Scud

I think that's right, Docc. Only the red-frames can have a "Go-Winkie" by using the electric petcock plug after installing a manual petcock. The 2002 bikes do not have a plug for the electric petcock - they came originally with manual petcocks.

I wish I had measured the spring on the Greenie's transmission when I had it apart. Perhaps they used thinner wire (with more flexibility) - then switched to thicker wire in 2002? Just idle speculation. If memory serves me, the Scura has broken 2 springs in about 15,000 miles. I have only put 2,000 on the Greenie, which is coming up on 7,000 total. I did not replace the springs when I had it apart to reseal the transmission, so it will be interesting to see how long it lasts. But back to the Scura, our current "test platform." I believe it now shifts better than ever, having enjoyed a spirited romp today (although it was sad to see the damage caused by the recent "Lilac Fire"). But I have not isolated the variables; I made three changes at the same time: 1) the new spring 2) a used pawl arm with the smaller diameter boss, and 3) resurfaced an area to remove a groove and polished it where the short arm touches. The shifting just seems more crisp and neutral is very easy to find.

I originally thought the pull spring would be the best too - but I am now convinced that there was a design flaw in the original spring. This thread got pretty long, but the essence is that the original spring fails because of two problems: the short arm has a hook/tab bent at a sharp 90-degrees, and should have a more gentle radius (so the short arm snaps where it was bent) the whole spring is forced to travel more than its safe limit - so it breaks on the coil (this problem is even worse with the 2002 bikes that have a too-big boss for the coil, which causes it to bind on downshifts) Chuck's design addresses both of the above flaws, plus it extends the short arm a bit to further reduce the risk of over-travel. It uses a thinner wire with an extra coil - so it will bend, not break. Plus it provides more even pressure on upshifts and downshifts (compared to the original spring, which has very little pressure on upshifts). I'll go test the spring a little more today - I think the Scura knows her way to some steep and twisty roads.

Oh yeah... there's the 2-valve vs. 4-valve per cylinder issue - and the mandatory roller conversion for the early 4-valve heads.

You snowed in? Bummer. Chuck's also spent some money, and has invested the most time. I appreciate the offer, but I think the next expense will be under $500 and I can absorb it in my "PlayPal" account. I'll try to figure out a price that will allow me to send some $$ to Chuck, the forum, and have a little beer money left over. Ideally, one person in each of a few countries could buy a few and supply them to others via local post. But it's going to be at least a month till we need to worry about distribution. Meanwhile, I get to feel special - having the only V11 in the world with the new spring.

The ST3 has a cast Brembo wheel, manufactured about the same time as the cast Brembo wheels for the V11. The Ducati "adds lightness" to the unsprung weight in the rear in a few other places, compared to V11, such as a hollow rear axle. And the Ducati's simple swingarm must be half the weight of the V11. Ducati claim a dry weight of 215 kilos (472 pounds) for the whole bike. The difference to the total weight of a V11 LeMans (226 kilos / 498 pounds) is about the weight of the final drive. I assume the bags and racks are included in the Ducati's dry weight, but I don't know for sure. The S versions (ST3s, ST4s) have lighter, Marchesini, wheels. So anyway - yeah I expected that Ducati wheel to be a lot lighter. But clearing up false assumptions is part of why we measure stuff, right?

Yup - that includes a brake rotor and a new steel sprocket. The caliper and brackets on both bikes probably weigh about the same, but the bracket is a bit smaller on Ducati (and easier to install... and the bleeder is on the top.)

While installing new chain and sprockets on my Ducati ST3, I thought I'd weigh the rear wheel. With at least 50% left on a 180/55-17 tire it comes in at 33.1 pounds - which is about 2 pounds less than Docc's V11 wheel with a 160/60-17 tire. So the V11 rear wheel itself doesn't seem excessively heavy. Of course, the Duc only needs to count, as unsprung weight, 1/2 the weight of the chain and 1/2 of what appears to be a much lighter swingarm than the V11.

A few mores miles (to pick up a chain tool so I could install a new chain on the Ducati). It might be my imagination, or wishful thinking, but maybe, just maybe, the shifting has improved a bit and neutral can be found more easily and consistently.

No need to "reserve" springs. I'll probably buy at least 100 of them to get a good unit price.

It occurs to me that the many changes to the pre-selector over the years were not needed. All that was needed was a better spring. My 2002 preselector has no eccentric to adjust the pawl lever - and with the new spring in place, that lever doesn't bounce up and hit the fixed pin anyway. The new spring applies more even pressure on upshifts and downshifts - more than stock on the upshifts and less than stock on the downshifts. I didn't miss any shifts... more testing soon... then I'll order a batch for us.

