Kane

Hello folks, Since putting a set of Mistral slip-on exhaust on my ‘01 V11 I’ve been a little concerned that the bike may be running lean, particularly if I am running with the dB killer baffles removed. I am also interested in adding a Mistral crossover which may also lean things out (?). My impression is that it’s good practice to have the ECU map checked and adjusted when changing the exhaust. My bike runs pretty well, but I don’t want run it too lean and hot for too long if that’s its condition. I approached a mechanic about checking my mapping. His response was to add one of the Mistral ECU Boosters — https://www.mgcycle.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=26_336&products_id=5103 — as these are cheaper than remapping and will make the bike run better, and that the stock ECU map should be fine with the Mistrals if the bike’s running good. The MG Cycle page states that this unit works on all variants of the V11. I am assuming that this unit would go between an O2 sensor and the ECU, but my variant of V11 has no O2 sensor as far as I can tell. Has anyone used these on a bike without an O2 sensor, and how would it work? Thank you, and I hope everyone is doing well!

Being here has made me realize how many of us V11 devotees hail from The Land of Oz. That seems really cool and interesting. Not that it’s a totally obscure place, but with our riders from the states, and a good bunch from the UK and the EU, Australia seems pretty well represented here as well. I’ve never had the pleasure of being there, nor do I know much about the place other than reading Bruce Chatwin’s book, “The Songlines”, which has nothing to do with motorcycles. There must be something about the place that fosters motorbike riding, as evidenced by our good brothers, and I hope sisters, from Australia. I imagine a lot of wide open roads and big sky and space, but really I know nothing.

How big a deal would it have been for Guzzi and others to coat the inside of their plastic tanks to avoide this problem?

Wow. Is this something that we just learn to live with? I’ve heard the same thing and have avoided removing the tank, which seems lame. Does letting it dry out and coating it help? Will the tank eventually fail, like cracking or what ever could befall it from distortion, or is it just a long-lived irritation?

I like your testimonial for the 2V Duc. I like the idea of air cooled 2V twins, and if it’s out-oomphing a Moto Guzzi V11, that’s pretty impressive. So, how about the air cooled 2V Duc against your 4v liquid cooled ST4S?

Woohooo! Chuck, my Lucky Phil shifter brackets arrived today. They are gorgeous! The colors and paint are very nice, and the pieces look and feel great. It’s nice to have one of each color. No doubt there’s a Scura or Rosso Corsa in my future, and which ever once of these doesn’t go on the red frame greenie will be reserved for the “yes, she will be mine” bike. In the meantime, it’s going on the tree this year, right up at the top next to the disco mirror ball and glow-in-the-dark typewriter ornaments. Beautiful work, Chuck. Thank you! Next time that you’re in SoCal, Joe Jost’s is on me!

Phil, thanks for posting the info and photos. Really sweet looking bikes. What do you think of the lower spec (non-adjustable?) suspension and steel swing arm? I like the look of the half fairing non-SS bikes as you can see the neat engine. Did you change the swing arm to an alloy one? It looks like alloy.

Sweet!

Chuck, I have asked for two. If possible it would be great to have one green and one black. Thanks!

Thank you. I’m going to take some time and test the three modes of bafflement I have on hand more thoroughly; i.e., full baffle, reduced baffle, and no baffle. I think I got a little scared by the glorious roar of the V11 engine running on unbaffled Mistrals. I was under a carport roof, and that likely pumped up the sound. On the open road, surrounded by all the straight piped Harleys and street racing Hyundais and Hondas with their glorified lawnmoweresque exhaust tone that we have around here, it might not be so bad.

Hey folks, I am curious if people like to drill out the cap end of their DB killers or leave them closed. I know it’s a matter of adding flow and opening up the sound more, without going all the way to no baffle. I have been enjoying a pair of Mistral slip-ons that I acquired recently from a forum bro. He had drilled a 1/2” hole in the cap end of the DB killers. With these Installed the bike sounds great, a healthy bark, and it runs great, too. There is some popping coming off the gas, so I figured that it was running a little lean. Out of curiously I ordered a pair of the stock Mistral DB killers with solid undrilled end caps. After removing the original drilled DB kIllers I ran the bike sans baffles, and it sounds like Holy Thunder! I felt like I was a kid back at the Fremont drag strip! However, I don’t think my quaint tidy little neighbors will like me anymore if I were to run it like that, especially as I get up pretty early. Then to the new undrilled closed cap DB killers, and went for a ride. The bike does not sound that much quieter, but the bark and percussive tone of the drilled baffles is muted. I also was surprised that with the closed end baffles it’s still doing the lean popping when coming off the throttle. From the short time that I have run it with the closed end baffles I can’t say for sure if there’s a difference in torque or power between the two. I am Interested to see if the stock baffles give the bike more mid-range torque, that’s one of the reasons that I wanted to try them, but I need to live with them a bit more. I can say for sure that going from the stock mufflers to the Mistrals as they came with the drilled baffles was an improvement in how the bike runs, albeit sounding a bit lean. So, as I am testing the two versions of baffles, I would love to hear how you all feel about this. If you feel that one way or the other is the better way to go in terms of the bike’s performance. Cheers!

