al_roethlisberger

Perhaps he should answer for himself, but yes I believe he heat-shielded the supply line and fuel pump/filter as I had done: Relocating Fuel Pump Thread - See end for photos of my relocation/shielding Here is his thread: Vapor Lock Thread - See end for Gio's test results al P.S. http://www.raceco.com/tech.html ...which was exactly my problem. After last Winter's modifications, my bike REFUSED to idle, and no one at Moto Italiano could get it to run. Even after I asked about the tappet lash settings, and trying the Raceco specs, it was to no avail. Later Mike Stewart came over and we found the lash waaay too tight, even for factory settings, and then set the lash to Raceco specs. ...ran like a clock *sigh* .... if the dealer would have only listened to me, they wouldn't have pulled all their hair out, and maybe they could have gotten their 2002 demo LeMans to idle correctly

P.S. I guess it seems obvious, but just in case.... be EXTRA CAREFUL not to get water in your cylinders whilst doing this cleaning with the headers off. It's not the end of the world if you do get just a bit in there, but certainly something best avoided al

I like Simple Green, or any good automotive detergent(Bleech White makes a nice detergent with "wax").... nothing too harsh. Spray on the SG, or just douse the bike with the detergent mix, let sit for a few moments... then I just wash off with one of those big fuzzy cotton encased sponges, and all the oil and grime comes right off. Towel dry to avoid spotting and it's a 30 minute job at worst. ...one tip, don't try this in hot or really sunny weather. The soap will dry and spot up waaaay too fast to get a good result. And of course, similarly, wash the bike cold. Then just let it air-dry for a while, then start it up for a few minutes to warm everything up enough to dry out the rest..... and you're done al

Just curious, why? One thing I thought about, but now too late since I already have a PWM in my "dash" for my heated grips, would have been to use this open space in the control to house a Heat Troller for the grips such as illustrated here: Heat Troller in FJR1300 Control Installation ....seems like a great idea, and easy to get to. al

Well.... the term "drop in" really refers to the engine not needing to be rebalanced. Otherwise, typically non "drop in" pistons would require a rebalance of the rotating mass. That being said, "drop in" doesn't mean that they will run optimally if all things remain equal and one just "drops them in". To get the most out of the new pistons, you'll want to have the ECU fuel-mix adjusted, and/or a new PCIII map. Mike Rich's new pistons also reduce the need for dual-plugging by allowing the flame front to traverse the modified crown, and modified the squish band to reduce the chance for detonation and increase compression. I suspect different pistons have different sweet-spots, and it's too bad we don't have a nice and simple chart that shows the differences and applications for each al

After talking to Mike, I don't believe his have any special coating, and they don't have a "slipper skirt" either. But he explained why with his pistons this isn't a detriment, and is actually a "good thing"... unfortunately I just can't remember right now In regard to the oil-jets as of '03, I don't think those are integral to the piston?? The pistons should be the same. ...as an aside, did anyone else see that Victor from FBF is selling his 02 LeMans and buying a MV Brutale instead? I guess we won't see him too much around here anymore I think he wants about $8.5k for it. al

Well, if it is "vapor lock," we've pretty much settled that it's now an easy fix to relocate the fuel-pump. My not-so-scientific results and Gio's quite scientific showed significant fuel and fuel-line temperature decreases after relocating the fuel-pump above the spine where the air-box was. I have also heard similarly good results with moving the pump "out front" as on the Centauro and Sport1100i bikes(after rerouting the fuel supply line well away from the cylinders). The issue is the underslung fuel-pump, or on some model fuel-filter, hanging under the spine close to the left jug. Gio was experiencing constant vapor lock issues, in a variety of weather, but from what I understand now has no issues. Another sure-fire fix for rough idling, in my case, was to switch to Raceco valve lash specs. al

The cylinder walls are Nikasil and will need to be rehoned with a boron ball hone. It's very easy, drill mounted... just insert, and a good couple times up and down the bore is all that is necessary... from what I hear from Mike Rich. Can you take some photos of the FBF pistons, especially the crown? I forget who makes them for FBF..... BTW, I don't think it will really matter whether you install the pistons now or later. al

