dlaing

How much do you think the asymetric damping of the forks effects handling? If the axle was bigger like on the 2003 LeMans, it would be less of an issue, I suppose... Anyway, when I had my forks off, I was suprised to find that the damping was sooooo asymetrical. I guess you could balance them better through revalving, if you knew what your final compression and rebound settings were going to be. Also, I would like to second Taminatorv's comments about dialing in the rear makes it more compliant. I say, dial what you have in. If you still want better, a rear shock is cheaper than a front fork, and if you ever crash, you are more likely to ruin the forks than the rear shock, so invest first in the rear first, even though I think there is more room for improvement in the front.

Todd Eagan's article also on that page is helpful. I was reluctant to increase the preload on my v11s because I thought the suspension would be too hard. But, to my suprise it was more comfortable, because it allowed for more travel and stopped bottoming out so easily. I did not know how much I was bottoming out until after increasing the preload. The Ohlins of course are different. I suspect they use the same spring and damping rates as on the much lighter Ducatis. So more damping and preload is necessary. Keep in mind that the front and rear should be set to nearly identical settings. Push down on the front and notice the rebound time. Push down on the rear and notice the rebound time. The push down effort and rebound time should be similar. Here is another good article on suspension setup: http://www.racebikesite.com/motorcycle-mod...difications.htm

Unbelievable!!! I have not had a day go like that in twenty years! Wishing you best of luck on your next attempt Or maybe this is a sign that you can fix it yourself... Did you try swapping back to the original crossover and your undrilled mufflers?

There are a few places that MIGHT fit the evaporation cannisters. 1) mounted visibly behind the muffler hangers. 2) Under the gas tank 3) eliminate your crossover and put the cans where the crossover was, or better yet, put the battery where the crossover was, and put the tools where the battery was. Or put the battery between the engine and the front tire, which would balance the bikes weight nicely. 4) Perhaps there is enough room by the rear shock absorber. 5) Eliminate your airbox to allow more space under the tank. 6) Visibly under the jugs. Or build a lower fairing to hide the cans under the jugs.... Sorry most of the ideas are lousy. I have been wanting to put my cans back on, but there really is not much space available. I was wondering what the reason is for two cans. Perhaps one can would be sufficient. Would having only one can, restrict flow? Or did they install two cans because the capacity to reduce emmisions is less with only one can? My guess is that there would NOT be a flow problem with one can, and that the emissions would only be slightly higher.(Not twice as high)

I cut a notch in that little rubber grommet nib under the gas cap, no more suck! I even crashed tested it and left no gas on the asphalt. However, repositioning the tip over valve is the better solution for safety and potentionally for a cleaner environment! EDIT May 2006, someone on the forum nearly got flambayed. I highly recommend the repositioning method, rather than removing anything

Take a puff of these pipes!

Joe, why did Moto Italiano indicate they are not big fans of powercommanders?

It makes a big difference in price whether they replace the fork oil or not. I have heard that the factory does not always put in the correct oil quantities. But I don't think that the fork oil needs changing so soon. My dealer charges $50.00/hour. My first service, without forks,was $120 US. My 12,000mile service was a little over $450. The big difference between the two services was the fork oil and the brake bleeding as well as the air and fuel filters and I think greasing the shaft....

Do check those bearings at every tire change. I replaced a rear bearing at 15,000 miles. It still had plenty of grease, but was as smooth burlap. Atleast they are pretty cheap.

If you are interested, I have a couple of photocopies of the V11Sport Manual. I posted info on it under buy and sell. You can also download the manual for free. The link to that is listed under Buy and Sell. Or if you want the CD Jaap may be able to provide it to you. My ad should read: While making myself a heavier paper weight copy, I made a few extra copies to sell, one already to HiCheck. Here are the options: 1)All sold out! 2) The original photocopied version from Pacific Sport Cycle(run through the photocopier a couple times, without damage. It is bound and slightly better image quality.) $35 delivered within US via USPS 3)Copied,no binding, but on to very heavy 100# paper. Kinkos charged me 32.75 to copy it! and misquoted me...The heavy paper should out last the bike. $35.00 delivered within US by USPS. There is only one available of each. And I am not going to do this again. So, first come, first serve. The quality is not perfect, as the image appears to be a third generation photocopy with shadows of the previous binding. Not pretty, but not bad either. Everything is still legible, except a few numbers on the wiring diagram. I can ship outside the US for additional cost. You can write me at dlaing at san.rr.com I broke up the address to reduce spam. put it together like johndoe@san.rr.com Be sure to put v11 manual in the subject heading so your reply does not get lost. thank you

The ECU is definately a long shot. The impression I got was that people had tried heat shields unsuccessfully. Perhaps they were only shielding the pump....Or worse, insulating the pump....

