Weegie

I don't know if it's allowed and besides I don't want to start posting pictures of somebody else's bike However on the COG forum I just noticed a thread opened up by a new member of the Group. Thread title "New Centaurist Says Hello" Somebody at some point has Supercharged a Centauro!!! This is just a link to the forum index, easy to find the thread. http://www.centauro-owners.com/phpBB2/viewforum.php?f=1 I can't get my HiCam to run standard without frying, I'm feeeling SOOOO inadequate

@VtwinStorm I tried using a Sharpie to mark upper and lower levels, but it never really worked for me, I hope you have better luck. Using the a Roper Plate, which is a highly recommended, inexpensive and not too difficult mod to install when you're changing the oil is a good idea on its own. It also solved all that dipstick m'larky for me too and I have plates on both the Sporti and HiCam. I don't own a V11.........but there's still time

@Chris Wilson I sympathise, I also find the dipstick thermometer almost impossible to read. Mine isn't chrome possibly stainless. I also have a Roper Plate installed on the bikes I have which tends to make it a little harder to insert the stick cleanly into the oil. Previously I used a seperate dipstick when I wanted to get a good reading, sorry a pretty useless answer. Even using a flat metal or plastic stick, I never had too much faith on the accuracy of the readings. The Roper Plate makes it a little harder, but that could well be my lack of dexterity. I've never had any issues with the bikes consuming oil between services, so I didn't dip it that regularly and when I did found it to be well within acceptable parameters Later I realized that with the Roper Plate installed into a Broadsump the dipstick can be rendered redundant. All I do now after recommendations from @Lucky Phil , @pete roper and others on the Centauro forum, is to fill the sump to just below the Roper Plate. This put the oil a good bit above the OEM dipstick high mark. The oil level can be seen through the hole with a flashlight. I've never experienced any pressurization issues, or additional oil consumption using the higher oil level and will continue to use it Not much of answer but best I can do

Deltic 2 stroke, Allen Millyard is probably installing one in a frame as I write

Doesn't sound like Startus Interruptus then Perhaps the starter motor is needing some love or the brushes are getting worn, but as I've never had to that I don't know what's involved One more thing, I haven't heard of it so much with Guzzis but is quite common on Ducatis, the large battery lead to the starter can degrade over time and the starter doesn't get the full voltage so the starter spins slower If there is somewhere you get easily get the battery load checked or test with another battery to totally rule the battery out, it's unlikely but again not unheard of. Wait until @docc comes back as he's a lot more familiar with these models than me John

Don't have a V11 got a Sporti they are sort of close at least the earlier models. 12.72V sounds like it should be sufficient to crank the engine When you say starting issues what are the issues? Does the bike not spin the engine on the starter or is it slow to spin, or does it start to spin then stops? If it doesn't spin on the starter do you hear a click or clicks or nothing at all? Startus Interruptus? A common and much debated topic, just google "Guzzi Startus Interruptus" being brief the factory made an arse of the starting circuit and there are fixes. Problem with the starter? That's not so common but certainly not unknown or does the bike not fire? If the battery is at 12.72V it does sound like the bike must be charging, checked the bulb on the charge warn light? I'm assuming the battery is good, many will read a good resting voltage but when a load is applied completely collaps Just some mad first guesses from an incompetent, better minds will be along shortly

Images from Pete

PM sent Pete Looking like I got all Winter anyway the way the weather's heading I understand the issues, at least the basics, turning these engines over many times by hand Just wondered if the mass reduction allowed the newer engine rev higher. I can't find the thread but I'm pretty sure somewhere you commented on opening up the tappet clearances up somewhere else and didn't approve. Can't remember if it was Meinhoff or somebody else who suggested it. I think I can see the pros and cons For, you leave the valve on the head longer allowing greater heat rejection Against, the valve is no longer smoothly opened on the cam ramp but has to open start to open suddenly. John

Never got the pictures Pete but the statement in itself is insteresting. Does the "New" Hi Cam rev higher or is the difference simply due to the tappets being lighter and allowing the valve train to work more efficiently due to the reduction of mass and inertia? I've thought about getting the idler shaft cut so it runs on a single bearing on the front rather than the "false cam" that the early design was, as suggested by Phil and similar to the MGS design. Unless though I'm really at a loose end I doubt I'll follow through with it Another statement recently that Meinhoff regrading opening the tappet clearance up to hold the exhaust valve on the head longer also intrigued me. Think that was because of long opening ramp on the cam, however I'd have thought that might lead to other problems due to the tappet being suddenly opened and shocked, leading to more wear on the tappet and cam. John PS even trying to just use the links I couldn't get the pictures to show, perhaps I'm worse when it comes to being tech savvy. Gotta love this growing old thing

Told you we're all different If I had the tools and skills of Phil (or Pete) I wouldn't need fripperies and baubles as my engines would run as intended However being in the sausage fingers queue when the Almighty was handing out intelligence, I'm stuck with gauges.

