Frank

Aaron, Count me in as well. Frank Long

Al, to release the QD fuel lines from the, you support the fitting, push the fuel line towards the fitting while pushing or pulling the offwhite collar toward the fuel line. They come right off although sometimes I have to slightly shake or quiver my hands to get them come off. They simply click back together. The fittings into the tank themselves will swivel to allow better purchase on the inboard fitting. Frank

Warren, Octane ratings are obtained by two methods, Research and Motor. That yellow sticker on the pumps that says R + M/2 is an average of the two methods. If I remember correctly, the Motor octane is a more severe test and typically, the number is about10 points less than the Research number. When all this started many years ago, I just remembered add about 5 points to the R+M/2 number to get an approximation of the old octane number(which I believe was the research number). Frank

Hi all, I've installed MPH risers and am very impressed with them. First of all, they look OEM, which is very important to me. They don't look like a piece of billet with two holes drilled in them. In fact, their design is very clever with the two rounded areas which clamp the handlebar and stub machined that way to allow the master cylinders to fit inbetween them . From the rider's position, with the MG logo, they look great. They are somewhat adjustable in that the OEM bars can be moved in or out of the MPH clamp to vary the total width of the bars and if one wishes to change the angle of the bars, just remove the Allen head bolt that "holds" the OEM clamp to the forks and rotate to the desired position. The risers move the bar diagonally about 2 inches. I haven't been able to test them out very much because of snow but look forward to doing this soon. The Spiegler lines are very nice, stainless wrapped but also covered with a plastic cover which is essentially invisible to the eye. Again, a great idea. I've seen and ordered Williamsville MG risers which clamp to the top of the forks and didn't like either their appearance or their feel. They weren't cheap and didn't include cables since they weren't needed but the lines were a little tight. The Two Bros. system looks funny to me and holds no appeal. Cost of the MPH system is certainly in line with what you get. Mike told me they went through two other machinists until they could find one to do the project. The Spiegler lines are special order as well. I doubt anbody is making a killing from selling these risers. As best as I can tell, the risers themselves cost a little over $200, the balance is the Spiegler lines. Frank

Carl, On my '02 LeMans, I had the same problem. The bike wouldn't turn over sometimes. The only thing I found was the clutch switch connectors under the seat seemed to be the problem. When I pulled the connectors apart and reinserted them, the bike started. I put some grease on them and made sure they had good contact and never had the problem again. I traded this bike in on a '03 Rossa but when I traded it in, the only problem I had was the peeling engine paint. I've been told that the relays on the '02 models were good and don't need to be replaced with Bosch relays. Frank Long

Mike, Thanks. I just found that out about two days ago. Funny, I called my dealer who called MGNA. At the time, MGNA wasn't sure how to remove the lines. So, I just sat down and played with them and one of the lines almost fell off. When you know the trick, its very easy. Frank

I just bought a '03 LeMans Rosso Corsa and would like to remove the fuel tank. However, there seem to be quick disconnect fittings from the fuel pump base, located on the right side of the tank, and the fuel lines. How do I disconnect these? I'll post more about the differences between the 03 model and my champagne '02 model when I get more miles on it but the Rosso Corsa is a better bike then my '02 was. Frank

Hello all, I'm not sure one can feel compression damping at the speeds attainable by hand. I believe I read somewhere that the compression damping on forks and shocks is light compared to the compression damping. Others may have to correct me. Not to start a debate, but there is some pretty good evidence that front tires wear on the left side in the US (and the right side in the UK) not because of road crown but because of the fact that US riders ride further around the curve when turning left than right. (The opposite is true for UK riders). check: http://www.rattlebars.com/valkfaq/tirewear/ Frank

John My '02 V11 Lemans did the same thing from new. My dealer fixed the problem and it doesn't cut out any more. He adjusted the valves to .004 inches exhaust and .006 inches intake, balanced the throttle bodies and readjusted the TPS, removed the tip over valve and probably rechecked the CO emissions and enrichened them somewhat. Been perfect ever since. Frank

When I had problems with my V11 LeMans, one of the things the MG mechanic did was change the valve settings to .006 inches inlet and .008 inches exhaust. I don't notice any change in engine noise. Frank

