Leo Vince bushing length question

[al_roethlisberger]

For those of you out there with Leo Vince Oval mufflers on 2002+ bikes, and especially with a Stucci crossover, this question is for you

 

 

As noted in the following thread:

 

Muffler Choices

 

 

... while my bike is in the shop for some other things, I am having them install a pair of oval Ti Leo Vince cans on my 2002 LeMans. However, the right can isn't lining up properly, is crooked, and is even impeding the rear brake lever.

 

I have also installed a Stucci crossover, although based on my fitting the stock mufflers, the crossover does seem to be fine. So that shouldn't be the problem.

 

So, after going over to the shop and inspecting the problem myself, here is what I observed.

 

As all of us with 2002+ bikes know, the right passenger peg/muffler bracket(ladder shaped, attaches to frame) is "kicked out" about a 1/2 inch further than the left bracket to clear the bevel box, etc... due to the wider rear rim on 2002+ bikes. However, I am quite certain that the Stucci does not take this into account, as when one orders it you don't specify the year of the V11.

 

So, for the Leo's to fit and align properly, the aluminum bushing for the right side bracket must be about 1/2" shorter than the left, otherwise the muffler won't fit properly. This is exactly the situation I found when I visited the shop, that the right bushing is not correspondingly shorter.

 

Mounted up with the hardware from Leo Vince, the right can is kinked and twisted in on the bottom because the bushing is too long, pushing the whole mounting point out at the top about 1/2" too far... messing up the alignment... thus also making the fit down at the brake lever worse.

 

So here's my question for all 2002+ bikes with Leo Vinces(that fit correctly)... can you measure the silver aluminum bushing/spacer(that the mounting bolt goes through) for the left and right sides of your bike, and see if the right bushing is in fact shorter? For this to work, the right bushing needs to be a tad shorter, and mine as delivered from Leo are equal length.

 

This is kinda important as we need to follow up with Leo Vince and let them know. So if you can let me know in the next day or two, that would be great.

 

It is possible that the Stucci's design for the "generic" V11 Sport(regardless of year) is exacerbating the problem, and in fact for those folks with the stock crossover and the Leo's this alignment problem may not exist, even for a 2002+ bike with equal length bushings. If so, we can always simply machine the length of the bushing down a bit, but since it is "shaped" and fluted, we'd rather do that as the last resort.... as opposed to Leo sending the correct length.... if they make one.

 

I look forward to your "measurements"

 

thx!

al

[Guest Brian Robson]

I have measured the bushing on my 02 Lemans and they are both the same size, as is the bolt and width of the nut. What I do see though is the right peg hanger is bent differently from the subframe down and the bolt presents at a slightly different angle.

My experience of aftermarket pipes (Supertrapp, D&D, Yoshimura) is that their quality control leaves lots to be desired and often the brackets are in different positions or have even been constructed with differing lengths.

Hope this helps.

[al_roethlisberger]

Well, after conversing with Leo Vince... they seemed to confirm that they only have one set of mounting hardware for all V11 Sport varieties. In fact, when they were told we were having trouble fitting this to an '02 LeMans, they said, "...well, we only sell exhausts for V11 Sports." ...as if that were the obvious answer to our fitment problem. geez

 

 

So I guess we'll just fiddle and wiggle the exhausts around until it's straight, and probably shave the right bushing to get it all aligned.

 

ah well

 

al

[al_roethlisberger]

Oh, and BTW.... for those that helped me with my "poll" on whether to get Ti or Carbon Leo's some months back... thanks

 

Although I didn't get a chance to take in the whole bike from a distance since it was still up on the rack, the Ti cans looked great on the bike from my close-up perspective. They don't quite match the paint, and some of the other "silver" bits exactly, but they still coordinate quite well overall, and really stand out against the all black rear of the bike.

 

For my tastes, I think I made the right choice

 

I'll post pics later... as soon as I actually have the bike back in hand that is

 

al

 

P.S.

 

What's holding the bike up you ask?? Well, other than the aforementioned Leo alignment issue, and the fact that the bike won't run.... here's a tip. The last issue we are working is really really minor. Silly really.

 

If you ever order one of the fairing halves from Guzzi, you have now been warned.... make sure you order the trim/edging that goes along the inner edge as well. However, as in true Guzzi fashion, there's no part# for that piece So my warrantee fairing showed up without the trim, and the old trim is so super-glued on, that one can't salvage that easily(apparently).

 

Anyway, just a little bit of trivia. Nits to pick really, but geez

 

We have a call into Guzzi on this one. No reply yet.

[al_roethlisberger]

One last request:

 

For those that do have Leo's installed, especially with the Stucci x-over, if you could possibly take a handful of digital photos, especially from the rear, right hangar, rear brake lever area... etc... so I can forward those to Moto Italiano to help them see the net result of a properly aligned system.

 

You can mail those photos to me directly at al_roethlisberger@yahoo.com

 

thx!

al

[al_roethlisberger]

Ok, old thread... but I've finally got something constructive to add to it

 

As you may remember, I went ahead and purchased the Ti Oval Leo Vince exhausts, and they turned out quite nice. However, as noted earlier in the thread, because the 2002+ bikes have the uneven stock exhaust hangars, exhaust systems that do not take this into account... like the Leo's, tend to look very uneven when viewed from the rear.

 

So, after some experimentation with wooden blocks, fabrication, etc... here's what I found.

 

In the case of the Leo Vince's, the stock exhaust mount bushing is 45mm. I cut the right side bushing down to 27mm(although an "even" 25mm would probably be safe as well) and now the rear is within a quarter of an inch even, which is bascially visually unnoticeable.

 

So for those with these or similar pipes, you can safely bring the right can inward quite a bit without fear of hitting the swingarm during the suspension's compression.

 

Following are some photos.

 

 

al

[al_roethlisberger]

Left side with standard and unmodified sized bushing from Leo Vince:

[al_roethlisberger]

Here is the right side with the bushing cut in half and reduced from the standard 45mm to 27mm:

[al_roethlisberger]

And, now from the rear... finally "even"

[al_roethlisberger]

And for future shoppers of Ti Leo cans, this is what they look like:

[al_roethlisberger]

A full-bike shot... the finale'