Get back on topic you lot!!!!!! I only bought the dammed thing because Guzzi has not been building anything I fancied since the Griso. I briefly thought about building a Guareschi but the hassle expense and time I take to do anything would've ended up with me being too old to ride by the time I finished

On another note seeing I'm on a roll. Just acquired a Euro 4 BMW R9T, now that's different, BMW give you a little Yellow Triangle light, and a cute little engine outline with an explanation mark in the LCD. That covers everything from complete loss of oil pressure to a sticky exhaust flapper valve. You don't know until you hook up their diagnostic tool and a laptop or phone, to find out the code. I need to find somewhere I can place a gauge or aux switch minimum. Bee-emm guys seem to think that the bike will be fine in limp mode.................with no oil pressure............good fekin grief!!!

From my experiments with oil on the Sporti and the HiCam, my opinions, for all that's worth, is with a 2v/v Guzz you've little to worry about. Oil pressure and temp on my bikes are stable and of little concern. I've got a dipstick temp thingy and a pressure gauge on all the bikes. I run a 15/50 full synth on all these engines Sporti runs a bit hotter than my LM 1000 engine, which has a Vee sump and is stupidly well behaved and tends to run on the cold side. Sporti a bit hotter nearer 100C in 20C ambients and the pressure is rock steady. My HiCam C kitted bike is a completely different kettle of fish. It runs around 60ish psi in free air, over 40mph, and temp approx 105, the minute I hit traffic it rockets with corresponding drop in pressure. Seen 130C sump temps, God knows what the heads are at. When you reach there oil pressure at idle is through the floor, around 8psi or less and my pressure light will come on, time to pull over and wait. I advocated the dipsticks temps a long time back and was subject to some ridicule, not on here I may add. It depends on your philosophy towards engines, being a test engineer in another life, I always like to have data if I can get it. @po18guy jokes about ignorance being bliss but honestly I've came across people who really don't want to know. Again not on here, somebody advocated that pressure and temp gauges are useless because Guzzi didn't give you recommendations on their limits. I just find that attitude astonishing, but we're all different. As far as voltmeters I just run one of these little LED lights that changes colour when Voltage rises or falls between given thresholds. I'd rather have meter but not enough room and the light is enough to let me know I'd better get home or find somewhere to stop the bike and get a bus or train home. Better than getting stranded miles from anywhere on a dodgy road.

Not in the market for a new bike anyway and too old and set in my ways. Last thing I want is a bike that I need to spend 20minutes setting it up before I ride it and a bunch of servos, stepper motors and wiring which will go wrong, eventually. Piaggio are a money making machine first, foremost, always so I totally get the Adventure thing, altough I'm a short arse and hate them. I worry about the exhausts replacing the head guards, it's going to turn ugly when it falls over, even at standstill. However if I was in the market for an Adventure bike, that would certainly appeal the Greenie looks very pretty IMHO comparing to the competition. Guareschi just kick ASS, but that's the opinion of an out of touch old man living in the past

Congrats Looks great to me, never was one for originality. Why put old original components sourced for cost rather than function, on when something better is available Love the fairing as well, that looks like a superbly fun packaged Happy miles

Heh don't put that shit on us, that little dodge was first thought up by the Japanese. Apple are a disgrace and I'd never purchase any of their products. Don't get me wrong they look amazing and apparently work well. It's just a matter of principal that if I can avoid purchasing from a company who will screw over their own customers I will. Take a newer I Phone to replace the battery to a non apple shop and find features on the phone mysteriously stops working after replacement. Circuitry within the battery, is paired to other chips on the phone. So unless Apple replace the battery (at an exhorbitant cost) the phone loses features. Oh and the chip suppliers have a deal that they only supply to Apple. They also had to come clean that when you upgraded to the latest OS on your older Apple phone it became very slow was a deliberate strategy. I'll get ma coat

He also sells a pretty sweet set of cans http://www.magni.it/v11_exhaust.htm Got a pair on my 1100 Sport and they sound pretty dammed good Only problem with Magni is trying to get him to reply to your mails, it might take several attempts (Don't ask how I know)

Unsprung weight?

