Leaderboard

Hi Friends. I have a 2001 "Greenie" that I've recently rescued and put back on the road. It has the early silver 40mm forks, and I went down several of the roads described in this Technical Topic before finding success. Sharing here in hopes it helps. Short summary: The early 40mm silver forks do not accept modern replacement cartridges from any source I could find. I ended up sending the forks to Traxxion Dynamics in the USA and for a quite reasonable fee (about $600 in 2024 $$, less than 1/2 the cost of new cartridges) they changed the springs for my weight, new seals, and re-valved the stock cartridges so the rebound cartridge now serves both purposes, with rebound being adjustable and compression being fixed-but-functional. The stock compression side acts as delivered from the factory, which is basically only in the last 1" of travel - think of it as bottom out control. Turnaround was 2 weeks plus shipping time. They were very responsive via email, and super knowledgable/helpful and willing to work on oddball projects like this one. I'm not representing myself as a true suspension expert, but did 20 years as a club racer so over the years have been on some fancy Ohlins stuff as well as my share of Vintage Wobblers :). The end result on the V11 is VERY nice. I have no relationship with Traxxion other than as a satisfied customer who paid their full asking price. Longer story: My 2001 has 15K miles on it and almost certainly contained the original fork oil and seals. I decided to replace oil and seals myself, and to evaluate other upgrades later after riding the bike awhile. So begins many of my mechanical "journeys". :). Upon disassembly I thought, "Well...while I'm here...I REALLY ought to get springs for my weight." So, I called RaceTech, discussed with their vintage technician, and ended up with a set of .90 springs to better support my 170lbs/77kg. I cut preload spacers (210mm) to achieve 15mm preload, and worked out the 10wt oil amount to achieve 120mm air gap. BUT, when I assembled the forks I pushed them through the full stroke and had a "....whuuuut?" experience, because the compression resistance without the spring in place felt like - nothing...nothing...everything. This is as-described by another forum member, but I didn't get it until I actually felt it. That feeling caused me to stop. Honestly, I walked away from the project for a week, to ponder. It had felt so wrong, but I'm familiar with the cost of new cartridges :). In the end I reached out to a couple local race sources. They typically do Ohlins, GP, and Ktech cartridges for R6s and the like, and were polite but reluctant. I then reached out to Maxton, but they responded they no longer do work on bikes for the USA due to insurance restrictions. Then I reached out to Traxxion Dynamics in the USA. They were willing to look at the forks, asked for photos, and recalled they'd previously installed custom cartridges in 43mm Marzocchi's for a V11. My photos of how the top of the 40mm forks assembled caused them to say, "Looks similar, and we've figured out many applications, we're willing to try." When the forks arrived at their facility they disassembled and were surprised. They said, "...these fork tubes and axle clamps are not threaded as usual. The cartridge is what's holding the fork tubes and axle clamps together. They have a massive steel cartridge body, and our cartridge is too small diameter to accomplish the same task." I believe this would be the same answer from any/all modern cartridge suppliers. The 40mm Marzocchi solution is unique, and is no longer (was never) the industry standard. But, Traxxion did say they could re-valve and re-spring the stock cartridges to improve what I'd sent them. I agreed to that, and upon further disassembly and consideration they sent additional evaluation including - a. the compression cartridge really doesn't do anything until the bottom of the stroke, b. compression and bleed needles were both missing springs which meant "clicker" adjustment did nothing, c. those needles don't have taper...the list went on. All of which got fixed with replacement parts from the Traxxion tool box. In the end I ended up with forks where the rebound side does all the damping work in both directions. Springs are 1.0, which are what Traxxion recommended for a 170LB rider on a 550LB bike with 25 degrees of rake. I can share, after riding it, that the front end is what I'd describe as plush-but-supported, and around town my fork zip tie shows I'm using about 225mm of travel. It's, frankly, great (kudos deserved, in part, to the Penske shock I put on back, which I'll detail in another post in the Technical section on that subject). The solution feels fully complete, not 1/2 way or some version of tolerable but better. It's good. And not wildly expensive. I'd highly recommend this approach, even on the 43mm forks where more alternatives exist. Thanks for listening. Hope this saves someone some time, $$, and results in more bikes that handle in a confidence inspiring, safer, more comfortable, and truly enjoyable manner.

Just want to say thank you Andy this bike and the price was nothing short of generous.

