GuzziMoto

He has made at least a couple tanks for V11's that I have seen posted here and elsewhere.

15% is not out yet, at least not anywhere that I know of. And when it IS out it is supposed to be an option, like E85, since not all vehicles are approved to use it. No one got upset about E85.... I am not trying to argue in favor or ethanol, it has its pros and cons and they are well known and often mis-represented. But I do question seemingly all of life's ill's being blamed on ethanol, every time someone has an issue even remotely connected to the fuel system they blame ethanol. But not everybody using ethanol has those issues which makes me question their logic. And I believe MTBE was banned in the USA as a hole, not just CA. And it was required here in MD as well until it was banned at which point ethanol became the standard oxygenate in the fuel. We had ethanol before then but it was only some stations and some brands. After MTBE was banned it was in all the gasoline for road use.

my thoughts too, plus that Griso dash thing where it goes bad and the bike no run.. I have had some issues with my Griso dash, but never where the bike would not run and typically all you need to do is cycle power to the dash to reboot it. I do not think there is anything about the Griso, or any other current Guzzi, dash that is inherently bad. It is typical of modern computerized stuff. My Griso is not my favorite bike, but it IS the one I can always count on to run. Although the wifes V11 is much the same.

Well, I don't see the V11 on that list one way or the other. Which is not surprising since the V11 predates Piaggio. That list doesn't just say which ARE approved. It list which are AND which aren't approved. But I do not see anything about the V11 one way or the other. As mentioned, to be sold in the USA it was supposed to meet federal standards which required it to be compatible with ethanol. And in some areas of the US (like where I live) it is not allowed to sell non-ethanol gas for road use. The ethanol has taken the place of MTBE as a required additive to oxygenate the fuel or some such.

My wife has a 2001 V11. I live in an area that has been using ethanol longer then most. We have had it for the entire time we have owned the V11 (from new), along with several other bikes with plastic tanks. It was standard here before they built our V11. As I recall federal law required the V11 to be built to be compatible with ethanol. For a long time I never had any issues with my fuel tanks. Recently the paint on the V11 tank blistered under where the harness for the tank bag covers. Nothing horrible, but there. I do not know if the ethanol in the fuel caused that. Certainly SOMETHING caused it, but since we have had ethanol for years and this happened relatively recently I am doubtful of the connection. Other bikes I own with plastic tanks have no issues. Is ethanol good for gasoline? Well, that is a debate with many sides, most of them full of mis-information. What I do know is we have been using it for a long time with minimal issues.

I have meet Kevin several times (I'm sure he, on the other hand, has no idea who I am). I was a fan of his before I ever met him, but after meeting him I respect him even more. They certainly spent plenty of money on COTA. But the guy who designed the track could seemingly screw up a wet dream. I have not been to the track and have only seen it from the F1 race on TV. But from that race the track layout was pretty crappy and while it is probably massive fun to ride/drive it was not particularly good as far as watching went. The was not enough room to race, too many corners strung together. I will stick to Indy, the track there is not great either but Kevin is welcome there. And Indy knows how to put an event on. What a party. Besides, I have great seats for not a lot of $$$. I have no idea what bike I will be riding but I will be out at Indy. Hope to see you, or any one on a Guzzi, there.

We will be going out to Indy for the MotoGP races there. We have been going there since the F1 races at Indy. Good times. After the way COTA has treated the people that brought the F1 and MOTOGP races to their track (and treating Kevin Schwantz that way is F'd up) I will refrain from giving them my money. Have fun.

First off, why is there a SCOOTER in a list of the "Hottest Bikes"? WTF? Half the bikes on that list I truly do not get. But then, that is the nature of subjective lists like that. It is nice they included a Moto Guzzi on the list, but I am not likely to buy a new California. In fact, unless something happened to my Griso and I needed to replace it (with another Griso) I could not see buying another Guzzi with their current line up. I hope they come out with something fresh soon. I have heard stories, but I have not seen anything concrete.

As long as it has the new style tappets and you use quality oil of the recommended spec it should be fine. There does seem to be some failures still of the cams/tappets, and they seem restricted to certain areas of the world. Not sure why. Proper PDI setup to me would be to fill the battery and let it sit before putting into service so the acid can be properly absorbed (or something like that), as well as checking the valves, making sure the map is current (almost sure it would have an old map in it from the factory), syncing the throttle bodies, setting TPS, filling with 10w60 oil as spec'd, along with all the other fluids and what-not. I would not be concerned about it sitting, or worrying about pressurizing the oil system. But if you wanted to you could pull the two outer spark plugs and push the bike in gear to spin the motor over, which would pump oil through the system, before starting. We used to do that after re-building our Ducati race motors, only we used rollers instead of pushing. Pulling the plugs makes it easier to spin the motor. Either way, good luck.

What a contrast between Rossi and Marquez.. Smooth vs. Aggression. Both have massive raw talent, but how they use that talent is currently very different. If only Rossi had not made that mistake early on.

Actually, my biggest fear with gauze K&N style filters IS water (rain). They are commonly used by dirt bikers in dry climates and avoided by dirt bikers in wet climates because water tends to carry whatever dirt is on them through them and into the motor. If you are going to use K&N style pods I recommend you look into the water resistant sleeves they sell to help keep that from happening. The other reason to avoid the pods is the loss in power that comes with loosing the airbox. That can be reduced by adapting some form of velocity stack between the pods and the throttle bodies, but it is hard to beat an airbox.