It's "Super Glue" brand, looks just like a standard tube of SG, but one of their new specialty ones in the yellow packaging. This one is called "Flex" Super Glue, and is hyped as having rubber added to the mix for flexibility. It's in a mustard yellow package/card I believe. I'll double check when I get out the garage. Keep in mind I don't have any idea if it will last though.... but I pulled and twisted on it like heck, and it didn't let go. So hopefully that's a good sign al P.S. Nylon lock-nuts and "threadlocker blue" are your friends on bikes like these... or anything else that vibrates Where possible, replace any OEM nuts(that aren't high stress spec) with stainless nylon lock nuts, and eslewhere loctite everything else, and you'll never have any issues with lost nuts and bolts again

I have to be honest and say that I LOVED "Biker Boyz" and really look forward to "Torque".... ....WHY you ask? Because these movies are soooooo AWFUL, that if one can just get past analyzing and critiquing them... they are HILARIOUS. I think the most fun and humorous part of these films is knowing that somewhere out in the audience is some teen/20-something that has ridden up here on his bike, with his girl, and walks in with helmet in hand.... thinking "Aw yeah, this is the shiznit... " And I'll let you in on another secret, "The Fast and the Furious II" was a better movie than it had any right to be. Don't get me wrong, it's nothing to write home about, but as a pure superficial action/chase movie, it actually wasn't too bad as they all go. We went to see it with the same expectations as "Biker Boyz"... and was pleasantly surprised. Now, "good" bike movies?? I dunno. But I have the whole "Billy Jack" DVD set. Ahh nostalgia al

....well now, there's a slight difference here. Guzzi has already "planted the seed" in his mind that it "could happen".... likely or not. It's one thing to say that any rear wheel could lock up given some odd scenario and write it off as unlikely, and another altogether to say the same thing once the manufacturer has issued a recall/warning. I don't think this result it is terribly likely mind-you, but manufacturers are typically reticent to issue such broad and catestrophic warnings, so it does have to make one think twice. Another issue is liability. If in the odd chance the rear does lock, and he goes down... I think it would be unlikely, but is it worth the risk of a drawn out insurance battle if they fight the claim saying "you knew you were riding a defective bike"? Just something to think about, unfortunate perhaps, but never-the-less.... Hopefully your experience with the recall/repair won't be too lengthy... al

...indeed very nice, however no one has yet actually answered my question about the function of the isolation mounts Anyone? ....anyone? al

....probably not "vapor lock" but possibly tank-suck, or similar fuel starvation issue. al

The slight hose interference is normal, although not ideal. You can try to reroute it a bit to get some more clearance by "grooming" the wiring harness and fuel-line. As far as tank "looseness"... some have reported it, but once bolted down, my tank is rock solid Maybe once your fuel-line is out of the way, it will fit more tightly. al

....I was just going to post about this the other night, but after fixing it decided to let it lie. Buy hey... lookee this, someone started the thread for me Seriously, I was about to redo the crimps on the ends of my 4 plug-wires that I had hastily done a few weeks ago just for testing, and noticed my coils hanging from their harnesses as well This actually wasn't much of a surprise after hearing numerous accounts of this happening to others. So out I went for an assortment of epoxies and super-glues to see which would work well to repair them. Oh and BTW, before we get to my gluing experience, let me just say that: 1) Yes the MG isolators are junk 2) They broke entirely because I was too rough with them ...I know exactly why mine broke, and suspected it might happen. When I reinstalled mine after putting the new dual-output coils in some weeks back, I tightened down the nuts and had no real way to hold the rubber bushing from twisting. So when they were finally all tightened down, there was now also a twisting/sheer force on the brass plate and rubber bushing, along with it's normal forces. So when I saw them detached the other day, I just shrugged and thought... ah well, no surprise So, anyway, I went down to my local Orchard Supply, and bought several high-temp/high-stress epoxies for plastics, rubber, etc.... and although some worked OK, I so far have found that the new "flexible" rubber super-glue that is out seems to work best. Now, I have no long-term vibratory experience to relate, so they may just fall right off next week BTW, beyond just being vibration dampers for the coils, do these provide any pertinent electrical isolation for the coils? The reason I ask is that it would be really easy to just get a chunk of rubber, drill a hole through it, and bolt through the mount, rubber, coil-plate. It would never fall off, and still provide for some vibration damping.... or would this create an electrical ground problem? If the glue fails, I'll go down to the BMW place... al

