savagehenry

...and after well over 500 miles on my bike since the addition of a plate, I have not seen a single red light under power, which I used to see with some regularity when I wasn't careful . Also, it FEELS like the motor now spins more freely (purely subjective, mind you) as a result of keeping the oil down in the pan as opposed to being slung all over the inside of the crankcase, and forcing the flywheels and rods to shed the ensuing torrent of oil Pete has PROVEN happens when you are spinning your motor at 80-120 FULL ROTATIONS PER SECOND! (5-7000 rpm+/-). If you do fast take offs, I feel it is a NO BRAINER to put one in. Like it or not, it is a inhereint flaw in the design of our bikes. But of course, it's your bike and your choice. Look at the list of people who have done it (not to mention its VERY easy to install), and you'll see alot of extremely knowledgable Guzzi people who have it, along with the chuckleheads like me. That is enough for me, 'nuff said. , S.H.

Have you tried lifting the front end and checking the steering head bearings? Had the same thing on one of my old bikes, and the race was notched. Only started showing up in long sweepers at pretty good speeds, Unnerving

Also check the driveshaft u joints, particularily the front, to insure proper lubrication. As the joint goes round, if dry, might "Honk...Honk" due to lack of proper grease. This should be checked no matter what because of the age of the bike (whats the mileage?), some members reporting items NOT properly lubed from the factory, and a driveshaft costing $6-700.00 . Please keep us informed, good luck, S.H.

The winner was the first PM I recieved, from......"drum roll sound".... Guzzihutch!

I bought a needle nozzle that worked very well, and easy, using the method stated as the start of this thread, and was very inexpensive to boot. Lincoln Industries, Needle Nozzle, Model 5803. You can visit their website, I got it at my local Farm & Fleet for $8.00. I'm sure if you can't find this one or a similar one, you could always buy one on line from McMaster-Carr, an industrial supply company that has anything you could think of. Bought the sheet of ABS plastic that I made my rain shields from when I removed my rear tire hugger, and all the stainless steel I used to make a crankcase breather valve. Thanks for the confirmation, will do it the "right way" when I do a major servicing at the end of this season. Greg, it is really something to have folks of your caliber/reputation just popping in to help us jokers. A true testment to both this site, and the Guzzi community in general. Thanks to all (ESPECIALLY Jaap),S.H.

I bought a needle nozzle that worked very well, and easy, using the method stated as the start of this thread, and was very inexpensive to boot. Lincoln Industries, Needle Nozzle, Model 5803. You can visit their website, I got it at my local Farm & Fleet for $8.00. I'm sure if you can't find this one or a similar one, you could always buy one on line from McMaster-Carr, an industrial supply company that has anything you could think of. Bought the sheet of ABS plastic that I made my rain shields from when I removed my rear tire hugger, and all the stainless steel I used to make a crankcase breather valve. Thanks for the confirmation, will do it the "right way" when I do a major servicing at the end of this season. Greg, it is really something to have folks of your caliber/reputation just popping in to help us jokers. A true testment to both this site, and the Guzzi community in general. Thanks to all (ESPECIALLY Jaap),S.H.

Hi tex78, welcome aboard and hope you enjoy the spirited commrodarie. It can get wild and wooly, but that's what makes it FUN! Later, S.H.

It has been claimed. Ride Hard! S.H.

Have a 2003 service manual on CD, ask and it is yours, just pay shipping. PM me. Love, S.H.

Went after the front U joint tonight. The good news is I see/found "good" grease at ALL points, (SIDENOTE: apparently, FBF uses "Moly-lube" for the whole shaft). Bad news, am I wrong or does the front section of the drive shaft NOT fit through the tunnel in the swing arm when attempting to pull it backwards. Then I removed the cage too, and FU K, still no good either! I figured it would end up being easier to pull the whole shaft, but not on mine, so far..... and if this is so, then you must pull the swing arm to remove the entire driveshaft?!?!? Appreciate your time and thoughts, S.H.

Many here really like the Pirrelli Diablo Strada's. Seem to give positive feedback, "sticky" enough for spirited street use, very confident in rain and good balance between life and grip in general. A check of previous tire threads will bring forth a multitude of opinions, but you seem aware of what's about to come...

When I first copied this quote MANY years ago, I had several Harleys. That was then followed by a couple BMW's, and now my sole ride is the MG. Recently found it, and thought I'd share it with ya'll...Any of you see yourself in this? "Talking Bikes" by Ed Robinson, as written in "Hot Bike" magazine, "Once in a great while I run into someone riding an old Indian or a Triumph or a Norton or a Vincent. These people I can talk to. I've been there. I even understand Lucas. I manage to get along fairly well with Yamaha owners if they have Virago twins. I don't do so well talking Goldwing or any other form of Honda. I also don't talk much Suzuki or Kawasaki. Being normal, I don't even bother speaking to anyone on a Moto Guzzi or a BMW. They talk only to each other and God." As always, Ride your own ride, , S.H.