Ding ding ding, we have a winner! It was the ignition coil supply leads! Pretty sure the misadjusted TPS (it wasn’t right before I screwed it up) didn’t help. It sounds spectacular!

Got it. This article, found by searching for "electric motorcycle Los Angeles olympic handover film", named it (EDIT: be warned, the article is pretty much a waste of data storage space. Don't feel obliged to read it all... ) https://www.autoevolution.com/news/this-is-how-tom-cruise-pulled-off-the-ultimate-stunt-at-the-2024-olympic-games-238299.html This is it https://www.livewire.com/de-de/s2-del-mar-electric-motorcycle EDIT: Thinking about it, what else could they use? Electric because "Olympics". For the sake of their image, they haven't a choice but electric. Live Wire (Harley) because the next games are in the USA. In Los Angeles, i.e. California, which brings aus back to "electric" again, doesn't it?

If you are doing this to your Greenie , lots of luck. This color should be called chameleon .

Hi Friends: I thought I'd share a bit about my experience on this topic. I purchased and revived a 2001 "Greenie" which had the original Sachs unit. After looking around, reading here, and reflecting on past experiences I purchased and installed a Penske on my bike. It's their 8983 style with remote reservoir part number PS-8983-MOTOGUZZI-V11. For my 170LBs they recommended a 500LB spring. Please see attached photos of how I mounted it, which came out nice and clean. The unit bolted in easily, and the bike stance remains same as previous (I dropped the front end so 10mm fork shows above triple clamp to put a bit more weight on the front end). I'd describe the ride as plush-but-controlled, very much in line with my previous Penske experience on a VFR. It's almost a little (intentionally) soft right at the beginning of the stroke - which feels comfortable on uneven urban streets and secondary back roads. There's absolutely no harshness, but is supportive. Penske delivered the shock in about 2 weeks. I just called them directly, explained make-model, and it couldn't have been easier. I paid full price. For what it's worth, past experience with Penske on race and street bikes indicates they also have the benefit of being easily and endlessly rebuildable. Nothing complicated, just good quality, Made in USA, easy parts availability, and any shop that rebuilds shocks can handle fresh oil/seals on a Penske. Not cheap, of course, but a buy-it-once buy-it-right sort of solution. Also, looks quite proper on the bike IMO, with relatively subtle color shock/spring details that do not try and compete/clash with the rest of the bike. I hope this helps someone who's considering improving their suspension, and maybe shortens your path regarding mounting etc.

Sure. You are talking about the TPS procedure, yes? Done. Thanks, @swooshdave! "With a quality voltmeter, connect the positive to the violet/black wire and the negative to the violet (the yellow is not used for this setting). With the Run Switch on, switch on the keyed Ignition Switch. Adjust the TPS to 157 milivolts "

I'm currently awaiting delivery of my 3rd small container of touch-up paint to get a decent match, sigh. I'll soon have enough variations to mix and match to get it right the way things are going. The problem with touch up paint now is it's not mixed in large 100 litre batches and bottled and sold but mixed individually in 50ml bottles. Mixing 100 litre batches means the slight discrepancies of a gram or 2 in the pigments don't really have an overall affect on the colour but trying to mix a 50ml bottle down to 1/10 of a gram in weight for 3 pigments is pretty much mission impossible. I watched the guy at the local auto shop mix the paint and he got the weights spot on but who knows how accurate the scales are. It can be done as I have had touch-up paint that's been a perfect match on more than 1 occasion in the past. Phil

Hmmm. I thought those personalities only existed in The USA . AFA the personality "CRANKSHAFT" . a friend of mine was on the selling side of the counter and a customer was telling him "I'm gonna tell everyone about you" to which Mike immediately came back with " Fine , anyone stupid enough that would listen to you , I don't want their business" .

Ha! i am with you here.... So you would like "her":

Hi folks: Based on your recommendation I purchased and installed a HyperPro damper (PN KBA91326) on my 2001 Greenie after the stocker dripped its oil on my garage floor. In the USA I ordered from EPM Performance. Here's the link: https://epmperformance.com/products/75mm-rsc-progressive-steering-damper-ds-075-np1-v11-sport-1999-2005 Here are a few photos that show mounting details and may make things easier if you choose this unit when the time comes. The stock mounting points are used. The finish on the HyperPro is VERY nice and the sliding and adjustment mechanisms are super smooth. Of minor interest, when I bought (rescued) my bike it arrived with the Heim Joint at the lower triple clamp where the steering damper mounts sheared off. I was able to order a higher quality replacement from McMaster Carr. Their PN for that is 59935K43 Ball Joint Rod End M8 x 1.25mm thread, right hand.

