Seeking feedback on Some Sport 1100 minor upgrades (?) ideas

[oldmxdog61u]

My new to me 96 spot...

-Thinking of going with replacement manual petcocks from MG (story I hear is the electronic fail).
-Still looking for a hi intensity (low wattage) headlight bulb to replace my stock one as I need the current for my heated jacket and pants (in the 20's here in the morning, and they are a Godsend).
 -Also, should I go with the stock air cleaner replacement filter or should I go with the upgraded K&N?
-anything else I am missing other than service on the obvious must do list?
Love this bike, its fast overtaking my previous bar for fun, the LMIV (now in Ricks hands in S. Az).
Thanks for your inputs

Bruce

[Groover]

I like the petcock conversion idea, but I think the only thing I would do based on your needs is to upgrade the alternator system to the higher wattage ones available.

Everything else, I'd leave alone - that's just my 2-cents and only based off the list.

[rocker59]

-it is said those petcocks fail.  many Sport 1100 riders have replaced them.  the originals are still in place on my '96. 
-the best replacement will probably be some LED bulb, but not sure what would work with the headlamp housing.  Mine is still OEM.
-stock air cleaner should be fine.  when I added staintunes and FCRs, I added a K&N to the stock airbox.

-I went to WP springs and 10wt oil in the front forks.  no change to the OEM WP rear shock.
-don't know if the front brakes have been upgraded, but the OEM master cylinder wasn't great.  I upgraded mine with a better Brembo unit.
-I also upgraded the front rotors to full-floating cast-iron Brembos from a Ducati.  Brakes are much better than stock.
-the bikes are tire-sensitive.  You'll get the most out of it with a good set of tires.  I'm currently using Bridgestone T30.

I don't run heated gear, so have never felt the need to upgrade the alternator.

[Greenman]

Yes, uprate the fork springs as the standard ones are far too soft.
Then drop the forks 10mm.
fit a quicker action throttle.
Fit a ZX6R stand onto the porkchop, and hang the standard one on the wall as a reminder of bad ideas.
Don't bother about K&N filters, and keep the airbox standard.
Fit bigger idle and pilot jets.
The standard exhaust is ok but heavy, I have a crossover instead of the expansion box, makes oil changes easier. I've also just fitted shorty megaphones, made it a bit lighter and louder.

T30 tires work a treat.

Then ride it like you stole it.

[twhitaker]

FWIW, I got a First Gear Thermo riding suit and put the heated gear on the back shelf.

[oldmxdog61u]

Thanks for the quick feedback!
Some more factors-
Bike is already rejeted with staintune exhaust. Runs clean and pulls hard thru out. No complaints other than the throttle is not a quarter turn by any stretch of the imagination.
My new tires work fine for my parameters of experience and application.
I like the stock airbox. This is more of a question on K&N vs stock replacement.
I like the bike stand swap idea. Although, I am now used to just leaning over and flipping stoock up/down.
Fork oil was changed, I have no complaints on handling whatsoever at this point. Maybe after another couple thousand miles of grinning and twisting the throttle.
What brembo master cylinder swap? I at least need a new bracket (mine is stock and twisted, IMO looks shabby).
The existing petcocks are 20 years old. One argument is they still work fine, another is they are doomed to fail soon. Since I ride alone mostly far from civilization or traffic I look for potential reliability issues and take steps if reasonable or sustainable (?).
Verynice! I have ridden it 2 thousand miles so far since purchase, trouble free, and with great joy.

[redrider]

I have fitted a Nokya hyper yellow H4 bulb in place of the standard white. People see it in the mirror and most move over. It also shows up well at night. Wattage is same as stock.

[bigbikerrick]

Your Sport is a beautifully preserved example, Bruce, one of the nicest ones Ive ever seen....and that exhaust system... Oh So Sexy! I just got finished watching the video posted here of the 1100 sport on the track, man that made me want one of those beautiful Italian thoroughbreds. What a smooth, sweet sounding machine!
Im happy to hear you are enjoying yours so much. I was worried you were gonna sorely miss the Lemans IV, but I can tell the 1100 Spot is taking good care of you! 
Rick.

[malik]

On my carb Sport I run both heated grips & powerlet heated gloves & jacket liner, as well as a couple of LED spotlights (Denali D2) and have no problem at all with the power - and still with the 2 6v Yuasas. I don't know if the alternator has been changed, (I bought it with 60,000 km on it), I shouldn't think so, looks standard. With the trapezoidal (Euro) headlight, other bulbs don't seem to improve the abysmal reflector one little bit.

When I got it, my petcocks both had bare wire showing - the insulation had sloughed off - liquid electrical tape has worked so far, butt there's a couple of secondhand manual petcocks in the spare-parts-for-Ron collection, just in case.

Mal

[auzziguzzi]

I haven't changed anything from standard on my '96 Spot except the gearbox.  OK.   That is a pretty big change.
There was a reason.  Some of the Spots shredded 5th gear.   Mine was one of those so I used an '88 LeMans box from a wrecker and have had no further problem.  I did have the original gearbox overhauled but have never had to use it.

Original owner changed the exhaust in its first year of life.

Electrics have been rock solid.  Not even a bulb has blown.   Still using original petcocks, airbox, air filter, alternator, starter, Digiplex ignition ...

Sounds like you've got the jetting sorted already.   Not much else to do, really.

John

[yogidozer]

I use a heated jacket liner and gloves w/o a problem.

[rocker59]

I haven't changed anything from standard on my '96 Spot except the gearbox.  OK.   That is a pretty big change.
There was a reason.  Some of the Spots shredded 5th gear.   Mine was one of those so I used an '88 LeMans box from a wrecker and have had no further problem.  I did have the original gearbox overhauled but have never had to use it.

Original owner changed the exhaust in its first year of life.

Electrics have been rock solid.  Not even a bulb has blown.   Still using original petcocks, airbox, air filter, alternator, starter, Digiplex ignition ...

Sounds like you've got the jetting sorted already.   Not much else to do, really.

John

Greeting John!

Yeah, my '96 Sport 1100 has been a great bike, too.

Was there a noticeable gearing change, going to the LM-1000 transmission?

The transmission in my '91 LM-1000 was buttery smooth when compared to my Sport 1100.

I'd be interested to hear more about your conversion.

[auzziguzzi]

Hi there Rocker.

To tell you the truth, I can't really remember much about the original Spot gearbox.   5th gear went belly up (case hardening failure) at about 10,000 miles from new.

The '88 Le Mans gearbox was never meant to be a conversion, as such.   It was just meant to be a quick fix to get the bike back on the road while I researched, mulled over, waited for parts and rebuilt the original Spot gearbox.   

Well, to cut a long story short, it was three years before I finally got the '88 Le Mans box into the Spot.  However, it is a very sweet gearbox. 

As an aside : THE Pete Roper happened to be visiting Hobart, Tasmania where I live and the local Guzzi mechanic (Milton) was given a demo by Pete on how to shim a gearbox, using this very gearbox.

The Le Mans gearbox is so nice to use :
Clutchless up changes are a breeze.  The ratios are perfect.   Top gear can just lope along all day.   90mph = 5000rpm, give or take.
It makes me wonder why big blocks need a 6-speed.  I don't think they do, really.

I never put the original Spot box back in the bike, even though it is now rebuilt.  Apologies to Original Poster for getting a little off-topic.
I guess shimming the gearbox could be classed as a 'minor upgrade' though.

John.

ps. hoping to head back over to the US in May for a few weeks.  Might be able to catch up.