dlaing

It is easy enough to disconnect to eliminate as a cause (of course last time I suggested that, I started a good argument, so I was hesitant to comment...besides the symptoms seem more related to the charging system)

OK, I'll buy it. So if the relays for the headlight are wonky, that would not effect the engine running, although there is the chance the reference voltage could be getting messed up because of the relay being bad....but that is probably unlikely. High voltage might effect the PCIII, the sensors, the injectors, the fuel pump, the coils, or the ECU. I don't know which would get effected first, but that probably is not important, the charging system must be the problem. I would check the 30A fuse before anything. Hooking up a volt meter while riding is a good idea, but be sure that if you use alligator clips that the positive won't short out on anything. Giving the charging system connections a good going over is always a good idea, and could save your regulator before it croaks. The only other thing that comes to mind is the fuel pressure regulation. Sorry if you are offended by hypothetical ideas. I offer this possibility as food for thought because I think it would be HIGHLY unlikely. If fuel pressure regulation is inconsistent you might not notice it while accelerating, but you would while cruising. This MIGHT have an effect on the load on the fuel pump, which POSSIBLY could cause lights to vary in intensity. When lights dim, fuel pump has load, and bike runs nice and rich. When light brighten, pressure regulator opens, fuel pump spins freely, and bike runs lean. Initially I would think this would cause deceleration problems, which you are not having, but because less fuel is metered when decelerating, and there is lots of increased intake manifold vacuum, there MAY be adequate fueling. I have never experienced pressure regulator problems, so please defer to the more experienced.

Interesting problem! The first thing I would check is the Charging System Fuse (the 30A fuse) for signs of melting or corroding. Hooking up a volt meter while riding is an excellent idea. Checking the connections of the wiring coming out of the regulator would be a good idea. If the problem is not high voltage related, the TPS and the Engine Position Sensor or maybe the cam chain tensioner seem like obvious potential culprits. Could be relays, too.

Luhbo did a fantastic job of a comparison using Excel spreadsheets. Here is the thread discussing that. http://www.v11lemans.com/forums/index.php?...&hl=tuneboy There are some screenshots of some of the maps, but Luhbos complete analysis is required to really understand what the effective differences are. You might PM Luhbo to see if he can email you the spreadsheets.

Oh and I forgot the Motorbike Diagnostic Scan Tool was renamed Vehicle Diagnostic Scan Tool. The link for info on it is here http://www.guzzitech.com/store/TR-VDSTS.html $199++ For the Direct Link software, go here http://www.guzzitech.com/store/TR-DirectLink.html $199++ I wonder if you can get a discount if you order both? If I had to choose one, I would get the Direct link, although it can't adjust the trim you can remap fuel and ignition at idle and everywhere else.

Interesting. I would have thought raising TPS Voltage would have increased the CO. Shows what I know It appears the valves are adjusted properly, so at this point I would suspect either the air screws are less than the recommended half turn out, or the ECU had the trim adjusted too rich, possibly as over compensation for the government inspired lean emission settings. I would check the air screws, and if they are fine and you can't get the CO down to 5% within 1 full turn out, I might suspect the software controlled trim. Although I wonder if 7+% CO is really all that bad How is the idling at various temperatures? Of course a less than perfect sensor could also be causing the rich running. There was an interesting recent thread about getting the engine temperature sensor to conduct more of the cylinder head heat to the tip of the sensor, by adding thermal grease or silicone oil to the sensor housing. If you plan on keeping this bike for life and doing the work on it yourself, I think the techno research motorbike or vehicle diagnostic software is smart invesment.

