PDoz

Not mentioned in the model year discussion ( http://www.v11lemans.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=5691 ) 03 onwards have more adjustability in the gearbox mechanism (I found this out on the weekend whilst trying to make sense of my 03 and an earlier manual) - you can adjust both throw and central possition for the internal mechanism. I'm not convinced the post 03 marzochis are an improvement, so consider looking for an ohlins equiped version . With the later marzochis you only get rebound adjustment ( vs compression and rebound on pre 03 ) , plus the springs are an odd size so hard to source alternative rated springs . There is debate over the front cross over on the exhaust post 03 , mine hasn't leaked yet so I'll reserve judgement

Hand wash, low iron setting, no bleach, clean in petroleum solvent, do not dry clean If you can't understand something so simple, don't even think about getting a guzzi...... ( small print - google laundry labels is a lot easiet than google guzzi v11 eccentric adjuster , or sifting through "guzzi electrical problem" )

I was getting false neutrals on upshifts between 3/4 and 4/5 if I shifted slowly, but an agressive shift was fine eg in the mountains. Improved with good oil, but not resolved. Looking at the mechanism, the pawl arm thingy wasn't being returned enough after an upshift. Once I worked out how to adjust the screw under that 19 mm dome nut everything made sense. ( the dome nut that is next to the gearshift shaft )

V11 lemans 02 Ktm 640 adv 07 Ct90 trail ( old postie bike with dual range gearbox) - no idea what vintage but late 60's ??

I suspect I've killed my nuetral switch at the gearbox, but was hoping for some advice on how to be certain before ordering a replacement /giving the bike to an auto elect. Or do you guys have some alternative explainations for what else I've done..... Like a bad earth somewhere??? Today I thought I'd tackle my false neutrals on upshifting. I started with a new pawl arm spring, but the old one was perfect ( following the various pawl spring threads on here - thanks!) After much head scratching I worked out the eccentric adjuster near the gearshift shaft was set too high ( the one with a 19 mm dome nut covering a screw) , plus I fine tuned the other eccentric adjuster to reduce the range of the gearshift on upward changes. My head hurts, but I'm pretty sure I've fixed the shifting. On reasembling everything I sparked from possitive on the battery to the frame once, this is probably irrelevant but anything that lets the smoke out is bad for electrics.... Once everything was back together, I found the nuetral light VERY erratic. I can JUST get it to light up at the top of the stroke from nuetral to second, but the rear right ?circuit breaker? Under the seat clicks away and the light effectively refuses to stay on. Normally I'd learn to live without a nuetral light, but my clutch switch started playing up on the last ride so I can only start in nuetral at the moment. The gearbox mechanism has exausted my intelectual capacity for the day, so I'm going to sleep on this one before taking the bike to an auto elec with a sheepish look......unless you guys know some magic? For what it's worth, the bike is a late 02 lemans , with most of the 03 upgrades ( although I discovered today no boomerang plate inside the gearbox) . She's got about 10k km on the clock, I think electrics are still standard

Wtll, this is a Guzzi-centric forum; one should be a little discreet. I am expected to park it sideways when out with the guzzis. Relax, the enfield should feel right at home...anything coming out of Ians factory should be used to twisted twins ( he has a cx fetish)

Mal, you've got an enfield twin and you list it down the bottom of the list? Did you forget the drysdale v8 out the back of the shed?

If you really have a whitepower , why not just get it rebuilt / serviced? If you've just got the stock shock then anything will be an improvement - wilburs are also worth considering depending on local support (apparently at least as good as ohlins ) , I love my wilburs

My pins were out by 1.2 mm , and the front wheel was offset by 1 cm. When I adjusted the pins to be equal, the wheel was central. I was surprised it made such a difference , in fact I had thought the pins would move the wheel sideways rather than twist it???? So after much head scratching I've decided it's just some mystical guzzi thing.

Thanks guys, it turns out 1.2 mm at the pins equates to about 1 cm at the front wheel. All the frame bolts were tight, I'll see if this fixes things when the roads dry a little.

Tripple clamps are less likely, I put the forks in myself , did the bouncy thing etc before tightening everything up . They look straight but if all else fails I'll recheck them. I guess the real question is how normal is this with the v11 ? Lets face it, the bike isn't exactly symetrical and there are some weird forces at play..... I'm talking about something that I never would have even noticed on my older guzzi ( v50) , that thing felt like there was a hinge in the frame.

