Gmc28

good point. i'll be looking at ways to do something like that. i am partial to how clean it looks down in that area without the charcoal cannister and all that stuff down there, but thats hair-splitting, and re-installing parts of it as solution for crossover support would be worthwhile. does the Stucchi also not have a bracket? the Mistral i have on Goldie has the bracket, and i do like the mistral in regard to the nuanced performance angle.

thanks Docc. i should have thought of that. but as my wife says, just a kid trapped in a mans body... BTW, your 115k machine sure looks nice in the pics after your mx. Special diet, massaging, and skin care creams keeping her in good shape? I forgot to mention that i also noticed more of drip under the left throttle body, on the starter plastic cover. used to drip about once a month, but seems worse now, though its been mostly sitting for the last many months. may pull that left side TB and take a look.

Took red out for a Sunday test flight... New exhaust installed, and sun came out a bit. With the new exhaust and crossover, she ran great. Arguably it’s a more linear throttle response through the rpm range. But it ran great before the exhaust change, so will need continued observations to confirm that initial thought. Mixed feeling on not having the mounting bracket on the agostini crossover. The start switch on red didn’t crank it over. Hmm. Played with clutch, checked if it was in gear, cycled kill switch, etc. Was about to pull seat and check breakers and/or relays, but one last try on start switch and she cranked. Started up fine then, and did again on shut-down and restart. Tiny seep from front brake Rez caused some paint damage to black paint on triple tree (sh!t). Veglia rpm gauge now has some slight condensation on inside of glass. Will have to poke around the forum to see how much I should worry about that... Still have the slight fueling “wandering” at lower rpm when at constant throttle. But a good ride and sweet running machine...

Middle of June, and still raining quite a bit. Good excuse to put Red back into the shop and get the new exhaust installed. Looks pretty, to my eye. I like the sound of all the exhausts I’ve heard on the V11’s, though I’ll admit I’m not loving these new Agostini’s sound as much as some others I’ve heard. Still sounds great, i just prefer the lower tone of some of the other mufflers. Also installed the agostini crossover. Many love the Stucchi, i have the mistral on Goldie, and in this case just figured I’d give this agostini x-over a whirl. a bonus of the Agostini crossover is that it somehow cleans up the look a bit more than the mistral x-over. Presumably because there’s no mounting bracket on the aft aft end, but it’s just noticeably more “naked” looking. Of course that comes at the expense of not having that bottom mount bracket for structural reasons... hopefully that won’t be an issue. I’ve not done a lot of exhaust system changes, other than re-installing stock exhausts, or just putting on new cans, but per my limited experience this was again a weird game of djanga, lining things up, twisting, sliding, and slowly tightening things up so they aligned. One issue i think is that perhaps the PO had slide the x-over a bit too far up the header pipe. No big deal, but leaves visible corrosion under where the pipes overlap of course, and i had to have less overlap with this setup to make it all fit (probably about 1.5 inches rather than about 2.5 inches) together, mostly based on the muffler mounts. So it left a bit of an eye-sore on those header pipes. Perhaps vanity will again get the best of me and I’ll spring for header pipes at some point down the road.

Will be fun to see your progress... isn’t it winter down there, time for some garage work? :->. But sounds like you won’t be suffering, with an ST4 to ride and a V11 in the garage ready for some hands-on. Sounds like a good “happy place” to be. i was extremely fond of my ST4 (916). The sound of that machine with proper exhaust is in the class of the V11 (like the “Italian tenors”).

Thx PHil. I’ll chase down some crush gaskets...

