al_roethlisberger

It's too early to tell the extent of this problem, or which bikes it may specifically affect as it sounds like only a few people(on the Wildguzzi list) have actually made a warantee claim, or are experiencing symptoms... but here is a head's up :!: Posted on the Wildguzzi list: Cam Failures on '03 EV/California's It's also too early to tell if this is specifically a cam failure issue, or is somehow related to the new hydraulic lifters in the '03 cruiser lineup.... So far the only bikes reporting this problem are EV/Cali's. But just an FYI... since AFAIK, all the V11 Naked/LeMans do not have they hydraulic lifters, this may not be an issue. However if it is actually a cam QA issue, it may indeed be an issue for all '03 owners to keep a tab on, regardless of model al

Ah but here *IS* something to be potentially concerned about for '03 bikes with the new hydraulic lifters... really more about the '03 cams apparently... Wildguzzi Thread on "Soft" '03 Cams = Engine Destruction al

...sounds like we need a Showa/Ohlins SHOWDOWN... Hong Kong style.... whooo weeeeowwww cha!! See Mike, that's what you get for having those fancy schmancy wheels on your Sport al P.S. Go check out the "CF Hugger" thread, I have a request/question for you there

Who did you order it from? My quote from Victor at FBF said 2-3 weeks... al P.S. What diameter is the "big end" of that axle? I only mic'd one leg of my forks, and that came out to 25mm. I am assuming that the other end has a bigger ID of maybe about 30mm and the fork-leg axle hole I didn't measure is big enough to accomodate that larger axle ene??

...yep, the curse of "blazing new territory" always seems to haunt me... dual-plugging, 2003 forks on a 2002, Corbin Seat... Why can't I just wait a year for someone else to figure the "kit" all out, then order the parts and have it done in a weekend In the end it still ends up taking me a year to get it all done half the time Of course in this case, all the credit really goes to Paul for researching the parts Thanks again Paul! al

...hrmm, in contrast to past reports(many mine)... I'm actually starting to wonder if MG did actually widen the swingarm itself when they went to the 5.5" rim in 2001/2002 HEY MIKE STEWART.... since you have an 00' Sport *and* a LeMans, can you measure the darned distance between the swingarm sides and find out for sure? That should settle that question. The reason I'm starting to doubt that the whole "uneven" exhaust hangar, and widened swingarm thing for 2001/2002+ bikes... is that I've seen several "first generation" V11 Sports with the uneven exhaust hangars, with the right hand side "kicked out" a bit... just like on my 2002 LeMans. But who knows ... especially with Luigi just grabbing parts for whatever comes down the line next... As far as the CF hugger, the difference in swingarm width if at all... obviously isn't that great. I bet the CF hugger from MG Cycle will fit just fine. You can always just call Gordon and ask him if any 2002+ bike owners have bought one and how it worked out. I'm sure he'll know. IMHO though, and after talking to a few folks that have bought it, the CF rear hugger isn't that well made(thin) and the lines of it's mouting "legs" don't really follow the lines of the trellis swingarm underneath very well Personally I really like the bare swingarm now that I've removed my OEM hugger... al

...so any news on your "timing" adjustment tricks you worked out for the V11, sans PCIII a few weeks back? Are you going to write that up on Guzzitech? And any news on PC adding the "r" function to the PCIIIusb? al

