dlaing

Hey Ian, You can check out the difference in dyno tests here: http://manleycycle.com/Tech/more_mg.htm apparently the Agostini/Mistral crossover has more mid-range than the Stucchi, at the expense of a significant amount of power loss above 6000 rpm. Both crossovers have more midrange than the stock crossover. I am not sure how that will translate into gas mileage, but more power in the mid range may mean it is taking in more air and burning more efficiently where you need it to be efficient. My G&B muffler is between Texas and my home, safely in the hands of the United Parcel Service. I hope to provide a brief report on it next week. It is supposed to fill in the mid range a bit. We shall see...

Thanks guys, New springs are on my wish list! When I had my forks off and was comparing the spring rates to Todd Eagan's computracked forks, the difference was night and day. His felt progressive and mine felt regressive. If only the axle fittings had matched, I would have been able to try them out on my bike.

You might also try reducing the energy consumption elsewhere. For under six hundred us dollars(not cheap) you can convert your headlight to HID and save 20 watts. You can convert your taillight to LED and save 4 watts(19 watts while braking) But finding a decent LED light at this point is not an easy task. The LED bulbs that replace 1157s are too dim. you need the entire surface area of the lamp to be filled with very bright LEDs. HP makes LEDs that are suitable. You may have noticed them in truck and bus lighting.

So what are your guys sag measurements now? (assuming you have gotten around to measuring it.) Mike, that bottoming bumper is pretty large and stiffens up the later part of your travel. Cutting it down sounds like a good idea, but it also sounds like you may still be under sprung.

Martenni, The Stucchi crossover gives more midrange power. The Mistral crossover may give even more midrange power but reduces high rpm power Aftermarket mufflers give more high rpm horsepower. Together, you should be flying and wondering how you waited so long

In san diego Allstate increased my rate from about $202.60/6months to $236.60. This policy was for 15/30/25 liability, 15/30 uninsured, $250 dedutible collision, $100 deductible comprehensive. I am 38, have a clean record and no other discounts. I found it insulting to raise the rate on the bike when its value had dropped 20%, so I went with AAA, whom I had been paying for car insurance. AAA charged me about the same, but I went with them to consolidate my billing. Next time around, I am going to drop the collision and comprehensive. No sense in gambling on failure. If I were you, I would check with AAA and Allstate. I used to swear by Progressive and Royal Balboa, but when I checked with Progressive, they wanted $1400/year and that was over two years ago. My ex-allstate rep is in Clovis, Ca Despite Allstate increasing my rate by more than 15% I still recommend my allstate rep, as she was very professional and sent everything to me quickly. She was recommended by Wilson's motorcycles of Fresno. Pola Jean Donner 559-298-2727 200 W Bullard #A3 Clovis CA 93612 Does anyone know how Lo-Jack works?

drat, I need memory pills! You are the dude, Phil!

I finally got started on my Centauro bar project. I am having a little trouble finding a 13/16 inch drill bit. I bought a 3/4 inch drill bit and will shave down the rubber to fit if I can't find a proper bit. Atleast I was able to check out the hydraulic lines etc. The difference is about 5inches! Over four inches higher and over two inches towards the rider. I am beginning to have second thoughts, as I will have to redo both hydraulic lines and the wire harnesses. The bars may also be a bit too close to me, unless I put my tail bone all the way back to the removeable cowling. Does anyone have a tip on how to measure exactly how far the triple clamps can be dropped on the forks? Is the travel really exactly 120mm? Do you think it is safe to put the V11Sport clip-ons over the triple clamp?

I didn't feel overlooked, just had to shoot for the stars to get the dudism reward. Philmac definately deserved it! The parts are at my mother's garage in Fallbrook. I'll check the inventory next weekend and get back to you. Most of the parts are interchangeable with the V50. The carbs on the V50 are smaller so I don't think the K&Ns will fit. The oil filters and gaskets are the same. I can't remember how I got the master cylinder piston out. I only did the front master cylinder and never the rear(integrated). I seem to remember maybe a c or e clip holding in a return spring. I definitely did not have any tool more special than a c clip pliar. I probably used fluid pressure to force it out. Sorry, I don't deserve a dude award for faulty memory. But it is possible that I may have an old master cylinder piston. I crashed and broke the master cylinder and replaced it. I probably saved the master cylinder in case I needed a piston, o-ring or whatever else. Will check for that too.

