Skeeve

So just turn the tank around...

In this context, "setting the squish" was a reference to the not inconsiderable lengths necessary to do so w/ the stock components [which have a discernable mismatch between the squish band cast into the head and the shelf cast into the pistons, requiring machining etc. to resolve] vs. the "drop in" status for the Mike Rich pistons. Naturally, due to manufacturing tolerances, even nominally "drop in" components should be checked to make sure the clearance is adequate w/o being excessive. So yes, if installing the Mike Rich pistons, you would want to practice due diligence to get the most from them, but they should *not* require skimming the heads. Sorry for any confusion!

Wow! That's a lot of rotational inertia at speed... That should make the handling a lot lighter! Sorry to hear about all the problems you're having en route, tho'. I hope that the results prove worth the trouble, in the end!

Based upon that observation, and the fact that the u-joints in the v11 driveline are more exposed than most shaft-driven bikes [but ironically, not exposed enough to make greasing them easy! ], should we be using barium grease [aka "waterproof" or "boat-trailer" grease] to lube the u-joints? The more we discuss this topic the more it appears to me that the key to u-joint longevity in Guzzis is keeping the elements out of them and a good supply of fresh grease, any grease, inside them... Beyond my awareness of the use of barium grease [bah that stuff reeks! ] for applications exposed to water, I'm not expert on its suitability for high pressure operations such as would be expected in uses like, say, Guzzi drivelines. Would someone with more knowledge about these matters [Pete? Ratch'? Greg? A random lubrication engineer?] care to chime in?

[Note to Jaap: we need a "Yeah, that" smiley! ] Dimitris: The maps are "built" upon a basis that the TPS is set correctly. You have stated yourself that you haven't set the TPS: ergo, no generic map is going to function correctly, since they are all predicated upon a properly-adjusted TPS! You should: 1) Correctly adjust the TPS setting. 2) Download the generic map for your setup. 3) Tweak the values via the software for any failings you may encounter in the generic map. Chances are the generic map will be "close enough for govt. work" once you've got the baseline settings correct. But before you tweak anything, you must get the baseline adjusted properly, or the next time you balance the throttles and reset your TPS, you'll have to start all over with "tweaks" to your map, since it requires you to have the baseline settings correct to function correctly! Control the variables & get consistency: once you've done that, you can dial things in to suit your particular bike. Ride on!

Well, setting the squish would defeat getting the Mike Rich pistons, since by his own admission, their only purpose is to generate the C.R. promised by the factory by utilizing the stock combustion chamber shape and provide an actual squish band - the factory apparently dropped the ball w/ somewhere & didn't match the pistons w/ the redesigned combustion chamber (vs. 1100 Spot/Sporti heads.) Mike Rich told me himself that he doesn't recommend spending the money on his porting services unless you're really intent on going the whole 9 yards: for most purposes, installing his "corrected" pistons will provide the best price/performance boost available. Now, admittedly this could all be blatant self-promotion, but if that were the case, why would he actively discourage going the porting route vs. replacing the pistons? And as we covered long ago in the thread about setting the squish, of the piston profiles available, Mike's pistons appear to be more amenable to effective combustion. And as such, not likely require meaningful changes to the stock map. So what I'm driving at is that as a potentially "drop in" solution, the Mike Rich pistons may be about the same cost as setting the squish, once you factor in intangibles like down-time, ease of installation, etc. As far as porting goes, anyone on the board w/ a modicum of patience & aptitude can do their own 'clean up' of their heads, and derive a significant %age of the value of professionally done porting w/o risking large changes to their fuel map, powerband, etc. There's lots of info on the web about "How to do Stage 1 porting of your small block (car, not Guzzi! )" & the like to get that 5-10% improvement that's "built in" by rough castings, sloppy assembly, etc. from the manufacturer. Just remember not to mess w/ the floor of the exhaust port. [This is not to say I've already done mine, of course: I'm far too worried about getting 1/2 way into this, losing momentum as some "crisis" among my friends or family inevitably interrupts my project, & then parts start walking away, someone comes by to observe & knocks things over, etc. & the whole thing turns into a giant mess! What I really need is a spacious workshop w/ it's own attached apartment that I can go to & LOCK EVERYONE ELSE OUT & concentrate on doing what I want! Ah well, enough fantasizing...] Anyway, big bore kits which fundamentally detract from the appeal of the Guzzi (by their increased complexity) aside, there is definitely room for "maximization of potential" among our riding community, no matter what you or Ratchethack thinks about the "best approach." Me, I support a "picking the low-hanging fruit" approach of tuning the stock suspension & massaging the engine to get it give what it easily (& relatively cheaply) can is the right approach (for me, not everyone.) Right now, I'm a long way from that ideal. But I sure do enjoy thrashing it out here on V11LM!

