FuelCooler

I forgot to state the obvious: for handling, it is NOT necessarily a missmatch. A 180/55 on a 5.5 rim with a 120/70 on a 3.5 rim has been the wheel and tire combo on some of the most fabulous handling bikes made. All modern 600 sportbikes since about 1999. 851-888, Big Monsters, SS 900 and 1000 Ducatis. Some GSXR 750's came with them (they went back and forth with a 190/50 on a 6.0) and various Bimotas . Even the 1990-1995 ZX7 had that set up. And it got worse. A 190/50 on a 6.0 became the standard with the same small front on Jap liter bikes, MV Auastas, Ducati 916-999's, Aprilias(although some might have had 180's).

If having a sense of humor means that others laugh at me, then true... Yippie! I would be first! I would do it the right(-er) way...out with the motor and on to the Bridgeport. That like telling me my girlfriend runs worse in Stilettos then in pumps. My bike handles fine! I am not going for 'better handling' with this mod, I am going for a stiffer chassis to better cope with loading I am planning to add with engine mods and sticky tires. oh yeah and Thanks, it wont stop with this modification; I will ruin this bike yet. Cheers, Steve

Yikes! I could be heading in a downward spiral in terms of dealer networks. BMW to Guzzi to KTM Help me Honda Help, help me Honda!

This will be part of my winter fun, so I will start the questioning early! I plan on adding the extra late model (2003 long frame) bracing to my 2000 short frame (the tubes that run from the lower pork chop, under the sides of the trans, to the engine). I have the late model parts in hand but I need to know 2 or 3 things. 1. Does anyone have late model cases to measure (+/- 0.015) the location for the necessary holes? 2. Are the early case castings different internally in a way (I would doubt) that would prevent this. 3. Anyone done this? Actually it might help if someone has a broken set of cases (Scura?) I could buy/borrow to measure and compare. FWIW-I was a machinist for 15 years, so be as technical as you like. Thanks in advance, Steve

Yeah, I'm with you guys. That idea was starting to scare me. You could force the end off and get it hung up on the oil cooler. Not fun! Wheew. I hope..

If I go this route, (if no one sells me a used set! ) it would most likely be Mike Rich, but I would want to talk to him first. I used to make pistons. Anyone know who his initial supplier is?

If you please, sexist comments to follow, all in jest!!!! You know, I had a BMW 1150R. I would have kept it had I been born with girl parts. (I actually lusted after the K1200R, R1200S and I like the new on/off bikes... $$$$$$$$$) Ducati's remind you that you have man parts. Guzzi's will make you grow man parts. The KTM (and Highlander) will turtle them.

Well, I ain't too smart, but sometimes I might expecting too much of others (not you Ratch). Guilty. At least this post will remind people not to throw out their stock pistons if they make the swap. I would gladly buy a set (or two, Brent) of used, undamaged FBF or Mike Rich pistons at a reasonable discount if folks are not happy with them. Folks, feel free to PM me if you are too embarrassed!!!! Cheers, Steve

Ratchethack, I know you wanted to avoid this kind of reply but...for the sake of science, hear me out One of the problems I have is this: '----BUT ALL STATEMENTS ARE 100% TRUE'. If you or your owner friend never had the heads / barrels off for a look I can't see why you (of all people) keep posting this (your friends) experience. How do you know someone (previously) didn't just mill a millimeter or so off the heads (the easy way) and claim it had high comp pistons? Did anyone check? Or maybe they did pistons and milling. Maybe the compression height was too high on the aftermarket pistons (manufacturing error), maybe there was a tolorance stacking issue with this particular motor? I am sure the bike detonated badly on pump gas but ran 'like a champ' on race gas. I am sure it could not be 'mapped' out. These are things that you or you friend can and did verify. But without looking at and measuring actual parts to see what you have, you are making assumptions. Who knows that the pistons are the cause? They may be. I would feel much better about this post if it was you who did the modification and had the experience. Cheers, Steve

What else am I supposed to do with my house down-payment?

That Highlander looks sweet, but there is little if any dealer support here in the USA. If ever (or when) I am rich it would make a fine addition. Thanks for the link, it was a good read. Third gear!?! I love easy wheelies! A friend of mine once bought a new 1996 GSXR 750 SRAD and asked me how to get it to wheelie in first gear. I told him, "Just let it." Cheers, Steve

If you are an recovering addict who has have given up wheelies and stoppies, DO NOT READ THIS. Well, yesterday a couple riding buddies and I went to a KTM demo day at Hanover Cycle in Whippany, NJ. We road the 990 Super Duke and the 950 Super Moto R. After first riding the 990 Duke, I was worried that I would have to have it. But all of us preferred the Super Moto R! They were both fine handling, fun wheelie bikes with great brakes, but the taller SM wanted to tote the front in second easier. My hats off to KTM, their bikes are great and the demo was low stress and fun. Has anyone ridden one of these who has also rode a new Speed Triple? I wonder how they compare. If that 950 SM lifted the front in 3rd gear like it did in second I

