Steve G.

I like stuff that shines, that you can polish. I have to say that Staintune has to have the nicest looking stuff anywhere. Spend some time polishing the rest of the exhaust and you've got a stainless system that flows visually, instead of having different looking components of the exhaust bolted together. Ciao, Steve G.

The V11's are tail heavy, and need more weight to plant the front tire. They do push as you know. Over 100mph this becomes obvious with the head shake on long sweepers, but like other bikes out there with the same trait, just grit your teeth, and make it go where you want. Don't be intimidated, if you click the damper a couple, it won't head shake to the point of losing grip of the handgrips. Ride this bike long enougfh and you will adapt perfectly. The Lemans is a much more civilized set up with the added weight of the fairing, better forks, and slightly raked triple tree. Ciao, Steve G.

Get ready to be frustrated about the factory dipstick Joe. It is tough to check with those ridges [in an effort to firm up the flimzy plastic] along it's length. I gave up on the thing, getting a metal one that you just push down into a socket and pull out to read the level, none of this spinning the thing around where it skews the actual reading. It does however still neeed to be checked with the bike standing level. I won't bore everyone about the procedure to get this quick pull dip stick. Ciao, Steve G.

You called it right David. After checking the whole thing over for bad connections, I discovered that indeed the starter relay and lighting relay work hand in hand during the starting process, and during the running time. I should mention that I was using the last Bosch relay for the starter motor, thinking it was in good shape. Not so I see. Ciao, Steve G.

Great info on the relay situation David. I didn't realize how over burdened the relays were on the early bikes. I have gotten rid of all the Seimens relays, my local dealer gave me what they are getting, a relay out of Portugal brand name "Tyco", part # A1001-A403. It shows no amp capacities on any of the pins, but does show a resistor. The fellow who is bringing these in is a buddy of yours? I'm guessing it is not a business, as the site doesn't mention whether you can use a credit card. It is quite unique today for someone to take a check only. I've been wondering if there is a loose connection with the relay block [holder] itself. I was going to take everything apart tomorrow to see what I can see. Another thing I've been thinking, is I've wondered if there is some kind of device or switch which temorarily cuts power to the headlight when the starter button is depressed, and it could be causing this problem, and where on the bike is it located? The intermintent cut out of the lights/tach seem to have no relation to engine speed, vibration, road bumps, or turning the bike on/off. It will and has been dropping the headlight off while I've been going down the road at speed at night, in the dark! I pretty well must rectify this situation before I go on the tours I have planned for this summer. I'm hoping these GEI relays are the answer. Ciao, Steve G.

Yes Martin, motorcycle reflectors/lenses are indeed directional, and bikes delivered to the UK, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, etc, where you drive/ride on the left, will have a different reflector pattern [often just opposite] than in countries that drive/ride on the right. Ciao, Steve G.

Hi Lads, I guess I should have followed up on my fix on that battery issue I had in early May. I got an Odyssey dry cell, part #pc545. It is the battery # made for the V11 based Guzzi. A perfect fit, very aggressive and quick start, and has made the relays fall into line, they are less likely to be tempermental. As soon as I pressed the starter button, I realised that the original battery was sucking wind right from the start, that dramatic difference it was. Interestingly, the company that makes the Odyssey battery line, [EnerSys Inc.] is the same company that makes the Cyclon, Genesis, and SBS lines of batteries. they are in Warrensburg, MO. Being from Western Canada, I'm thinking MO. is the state of Missouri. Correct me if I'm wrong. I checked with several suppliers, including the local Guzzi dealer, which quoted me on a Yuasa, and an oem unit, [Tesco I think]. Not to make you laugh, I won't mention the price directly, you can do the math, their price for the crappy Tesco unit was literaly double the $136cdn I paid from my favourite local battery supplier, for what I think is the best battery on the market for this particular application. They quoted about $40 less than double for the Yuasa, which I think is a fairly good unit. Check out www.enersyinc.com to see what they say about themselves. I'm happy with my purchase! I've been too busy riding to worry about the battery, in fact I forgot all about the situation, it's been working so well. Ciao, Steve G.

A buddy of mine just had a warranty fix on a brand new 1200gt beemer, the fix being a slipping clutch as a result of oil contamination from the rear main seal of the engine. It had been damp with oil for a while, but the clutch slip made it difficult to ride two up, slipping up hills and such. If the clutch does not slip, I say ride the bike. There may be oil in there by now, but if you can get another season out of it, do it. Bear in mind that oil contamination will permanently bugger the friction plates, but as long as you do not let it slip alot, extraordinary overheating of the pressure plates will not result, avoiding warpage, and when you fix the seal [hopfully in the off season if you live in an area that has one] you will be able to just clean up the components in the varsol tank. I know it's crappy, but engine seals are not exclusive to Moto Guzzi machines. By buddys bike is an '03 GT, which cost over double the cost of my V11. And, while you need an electrical engineers degree to fix those types of bikes, a guy with a shop manual and basic tools, and common sense, can fix a Guzzi. Ciao, Steve G.

