GuzziMoto

The symptom of a poor idle is typically valves too tight, if it is indeed something to do with the valves. It could be that it was also temperature affected. The tightness of the valves may have become more of an issue when the temperature got to a certain point. It is also possible that the valves are tightening up on their own. It is easy enough to check the valves on a Guzzi, and then you will know.

Good. The number of clicks doesn't matter, the suspension can't count, how the suspension works is what matters. It is a matter of more or less dampening to get it where it needs to be. Once you are happy, knowing where that happy point is is a good idea. But obsessing over numbers before you know where that happy point is is a waste of time in my opinion.

Yeah, much simpler to only use the 5 pin relays. That way all relays are interchangeable, and if you carry a spare or two you know it will work in any position.

It is hot here, 90 degrees F or so, but not like much of the country is experiencing. We are just normal hot, thankfully. Side note, the entire planet hit a record high the other day.

It seems MotoAmerica is in a really good place right now, with three different manufacturers up front and a fourth close, and a number of riders with pace capable of winning. It seems like Mathew Scholtz is struggling to match the increased pace that Cam B has brought to the party, not sure if that is on him or his bike. Hopefully they will rectify that soon. But clearly there are three different guys with enough pace to win on any given weekend. That is a good place to be for a racing series. And just below those three are a few more trying to make that last step in pace. Will this shut up all the MotoAmerica naysayers? Also, have you seen the bracing added to the BMW frame on Cam B's bike? Wow.

Not all needle valves flow the same, but generally any needle valve will see the biggest changes in flow when it is near closed and as it is further open changes in the valve opening have less and less effect on flow. As the needle gets further from the seat, a given change in distance from the seat has less impact on flow. The same amount of change when the needle is close to the seat has a larger percent impact on flow. But to be honest, that isn't that important. It's main relevance is that if you need to adjust your adjusters to near the end of the range of adjustment you may need to fundamentally change the valving instead to get the adjuster back into the meat of its range. Also, while I am fine with guzzler basing his counts on how far from fully open, general consensus on needle valves is you start from fully closed and count from there. That is because fully open can be different, it is not a set and specific point. But fully closed is a set and repeatable point to start from. A fully closed needle valve is the same point every time, even between different bikes.

I will point out that adding preload does not make a spring stiffer. If the spring is too soft adding preload will raise the ride height but the spring is still too soft. Start with the basics. Set preload to where you need it to get the desired ride height. Then see what sag with you off the bike is, and that will tell you if your spring is too soft, too firm, or right. I don't run as much sag as most do, I am closer to Pressureangle with what I run for sag. I don't need a lot of droop available in a street bike. A dirt bike, sure. But not a street bike, especially a sport bike. But setting sag doesn't change spring rate. If the spring is too soft, add preload and it is still too soft. It is easy enough to replace the rear shock with a higher quality unit, especially if you have the Sachs. Upgrading the front forks is easy if you have the newer forks, they offer cartridges' that drop in and improve the performance of the stock forks. If you have the earlier front forks you need to fix the internals of the forks to even have proper dampening. Without that, the adjusters are meaningless. Add either an o-ring on the fork tube or add a small zip tie to the fork tube so you can see if your harshness on large bumps is the forks bottoming or the fork valving not letting the fork absorb the bump.

Doc has excellent advice. My two cents; Installing a free flowing exhaust is generally not going to fix any fueling related issues. If anything it will probably make them worse. If you have fueling related running issues I would either fix that or install the free flowing exhaust you want and then fix it, as installing a free flowing exhaust will typically require additional fueling corrections. No point adjusting things twice, if you want a better sounding exhaust run one and fix the fueling as required. GuzziDiag can allow you to make the required fueling corrections, after you have set all the basics as mentioned by doc in the "Decent Tune-up" comment. A better sounding exhaust isn't going to make your bike noticeably faster or more powerful. It can sound and feel faster and more powerful, though. And in the end, isn't that what matters?

For the longest time the area next to tracks wasn't paved. There were not high numbers of injuries due to that fact. Heck, I used to race pretty seriously and never crashed because the pavement didn't extend past the edge of the track. I did crash periodically, but never because of the grass next to the track. That said, plenty of racers have pointed out that paving the area next to the track only encourages racers to take bigger risks as it becomes easier to get away with it if you over do it. No one is suggesting racing without rules. But paving next to the track and then making a rule saying racers aren't allowed to use that pavement is stupid. If you don't pave it you would not need the rule.

