Gio

All the way in (with the bike upright and level)... Gio

Hi Al, Point taken but even if switching the positions of the pump and filter proves not to cure the VL problem, I would still prefer to have the pump exposed to less heat than it is in its current location as I figure this can only prolong the life of what is a critical component and (presumably) expensive part to replace... Nothing wrong with experimenting as this is often how progress is made. I'll keep you posted on the results. Gio

I seem to recall an earlier thread along this (rear brake drag) line...? The rear brake does appear to drag and therefore heat up even if not used. I initially experienced the "rear wheel groan" also - usually when pushing the bike backwards but sometimes when just coming to a stop. During a warranty repair visit I heard mention of the need for an additional or different shim for the rear caliper (not sure if this was with referrence to the pads or the caliper mount) but there was also very little (if any) grease in the rear wheel assy. The brake side bearing was also replaced in the same visit. No more groans coming to a stop but still get the occaisional noise when reversing. I replaced the stock rear pads with Ferodo FDB207R at just over 12,000 km and these are still loooking ok at just under 32,000 km so are either wearing much more slowly (or subject to less drag...?). Still have the stock front pads fitted. Gio

I just checked the clearance on my '00 V11S and estimated it at only ~1mm (as measured between the actuating rod and master cylinder) but with the rod adjusted all the way in (ie as short as possible) it was still only ~2 mm. Having removed a few mm from the threaded end of the rod, it was possible to set the clearance at ~3 mm (which translates to ~ 8mm at the pedal which is where I'm thinking the 5 to 8mm should be measured..?) The pedal does have some waggle as a result so adding a return spring to hold the pedal back against the stop looks like a good idea. Gio PS - I also use mainly the front brakes and had to replace the stock rear pads at just over 12,000 km...

Hello everyone - great to see the forum is back up and running again! Next job on the V11S is the re-location of the filter/fuel pump (I had a couple of almost no-start "vapour locks" this last weekend whilst riding in near 30 C temperatures... I have some of the regular 5/16 " from my dealer, but am unable to locate a source of the larger diameter (braided line which supplies the pump) - I believe this to be 7/16" - nearest I can find is 3/8 " Do you think this is large enough? Gio

Thanks for the replies. I have a V11S with standard forks and was following the procedure described by Iveson on GuzziTech but decided to skip the removal of the cartridge as there was mention of high torque on the allen bolt and I was only changing the oil and figured most of it was out already...perhaps not. Gio

When replacing the oil in the forks, I did not remove the cartridges - just suspended the whole units over the drain pan overnight and pumped up and down a few times in an attempt to remove all the old oil (I measured ~380ml from one and ~350 + some spillage from the other). So I figured I had removed most of the specified volume (400ml). When pouring in the new oil (400ml per leg) I got quite close (within a cm or so from memory) to the top of the legs but managed to re-assemble without incident. I now have a slight weep from both legs - not on to the slider (as I would expect from a worn or damaged seal) but from the rear of the "dust cover" as it joins the fork leg. Just a trace from each leg - not even enough to form a drip. Seals are original with just over 31,000 km. I'm speculating that I may not have removed all the old oil (~20ml remaining) and have thus overfilled with 400 + 20 = 420ml...? Any thoughts? Gio

There is a port on each inlet manifold (sealed with a 5mm hex) into which you screw the line adapters for vacuum measurement. The ones I use came with the carb sticks but they should be easy enough to make. Gio

Got a chance to swap out the PC with another one and of course the bike was back to how it should be. Just as a final double-check I re-connected my suspect PC (still with zero map loaded) and it worked perfectly...! I just re-loaded the 706.002 again and all is well. There seem to be higher powers at work here... Gio

I'm using the MG 80/90 (purchased from my dealer) for the bevel drive which already has the Moly added... Gio

Hi Janusz, I think you are right. I just finished the installation of the Magni fairing (there's another story) and also made the following changes : Replaced stock pre-load spacer (109mm) with +11mm (120mm) New stock weight (10w) oil Forks raised by 3mm I measured the new front-end sag as 125 - 102 (average of 100 and 103 for stiction) = 23mm Initial test ride felt much firmer but have not adjusted comp or rebound as yet. Gio

I'm in the middle of changing the fork oil on the V11S and thought would add a little pre-load to reduce the sag. I measured this beforehand at 124 - 86 = 38mm (I weigh around 175lbs) and would like to reduce this to say 30mm - so should I just increase the stock spacer length by the difference (ie 8mm so from the stock length of 109 to 117mm) or add a little more than this? I'm also planning to raise the forks by up to 10mm - so I was thinking that in order to maintain the front ride height I should perhaps factor this in as well (so this would give a total of 18mm - close to that given by Doc in an earlier post - is that how you calculated your increase Doc? Gio PS - And yes Rich - I will be using some good old schedule 40 PVC tomato stakes...!