Don't be a hater! The stock tire has been sitting for how long, under what conditions? Too many variables; Metz Z6 roadtecs are excellent tires, far far FAR superior to the MEZ4s that they replaced in Metz' lineup! As far as the wrist pain goes, do sit ups! Yes, I said sit ups! The v11 favors/requires a more firm posture to sit it comfortably, just like you would "sit" a horse vs. being a sack of (saddle-sore filled) potatoes as most non-horsey sorts (this includes me, fwiw) who just slump there on horseback. Most people have plenty strong back muscles, but where their body lets them down is in their abs: the back muscles need something to work against, & that's what you have abs for! Trust me, I'm not a physician, but have had lots of chiropracters, sports therapists, orthopedic surgeons, etc. repeatedly tell me the same thing over & over enough that I've started to believe them... Anyway, imagine your granny (or mine, if yours didn't whack you all the time & say "Sit up straight!" when you were growing up like mine did) is standing over you when you're riding, & maintain good posture. It'll take the load off your wrists, & enable you to do more "steering w/ your knees" the way Guzzis seem to like...

Oh, we already do! It's called "Wildguzzi.com/forum" Yeah, we keep'em segregated in their own little ghetto...

You're confusing HP w/ MPH here Dave, and the reason that the Guzzi isn't regulated to 185mph is it CANNOT GET THERE. In fact, no v11 can w/o blowing up the motor, since the stock gearing doesn't permit it and the alternative final drive options are, shall we say, "limited?" You didn't think the LSR Guzzi fans are using older, pre-v11 models in their attempts just for kicks did you? Certain gearing options are available with the 5-speed trannies and final drives that aren't compatible w/ the 6-speeders to make them the preferred option. And defeating the 186mph (300kph?) "restriction" [gentlemen's agreement btw govt. & industry in Japan] on the Hayabusa is pretty much a plug&play operation to defeat the transmission gear sensor & trick the Hayabusa into thinking it's still in 4th gear. There's a pretty simple test to determine whether any of the heavily-modified & no-longer reliable Guzzis you've been pimping can compete w/ the Hayabusa & that's a comparison of their piston areas. Even blown out to 1225cc, the Guzzi twin-pot isn't going to match the piston area of the 1300cc Hayabusa four & likely couldn't even match it if the 'busa was sleeved down to 1000cc. That's just the secret of how multiplying cylinders can get you more power [you'll note I didn't say more usable or more enjoyable power! ] Would I ride a Hayabusa? Sure: they're noted for being very tractable and even enjoyable sport-tourers, provided you make ergonomic adjustments. Would I want to do the regular maintenance required to support the continued well-being of the engine required to generate that power? Not at all! Yeah, the valve adjustments may not come up but every 25k miles, but what a pain when they do!

Some going on 40 years baby, & we're not talking garage queens either! Of course, it will be harder for the Hi-Cams to match such a record, simply because they were made in so much smaller numbers. Difficult to get those "unobtanium" parts off crashed/otherwise dead bikes in future years when the donor list is so much smaller. Hopefully, it won't come to that!

