GuzziMoto

In my opinion, which is worth what you paid for it, there is some wiggle room on oil viscosity but only within reason. And that wiggle room is affected by the environment the motor is running in (warmer climate vs colder climate) That is why on many oil recommendation sheets they list more then 1 oil viscosity, depending on temperature it is being operated in. I am not sure I would run a 10w-60 in our V11. But I doubt it would be a problem, especially once it has a fair amount of miles on it. I would not use it because I am not a fan of 10w-60 oils, they are in essence a 10 weight oil with a lot of viscosity modifiers added, and those tend to break down faster. I would rather use an oil that doesn't rely as much on viscosity modifiers. But that is really just my personal preference. If you are already running 10w-60 oils you are probably fine with it. Also, for the Griso 1100 it started with calling for 5w-40 and at some point later they changed the oil spec to 10w-60 as I recall. I really don't think anything changed.

Clearly it could be coming from either the seal or the breather. Generally if it is coming from the seal there will be more, seals tend to fail and leak a lot, while if it is only a little it is usually the breather. Especially if it doesn't get worse fairly quickly. I would clean the drops off and watch it for a little while. If it is the seal you will know it fairly shortly. If you don't see more than a few more drops it was likely spitting out the breather. If you are really worried about it dust the rear drive housing with talcum powder or similar. That should show you the trail the oil took, and where it started.

CVC was forced to sell Dorna when they decided to acquire F1. That was back in the mid-2000's. We will see how it goes this time.

I am not a fan of this move, but I don't want to bitch and complain until they start F'ing it up like they did F1. There are a number of possible outcomes here. But rather then speculate I will wait and see. Of note, this is both MotoGP AND WSBK. So it affects pretty much all top level international motorcycle racing. If it goes bad, you won't have much alternative. Personally I think letting one company control almost all the top level motorsports is a bad idea and should be prevented with anti-trust rules and regs. That is what those rules and regs are for.

As mentioned, there isn't going to be a number printed on the spring that corelates to the riders weight. There are too many other variables involved to make that possible. The spring only knows its own rate, as well as its length. It doesn't know the ratio of rear suspension travel to shock / spring travel. If you measure and set the sag of the bike with you sitting on it, then measure how much sag there is without you sitting on it, that will tell you how the rate of the spring is. Too much sag without you on the bike after setting the sag right with you on the bike means the spring is too stiff. Too little sag without you on it after setting the sag correctly with you on it means the spring is too soft. That can seem backwards, but it is right. Too little sag without you on the bike means you had to add too much preload to the spring to get the sag with you on the bike correct. That excessive preload means that without you on the bike the bike sags very little. The opposite can also be true, too stiff a spring means you don't need much preload to get sag right with you on the bike, so with so little preload the bike will sag too much without you on the bike. Different people have slightly different versions of the target numbers for sag, but generally you want somewhere between 25 - 30 percent of total travel use up by sag with you on the bike, and only 10 - 15 percent sag under just the weight of the bike. Some people like a little more sag, some like less. One thing to keep in mind, more sag with you on the bike does not mean the spring is softer, only that it has less preload. With less preload, the suspension rides lower in its travel, that can be good, or it can make for a harsh ride if it leads to more bottoming of the suspension. I think you want the suspension to ride high enough that the suspension doesn't bottom very often, if at all.

The Historic plate here in Maryland is still an "every two years" deal. But it is cheaper and avoids an inspection at time of purchase (vehicles here are inspected only at time of purchase unless they get a safety ticket out on the road). So people here are seriously abusing the Historic plate option, ignoring the rules relating to usage and miles. People will buy an old beat up Honda Civic or the like and get a Historic plate for it. That way they save some money on registration and they don't have to get it through inspection (more money saved, plus the vehicle probably would not pass). Generally when people start abusing the system like this the system gets changed. It is why we can't have nice things. Give people an option to keep truly historic vehicles on the road for light duty usage and the next thing you know people are driving dangerous pieces of junk to work and back to save a few bucks. Maryland bases registration date on date of original registration. A trick I used to do years ago is if you are a day late renewing your registration you can move the registration month back one month, the new stickers would use the following month. But they seem to have caught on to that and I don't think you can do that anymore. Now the renewal only gets you a year sticker, your month sticker never changes. If you want them all to renew at the same time in Maryland you can do it, but you would probably have to cancel all your plates (perhaps at the end of the riding season). Then at the beginning of the next riding season you could re-register all your vehicles at the same time (or at least in the same month). That would give them all the same renewal month. Seems like too much trouble to me, but if it really was something you want it can be done. I would think the same trick would work in almost any state.

Yeah, as bad as things are now it does not seem like this is a move for the better of the sport. I guess this is the world we live in now, where things like sport are just a vehicle for those with money to make more money. It is not just MotoGP, many sports have fallen into the same trap. MotoGP is one of the holdouts, perhaps.

