LangleyMalc

Looks like I need the latest version of GuzziDiag. Then I have to find a Windows computer. Granson has one I think. I suppose its in keeping with the bikes! The trouble with Guzzis is that they push you towards excellence and they are relatively easy to work on. Not sure wether or not that is a good thing but it keeps me amused.

My two ABS bikes do stop - just not crisply. Perhaps all I want to know is that everyone else’s bikes of this genre behave the same. However, I feel that would be disappointing and as such choose to believe there must be something I can do about it. the $64,000 question is what?

I have re-assembled the bike post my last off road adventure, and apart from realizing that the Stelvio is big and heavy, particularly when fully fuelled and loaded with camping gear, I have now come to the realization that I cant ride in sand! either way, I noticed on the trip that the brakes on the Stelvio are a bit mushy. They have always felt a bit like that. They stop the bike, but I don’t get the feeling that it will stand on its nose, and the back brake has longer travel than I would like, ( touches the centre stand on full braking) and does not seem to really lock up the back wheel. The brakes were bled by me and fluid replaced at the beginning of the season, but the ABS was not purged as I am too tight to pay the dealer. So any suggestions on shortening the brake pull and sharpening up the brakes, or am I going to have to pay the dealer to cycle and purge the ABS? I do have new pads to go on, but am holding off until I have to fit new tyres this winter. separately my 2014 California also has “long and softer” brakes, ( it weighs at least as much as the Stelvio) but the V11 Balabio (no ABS) will stand on its nose and locks up the rear at any opportunity!

Thanks for the advice Peter. I’ll get one.

Many thanks for the responses. I managed to find an OEM replacement on e- bay. For Pete R, I was curious as to which pivot pin? I presume it is the one that mounts the lever. Like Scud the conclusion I reached at the end of this trip (apart from being thankful I was wearing long touring boots) was that while the Stelvio is a great touring bike and load carrying Mule, it aint no back roads ADV; at least not with me riding it. So my next tyres will likely be Conti Trail Attack 3,s. Oh dear, is that the start of a tyre thread! Thanks again.

I dropped my Stelvio in sand on a backroad (twice). Apart from buggering my ankle under the pannier box, (note to self - you cant ride in sand and certainly not on a Stelvio with full gas and loaded with camping gear. Stop kidding yourself); In the crash, I bent the gearshift lever and cracked the end fitting where the pedal attaches. You can see in the pictures the bend and it is cracked and bent at the bolt hole for the pedal. The light is hopeless but you get the idea. I presume, looking at it, the arm is toast; but just on the off chance, can the arm be straightened and the crack welded, or does anyone have a spare I can buy or steal, or do I have to go to Guzzi for a replacement?

Having read all the comments above (at least twice), I would comment as follows: The bike is stock, with a colostomy bag and standard exhaust. It does have a washable air filter - I did listen to Peter's comments on that; in my defence it came with it and this is BC and despite the four months of absolutely dry weather for the summer this year, most of the time it rains here! However, I will replace with a paper filter next time I am in the dealer - assuming he doesn't suck his teeth and say "Not a lot of call for that. We'll have to order it in". In that case it will be at least 8 weeks and by that time it will be Christmas and we will be worrying about frost and snow. Since the latest check of the valves, (all within 1 thou of 4 & 6,) plus the reset of the throttle bodies, it now idles quite nicely at 1200. On a point of information it always did idle well on cold start up, but once the engine was warm it would then start to bumble a bit and could stall on tick over. Not any more. The popping on overrun was worse with the original map and mostly went away with the Beetle map. I tend to blip the throttle on downshifts and use engine braking alot. So while it still pops a bit, based on Pete's latest dissertation above, it apears that this is now a "Feature." So not a problem as long as I know what is causing it and I think now I do. It was just my Cali 1400 did not do it! (different engine and different map I presume.) Either way - I will now leave the bike alone and ride it for a while - weather permitting - knowing that I have the fuelling as near to right as you can get it, without resorting to re-mapping. Quite frankly, the bike is still capable of a lot more than me and as such, apart from the weight of it and even worse the weight of the Cali, I think it is a fine bike and I am very fond of it and its associated "Features". The next job is putting back together the V11 that my daughter dropped! Nothing major, but lots of bits of unobtainium. Thanks again for all the help and a very interesting discussion and learning experience. Malcolm

