cola

Today I pushed the V11 out of the garage, checked the weather forecast and pushed it back in again. Took the oldster instead ...

Swapped the battery conditioner from the SP3 to the V11. Think the old car needs a go next. Maybe I should be less of a cheapskate and get one for each ...

Count me easily impressed too ...

HI - this all sounds very familiar. I've been dithering about this for the last year. Until last week when I bought this ... It's a 1994 carb'd 948 Tonti frame Spada SP3. I LIKE the fairing even if no-one else does. It cruised the 450 miles home, so it's a cruiser for me. I still have the v11 LeMans - sometimes faster is better

Hi scott, I'm just a short hop away from you in Glasgow. Happy to meet up over a weekend if you want to look at a V11 'up close'. I have an '02 Le Mans .... Cheers Colin

Good to see the bike being cared for. It reads as if it was a tad 'mis-owned' before. Now it is just me or do those pods look too small?

There's no gasket on my 02 V11 leMans - I've been in often enough to know but it has always sealed well using Blue Hylomar. I've always felt that the cap head screws are tempting to over torque - beware, I'd rather have a small leak than a stripped thread in the casing.

The riding's the thing! I put my '02 in for a thorough going over this winter (too many other things happening to do it myself). I put aside a reasonable chunk of cash for the inevitable 'you'll never guess what I found' phone call. BUT Shocker it was all good. All the bearings had grease in them, the rubber hoses were fine (thank Scotland's lack of extreme weather - or indeed sunshine). I put in new intake rubbers because I'd bought them just-in-case. It just goes to show that the great thing about inconsistency is that sometimes things are accidently done properly. However, no-one has mentioned the dreaded gearbox spring yet. I've done 15000 miles and I'm on my 5th one. It's an easy job to do, the part is only £4 in the UK and the bike has so much go that when you find yourself stuck in 3rd it doesn't stop you getting home so I don't worry about it. I keep a spare spring and that wards off Murphy. Enjoy!

Me too for the Odyssey - it's been spot on for a few years now.

Woo hoo! Congratulations! Just in time for ... winter in NZ

An exhaust can indeed impact the smooth running of a vehicle. It can allow introduction of air which fools the O2 sensor (not an issue for your vintage?) but it will also change the pressure waves in the exhaust impacting scavaging of burnt mixture (better at some revs, worse at others). Then there's the probability it'll just sound better. The unknowable is whether the impact in your case makes a difference ... Given it's all your own hard work and diligence I feel you should be claiming at least 10 bhp improvement in the mid-range with 'significant' reductions in emissions

I'm watching this with great interest ... my V11 LeMans has been with me for getting on 5 years and could do with a nice refresh. Bronze sounds very steam-punk (and that's a good thing ... )

I agree .... even the LeMans ... That's fightin' talk