Geez, I thought that was tire smoke in your avatar. My first guess would be it's from the drag racing and 3 gear wheelies. My next guess would be all rev limiter checks I've witnessed you do between gear changes. Especially the 1st to 2nd change, while wheelying............. in a drag race.

hgravelpha, I don't know if all the V11s have this, but I have a 2000 V11 and when I removed my angle drive (when I was fixing my trans leak) I found there was a small washer/bushing at the very tip of the assembly, where the face of the angle drive's exposed mating gear rests in the trans. If your bike has this bushing, and it falls into the trans (unnoticed) it can, and most likely will lead to major trans damage. You can check if it is in place (after angle drive removal) by carefully sticking a thin screw driver down into the pilot hole and moving it a round a bit. I hope others chime in here with there experience, because it may only apply to 2000s. Cheers, Steve

Hi ALdad, Lowering the front should help (and it's free!) but I suspect your springs are too soft. Do a search on 'laden sag' or 'unladen sag' and compare those numbers to what your getting. Our bikes have the shortest wheelbase and the steepest fork rake out of all the V11 spine frames so weight transfer issues affect us more. When a bike has soft springing there is a greater variation in the rake and trail during rapid transitions from throttle on to throttle off i.e. going from rear 'squat' - front 'light' to rear 'light' - front 'dive'. Getting either front or rear spring closer to ideal will help, but in my opinion (as well as others on this forum) getting the front end right is a better bang for your buck.......to start. I am 185 ready to ride and I have Wilbers progressives up front, which are good for me. HyperPro makes some progressives which could be alright, but if I were to do it again I would try 1.0 to 1.1 kg/mm straight wounds. Again, there is alot of good info on this board regarding this subject if you do a search. And if you happen to find another solution that doesn't match what is posted here but makes you happy......enjoy it and ride! And let us know, I haven't quite learned everything yet. Cheers, Steve

Setting the spring rates and sags as stated above will solve many ills, because it helps maintain your front to rear weight bias (and these V11s the bias is to the rear, which is not typical for a sporting bike). A 180/55 is taller than a 160/60. When you took that wildly pinched 180 tire off your 4.5 rim and replaced it with the correct 160, you lost rear ride height, effectively taking weight off the front. And assuming your are riding on stock springs, when you chopped the throttle you suddenly went from loading the soft rear spring to (over)loading very soft front springs which upset the bike enough to wobble. I believe your taller (incorrect 180 tire) was loading the front, somewhat masking poor spring rates and sags. Are the tops of your fork tubes flush with the upper tripple clamp? Pulling them through 8-10mm helps load the front as well. But you still probably need springs. If you do a search for 'springs' or 'fork springs' this board has many good recommendations on springs and sags. Or just call Ratchethack and save yourself some time Have fun! Steve

Sweeeet bike. Love the colors and the hardware. My buddy bought a 2000 Mille R. He loves it! Whats 30 degrees, between friends? In the end they are both (eventually) air cooled Italian twins (air cools the radiator for the Ape). Nothing to worry about!

Hey, Was that you Ryland3210, who left me the note at Chatterboxes Thursday 08-09-07 regarding this thread? Three V11s at one diner on a weeknight in NJ! Geez I thought these bikes were rare. Cheers, Steve

Is anyone else here riding to Virginia next weekend (8-17 though 8-20) ? I used to live in Danville and I have been to all but one AMA race at VIR since they started racing there (2002?). We are heading out from Phillipsburg, NJ Friday morning. Cheers, Steve

FuelCooler expressed some interest as well: http://www.v11lemans.com/forums/index.php?...st&p=125056 But the others listed above are all ahead of me. If by any crazy luck they all refuse it, my offer stands. Steve

I will absolutely swap my spare silver 4.5" w/ 160/60 Pilot Sport for that 5.5". I will even pay ground shipping each way as long as it is in the USA's lower 48. Let me know when you want to do it, as my wheel is collecting dust! Cheers, Steve

dk, You know how I can tell you made your bike handle worse? You only have a 114 post count.

As measured, my 180/55 Pilot Power on a 5.5 inch rim is 16mm wider and 6mm taller than my 160/60 Pilot Power on my 4.5 inch rim.

Correct, It is 100% bolt up, the disc is the same, as is the axle, cush drive and spacers.

The 160/60 is an improvement over the 170/60 (on the 4.5). FWIW- My resprung but other wise stock 2000 V11 has a 2002 MG 5.5 inch rim with a 180/55 Michelin Pilot Power on it. No clearance issues even with the stock hugger. The handling is fine on my bike, but mine is set up for my weight and the forks are up 10mm in the triple clamps. I do know a guy running a 190/50 Super Corsa on his 5.5 rimmed Scura. He does track days and loves it. Before the flames, has anyone but me tried a big rim and tire on a short-frame bike?