Cafe Sport Arrives in SoCal

[Jazzamoto]

Fixed!

 

 

I'm actually really happy with the look and build quality of the new brake lever.  Makes me want to replace the perfectly adequate shift lever on the other side just to have a matching set.  Of course that side looks a little tricker to remove.

 

Now I just need to find some matching touch up paint to fix that scrape mark.  Not sure I want to remove the whole porkchop to replace/refinish it.

I've been thiking the same thing. If I come up with a reasonable touch up paint I'll let you know.

[Rox Lemans]

K99,

Small world! I just bought the identical bike, 2004 V11 Le Mans Cafe Sport, early this week in Santa Clarita and trailered it to my home in Richmond in the SF Bay area. Same color combo, 11K mikes and I also have an almost identical gouge in the right frame member above the foot rest! Not sure if it came from a riders boot or if some one got clumsy with the factory rear stand. We had a break in the weather so I was finally able to to take it out for a spin around town and guess what? It's different from the 2006 Multistrada it replaced! Feels like an adult version of my 1978 Le Mans I, so this old man's pretty happy. It has the stock exhaust but came with a set of Ferraci carbon slip-ons

which I may put on one of these days just to see how loud they are.

 

Anyway, congrats on the new ride!

 

 

I almost bought this bike but I decided on a well sorted Scura. Great to see it found a home from someone on this board.

[BMWDavid]

I also almost bought this bike. I was actually looking into shipping options and slowly talked myself out of it as I have two V11's at the moment. Glad to see you get the bike...enjoy!

[k99]

Received some new parts this week.  Mistral crossover, and GuzziTech headers and flanges.

 

 

Now I just need to pick a cool color for the ceramic coating from Jet-Hot.  I'm leaning towards a gold, bronze or brass color.  I always liked the golden color stainless steel pipes turn when you first start using them. (too bad they don't stay that way for longer)  That might match well with the Cafe Sport's color scheme as opposed to silver/gray.  

[Scud]

Very nice. I got a few sample colors from Jet Hot, but I ended up deferring the decision - partly because I like that initial golden color too. Something in the Cafe Sport color palette could really do the trick.

[k99]

Samples from Jet-Hot came in.  I think I'm going with 2037 Bronze.

 

[docc]

[k99]

So while I am waiting for the exhaust system to get coated I will fill you guys in on the next two projects for my bike.  Thoughts and advice appreciated.

 

1) Remove that ugly "goose neck" and mount the headlight/fairing/dash proper.  I've been scouring Harper's parts diagrams of the '02 bikes to figure out what needs to be purchased to accomplish this.  I am also deciding on whether to keep the fairing and have it mounted like a Scura, or get a bigger headlight and go the naked route.  I have seen others mention projects like this before, but nothing in detail.  The modification seems simple enough, but any knowledge, experience, warnings on this effort would help.

 

2) I find the handle bars put me in an awkward half-way position.  I think a bike like this really needs clip-ons for proper ergonomics. Plus it would just look better.  I have found quite a few sets for 54mm forks that I like.  The question would be to go with aftermarket or a stock set from a LeMans.  I would also have to consider mounting above or below the triple tree.  After measuring I only have 21mm of usable fork space above the triple tree.  I would most likely have to adjust the fork height to mount from above.  Can I assume pushing the forks up a centimeter or so would not affect the bike too much?

[Scud]

1) I haven't done the conversion you've described, but I find the Cafe Sport (and other similar models) fairing to be a bit awkward-looking. It's like a half-step between the tight, bar-mounted fairing on the Scura and the large, frame-mounted fairing of the LeMans. Which way to go is a matter of preference.

 

2) I bet you could find somebody willing to swap the entire triple-clamp and handlebar assembly with you. Maybe post an ad here and on WildGuzzi.com. Some people with clip ons want to install bars - and everybody seems to have a hard time finding the parts. Raising the forks a bit will make it steer just a little quicker. If you have clearance under the bars, you could probably try that now.

[czakky]

Moving your forks up 1cm will definitely change handling characteristics. I moved mine up on my 02 about 8mm and it made a much more significant change than I would have thought. Like Scud said it steers much quicker but made steering more neutral as well. Your bike has a little different geometry though I believe.

I went the naked route on my lemans and made my own brackets that I thought turned out pretty nicely. I can show you the parts I ordered if you want.

[docc]

AFAIK, all frame and suspension geometry is unchanged 2002-2004.

 

And, +1, 5mm fork change is noticeable; something to be done along with setting sags and selecting springs.

[GuzziMoto]

You can get all kinds of aftermarket clip-ons, including some with a rise so they can be mounted below the triple but bring the bars up above the triple.

I think 1 cm is a pretty large change to geometry. You can try it, but it will do two things. It will speed up steering by increasing the rake.

It will also decrease trail, resulting in lighter steering but less stable.

[k99]

Good to know.  I love the way the bike handles so I definitely would not want to change the geometry that much.  

 

I took a closer look to see if I could mount below the top triple tree clamp and noticed that the fork actually gets narrower about 2cm down.  It seems I have just as little room at the full 54mm as I do above the clamp.  Here is a photo to clarify what I am working with.

 

 

I wonder if I would have to go all the way down to the 53mm section and add clip-ons with a higher rise.  I haven't found any sets with bar clamps short enough to fit within 20mm.  I guess it is either that, or go with a stock set plus top triple-clamp from a LeMans.  (Not looking to swap.  I'd like to keep all my original parts)

[Scud]

The original clip-ons go above the triple clamp. The triple clamp is different too. Mine has threaded holes to position the clip-ons, but no holes for the standard bar clamp studs. That's why I suggested you might be able to find someone to swap top triples and all hardware with you. Or you could figure a different path to accumulate the parts.

 

You would not need to move your forks at all - you have plenty of room for the clip-ons now - and will still have room to move the forks a bit to suit your handling preferences.

 

Here's mine, when it was still factory-fresh:

 

[nobleswood]

Over on the WildGuzzi site there is a member looking to change his clip-ons from a LeMans to a handlebar.

 

http://wildguzzi.com/forum/index.php?topic=81061.0

 

You might be able to get his clip - ons.

 

I added the Scura fairing to my naked. Purchased it from Harpers, so the brackets are available