GuzziMoto

"I would be very surprised to find that di-electric grease is a conductor, even if it is it can't possibly be better than metal to metal contact." Di-electric grease is not supposed to be a conductor. It works much like Vaseline does, it shields the contact from air and moisture to prevent corrosion. There are plenty of opinions on di-electric grease here and else where. All I would say is using too much of it is likely to cause problems. A small amount is usually all you need. Much like Vaseline. Use whatever product you want, but use it correctly.

The wife's has a Penske. Very nice shock. Custom sprung and valved. We went with that because the stock Sachs shock broke at the eye.

In Norway 10w/40 (or even 5w/40) could be just fine. But in warmer climates I would not use an oil that thin on an air cooled Guzzi. But that is me. The filter unwinding issue is well documented and there are quite a few people who use the clamp. I am just not one of them. But that is not because I dismiss the concept, I do not want to take the sump off every time so I instead choose to be very careful about putting the filter on and not using brands of filters that seem prone to unwinding. Everyone has to choose for themselves.

They offer both MPH and KPH. Here are 3 3/8's gauges, both KPH and MPH. http://www.speedhut.com/gauges/Speedometers-3-3-8-inch-Gauges-Only/1:4%7C37:3%7C39:1 Here is a 160 MPH gauge pretty much the same as the KPH unit referenced earlier. http://www.speedhut.com/gauge/GR338-SPEEDO-03T/1/Speedometer-Gauge-160mph-programmable--(w--turn-signal-and-high-beam) They also offer a 140 MPH unit. It can be customized from there. This is my favorite gauge from them. http://www.speedhut.com/gauge/GR4-DUALGPS-ST-01T/1/Dual-Gauge---120mph-GPS-speedometer---8K-Tachometer-(w--turn-signal-and-high-beam) It is a GPS speedo tach como unit.

I use 20w/50. Do you know what the previous owner used? I personally think that using an oil with good protection for flat tappets ( high zddp levels and such) is more important then the exact weight rating of the oil. One judge of protection is the API rating, SG is my preferred. Oils that meet newer API standards are not allowed to have as much anti-wear additives like zddp in them. So to me an oil that is SG rated would be best. Beyond that you might have an oil that is SG/SJ rated or SG/SJ/SM rated. The later would be the worst choice in my opinion. As a side note here, a 5w/40 uses a 5 weight oil for the base oil and adds viscosity modifiers to increase the viscosity to equate to a 40w oil at higher temps. A 20w/50 uses a 20 weight base oil and viscosity modifiers to increase the viscosity to equate to a 50w oil at higher temps. That is one of the reasons I use the 20w/50 oil, I prefer the heavier base stock. But for my riding the thinner oil is not needed (i.e., no cold weather riding). As to the weight of the oil, that is up to you. All I can say is if I had some oil laying around and it was the oil I wanted to put in the bike I would use it. If it was not the oil I thought was appropriate for the bike I would not use it. Even if you paid $20 a bottle for the oil it is still cheaper to eat that then risk doing serious damage to your motor. It is like riding on tires that aren't right for the intended use but you got a good deal on them. They can cost you more then you saved on them. So, the temps and conditions you ride in plus the type/weight of oil that was previously used in the motor (if you know that) would be up to you to decide. As for the clamp on the filter, I do not use them but I do not take the sump off every oil change. If you use the clamp, which is a good idea, you are committing to taking the sump off as I am pretty sure you can't change the filter once clamped without removing the sump. I have used the UFI filter but now I use NAPA Gold/WIX filters.

I found them a while back, right after I bought an Acewell unit. I wish I had found them before. They also offer GPS speedo/tach combo units, one gauge doing both. Plus with all the custom options it seems like a great option. And yes, they have been very nice to deal with asking questions and all. If I can't get the Acewell unit to work to my satisfaction I will probably be going with one from them. I thought we had mentioned them before in one of Roy's threads or at least talking to Roy.

Aluminum rivets work fine but may not last. Sometimes vibration causes them to break. I prefer to use stainless rivets from my local boat store. They are a bit pricey, but if it is something you are not likely to be undoing/re-doing any time soon I find the stainless rivets last much longer.

The ignition switch is held in place with two bolts. But if they are the original bolts then they should be anti-theft bolts where the head snapped off during install. If you have a dremel it is easy enough to cut a slot in what is left and use a large screw driver to remove. I used an hand held impact driver with a flat blade tip to remove the original bolts. Replace them with some allen heads. All this really requires pulling the top triple clamp off and flip it over. The wire tail is not that long as I recall so the 4 way connector can't be too far.

