80CX100

It's a big,beautiful,highly respected amp; I'd be extremely hesitant before doing anything substantial to it. I think you're probably just pushing it out of it's sweet spot. I've never owned an amp that big & powerful, but I've read of challenges others have had trying to quell,high volume tone demons, in their amps. Most will be redundant for you,but here's a few thoughts,on getting your signal in & out cleaner,fwiw. Undiagnosed tube rattle, can be an issue,,, iirc the test while playing,involved a helper holding a pencil's eraser against the tube/socket area? The fix was some gadget like a Tube Tamer. Verify all the fastenings for your cabinet,speaker,chassis etc. Check closely for cracks in the chassis,speaker frame supports & especially the dust caps,,, while you're there,integrity of the speaker paper/fibre, magnet assembly, connectors,reverb tank,etc. A rolled up/scrunched up bath towel placed strategically in the cab,,,or draped over the front,,back,,,all 3? Some cabinets do better elevated on a chair or stand or just tilted back on support arms. I hate guitar pedals,,,but there's probably one out there for a clean,dry woody sound. You could try things like fingers vs pick,,, pick materials,,,angle & placement of string attack, but you know what works best for you. Neck vs Bridge pick up & serious tone adjustments on your bass or amp might help. ps. We're always our own worst critics,,,I'm sure the audience & bandmates think your tone & sound are great,,, unless you happen to have an ah in your band lol

I'm assuming it's not an original, but a re-issue Fender Bassman; you're the 1st modern player, I've ever heard of running a bass rig through either one of them. Tbh iirc,both were known as killer tone monster amps for both harp & guitar; relatively good tone down low & a nice crunchy meaty brown tone, when pushed hard at higher volumes,,, those tonal qualities & characteristics are working against you running a bass through them,,, IF your goal is a loud, clean sound. No idea re the tube layout & good substitutions,,, forums like The Gear Page, Modern Blues Harmonica or TDPRI (sp?) would be good resources to check out,,, but they're not really focussed on bass info,,, maybe there are other equivalents in the bass world,idk. The speakers may be shot & flabby,,,,,, but it sounds like it's doing what it's designed to do,,,

I always assumed you played a 6 string electric,are you playing a bass through that Fender Bassman? No wonder it's breaking up at stage volumes,lol I've forgotten most of what I knew about tube amps, but if those speakers normally have a decent reputation & you like them otherwise;perhaps consider changing your preamp tubes to something with less gain; would be cheaper & easier. fwiw idk.

I'm definitely no sparky,but I'll throw a few thoughts out there,fwiw. Iirc,this is a relatively mint, low mileage, new to you, V11 Lemans;stator output tests fine,but the battery & bike aren't charging,,,2 new R/R's haven't fixed it,,,, I don't think a new stator will either,,,because I think the problem is further upstream from the R/R. Iirc,these permanent magnet alternators put out max power for whatever rpm it's turning & the surplus unused electrickery gets shunted off to ground,generating heat in the process; the main battery ground on the spine frames can't just look good, mine needed to be removed & sanded down shiney. A few yrs ago I lost the charging on my CX100,when the reference wire for the R/R disconnected. It was a simple find & fix for me to trace the reference wire & reconnect it to the spare terminal at the coil, fed with good clean relay power. Docc & gstallons described the R/R reference wire as being Red/Black & the circuit it connects to, having brake lights, instrument lights etc,,, your R/R needs to see good clean voltage in the proper range from that connection in order to work. I'm a bit of a luddite when it comes to led lights on bikes. I've bought bikes with led lights that were a pita,conflicts & not getting along with other components; Iirc, you've installed led lights on the circuit that your R/R is taking it's reference readings from,,,,, with their low operating range & possible conflicts with other components; could your leds be doing funky things with the good clean voltage within a certain range,that your R/R reference wire is looking for. Idk? From your riding description, short fast rides, with possible battery tenders involved,,, you might have had charging issues for a while without realizing it. patience, it'll come

Other than a brief fit of tank suck issue,my V11 has always run strong and smooth,even in the lower 2-3k range;but the breathing definitely opens up at higher rpms. There's not much to chasing & verifying the fuel plumbing & electricals on the V11s; I recently got schooled big time,when I found a spark plug cap on my Griso that "looked" perfect on the exterior,but was completely fried on the inside. I'm sure you'll figure out what the gremlin is.