I agree. I don't like where they have gone with "track limits". I think it is simple, if you don't want racers using part of the track, don't pave it. If you don't want them exceeding the track limits stop paving beyond track limits. Leave it grass. Maybe pave areas say 5 or 10 feet away from the track, with grass between the track and that paved area, to give racers a chance to regain control if they run off. But if a racer is exceeding track limits and if it is grass right beyond track limits they will and should run the risk of crashing unless they pick up the bike and let off the gas. Paving right up to the edge of the track is only encouraging racers to exceed track limits and not back off. If you don't want racers to use that part of the track stop paving it. Racing should be done on track. Not in the stewards room.

Turns out whether or not you get a penalty for exceeding track limits like Binder did depends on how close the guy behind you is, or if you make a pass on the guy in front of you (so they say). Martin did not get a penalty because no one was behind him, and he did not use the extra speed gained to make a pass on Aleix. In fact, he didn't try a last lap pass (he says) because he knew he ran on the green and knew they would take the spot back. Meanwhile, Aleix says he saw Binder run onto the green and figured they would give him the spot over Binder. So no reason to risk it.

It was great to see Binder up there, and it sucked that he made the same mistake twice. But still a good finish for him. It was strange to see Martin right behind binder make the same mistake, maybe slightly more so, and not cop a penalty. I think that came down to Martin not already having a strike against him from earlier in the race. Marc looks to be in deep trouble. He seems spooked, like the way JLo was after a while on the Honda. Once the fear sets in, it is hard to shake. Many can't. Marc can't seem to get away with the mistakes he used to get away with. Curious to see if he can overcome the fear and get his confidence back. Also bummed for Miller. I would love to see him do better. But great ride from Aleix.

Here is a thread about it.

The early V11 forks have adjusters on top for compression and rebound adjustments. But they do nothing because the cartridges have two large bypass holes that allow the fork oil to bypass the valving in the pistons. The valving doesn't have any noticeable effect until the piston has gone past the bypass holes in its stroke, which is pretty much not until the final inch of travel. By blocking off one of the two holes you start forcing oil through the valving in the piston, making the adjusters relevant as well. It has been mentioned over the years on here. I don't think it applies to an '03. But I could be wrong.

The V11 is, in classic GT fashion, deceptively fast. Even with the optimism of the stock speedo factored in your were still likely doing a buck twenty or so. Be careful.

We removed the steering damper on the wife's V11 many years ago, after the original failed. She found she preferred the light steering and increased feedback it had without a steering damper, so we never replaced it. It is free to try it without and see how you like it (or don't like it). Her V11 is an early red frame V11, but it does have suspension improvements in the form of a better shock and mods to the front forks to give them better dampening and control.

He apparently did fit a fresh soft tire at the end, but that was all he had. That said, he should take it slow and easy, working up to a pace instead of what he has been doing. Good for him. No points for "winning" first practice. Nakagami in 7th, so the speed in there in the Honda. If Nakagami can pull off 7th, someone of Marcs ability should be able to put it top three, or at least top five. But he can't do that if he bins it going for more speed than he is ready for.

Brian Setzer is one of those special musicians. He is incredibly talented. Here is another song in a different style.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oofsdky-TNs

A V4 engine typically uses three main bearings, while an inline 4 requires five. You typically want exhaust pipes to be equal length, and as straight as possible, the same for intake tracts. It is easier to achieve that on a V4. An inline 4 is much wider and it becomes difficult to make all four equal and straight. Plus you have the chassis getting in the way with an inline 4, where as with a V4 the chassis is much less in the way. With the MM ECU and traction control, the other guys literally hired engineers from MM, where as Yamaha thought their guys could figure it out. The old "how hard could it be" hubris. Read the articles at the links posted, that is a good starter