That’s weird. The first V11 that I was looking at before I found this one had a tiny pin hole in one of the valve covers that was slowly weeping oil. The bike was a red frame with black tank, and black valve covers. At the time I was wondering how the hell something like that happens as I could not imagine it leaving the factory like that. (Questions about that bike is what lead me to this place ). Is this a problem from the casting process or porosity?

Pete, so how long have you been hanging around the west side of L.A.?

I get what you guys are saying. To take social media culture “self-publishing” to the extreme, I am really tired of seeing pics/vids of what people are eating for breakfast! That being said, he’s doing his honor to the marque, and I bet it’s a fun-as-hell bike to ride. It makes me wish that I had a carbed Tonti to rebuild! For your average Joe, who doesn’t have the skills and resources to do the heavy stuff that some people can do, this is a nice example of what can be easily managed and he seems proud and happy, so OK.

FWIW, here’s a description of the Testastretta 11 degree engine: http://www.ashonbikes.com/content/multistrada-testastretta-11-degrees

Sweet. I see that the mic is plugged in. Is it live? I think you could record a pretty good drum track between the engine and the clutch!

What’s the diff? Are those terms actually distinct from each for classifying bikes? The specs for the ST4S that I’ve seen rate it as making 117HP and 72 lb torque, and a dry weight of 467 lb. That seems pretty good. I wonder if the new SuperSport and the ST4S were lightened from removing the paniers which bike would out perform the other? It seems like the ST4S is hard to beat for a modern sport touring bike, or touring sport bike. Btw, the Ducati website shows the displacement of the new SS at 937. Was it previously 939 and something changed? They call it the Testastretta 11 degree 937 engine. I don’t know what Testastretta or 11 degrees refers to. I guess they both have wet clutches. I think if I had a Ducati I would want a dry clutch. I think they can be converted? The V11 has spoiled me on its dry clutch. I think I would really miss the sound and feel of it.

Very nice. With Motto Guzzi no longer offering a LeMans or similar bike, this may be the Italian sport touring bike to look at. Is this Ducati’s sporty replacement for the ST4S? Is there a formula idea of what weight to HP feels like between bikes? Like how many HP do I need to add to my 500+ lb V11 to approximate the performance of a 110 HP bike that is 100 lbs lighter? Here’s a quote from Massimo Tamburini: "The ideal one would be a 750 with the power of a 1000 and the weight of a 500.”

Check out this custom build 1100 Sport Tonti: Anyone know these guys? I’ve seen pics of a few MotoNero builds, and it looks like they like putting the later V11 motors in the earlier Tonti frames. It looks like a smaller front wheel than the rear (perhaps a 17” and an 18”?), like the LMIV set-up.

That’s a great looking bike. We’d all love to see more! Is that factory paint? That red is lovely, but it’s a shade I’ve seen more on some Ducatis and not so much on Guzzis.

What a crazy picture! Very painterly in its tones and abstraction. The lines and curves being echoed. Very cool! Is that an old ribbon microphone?

That is a very cool effect. Bummer it comes from some disaster. Our skies have looked similar, and yesterday we had “ash snow” falling all day. That’s a beautiful bike!

The same here. We’re almost there! Let’s shift this puppy into high gear!

That’s a moving display of moto-art. Docc, for all of the great pics of your lovely V11 that I’ve had the pleasure of seeing, this is first time I’ve wondered if your head pipes are ceramic coated? Kind of looks that way here, but light can play tricks.

While we’re talking about relays, what exactly does #3 do? I have read here (someplace) that it Is for the side stand and neutral. I am pretty sure that my side stand circuit has been disabled because the bike will run in gear with the side stand down. But what is the “neutral” function of relay #3? If I pull relay #3 my neutral dash light remains on. Is it for something other than the neutral dash light?