Steve G.

With regard to the rattling going on at idle, it is normal for a non-California/Quota bike. The flywheel is much lighter, to allow the engine to rev up quicker, but at idle the lack of flywheel allows the engine to acellerate and decelerate very quickly,allowing the gear box gear clusters to do the same, which as you can imagine causes a rattling. No worries mate. With regard to the headlight/tachometer working odly or not at all, simply take the seat off, fire the bike up, and tap relay # 2 from the front, and everything should work well again. This relays location is perhaps the highest taxed relay location, as it has to switch the headlight, tachometer, and most notably, the charging system! My 01' still has issues with this, and am about to ask the lads who are better than this than me, to dig into the forum's archives to find the name of the place which sells those high amperage replacement relays to replace the junk Seimens units your bike and mine have. Ciao, Steve G.

It's funny how typcasting works with bikes in the motorcycle family. One thing I can say about Moto Guzzi to a large extent, and most all old British iron, is that they tend to be the most universally accepted machines out there. And for those Harley guys who don't understand, F&*# -em! With regard to the vibes, I will honestly concure with the other lads, that with mileage, these old lumps do indeed get smoother, but it will take at least 10,000miles/16,000kms. A long break in yes, but as with old air head Beemers, this means a long life, of which both engines are known. I have done much fiddling with the bars on my older V11, which are known to have more vibes than the Lemans series. As the V11 is essentially a "Cafe Racer", I thought bar end mirrors were the thing this bike should have. Of course, that would eliminate the bar end weights [Moto International] I have. So here's what I did. My favourite bike shop [burnaby Kawasaki] saved me a months worth of old wheel weights, which I melted with a propane torch [don't worry, I was down wind and outside] and poured into the ends of the V11 bars, with just enough to insert the Napolean Baren chrome bar ends. I won't lie, the vibration is to the point that I don't think of it during riding. Only when the subject comes up on this forum do I think about it now. And I should mention that my hands are quite suseptical to vibration numbness. Ciao, Steve G.

To me there is a distinct difference between F1 and Moto GP. One is boring as s@@t, computer controlled traction, anto lock brakes, computer controlled start etc, with most excitement happening in the pits, and one poetic art, and risk of personal life. I'm trying very hard to be objective, and not let my love for the motorcycle show. Last year Valentino Rossi was given seat time in an F1 Ferrari, with respectable times for a green rookie. At that time an honest offer was given to Mr. Schumacher to ride a GP bike. Not an exact quote, but he basically said there is no way he would ride something as wild as a modern GP bike. Don't under-estimate a modern Moto GP rider. They are the true gods of the motorsport world. I seem to recall the Ducati's doing over 340kms/hr down the main straight at Lemans last weekend. Hey guys, bike pilots sit ON TOP of their machines, UN-TETHERED!!!!!! F1 guys are strapped IN, side supported, back supported, crumple zoned, flip protected. Heck, those F1 guys are just "Poser Fluff" compared to Moto GP guys. That said, I think Ferrari stumbling a bit is good for F1. Makes Ross Braun and Jean Todt squirm a bit, earn their money more. In the end, this will be good for Ferrari, it will make them hungry again, lean and mean. Look at what 2 horrible years have done for engine reliability for Mercedes with McLaren. Ciao, Steve G.

Yes! Ciao, Steve G.

Joey Dunlop, surely he will be a saint one day. Anyone even remotely in tune with the world of motorcycling will remember him as the master of the I.O.M., and miss him. What a shame he left us so early! Ciao, Steve G.

Well, not THAT kind of grass. Golly, not since high school. You know what I mean. Ciao, Steve G.

Talking to Mike from MPH Motorcycles at the Laverda rally a couple weeks ago, mainly about the current Guzzi engine. He confirmed that it is a very tough old girl, and is extremely rare for one to break mechanically from long use or abuse. The crankshafts on these things are made of nodular iron, very strong. The week link on this engine is the top end, and before anything blows up, she will bend a pushrod or float a valve. Ciao, Steve G.

One of the problems I had early on with my V11 was that poor excuse for a dibstick. Very hard to read, as the raised fins give a false reading when you spin it in. I quickly got a metal one [that's another long and morbid story], and the oil level is now easy to check. The reason I bring this up, is I think you have overfilled it. It can be bad to overfill an engine. In rare occurances, broken cranks have been reported with cars, as the crankshaft 'bellyflops' onto the oil supply. It should also be noted that engine oil, even the best synthetic, will start to burn more as it breaks down from use. Ciao, Steve G.