What trade off? The Guzzi is an excellent candidate for Ram Air. The space between the cylinders is wasted space that aerodynamic design would be hard pressed to improve on. When you take the lid off the air box, you immediately get some ram air effect. I would like to build walls to funnel the hot air past the cylinder heads, to shield the wiring, fuel hoses, etc. from the heat, and yes, to raise the air pressure at the air filter intake. If an air filter makes a difference to performance, so can ram air. True sticking a pair of 1.5 inch diameter tubes into the head stream of air will not raise the pressure enough to increase HP significantly. But Putting two 6 inch diameter tubes into the head stream will increase the pressure and HP, more significantly. Put your hand out into the air stream at 70mph and tell me that that pressure will not negate the resistance of the air filter. Dave, ...I'm no aeronautical engineer, but I did speak at length with several folks on a couple Guzzi lists that were, and as is apparently pointed out on the link to the ZX-12 forum... many there also concur that "ram-air"(note: not meaning, redirected plumbing to get colder air to the intake) really isn't noticeably effective at normal(sub ~200MPH+ speeds) unless one had a HUGE air scoop to gulp, then compress air, to make a true "ram air" effect. And at those low speeds, if one had a HUGE scoop.... the "trade off" in aerodynamic losses by having that huge scoop would more than offset any gains in HP... and probably actually slow one down enough to actually lose top-speed and any potential resultant HP gains. At the speeds we ride, the consensus was that it was a circular example of diminishing returns. HighSpeed->RamAir needs ->BigScoop=AeroDrag=SlowSpeed=LostPressure=LostHP... need HighSpeed... here we go again *whew* At least that's what I've been told by several engineers. Bottom line, we just don't travel at high enough velocities to make "ram-air" work, especially given the relatively small surface area of the front of our bikes. We'd need a "scoop" as big as our fairing to make any appreciable "ram-air" effect. Now, again, there however is some advantage to be made by improving the efficiency of the flow we do have, and by rerouting the "plumbing" to get cooler air to the intake. But it's important to make the distinction between this, and "ram-air" which are different animals. From most knowledgeable AE folks that are also motorcyclists that I've spoken to, "ram-air" even on race-rep production bikes... is all about marketing. More than anything, it's just a convenient place to route the air snorkel, in a cool and hyped fashion. It would be just as effective under the nose, hidden. al

...that was also an important point many had made in my conversations. If one could get enough of a "ram air" effect, the trade-off in poor aerodynamics made it a losing proposition, or at best break-even... al

No worries, I hear ya I just did the standard math on your comment ...which usually equals = Sport Touring And I understand your point about marketing. However, I do believe that given a task, there's often the most appropriate tool... and everything else is a compromise. Deciding on which tool and/or compromise one wants for the task at hand is a personal choice, and that's fine And having a name for that task, often makes culling and selecting the appropriate tool a bit easier... at least that's my experience. I actually appreciate terminology like Sport Touring, etc... as it gives a common language to a base set of requirements one can easily and quickly communicate to others and especially manufacturers. That being said, agreed.... good luck on your quest for info, and let us know if you have any other questions. Take care! al

....hrmmm, or maybe a green poodle? Jaap is soooo going to ban me, I just know it

...interesting that you mention owning a Hayabusa, and have considered an FJR1300.... Honestly if you are REALLY A SPORT TOURING GUY(and I'm going to get some grief for this )... an outfitted Hayabusa, FJR1300, Blackbird, VFR, et al... are probably better "purpose" bikes for Sport Touring There is a lot of discussion on said topic at: Sport Touring Forum V11 Forum Thread on www.sport-touring.net And here's an interesting one I found while searching: V11 Forum Thread On Past FJ1100/1200 Owners But yes, the Guzzi... V11 LeMans specifically... is a great do-all bike, and lends itself well to ST riding, sport riding, or just cruising around. Plus it's got loads of soul, and quite a bit of exclusivity... if that matters to you There is a lively topic here on how we all ride the LeMans: V11 Forum Topic/Poll on "how we ride" There's also a topic somewhere on "why" we chose the LeMans, but I couldn't find it off-hand. But much of what is said there is in the "Introduce Yourself" thread. Regarding the Hydraulic Lifters, coincidentally there is a current thread about 4 steps down the list at Hydraulic Lifter Thread Take a minute to "fish around" the different sections of the forum, and the "search" function usually works pretty well once you learn to be creative There is a lot of info on many of the questions you've asked already covered in depth somewhere. But that's not to say your questions aren't most welcome Just a friendly suggestion Hope that helps! al P.S. ...yessss, I realize I get a little "smiley happy" but it honestly helps keep people from getting the wrong idea sometimes. Better safe than sorry. Plus some of them are just darned funny... like this one of snot (OH I'm only kidding, I know it's a pic of Belgium) (...ok, ok... now I'm really kidding, I know it's an icon for Guzzi's infamous coolant leaks )

Dunno, the Sprint may have a better EFI system(i.e. closed loop?) ...or better yet, carbs?? But yes, many-a-bike friends of mine have(like my buddy's VFR) get's excellent mileage, from day one Every bike I've seen in the last few years where the model went from carbs to EFI, lost fuel economy. I suspect this will get better as the EFI systems on motorcycles mature though. However, around town ~30MPG... it's not a big deal to me. I got 40+MPG on my last long trip, and I'm happy with that. And I hear it will just get better as the mileage piles up and the engine loosens further, so I'm not really complaining anymore. al

