Ryland3210

The injectors would not be affected, since they inject at relatively high pressure. A little water in the engine is OK as well. Quite a lot of water is used in systems to deliberately inject water to boost power. It cools the intake charge, thereby increasing its density, and acts as an antiknock aid as well. Military piston engined airplanes in WWII used it to boost power by 20-25% for heavy load takeoffs. The best place to monitor absolute air pressure is inside the airbox. That way, it can compensate for filter element pressure drop. It's not only a matter of keeping it clean. However, I'm not sure where it is actually located. It may even be located in the ECU.

Food for thought, then I think we should move this discussion over to Banter, or Jaap can please do it for us. I'm reluctant to stay off the thread topic. A 5 megawatt solar panel system is being installed in a landfill in New Jersey. It will supply power to the aluminum extrusion plant next door. This is important because the government rules say you cannot be a net supplier of power to the grid. This, of course, is a case of government, which is supposed to be representing the interests of its people, protecting a regulated power utility from competition to that extent. The landfill will have not problem with this because of the huge power needs of the aluminum extrusion plant. I'm told it is the largest installation east of the Mississippi. The landfill manager also considered installing a system on his house, but even with 80% NJ goverment subsidizing the cost, he calculates a 7 year payback. It isn't worth it to him. Here's the punchline: The solar panels for this massively government subsidized installation are being imported either from Mexico or Germany. They would like to purchase the German ones because they are more costly but more efficient. However, there is such high demand created by government subsidies, there is a 18-24 month long waiting list to get them. It's absurd to subsidize solar power while protecting the utilities from it on the other. This boondoggle is an economic ripoff to NJ taxpayers, the U.S. doesn't even get the job creation to make the panels, and piles on more damage to our trade imbalance.

The cause and effect relationship could also be that the reason the oil is so clean when you change it is that the filter is doing a good job of removing the contaminants. So how does one know if the filter should be changed every time oil is changed or not? Tests done by the SAE quite some years ago, when engines produced a lot more contamination showed that the wear rate started to increase substantially after 3,000 miles, but that better filtration was obtained by changing filters every 6,000. Consistent with that, my '98 Camaro's owners manual recommended exactly that, 30 years later. In the industrial hydraulic systems I've designed since 1984, we use non-bypass, 3,000 psi, 3 micron absolute filters. These machines are expected to last at least 10 years between rebuilds, running at full power. Some are used 3 shifts/day, so at about 6,000 hours/year, that amounts to 60,000 hours. In comparison, an automobile which averages 40 mph runs for only 4,000 hours to travel 160,000 miles. For the vast majority of that time, it is only using a fraction of its rated horsepower. I have learned a lot about oil contamination and filtration along the way. The pressure drop across these filters stays fairly constant, at around 10-15 psi, until contamination reaches about 80% of the filter's capacity, then rises quite fast to total blockage at the system pressure, typically 1800 psi. These filters come with a differential pressure sensor to indicated when it's time to change the element. So the scientific way to know if your filter needs changing is to monitor the pressure drop. That would require an additional pressure sensor on the Guzzi before the filter, and a bypass pressure relief setting higher than the normal pressure drop across the filter. It would be neat if an aftermarket filter manufacturer would come out with a differential indicator for automotive filters. They could charge more for it, because it would need changing much less often. If it were up to me, we would still be changing just the element, like on high pressure industrial systems and my '57 Ford. Back then, the elements also had several times the dirt collection capacity as the disposables of today for the same applications. Unfortunately for Guzzi's with internal filters, a delta P indicator on the filter is problematic. Some day, I may install a second gauge to monitor filter inlet pressure, just to learn more about how this engine works and then be able to save time and money changing filters more often than necessary, and contribute a little less garbage to the environment. In the mean time, I'll stick with 3,000 mile oil changes, filter every other time.

Thanks for the graphic on the flag. I'll make good use of it.

It is intended to sense the temperature of the air entering the engine, so somewhere within the airbox would be ideal. To the extent it monitors temperature different from that, it will affect mixture ratio governed by the ECU.

I have heard that Guzzi pushed out many '04's in hard times at discount prices. Zero emissions electric vehicles are fine, except where does the electricity come from? Unless we expand the nuclear plant plant capacity, frozen since the junk science "China syndrome" movie, we create more pollution and greenhouse gases burning coal and oil in power plants than we do burning gasoline in the extremely well controlled vehicles of today. You're right on in the bureaucratic leviathan creating problems for them to solve, regardless of merit or benefit to the environment. We can only hope voters someday figure out how they are being manipulated.

I don't know the thread size, but Greg Field should be able to help. He has made the adapters.

I can supply you a kit which is simple to install and leaves the pressure switch intact. Check the "pressure gauge adapted" thread for pictures of the setup on my bike. The kit includes gauge, adapters, fittings, mounting manifold, screws, etc. Send me a personal message if you are interested in details.

Hi Dave, I think you know about my kit for the handlebar riser type Sports shown on the "pressure gauge adapted" thread. I'm now making one up for one of the clip on type Sports. Ryland.

