GuzziMoto

I have no doubt that changes to the ETS can effect the way the motor runs, and changes in the right direction could very well make an improvement for the better on a motor that does not run right. I don't doubt your observational skills. I am glad it has helped you.

I worry that with out Ducati's electronic aids Stoner is going to crash his brains out. I know he has won the title, but until he got on a Ducati he was a crasher. Honda go in cycles, they will listen to the rider and build the bike the rider wants and do well. Then they will forget that it is the rider, not the engineer, that matters and start to build a bike that may be a technological marvel but the rider can't ride it. Or they will start listening to the wrong rider and design a bike that is not as fast. They need someone like Doohan (actually it was likely Burgess) who can keep the engineers in line and on track.

I understand what Docc did. The debate is about what effect that had on the system. See, that is where the debate gets fuzzy. You say that the brass is insulating the actual sensor. In my experience, brass is a horrible insulator for heat. It actually conducts heat better then air, which is what you are "replacing" the brass with. I have yet to see anyone post any actual measured data that supports the theory that removing the brass and adding air increases the response time or the accuracy of the sensor. Or any evidence that the stock set up is "a very, very slow sensor". So then it comes down to opinion and belief, and that does not make for something worth debating. Docc (and Hatchet Wacker before him) has made a change to his ETS that alters the value the sensor is sending to the ECU and that is changing the way his Guzzi runs. I don't have an issue with that. But there is no evidence that he has "improved" the accuracy or response time of the sensor. The only evidence is that his bike now runs better, and by the description of the change in running it sounds to me like it is running richer. Based on what I know of the Guzzi ECU that means the moddified ETS is telling the ECU that the motor is cooler. This makes sense to me as what was done to the ETS (remove the brass and replace it with air) I would expect to lower the temp reading of the sensor. If you choose to draw a different conclusion from that action/result, fine. But unless you have some evidence to support your claim......

WSBK is okay, but MotoGP is much more interesting to me. I prefer to see the fastest riders on the fastest bikes. I have no illusions about being able to buy one or ride like that. I have gone to F1, MotoGp, World Superbike, AMA Superbike, NASCAR Busch series (ok, the tickets were free), and assorted other races. So far the coolest I have seen was either the F1 or MotoGP, with the node likely given to F1 as the absolute coolest. Those things are amazing. But I think the MotoGP was more enjoyable due to the huge motorcycle scene that went with it. Like Sturgis is to Harley people. I am disappointed that Stoner is leaving Ducati. I will be surprised if he does well at Honda. I think that Lorenzo and Spies are the ones who may come out of all this on top.

As mentioned, that "valve" is the fuel pressure regulator. It is not likely the cause of your issue. Heat soak boiling the fuel in the hose and in the pump is more likely. A tune up is always a good thing. When you have trouble starting the bike when hot it is a good idea to make sure your valve clearances are not too tight. But if I was to guess, I would say that the issue would be solved with insulating the fuel pump and line from heat. But I would check the valve clearances, that is easy to do on a Guzzi.

Docc has modified his temp sensor so that it gives a different value then it used to, apparently lower as a lower temp reading would cause the ecu to provide a richer mixture and that is what it sounds like is happening. Good for him. He realized he had an issue with the way his Guzzi ran (though at least part of the issue may have been self inflicted by improving the heat transfer to the temp sensor when it seems like it was working well to begin with) and he took steps to correct it. The hows and whys of this have been beat to death and I doubt it is worth continuing the debate. Good for you Docc. Glad to hear your bike runs well. My wifes V11 runs well too (with the stock ETS). My Griso has an issue with getting too hot and I have considered a similar mod to slow the heat transfer to the ETS so that it gives the ecu a lower temp reading. I don't think the ETS is the root of the issue and I realize that modding the ETS would be treating the symptoms and not the cause, but the bike has been gone over by a few mechanics and no one has yet figured out why it detonates when hot. It is not the only Griso to have this issue, but most do not. So clearly it is not the design of the temp sensor causing the issue. But modding it may be a band aid fix to help the bike run better.

