docc

One other factor to consider with oil consumption is the length of the ride. if you're taking short hops and shutting down more often the consumtion will be higher. Riding longer priods at full operating temperature is better for both the consumption and the break in. ( Incantations muttered while casting about the shop wielding the dipstick as a talisman under the influence of mind altering substances has been reported to be effective as long as you don't ride til the next day)

I gave my Pilot Road front to a guy I know with a H***a. Maybe it has enough front weight bias to make the tire work right. And he is running the same on the rear. I've had five different tire types on the Sport and really like this new Dunlop 220.

Talking with Andy today on the phone, i must agree with him. The only way to rotate the speedo driveshaft at a different speed is to change the drive cog on the main shaft. Other options include installing the correct gearbox with the mph drive already in it or getting a kph speedo and learning metric.

After I pressed the bevel drive back together in the vice, the speedo works and is smoother than ever. I ran out of fuel the first day with no odometer. The fuel light came on right as the bike quit for good. It only took 4.6 US gallons. But that's another issue I'm working on. The bevel drive is not your problem. It's the part the bevel screws down onto. This is a short shaft which screws into the box itself. It is the same for '02 and '03. The question we need answered is what is different on the kilometer bikes. If it's not that 'speedometer drive' then what? Maybe the Dutch riders can help. They use kilometers, yes? Tomorrow morning I'll scan a photo from the shop manual showing this part.

Oh no! I was taking the wattage as a constant such that the current would vary with voltage. (edit:) So, it is true. I consulted a professor of physics ( best I could do) and found that there are no constants in the equation. Voltage goes up= wattage goes up= current (amperage) goes up. It's probably reasonable to assume that the wattage for 12v devices is rated at 12.7 volts which is the widely accepted standard voltage for 12vDC lead-acid battery systems. In that case the guzzi's 13.98 charging voltage will increase current through the harness about 10%. So the 60 watt hi-beam will burn at 66 watts and draw 5.5 amps. The charge voltage should diminish as the system comes to full charge but probably never drops below 13v. I wonder if bikes suffering relay failures are running much higher voltages? A bad regulator will eat the other electrical components in the system and tend to force electrolyte out of the battery ( which has been reported by some riders).

Vinyl stick on letters from the hobby store. "S", start; " L", lights; "C", computer; "F", fuel. The black one is an upgraded Siemans which I put in the "side stand relay" slot as it is the least stressed. It is actually activated by the neautral switch not the side stand switch. I put a couple of the original Siemans in a bubble bag and slid them into the tail cowl storage just in case . . . I measured voltages today: 12.72 v at rest, 13.0 after running a few minutes at idle and 13.98 v at 1800 rpm and up. This means the 60 watt hi beam will draw less amperage than it would at 12.0 volts ( 4.3 amps versus 5 amps at 12.0 volts). Less current is good news.

Thang, Is that the flat black job with the swing up chin guard seen in some of the sales literature?

I know several of us have added horn relays. But has anyone added lamp relays ( I'll bet they'll burn the headlamp brighter with a good guage of wire to them)? And which relay is which? I couldn't find a diagram or chart showing them.

cold beans and cornbread

David, I calculated the amperage by dividing the wattage by 12. now, theoretically a fully charged 12 volt lead-acid battery throws 12.7 volts. If the wiring harness is carrying 12.7v , amperage will be lower. I'll have to check my running voltage on the business side of the regulator. You're right of course about the three indicator lights on this circuit ( 0.1 amp each and rarely on) and the power to the tach. The light for the tach and speedo is on the 'dipped light' or 'parking light' circuit with the tail light, tag light and 4 watt 'city light' in the headlamp shell. This power comes through the ignition switch and creates a good auxiliary light system in event of relay failure. Also, quite true that when you activate that 'passing' feature it lights both the high and low beams routing 9.6 amps through the relays and switch, but probably only for an instant. I ride with the high beam on continually so I agree that there is a 5 amp current on the circuit continually. Add 2 amps with the brake light on. Seems like the relays should be OK with that, don't you think? Three of the five relays in the harness stay activated all the while the bike is running ( Light relay, ECU relay, FI/coil/pump relay). Does the constant activation degrade the relay ?

Here are some Joe Kenny guards with paintwork courtesy of Eastwood "Alumiblast' and Plasticote Ford engine red in the Eagles, all clear coated with Eastwood.

I've spent the afternoon eye-balling the wiring diagram of the 2000 V11 Sport. I have a couple observations and questions: First, the power the the headlamp, brake lamp and horns travels through both the starter relay and the light relay as well as the headlamp current also passing through the headlamp switch. With the standard bulbs the high beam and brake lamp will draw 6.75 amps.( The fuel warning lamp is also on this circuit but only draws 0.1 amp). Given that the Bosch relays are rated for 10 amps this current should pass through them for a good long time. ( The 6 amps going through the switch is another story). Wiring your horns to a separate relay is a darn good idea as they add 6 amps. And it's not unlikely to be using your horns, brakes and high beam all at once! Second, there is a wire from this circuit to the voltage regulator. The only thing I can figure is that it's a 'back door' to the ignition switch in the event of battery failure. *Question 1 * : Will the bike run without a battery? Adding up running current requirements , guessing wildly at their values, it looks like the bike could draw as much as 13 or 14 amps with the high beam and brake light on. If that's the case it needs to be turning 1300 - 1500 rpm to meet these requirement at normal generator output. * Question 2 * : Does anyone know what the bike normally draws to run, with the high beam and brake light on, as if stopped in traffic? ( Elec-trickery for the mind numb - )

Roberto, After asking around, I wonder if your new gearbox has a kilometer drive? You need to check with a dealer on the continent for the part number on the speedometer ( odometer) drive. The mph unit for the 2002 should be 01 76 25 60.