The only thing over reving [and you didn't] could do would be to tap a valve, or bend a pushrod, neither of which would cause smoke. A cracked piston ring? Don't think so, as the oil smoke would be more pronounced on one side. The noise kind of sounds like a vaccum leak or something. Cracked rings don't usually make any noise. A jambed or blocked pcv valve [positive crankcase ventilation valve] can cause oil to be pushed from the sump up into the top end and past the valve seals, and everywhere actually. I'm sure this engine has one. All engines from the mid seventies had to have them, heck my Norton Commando has one. Basically the system vents crankcase gases back into the airbox to be burned with the incoming air into the airbox. This could be causing the hissing sound as well. Ciao, Steve G.

Hi Ben, Surely you have Speedvision, I mean the Speed Channel. If you live in or near any metropolis in North America, you should get it. I know the channel has gone a big way towards the tobacco chewing hicks that watch NASCAR NATION [sounds like a movie from outerspace], but thankfully they still throw bread crumbs out for us motorcyclists sometimes. Ciao, Steve G.

Even the hottest superbikes are prone to headshake. Don't sweat it. The head shake out of our bikes ulimately can be blamed on the tail heavy weight bias these models have. Ciao, Steve G.

Yes, our beloved Spine frame family of bikes with be gone by 2007, replaced by the Breva family, and by the Griso family. Ciao, Steve G.

I don't understand this thread. What is Americanizing? I mean I know what it is [i'm Canadian, boy do I know], but it seems to me that the forum being in the English language has the biggest effect on who uses this site. I'm very thankfull that guys who consider English a second language enguage here, as it gives us "English first language" lads a good perspective of how things work in different areas of this planet. I for one could not enter into a forum using anything but English, so I am envious of you Euro lads who can sample grass on both sides of the fence. Ciao, Steve G.

If I were a motorcycle manufacturer, looking to improve sales by winning in races, would I pick a Rossi, or a Gibernau? No question. We should all consider ourselves lucky, as we are witnessing if not the best motorcycle rider of all time, or at least in the top 3 of all time. Think of it for a moment, it's the end of the race, the tires a shagged, your pit board tells you your position is 1st place, with plus 0 seconds in the lead. You are on a inferior bike with less power, on a race and track the guy behind you has won the last two years. So what do you do? Well, you do not just set a race lap record, but the fastest lap ever recorded on a bike around Lemans, on the LAST LAP!!! The guy is a god! Ciao, Steve G.

A perfect example for you to use bshpilot, is the recent BMW ownership of a good buddy of mine. In early 2003, after test riding literaly every possible bike [at my urging, as they were leaning towards a Hinckley Triumph tourer] which would work for long distance high speed two-up sport touring riding with luggage, he and his wife chose a new K1200GT, in my eye a great choice, as at the time, the only other choice he would have gone for was the Yamaha FJR 1300, a choice I would have approved as well. But as it had no ABS in 2003, so it was the Beemer. After 1 year and 2 inches of warranty issue reports, he had had it. After threatening lawyers and other nasties, they offered to take the machine back, and give him a new bike, an '04 model, with new warranty, which is what they have now. This machine so far has been trouble free, feels better built, and is as the other one, a lovely machine for their purpose. I hear rumour that in a cost cutting measure, BMW fired their quality control staff in 2002, but hired them back late '03. While I can't confirm this, I would hope this is the reason for the problem with his bike, rather than poor design. Some of the things that went wrong I think are in design. BMW still uses 1 sided oil seals, and this bike in question had it's rear main engine seal leak, twice, front and rear gearbox seal leak once each. Other silly things, like the fuel level indicator light burning out. Not such a big deal you say, until one finds out that the entire upper wiring harness must be changed, as the lights are hard wired into the harness! The list was a long one, full of bad quality design and build, and if the machine had not been on warranty, it surely would have emotionally and financially broken most men. Makes the Guzzi relay problem pale! P.S. Helicopter Jim, I offer my thanks to you for quoteing one of my heros, Winston Churchill.

I am of strong opinion that 1 bike cannot do all. To think this is to offer yourself a dis-service. I'm quite happy with my little group of widely varied bikes, but am missing a modern superbike. There will be a time soon that I get myself a big bore Jap superbike, but a usable one. I can't ride ZX10's or GSXR1000's for long, my body can't take the contortion. But a Hyabusa or more probably a post 2002 ZX12 [the early ones had problems] with heli bar kit. Comfortable, very nice power delivery, basically right off idle, and slippery enough body that if the right wrist of conservative, decent mileage. And they can be had for quite decent prices, as they are now regarded as the machine that could not beat the Suzuki for top speed. I was at a bike swap meet a couple weeks ago, and several machines ran up on a rear wheel dyno. The big '12' still runs 167hp bone stock, with 95 pnds torque. A stock ZX10 ran [only!] 145. Made the 52hp [really] 1550cc harleys seem silly by comparison. Anyways, that's the next one. Ciao, Steve G.

Al is right, the relays are in a location which are often pressed down on by the seat, and the vibration has a way of compromising the plug connections. Al, this Dan fellow, who is he, and where does he sell these improved relays? Ciao, Steve G.