The implication of "I sold this to a friend a couple weeks ago & it's now back on my doorstep" is exactly that the friend is expecting a free or cheap fix, forgive me for contradicting you. I am as happy as everyone else here to learn that that was not the case, but it is the implication, unintentional or not. And nobody attacked the friend, we were just warning the Pepperoni not to get sucked into going down that road. As far as admitting to "hitting the rev limiter a few times," this is the kid equivalent of "copping a plea," & instantly recognized as such by the majority of the adults who've replied [& probably of those who've read & didn't bother to reply] to this thread. In other words, the kid's guilty, knows he's guilty, suspects there may be sufficient evidence to convict, & is trying to weasel out of it by admitting to a lesser charge. You're correct in that "hitting the rev limiter" should not be fatal to the engine: if it were, then the rev limiter isn't doing its job & needs to be set lower!

But what paint! Love that color... PS: Aren't the RMs built on the slightly shorter, pre-02 frame, despite being nominally an '02 model? I seem to recall something about that...

Excuse me, this is a thread about hooters. The thread on camel toes is next door...

Send a PM to Pete Roper & he'll hook you up. I'm not certain what the exchange rate btw Greece (drachma?) & Aus$ is, nor what shipping is likely to be: if you know of some other Greek v11 riders who'd want them, then having Pete send several at once would spread out the shipping charge per plate to something more reasonable. You might want to suggest ordering such to your local shop: some of the Guzzi shops here in the States have ordered a pack of plates "on spec" to have them on-hand for their customers. Best of luck!

Yes, I know: I personally think there's about a snowball's chance in hell of this vibrant little community fading into the online equivalent of a ghost-town myself, but I thought that starting a thread devoted to the Hi-Cams was worthwhile. So sue me!

Sure: Long ago, when the Sony Walkman was new & dinosaurs still walked the earth [or rather, land yachts still cluttered the highways], some enterprising & penurious [read "cheap b@st@rds" ] car drivers decided that for much less than the cost of a good car stereo, they could drive to their own choice of tunes by buying a walkman & wearing it while driving. Carnage ensued, as individuals conditioned to an auditory environment proceeded to obliterate all manner of audible warnings that they were accustomed to w/o increasing their situational awareness to compensate; in fact, they were quite willfully decreasing their level of awareness, to subsume themselves in their music while driving. Quite simply, they were performing at about the same level of road skills as today's equivalent, the noise-isolated, stereo-blasting, cell-phone using SUV-driving BDC. Carnage & mayhem ensued, and the legislative overlords decided to pass a law [purely to save idiots from themselves, you understand!] making it illegal to wear headphones or earplugs [i believe the language was something to the effect of "anything on or over the ears besides custom hearing prosthetics"] while driving. Since the law did not [& legally, could not, w/o specific reasons, for which the legislators quite frankly couldn't care less] exempt motorcyclists, it was an easy "add on" ticket for the polizei making a stop for some other cause, real or imagined, should they observe the rider removing plugs w/ their helmet. And they always make you remove your helmet, even if it's a modular [DAMHIK.] Hence, when an officer was nearing the end of the month & in danger of not making their quota of tickets, more tix for wearing earplugs was an easy "save." California recently classed foamies [foam earplugs] as "custom hearing prothetics" for motorcyclists, largely due to the efforts of one of the LABikers w/ a connection to a state legislator, who then wrote the proposal on the amendment, carried it thru to passage, & earned enough of my respect that I voted for her in the last election despite her belonging to the political party [the Dems, ie "Axis of Evil"] that has corrupted our state govt. to the point that California has almost totally lost all appeal for me as a place to keep living. I'm not saying that all democrats are evil, just that the political scene here in CA is out of control and that the people in power generally have no intention of doing what they know is right, only in doing what will keep them in office, and this situation is supported whole-heartedly by the party to the extent of suppressing the good people they've got in favor of demagogues who have no business in politics at any level. [/rant mode] Anyway, it was yet another example of a stupid intrusion into personal responsibility, which fortunately has subsided somewhat due in no small part to the efforts of a fellow LABiker, whom I consider it my great good fortune to call my friend. Just remember that if they aren't custom molded earplugs or foamies, you can still get a ticket for wearing earplugs while riding in CA. That's the letter of the law, and at quota time the cops will write any ticket they can get!