Scott, I can only tell you what my dealer did with my V11 LeMans. The bike was taken back to the dealer (Union Cycle in Indian Trail, NC) with a front engine cover oil leak and stalling when warmed up when coming to a stop. While there, I mentioned about the handlebar vibration and was asking about cures for this problem. When I picked up the bike about a week later, I noticed that the bike had much less vibration then when I took it in and hasn't stalled since. Also, there was now red paint drops on the TPS screws, indicating that the bike had been setup again since I first took delivery. I know that this dealership sets the CO at a level higher than the USA specs so that they will run better and this is done prior to delivery to the customer. Here are the things that were adjusted to help the problem with stalling. 1. The valves were reset to Intake: .006 inch and the Exhaust to .008 inch. I believe I've heard this referred to as European settings. 2. The "tipover" valve was removed (I just found this out last night while I was adjusting the shock absorber - you have to remove the tank, battery and air box to get to the rear shock). This is a oneway valve attached to the right side rubber vent hose coming from the underside of the tank. This hose goes to the cannister located behind the exhaust crossover but in front of the rear wheel. The second hose, on the left, vents to atmosphere. 3. The TPS sensor was reset. Its easiest to do this with the "Diagnostic Tool" mentioned below and in MG's manual but it can be done with a voltmeter. See some URL's below. If the CO needs to be reset, this has to be done using the Diagnostic Tool, really a software program with proper cable to plug into the bike's ECU. I bought this "tool" $500 by the way, and had fun with it but, although it can change the CO, you really don't know the actual tailpipe value unless you have a CO meter - a good one of these is over $1000. However, you can increase the CO with the "tool" and use seat of the pants and spark plug exams to get in the ballpark. In my very limited experience with this particular model, you can tune the bike using only common metric hand tools, a volt meter and a vacuum gauge. The CO settings must be done with the Diagnostic Tool, which I believe all dealers will have. Below are some websites I've found helpful. http://mphcycles.com/ They have two tech articles regarding throttle body setup for the V11 http://www.motointernational.com/main.htm They can get you the most recent shop manual at a reasonable price - a copy of it really - since an original costs about $160. Their copies are much cheaper. http://home.pacbell.net/guzzi007/sportissimo.html Carl Allison's page regarding setup of the V1000 bike, the predecessor to the V11 sport and very similar. However, the V1000 idle enrichenment process can be done on the ECU, while our V11's need the software program. http://www.technoresearch.com/ The company that makes the Diagnostic Tool for our Marelli (current 15M versions and earlier) - also has downloadable software updates on its site. They no longer sell the software directly but you must order it from: http://www.klsupply.com/Performance/mdst/ There - probably more than you'll ever need. Frank

Hyper, You can get the moly additive here at the manufacturer's web site or order through Harpers Moto Guzzi. http://www.tsmoly.com/ts91.htm http://www.harpermotoguzzi.com/ Hope this helps. Frank

Janusz Although I bought a V11 LeMans this past Fall, the owner's manual that came with the bike was for the '01 V11 Sport model. The recommended oil for this bike is : Agip 4T Super Racing 20W/50 and I assume that is the oil the manufacturer put in the bike when assembled. The reason I'm telling you this is that this oil is a full synthetic. I've found a webpage in English that talks about Agip products. Here is the description of Agip 4T Super Racing oil: "A high performance, fully synthetic lubricant for all types of four-stroke engines of any make or model. Thanks to its special additive package, Agip 4T Super Racing has excellent detergent-dispersant, anti-oxidant anti-corrosion, anti-wear, anti-rust and anti-foam pro- perties which guarantee exceptional performance in the severest and most varied operating conditions" The webpage I found is: http://www.agip.co.za/prod.htm The other lubricants used are: gear box: Agip Rotra SAE W/90 I can't find a specific W/90 oil on the above webpage but what ever is used should be an EP oil since the every reference I saw on this webpage states that a gear oil with the name Rotra is an EP oil. bevel box: Agip Rotra MP SAE 80W/90 plus Rocol ASO/R (I think the ASO/R is correct but I can't find it on the webpage listed above. Its the moly product that MG recommends being added to the bevel box). Description from the webpage : "AGIP ROTRA MP SAE GRADE 80W-90, 85W-140 Extreme pressure oil for gears operating under very heavy loads, including intermittent ones, high slip be- tween teeth and high temperatures. Recommended for use in gear- and steering boxes, hypoid and bevel axles, final drive units and power take-offs " So it seems that the V11 models, at least starting in '01 (and probably since inception, use synthetic motor oils. Frank

Guys, The "choke" lever is not a choke (decreasing the bore of the throttle body) or a start enrichener (opens a separate circuit in the carb to allow a richer mixture) but simply a variable throttle stop. There is no internal linkage apparent on the set up or in the parts book I have. So, it could very well be used as a cruise control if the lever would actually stay where it is put. As to starting, the ECU reads engine temperature and uses a different map to enrichen the mixture when the engine is cold. From my experience with FI, many models seem to work best without any throttle opening, relying on the map to get the mixture right. Frank