I have a new starter cover, still in the wrapper. The original one decided to split one afternoon in Pentictin, half disappearing into some ditch I guess. I won't install the new one. I have two new side covers installed, same reason. I have reason to believe the gas tank being installed too low at the back caused this, so I have shimmed the back of the tank so it does not touch the side covers. As well, I have installed the screws on the side covers looser than before, and used the tinyest amount of loctite so the screws don't fly away. So far so good. Vibration destroys all, and it will happen in different ways to different bikes depending on the engine configuration, excepting a multi like a Honda flat 6 or inline CBX. My old Ducati was a real plastic bodywork eater as well. A V11 based bike is certainly no worse than alot of new bikes out there, but there are others out there that have way less vibration problems. You can slot vibration into that justification clause, namely "character". Ciao, Steve G.

Looking at the pictures, it seems to me that there just isn't enough material around such an area,. Remember this is probably just cast aluminum, not steel. The weight placed on these things when you are grabbing a handfull of brake is considerable, there just isn't enough meat there. Ciao, Steve G.

Regarding the one side smelling, and black spark plug, the engine really should be given a chance to break in some. 1350 miles or kms, is just not enough to seat things. Run it in to the point in mileage where you can run it hard. I'm not sure why, but both the Moto Guzzi big block and the old air head beemer engine take a long time to set into running shape. Ciao, Steve G.

As long as the front end is secured properly, it does'nt matter if you tie down the rear. The only time one should do it is if the bike is in the back of one of these modern [read cheap] new pickups, with the flimzy bulkheads in the box, which will bend forward into the truck cab when the bike is sucked down. If it were my bike in the picture, I would be tying the straps at a higher point than where you have it tied down, in particular the handlbars, close to the forks. The higher up it is strapped, the less leverage, read pressure, will be placed on the straps, which will not break, but will stretch a bit, causing the bike to move about a bit more going around corners. I've been loading my bike up in the back of my truck and heading to the deep south for ages now to do winter riding. That's 2200kms one way. No problems. Ciao, Steve G.

My buddy Lester with his '02 Lemans had the rear wheel bearings go at 1,000kms. He found that the spacer in question was and incorrect width, causing the questionable [made in Poland] bearings to be loaded on the outside of the races, rather at the center, which caused groaning, clicking, and other noises associated with metal in distress. Knock on wood, with 24,000kms on my v11, the bearings still seem to be ok, the groan eliminated at 4,000kms by the forced installation of EBC brake pads [the original were all done at 4k]. Ciao, Steve G.

I have seen Brian's Lemans a few times, and can't see why anyone would have a problem living with the coating in question. Besides, the other options and negatives are something I would look at. First off, I think the riding gear they offer instead is quite good stuff. The big ones for me however would be: 1] The new engine cases [if they ever arrive undestroyed that is] of course have a different, probably slightly tougher coating, but it looks to be visually different, and to me it would look weird with it up against the gearbox. 2] I understand the new engine case "does not" have any serial numbers. I know that other fellows on this forum have had the change and have no problem with an unidentifiable engine case, but that would bother me no end. One of my hobbies is collecting older machines, and restoring them. Machines with no numbers or missmached numbers are rarely considered for purchase buy buyers. 3] You will be getting your engine builtup at a shop rather than at the factory assembly line, where repetition of assembly offers some [even at Mandello] level of quality control and consistancy of assembly. Unless you have great confidence in, and have seen the fellows work that will be putting together what is the soul of a Moto Guzzi, that lovely lump of an engine, and he has been inside these things alot, this would again make me feel uneasy. 4] There is nothing worse than seeing a summer go buy while your bike sits in a shop waiting for parts to arrive, or impatiently waiting for the bike to be fixed, at the same time hoping the mechanic does not take short cuts to put it together quicker because he feels your impatient state. Ciao, Steve G.

I have what you would call an Arai head, specifically Quantum E or Quantum F, although the Quantum F with it's many vents is actually noisier. All I would recommend is to get a helmet that is not black. Why? When do we ride most? In the summer. So why would you want to fry your head, unless looking cool is paramount. Ciao, Steve G.

True, Crafstman is not what it once was, now mostly made overseas. But their warranty is still second to none. 10yrs ago while hiking on Vancouver Island I found an old style 1/2 drive Crafstman ratchet, the old squarish head kind. Is was one solid piece of red rust. I took it back, and they handed me a new one, the old style, no questions asked. I told them it would'nt rachet very good any more. If you find Crafstman bottom of the barrel now, I'm not sure. I'm not sure of many of the other makes in the U.S. I have an old set of American Forge 1/2" drive set, will probably be willed away after I die. Last forever. Mac is a bit less expensive than Snap On. You say the closest city you live near is Montreal. I was going to say, for the money the best in Canada is home brand of Canadian Tire, MotoMaster. The chrome is as good as Snap On, but the keen eye will see the difference between average and high quality. Like Snap On and Mac, Moto Master wrenches are very thin wall, able to have smaller guage metal because of the quality of the metalurgy and the tempering. The price is cheaper than Craftsman, The guarantee better, and taking your U.S. buck into Canada means another 40% cheaper, plus it's Canadian made, so with free trade, you pay no duty on Canadian made stuff, just like we pay no duty on U.S. made stuff. Ciao, Steve G.