Just noticed another Weegie Hello @Jimmyegypt I don't have a V11 but got 3 other Guzzi engined bikes The Sport had one of these brackets too, it wasn't used in Magni's version, sort of wondered what it was for John

Theoretically all the broadsumps should be the same as the bottom ends are for pratical purposes the same. You've obviously given the subject more reasoning than I did. I just came across the recommendation on the GOG forum (on several threads) and thought I'd give it a try, I believe @Lucky Phil also fills his HiCam V11 to the bottom of the plate. So I now run the Sporti and HiCam bikes with the oil level just below the plate. I kept an eye out for leaks on the first couple of runs out, but there were none and both bikes seem perfectly happy with the larger oil volume in the sump. Perhaps it's just me but with the Roper Plate installed I find it trickier to see the oil level on the dipstick. Running the level just below the plate you can shine a flashlight down the dipstick hole and see the oil, making it easier to know how much lube is in the sump. As I don't posses a V11, I just thought I'd ask on behalf of other V11 owners. I was previously running my HiCam at the mid point on the stick, the increased oil level seems to help in slowing the engine (over)heating when slow running a little and works for me.

@docc just a question for my own curiosity. Regarding oil level, on the V11 is it better to just fill to the dipstick mark? Or as I've done on my Sporti and HiCam, fill to the base of the plate, which is a good deal higher than the high mark on the dipstick? John

That's a beauty but Pete and Lucky Phil have a point, if you start to rack up the miles, you may find yourself with an ornament. Parts are getting scarcer. I had a "cooking" Daytona and now have a C kit HiCam bike. The cooking bike was a much better behaved and happier thing and the difference is about 6hp, which I'd be pushed to notice. The build quality varied, mine overheats (BADLY) at even the site of a house, let alone a city. They are more like race bikes in their temprement. By that I mean they run fine when in free air with plenty of revs, but don't expect the well mannered behaviour of a 2v/v engine, nor the longevity. Like all HiCams they also have well known weak points to boot. I'm not trying to put you off, on a run out they are glorious and enormous fun, but just saying they have real downsides too. Just be prepared, for some grief as well as some fun That bike looks absolutely MINT, I'm having a green cheese sandwich as I'm typing

Had very similar style on LM 1000, pretty good if you like chrome, quite large I've now got a CRG Arrow on each of the bikes in black. They are quite small but the image is wide enough for me to see behind me and to the right (we drive on the left) Easy to flip up out the way if filtering Only one mirror installed on each bike on the RHS, works great for me, but it's a taste thing as well as functional piece of kit

RGIT (Robert Gordon Institute of Technology, just for those wondering what language we're speaking). Aberdeen or "Eberdeen" as the locals say...........and you think us Weegies are hard to understand The Doric is a different language. Here's an Aberdeen joke that few will get. Latest designer drug doing the rounds up in Aberdeen "Kin Vit a Mean" Perhaps not, apologies!! Caithness is beautiful in a stark way, just about everywhere up north is. I'm more a fan of the West Coast but the contrast of the rugged West Coast to the flat boggy beauty of the Flow country is amazing and all pact into a pretty small area. Them Umerikans have states bigger than the whole of my wee country and then some John

@p6x I don't know but the other guy who has reputation for producing some great maps is Beetle over on the WG forum. I think he works with @pete roper so Pete might know if he has made a map for the V11. I know he's famous for Griso maps but that's all I know. Besides Pete is the probably one of the better guys to have some idea about who might help you in a search for a custom map. Pity Will doesn't do them for the V11 I thought he might as he does have maps for the Sporti, which is the V11 older brother in a lot of ways. Caithness???? Are you going up there, any further and you'll get your feet wet, that's "Flow Country" On tour of Scotland or what? I'm in Glasgow, a place no tourist sets foot in (probably with good reason) When are you coming to Jockland? Oh I really like my Malts unfortunately I have an allergy to Barley which can result in very bad next day if I indulge (although from time to time it doesn't stop me)