What did you do to your V11 today?

[Skip]

6 hours ago, footgoose said:

Very nice Skip. the Superveloce headlight ring does double duty as an homage to early Guzzi LeMans

Thanks Footgoose and for sharing, I did not know. So I guess I did good in two ways. If that is your LeMans, it looks very good, has that old school cafe look. Loving It !

SKIP

[p6x]

Anybody has been in a sauna before?

This is how I can best describe the experience of riding in Houston yesterday afternoon.

I don't think I have been in that can of heat before, excepted in a sauna. Speed does not really help either, because the air is warm and humid.

Stops are excruciating with the sun beating you while you are at a standstill.

The worse being there don't seem to be an remission in store.... I am now wishing for rain, which most likely is going to help in one way, even if not in the other.

[footgoose]

5 hours ago, Skip said:

Thanks Footgoose and for sharing, I did not know. So I guess I did good in two ways. If that is your LeMans, it looks very good, has that old school cafe look. Loving It !

SKIP

Ha, no I wish it were. I think they did that on a few other year models. Not sure why. Maybe a safety visual highlight. I used to think it odd, but it grew on me. 

[audiomick]

I'm not in the garage yet today, but on the way, so today I've not done anything yet.

Yesterday I started in on the rubber pipe directly under the frame rail for the motor ventilation.

 

Currently, the Le Mans is on the lift with all the bodywork removed, and the tank and airbox, and I'm thinking about what else I should be having a look at while I'm in there. The "wheels off" and "tank off" topics from here are both available on the old laptop that I have designated as the "garage computer" for Guzzidiag, so I suppose I'll be working through them, more or less.

Good is, I've got a couple of weeks more holidays, and the weather here is fairly ordinary at the moment.

[audiomick]

Today:

Got the new hose in for the engine ventilation. Surprisingly awkward to change it, but I'm cautiously optimistic that this was really the reason for the oil on the bottom of the motor. We'll see...

Started sorting through the wiring loom. The way it was laid in looked like an experiment in macrame. In the process of doing that I established that, firstly, I didn't have enough long, black cable ties to finish the job and, secondly, the throttle cable needs renewing, so there is no point in binding it all up again anyway. I'd most likely need to undo at least some of it to get that done.

Started to take out the rear wheel so I could have a better look in around the swingarm and drive-shaft. Established that I need a 13mm Allen key to get the axle out, which I don't have.

Tried out the new grease gun on the two grease nipple that one can get to. I'll be looking around the forum this evening for the posts about getting on to the nipple at the front. I know they are here, I've seen them....

 

Tomorrow is an new day with exciting possibilities and endless potential ...

 

[4corsa]

Don't recall what year yours is, but my '03 LeMans allows (barely) for access as shown here (earlier models have the nipple located elsewhere). This photo and explanation appears on one of the greasing the drives driveshaft posts from 3 years ago. I used a standard grease gun fitting. The difficulty was getting your fingers back there in any way to exert enough force to click the fitting down on the nipple. In the end, I pushed it down onto the nipple with plyers.

[MartyNZ]

1 hour ago, audiomick said:

Started sorting through the wiring loom. 

Started to take out the rear wheel so I could have a better look in around the swingarm and drive-shaft. Established that I need a 13mm Allen key to get the axle out, which I don't have.

The wiring looms under the airbox don't have much room, so check before you finalize tidying.

My bike toolkit has a 14mm hex about 25mm long that fits in both f&r axles.

[guzzler]

Took it into the office...

Bit fresh on the way in and windy on the trip home but rode the tripe out of her in the fun 40 kays!

I think she enjoyed the dance as much as I did.

Cheers 

[audiomick]

26 minutes ago, MartyNZ said:

so check before you finalize tidying.

Yes, I will. I noticed there is also not much room around the front tank mounts, and lots of big fat plugs right there.

 

27 minutes ago, MartyNZ said:

My bike toolkit has a 14mm hex about 25mm long that fits in both f&r axles.

Ah, so it is a 14mm. I measured it as best I could with a vernier gauge, but I was probably not that accurate. Thanks.

[docc]

On 8/3/2023 at 4:05 PM, guzzler said:

Took it into the office...

Bit fresh on the way in and windy on the trip home but rode the tripe out of her in the fun 40 kays!

I think she enjoyed the dance as much as I did.

Cheers 

Today is mySport's 23rd anniversary, but too much rain and too many patients to ride. Hopefully Saturday before the heat index goes crazy.

 

I did review my latest maintenance notes. What I am calling my 130,000mile/210.000 km service - The last ten weeks and two thousand miles brought just about every service interval together: tires, all brakes/pads, all hydraulics (including clutch master rebuild), complete "Decent Tune-up" (with a new TPS), tank off with air/fuel filters, oil/filter, and truly-and-actually greased "that farking front U-ee !"  

[guzzler]

Good luck Doc...

I've also got a RARE free weekend coming up....(ssshhh fingers crossed)!

The weather looks to be coming to the party too but don't want to bugger it by assuming the Met bureau has it right this time!

May have to appease ole Bacchus and sacrifice some brain cells later on... just so he can put in a good word to Jupiter for us!!

[4corsa]

Truly awesome and impressive docc - congratulations on #23!

[audiomick]

Today's programme:

On the way to the garage, I went past a local ironmonger shop and picked up a 14 mm Hex key 1/2" drive socket.

When I got to the garage, I discovered that it didn't fit into the end of the axle.

Closer inspection revealed that some ham-fisted moron had belted the end of the axle so hard with a steel hammer that the socket was deformed inwards, and the head of the axle was deformed outwards so much that it was stuck in the swing arm.

A bit of controlled violence on my part with a copper hammer and a block of wood got it out, hopefully without bending anything. Incidentally, the nut on the other end of the axle was definately no where near 120 NM tightening torque.

Further: one of the wheel bearings is pretty grotty, and both the swingarm bearings. The front uni-joint doesn't feel good. It has a "stop" in the middle in one direction, sort of like what happens to head-stem bearings when they start going west. And the rear shock looks like it is leaking.

On the good side, the front torque arm bolt was nicely greased and looks good as new, and the "hidden" roller bearing in the final drive also looks good.

I was worried about the swing-arm bolts as I took them out; they both felt 'orrible. However, a bit of patience and working the threads back and forth with liberal applications of Ballistol got them cleaned up.

 

Does anyone happen to know a manufacturer and part number for the uni-joints?

 

[docc]

2 hours ago, audiomick said:

Does anyone happen to know a manufacturer and part number for the uni-joints?

 

Della Concordia:

Here is a post in Encyclopedia of Compatible Parts, originally sourced by @Pressureangle:

And this sharing thread in Classifieds started by @activpop:

 

[guzzler]

Good onya Doc

I was looking thru my old receipts / paperwork etc and could only find the driveshaft # 01358730 if anyone needs that.

Cheers