I am only trying to show MY experience as it pertains to the original posted question.I do not ever want to attempt to contradict 'ol Pete, or the many others who have more technical, and hands on experience than myself. And my use of the term "vast" is fully a term open to debate. But to me, a bump of more than 10% in horse power, or the noticeably improved torque response is alot. These numbers appear to be possible without even doing headwork, or cam changes. Cross overs, slip ons and airbox mods have been reported to bring big smiles, regardless of any Dyno bragging rights. I don't know about my reliability over a much longer run, but I just crossed the 10K mark in my first 11 monthes of ownership and have not been stopped from riding by mechanical failure to this point. In my book, filled with more than 20 years on only air cooled twins, including several OLD Harleys, this is the mark of reliability. I will have no problem reporting any news to the contrary in the future, and as always, individual results may vary. Ride fast enough to scare yerself, and still RIDE home! Later, S.H.

Hi again, I posted the info on my bike to illustrate a couple of questions in ALdad's original post. 1. These bikes are easily modified to make more overall HP, and the torque can also be improved. And you can do these mods with either or both as your goal. 2. Done properly, vast improvements do not mean you must sacrifice reliability. 3. If you like to "Dyno Race", cool. We all derive our fun from these bikes in our own way, and your way may not be my way. I have never even had a bike dyno'ed, I just passed on what FBF told me the bike was putting out. I don't doubt that many shops are favorable to their work, and so their #'s may be too. I didn't even get the dyno report from FBF when I had it shipped half way across the country because I told them I don't give a RAT'S ASS about "numbers". I later asked if they would be kind enough to send it anyway, they did not, oh well. 4. Chasing HP/improved torque costs money. And it follows the Law of Diametric opposition. As you get deeper into mods, the increase of power starts becoming "More money for Smaller results". The $ figures were taken both from the FBF catalog, and the figure given to me by FBF during pre-purchase talks. They charged the ORIGINAL OWNER $5800 for their work and parts. I would not spend that on ANY bike because I don't have it! Yes, WELL over $20,000 is ALOT for MOST bikes, IMHO. But I saw THIS bike, and could not pass up the most beautiful mechanical thing I have EVER seen, with THIS motor, for less than 1/2 of the above figure and that includes tax, shipping and purchase, out the door. Ratch, The Breva cam was installed to improve the everyday,on the road, power, not top end. And I don't know what the top end is, because it JUST KEEPS PULLIN' at 125 mph, with alot of throttle twist left!. I have never been on the track. But I am damn happy with the results up to the 5000+ RPM range, where I LIVE on this bike. I believe it was you who noted that your motor seems to spin freer with the "Roper plate" and I totally concur. And please, do not lose ANY sleep worrying about if you piss me off. We are here to talk, banter and call a spade a spade. I tend to understand where you are coming from, I think. One must sometimes CHOSE to defend a point they themselves may not even agree with, to be certain your beliefs are truly solid. If you don't challenge your most deeply held beliefs, true growth cannot happen. What worries me is the close relationship of love and hate. You and dlaing go at it so often, I wonder if there isn't something more BETWEEN you two that the rest of us are glad NOT to know about! guzzimoto, dr. know, steve g. and others- right on, man! It's our money, and we'll piss it away as we see fit! ALWAYS "ride your own ride". And finally, Polebridge- Many gracious thanks for your kind words, it truly is one of the best sounding bikes, to be sure. When Harley lovers admit it and non riders comment favorably, you know your on the right track. I get that ALL the time. My bike has now sold two other MG's. I've had guys chasing me down to say, "Man, when you BLEW by me, I had to know what that was, that thing sounds fuc%#$@ing AWESOME!!!!" P.S. Jaap, thanks for not killin' this site, you can see the emotion on the "page" is out of our love of this bike. Later, S.H.

Hi Dimitris, look through the pinned thread,"Installing a Roper Slopper". There is a real good picture of the clamp and oil filter in close up. It's in "How to.." section.

Hi ALdad, Here's my experience with my '04 Nero. I bought it from the original owner, who had ALL the work done by Fast By Ferracci. Before FBF started the project, they told him it did not sound like he would end up with the type of bike he was seeking to build. It wasn't, and he bought a much higher HP Italian bike (in stock dress, just beggin' to be made FASTER! ) not long after this one was done. Not to knock the theory/conjecture in this thread so far, but let's look at some "real world numbers", FBF 11:1 compression pistons- $300.00 FBF Cross over pipe- $240.00 FBF carbon fiber slip ons- $735.00 FBF oversized valve set- $276.00 FBF modified open airbox and BMC filter- $50.00 Power Commander III- $397.00 PLUS ($ charged is unknown)a big Breva cam, Hand port and polished heads In house Dyno tuning for a "guaranteed" 90 hp at the rear wheel. Parts and labor TOTAL PRICE- $5800.00 Hell, the Nero Corsa package was $15,000+/- to start with! Now we're easily OVER $20K! And I always run premium fuel= more money over the long term... Bought it with 5000 miles at two years old, and I have just turned the 10K mile mark in the last 10 monthes. My opinion, based very far from what some consider the real world as in "you ride a what?!? a MODO what?..." It is ALOT of fun, smile every ride, all that stuff you read in much better prose on this site by MANY others. And it has been utterly dependable. I have NEVER not made it home or left it somewhere dead. I want to ride, we ride. I use it to commute 25 miles a day to work. I've done a 450 mile day of nothing but curves and hills, pure shits and giggles in my helmet. I try to ride pretty much everyday above 35 degrees. And I ride in rain and cold below freezing with regularity. Took off the rear hugger and made a couple rain shields for the shock and battery box, dielectric greased every blessed connector I could find. Made my own "Roper "plate, LOVE IT! NO more red light take offs! DO IT if you chase HP, with out a doubt! I have done 95% of all scheduled maintenence, per the manual, myself. The price HE paid for this bike, and the extra 20 hp+/- was more than I would be able to afford, but I have shown it more love than money. I couldn't even imagine this bike if it were slower now. It is a PERFECT road bike to me. The torque is what makes it SO fu#kin' fun, and it is totally trust worthy. You,money, and a good builder can do this regardless of if it is a '00 or one of the later years, IMHO. The end. Good luck, S.H.