The fuel pump clamp looks so fine you could probably reroute the pump to a cooler place. I have a theory that the stalling may be caused by the ECU overheating. If anyone who is prone to this problem want to try and diagnose the problem, try carrying a can of aerosol air around. If the engine stalls from heat, try cooling down the ECU with the aerosol. If that does not work try the fuel pump, or fuel lines, or fuel filter. If my theory is correct, perhaps a heat sink could be added to the ECU.

I think it falls into the, its so ugly its beautiful, category. So I can relate to your comments. Also, I wish they had made it a two into one into two set up. I kinda hate going deaf only in one ear. I also have reservations about what it will do to the power curve. But if they use this design on the Furia, it can't be too bad. The apparent advantages are: 1) better crash resistance. 2) more luggage room. 3) more cornering clearance 4) no need to buy both crossovers and mufflers 5) less weight 6) Freakin' Trick lookin' dude! I emailed Ghezzi and Brian, so if they ever reply, I may be ordering one.

My advice: Agree with the guys in the shop And then do your plan I have been using the compromise strategy for much of my maintenance: My valve adjustments are half way between the Guzzi World numbers and the RaceCo numbers. Works fine. My motor oil is Semi-Synthetic Motorcycle oil changed every 3000 miles. Works fine. But I am leaning towards Full Synthetic Motorcycle every 6000 miles. Especially since it is now broken in. For tires I think most of us agree that Sport/Touring is the way to go. For Mufflers I want some where between stock and annoying. For HP performance I want some where between Race and Stock. Drat I am a middle of the Roader!

Carl posted:

for what its worth, I did a no-no and rather than taking the new bike home 300 miles in truck, I decided to do a little touring home to San Diego from Fresno. I was very careful to vary my speed and not lug the engine. It was embarassing going along at 40-55 mph and getting passed by RVs.... I followed the manufacturors rev limitation almost religiously with a momentary 300rpms over, every now and then. I tried to rev over the break in limits when going down hill with little or no load. So for the first 300 miles it got little heat cycling. The next 2000 miles got a fair amount of heat cycling because most of the miles were a 14 mile commute. I have gotten well ahead of schedule on oil changes. After the factory oil was changed at 800 miles, I have been using semi-synthetic motorcycle oil the whole time. The end result is that I appear to burn NO oil. Is it the fastest V11, not likely. It seems to only want to go about 130 mph. If I ever get aftermarket cans and modify the intake, I hope to pull redline at about the indicated 140mph. It did take about 10,000 miles to really feel broken in. And I am sure in 50000 miles it will feel even better. PS If I were to break it in again, I would do it the hard way as suggested by motoman or whatever he is called. However I would be cautious not to lug it, and pay attention that our bikes don't rev as high as the Japanese bikes, and after the first couple of cycles, revert back to the factory recommended. Following Bucks recommendations probably would have given me a bike with more power and a shorter break in time.

Hmmmm? maybe I can visit the nearest G&B dealer to see if they can order it or fit the one from the fabulous Furia.

Carl, you might also keep an eye on Pierre's progress with his sporti. He has posted his experiences at http://www.guzzitech.com Much of what he is talking about is power performance, but he is also looking at getting his map right. A few of the Centauro owners have had great success with the powercommanders. Of course if cleaning your contacts helped, and you were getting 20mpg, we might be able to assume your engine may be all coked up with carbon. I don't know if that means your bug swatter has to go to Betty Ford or for a long hot ride at 140mph across the desert. I personally feel that gettin ultimap or PCIII is a requirement for our bikes. Does that mean if you are having problems you should just throw a PCIII on? No. sorry if I gave that impression. I think the bike should be: 1 tuned 2 if anything is still wrong, troubleshooted 3 whether or not something is still wrong, remapped. I am looking forward to Evoluzione or whatever they are called coming out with diagnostic mapping software. If it does not look good, I want a palm and the Marelli software. The ability to troubleshoot is the best Performance accessory. I have passed many bikes that should be faster than mine, because they are out of tune, and my bike is in tune. Likewise I have also been passed when out of tune