Hard to say for sure, but if the pump was making the sound you describe... it sounds like it was pumping air, not fuel. What year/model bike is this? Any chance you had a tank-suck condition, or a pre 2001/02 bike with the electric petcock that may have gone south? Just curious. If it was running lean from this for a while before quitting completely, you could have overheated the head/intake, causing a detonation, blowing off the intake boot. ...it's just a theory Let us know what you find out, as I'd like to hear the root-cause, and what failed. al

From what I understand from those that have the x10, and especially x9 cams installed, these do not reduce torque, and in fact the x9 for sure boosts the low and midrange, virtually eliminating the midrange torque dip. I believe the x10 has a bit more top end, so perhaps it does sacrifice some bottom?? I have no idea honestly beyond rumour, as I haven't seen a dyno result from one on a V11. Not all high-performance cams are alike, some will be designed for top-end, low-end, or all-around performers. You just need to choose the cam that suits your goals. al

I'm not a huge fan of the checker-board paint schemes, but the Nero Corsa looks pretty spiffy in the photos. Can't wait to see one up close al

"fraught" .... That seems a bit severe Goodness now, don't go scaring him away from the 2002's out there that are some great bargains Since he's looking at a 2004, it's something of a non-issue, but other than the engine paint and timing gaskets that often blew within the first month(all covered under warrantee), the '02s aren't really any more problematic that past and current models. It seems that each year has it's 2 or 3 specific problems, and it often seems to take a year or two for them to show up. For example, with the 2003 bikes, the front crossover tube has proven to be a problem for many people, working loose, and damaging the alternator by banging against it. So it just depends. But all-in-all, the new bikes do seem to have a better QA program going, and I've heard nothing but generally good things about their fit, finish, and durability. I don't think you would go wrong buying the new Nero. ...and yes, the Ohlins rocks al

....well I wasn't sure who was really going, and I was bushed, so I just stayed at the house. Anything "interesting" happen? al

The only folks I found in the USA that do a fuel *and* ignition remap of the M15 ECU on a dyno, and have experience with dual-plugging, want something like $800 ... so an ignition remap for $320 doesn't seem too bad to me I forget who it is, but I belive they were up in Minnesota or something... it's somewhere back in this thread Anyway, I've got an email off to TLM asking them about the cam and dual-plug combination, and how their ignition remap would work together. Mike, did you have a chance to call Mike Rich and ask/tell him about your experience with the x10 and not sinking the valves?? I'm very curious to hear what conclusion you two come to as to what parameters make it OK. al

AFAIK none of the "sport" models received hydraulic lifters, although initial marketing for the 2003 bikes did mention it. There really isn't any advantage to hydraulic lifters IMHO on these bikes as the valves are so easy to adjust, and really don't even need valve adjustments that often. And in the application on the "sport" bikes, hydraulic lifters are a disadvantage for our pushrod motors as they'll be a little sloppier on the timing, esp at high RPM. al

Who's going tonight?? ....the "expected turnout" may determine if I bother trucking(literally) it up there tonight. al

MG Cycle sells the thermomter sticks..... dunno when Guzzi went to the plastic ones. http://www.mgcycle.com/externals.html al

Indeed, that is one potential positive that has been mentioned. But while posting this question, I also looked into our fuel-pump, and from what I could tell from the Weber site, our pump is only rated at 45psi anyway. So I don't know if it could reliably and regularly support the 3.5bar(~51psi) high pressure supply. That in combination with the potential issues Will Creedon, Cliff, et al... have supplied, I think I'll just reinstall the 3.0bar cartridge and go with that. After all, it seems like everyone else who has never touched their regulator is doing just fine with cams, high-comp pistons, etc.... Thanks for all the feedback! al