Oh good, so you agree with me again. Glad I could pull the wool from over your eyes By the way, did you know that you can set your toaster to toast the bread to many different shades? Relays can also get toasted to varying shades Hey Raz, O defender of Ratchet, (assuming you are reading this) do you really think this behavior could not be construed as irritating? Antonio was spot on but I don't want to know what he thinks about me

Opinions vary, so don't trust me I am sure others will give you good information, but here is my opinon: I don't like relying strictly on just the 500mv at idle technique. Many people get great results relying on it, but I don't trust relying just on the idle reading, except for periodic checking of whether or not it needs adjusting. I set mine with linkage removed and right TB set screw and choke backed out, and then I confirm everything by trying to get an idle that results in about 500mv. If my TPS departs from the ~500mv, I know something is wrong and then can re-tune. So, it certainly is a useful indicator and target, but relying on it to set the TPS is kind of like building the second floor before you are sure you have a foundation. How far out are your air bypass screw? If it is far off from spec, it can throw off the mapping, and certainly the CO. What did you set the valve tappet clearance to? Again, that effects idle speed and therefore the mapping if relying on 500mv idle TPS. Also, relying on the Veglia Tachometer for idle speed may or may not be reliable. http://www.guzzitech.com sells the TechnoResearch software that can adjust the CO trim for much less than the cost of Axeone. They have several products. The Motorbike Diagnostic software sets the CO and does other ECU diagnostics. The Direct Link allows you to remap the ECU. Either will give you a digital read out of the RPM. I use TuneBoy TuneEdit, which is similar to the Direct Link. Direct Link was not available when I got the TuneBoy.

I have no doubt that he isolated the bad relay. I also, have little doubt that lost track of where it originated... a result of not the best diagnostic technique, but par for the course(and nobody told him to number them before rotating them). I also suspect that the relay he pulled from service is not totally toasted, but rather marginalized, and thus it could possibly work fine in a bike that is getting more juice to activate the relay. What evidence do you have to suggest that the relay is perfectly fine, when he clearly indicated that replacing it fixed the problem? There is the possibility that the problem is intermittent and that when he replaced it, it coincidentally or miraculously started working again, but other than that being the case, I think my analysis is spot on

I trust Quasi-Moto's diagnostic skills. I trust that the GEI relay that he pulled from the bunch, is at least marginalized in its ability to perform its duty. I went through the same issue with the Bosch relays that Dan P. used to sell. I don't recall if I ever sent him any of the Bosch that went bad, I remember him showing interest...But the fix was clearly the GEI relay. Rewiring the lighting, also could have been THE fix. But I think Quasi should test all the relays. I don't doubt that all the relays would work fine in another V11.

No doubt, if making a treck somewhere to ride, that would be the place to treck to! If only to be passed up by maniacs pushing the limits

When I got to THE APEX of this alleged Mecca, The Rock Store, and walked on the same ground that the Hell's Angels were walking on, I knew I had reached Mecca....but Jay Leno was not there, so I thought to myself, "maybe not".... I suppose Mecca is either in Mandello del Lario or maybe the Ace Cafe Or maybe the phrase, "wherever you go, there you are" better describes where Mecca is.

The injector circuit. Considering one GEI got toasted and another relay did some weird cycling of the injector pump, you may be having problems with the pump. A pinched fuel line, a clogged fuel filter, a bad electrical connection to the fuel pump, or a bad fuel pump(unlikely) could have caused the blown relay and could be causing the cycling problem. It may be a good idea to narrow down which of the new relays is causing the cycling problem. And then look to other causes of the relay blowing....or just ride and bring spare fuses and relays and it may never happen again But I think the chance of you getting two bad GEIs is pretty unlikely, and suspect a current load is pushing it over the edge. I hope it is not the ECU. You might try testing the amperage at the ECU and Injector fuses. The ECU or Injection fuse SHOULD blow before the corresponding relay gets toasted, which makes it all the more perplexing, and leads back to you just having bad luck with the relays...

that's baaahhahahahdddd!

Assuming it was the starter relay, or the headlight relay, you might seriously consider dedicated relays and a new wire harnass for the headlight. (EDIT I re-read your original problem and the relay that went bad was probably the ECU or injector relay...in any case it is a good modification to do) Gary Cheek helped me re-wire with dedicated wiring and relays. Before After Re-wiring with dedicated relays takes big load off of the starter and headlight relay and much of the harnass. Eastern Beaver sells pre-made harnasses of excellent quality: http://www.easternbeaver.com/Home/Main/Pro...ts/h4_kits.html If you do a search in nuts and bolts for "harnass" you should find Gary Cheek's and others' headlight re-wiring diagrams.