I would probably plug it if it were a rear tire. Front tire, I'm afraid it would be in the land fill. You can't save a front tire wash out, but a rear can be caught if you are quick enough, and a bit of luck. Ciao, Steve G.

A couple lads have told me this, and I have read it on a site that links this forum. What is being told is that a property in synthetic gear oil is breaking down the phenolic [plastic cage] bearings, specifically the cages that hold the rollers in place within the bearing. I can't imagine this to be the case. Heck, even M.G. specifies it in the owners manual of these machines. Are there any engineers or compound biologists on this forum that could shed light on this? I am well aware that most things read on the internet should be taken "with a grain of salt", but if there is any basis to this, it could be ground breaking information. I've never been a fan of phenolic bearings, prefering brass or steel cages for the sheer strength. It seems more and more bearings one buys from the bearing supply house have been offering the "new and improved" bearings. You know what they say, "they don't make 'em like they used to". There is some basis to this, I feel all in the name of the bottom line, to make money. Ciao, Steve G.

It is a pissoff to have the thing sweating it's fluid contents all over the front of the bike. If an Ohlins were'nt so expensive I'd chuck the thing. I honestly don't think it is needed unless really, really pushing it hard, then other things like frame flex, etc take over the whole picture. Ciao, Steve G.

Not having a bike with the single plate clutch, I can't relate to the noise issue they make. I can say that the gearbox rattle, with the clutch not depressed, would probably be the same regardless of clutch design. Ciao, Steve G.

I wore out my rear brakes after 8000kms, with the brake groaning all the time. I put SBS pads in, and no more groaning. It is a good idea to check those rear wheel bearings as well. A friend of mine with his "02 Lemans had the bearings go after 1000kms very recently. Turns out the spacer in between the bearings was made to short, allowing the bearings to be crushed during rear axle torque from the factory. The fact that the original bearings are made in Poland, and were dry as a popcorn fart were not very confidence inspiring as well. Ciao, Steve G.

My buddy Lester in Pentictin B.C. modified his in a big way. He cut the welded end off, pulling out the baffle to find industrial pressed steel wool as the muffling. Of course it was matted thick with carbon. He took some time to hook it all out, then welded the end back on. With the Ferracci air box kit, he has the ability to loft the front end in second gear, really waking it up, and no more flat spot at 3500-4500 rpm. Cosmetically, it is untouched looking. He says the noise is quite pleasant but not obtrusive. Cost: 130cdn for the Ferraccci kit. Ciao, Steve G.

I had mine break at 19,000kms half way between Gran Coulee Dam and Winthrop, out in the desert, in the boonies. BIG TIME not impressed. Had to zap strap the thing from hitting the front fender. My dealer had new steel ones in stock which they of course handed me free. Another thing I've been thinking about that is aluminum, the side stand. I've read on this forum instances of the thing bending. Who's idea was it to make a side stand in aluminum? Or the oil filter brackets? It's not like this family of bikes is a retro racer looking to save a few grams of weight to win the road-races on Sunday. So what if the thing is another 1/4 kilo heavier. Of course I know why. It's cost. They save $3 a stand, that's 9000$ a year. Ciao, Steve G.

The first time I picked up my bike, and started it, I turned it off quickly, I thought something was wrong with it, with thrashing sounds coming out of everywhere. I had tested the V11 first hand 6 months earlier at Moto International, where I took it out for 1/2 hr blast. I never noticed the sounds it made back then. As for the oil leak, I say run it, and as long as it does not start pouring out, keep putting the miles on it, and when it goes in for it's first service, they will have to re& re the head to install a new head gasket. Once a head gasket starts leaking it can't be torqued up to stop it leaking. If they decide to crank up the head beyond the reccomended torque to try to stop the leak, take it to another dealer. Ciao, Steve G.

A Moto Guzzi will always compromize in the handling departement if the road is not very smooth, simply because of the unsprung weight of the rear differential. This, compared to full sport bikes of course. That said, it is a fairly good handling bike, but like somebody mentioned, at high speed, the handling does get "willowy", and not as confidence inspiring and sure footed as many bikes out there. The spine frame I feel would turn into a right wiggly monster if an engine of much more than 110rear wheel horsepower were introduced into it. But it does well with the basically stock 1100 engine capacity of 85-90bhp. Ciao, Steve G.