.....ahh, a "ram air" thread.... yeah we've "been there, done that" "Ram Air" Thread "Sewer Pipe" Ram Air Modification Thread As I mentioned in the threads above, I had a couple fairly long-winded conversation with various engineering-types, and they were quite adamant about the "hype" of ram-air on a motorcycle, at the speeds any of us would normally ride, and considering the miniscule size of the inlets on these bikes. Much of this is open to debate of course, because for some people the degree of performance gain, even if very small and at very high speeds, lends some credibility to their claims and endorsement of the solution. But specifically to Guzzis, Will Creedon, et al... have said that their experiments with Sport1100s and ram-air have proven no real benefit, and in some cases a detriment if airflow isn't well controlled.... and in many bikes, it isn't. I think that in our case, with the V11 setup, the only real advantage.... and I think that this is a real one, is any extension that can get the air inlets away from the hot engine components. The OEM snorkels do a poor job of this, to put it kindly So, extensions like Evoluzione's old(discontinued) kit that put the filters up in the fairing, or pods, do this quite well. Other mods like the "sewer pipe" extension probably help some, but they are still awfull close in proximity to the hot air around the cylinders and exhaust, to it's still not optimal. Anyway, that's my opinion As always, YMMV, and in any case even under the best circumstances, the potential gains are small.... so do whatever you think is neat. It won't hurt You just won't get a 100RWHP out of any of these mods though al

I suspect the RaceCo valve specs made the big and final difference?? That was the fix for mine after months of shop time, home tinkering, and custom mapping... after the valves were re-adjusted, I think the bike would run fine with the PowerCommander mapped for a Suzuki and one cylinder off-line Before that, it wouldn't hardly idle at all.... Honestly, with mine, all the missing, stumbling.... everything was fixed instantly once I loosened up the valves. Glad to hear you've got it running well al

keeeee-rap, I have to login to get to those threads.... yet another login Any chance you can summarize their findings/thoughts? I hate to dig through another thread on another board.... yeah, I'm lazy al

Very interesting... can you fill us in a bit more on what you all found was the primary issue with your state-of-tune and/or the map that finally made it all run better once resolved? That might help others track down similar issues. Also, can you list the modifications/accessories your bike has... exhaust, x-over, intake, etc?? That helps too. Glad to hear it's all better now thx! al

Well, this is certainly open to debate based on how "hard core" someone may consider themselves ...but IMHO, stock, the LeMans leans more toward the "sport" end of the spectrum becuase of it's relatively high pegs, and low clip-on style bars. Now, that's not to say one can't ride for 100s of miles in the stock configuration, but just like any bike, the ergos will fit some people better than others depending on their physique. And you are actually pretty lucky, since the LeMans has now been out for almost a couple years(time flies ) .... there are several accessories for bar-risers, seats, bags, peg and control relocation, etc... all geared toward various tastes. A year ago, this wasn't the case I'd recommend just going and sitting on the bikes and seeing if you find them comfortable, and if you can get a test-ride, that would be ideal. In regards to ergos, there is no difference in the 2002 -> 2003 bikes. In regards to other minor improvements, there are several, and if you do a quick search of the forum, you can find several threads. Honestly though, other than the engine paint issue, I wouldn't say that there is any *major* mechanical/performance advantage/improvement with the 2003 bikes(debateable I'm sure ), and in fact in the case of the front cross-over, the 2003s may have their own issues related to these new features. I think it will finally come down to whether you like the color-schemes and engine-finish of the 2002 versus 2003 bikes, and if you feel comfortable paying a premium for the '03 for that choice. You'll do fine with either. Although I bet you'll start finding great deals on '03 bikes too if you can stand to wait until Winter and the '04 bikes start to show up. BTW, AFAIK the '03 V11 Sport/LeMans does not have the hydraulic lifters, which IMHO is a good thing al

