The 16″ LeMans 1000: Moto Guzzi’s finest hour?

[steven c]

http://www.bikeshedtimes.com/the-16-lemans-1000-moto-guzzis-finest-hour/
 Good story.

[Bill Owens]

Interesting,I had never heard of the steering stem problem.

[dsrdave]

I never heard the steering stem issue either.....  I always run 36psi in the front tire and I've never experienced any of the issues that have been purported. Love the bike, second only to my  LM-V.

[wrbix]

Interesting,I had never heard of the steering stem problem.

Nor have I.
Certainly a lot of 16’ers running around out there that haven’t had their steering head bearing races re-machined. I call BS.
Love my 16’er.

[ITSec]

Do Moto Guzzis rock in the opposite direction when south of the equator?

[bigbikerrick]

I call BS on the steering stem "problem" as well. If that were the case, there would be binding you could  feel in the bearings when the steering stem is tightened down.
My 85 has the 16 incher, and it handles beautifully, but it does like 35-37 psi in the front tire.

 My 85 LeMans holds a line in a high speed sweeper, like no other bike I have ever ridden .
The chassis on the bike is very nice, but where it really rocks, is the  big valve motor!
Rick.

[wirespokes]

Do Moto Guzzis rock in the opposite direction when south of the equator?

I don't know. Which direction does yours rock?

I call BS on the steering stem "problem" as well. If that were the case, there would be binding you could  feel in the bearings when the steering stem is tightened down.
My 85 has the 16 incher, and it handles beautifully, but it does like 35-37 psi in the front tire.

 My 85 LeMans holds a line in a high speed sweeper, like no other bike I have ever ridden .
The chassis on the bike is very nice, but where it really rocks, is the  big valve motor!
Rick.

Mine's got the 18", but it also needs 37 or 38 otherwise the tread wears quickly on the sides. The tread leading edge wears much quicker with lower pressure.

I've also heard the 16" doesn't handle well once the tire is a little worn.

I've never heard of the steering head thing either. I'm curious what he's talking about - machining the stem??? Too bad he didn't go into detail.

I love the engine too - the whole power train is great! The only thing left to handle on mine is the forks. I've got some Showa dampers to install that are supposed to really improve the ride.

I'm not fond of the styling, but you know what? The view from the saddle bypasses that. Aesthetics are important to me, so that'll give an idea how much I like this bike.

[bigbikerrick]

Wirespokes, Can you  please post more information regarding the showa dampers?
That sounds very interesting!
Rick.

[chuck peterson]

Are we allowed to look at a LeMan w xs650 mufflers? Isn't that some sort of brand blasphemy and indescribable bad taste?.......

[wrbix]

Are we allowed to look at a LeMan w xs650 mufflers? Isn't that some sort of brand blasphemy and indescribable bad taste?.......

Blasphemy- not sure; but aesthetically poorly executed.
Short Bubs on the other hand:

[Stevex]

Yep, those XS650 cans just look wrong.
Maybe someone should introduce the bike to some up swept Lafranconis.

[bigbikerrick]

The original mufflers on that bike are gorgeous,with their red end caps, and match the lines of the bike perfectly. I have mistrals on mine, because of the sweet sound, but you cant beat the looks of the og, especially in the black chrome finish.
Rick.

[wirespokes]

Yep, those XS650 cans just look wrong.
Maybe someone should introduce the bike to some up swept Lafranconis.

Somehow short exhausts look wrong on a street bike - it should go all the way to the back. Moto Guzzi got it right, and the upswept look best, especially on this bike.

Wirespokes, Can you  please post more information regarding the showa dampers?
That sounds very interesting!
Rick.

I got a set, used off of ebay, complete forks with dampers inside from a '90s VFR for less than a hundred bucks. I was told only very minor mods to the damper are needed to make them fit an earlier LeMans or T3 - like cutting them a little shorter and rethreading the tops. I don't have access to my data at the moment, so that's the best I can give you. It's possible they'll fit the LM 1000 with less work - perhaps they're not too long and don't need cutting down. They're supposed to be a big improvement over any of the normal cartridges for these forks.

[bigbikerrick]

Thanks, Wirespokes. When you do that project on the forks, please take pictures, and let us know how it works out. I am interested in doing something like that to mine, in the future.
Rick.

[wirespokes]

Rick - the data is on a thread in Adventure Rider: https://advrider.com/f/threads/%E2%80%9880-guzzi-le-mans-trying-not-to-butcher-it.1272548/page-3

It's page 3 - post #45

Sure - I can take pix and record the process for you guys.

I was going to install them in the T3, but its front suspension seems to work better than the 87LM even though it had new dampers installed before I got it 16K ago. I don't recall which ones (FAC Bitubo?), but they were supposedly the best available. I'm considering installing the showas in the LM instead also because I've got an 85 front end with the original triple trees I'd like to mount. Why not do it all at the same time? If you don't know, the post-85 triple trees were re-designed with less offset which increased trail in an effort to reduce twitchiness probably created by the 16 with not enough air pressure. Anyway, my bike's got the 18" front, so I'd like to have the correct triple trees to match. It should help with turning radius and handling at very low speed. I'll let you know how that goes.

[Stevex]

I got a set, used off of ebay, complete forks with dampers inside from a '90s VFR for less than a hundred bucks. I was told only very minor mods to the damper are needed to make them fit an earlier LeMans or T3 - like cutting them a little shorter and rethreading the tops. I don't have access to my data at the moment, so that's the best I can give you. It's possible they'll fit the LM 1000 with less work - perhaps they're not too long and don't need cutting down. They're supposed to be a big improvement over any of the normal cartridges for these forks.

I've just done that mod to my LM2 forks, using the RC36 (VFR750) Showa cartridges.
'Fraid I didn't take photos, but it wasn't difficult; some machining is required though...the VFR caps need turning down and a new thread cutting to match the Guzzi stanchions, the damper rods need shortening and the cartridge attachment bolt at the bottom of the fork is a 6mm item on the VFR, so the 8mm hole in the Guzzi fork lower needs sleeve-ing.
With the LM2, which has 2 springs per fork, I had to shed its shorter spring, as the VFR cartridge is taller than the Guzzi's; don't know how this would affect other Guzzi forks which only have the one spring. I measured the long LM2 fork spring at 1kg/mm spring rate which is quite high compared to other fork springs.
Finally, I downloaded the VFR service manual and used the same air gap for the Guzzi forks as the original Showa units but I've yet to actually ride the bike to see how the forks perform. I used 5w fork oil and am hoping the pre load will give enough adjustment so I don't have to lower the air gap.
Got to mention Huub too, as he gave me the idea to go down the Showa route and answered my queries too.

[bigbikerrick]

Excellent information, thanks alot, guys, and thanks for the link.
Rick.