That seat looks comfortable. Is it more or less durable than wool on the sheepskin? I guess it has the advantage that you can get many saddles out of sheep's life while only a few saddles if you want sheep's skin attached to its wool. Can you slope the thickness to change the support. (my Corbin seat slides forward too much) I guess you could slope foam and put it underneath. I'd appreciate a tutorial.

Is threadlocker a bad idea for stainless steel threaded into aluminum?

If you run a nitrous line to your helmet, it should hurt less when you crash and even less after the line snaps your neck

Maybe you should have them paint the tank too, so that it matches perfectly. If you still have the silver tank you could regain your gallon (probably just sensor height) I got a quote to redo three pieces in silver, ~$800 ...someday it will look nice again.

I was thinking a good alternative idea would be to have the horn blare if the engine was running, in gear, and the sidestand was down. Now to figure out how to do that before I kill myself

What are you talking about? Why could you not have the bike on the sidestand before fully tightening up the pinch bolts. I have managed this literally impossible feat many times!!! You are obviously misunderstanding me, or maybe I am misunderstanding you. The pinch bolts are the pairs of bolts at the bottom of the forks that clamp the axle, right? If you tighten them up when sitting on the side stand, you are looking for trouble. Some of us fools don't have Guzzi stands and are going to be dropping the bike off of the 2x4s that were holding it up during the front tire change, and then we are going to have to make sure the front is tightened up properly to ensure good alignment. To keep it foolproof, I thought my instructions were a fine addendum to your otherwise fine instructions. Capice?

I am not positively sure, but I think if the current is reduced by a faulty relay, but still present the solenoid may click but not engage fully. Yes, if it is the starter/headlight relay When headlight goes out because of faulty relay, the reference to the regulator goes out. Either the #1 starter relay or the #2 headlight relay failing could effect the charging. The #1 starter relay is more overloaded with the lighting current than the #2 relay, so the #1 starter relay is more prone to failure. The lighting current, as it passes through the starter relay, is carried through the 87a NormallyClosed terminal. The GEI relays that Dan sells have the highest amp rating available at the 87a terminal. Other relays are rated dangerously close to actual current, so failure is more likely. The lighting current of the #2 headlight relay is carried through the 87 NormallyOpen terminal which for most relays has a higher amp rating than the 87a NC terminal, so it is less likely to be a problem. I hope that is clear...I am a little foggy on cold medicine at the moment...

That sure sounds like relays to me. Get a set from Pyro Dan and I'll bet your problems will be gone. Of course it could be something else. You might try rotating the relays, but that might put the bad relay somewhere else, so be methodical and determine which is the headlight/starter relay The starter relay is the one most notorious for going bad and is the only one that requires the fifth pin. And of course if any are 4pin relays they won't work for the starter relay. Good Luck!

While I mostly agree with narrower tire handling better concept, I would just like to add that from my limited experience, a bigger tire will go a few more miles, and provides a more comfortable ride. Because I am not out to win races, I too, would happily swap my 4.5 for a 5.5 so that I can switch from the 160 to the 180.

I think Ratchet covered those questions very well. My only problem with the method he suggested for the fork seating is that it is not completely foolproof. Keeping the bikes weight centered is critical, so you don't want to follow the instructions by putting it on the sidestand. Having an assistant tighten the axle pinch bolts as you keep it centered with your weight on it, well help achieve perfection. Not sure what the stock height is for the Scura, but I would try lowering the triples a quarter inch. Make sure your front wheel/fender has adequate clearance. I replaced the stock Marzocchi fork with Ohlins from a Cafe Sport. The Ohlins are considerably longer, probably and inch or two. Enough longer that I can mount my convertibars on top of the triples, if I drop the front end enough.... The Ohlins shock is about 1cm longer than the Sachs shock. This translates into it being roughly 2cm higher in the rear, if the sag is set the same. The Ohlins also has 1cm more travel, so if you don't add a lot of preload the Ohlins can be just as low as the Sachs. But since you want nimble handling, you probably want to keep the ride height up high in the rear. But make sure you have at least a couple millimeters of sag. I set my Penske to about 5mm bike only sag, which gives me a nice ride height. YMMV I don't know. My Penske is supposed to be user serviceable, and serviced frequently