Opened a box from Italy. A fool and his money are soon parted.... now just need to determine if fitting them, and the new crossover, will be just the typical battle with the fitment, or if there are any special tricks or concerns with that charcoal canister/exhaust mount setup.

i'll keep using my aerostitch, probably forever, while i make it an ongoing hobby to continue to look for the ultimate riding jacket (for me). That unicorn may never be found, or who knows.... but the Stitch will remain my well-used, tired looking, heavy, aging riding companion. But in a moment of weakness (or ?) i picked up the relatively cheap Sedici Garda jacket a few weeks back, a new model for them (cycle gear). Haven't been a Sedici fan in the past... just didn't have anything that interested or fit me. But the Garda jacket seemed to both fit me for the most part (odd, as most popular and marketed stuff won't fit my hunger-strike type body), and it largely fit the "mission" i had in mind for it: lighter weight, no liner to have to remove (i'll provide my own layers, thank you), supposedly water proof (which means its not, but will be ok in an occasional shower), right kinds of pockets, longer length, and doesnt' look like something from Star Wars. oh, and its affordable. and has the cycle gear warranty, which has always seemed pretty good here at my local store. rode with it for the first time last weekend, and so far so good. prefer more back armor, but will chew on that option. oh, and don't like the velcro closures on the wrists. Velcro just wears out. but at the price, it doesn't need to be a "forever" jacket.

Phil - don’t u have the agostini crossover?

Amen. Staintune makes nice stuff, and the 2 brothers i bought and had on an oilhead (For a short time, then sold ‘em) were much lower quality. Anyone have the Agostini crossover? They’ve offered to sell me a set of mufflers I’m inclined to spring for, And they also have a crossover they sell. It looks like the Stucchi i think... the two pipes join rather than have the little bridge pipe like on the Mistral crossover. Have the mistral x-over on goldie, and could just go that way again for Red (that has been the plan), but maybe that agostini crossover would be good. Anyone have knowledge on that unit?

like doing a valve adjustment.... put a thin feeler gauge between throttle arm and the idle/set screw, and tighten screw until it just barely pinches the feeler, a very thin one (or thicker, but then tighter... you get the idea). but getting it up in there between the throttle and the screw on the right side is a hassle.

Nice work, and sharing docc! The only datapoint which is troubling me is that despite all that you’ve wisely chronicled, I’ve run several odyssey’s and (older) westco’s On my bikes for around 10yrs at a whack, never with an issue, and always on a battery-tender (deltran) brand charger (all winter, always, and at times in the summer). No issues. Too many batteries that lasted too long for me to ignore. Now, I never killed one and had to bring it back, I don’t think.... so maybe the Deltran (batterytender brand) is ok for that. I’ll check the float voltage at least, and see how it compares to what you’ve shared here... I’ve got a shorai I inherited (I will not dive into that here) which would just drop off on voltage, but then come back alive after a brief hit with the li-ion charger, despite being told that it should be toast. Took it out of the bike and it now powers my home clay pigeon shooter, very nicely! Great covid activity [emoji41]

Yes. I Backed off right side idle screw (had been set high, and on the right side). And yes, .157, or 157mv.

Pulled Goldie over to the rack yesterday to check out TPS, CO trim, and the do a double check on the TBS. i love a “smoking gun”... its rewarding, and found the CO trim at -40, and the TPS at somewhere around 182. Set now at zero and 157, respectively. TBS was still dead-on, but looking forward to the coming weeks sunshine to get her out and see how she runs!

Very sweet. i‘ll add another example Of the same, as my current “collection” of 2 V11’s is because my first one i bought from a friend who figured he’d sell it because he wasn’t riding it much anymore, but fast forward a couple years and he nicely intoned that he’d like her back..... So i immediately went out and bought another one (somewhat by chance that i found the 2nd one so quick) so i wouldn’t be without one!

hard to beat the aerostitch. when i make my little complaints, they fall into the category of "1st world problems", or "jaded biker problems", as its truly great. i have the same setup, and its just as old or older, though a little worse for the heavy wear its received over the years. did the rebuild on the pants from aerostitch... came out perfect. And i agree, the easy on/off of the pants is a huge plus compared to most other pants i've owned. But As alluded to above in earlier post, on the jacket the overhaul didn't work out so well. the new velcro after just a year or two is now barely better than the old worn out velcro they replaced, the zipper wants to slither down if i have the jacket a little unzipped for airflow, the sleeve ends won't stay tight any more when i'm cold wx riding due to the those zippers also creeping, and that kind of thing. And as also mentioned, packing that stuff around on the airlines is a drag... its bulky. fine from home, but for travel its a pain. ya, i know, its good protection or lightweight... can't really have both. but i'm looking. i'll probably just end up using it forever, but am forever on the prowl for the perfect.... everything!

