eating too far into a reinforcing web in the casting than I would feel comfortable with. I think that because Richard used a single bushing with some degree of play, the peg itself was able to sit a bit further out in the bracket than with my solution, and thus he may have not had to grind as far. I haven't inspected Richard's, but this is what I suspect. However, with the bushings I used, that "play" is eliminated. So, first let me say that with the pair of bushings I ordered from MCMaster, the fit of the Guzzi pin is perfect. There is no play at all Since the OD/ID of these bushings are not super precise, it did take a few minutes of sanding with them mounted on the end of a drill bit to get that last fraction of an inch down so they would nest within eachother. But once done, the Guzzi pin fits snugly and perfectly inside the bronze bushings, centered in the Buell peg pin hole. For each peg, I used one 5/16ID-7/16OD-1Long and two 1/4ID-5/16OD-3/4L(need about 7/8L, so a fraction of a second is used) bushings. But, this forces a pretty exact fit for the peg itself now, and my experience was that the ~2mm that needed grinding off had to come from the top/front half of the peg. And of course a quick nip on the very edge of the reinforcing webbing on the back side. Again, if I tried(and I did) to take the material off evenly front and back, I ended up grinding well into the reinforcing web on the backside of the peg which worried me. I would have preferred to evenly split the removal of material from both portions of the peg wall, but with the bushings in place, I felt more concerned taking too much of a bite out of the reinforcing web on the back. So, I have the left peg installed, with most of the material removed from one side of the peg, the front side. It seems sturdy, and that enough material is left, and along with the bronze bushings should be fine. I have to order another right hand peg since my experimentation with that one showed that it probably wouldn't work out with the solution I've used... then I'll have it done. A quick "sit in the seat" didn't feel like the controls were put that far out of norm. And even if so, an exention of maybe 1/2-3/4" on the control pegs should solve the issue. al

BTW, since this thread got my attention, I've noticed that this is apparently a popular modification for several other more sport-oriented bikes that are put into Sport-Touring duty as well...

Bushings showed up today... MC Master Order filled Monday, shipped standard "ground", and showed up Wednesday. al

Well, I was looking at the foot controls last night while visually mocking-up the Buell pegs(still waiting on the 7/16" bushings), and it seems like it wouldn't be too hard to simply extend the rubber pegs if one wanted. After all, even though I understand your point about putting one's feet actually on the stock bracket, as much as the peg, the Buell pegs still don't widen the placement of one's feet very much. So, by loosening or replacing the bolt that holds on the rubber peg with a longer unit, and adding a spacer/sleeve of some sort, one could move the control peg out a bit further to make up the difference and make the transition to the slightly wider stance more easy. I haven't tried this yet, but is just an initial impression of an easy modification to keep one from having to turn your toes too far inward to get to the controls once the Buell pegs(or similar setups) are fitted. BTW, keep us posted on your acclimation to, and impression of the Buell pegs long term. I should receive my bushings sometime this week, and will put them on as well ASAP. Again, great post, and think this is one of the best inexpensive modifications of this type we have run across for anyone looking for lower pegs. al

I'm sure one could break them, but they actually seem pretty tough based on my various yanking on them al

My IBM barely fits in the MG tankbag al

I didn't know the man nor the dealership, but it sounds like he provided a great service to his customers from this and other testimonials I've heard. Sorry to hear about your friend passing al

See the following thread for answers to a couple of your questions: 2003 Tank Retrofit Thread And here's the method for disconnecting the fuel quick-connects: "wiggle" while pulling on the hose, and pushing firmly on the gray collar..... and they'll pop right off The first time is usually the hardest, as they tend to stick. But once you've done it a few times, it becomes easy.

Someone posted a photo of putting JB Weld on bottom of the sockets to make sure the wires don't come off.... almost looked like they were dipped. Unless the socket is already broken, this should work to protect the connection. If it's already broken, no, I don't know about any replacements, although someone else may.... I fixed my tach lighting problem by adding another ground to the case. al

....indeed, as I've also pointed out a few times, here is yet another example of: "See, it's not just Guzzis...." New Yamaha R1s Shipped Without Grease ...and the one above is particularly appropriate as some have even reported some Japanese shafties being shipped without any spline grease. Hrmmm, have'nt we complained of that before ourselves? After reading many other multi-make boards out there, although I think we all have some justifiable nits to pick here and there, the Guzzis aren't really all that bad in comparison. They all have bugs, even the "uber reliable" Big4 Japanese bikes I hope this clutch issue does get resolved/clarified one day soon though, if for nothing else to reassure those owners that have this model. al

Will a laptop fit inside the tail-bag? I bought the rear rack a long time ago, and have kept it boxed-up for that "long trip" I plan to get around to one day But as I've done more and more research, there seem to be quite a few tail-bags out there that "in theory" should attach to the rear pillion quite well ....without the need for a rack. But I've been keeping my eyes peeled for one of these bags to show up on eBay anyway, "just in case" .... for a long while now. I mean, heck... it matches my tank-bag after all Glad to hear such a positive review al

.... I was possibly interested in the calipers Paul. What are you asking for them? al

...they do if they make me ride faster

The only V11 Sport models with the single-plate clutch were: 2001 Rosso Mandello 2002 Scura 2002 Tenni (Special Ed Le Mans) ...all other models come with the standard dual-plate kit. al