...check your PMs Paul But no, I'm just checking all my options = $$ I dropped a note to TLM for the parts for the Rosso just to check if they're available and how much it would cost But, I suspect I will do exactly what you have done, and have an email to Victor at FBF for pricing on the 999 axle, nut, and washer. And my local suspension shop said they can make spacers with no problem, and cheap ~$20 Thanks for the clarification, and I appreciate the info in the PMs, but I wonder if I could get you to summarize it in a reply to this post so that Jaap and everyone could benefit? I'm afraid that all the bits & pieces in PMs and several posts make it hard to assemble. So here's what I understand that one needs, and please correct me if I am wrong: 1) Ducati 999 front spindle/axle: ducati part number 819.1.043.1A 2) Ducati 999 spindle nut: 748.1.014.1A 3) Ducati 999 washer: 8000.70119 Question: What are the dimensions of the Ducati 999 axle/spindle, esp the diameter? 4) One 104mm long spacer for the space between the bearings in the wheel Question: Related to the question above on the diameter of the Ducati axle, what is the inside diameter of this spacer required to be? 5) New bearings? This is one question I am particularly unclear on, although once I get my parts I'm sure it will all become quite clear. But never-the-less, with the Ducati axle, will I need *one or two* new bearings? And if so, what will be the dimensions? The bearing you cited in your PM had W=7mm, ID = 40mm, OD = 52mm I don't think the Ducati axle is 40mm, so this is where I am confused. Thanks for all the help Paul! al

...well, that's great news for you Carl And per the various "mileage" threads we started last year, a number of us were "pissed" that we were only getting mileage in the 20's... but alas, that seemed to be the norm, instead of the exception. Over time, my mileage has gotten better though, as many have predicted as the engine loosens up, etc. For the longest time, I was consistently getting in the mid-20's around town. At least now, even after the performance modifications, I'm creeping up to around 30MPG in town ..it's getting better al

Hydraulic Lifters = less maintenance/adjusting, quieter, sloppier valve train at high-RPM Solid Lifters = more adjustment, noisier, consistent/tight valve-train ...of course keep in mind that the "more" and "less" qualifications above, while certainly can be evaluated objectively through testing, are mostly subjective. For example, as we all know, the "old school" solid lifter engines don't need valve adjustments very often once settled-in, and when they do, it's super easy. So the comment above about "less" maintenance is something of a red-herring. While the marketing around the hydraulic lifters touts this advantage, the real reason that I've heard are in regard to various and ever more strict sound regulations. And the "more" sloppy hydraulic solution(after talking to Mike Rich)... probably isn't all that noticeable for the average rider, nor one with a stock cam profile. So as always, YMMV.... it's probably a minor thing. But I don't think hydraulic lifters make sense in the sport lineup.. no real benefit IMHO, plus I really like all the clutch and valve clatter... honestly al

Heya John, Thanks again for the photos of your bracket. Now that I've got my forks in-hand, I'm going to have to see if my stock front fender will indeed fit though, as the tab on my forks are a bit different than yours. Going from the photo, yours has a "block" that is relatively close to the fork end-cap where a fender would attach, while the forks I received have a tab in about the same location, but has a single hole and is a bit higher/longer. So I'll have to see if my stock fender clears this tab enough to make an adapter like you have done. ....crossing my fingers I'm assuming that the Ohlins you have on your bike were not Guzzi specific or OEM?? The ones in the photo below are what Paul, Jaap, and I have got. BTW, Paul/Jaap... also for clarification, did we ever *confirm* that these are the same forks as come on the 2003 Rosso Corsa/Cafe Sport? Just checking as I'm asking TLM about OEM parts(axle, bearing, spacers) , and want to make sure they will fit. al

Well surprise.... surprise..... Paolo sent out the forks Monday evening, and they were sitting in Venice, Italy Tuesday morning when I checked FedEx online. But at 10am this morning, my doorbell rings and there is the FedEx guy handing me the forks in San Jose, CA I have never ever received any package that quickly, much less from *Italy*.... odd, but I'm not complaining The last think I ordered from Italy took 3 months to receive So, they're off to Lindeman Engineering today for new correct springs and a general "going over". I should in theory be able to start finding the correct axle, bushings, etc... in a week when LE is done. al

Yep, the "tankslapper" stuff works like a charm. I've had it on my bikes, and the LeMans, for a long time.... good stuff al

I got 30MPG the other day, and that was city driving, which is good for me. I generally get high 20's, around 28MPG in an urban environment. But on a trip last Summer, which was highway and long road rides... I got around 43MPG if I recall. I know I was pleasantly surprised. As far as the fuel on the right side of the tank that is unuseable, I'm still working on that. I've got all the parts(spare petcock, hoses, etc) to make a balance tube above a relocated fuel pressure regulator, but I just haven't gotten to it yet. Other than tapping the OEM regulator to fit a standard fitting, or finding an aftermarket one that I can use, it's really an easy project.... I posted pics on a thread a while back of "phase 1" where I had relocated the fuel pump and heat-shielded the lines: Relocating Fuel Pump Thread Anyway, once done, theoretically at least a portion of the right side unobtanium fuel will get to the pump.... al