jrt

You're correct Mike. I had at first attributed it to the cheapo DVM I was using. The rear switch actually does read 0 Ohms when closed- but..... It's definitive- both (!) switches are bad. I passed a good hot line through each switch and checked them with a test bulb, which only dimly light. So, they probably have dirty points from arcing or something like that (I'm conjecturing). Anyhow, a quick chat with the boys at MGCycle, and $35 worth of new switches are on the way. I'm now going to take John's sage advice and wire in a relay, and wire up the headlight through relays as well a la Gary Cheek. I've been putting that one off, but in light of this issue, I think it is well worth the effort. Thanks for the help and advice, ya'll.

Carl- good call- yes, I checked it. I have the whole tail light assembly out and I've been tracing all the wires. Thanks again from (another) one of the many happy users of your wiring diagrams. Dave- the ball is still in there. I can hear the click of the switch. I've had it out before to clean it up and yes, I adjusted it correctly. Docc- yeah. Maybe I will put in a relay. Now that I have the seat, tailpiece, etc. off, it would be easy to run the wires. Somebody needs to buy this bike. Well, as soon as I have the lights sorted.

Dammit, that's not funny. ok, it is.

Hey folks, thanks for the advices. John, you're hardcore! Not sure I want to replace the bulb housing- this one looks in very good shape. I have it completely out and I can see the contacts. There's no oxidation on anything- I keep this bike fairly clean and dry. Dave- I pretty well know it's not relays or fuse. It was my first thought, but I tried spares of both and no change. No need either, since I'm getting voltage at one lead. Docc, I've already got the Euro style bulb. I'll run some more tests tomorrow; today has been hectic. I'm really thinking it's the switches, but I'm just having a hard time accepting that emotionally. I'll run a test light across both switches to check for sure....

Nice! Since the frame is always cooler than 100 C, most moisture will condense when it passes through the frame and presumably stay there. I'd go with an external breather. Less moisture in the interior of the frame and if there are any problems with oil pumping, you'll notice it immediately. Can you fit the old style Eldorado/Ambassador oil collector? Maybe there is something equivalent that actually works? Any way you can dump some rustoleum into the frame?

OK, so I preface this by saying that I usually perform a 'preflight' check on my bikes, and make sure the lights and brake lights, etc. work. That said, I was in a hurry to get all my bikes inspected here in Missouri (not necessary in Iowa) and I was on the fourth bike- the V11 sport. I drove it down to the inspection station, where the nice Russian mechanic looked it over and asked how many more of these weird Italian bikes I was going to bring down. Then he started laughing because I had brought down a '74, '81, '02, and now an '01 and they all had the same engine. He thought it was a very Russian strategy. Anyhow, He just gives it a quick look-over ('tires ok, no leaks- it'll be fine') and gets the sticker out. Then he remembers that he needs to check the brake lights, so put on the brake....and nothing. No front brake light and no rear brake light. We replaced the bulb and nothing. His response was 'I already have sticker out. You just go and fix, ok?' 'That's ok with me.' I drove it home and checked the basics- bulb, the fuses, the relays. All are fine. Cleaned the bulb contacts. Checked all the wiring connectors. Everything was fine. I removed the rear carapace, and all the crap to remove the light housing because I thought maybe a wire came loose there- no dice- the wires were in place. Well, I took the opportunity to check and grease the connections under the fuse block and various other places. Turns out the brake light was kind of working- on the rear brake, with no bulb, it would pass 12 V to the lamp housing. Put a bulb in it and there isn't enough current (voltage dropped to about 3-4 V). Nothing from the front brake switch. I measured the resistance across the rear brake switch (a few 10's of ohms) and the front (about the same). So it seemed that the switches were working. I thought there was a supply problem and was thinking of ways to supply more current- Then I did one experiment too many. Bypassing either switch with a small wire lit the brake just fine. WTF? Even though both switches pass current (a few milliamps from the voltmeter), maybe they don't pass enough current for the 60 W bulb ? Did BOTH switches fail at the same time? They were both working the last time I rode it. I repeat- WTF? Tomorrow or Friday, when I have some time, I'll run a hot wire straight to each switch and see what kind of voltage drop I get across them. I may need to replace both of them...it certainly looks that way right now. Any other ideas? I might as well entertain them while I have everything taken down. Are there any connectors underneath the gas tank that I should look at? I am having a hard time believing that two switches failed at or close to the same time.

I know Dave Brubeck did a very nice version of 'Wonderful Copenhagen'. Does that count?

I think the dosage on your meds is a bit high, Ben.

That's a good album. I have fond memories of it and was lucky enough to see Neil Young and Crazy Horse for free because I won a sand castle building contest. I can't make this stuff up.

troublemaker.

Please wear gloves. Your palms are the first thing to hit the ground if you crash (hope you don't). Hands are cool. I love mine. Both of 'em.

Do a targeted search of electrical matters limited to posts by "Gary Cheek" and also by Carl- "Callison". Both have made some good suggestions on improved grounding by adding a couple grounding wires...I don't remember exactly where, but somewhere in the headlight. Also, Gary posted an improved headlight wiring scheme that avoids running all the current through the switchgear. Finally, add a grounding strap from your voltage regulator to the engine, because it's not grounded particularly well.

I'll agree that threadlock will help prevent water's and air's access to a fastener, but it won't actively inhibit corrosion. Weld a piece of zinc onto your bike for that. How's that for meeting you halfway...or more.

Yes, when I took mine apart, I greased all the cush elements and everything else that looked like it needed it in the wheel. heat the bolts- they are soft metal (they strip out easily) and they may have some locktite on them.