I'm sorry, I didn't realize that saying "His idea to lower the temp the sensor reports to the ecu to cause the ecu to add more fuel (or at least not take away fuel) was not a bad idea." and pointing out where the debate got stupid was slagging him. I thought it was a positive comment. I apologize.

I have the black Guzzi valve covers from Sport Cycle Pacific for my Griso. I like them. Powder coating when done right is the most durable way to go. Use a quality shop and make sure they know that they are valve covers and will get hot. Anodizing can be good too but not all anodizing is equal. Hard anodizing would be how I would go. It can fade over time when exposed to sunlight but that depends on the dye they use. Quality jobs should last well. Painting can be anywhere from OK to bad. The front face of the valve covers get chewed up and in my experience paint does not last well there.

Yeah, this one was beat to death at one point. His idea to lower the temp the sensor reports to the ecu to cause the ecu to add more fuel (or at least not take away fuel) was not a bad idea. It only got stupid when he kept insisting that his mod MUST be inproving the accuracy of the sensor because the bike ran better. If you have a problem with your Guzzi in hot conditions running lean then modifying the sensor to report a lower temp is not a bad idea. I personally would not do it but my bikes also have to run in cool conditions that may cause an issue with that. Plus it is a crude modification in that it adds more fuel everywhere and not just where you need it. But it is likely better then nothing. I went with Power Commanders so I could adjust the fueling in some areas to add more fuel and to add less in other areas. But the ETS mod is much cheaper.

The voltage you see depends on what the regulator/rectifier is set for. That is typically just over 14 volts (14.1 - 14.2). If you are seeing 13.9 volts, that could be an issue or it could be that your meter is slightly off. I would try another meter to confirm the reading. If it does check out that it is indeed 13.9 volts, you regulator rectifier may be going bad. Check the connections to confirm their condition and clean as needed as well. It could be a duff replacement battery but I would check other options first, as the odds of two batteries exhibiting the same symptoms points to a charging issue.

And yes, it is just a return line for oil that has made its way up into the frame through the breather system. No pressure in the line other then crank case pressure.

What is detonation in the air filter?

Yeah, obviously the mixture can make a difference in the temp it runs at. I think part of what he was getting at is with the MyPC thing you can adjust the correction factor that is applied based on engine temp if I heard correctly. The stock set up leans out the mixture at higher temps. With Cliffs MyPC you may be able to richen the mixture back up at higher temps to assist in cooling a hot motor. Or not.

That is pretty much what I did. I used heat to help as there was a bearing that came out with it as I recall.

Supposedly it is not possible to run hot from being too rich, and I tend to agree. Everything I have read on temp says that max temp is a little above to 14.7:1 and then it drops on either side. That does not take into account fancy lean burn combustion chambers or anything like that. What is possible is to have crappy fuel mileage from being too lean. I am not saying that I know you are not too rich, but just because you have crappy fuel mileage you can't just assume that you are too rich. Once you start leaning out the mixture past the point where power starts to suffer fuel mileage can go down hill as well since you end up having to open the throttle up more then you should just to go however fast. Basically you can lean it out past the point of efficiency. It sounds like you have a set up issue or something is out of wack.

I have done plenty of clutchless shifts, but usually it was on a dirtbike or a roadrace bike. But I do find that the smoothest shifts on a Guzzi seem to be when I use the least amount of clutch possible. If you can smoothly shift with no clutch at all the it is true that there would likely be no harm done. But the odds of things not going smoothly resulting in increase wear and tear on your trans seems higher when you shift with out the clutch. Personally I use a minimum amount of clutch. Using no clutch isn't going to automatically blow up your trans. But it does increase the risk in my opinion. In the end you pays your money and takes your chances.

I would ask Todd @ GuzziTech. He probably sells more PowerCommanders for Guzzis then any one else. As far as I know the one issue is any changes made to the fuel curve in the closed loop part of the map will be undone by the O2 sensor. I believe Todd can alter your ECU to remove the O2 sensor input. He can also hook you up with a PCV and an AutoTune module that will allow you to set air/fuel target numbers and it will adjust the mix to meet your targets.