Well I finally got Guzzidiag to load and recognise the ports on the old Windows computer. Then got hooked up and checked the TPS - it was at 4.6 deg. Then checked all the screws on the throttle bodies and the ends of the linkages etc and all the painted ones were still painted and intact with the exception of the high speed adjust screw on the linkage on the left body and the two air bleeds. After this I reset the TPS and it went to 4.8 and I cleared the learning parameters. To make it easier to get at the left hand bleed screw, I took off the starter motor cover. Needless to say one of the little dome head Allen screws socket stripped, so I had to use a stud removing socket to get it out, but after that no problem. Must have been done up by Guy the Gorilla. I then checked the air bleed screws with a view to shutting them. Both were open to some degree, so I closed both. That was tricker than it should be because of the location. Then hooked up my ancient mercury powered Motion Pro vacuum gauges and after the first run, remembered to move the breather hose on the back of the motion Pro to the open position; thus improving the stability and accuracy by a significant degree! Ran the bike up to 3500-4000 rpm and held it there at a reasonably constant 3800 speed, with a G clamp on the throttle and then balanced off the mercury columns using the speed adjust screw. Removed the G clamp and let the throttle snap back. TPS was now 5.2 and then re-sett the TPS again (back to 4.8)and cleared the learning parameters. Finally, adjusted the slow running balance using the air screw on the right hand carb as it was higher. On the tick-over part of this the mercury was bouncing about a bit, but both appeared to be level, or operating in the same range, so I called it a day. End result is that the tick over is around 1200 and not too lumpy. (It got smoother once I took off the carb sticks and re-connected the vacuums.) Cant tell about the over run as it was P-ssing down outside the garage so that will have to wait for another day. All in all a successful mission and I now understand how the throttle bodies work and the logic behind the tunic sequence. One question - If the stepper motor basically controls the slow running sequence via the computer, is it not possible that the pipework, or the stepper motor gets full of sh1t and so needs occasional cleaning? (Not letting go of this one quite yet!) Many thanks for the help and instruction Pete, - Anyway; I enjoyed it! Malcolm.

Talk to you tomorrow.

Hi Pete with the lumpy idle, could this be the stepper system getting clogged? I presume it is worth cleaning it no matter what, along with the rest of the service and throttle body reset.

Enjoyed the youtube video which was very informative. Thanks. Now to get the Grandson's computer to start the process and to take a trip to the garage after dark. More in the next week!

Thanks for this Peter. It will likely be later in the month before I get around to doing this and I have to nail my grandson for his older windows computer to run Guzzi Diag! We are now solidly into Autumn, but for your delectation I would have included a picture of the White Pig (Cal 1400 bagger) on a run up to Whistler in the Coast mountains today; but like you I could not get it to reduce below 200K! Weather was spectacular and worth the trip, particularly as this will be towards the end of the riding season with snow on the hills. Ill keep you posted on the Stelvio and follow the instructions to the letter. Regards Malcolm

Thanks for the detailed replies. Sounds like the first step is a trip to the garage after dark to “observe” the plug caps. Then potentially replace both to eliminate that problem. After that tappets and then check the TPS and tune with Guzzidiag, then set slow running, then re-sett TPS. Then re check for problem, or ride away with a big shit eating grin and congratulate myself on my intelligence for writing to you lot! Somewhere on here was a complete “How to” for this sequence. Anyone remember where? With the state of my memory nowadays I am reluctant to leave it to what i thought i did last time! Thanks in advance.

At the risk of boring the assembled multitudes of MG cognoscenti and having you all repeat yourselves, I bought this bike from Eastern Canada to ride it back across to the West coast, but could not collect it as planned because of Covid and the Covid bubble in Eastern Canada etc. As a consequence, I eventually had it shipped across to BC. When I bought it the dealer did an oil change etc before he shipped it. When I got it, I took advice from the aforementioned cognoscenti and checked the rear shock linkage, or dog bone, (dry as a bone and with rusty bearings, so replaced it) and subsequently rode the bike for a while. It went fine, but its one habit was to spit or backfire on overrun, when the throttle was shut using engine breaking. Note that my Cal 1400 does not do this! As a consequence I decided that I should go through the bike and add a new map from Beetle. So I did the valves as per the instructions on the web by I think Pete R. To do this I was careful to pull the valve caps with long nose pliers so as not too damage the cables. I then added the map from Beetle through Guzzi Diag. Finally I reset the TPS and balanced the throttle bodies on idle using a set of Carb sticks. I did not touch the link between the two throttle bodies as this was highlighted as something not to do in the web narrative. Did I do it all correctly? I hope so, but there is no guarantee. This despite the fact that I am an anally retentive retired mining engineer with enough mechanical knowledge to be dangerous. I also changed the rear shock for a Matris and had the front cartridges changed to larger Andreani. The end result is a bike that handles beautifully and is a pleasure to ride apart from the aforementioned spits and the lumpy idle. So the bike now runs fine on the open road apart from STILL spitting on overrun, but not as bad as it used to before remapping; plus it has a poor idle. So rather than lurching my way through the problem, what I am looking for is a simple analysis along the following lines: What causes the spitting or backfire on overrun? It was there when I got the bike and before the re-map and before I rebalanced the Throttle bodies and did the TPS etc. I would have presumed it was too lean with the throttle closed - but what do I know? Is this two problems? First the spitting on overrun and second the lumpy idle, or is it more likely a single cause?What typically causes a poor idle? Could it be that one of the plug leads has been damaged? Either by me or by the prior owner? does this cause a poor idle as discussed? Does the Beetle map use the Lambda sensor? if not, there is not much point in pulling it and cleaning it. What else should I be thinking about? My next steps now that Autumn is here will be to service the bike for winter - oil change, reset tappets and then consider resetting the TPS and balancing the Throttle bodies etc.and try to sort out the spitting and Idle. So at the risk of repeating myself, where should I start?

Thanks, I will check the plug leads. I did a basic tune up when I got it and it runs fine otherwise. However - I don 't want it to become a "feature".