There in lies the rub. No matter how good the idea is, no matter that it would actually make motorcycling safer or make cage operators commute faster because it reduces traffic, the simple perception of someone getting somewhere faster then I am is a major source of friction towards motorcycles lane splitting. In this country there will be pushback based on that, based on the superficial perception that someone else is moving quicker then I am. Never mind that it makes me actually move quicker as well by reducing traffic for me. I can't see that.

That is good news for people living there. I could see myself moving there some day, but I suspect my lane splitting days are behind me.

I haven't seen those. I own an old school KTM, a two stroke 440 EXC. While I would buy a KTM, I don't care for their origami styling. Too many edges and folds, too angular. I like the Husqvarna styling better. But that is what it comes down to, which one of the three looks best to you because they all perform the same.

KTM and Husqvarna run steel frames. The exact same steel frames. Our Husqvarna 401 have the exact same steel trellis frames used on the KTM 390's. If you compare the KTM 250 SX-F it has a WP XACT-USD 48mm front fork and a WP XACT Monoshock with linkage rear suspension. The Gas Gas MC 250F Factory Edition has a WP XACT-USD 48mm front fork and a WP XACT Monoshock with linkage rear suspension. For a while KTM was pushing forward with a linkage-less rear suspension. But at some point they stopped that and now run the same as Gas Gas and Husqvarna as far as I can tell. Really, look at them in a showroom and see if you can find any differences. Again, not complaining, but saying they are different bikes is stretching the truth. The bodywork is pretty much the only difference. The same is true for the 450's, and for Husqvarna. With their streetbikes they do tend to use different numbers to describe the displacement, like a Husqvarna 401 vs a KTM 390. But the motor is exactly the same motor with the exact same displacement. Same thing with the bigger motors, a KTM migt be a 690 while a Husqvarna is a 701. And a Gas Gas is a 700. But they are all the same motor with the same actual displacement.

The angle drive is a possible failure point. The gears inside the trans that drive the angle drive are much less likely to fail. You can just connect the cable directly to the output on the transmission. The cable has to make a more severe bend that the angle drive is alleviating. If the speedo works when hooked directly to the trans, you can take the angle drive apart and see what is wrong in it. It can be fixed in some cases.

LCR's contract is up and I would be surprised if LCR resigns with Honda. I would think Honda would have to give them bikes for free, and even then I would be disappointed in LCR as re-signing with Honda is saying they are racing to race. If they sign with Honda again they would be saying they are just here for the money. Yamaha is not much better then Honda right now, but they are better. But neither brand is competitive. I get the factory teams running Honda and Yamaha, they have no choice. But a team that signs with Honda or Yamaha right now is a team that isn't racing for the right reasons. I would be very disappointed to hear that the VR46 team just wants to be a grid filler.

If you say so. But the only GasGas parts on Barcia's factory GasGas is the bodywork. The frame, engine, KTM. Not sure how it is this year, but in the past the Husqvarna factory bikes were last years factory KTMs. Now that they have three factory teams I assume they no longer do that, but all three factory teams are running the same bikes with different bodywork. I was just in our local KTM / GasGas / Husqvarna dealership. It is classic badge engineering. They are all KTM's, with pretty much only the bodywork being brand specific. That is even more the case in racing, whether it is Supercross or MotoGP. Don't get me wrong, we own a pair of Husqvarna's, and I would buy another. But the three brands are all really the same brand. GasGas is not its own standalone brand.

Spring too soft, or the spring is simply too short, or a combination of the two. Clearly aftermarket. Possibly not originally for a V11 and thus the spring preload being what it is to get ride height in the ball park.

KTM owns GasGas and Husqvarna. So instead of running two teams as KTM they run one team as KTM and one team as GasGas. They wanted a third team so they could run a Husqvarna team as well, but Dorna would not allow them a new team. They were told they can only have a third team if one of the current teams signs up to run their bikes. Weird that a manufacturer who wanted to add another team to the grid was told no. Seems like it would have been good for the sport, and would have helped balance out the four teams running Ducati's. If you buy a brand new GasGas today, it is almost identical to a KTM, so it is more like buying a Lincoln instead of a Ford. We have a pair of Husqvarna's, very simlar deal there. The chassis and engine are KTM pieces, the body work is Husqvarna. The same thing happens in dirtbike racing. KTM, GasGas, and Husqvarna all race basically the same bikes. But it does mean more factory bikes with factory support. So it makes the grid stronger, with more quality bikes for more quality riders.