I would keep the current retracting sidestand, as the older BMW's also had, or replace it with the V11 stand with switch. It only happened to me once, and that was enough. With a passenger, I left with the sidestand down on my Lowrider, and damn near crashed. I have now had my Nero cut out after start up, only to find I didn't retract the stand . Better safe than sorry on this one for me. And a shot of electrical cleaner, followed by a bit of dielectric grease up the switch has kept it from acting up as it did when I first got it. , Later, S.H.

Hey T Dog, Some round my parts used to know me as T Boy, and my constant companion for years was my german shepard, T Dog. Smartest Damn Dog MANY people EVER saw, they told me so. Welcome aboard! Ride fast enough to SCARE yerself, and still RIDE home!!! Later, S.H.

Hey jhh, Welcome to the sight. I honestly believe you should sit on both if you really question the comfort of the two really different styles, you'll know then for sure. I've done a 450 mile day on my LeMans, and loved it. It's less cramped than it looks. Can't tell from your post if you prefer the look of the Sport/ LeMans or the Nevada, but the look is more important than your worries about required tinkering, they BOTH will! Happy Huntin', S.H.

"The Mighty Thor"!

Also, max top end HP has shown to be more the domain of the FBF cross over, but the stucchi or mistral showed more mid range torque. This is from reading the now rather lengthy "tale of two cross overs" thread, if memory serves me correctly. I think the mid range improvements translate better in real world riding. I spend way more time doing 0-70 mph than I do at 90 mph+ . Your results may very... Chasing more speed/ power is good fun, is it not?!?!? Good Huntin', S.H.

...and an image well worth pilfering, as it is a stunning example of the V11, plus also has a level of general internet recognition. It was the first, and most in-depth write up on the model that I found when my quest for a V11 Sport/ LeMans began...Congratulations, and spend the royalties paid for the use of your image wisely Later, S.H.

Hi Remo, From my Nero to your Scura, welcome to the DARK SIDE of the V11 family. I don't think you can beat "Team Blackness and Ohlins". Hope to see you around often, Later, S.H.

"...Engineers..." ...are (ONLY) people who are educated to to take the most up to date "X" factors and make a BEST GUESS" I am a tool and die maker, and see great ideas based in sound theory (as I see it) NOT work because there is SO many factors to take into account. And CHANGES bring OTHER changes. The world is bigger than ALL of us, and has infinate detail. Business generally does not piss MONEY ( the BOTTOM LINE in any company that continues operating, as Moto Guzzi DOES, so far...) on MORE work, MORE material and MORE TIME (where the BIG MONEY comes in) designing their product if it showed NO improvement. And the "numbers" at Moto Guzzi are bound to show that the cross over did improve the much dicussed "torque dip". The ACTUAL numbers may be so small as to mean NOTHING in your real world riding experiance, (OH, GOLLY, LET"S RACE OUR DYNO'S!!) I have also battled Quality Control Inspecters on the effect of splitting hairs on a measurement of .0002", when we have already positively proven that .005" will work perfectly for our application. Numbers ARE numbers, after all. If this were my situation, I would either put on the new pipes, or more simply, cap off the cross over stubs with a easy temporary solution, and see if I (repeat "I") noticed ANY difference. After that, who cares what the numbers say. Can't REALLY tell right away? Flip back and forth till you are happy. You will become more intimate ( READ: very good, and as a side note, knowledgeable in general) with your bike in the process. All of the other's opinions mean squat untill YOU are convinced by the FAT smile on your face! ...Then sell the rest of the left overs here or on eBay. Later, S.H.

I do the MG, the BMW(airheads ONLY) AND to round things out, I am a life member of the "See No Evo, Ride No Evo or anything remotely new" club too. Some people just can't get along... Actually, my love for my Guzzi is based in my love of previous Beemers and Harleys. The transverse mounted opposed V has ALOT of the "engineered" feeling of the german bike, but the V Layout still preserves that torquey, ROWDY feel that makes the Harley crowd love a beast that is/was known for slow death through part loss due to vibration. I felt the connection instantaneously, as soon as I took the Nero on our maiden ride. Ride on! S.H.