The power difference is mainly in the better intake and exhaust that a V4 allows. There are also smaller differences like fewer bearings required that reduce friction. The firing interval isn't really part of it (they manipulate that anyway with the crank offset). But the natural balance of a V4 likely does play a minor part. It would make vibrations and harmonics easier to control. An inline 4 is by nature vibration prone. The intake tract and exhaust for an inline 4 layout and how it fits into the chassis makes it harder to get the same power you can get out of a V4. The V4 allows for a better downdraft shot to the intake valves. The exhaust layout is also cleaner. It is not just the motor, but how the motor fits in the chassis. The inline 4 layout means the intake system has to work around the chassis and thus is compromised. minor differences add up. Desmo is nice, it does allow more abrupt opening and closing of the valves. But that is only part of the picture. Sure, the Ducati tends to make the most power. But the KTM and Aprilia are right there with it, along with the Honda. The Yamaha, and the Suzuki when they were in it, just doesn't make the kind of power the others do. They have improved the Yamaha's power, but not enough. And much of what they did gain only highlighted other issues. The Yamaha also seems to be lacking in traction control strategy, as well as aero. More power helps, but they are struggling to use the power. Yamaha did not hire Magneti Marelli techs the way the others did. And while traction control tech is spec and limited, because of that it makes it even more important to get the most out of what you have. Yamaha resisted, they thought they could make the new spec system work using the same people that made their bespoke system work. The European teams hired MM techs.

The inline 4 engine is wider than a V4. Also, the intake and exhaust routing on an inline 4 is not as good as a V4. Finally, the V4 flywheel can be on the end of the crank, which can allow the team to change the mass of the flywheel with bolt on weights while the flywheel on an inline 4 is typically in the middle of the crank and thus the mass of the flywheel cannot be changed race to race as the rules do not allow for that kind of engine dis-assembly. The better intake and exhaust routing tends to mean a V4 can make more power. Being able to change the rotating mass of the engine with bolt on weights allows the team to fine tune how that power is delivered. A famous case of that was a few years ago Suzuki got the rotating mass wrong, the crank was too light. Being an inline 4 engine Suzuki were stuck with that all season. Had it been a V4 they could have changed the rotating mass, but as an inline 4 they were stuck with it the way it was. That meant it was too hard to control the rear tire when it started to spin. It would spin up faster, so it could accelerate faster. But as soon as the rear tire started spinning it quickly became a handful. One more advantage to the V4 is the engine can be easier to package into a MotoGP bike. But that one is more a shades of grey deal. It is more compact, but it can be harder to get as much weight on the front wheel as you can with an inline 4.

The track layout leads to an issue with the way pit out is. The rider exiting the pits is going much slower, Marc coming down the straight was no where near Zarco when Zarco left the pits. But once Zarco left the pits he could not see Marc, or any other racers, coming down the straight. All he could do is stay wide off the line and allow the racers on track to go by. As long as they did that nothing was going to happen. But Marc, who could clearly see Zarco and knew he was there, pushed the front into that corner and wrecked. There was nothing Zarco could have done that would have stopped Marc from crashing, and him being involved in Marc's wreck was really just bad luck. Zarco did what he was supposed to do, he stayed out of the racers already on track's way. That said, Zarco had the correct view, it was a racing incident. Shit happens. The idea that the wreck was Zarco's fault, or that Zarco could have prevented it, is laughable. The only person who could have prevented that accident was Marc, the human bowling ball.

Honda do run in cycles. They tend to get overly confident in their engineers, and build bikes the engineers think are faster. Then after they hit bottom they go back to listening to the racers, and they rise back to the top. Rinse and repeat.

Word on the street is Honda was running out of spare parts, and had already cannibalized Mir's bike to get required parts to fix Marc's bike. It is possible him withdrawing was influenced by running out of parts (just idle speculation on my part). Marc has always been something of a bowling ball. The difference is it used to be he would hit other people and knock them down without falling himself. He would crash, a lot, but that was usually in practice. In the race he would knock others down but not fall himself. Now his mojo seems to be gone and he is hitting the ground more often, both in practice and in the race. Sadly, he is still hitting others and knocking them down. Absolutely crazy that he said Zarco was responsible for the crash that took Zarco out when Marc crashed into him. That was a situation where a normal racer would have said sorry about taking you down with me. Not Marc. I have to think Marc is becoming less and less popular with the other racers.

Odd thing to do. But it does give the exhaust a better shot out the back. The heat issue, that is another thing. And the intakes in front like that no doubt work horribly. For comparison, it would be like sticking your head out a car window while moving (facing forward) and trying to breath in. Aerodynamics will actually make it harder to suck in air like that. Also funny, now Guzzi has finally designed and built a motor with the exhaust to the side and the intake into the center of the V. That is probably the ideal set up for a V twin Guzzi. The exhaust side gets its cooling, the intakes can be better designed and centralized, and the riders knees don't argue with the intake tract.