Ok, so I've finally got my suspension working well enough to no longer be a distraction and now I'm noticing a really subtle tendency to veer right over bumps. Is thIs just a normal v11 thing that I should ignore, or should I get out the stringlines and perhaps start playing with those big bolts at the front of the swingarm? I'm talking about a VERY subtle tweak, for example if I ride over a series of decent bumps with a light grip on the bars at 100 ish she needs the slightest pressure to correct direction. I've got the steering damper right off, no issue with sweeping bends at silly speeds, in fact she's just about perfectly behaved except this . NB I'm writing this from australia, we ride on the left so she's drifting up the road camber and potentially towards oncoming traffic. Not that there is any traffic on the roads I ride along. As I'm writing this , I'm thinking I might go ride along the opposite side of the road and see if she drifts left ( wide back tyre /narrow front moving out of sequence?????) Newish pirellis, awesome wilburs shock in the back, and those evil 43 mm marzzochis finally have decent wilburs springs and fresh oil etc

And you know this how? Your V11 must be setup much hotter than mine as I don't think it will go anywhere near that fast!! Why not? My motor is stock except pipes ( I think) , it easilly punches past that .

I was thinking more charlotte sound....I guess it must have been a hire bike ...we all know they go faster...

Just tell yourself he /she had the benefits of an upright riding possition and better visibilty...great for real world road riding....

So you don't like the sound or a laverda sfc? Personally, a good multi sends a chill down my spine. This is a pretty good multii ( at least in real life, the sound bite doesn't do it justice) http://home.mira.net/%7Eiwd/av/drysdale750v8.mp3

I prefer to consider mine bespoke , or at least unique, but cobbled together out of random left over parts might be more accurate.....

Black guages ( not vagueliar) , no chin pad on the tank, wider wheels and wider front axle, non flaky engine paint, build date 7/2002 . If it's any consolation, it had the gearbox recall work done so presumably came with the bad gearbox pawl? I bought it as part of a deceased estate, so am relying on the maintenance records. It had 5000 km on the clock, which explains the condition in the picture.

She's a late 2002 model with the 2003 bigger forks (rebound only), cross over, fuel pump in tank etc etc

Are you trying to work out when the 03 spec started, or when they got back from xmas celebrations, recovered from the hangover, finished off most of the last years bikes +/- ran out of frames from the previous year? ( they most likely started building with 03 bikes when they were still assembling on 02 frames, and chances are there were 02 framed bikes that rolled out of the factory after your 03 framed bike ....ths is italy we're talking about...) For what it's worth, my bike is a 2M but has all the 2013 changes , was sold + registered as a 2014 ( april) ....

If you really want a diesel stelvio... http://ntlongfar.en.alibaba.com/product/1731796410-214974940/870cc_Air_cooled_Diesel_marine_inboard_engine_D40H.html

Post 03 marzochis have rebound only, ie both caps do rebound. There is screw top spring preload adjustment, but the standard springs are too soft ( imho) , and unfortunately they are progressive tapered springs so hard to measure / replace. There was a thread on here about 5/6 months ago with internal pics. I've been uable to find any aftermarket springs dedicated for the later model forks, and unfortunately my suspension guru died half way through rebuilding mine so I have no idea what specs my wilburs springs are. Nb these bikes have a steering dampener, so if the balabio felt sluggish it coud just be wound up too stiff? Then again, the earlier red frame sports had slightly sharper geometry, and every guzzi of this era is just a lttle different....

With the ballabio, you'll need to factor in suspension work. The marzochis were average, and the post 03 ones didn't even have compression adjstment. There is an internal sealed damper unit so revalving is challenging. If you're fussy about suspension, or want to enjoy new zealands magical roads, you really need to consider this! I'd suggest riding a v11 of similar age that's had the suspension sorted...so you really need to come to oz and ride my v11 then reciprocate the favour with me thashing, sorry, testing yours?.... I'm asuming you're familiar with jap import bikes? They all seem to come here with 15 k on the clock looking like 60 k on the bike.....Pitty, those ohlins would be nice... Ps there is a place in nz that rents guzzis, from memory they only have the more sedate versions, but spending a few days on one might give you an idea if you like the package? http://guzzigander.com/pricing.html

Interesting that both these bikes sold for the same price ($6600 us), they looked like very nice bikes for the price!

Thanks andy. Greg was THE suspension guru, RIP. My no 2 option is about an hours drive away but he's VERY busy wth dirt bike work. My super itallan bike mechanic has been stolen by the oil industry on a 12 month contract. Things are looking grim....at this rate I'll go back to spinning my own spanners. It's been 7 years since I last did my own bike maintenance ( kids / sailing / riding always seems more fun) . I'm reasonaby confident I have the info I need now, so I'll get some spacers cut in the new year and try putting them together myself. All measurements will be posted here in due course . The good news is it'll keep me off the mountain roads during the silly season.....