Hi folks: Attached are a few photos of silver Knight Design pegs I just installed on a 2001 Greenie. https://knightdesignllc.com/moto-guzzi-front-foot-pegs-sidetrax-lowered-1-inch/ I ordered, and they arrived in 3 days (granted, Knight is in Oregon and so am I). Very solid CNCd aluminum parts that use the existing mounting location, bracket and hardware. Total install time including chasing one of the little (briefly airborne) retaining clips across the shop was 10 minutes. No extra parts or fasteners required. It's useful to know, the end result is a slightly wider foot position than stock, requiring some noticeable toe-in to reach rear brake pedal properly. You could easily space/extend that pedal end if desired. The stock shifter pedal end sticks out further than the brake side, so reaching it is no issue. Angle change took about 5 minutes of riding to get used to. Your experience may vary. I'm about 5'11" with 32" inseam and size 11 US boots, for what that's worth. The 1" of extra leg room sounds inconsequential, but when you sit on the bike it feels (to me) much better. Wife even said I now look "more normal" on the bike. Which I'm trying to take the right way... Hope this helps clarify your choices.

My head starts to hurt reading all this, nææh have a beer. Who the H is Tom Cruuus. Cheers Tom.

The good news is the power wires to the coils are marked. Which is nice if you know Italian or are handy with Google Translate. Actually my friend’s wife spent time in Italy and we could have asked her too. He had replaced the TPS screws and could have easily bumped it too. Regardless, it now sounds amazing. He’s got the FbF mufflers and a Power Commander.

never heard of them. but reminiscent of a similar group of the same era/genre that was a favorite of mine. still.

I was under the impression that a good deal would mean that I, am happy. The seller maybe too, but he is not my main preoccupation. I always make my purchase the lonesome way. But I agree with your statement that it is better to be more than less. The "good cop bad cop" works that way too. Especially with dealerships. They use that trick a lot. You deal with one guy, but when it is the time to close the deal, you have to face a different person. They call it a "hand change". This is meant to kill the confidence and comfort you may have established with the sales assistant. But I do all the pre deal in writing via email, so there are no misunderstandings. Once I am satisfied that all my questions have been answered, including pricing if I disagree, then I go. Something I never do, is to try to haggle the price when on site, unless there was something that was not disclosed previously. When I accept to check the bike out, it means that I am going to buy it as is. Otherwise, I don't waste my or the seller's time to try to get the price down. As for someone trying to lower the price during the test drive, I have had that. Even when my narrative was very specific, the price was firm because reasonable.

I was wrong. This is not a twin, but it is either three cylinders or four cylinders. Three cylinders but not with a 120 degrees crank angle, because it has not got that typical triple sound, so it has one of those T-Plane arrangement. This is based on the sound of the motorcycle in that "behind the scenes" video.

Whatever the bike is I know one thing for sure. It's definitely NOT cool. Bit like the Prince music video from years back with Prince trying to look cool riding some appalling Honda faux chopper thing. Phil

No, not the same thing! That is just some ridiculous coincidence that shows "1.57!" The TPS is set in millivolts (mV) to 157 mV with the throttle plate completely closed. Resistance (Ohms/Ω) are not used to baseline the TPS. Reference (and perform) the "Decent Tune-up" . . .

Guitar fest yesterday, Ava Mendoza was quite a guitar player, kinda Jazz fusion, free form. She knows her chords.. not really my kind of music. She jammed with Jamaaladeen Tacuba.. they were hot. Tony Futado was outstanding. He did a little cello banjo playing

SOLD! Happy to see this old girl go to a good home and appreciative new owner Kevin, who has some interesting plans for evolving his stable of Guzzis. Kudos to Jaap for keeping this community going, and all of you talented people of seemingly infinite patience for keeping these magnificent machines alive. --Andy

In what sense? Being realistic about things, for instance that most of the population doesn't even know what a V11 is, is just sensible. As far as finding a potential buyer here, yes, good place to start because we all already know what a V11 is, but most of us have also already got one.

This just happened, so I may need to update garage signage. The V11 is still here/for sale and even so, I occasionally experience seller's regret

PM'D