Oh great, now I need to drink enough to erase that Yellow image from my mind.... the dainese “sport master goretex” I tried last month (and returned) had some great sleeve and neck seal features that I was very fond of. Probably makes it legitimately water proof, inasmuch as such a thing exists. And great armor, and other great features. But very high price, the stormtrooper look, and imperfect fit for me resulted in a return.

Dave, you’re from Oregon!.... u know nothing is water proof other than seam sealed neoprene and vis-queen 😎 They say the stitch is water proof, and it’s fine for a little shower on the way to work or along the way wherever. But if you’re really riding in the rain, which is an unfortunate reality in my riding life now and then, only a legit goretex shell over whatever else I’m wearing is really going to keep the water out. I prefer to have a “water proof” riding jacket, which is then fine for most riding and occasional rain showers, but any long trip means I have my goretex pullover in my bag and ready to put on over the top. Even jackets that do a great job of being seam sealed and all that, will still wick in somewhere, so the Pullover shell rules in my humble opinion.

Keeping in mind docs words about this topic, but also not wanting to start a thread for such a small thing..... and, its something “I did today”, or “was gonna did”.... went out to put the nifty little MG logo on the front of the freshly powder coated stator cover, and only then realized the logo piece is flat but the custom sized rectangle area where it mounts there in the center is curved. Is there a special, different logo for that spot, or do folks have some way to properly attach the flat logo to that slightly curved surface? My logo piece came with some spongy backing tape, which is probably garbage...

My 20-ish year old aerostitch road crafter jacket has now been through an “overhaul”, where I spent the price of a new, cheaper jacket to just get the trusty old stitch redone. Overall worth while. Did the same with the pants a while back, and they came out perfect, but not so much with the jacket. Velcro still isn’t right (when “tightening” things up when it gets cold), zipper now creeps down from wind force which is really annoying (almost impossible to zip it back up if it gets too far down while riding at speed), and some other little issues that are annoying me. All fine, but on the hunt for a new jacket. Boy was I surprised to see what a lot of higher end jackets sell for now! I used to think aerostitch was the expensive end of things... I heard and have experienced a bit of how Dainese can fit skinny guys like me, so ordered two jackets to try. Both were ok fits, but at those prices they need to be perfect(I think one was $450 and one was $800. Of course the $800 jacket fit better... but I looked like a stormtrooper). And I know now that jackets can get even way more spendy than that. So am on the casual lookout for the elusive “perfect jacket”, rarely seen in the wild, but purported to exist. Can vent, be mostly water proof (dont need 100%, as that’s fiction, and I carry a slicker/pullover for real rain), longer length so it doesn’t crawl up my back, good neck closure, does NOT use a zip in liner (hate those), and skinny/tall man fit. Basically the roadcrafter, but hopefully lighter weight.... I’ve grown lazy and weary of packing that stitch all over when I travel... it needs its own suitcase!

Excellent. Took out for a good test run today as the sun came out... glorious spring day. She ran like a proper Italian... very sweet. For the first couple minutes, I did my usual nit picking, wondering about what’s wrong, then realized that she was really running great, and to embrace it. I’ll probably play a little with the low/idle rpm TBS using the air screws, and only because “why not” keep fussing with it, but I’m very happy with how she runs. I actually packed the twinmax a screwdriver with me on the long-ish test ride, thinking I’d do some ride-and-sync, but she ran sweet and the riding was too good to pull over. Still a bit of the rpm/fuelling “wandering” at lower to mid rpm, but am thinking that a Meinolf map might be the ticket there. Maybe next winter, or if life eases up on the throttle a bit this summer and allows for some time. BTW, for the record my CO trim was at +10 when i first hooked up the magic laptop. I left it there. Probably explains why she has always pullled so much better at lower rpm than Goldie. Will be plugging in Goldie next, and see where her CO trim is set...