Start your bike, and see that your headlight is working. If it is not, then it is a relay not clicking over, I think #3 relay from the front. The tach, and the headlight, as well as the charging system, are on this relay. If it is not the relay, then I don't know for sure. Ciao, Steve G.

Not having Motorad for sale where I live I can't talk specifically about their article. One thing I can say about most big bike mags, is that they have to compare the bikes in a way that can be put into print, and performance numbers are it. As a Moto Guzzi, with it's pushrods, air cooling, and 2 valves, it simply hasn't got a chance of ever rating well against anything in it's engine class, except maybe, MAYBE, the smaller engined Buell twin. What is much more difficult to put into print is the "feel" of these things, the feedback, that any one of us would find very tough to explain to someone who hadn't ridden one before. You would have to give him the keys for an hour, where he would come back, and only then give his head a nod of understanding. Moto Euro magazine is unique in that it offers a Euro only slant, which is kind of refreshing. My next point I will have to be carefull with as a very good friend of mine is an editor/contributor with this mag. Moto Euro does 'appear' to follow the same trend of pandering to their advertisers as all the rest of the magazines, as noted Moto Guzzi advertises more in this mag than any other that I've seen on my kitchen table. They would be making a financial miscalculation if they didn't. Advertizing is the cash cow of any monthly/quarterly. We here, with our specific views in favour of our Moto Guzzi's, should bear this in mind. Not to move the theme of this thread farther away than it is, but as we wax poetic about the lovely old lump v-twin that Guzzi uses, I will point out that for the last 30 yrs Guzzi has more or less had to use this engine, not able to afford the costs to start up a new engine layout. Guzzi has used many, many layouts as we all know. Alas, these 30 odd years have typecast Guzzi, much like Harley, and to a smaller degree BMW. Their next engine will have to be a transverse [gosh I hope this argument doesn't start up again] v-twin, with liquid cooling, 4 valves, shaft drive, etc. It will not measure up against the Japanese v-twins, but will measure up nicely against other twins. Ciao, Steve G.

I'm not sure if this subject has come up. I need to stock up on filters, but find the local prices here to be quite dear, at $28cdn each. I'm thinking of getting some by mail at those prices. What are you guys paying, and from which dealer? Ciao, Steve G.

Believe me Aironepny, The last thing I do is look for problems. All the things I have listed actually happened, and had no choice but to deal with them. Ciao, Steve G.

You know, that looks really good! Be carefull, or Moto Guzzi might steal your idea. Ciao, Steve G.

OK, Here's my list of V11 "characteristics that one should check at the very least, and attend to if needed. Alot of these were fixed with the Lemans. Starting at the front of the bike, going back: [1] Check oil cooler brackets. They were made of chinsey aluminium which 'will' break from vibration. retrofit with readily available steel ones. [2] Check bolts which fasten ignition switch to top 'dash'. They will fall out, and as they are security bolts with no way to retighten, take the bloody things out, chuck them far away, and put allen head bolts with a dab of locktight. [3]Remove all the system involved in the dreaded and silly 'tank suck'problem. [4] Check to see if your bike is included in the recall to renew big end bolts/nuts. [5] Check to see if your bike is included in the gearbox recall. [6] Check body panels covering the starter motor, and both side covers. The starter motor cover will crack in half from vibration. The side panels will crack from vibration, and from the fuel tank settling onto them, in which case the tank should be shimmed up from the rear fastening bolt. [7] Check the speedo drive bevel gear, the 60 degree angled thing coming out of the gearbox on the right side. These things will disgorge themselves as you travel along the road, the worm gear falling out when the end cap falls out. [8] Check the wires coming out of the electric fuel shut off valve, on the left side. The early ones were electric, the newer ones were manual. The electric ones have feeble unprotected wires coming out, and with wind and vibration, the wires will break causing the shut off switch to cut the fuel. [9] Take along a selection of relays. I believe the third one from the front of the bike has to deal with an overabundanse of electrical switching, including headlight, electric tachometer, and most importantly, the charging system. Other than those, just a lovely old bruiser! Ciao, Steve G.

Thanks guys! Ciao, Steve G.

Yeah, the roadside fix for the apparent vapour lock was done with the ignition off. There was quite a bit of pressure built up, and I was very carefull to let off the gasoline spitting out gradually, but when the residual gas was gone, the pressure build up was air, or as Al correctly mentioned, vapourized gasoline. This "hissing" of air lasted at least 2 minutes, then simply stopped. So I tightened up the hose, turned the ignition on, and the fuel pump sounded as it should, or at least how it has sounded since new. It was then that the bike started up just fine. I was talking to the fine folks at Valley Moto Guzzi today, in particular Gord the head wrench over there. Great guy! He gave me advice that I will be doing. He said to wrap heat deflecting aluminium wrap much like under the fuel tank, around the external pump, and this will cure the heat vapour problem. Ciao, Steve G.