Lucky Phil

Nice work but why nail polish? Is it more durable than red paint? I spoke to a local automotive instrument repair company a couple of years ago about these instruments and re colouring the pointer. He was faimiliar with the colour which he refered to as Dogs @#$$#! red. Dont know what dog he owns and dont want to find out either. Ciao

Excellent. Look forward to a review. Just dont sign anything before hand:) Ciao

Series C Rapides are such a nice looking bike, they seem to have the right proportions. Engine designed by and Australian as well:) Funny story I read in a bike mag a few years ago. This Journo reccons there is a world wide Vincent owners conspiracy. Says no Vincent owner will let you ride their bike, not because they are afraid you will crash it but because if they do other riders will find out just how very ordinary they actually are,lol. Once you buy one and find out you then need to keep the secret, which apparently isnt hard to do after shelling out silly money. PS........ I've know someone for many years thats owned one for as long as I've known him and he would never let me ride it. Ciao

Hey docc, just musing on the failure mechanism here which may well simply be a failed uni joint but is there any chance it could have been a loose clamp bolt causing the yoke to fail first? Maybe even backing out and catching the collar? Just thought and hoping you would get a decent warning before the uni failed and caused that sort of carnage. Ciao

What happened docc? Ciao

Love Norah Jones docc. Two performances come to mind, Her version of Bob Dylans "Forever Young" at the Steve Jobs memorial and her duet with Dave Grohl of "Maybe I'm Amazed" at the tribute to Paul McCartney. Ciao

You only worry when its not leaking oil............cause then you know its run out. Ciao

Love it. If a Commando owner ever suggests you go touring together politely decline unless love roadside rebuilds more than riding:) The Combat engines were the worst, hand grenades. Superblend main bearings and gearbox needle bearing conversion helps. Ciao

The silver ones alway photograph well I think. Ciao

Nice one docc, I love data. Maybe we should have a "data" sticky thread. You know when someone lists some data that may be useful for comparitive purposes you can go there if you have an issue and are curious. Obviously there will be a scatter of data but you can get a general idea. Heres a few to consider. Idle rpm Rear drive temp Altenator output voltage Tyre pressures and mileage obtained. Oil pressure Oil consumption Wheel Bearing life Other bearing life. Oil seal life Drive shaft uni joint life. Ciao

I'd say you have a fuel pump issue if you're getting vapor lock. Even in 40 deg C heat in traffic here in an Australian summer i've never had an issue with vapor lock. Ciao

Sorry, with Guzzi content. A pair of 74's I've been inside Commando engines and transmissions a few times in the past and I find the engineering design somewhat offensive I'm afraid. A couple of dozen fasteners press ganged onto a vibrating self destructing thrashing machine all looking for a way to jump ship. Ciao

Cant remember but does the 02 Le Mans have the single plate alloy flywheel? Ciao

I wouldnt do this normally for any reason because all bikes have a speed where the natural resonant frequencey coecides with a particular speed and if you release the bars they shake. Some are far worse than others and my first experience of it was when I was part of a road test team for a local magazine back in the mid 1980s. We were testing 4 bikes ( Gpz900, Honda VF1000R, Yamaha 1000 and the Suzuki) over a weekend trip one of which was a GSX1100E, the model with the 16" front wheel. I noticed the bike would shake the bars quite badly at around 60 klm/hr if you had one hand off the bars and just light pressure on the other. As Chuck pointed out the propensity to do it and the magnitude varies on each particular bike dependent on mechanical/wear factors and some bikes you will never actually experience it because you dont release the bars or reduce the input at a speed which that particular bike experiences the shake. The only reason I really noticed it on the Suzuki was because from memory we were riding in suburban conditions in the rain and I was clearing my visor regularly so had one hand off the bar and with the throttle shut and no braking and light grip on the right bar it would shake. I then released the right hand entirly to see what the effect would be and it shook a lot. Didnt try it too much after that. Replace the front tire, check the wheel bearings,steering head bearings, wheel for trueness and the steering damper for binding and no dead spot and see how it goes. Ciao

Can you use a pair of pliers scudd and squeeze the female connectors down a little to improve the snugness? Ciao

Trashed wheel bearings will do the same but I'm under the impression here that if you push the bike a few wheel rotations it will happen, so a bent disk is probable. Worn out wheel bearings need to be ridden before they do the same thing. Ciao

Pretty much. If you just check torque it without backing it off and it doesnt tighten you're fine. Ciao

Have you got the front wheel spacer in/in correctly? Has your friendly tire fitter bent a front disk when you've had the tire replaced? IE...... fit the wheel and good lever, rotate the wheel and the bent disk pushes the pads back and.....no lever. Ciao

A question.....I've seen many images of American country towns and it seem usual to lack awnings out the front of the stores. Just wondering why? It seems to make them feel a little bleak and lacking character. Is there a reason for this? I love a country town with old stores with awnings. Add hitching posts and horse drinking troughs and, well perfect. Most Aussie country town have awnings but it doesnt necessarily mean it will have a nice feel. Sometimes our towns have the awnings but too wide a main street and loose the intimate feel. Ciao

Satin black. Ciao

You could use an 1100 Sport tank and run the earlier V11 external pump, filter and regulator. Ciao

Some times if they are uneven laterally from the back you can run 1 hanger bracket inside the footpeg support and the other outside. If it was perfect it wouldnt be Italian. I've fitted many many aftermarket systems over the years and most I would put in the ordinary catagory, especially Termis. The exception is the full titanium Akrapovic system on my 1198. Not only is it a work of art but the fit is breathtakingly good, I mean perfect. Its so good it needs to be assembled in the correct order at 75% engaged then wiggle each coupling a fraction in turn in order to arrive at a fit where all the mounts line up and there is no tension in the pipes. Better than aircraft pipework and the welding is perfection. If you ever want the best buy Akrapovic no question. Ciao

Dont know if its the image angle but they look a terrible fit. Does the l/h muffler have clearance on the l/h side of the swingarm during suspension travel? Ciao

Yes Chuck spot on on all counts, most systems work on 3.5bar. You can rig up a system with extended hoses and tape the gauge to the tank and ride it to check it under load. Sounds dodgy but one trip around the block will tell you if there's an isssue. If your bike has the in tank pump which I believe it does its worth checking the screen. Ciao

You need to do a fuel pressure check. Its a hassle but the components you need arent expensive to make up a test tool. Really everyone that runs modern EFI systems and wants to do home maintenance should have one these days, its part of the basic equipment needed. It doesnt matter which way the fuel lines run, whatever uses the least amount of hose and has the simplest routing. Mine does left first then right then reg back into tank. If the fuel pressure is low then the engine will often idle and rev fine unloaded but fall on its face when you try and ride it. Edit..... I just reread your first post......hows the timing sensor gap? Did you check it when you replaced the sensor? Ciao