My Threadlock is a plastic, and does nothing to prevent corrosion. I use 1 drop of threadlock on cleaned bolts. Use the right kind! Green threadlock...you'll never get the fastener back off, so read the bottle before you buy it. I love antisieze as well. When I don't use threadlock (like on sparkplugs, head bolts, etc.), I use neversieze. It's a pretty good fastener-fastener as well.

oh yeah. as if.

I think there are a number (my wife suggests "myriad") of elegant solutions. My solution was born of desperation- I did it before the Ballabio was announced. I was thinking about it even before the LeMans came out (here in the states). The R90S fairing works well, is easy to put on and off, so I stuck with it. I also like Nige's solution, but I'm biased toward those 'full front' fairings like that one and the one on the SP III. Shoot, I even bought a Rabid Transit fairing from callision. Just picked it up today and had a wonderful- but too short- chat with him and his wife. Great people- thanks Carl! Where was I...been driving too long today....Joplin to Dallas to Sherman.... Um...ok- in my estimation, smaller is usually better and cheaper. The important thing is to get a fairing that directs wind into your chest rather than your head. This will minimize arm fatigue, keep your helmet in 'clean' air, which doesn't bounce your head around as much, doesn't make as much high frequency noise, and generally leaves you less overall fatigued after a long ride. There is no general solution- it depends on how you sit on the bike, your height, and how you hold your head. I would not suggest a tall fairing for 1) esthetics and 2) it would make the front end squirrley (squirley? squirlley?.....)

Sigh. I've been agonizing about this for 3 months, but it's time for me to move on, motorcyclewise. The Sport is just no longer the right tool for the job. Since I've got two other Guzzi's, it's not a total loss, but I need to cull the herd, so to speak. 2001 Guzzi V11 Sport for sale. Black, with red frame (they're faster and handle better ) . 16,000ish miles. I’ve made a few changes with this bike to converting it into a sport touring rig: • BMW R90S fairing (http://www.v11lemans.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=1062) • more upright handlebars (before anyone else!) (http://www.v11lemans.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=1061) • Lower (and more comfortable) pegs and custom-made brake/gearshift mechanisms. • Seat is a Rich Maund job. • Mistral pipes and Stucchi crossover • Intake is now K&N pods. • I fitted molded kyvec (“Edge Guards”) to protect the rear shock from debris. •Louder horns, run through a relay. • CRG adjustable brake lever and CRG mirror. • Guzzi soft bags (one has a bit of broken plastic inside, but it does not affect the bag) • Guzzi tankbag • Ventura rack. • A bicycle speedo is added…turns out I have a reasonably accurate Veglia speedometer. • The rear fender is cut down • Front fender has a fender extender on it to reduce the muck thrown up on the alternator cover. Comes with: • Spare shift return spring • spare relay (just in case!) • Wilber front shock springs, new in box, that anyone can install • A new spacer that I machined for the rear wheel (some spacers were too short resulting in toasted wheel bearings) • Original stock pipes, stock crossover, stock airbox, stock rear fender (I bought a spare), stock clipons, stock switch gear. This bike could be put back to stock with no issues, but why? Additionally, bike comes with a set of Guzzi factory rearsets in ‘Ergal’ (try finding those anymore). This is a great running machine- I’ve been dutiful with maintenance, all the recalls were performed, and it’s been good to me. I know I’ll take a beating when I sell it, but I don’t want to part out a perfectly good bike. $6500 (firm) or a little less if you just take the stock bike and I keep all the aftermarket parts.

The Guzzi tankbag is nice, and is just barely- just barely able to hold an Apple ibook (older 12" model) laying flat. My current 15" mac will not fit flat. It will fit if you unzip the bag and put in there at a funky angle, but you better have some good packing material if you go that way. If all you need is a laptop carrier, how about one of those backpacks? Get a Mac powerbook (aluminum casing) and it doubles as a spine protector!

Can't make responses in the classifieds. Various levers and oil pans that have been offered up and subject to member's accolades and critisisms, so I assume Todd is ok with comments and inviting people to join in. It's Jaap's board, though, so his call ultimately. edit- dave, you're too quick! get back to work!!!

I have an oil temp gauge that rarely sees 110 C. The casting under the cylinder would likely be the same as or close to the oil temperature, I would guess (an uninformed guess, but it's all I got). Mine normally runs about 80 C and I've never seen it get up to 120 C.

Mom???

Right on! You owe us a beer next time we're in Ohio. Or, I'll buy you one if you come to St. Louis and collect. If you are looking for a transmission rebuild, I think J.B. Schwartz in CA still does them. If he goes through anything on your bike, it will be done correctly.

OK, here's another answer you can feel free to ignore. I sync my throttle bodies with my wife. No, not like that. Get your mind out of the gutter. She blips the throttle and I feel the exhaust pressure with my hands. Adjust the pressure and you sync the throttles. It works amazingly well- even better on carb models than on injected. And it's like marital cooperation therapy. What's amusing to me is taht I own a twinmax and I haven't used it on the V11. eh, what do I know....

I rode in a mini Cooper once. Does that count for anything? I didn't start the post to imply that the Rutles, eh, Beatles were the only ones doing anything creative. I'm sure no-one took it that way. But I can state the obvious and say there's a ton of musicians who where cutting edge at the time. One thing I find interesting about the whole 'best album ever' idea is timing. We are such products of our times- even measured in months. Pet Sounds never did much for me. Atom Heart Mother doesn't do much either, but it is arguably the first rock 'theme' album. I understand their importance, but they doesn't personally appeal to me all that much. A couple years later PF comes out with Dark Side of the Moon and absolutely blew me away. And of course, I have to give props to the good gentleman from Texas, Augie Meyers, who was the main man for the Sir Douglas Quintet. Riding the wave of the British invasion to fame, he played awesome 'conjunto rock'.