Do your current rose joints have play? Because if they do not and are just very free moving, that is a good thing. A steering damper is there to damp the movement of the forks, but any binding or added resistance (from the mounts) is a bad thing. Turn the damper to max and feel for play in the movement of the steering. If you have play, inspect the damper to determine if the play is in the mounts or in the damper.

As mentioned, the preload rings should be on the top, chassis side of the stock shock. The quote about increasing the rear preload to get more weight on the front end is a common idea. It has limits on how far you can go and it is not just a matter of moving weight, but the idea is somewhat sound. If you want to try that, you may want to learn more about motorcycle geometry and how it works. The best way to go in my opinion is to adjust your preload based on rider weight, confirm that your spring rates are correct by then checking sag without the rider on board, then maybe make some small adjustments to the preload to fine tune the behavior of the bike. Your 35mm of sag is not bad, but if you check to see what your sag is without anyone on board it will give you more info. You should have 5-10mm of riderless (free) sag when your sag with rider on board (race sag) is correct. If after adjusting your race sag you have too much free sag then your springs are too stiff and if you do not have enough then your springs are too soft. I prefer closer to 25mm of race sag and 5-10mm of free sag, but that can be part of the fine tuning once you are in the ball park. Running less race sag does not mean a stiffer ride as so many seem to think. Increasing the preload on a straight rate spring does not change the spring rate. Adding preload changes the ride height. Increasing the ride height increases the available suspension travel. Changing the balance of the ride height front to back affects the geometry and behavior of the bike.

The stock spring for a non-Ohlins V11 as measured by Penske was 500 in/lbs. That equates to 87.5N/mm.

The damper should move freely, but should not have any actual play in the mounts. The more freely it moves the better, as long as there is no play. The best way to feel for play is to turn the damper up to full stiff and then rotate the bars side to side. That will highlight any play in the system. It is also a good way to check the state of your damper. That said, the damper from my wifes bike failed years ago and caused a handling issue. We solved that by removing it and did not replace it as the bike handled better for her with out it. My Daytona also has had the damper removed to improve it's handling. Whether or not you want/need a steering damper is up to you. But in my opinion in most situations a V11 does not need one (based on the geometry). Running one does slow the steering down slightly but the trade off is a more stable, confidence inspiring bike that some people prefer. Ironically some people keep the damper but then slide the fork tubes up through the triple clamps to lower the front end increasing the rake and decreasing the trail, claiming it improves stability. To each their own.

I use the manual as a guide for how much to put in but rely on the level plug, sight window, and dip stick for final say on how much is the right amount. And I am a fan of Redline Shockproof for the gearboxeand rear bevel box.

A hydro clutch SHOULD be self adjusting. If it has gotten out of adjustment then something is likely wrong with it, like old fluid or air in the system.

The seals are reusable as long as they are not leaking. It sounds like yours might be leaking. I have never tried using copper grease on caliper pistons but I have always been told the same as mentioned previously,t don't use anything but brake fluid and brake grease on anything that is internal to the system. Seals and o-rings that contain brake fluid should not touch anything other then brake fluid of brake grease. It sounds like you need to rebuild or replace that caliper. Brembo stuff is likely hard to get but that is a caliper that has been around for a while and if you can't find seals for it (try looking for them based on measurements) you should be able to find a used caliper around. Good luck.

Zokes are not horrible forks, some of their top line forks are even pretty good. Maybe not Ohlins good, but pretty good. Unfortunately the ones that came on the V11 are not top line zokes. Some models appear to have come with bottom of the barrel Zokes. There is room for improvement. You can have the zokes modded by a quality suspension guy, or you can replace them with a higher quality fork like Ohlins. But an Ohlins fork that has the wrong length, wrong spring rate, and the wrong dampening is likely to be worse then the stock Zokes, not better. I do recall that some Ohlins forks were adjustable length wise, if you could extend then at least 20mm so that you were only 20mm shorter then I might consider it if I were you. But even then you still have a lot of work/money required to throw at them to get them set up correctly so that they are actually an improvement. I am a big fan of Ohlins, I have ridden bikes with various sets of Ohlins forks and they were noticeably better then others. But they were always set up for me and my needs. The odds that these forks would be an improvement over your stockers is pretty slim. But if you have the money to make them right it might work.