I have always heard that DOT 5, being silicone based, is not compatible and should not be mixed with poly-glycol ether based fluids like DOT 3, 4, and 5.1 . The seals for the two fluids are usually different and word has it that using the wrong fluid can cause your seals to swell resulting in brake issues. If you can mix 5 and 5.1 it is news to me, and most of what I can find on the inner neck.

I used DOT 5 on a race track, once. It was a Buell X1 (I also rode it on the street at the time), and it came from the factory with DOT 5. On the track, under hard use, the brake lever completely went away. The brakes faded so badly I was getting more deceleration from downshifting. The lever would come right back to the bar. It was hairy. I will never make the mistake of using DOT 5 again. DOT 5 is not suitable for any kind of performance use as when heated it out-gasses which results in what is basically air in the system. The result is horrible fade, more then I have ever experienced with any other kind of fluid. You do need to use different seals with DOT 5 then you would use with normal brake fluid. And once a system has been exposed to one type of brake fluid it is very hard to switch to the other as the two fluids are not compatible. It is easier to replace the system, master cylinder, caliper, and line.

The aluminum tanks he makes are art. If you want a cheaper option take your tank, or second hand tank, dry it out thoroughly and seal it with epoxy tank sealer. Another option would be to adapt a tank from a Sport or Daytona. That would/could require the removal of the airbox as you mentioned, but as they are metal (at least the older ones are, not sure if they all are) it should be possible with a bit of fab to make one fit.

While I wish you luck getting $5500 - $6000 for a standard V11, I think the original estimate or $3500 - $4500 was more on par with the value of the bike. The ones that bring in stupid money are usually limited edition versions with factory Ohlins suspension. However, a Motorcycles worth is determined by how much money SOMEONE is willing to pay for it. If you can find someone willing to pay you $6K for yours then congratulations. I prefer the early red frame versions, including the green ones, but not everybody shares that sentiment. There are pro's and con's to both the early ones and the later ones.

http://www.roadracingworld.com/news/motorcycle-designer-miguel-galluzzi-to-speak-april-18-at-pro-italia-in-glendale-california/ April 18th he will be giving a talk at Pro Italia. He did the V7 Racer and the new California 1400.

As I recall.... The side stand switch should be a normally closed switch. When the stand is up the switch is closed (the circuit is completed) and power flows around the safety relay. When the stand is down the bolt pushes on the switch and the circuit is open, causing that relay to stop flowing power. Then it relies on the relay and the neutral switch to flow power. Does the neutral light work? If it does then I would suspect either the relay or the connections to the relay for the neutral circuit. The bike should start with the stand up or down. The only difference is with the stand down the power has to come through the neutral circuit. When the stand it up the power flows through the stand switch.

You can not switch from DOT 3 or 4 to Dot 5 (silicone) without changing out every seal in the system and completely flushing everything else. It is not practical. There is DOT 5.1 which is not silicone and you can switch from Dot or 4 to DOT 5.1 without even flushing. DOT 5 is pretty crappy fluid for performance riding. My Buell had it (it is a HD thing) and it sucked. The only advantage I can think of it it does not harm paint.

The tank swell issue I am not even sure is ethanol, but I recently did coat the inside of the wifes V11 tank to help keep that at bay. It has not been a serious issue so far for her bike but I did have an issue with my Griso where I had removed the tank fairly full of fuel and had it sitting off the bike while I was working on the bike over a periods of weeks. When I went to put the tank back on it was no longer the same shape as it was before and did not want to fit. I have no evidence that ethanol caused the issue, as far as I can tell the Italians just are not good at making fuel resistent plastic gas tanks. I never had this issue with the two Buells I have owned. So, after that issue I coated the wifes V11 tank with Caswell epoxy sealer. So far so good but other have had issues. Proper prep seems key.

Again, it is not a matter of knowing where they are. It is that they are not around me. The mainland of Maryland, same as most other metro areas in the east, does not sell ethanol free gas at most gas stations. It does not appear to be legal for road use around here. You can buy it out on the eastern shore, presumably for your boat. But here in the DC/Baltimore area it is not an option. We have been using 10% ethanol gasoline for something like 10 + years. I have not had much, if any, issues with it. It is certainly not something I would worry about. It is what it is.

But in some areas they do not sell ethanol free gasoline. It is not a matter of not knowing where, they do not sell ethanol free gasoline near me. But so far I have not had any issues from the ethanol. Hell, I like the knock resistance ethanol brings. If your motor knocks it is likely not from the ethanol.

The measurement would be inside the rim, but it should be easy enough to read what is stamped on the rim. DOT standards require a rim to be permanently stamped with its dimensions.

If it starts the bike in the locked position then either it is the wrong switch or it is installed/wired wrong. That clearly should not happen. There are a few good sources for parts. I bought an entire key/switch set from Moto International a while back, very reasonably priced. MG Cycle and Harpers are also often good sources of parts.

You may want to try a 160 on the 4.5" rim for the 2001. Most 170's are made for a 5" rim and get pinched when installed on a 4.5" rim. Plus the 160 is lighter.

With the 5.5" rear rim you can stick with the stock 180 size or step down to a 170. The 170 should improve the steering giving it a lighter feel, easier to roll over on the side of the tire. The fatter tire typically slows down the steering, gives a more stable feel but has less rubber on the road when leaned over. I believe the Macadam's are long since obsolete. At least here. I would go with a nicer set of tires, preferably something that offers dual compounds for better wear without sacrificing grip. But that is up to you. Asking for opinions on tires can be worse then oil. Everybody has their own likes and dislikes. PS. Be sure to actually check the rim for width and not base it on the published specs. Guzzi had a habit of using the parts they had on hand whether they were the right ones or not.