stefano

i missed the start of this thread, why did you sell your guzzi? i'm new to guzzi's after lusting after one for 30 or so years. i'm thinking of selling my '83 BMW R100RS that i've had 20 or so years. i know i'll regret it.....it is uninspiring to ride compared to my new to me '02 lemans. BUT....if i actually had to go somewhere, i'd take the beemer, these /7s are bulletproof. and comfortable for long rides, with about 50mpg. having said this, i have a sea kayak i use couple times a month, 3 road bicycles i ride about 3000 mi a year, an old VW i need to rebuild the engine in(again), full time job, a high maintainance 115 yr old house,a guy just has so much time, no? do you guys in minneapolis get to ride much in the winter? here in sw washington state it rains pretty much from now thru june, but not much snow & ice, although i took a pretty bad header on the bicycle on ice last winter. my lemans looks a lot like fotoguzzi's, & i love it..... good luck on your M/C hunt. stef ps, didn't pirsig & the sutherland's start their ride i "zen and the art of motorcycle maintainance" in minneapolis? loved the book.

Brilliant Video! Inspired me to dig the V11 out again, not used it this year Spent all year touring on the Norton Commando and my Breva but also missed the V11, I WILL use it next year! yeah, photoguzzi's video was great. BTW, i also love my guzzi, i ride so much more since getting it. winter is coming, plenty time to sort any problems. i think the 2 best upgreads i did for my commando was the boyer ignition, thost twin points were a pain, also installed single mikuni, i'm not a purist, made it fairly reliable. also pined the swing arm spindle,that combined with the isolastics made for some interesting handling. :-) not to mention right side shift, 1 up, 3 down....... cheers, stef

i've been starting the machine with the sidestand up, i thought this was a safty feature so u couldn't ride off with sidestand down to a disastrous left turn....just went out to the garage, sidestand down, in neutral (light on) clutch in, push start, starts right up. maybe the code is broken... thanks for the reply & hints stef That's normal, bike will start with sidestand down, but only when in neutral (bike has to able to idle on the sidestand). For the procedure I'm with Savagehenry. you guys forgot one more part of the drill. Keep Fingers Crossed. ;-) bike started flawlessly yesterday (except one time) but it always starts. not to worry, i'll sort it out. i used to ride a norton commando, now THERE was a bike with issues. i was still sad to see it go when time came to thin the herd......cheers, stef

being a machinist, first thing i did was build a stand similar to ones i've seen on this site. actually first thing was valve cover gaskets, gonna check clearances. guess i better get a shop manual for the V11, eh? so much new stuff to learn. thanks, stef

i've been starting the machine with the sidestand up, i thought this was a safty feature so u couldn't ride off with sidestand down to a disastrous left turn....just went out to the garage, sidestand down, in neutral (light on) clutch in, push start, starts right up. maybe the code is broken... thanks for the reply & hints stef

i recently purchased a 2002 leMans after lusting after a guzzi for many years, i've been riding a BMW R100RS for the last 20 years, i still have it, still like it. here's the question. is there a proper start up drill for the guzzi? sometimes it will crank right up. other times when i push the start button, it won't crank 'til i put it in gear, then shift into neutral (all the while pushing on the start button)then it'll crank & start. lately it won't crank 'til i push the right bar kill switch to kill, then push it to run, then it'll crank & start. it's never left me stranded, always starts after doing some of above. oh, yeah, i have the kickstand up & clutch in. hmmmm. am i doing something wrong? i just put in a new set on relays,but didn't help the starting drill. i love the V11, it's everything i'd hoped it'd be & more, the riding thrill is back. cheers, stefano