There is also F4, that supplies power to the ignition switch. Did you confirm power at the fuses? It could be the switch itself, but I would expect you would be missing more. But there are two separate switch circuits in the ignition switch, one could be not working. That or a broken wire....

Check your relays. I am pretty sure their is a relay that sends power to those items when you turn the key. Also, you may be missing other things and not have noticed yet.

I would think a Pirelli rear would work ok with the Metzler front, but I much prefer to keep matched sets on my bikes and would rather take a front off with tread still left then run a mixed pair. It may be fine but crashing sucks and can be very expensive. Penny wise pound foolish comes to mind. Tires are the most important part on your motorcycle. Plus the issue of your tire of choice not being available yet..... If you can't get the ones you want yet I would replace the rear with another Z6 and when the Pirelli's are out and you get a good deal on a set switch over.

What is funny is the Metzlers and the Pirelli's share their basic design, separated by tread patterns and perhaps small differences in compound. The Metzlers tend to last longer then the Pirelli's due to compound differences for their target markets and price. And the Z6's I ran on my Griso were the noisiest front tire I ever had. But they worked well and lasted a long time.

If I were blind maybe I would check out the MultiStrada. But I am not, and I can't get past the look of that thing. I laugh at the MSUV concept. People rave about how great they are, but most of them do nothing with them that I already do with my "normal" motorcycles. And my "normal" motorcycles are substantially easier on the eyes. Plus they handle better then the MSUV's due to better weight balance. A 32"+ seat height on a street bike is like tits on a bull in my opinion You can keep your MSUV. Most of them are ridden much like their counterparts, the SUV, are. If I WAS to buy a Ducati it would be one of the pretty ones like the Monster or even the StreetFighter. But I have pushed enough Ducati's that I am reluctant to buy one, but one day the wife will probably buy a monster.

With a Rizoma aluminum reservoir. It looks great and it works stellar. There used to be a guy here that would argue that an upgrade like that was stupid, but he never understood what it actually brings to the table. The higher quality radial master is more efficient at converting your hand energy into braking energy. And the adjustable aspect of it allows you to tailor the feel to what you want. More power or more feel. The best $370 (with out the Rizoma reservoir) I think I have spent. In the old days we ran Lockheed adjustable masters on our Ducati race bikes. The were pretty much the same. But they were more $$$. I think at $370 the Brembo piece is a bargain.

I thought I saw a sweet set of headers and collector pipes from Agostini's. You could combine that with your choice of mufflers. Todd at GuzziTech has stainless headers, you could combine them with either of the available collectors. Todd will also make whatever you want. Or GPR offers a two into one set up. I prefer the sound of a two into one set up. The new CARC bikes do have a lighter front wheel, but I doubt they would swap over without a bit of work. Not sayin' you can't, just that it would likely take a bit of work. Another option is replacing the entire front end with a used front end for something like a '06+ GSXR 750. That give you better suspension as well as the lighter wheel and better brakes. Add to that a Brembo RCS master cylinder. Getting a lighter rear wheel takes a bit of doing usually. Few bolt on options, but some have made a wheel for another bike work with some machining. The wifes V11 has a Penske shock, along with pipes and head work. Nothing too extreme, it is the wife's bike not mine. The Brembo RCS is a sweet piece of kit, I have one on my Daytona. it works well.

I don't know if it is proper english to use the term "good seller" to describe any Guzzi. The entire V11 series was one of Guzzi's most successful models ever. About the only other model I can think of that may have better sales numbers is the California. And the BillyBob was one of those. They all sold in the simular numbers, only limited by how many they actually made of some. All Guzzi's could be viewed as limited editions, but some actually have plates to that effect on them. BillyBobs were not the only version that was available as a leftover. It sounded to me (from my dealer) that Guzzi had been accruing a few leftovers each year over the model life of the V11. After the B11 and Griso came out someone was cleaning up and realized they had a few sitting around at the distributor. So they called up some of their better dealers and offered these leftovers to them at a discount. My local dealer was on of the dealers that was offered the leftovers. They picked up a couple, but the BillyBob they were offered went to another dealer. If it had come to my local dealer I would have bought it. It did not sound like the leftover Aprilia's that flooded the market recently, there are never that many Guzzi's available. I would put it down more to the lack of organization at Guzzi USA then a sales issue. They probably did not realize they had them. The retirement of the V11 and the introduction of the CARC Guzzi's may have also played a part.

