jrt

That is so f'in wrong. heh heh heh...

Are the headers coated on that bike? Looks like it from the picture. Chris, you can talk to Mike or Todd Haven and ask what they'll take and if it needs anything. They're good folk and WILL treat you right. Do ask about transmision- it's certainly done, but it will put your mind at ease on that. The rear shock alone costs close to a grand, the front would be about 2-400 bucks. At 30,000 miles, I bet most of the niggling issues have already been sorted out. What you should do is buy it and drive it home. Pack your extra underwear in the techno bags. Your mouth will be sore from grinnin' all the way home. And stay away from Joe Camarda's shock. The guy is evil, and he's probably infused those mufflers with a curse or something.

When I lived in CA, I joined AAA and had them register all my vehicles for me. It was SO worth the annual subscription fee.

25. You can't feed that to the dog.

That's only because you're in Australia. If we try it here in the states, it sucks air up through the entire line.

From a different perspective, try David Hough's books 'Proficient Riding' and Nick Ienatsch 'Sport Riding Techniques' (which, incidentally has a couple good pictures of a '99 or '00 green V11 Sport ). Oh, and I just orded 'Long way round' on DVD from amazon here in the US. Apparently, it just came out...so we'll see.

I feel for ya. Years ago, I busted up my hand pretty badly and had similar damage. Count the number of stitches- we'll compare. I have ~250. No feeling in my middle three fingers for about 6 months after the accident, but the nerves slowly healed themselves. I hope you heal up as well as I did! Good luck!

I doubt it. My suspicion is on poor fuel management. Even with 35+ mpg reported, there are some bikes that show evidence of running too lean. I don't think this is limited to Guzzi, but rather more common among EFI systems. I don't think of any Guzzi as 'quick handling', although the earlier Sports are quicker than later. Then again, the later models are supposed to have less issues than early models. I have an '01 and I haven't had any issues with it- it's probably more bike specific than general. Then again, then again, any Guzzi is going to be much quicker handling than a Venture. If you want a more upright position, I'd suggest looking a Ballabio or a Le Mans. If you like a more aggressive ride, then one of the earlier Sport variants. They are all reasonably close in mechanics. Do look at suspension, because that's one area where you can get excellent value for your investment. Other than that, I would say solid lifters are good on a Guzzi. 20+ years and I've never had one fail. And if you get a niggle, you could try scratching it, because shipping to England is kind of expensive.

They can't be that rare- I saw two of them last year at the Vintage Motorcycle Club meet in Davenport.

You could make us guess who for a quiz point.

What are you thinking about- cruiser or sport? I've written up a short faq on the model vs. year changes for the V11 series. http://www.v11lemans.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=5691 But some short answers for you- All Moto Guzzi's, regardless of model, from 200-2005 are EFI. All V11's are solid lifters. Some or all of the California/Jackal/Stones are hydraulic, but I couldn't tell you which ones. All the mufflers are pretty quiet. It's a popular modification to put on louder ones. I would contact Todd Eagan (RacerX) regarding the PCIII. Many people have said that it dramatically improves the rideability of their bikes. I've never installed one, so I can't say personally, but anectodal evidence is favorable. Other distinguishing characteristics...let's see...they are all twins?

They're much better looking in person, as many bikes are. I've always liked the smooth modular unit-like construction. It's kind of art deco looking to me. Not 7K worth, but to each their own.

But wear safety glasses. Bungee cords are the #1 cause of eye injuries.

I got one of those too. The good: It's a nice photocopy, in color, good paper and the binding is very good. The bad: It's from a Euopean printing from A4 paper, so all the page numbers are missing.

Greg Field on a modern bike? Is this the second or the third sign of the coming apocalypse? Good luck getting the bike together, Greg. They are as much fun to ride as the Eldo's are. For the instruments, there are alternatives. Zebulon put on the 'all in one' gauge cluster replacement for his bike. If you want to go cheap, cheep, cheep, then there is always the sigma bicycle speedometer. You might also contact Todd Eagan about footpegs and such. He recently posted an inquiry here about making up some billet shifter/brakes. http://www.v11lemans.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=6704

We need a dictionary. On the Prius owners group website (www.priuschat.com)- yeah, I'm a geek- anyway, on that website, there is a script so that anytime "ice" is typed, a mouseover comes up with 'internal combustion engine'. We need something like that here. And jedi, don't tempt me with the beers, mkay? I have one a day. Wine? That's another story.

Hey Carl, I was thinking about your bike and how you could test it. I have a piece of equipment at work that I use as a datalogger. It can read from volts down to millivolts fluctuations for longer than you care to do it. The drawback is that it needs a PC to plug into. I have a laptop also if you want to borrow them sometime. You could throw it all in a backpack and go for a ride while logging the voltage on various outputs. I think it has two or three inputs on the logging device so you could probe multiple points. I'm at home now, so I'll have to look at work to see. My hypotheses (I have two) are that either the ECU is running hot (bad component?) or that you have a bare wire shorting to the frame. Neither are very good though, because IIRC you have replaced the CPU at least once and you would have noticed a grounded wire since you obviously rewired the bike. Edit: here's the tool- looks like it will run on a mac (although I don't have the software....I might be able to get it). http://www.vernier.com/mbl/labpro.html

I thought Jaap was in advertising, so it'd be money well spent. I bet it's plugs/cables or the TPS. Put an ohmmeter across the TPS and slowly open the throttle- the change in resistance should be smooth and continuous.

Cool. Thanks for the info Jedi. I've got a set of springs on the way and I'll get them setup over the winter. We're about the same mass pre-beer.

I've not heard of this problem specifically, but- You say it 'makes the right sounds', but what sound does it make? It should be a dry/metallic rasping sound that rises in pitch when you pull in the clutch. If the pitch doesn't change, the clutch is not engaging. There will be some resistance just from the spring and the piston in the master cylinder, so that may not be the best indicator. It should be easy to bleed-You should be able to remove the slave cylinder fairly easily, then bleed the system with the slave cylinder held up, so air bleeds out out. Might you consider buying a speedbleeder nut? If the clutch/slave setup is clean, free of air, and working- it is still a relatively simple matter to drop the transmission and inspect the throwout, pushrod, and clutchplates, although I cannot imagine why they would be damaged. Good luck, and I hope you enjoy your bike!

Uh, Carl, you live in Oklahoma. But seriously- good luck with it.

I guess you could try some starter fluid to see if it's fuel related.

Jedi- how much do you weigh? (if you don't mind my asking). Uh, let's say, pre-beer. Chris, did you do anything to the rear suspension?

Also, with cold damp weather, condensation can be a problem in the spark plug caps. Check that they are dry.

I've seen a couple of 1100s with the Terrmigioni system- you're right- that's a beautiful note.