Tune Maestro’s- A quick question or two on throttle body sync for the guzzi: I ran through finishing up the tune on Red yesterday. First time using Guzzidiag, so aside from a few “ah, that’s how that works....” moments, seems all good. but on the TBS, i used my old Twinmax. It’s been used quite a lot over the years on my Oilhead, which i sold a couple years ago. It needed sync work far too often over the 77k miles that i had it (but that’s another story, of only mild interest...). But when syncing that flat twin with the twinmax, going to the fully “sensitive” setting and then twisting throttle to typical operating RPM, the needle would bounce around and in fact be very sensitive, as the setting would imply. On the V11 though, even in that most sensitive setting, there’s not much bouncing around of the needle. In fact, at max sensitivity, its shockingly easy to adjust the sync, which is something I’m not used to. I’ll take that as a good thing, but it does seem a little out of place for what I’m used to, so can’t but wonder whether the TB’s just aren’t as finicky on the V11’s, or if i have something wrong somehow. Another thing, while I’m sitting here thinking about it......Turning the white knob also presented an unexpected, albeit very minor issue: I’d adjust the knob up and down to watch and see that i was in fact able to effect the sync, and then adjust it to a centered twinmax needle. But adjusting the knob caused the linkage arm to twist and cock the arm to its max rotation at the ball joint each time. So I’d just twist the arm/ball-Joint back to neutral, which in turn had a minor but actual effect on sync. Seems all fine, with just a little extra monkey-motion required to get things right by twisting the white knob, then verifying things again once i moved the ball joint back to neutral, but does that sound normal, or i am missing something in my technique? The ball joint does like to stay where it should once i move it back to neutral, but always cant’s To the side and stays canted when i adjust the white knob till I manually re-center it. The effect is Very small, almost negligible, but you can see the effect on the twin max when messing with the joint. Anyway, just running that by you experienced guzzi tuners. Next, and later when i find time, I’ll plug in Goldie and see if i can find any clues as to why she runs so different than Red. When i first got Goldie, Dave Blue was in town so i got him to tune her for me, and he did a great job (and was a real pleasure to meet him). She sings at high rpm. Docc mentions riding the V11 “on the cam”, and Goldie is certainly that way, whereas Red loves to be in that “tractor” range, just pulling clean and smooth below about 4500 rpm, but flat after that....she really seems to love the lower rpm, torquey zone, whereas Goldie never wants to be below 4500-5000 rpm.

Hammershaug- Hei, hvordan har du det? (That’s about all i can remember from what little my father taught me, other than a few other random, useless phrases having to do with cows or nails.... :->) i assume it goes without saying, but all of us that are passionate about our machines tend to “dig in” on these topics. To me, just another person with an opinion, its clear that it just depends on how you use the bike. If you want it to run best, hard to imagine going away from the stock intake. But then if you really want a bike that runs perfect, buy a Honda.... if its a machine that you have for a “Sunday ride”, and just makes you happy to ride now and then on a sunny day and as somewhat of a show piece, then the pods do look better imho. My experience so far over the years with non-stock air boxes has been about 99% negative, and sometimes very negative, with the only arguable success being on dirt bikes with single carbs, and where i spent a lot of time fiddling with jetting to get a final improvement. But we have to admit that most of us love the aesthetic of the V11, and I’ve got one friend with a greenie who installed pods, and while he does have odd & endless tuning challenges, heck, most of us have some of that, and ultimately his runs fine and looks great.

Phil - where did you source your agostini’s? A quick search isn’t showing me much, though i assume i just need to look closer. i’ve seen them upstairs at the actual Mandello MG shop (agostini’s), though i assume they aren’t related directly, the exhaust manufacturer and the retail shop? I had just assumed the ago exhaust was a mistral product branded for agostini, but i had/have no basis for that other than old assumption.

Appalling? Not sure we agree on that adjective in this case, but those brushed SS ago’s do look sweet. I can sense the temptation creeping in again to open the piggy bank... Was out yesterday in the shop (finally finding some time!), and keep looking at my perfectly functional, decent looking stock aluminum cans but both of which have cosmetic damage from the PO. The more i get the bike cleaned up, the more the cosmetic damage stands out. Probably just a matter of time till i give in and spring for something prettier. Those SS agostini’s deserve more attention. Will look for a good source to shop them.