No, you don't NEED it, but it is a good safety feature to have.

Some people have switched to pod filters and had "good success" others found their bike did not run as well and switched back, ala thebronze. I don't know if it comes down to how picky you are about what constitutes "runs good" or what. What I do know is that just about every modern bike has an airbox that was designed to both reduce intake noise and improve cylinder filling. The V11 was one of the first Guzzi's to have a decent airbox. The Daytona tried, it may have succeeded but I don't know. The Sport may have been another step in that direction. The V11 definitely works pretty well. Beyond that the modern Guzzi's like the Griso actually have well designed airboxes. When the airbox is not well designed you can actually get better cylinder filling with individual filters. But once you start getting into well designed airboxes you tend to lose more then you gain switching to individual filters. There may still be an rpm where the individual filters out flow the airbox, usually at some rpm area up high in the rev range and based on the tuned length of the intake with the individual filters, but if you look at the area under the curve, the flow throughout the usable rev range, a decent airbox design will out perform individual filters for most people and how they ride. That said, individual filters look and sound cool. I can understand the appeal. I have them on my Daytona, but it was like that when I got the bike. It also has long aluminum velocity stacks to help fatten the curve.

I do not see how a battery issue would blow A fuse without the motor running. If you hooked up the battery backwards it might blow some fuses but I would not think it would be just the one. You almost certainly have a short. I am not a fan of applying power to find the short (ala jumping the fuse out with a light bulb) but to each their own. I use a digital volt meter to find where you have a path to ground where one should not exist. Disconnect the power and ground(s) for the wiring harness and then use the meter to see where you still have a path to ground. Or jump the fuse out and follow the smoke.....

I was equating drilling holes in the cartridge tube to bleed off fluid to the holes in a damper rod set up. Very much the same idea. I would rather increase the amount of fluid required to pass through the valving then decrease it as the holes in the cartridge would do. To each their own, and I meant no offense.

Not to sound stupid, but if a fuse is blowing without the motor running you probably have a short. I would use a meter to find the short, and fix it. There have been at least a few that have had issues with the wires for the ignition switch. You could start there. Take a wiring diagram and a meter. Trace out which wires are are in the circuit feed by that fuse and see where the short to ground is using the meter.

I did not think the oem breather hose was that expensive and when I ordered one I had it fast. Customizing is not something I shy away from, but when the stock part is available for a reasonable price I tend to go that way. I have too many other things that do require customization that having something just fit is worth it. For the theft proof bolts I just cut a slot in them with my dremel and use a hand impact driver with a flat-blade tip. You don't need to remove the tank just pop the triple clamp off and turn it over.

"So the valve that this thread refers to is on the fuel line right? cos that would be the only way you would stop gas spilling in a tip over? The way ya all talk its in the vent line which if blocked of only stops air getting into the tank to help petrol to depart?" The valve SHOULD be on the vent line. I say SHOULD because Guzzi's, being hand built as much as they are are sometimes not assembled as intended. The purpose on the tip over valve is to allow the fuel tank to vent, that is to allow air to enter the tank as fuel is being used out of the tank, yet in the case of a "tip over" the fuel in the tank cannot spill out of the tank through the vent. The other line runs to the area around the filler hole. That area is closed of from the tank when the cap is closed so there is no way fuel could spill out of it unless the cap was not closed. It allows excess fuel that may have been spilled there or water (i.e. rain) that may accumulate there to drain off so that when you open the tank there is nothing there to enter the tank. I hope that helps. Boy I F'd up this post.

"my gas tank vent is just a nipple under the tank" I would highly recommend you add a length of hose to that nipple if there is not already and route it down to somewhere at the bottom of the bike, like between the swingarm and trans. That way if the tank gets over filled or what ever and fuel comes out of the vent it is not draining directly on to a hot motor. That would be bad. Just make sure the hose is not pinched or blocked. At least some of them have two nipples, one for the vent and one for the filler neck drain. Both these can be T'd together and run down to the bottom area of the bike as one line.

The tip over valve is an emissions piece. Your bike probably does not have one. The injector is simple WHERE the valve was sitting, it is connected to the vent hose for the gas tank and closes the gas tank vent in the event of a tip over.