All right, so in the thread about "Will v11LeMans.com fade away?" someone suggested that they'd like to see more information regarding the contemporaries to the v11 2v mill, the 4 valve Hi-Cam Guzzis like the Daytona, Daytona RS, Centauro & MGS-01. Note, that this doesn't mean that no one wants to hear about the new QV ['quattro valvole'] motor released since Piaggio took over, but that given that v11LM.com is now a website devoted to an "orphan" line of machines no longer supported by Piaggio/Guzzi, that the Hi-Cam crowd needs a home to call its own as well, & since there's plenty of virtual room here, & some not negligible crossover between the V11s (which are ultimately merely refinements of the Spot 1100/1100 Sporti models), well it seemed like a reasonable idea to start a thread devoted to the Hi-Cams. Now, just as a starting point, are the motors essentially identical from the bottom of the cylinder base gaskets downwards, or are there subtle differences between the Hi-Cams & the v11 mills? I always thought that the Hi-Cam models seemed to be a bunch of 4v stuff slapped on top of the 2v motor, much like had been done w/ the small blocks years before [except of course, with the change from pushrod activation to belt driven cams taken off the timing chest in front, whereas the small blocks were all push-rod activated, whether 2v or 4v...] If the cases are substantially different, what about the sumps? Visually, they appear identical. Yes, yes, I hear it coming already: "Buy your own copy of Guzziology!" It's in the works, trust me: I just wanted to throw out something to get the ball rolling here...

No Roper plate on your old motor, was there? Kid was stuntin', long wheelies under the baleful red glare of the "low oil pressure" idiot light, oil pickup in the sump sucking air, and the main bearings got toasted. That's my diagnosis, & I'm sticking with it. Any second opinions? 'Ratch? Pete? Ultimately, the kid's problem, not yours. Tell your friend to come pick up his bike, you don't have time to mess with it, unless he wants to sell his kid in indentured servitude to you for the duration of fixing your bike, then his... purely as a lesson in properly caring for his dad's property, you understand! As an alternative, you could tell your friend I'll buy the bike off him for a $50, and his boy can work to pay off the remainder of the difference for breaking his dad's toy!

No danger. That's how you tell you've put in enough grease! Keep pumping grease in until the old shiny worn-out goop is replaced w/ the new, slightly mat appearance of the new grease. Wipe off the excess, you're done. The seals are only there to keep crud out of the joint, & don't function right if there isn't enough grease behind them to eliminate any space for crud to migrate into. At least, that's my experience: someone is about to post a correction if I'm wrong!

Actually, since the original carb'd Sport 1100 had script that made it look like it was called "Spot," (good doggie! ) and the Sport Inezziones had script on the tail with "Sport I" it gets even easier: Carb'd Sports are "Spots" & injected Sports are "Sportis." Either way, they are (along w/ the Daytona RS) among some of the best looking motorcycles ever made, IMNSHO. Hope this helps!

I like this version! Just remember not to loan your bike to your deaf friends [yeah, I know: it's stupid that some locales will ticket you for headphones, earplugs, etc., yet deafies can still get licenses. That's just the way bureaucracy works^H^H^H^H^H... er, functio^H^H^H^H^H^H... whatever!] Ride on,

Why thank you! The mid-80s Honda GL1200 used this trick. I have to admit, leaving the sidestand down on one of those water buffalos & trying to make a left turn, even with the extended rubber finger to help flip the sidestand, is a truly seat-clenching moment... I don't know what the best answer is. Maybe a self-retracting stand, but one built more along the line of the Harley Jiffy-Stand, w/ a notch at the end of the arc so that the bike cannot roll off the stand unless held vertical? I know that the self-retracting stands on Ducatis & Guzzis back in the 90s got a truly bad rep for dropping bikes on their side at the slightest hint of a breeze, etc. OTOH, I know that I like the ability to let the bike idle & warm up while putting on helmet, gloves etc. so I don't think just the switch to a V11 sidestand is the answer [since the Sports don't have the neutral cut-out for the sidestand kill switch.] In the end, I think it has to be Raz' decision...

Probably, maybe just "automatic." You know us crazy Americans & our love for automatic labor-saving gadgets!

Just remember that the best power cam for the 2v mill has no overlap... and a blower attached! Ride on,