I think the Furia Muffler is a little prettier. G&B is selling many parts online now. see: http://www.ghezzi-brian.com/ITA/Tuning_da_index.htm You can practically turn your V11sixspeed into a furia! Or atleast get the OZ wheels, perimeter brakes,(fork modification required) under tranny muffler, furia headlights, and wind screen. You can also get the frames, but I believe they are made for the five speeds.

Hey, I wanna be the Dude! See if this helps.... The springs on my advance mechanism went a little slack. If I remember the numbers correctly, the advance was supposed to top out at 5000 rpm. If the spring went slack and your timing was set at idle, you would get less total advance and it would top out too early. With needle nose pliars, I tightened up the springs so that they closed the rotor completely and held the timing steady at idle such that the idle timing was equal to static(engine off) timing. This brought my top out to about 5500rpm, which I thought worked better than stock. If you are interested, I could send you a box of parts for about $60. I would have to check the inventory but I think I have the original Nippon Denso Coils, a rectifier, a couple of oil filters, a pair of K&N air filters (don't know if they would fit a v50), some EBC brake pads still in package, and maybe a pan gasket.

Thanks Lex, Great explanation! The other info could be very helpful too. Mike Stewart, You have a full project for the weekend! Can't wait to hear how you like the set up or if you need any preload.

Thanks for the correction Lex. To do the method I suggested you would have to determine the ratio of shock to wheel motion. 1:1 is wrong and I think 1:2 is also wrong, but closer. If we knew what it is, we could set it using the bumper method. For now, forget I mentioned it. I measured mine by the axle with the help of a friend. The bumper method could be done more easily by yourself, if the ratio was known. Thanks for the tips Lex! You are no a**, maybe I am... It makes sense what Lex said about measuring as a percentage of total shock travel, rather than just the difference between rider and no rider. I did a litlle calculation and 20-25% of 120mm is 24-30mm or about 1-1.25" The following is hypothetical, let me know what you think: Assuming the springs are straight weight rather than progressive and that half of the bike's 500lb weight (250lbs) is on the rear tire, and the rider weighs 250lbs, we might assume that the spring should ideally sag about 12-15mm with just the bikes weight, and 12-15mm further with the rider's weight. A 125lb rider would want the bike to sag 18-20mm with just the weight of the bike, and 6-10mm further with the rider's weight. So one might be able to draw a chart of what the rider only sag should be based on rider weight and given our model bike with 120mm travel and 500lb weight. ex. A 185 lb rider would than want the rider only sag to be about 10-11mm. Too mathematical? Too many assumptions? Also, Why is preload is not a good substitute for spring weight?

Mike told me about the rear shock adjustment a year and a half ago. It took me a year to listen to him and add rear preload. Mine stopped bottoming also and became much more compliant. Set your rear sag to somewhere in the range of 1/2 to 3/4 inches (measured as the difference between rider weight and no rider weight) To measure: Move the rubber bottoming cushion of the shock to the point furthest from bottoming. Set the bike upright off the stand with NO rider weight. Gently put your rider weight on the bike, balancing the bike by the tips of your toes or the support of a wall. Dismount the bike gently. Keep the weight of the bike over the tires and hold the bike upright. Measure how much the Rubber bumper moved. That is your sag. It helps to have someone to do the measuring or help balancing the bike. To get the damping right: Try to match the front to the rear or vice versa. I am not sure how many clicks I am using. I do know that I am using much less damping than what I thought I needed at first. There are two articles on Guzzitech.com related to suspension tuning one by Todd and one by Ed. They are both very helpful.

For us cheap bastards who have to have the Marelli software, the palm version is supposed to be half the price of the PC version. But that may be with less features??? I am still so cheap, I am only dreaming of the palm or a laptop... What I have been getting a kick out of, is riding the bike for a week. tweaking the PCIII buttons under various conditions and making mental notes of where to try adding or subtracting fuel. Then I go home to the POS PC Clone, and remap it using the 9volt battery adapter. After my third map the bike was running great but still getting only 35MPG. My goal is to get it running perfectly, no popping, no pinging, good throttle control, and get 40MPG. Of course I am about to get a new muffler, and I intend to make a ram air set up, which will further complicate the map...

I have heard that the v35 and v50 are more reliable than the v65.