The short arm is one of two failure points, and I don't know which is more common. But Chuck noticed that the 90-degree bend in the short arm was tighter than "allowed" for that thickness of wire. He took care to give a bigger radius that bend on his new design. That, along with the extra coil and the thinner wire should solve the problem - especially if each person who installs one takes the time to smooth out the sharp edges on the stamped steel parts where the springs make contact. That is an interesting thought about using another cylinder to eliminate the 90-degree bend - but that would require a higher degree of skill/customization than simply replacing the spring.

I put the new spring in today. And here is the tale of three springs: Top: New, super groovy custom hand-made by Chuck with just under 2.5 coils. Middle: New Spring Bottom: Spring I took out of the Scura - which probably has less than 2,000 miles and already showing sign of fatigue. Turns out the Scura had a 16mm boss on the arm - but my spare pre-selector had a boss with 15mm. So I swapped them. Also note how the short arm on the spring had cut in the metal on this part. When I previously did the polishing of the shift parts (per Lucky Phil's instructions) I neglected this part. Polished part with rounded edge and new spring in place.... And what we really care about... does it work? Yup. The good news is that I can't tell any difference in the shifting - and it was shifting great before. I am optimistic that we have solved this problem. My test ride was just 6 miles to do an errand. I will attempt to get in a few more miles ASAP.

My Scura is weeping a bit at the RH valve cover. I'm hoping to address that tomorrow, along with installing a very special shift spring, which I received from Chuck a couple weeks ago. Then the spring will need some "real world" testing.

The 2002 models (and the 2003 Sports) have external fuel pump and manual petcock. I think all the earlier had electric petcocks. Starting with the 2003 LeMans (and special editions) they had internal fuel pumps (no petcock).

I'm 6' 0" and put the lowered pegs back to stock position on one of mine. It was a home-made lowering kit - comfortable, but not attractive. I find the stock position comfortable, but not sure how I'd feel if I was 4 inches taller. Maybe you are chasing a ghost if you want it to feel like a Multistrada or Cagiva Gran Canyon (your other bikes). Your profile says an 03 LeMans is coming soon - have you had a long ride on one yet?

I think the ruby-red (and the silver) porkchops on the 2002s used a two-stage paint with a satin clear-coat. I got pretty close with a candy-apple red powdercoat job. Of course, that means taking both off at the same time, which is a lot more work than touching up chips. Here are pics of the candy apple parts: http://www.v11lemans.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=19680&p=216665

Some of the original Sachs shocks break at the lower eye, so it's a good preventative measure to replace that. The Ohlins is far superior. That seems a fair price, assuming it doesn't need an rebuild soon. You could have bought an equivalent, or possibly better, new shock by Penske, Wilburs, Hyperpro (to name a few) for $1,000 or more. But the Ohlins has the name recognition and the cool yellow spring.

It is a fun bike to take apart and reassemble... having done so on more than one occasion myself. While you're up front, consider lubing the steering bearings. It seems they didn't always get enough grease at the factory.

Yeah, and it's not really new. A while back, I was wondering where the advice to not talk about religion and politics originated. This is the earliest quote I could find in English (did not attempt to search for similar ideas in other languages). “Do not discuss politics or religion in general company. You probably would not convert your opponent, and he will not convert you. To discuss those topics is to arouse feeling without any good result.” Thomas E Hill, 1883. Hill's Manual of Social and Business Forms: A guide to correct writing. Chicago, IL: Hill Standard Book Co.

No worries. Lots of political rocks around these days. Hard to avoid them all. Back to Rich... wish I could help. I don't have experience with anything but stock ignition parts. Gosh, last time I installed a non-stock ignition part was an electronic distributor to replace one with points. I think that was in the 1980s. Hot shit, that electronic ignition was...

Parts - looks like a good company to keep in mind. Wasn't somebody looking for an alternator recently? It seems they have one for Guzzi and BMW. Politics - Germany in the 1930s is the country the world studies to try to prevent extreme nationalism from taking hold. I can understand why some German businesses feel compelled to take sides today. I have some opinions and enjoy talking politics in person, but on this forum, I'd rather talk parts than politics.

I wouldn't do anything to the axle. The later bikes had that flat-cast aluminum look - and took the larger hex wrench.

Can't you find a used one on e-bay or a bike salvage place?

Five hoses "on backorder" between this thread and PMs. I'll order some stuff and make another batch - sending out the three remaining hoses tomorrow. The hoses are 230mm long (that's partly for my own reference for the next batch). @ Bruce - shame that I didn't know you wanted two hoses. I could have brought them over last week and dropped them in the Australian post. They don't weigh much, so shipping from USA will still be reasonable.