On the newer bikes the clip-ons are mounted above the upper triple clamp. I suspect that is what Jim thinks is the spacer. Its hard to see in the photos. There should be no issues when lowering the front end. Just don't lower it so much that it clamps below where it was lathed to fit the clamps, or so low that your tire hits the bike, whichever comes first. My bike handled much better. I forget if I went 3/8ths or 3/16ths of an inch. In any case do go lower.

A Power Commander Map or Ultimap will most likely greatly enhance your bike. For your set up, some of the available PCIII maps will be close, but getting a custom map is key.... but from a good tuner. How do you like your Staintunes? I'd like to see the dyno results if you go that route. Staintune is reluctant to make horsepower claims, but there is no reason they should not put out more hp than stock.

...and if you really want reliable connections, a good ol soldered joint is the way to go. On our bike with hundreds of connections, it would be a drag to solder everything. On older bikes, it was an easy solution. But a bit of a drag if you ever had to pull the engine.

Does anyone know anything about the Ghezzi and Brian muffer for our bikes. I did not see it on their site, but Jaap posted it at http://www.v11lemans.com/html/accessories.htm If it is reasonably priced I want it! I hope it does not kill the power or sound bad....

Ken, That is great news. I hope the price is reasonable. I already have a power commander but was wanting the diagnostic software. The fact that you can adjust timing is an added bonus, especially for anyone adding hi compression pistons, twin pluggling or looking to maximize performance. I imagine I could dyno-map my bike using the tuning link technology of the PCIII, then transcribe the map to the ECU using your software, and unplug the PCIII to make room under the seat. And loan the PCIII to anyone else who wanted to apply a custom tuning link generated map to the ECU using your software. AWESOME! Al, Any way you go, you should get good results. I believe you said your bike was aready Ultimapped so the timing is probably optimized well enough for the mods you made. If you got high compression pistons or twin plugs, then you should get a new ultimap, so that the timing can be adjusted. Otherwise just go with the tuning link optimization. If you want extra room under the seat, have them flash the tuning link map mods to the ultimap chip. You might want to try the tuning link map, before flashing the ECU, as apparently, not all tuning link maps are ideal... Note your PCIII will probably ship with the 001 map which will be wrong for your bike. Also it is important to tune your bike before remapping and make a note of the exact settings. The most critical factors are TPS, valve clearance, new clean air filter. Perhaps new spark plugs and a tank of the brand of gas that you usually use. I hope the erradication of MTBE does not throw off our maps. Since K&N is out of PCIIIs you might only want to have the ultimap tweaked. The only advantages of the PCIII is user interactivity, and the ability to easily remap for different conditions or modifications using the Tuning Link advantage. (which has its faults, but wil probably give an excellent map) The Ultimap has the advantage of less space under the seat and the ability to adjust timing. I assume you already paid for the ultimap license so remapping charges are just dyno time. (not that that is cheap) The Ultimap may require a better tuner with more dyno time to get a great result. If you are content with your current mods, just get it Ultimapped and forget about the power commander. Happy New Year!

I too, switched to a 160/60. It was unstable at high speeds at first and then I raised the rear end(pre-loaded springs which decreased sag) and lowered the front end(lowered clamps on forks). It is now better than ever. The 170/60 works but the 160/60 works better. A 160/70 would also probably be ok. I am pretty sure it would be better than the 170/60. But I don't know enough to predict. I am not sure if raising the rear 1.6 cm will put much more weight on the front end. I think that is more of a perception you get on your wrists. I may be wrong. Perhaps putting the battery in front of the oil pan would improve the balance. (You might have to go to two smaller batteries to fit there.) But once you fill the battery hole with tools your weight will be messed up again Prices have never been lower for a Sport or LeMans. Go for it! Also a great time to get a Power Commander for half price, at K&N

I wish I could remember the details of the other bike that ran worse. Pretty sure it was a Jackal and that I heard about on the topica guzzi sw list. I wonder if it was the same tuning center