I ran my odometer against a Honda VFR and St1100. The VFR went an indicated 91miles, I went 83 miles and the ST1100 went 80 miles. If your odometer is off, it can also mess up your MPG calculation, so the 35mpg that I thought I was getting is more like 34MPG. The guy on the VFR claimed he was getting 35MPG, but now we know it was probably closer to 31mpg. That pig of an ST was beating us both for gas mileage at a true 40MPG. Hey the good news is that you can adjust your maintenance schedule to every 6000 indicated miles to every 6360 miles

I meant Odometer not tach(ometer). So, I meant to say that it took about 63-64 seconds to run through mile markers at 60mph indicating about 6% fast, and the odometer one mile and just over a quarter of a tenth indicating what I guessed to be about 3%off. Hardly scientific. The odometer should really be run over many miles, and I should have used a stop watch rather than looking at my wrist watch to judge the speed. Supposedly GPSs are highly accurate ways to measure speed. I am still dubious of the mile markers.

I did a rough estimate before and came up with about +6% speedo and +3% tach. But I have also found that mile markers vary, so you never know...

I had a V65SP. I loved it. Light, nimble, quick, good brakes, a blast to ride, but it was a bit of a headache mechanically. I was too financially challenged at the time to give it the care it needed. The shaft u-joints went twice. The rear bevel drive once. Dropped a valve into a piston. (no over rev, I swear!) Chronic alternator and starter problem usually temporarily fixed by cleaning. Same story with electrical controls and ignition switch. But then again, I rode it really hard and parked it outside in the rain and snow. One cylinder started to lose compression, I pulled it apart and it had irregular cylinder wear and worn out valves, I gave up, left it with friends who gave it away. A shame, I could have parted out the dyna coils, dyna ignition, and Koni shocks. (all three parts recommended if you buy it, esp. the dyna ignition.) I would still consider buying a V65Lario, although they have their own share of headaches, allegedly.

Those look great, and the price was great. Thanks for the post, Buck. Your instructions should save me a some aggravation when I put my Centauro bar on my V11S. Are you guys making sure that when the forks are fully extended that they do not pull or snap the brake line?

Bottomline for me is if my wrists get tired, it is not safe to drive. Try braking for a hair pin turn going down a mountain road after six hours of riding. No pain, no pain, is my motto! Also, I am recovering from a broken shoulder, so I do not want to stress the shoulder. I like the stock clip on position, but only for about a couple hours of smooth roads. If I had Popeye arms it would not be an issue. What works best for me is high but forward bars. No sense in suffering bad ergonomics. I can't wait to put the Centauro bars on!

Thanks Paul, http://www.quatd.com does not show any pictures of the exact muffler, but they show a picture of one for a BMW GS. Their finish quality for most of their pipes looks a little rougher than the competition. Lots of staining around the welds and bends. I cant wait to see my muffler. I hope it looks as good as the one shown off the bike on Jaap's site. If the quality, sound, and power are good, I think the QD muffler is worth 1000 Euro. Many people are getting the Stucchi crossover and a pair of mufflers for more about 1000 Euro. However I suspect the sound and power will not be quite as impressive. We shall see. I will try to make before and after sound files so that you can compare the stock muffler sound to the QD. It is good to have a reference as microphones, file compression and computer sound systems all effect what you hear. Time to read my digital camera manual... What I would really like to do is get before and after dyno runs, but that gets expensive and time consuming. If you can wait a few weeks, I should be able to post photos and sound files on my site.

Hey Roger! Welcome back to riding. I met you at the October Rally and crashed my bike about a month later....I'm pretty well healed now and more than ready to ride. After waiting 7 weeks for a headlight bracket, they sent me the wrong one. My dealer expedited things and I'll have the replacement tomorrow. Then, I just have to put on the Centauro bars, and ride. I hope the lines will make the stretch... Anyway, I'll be getting the Ghezzi and Brian Muffler for my bike soon, and will be hoping to show it off at the April Ortega meeting. If the G&B muffler interests you, try to hold out till then. But I am sure you will be happy with any of the aftermarket mufflers out there. Here is a good thread on mufflers muffler choices thread Accessories Page with G & B muffler.

Thanks Cliff. Any idea of the amperage on the fuel pump? Also, do you have pricing and other details about your ECU? Keep up the impressive work