I don't recall the fine details, but I suspect you may be trying to fix something that ain't broke. Each of my guzzis has a sweet spot; on the CalVin it's 3k rpm,,, on the Griso it's 4k rpm,,, on the V11 Lemans it's 5k rpm. Imho;the V11 race track bred heritage,bigger valve engine & whatever cam & mapping magic,etc, results in a bike that likes to be ridden fast. Many of us chuckled to ourselves a while back,when someone here posted about doing the ton. while taking a parts bike for a little test ride; If you're confident on the decent tune up,main electrical contacts,plumbing etc; you may want to try an Italian tune up,just for shits & giggles. Someday when you have head space & lot's of time & hopefully little traffic on your favorite back road,forget about the sputter between 2-3k,because you'll be throttling right through that & spending most of the time,in the 4-5k rpm range. Try riding a gear or 2 lower than you normally would to keep the revs up & the V11 in it's sweet spot. I predict your bike will respond positively. fwiw idk

I'm still rinsing the Javex out of my eyes,after the thought of Docc in his micro shorts. But I will contribute, to whatever libation fund is needed; if Docc decides to go all in on the branding theme,,,

On engines that I have trouble seeing the oil level. I hold the dipstick up against a small clean piece of paper towel,,, the oil shows up clearly to my old eyes fwiw

I was running stock oem map with Mistral crossover & mufflers & no dbk;the fueling is fine. Doc has already replied that you don't have an 02 sensor,which means that you should have a 15M ECU; I understood that some of the later '04 models had a 15RC,idk To make absolutely certain how your bike is set up;get a good light & eyes & possibly sensitive fingers to check all around the H pipe crossover; if your bike is one of the later models with the 15RC,you should find an O2 sensor mounted on the H pipe crossover. If the H pipe isn't stock or has possibly been plugged look for an O2 sensor that might have been tucked up out of the way someplace in that general area. fwiw

I think all efi guzzis were open loop until the 15RC ECU bikes,which had the ability to read an O2 sensor. I'll leave the explanation of the fine details of how the systems & maps work to someone else,,,, I've read some ECUs & maps use a variety of sensors, # of rpms,etc to make sensor/fuelling changes.

I don't know why you remapped your ECU,the oem map fueling on my '03 Lemans is very good,but it is a 15M & I have the trim at +28 (ran well before I changed it) My only guzzi that does have a tendency to ping if I push it outside of it's comfort zone is my '08 CalVin,it also has a 15RC ECU like your '04 Lemans iirc. My CalVin's 02 sensor has been disabled in the map & is running open loop. Lucky Phil's research into high quality Bosch O2 sensors to replace the inferior oems,changes the landscape for 15RC owners;or any guzzi/bike running a closed loop.imho If the faster response times of the Bosch O2 sensors enable the 15RC ECU to make instant changes to correct the AFR & greatly improve fueling issues, that's where I'd be spending time & effort on a 15RC bike,fwiw idk.

I don't know if I'm the only one,but I gained about 20 lbs just looking at those pics Not only can you guys eat well,but man,some serious good cooking I never eat local maple syrup because I hate making pancakes;but as mentioned above,your french toast has me armed with one of my cast iron pans & a mission this spring Nice to see the V85TT in it's element;I hope Dave had some type of heated gear to go with those hippo hands,that looked frosty. Tks for sharing