I am not sure Ducati will loose a team for next season, but it is a possibility. Hard to imagine any team would sign up to run Yamaha's at the back of the field, though. Sponsors would hate that and would likely bail. I can't imagine why any team would sign up to run Honda's or Yamaha's until they get their act together. MotoGP is a business based on winning. Why would any team want to give up bikes they can win on in exchange for bikes they can't. As to the guys who want factory bikes, as mentioned I think that is a mistake. Being on a "Factory Bike" has very little meaning nowadays. And it is not required to win races or a championship. The chemistry of the team, and between the rider and the bike, is far more important. Martin could end up on a factory Yamaha next year. If he does go there he won't really be a factor next year in the results, but he would be on a factory bike. I would rather be on a competitive bike with a team that knows how to set up the bike to suit me. Being at the back on a "Factory Bike" would not be what I would want (although to be fair I would happily ride a factory Yamaha or Honda at the back). But if you are a top level racer expecting to win I would think all you should be concerned with is being on a bike that can win. That it is a factory bike really doesn't matter. Or shouldn't matter if winning is what you are concerned with. Some of them seem to still have an ego trip about a "Factory Bike".

I would love to see FQ at Aprilia. While Mav has great races occasionally, they need someone who can compete for a championship. That said, it was a great pair of races for Mav, a real shame the bike failed him in the second race. Seems the trans was having issues most of the race, and finally packed it in at the end. As to Marc and Pecco, to me the deciding question is what would Marc have done if Pecco slide it up the inside into that turn and then ran wide. I am pretty sure Marc would have re-passed him up the inside the moment Pecco slide wide. That is what Marc would have done, that is what any racer out there would have done. The same basic pass / re-pass happened between other racers in that very race. It was to be expected, unless you can close that door before the other guy can slide it through the door, you have to have expected that. For Marc to pull back down onto the racing line when someone else was already there and fully alongside him was what caused the accident. That said, I would call it a racing incident. But Ducati had to know that putting Marc on a Ducati was going to mean more Ducati's would fail to finish. It was to be expected. Marc has never shown respect for other racers. He isn't going to start now. I suspect that was part of what Ducati was worried about and why they did not seem keen on Marc joining the Ducati fold.

The starting or not starting with a matching fuel pump running or not running is classic relays. The lack of brake light, rev counter, and horn is often a blown fuse. But it could also be a relay not working. As mentioned, that may also include the front headlight being out but the running light in the headlight working. That can make you think your headlight is lit but it is not. The actual headlight and the running light are on two different circuits. The headlight circuit runs through relays so it can be cut out while the bike tries to start. And when that happens the alternator does not charge the battery as it is using the headlight circuit to measure battery voltage and if there is not voltage on the headlight circuit it does not charge the battery. Easy to check if the battery is being charged. With the relays, it can be a bad relay or it can be a bad connection to the relay. Someone already suggested cleaning the relay bases I believe. That, along with checking the connections in the bases for a tight fit and adjusting the spades if required is good advice. Another known place for electrical issues like this is in the wires to and from the ignition switch. But I would first check relays and fuses. I use a volt meter to measure the fuses after pulling them out for continuity. But you can also measure for voltage on both sides. Visually looking at them is the least reliable way to check a fuse. They can look ok and be bad.

That could be classic relay issues. A lack of the fuel pump running when you turn it on can be a relay issue (assuming it is not a problem with the fuel pump). The fuel pump should always cycle when you turn it on. If it doesn't, something is probably wrong. The relay issue can be the relays themselves or the connections at the base of the relays. If the fuel pump runs but it doesn't start when you push the starter button a common set of issues there is either the side stand switch or the neutral switch that turns the neutral light on. There is an interlock between the side stand and the neutral switch. I would check your fuses, and your relays. Also, confirm the headlight is on and not just the running light in the headlight bucket. If the headlight isn't on the alternator probably isn't charging the battery. Others will add more no doubt.

How many miles are on it?

You may be able to bend the connection that is supposed to go onto the sparkplug to get it to fit. It is just a metal fitting crimped on the end of the wire. It may have been squished or otherwise bent so it no longer fits. Just bend it back. That should make it work. If you can't bend the end to get it to fit on the spark plug, you could cut the old end off and install a new end on the stock cable. Being less then an inch shorter should make little difference. As to replacing the spark plug cables in pairs, that doesn't seem important to me. As long as the cables are the right type, and the same type, it should make little difference.

Yeah, their stuff seems good, but they don't seem to understand how many different versions of front fork were fitted to the V11. That seems to be where their bad reputation comes from with the V11. I thought we had made it clear in this thread that your forks should be the one fork model that their kit actually fits.

Honestly, I am not yet very concerned with where Marc Marquez goes. He is not the top guy, yet. And he may never be that guy. Time will tell. Who was really impressive in last weekends race was Bagnia. He was amazing. But I get that many are still focusing on Marc because of what he has done on the Honda in the past. He is doing better then he was at the end of his Honda career. But he still is not one of the fastest guys on the Ducati. Side note, how mean is it that Audi gave Marc an RS6 and only gave Alex an RS4.....

Interesting development for the Marquez brothers. This does seem to strengthen their tie to Ducati. https://www.crash.net/motogp/news/1045629/1/marc-marquez-given-audi-worth-six-figures-he-pens-new-sponsorship-deal