It takes a mighty confident service tech to permit spectators. You may have seen a sign in repair shops something like the following: RATES $25/hour $40/hour if you watch $60/hour if you help

I wanted to get to Pete in time, since his rebuild is starting this weekend, as I understand it, and yes, I did not want to leave it to him to happen to find the question herein. It's not even clear he is monitoring this thread. To me it's not about who is "right". It's the facts, period. In my message to Pete, I made no reference to personal beliefs or opinion, just asked him to either confirm the statement in his dissertation last year, or inspect his engine while apart if he had any doubts.

I've already sent a message to Pete. You are entitled to reckon what you will. Everyone is entitled to an opinion. The location of the pressure relief valve has an effect on the pressure delivered to the engine. You think it is insignificant, I don't, and you may be right. Nevertheless, I want to know the truth of the matter. I'll pass on the wager. I wouldn't want to bet against Pete, and I don't think you would either. Let's wait and see what we learn.

Sorry, RH, it does not clear up my doubt, because Pete Roper is a pretty credible source of information of this type. The circuit will work either way, although differently in terms of the resulting pressure fed to the engine. The circuit you found is certainly not uncommon, but since it appears to be generic, there is no 100% certainty it is how Guzzi designed theirs.

Hi Nige, My grandmother was Manx, Mona Curfey. I visited there some years back by ferry, I think from Blackpool or Liverpool (where I was born). Lovely country with its own form of government dating back around 1,000 years and based on Norse settlers, as I recall. Can you help me obtain a high res picture of the three legged symbol? I'd appreciate that. Ryland

When I replaced the tires on my Norton with the next size up, big mistake. Handling was a lot more sluggish. I believe part of it was the increased weight of the new tires creating more gyroscopic effect. If 170 is good for a 5.5 inch rim, then why not 155 (25.4mm = 1 inch), if there was such a tire. Based on what you say, it sounds like a 150 would give the best handling for the 4.5 inch rim.

No worries.

Hi Paul, I recently switched to 4.5 inch rims. What range of tire sizes are best? Thanks, John

Nice country up there. I enjoy rides into the Catskills and up along the Hudson Valley as well. I have met up with some members for rides in western CT and Mass. earlier this year. waspp lives around Albany area. You might send him a message to hook up as well. The CT MGNOC members meet at Marcus Dairy during the April-October time frame once a month, and there are many rally's, campouts, etc. You can find out about them in the MGNOC newsletter. It's worth joining if you aren't already a member.

My computer bypasses the home page and goes right to technical, so I haven't noticed the soliciation for donations. You may have noticed some of the technical contributions I have made on behalf of the members. I'm glad to help out and will send Jaap a donation by check. I have wondered about the "goldmember" category, but assumed it was a matter perhaps of longevity or cumulative posts. Now I understand it's about the money. Not sure why you singled me out, though. I noticed in this thread alone, other "members" which have made intensive and extensive use of this valuable forum a lot more than I have.

What's this about? News to me. Pardon my ignorance. Explain, please.

That's not bad. My rear Metzler M1 wore out to the tread right in the middle in under 4,000 miles. I happened so fast it caught me by surprise. Most of the riding was long distance highway, with only my 145 pounds and maybe 5 pounds more in a tank bag.

Welcome aboard, Leon. I have a very similar '04 Cafe Sport and really enjoy it. I'm pretty familiar with the idiosyncrasies of this model, so let me know if I can help with any bugs. How far upstate are you? I'm in Warwick, right above the NJ border. Down here, "upstate" is considered everything north of NYC! Cheers, John

Hi Skeeve, Thanks, it's a pleasure. The Omron's are physically to the same specification as the GEI's. They plug right in. I have been running one in my bike for weeks now, with no problems. Cheers, John

It does look attractive, and your personal experience means a lot. Check out the thread "Which dynojet .... " to see what state of total confusion I've reached. Perhaps you can contribute to it!

So it seems that if I want to change timing, I need Tuneboy or Direct Link, but if I want to avoid tedious trial and error tuning, I need PCIII USB mapping on a dyno as the first step. Correct? If so, I think there needs to be an improvement to the PCIII USB to enable the timing modification. Here's how I see my program so far (tell me if this makes sense): 1. Buy PCIII USB and get the bike dynojet tuned. 2. Buy Tuneboy (or Direct Link) so I can change timing if I see the need and to tweak the cylinders separately. 3. Convince the dynojet tech to use all this equipment in tandem so one dyno session does it all. This will probably run up the bill, unless he decides to donate some of the extra time in the interest in learning something new. 4. Disconnect the PCIII USB and use Tuneboy (or Direct Link) to download the mapping developed in the dyno session. 5. Put the PCIII USB on the shelf. I'm confident it's a reliable and valuable device, but the less electronic complexity and potential connector problems on my bike the better. (This is how I feel, in spite of, or because of, 30+ years in electronic design and systems engineering). Now, if only any one of these devices could do it all, that would be lovely. This is a pretty expensive proposition.