I then changed the head gaskets (both were the cheap version & wheeping) and since then, I cannot get her started anymore. I have not touched any of the wiring in the process. The bike is equipped with Carmo Electronics electrical ignition and "wants to run" (plopping in the exhaust). Sometimes during starting the starter suddenly stops as if she tries to fire whilst on it's way up on the compression stroke. Checked/adjusted: - Spark (good strong on both sides) - Spark timing (created mark on flywheel as flywheel appears to not be installed in the correct orientation) for RHS TDC - +/- 7deg, checked with strobe OK - Went back to jet size 128, 115 and eventually 105 (original) - Changed spark plugs for new - Compression both sides 13.5bar - Switched spark plug leads left/right (no "trying to run" anymore when switched) - Adjusted mixture screw anywhere between 1/2 turn and 4 turns (manual states 1,5 turns out) - Adjusted idle screw up/down - Emptied float bowls & tried to start her with brake cleaner, same result (only popping, no running) - Removed air filters, no change Before you get too far into it,just for shits & giggles, hold a decent sized wire up to the battery positive terminal & the contact on the solenoid at the starter, hopefully that will eliminate the ignition switch as a potential source of grief. KiwiRoy once admonished me that my 35 yr old ignition switch would cause me grief;naturally he was later proved correct This is all waayyy above my pay grade,but I'll throw some thoughts out there jic,fwiw. TLDR is the main ground one of those funky hidden under the battery tray ones & is it good? TLDR when you were doing the mods to your bike, any paint/powder coat work that might be ground issues,wherever? Do you have installation instructions for the electronic ignition & what & how it's set up at a known baseline to operate from? Are you certain you can provide that baseline for it to operate from? With all the confusion about the flywheel, you might consider printing off a degree wheel;learn how to use it on a guzzi engine & mark your flywheel more accurately? My strobe light(cheap) always worked flakey for me; I had much better luck using an analog multi meter hooked up to the appropriate ignition spots, set up beside the valves as I worked through TDC, showed me exactly what my ignition was doing & when.Then you can relate that to your flywheel marks; it'll help tighten up your baselines more accurately. I like to work on the left side first,then switch my multi meter probes for the right side & it's a shorter roll to check right TDC,fwiw ymmv. Someone else already mentioned it; When you marked the flywheel,were you certain of the direction? I know there's been times I've gotten twisted around those flywheel marks as I roll the engine through different cycles,backwards to what I was expecting to see. All I got for now

You don't say how you verified the spark,but are you certain that it's actually sparking & at the right time? When I was having trouble setting & getting the points running right initially on my CX100;KiwiRoy recommended that I open everything up & rotate the engine manually as I watched the valve assemblies,points, etc,,, it really helped me to get it all working correctly & on the right TDC,fwiw ymmv. While you're double checking all your grounds & contacts, verify the air gaps on any ignition sensors as well. I hate it when garage gremlins disconnect sh*t & phq things up. btdt Time,patience & a fresh set of eyes always overcomes in the end.

Serendipity has recently become one of my favorite words;it may become one of yours. The valve core failed at the right time,,you were treated like royalty & given the kid glove treatment to the dealer. The dealer stepped up & obviously did an A1 job on the tube/tire change; Heck! I bought a Nomar because I had trouble getting that simple job done locally. Managed to keep the pride & ego at bay; & when you were cold,stopped short,but at the right time. You've learned quickly what took me years to finally adopt,even though I'd read the advice by many guzzisti . The Tonti 5 speed tranny should be treated like a 4 speed with a 5 gear OD; the engine,drivetrain & riding experience, are all in a happier place,much nicer riding groove to get into. I think after doing the valves & a decent tune up your mileage should improve; as you work your way through the bike & wiring harness.connections the tach may solve itself. I have a beautiful OEM MG center top luggage bag that came with my CalVin;I feel stupid sometimes because I leave it on the shelf,but I'll explain why I do. It's extremely handy,but the weight & the wind it catches;is in the worst spot to negatively affect the handling (& mileage btw) but also ruins the beautiful lines of my bike,jmho. I've never wrenched my back or fallen badly;but I have caught my leg swinging it over top cases,,ouch! Unless it's a low profile top case,,,I usually leave them on the shelf. fwiw ymmv What a beautiful bike & a great outcome. tks for taking the time to document & share your adventure with us. Wishing you both,many miles & smiles