After spending some time with Andy looking at his chewed up torque rod bushings it made me wonder: the torsion on the rubber is obviously enough to eat them up after a while. If the ends were allowed to pivot freely wouldn't there be less restriction in the travel of the rear suspension? Are the torque rod bushings one reason the rear end is so harsh on these bikes?

The guys who seem to be most experienced say blowing the seals on the U-joints is a mistake. The shaft ( yeah, it's that nipple just in front of the rear U-joint) is sealed with an O-ring. I don't think you'll damage anything if you push some grease by it. Of course, I'm not one of those dyed-in-the-grease experienced Guzzi wrenches.

Probably our euro bros can answer more fully. But, I have a friend with Ducati Monster who added euro switchgear which features the 'city light.' This low watt bulb appears to stay lit full time on the US bikes. With the 'Euro switch' you can shut off the H4 bulb and run only the low watt. Here in Lower Middle Mule Town this would be an excellent opportunity to increase your chances of broadsiding a Ford F150, the country's most popular highway obstruction.

getting the collar off means pulling the swingarm. The collar can then be cut to access the nipple ( ooh, I like using that word: nipple. Hah, there I said it again) Nylon tie down straps seem to make nice suspension devices. Check out CRABBING the spine frame

AAARRRRGGHHHH!!! Another bevel drive bites the dust! While experimenting with some shimming to bring the internal shaft of the bevel drive in contact with the gears in it, I noticed that the brass base was visible between the plastic housing and the threaded collar. I pressed the base into the housing with the vise and , voila! Contact. Apparently the base had migrated out of the housing, dropping the internal drive shaft out of contact with the internal gear. If you can see brass between the plastic housing and threaded collar, your bevel is coming apart. If it tries to come out again, I'll epoxy. In the meantime I've ordered a new bevel drive . The mystery remains about the part number changing for the odometer gear drive from '00-'01 to '02-'03.

Andy was in the shop today and we spent alot of time studying the parts and diagrams. Apparently the '00-'01 Sport uses the odometer drive 04 76 25 00 while * '02 * and "03 use 04 76 25 60. My former dealer is sending me the drive from my munted gearbox for comparison. We shall see . . .

I remember getting all sweaty after I greased the Sport with Bel-Ray Water proof grease then seeing all the specification in the manual. I e-mailed Bel-Ray but never heard back. They must've thought " what a . " I posted on Wild guzzi and Pete ( ever the gentleman ) basically said , " yeah, grease is good." The consensus from that board was 1) don't let them dry out ( any grease more often is better than the perfect grease too late) and 2) don't over fill the joint and cause the grease to push through the seals as this will create a leak which then flings the joint dry. Just fill until the seals bulge a little. I think point '2' , overfilling, is the toughest issue because the joint is so hard to see.

Ok,let's see: there is no angle (bevel) drive on the '03. The odometer drive in the gearbox drives the black face ITI directly. The upper end of thet cable looks too small to drive the older Veglia. Can't just change cables. The '03 box is flat black( not the '02 wrinkle black). My replacement box is silver but I can't figure out another reason why the bevel won't turn. It did have a bad gear in it but I replaced it with a good one from my old speedo. I'm hoping to retrieve my old odo drive from the trashed gearbox and see if it will turn the cable. i'll get those part numbers tomorrow. My guy at the dealer was out today.

After studying the parts diagrams I can only figure the 'odometer drive' differs.This is the part screwed into the right side of the gearbox that the bevel drive ( or '03 cable) attaches to. It has a new part number for '03 and is configured to drive the cable directly to the ITI black face speedo ( no bevel drive). I'll get part numbers and post back. It kind of blows my 'no contact' theory since yours matched up and drives the bevel box.

Yesterday the dealer in Nashville seated me at his terminal and turned me loose on the on-line parts site. As Paul says, there is no ( cheap, breakable) 60* bevel drive on the '03. The cable attaches directly but has the angled tube to avoid contact with the throttle rod. The upper end of the cable differs as it attaches to a smaller connection on the ITI speedo versus the Veglia ( which has the same thread at both ends). Also, the gear drive ( screwed into the gearbx) has a different part number. I can only assume the new gearbox Guzzi provided me must have the gear drive for the later cable allowing the short bevel drive shaft to drop in just a little too far and loose contact. I looked at shortening my cable housing to make a direct connection and loose the bevel drive but 1) it's crimped together and 2) it hits the throttle cable. I'm thinking I may have to get a replacement geardrive and see if it will then turn the crappy little bevel drive. Surely we can somehow improve on this little glitch?

After mounting the new tranny in the sport the little shaft doesn't appear to reach the bevel drive to turn the speedo cable. I noticed the new '03 models don't have a bevel drive. Is the cable now longer to drop deeper into the drive from the gearbox? I'm ridin' it anyway, figuring my Veglia speedo will last longer this way.

I've heard these Guzzis have to have the 'bugs' worked out . . .