Just tried the zero map in the PC - same problem (and ok if the PC disconnected again) so I plan to switch out the PC with another unit to confirm the diagnosis. Gio

Thanks for the tips. I may not get a chance to do any further diagnosis over the next week or so but am planning to try both the zero map and also an exchange with a second PC from a friends bike if this indicates a problem with the PC itself. Gio

Thanks - I'll try the zero map and advise. Gio

Thanks for all the feedback. I think I will replace the fuel hose as a precaution (and maybe reverse the positions of the pump and filter at the same time as per earlier discussion). With regard to possible problems with the PC, I think that my main problem is most likely related to removal of the tank/hoses etc in the first place as everything was running just fine before that. But then again co-incidence can be a cruel thing... I also checked with my local gas station and they claim that their storage tanks were replaced in '98 (for the non-metal kind) and have had no other problems reported... At least I'm back up and running - and that's a good thing. Gio

Update on the update : Re-installed PC map - same as before. I'm now working on the theory that if I do have partially blocked injectors then the symptoms would be worse with the PC map as this is richer than the stock map...? Gio

Further update : I too wondered if the crud could be from a hose - the stuff in the pop bottle has now settled out - it's like charcoal powder - very fine and easily disturbed so the particle size must be very small. Now for the interesting develpoment. I just did a few runs with the PC disconnected (ie back to stock map) and the problems experienced whilst setting off under power are no longer present...? I double checked by re-connecting the PC and the problem returns. So I'll try re-loading the map I was using (m706.002 - Mistral mufflers with stock x-over and air-box) to see if this was corrupted in some way. The plot thickens still further...? Gio

Update : So the conclusion from my dealers diagnosis was that whilst everything appeared to be set up ok (TPS, throttle opening, idle) and synchronisation was within one or two cm (considered ok) the bike was clearly not running correctly. So finally the mechanic removed the fuel filter and back-flushed it into a pop bottle for inspection.... Holy *#%! you should have seen what came out - a thick suspension of very fine particles, dark grey in colour. This is the original filter with only 27,000 km on the clock so it was a bit of a shock (I always try to fill with a decent grade of at least 91 octane). So they replaced the filter and added a good dose of injector cleaner to the tank. Anyone else seen this happen? I put on a couple of hundred km this afternoon and although the problem has not gone away, it is definately better. According to the support desk at MG, it is not possible to "backflush" these injectors so I'm hoping that things will continue to improve over the next few tank-fulls (with cleaner), otherwise new injectors may be required...? So pay attention your filter - if not replaced regularly, it is probably a good idea to at least backflush once in a while. Gio

That's great news Doc. I may have missed this in an earlier post but I assume that adjusting the pawl previously did not have such a beneficial effect in your case? Or as you say it may just be a very sensitive adjustment which needs to be exactly right. I will try this adjustment myself. Gio

No worries - least I can do in return for the help. I turn of the wheel sounds reasonable but I was finding that much less would alter the results both ways (eg with 1/4 turn LHS/RHS went from 18/17, 18/19, 27/26 and 33/35 cm at 1,2,3 and 4k rpm to 24/24, 21/22, 26/26 30/34cm) but yes, the readings do stabilise at steady throttle. Now I must admit the old carb stix have seen better days, and at least some of the mercury has already made unwanted excursions. I was also getting some water condensing out into the tubes (who knows where that comes from?) which sometimes breaks up the mercury columns. The Twinmax product sounds like a much better alternative to me. So since I leave for my trip shortly, I have decided to visit my dealer this morning to have them diagnose the problem. In preparation for this I checked the valve adjustment last night (1 thou loose on both inlets, 2 thou loose on both exhausts) and adjusted (I use 0.1 and 0.15 mm = 4 and 6 thou respectively). A final test ride indicated that I still have the original problem (maybe slightly better but this could be wishfull thinking) so I'll report back later. Thanks again for the advice, Gio

This is not intended as a "how to" but since I have been making some notes during my education on syncing (an on-going project..) thought I would at least share them for review / possible basis for expansion by others. This is what I have so far and is based on a V11S fitted with a PC and using conventional mercury "carb stix". I do not have access to a CO analyser so that part of the procedure is missing. Checking TB sync....(?) 1. Install manifold adapters and verify synchronisation (vac spec = 7mbar or ~0.5cm Hg). Re-install blanking plugs (or temporary ones if adjustment required - I used small pieces of tube with one end sealed) 2. Check / set TPS. Closed should read 150mV (black/violet wrt violet at the ECU connector - thanks Docc) but I used the set-up page from the PC to verify that % throttle was from 0 to 100%. 3. Adjust idle to either 1050 (manual) or 1100 +/- 50rpm using the horizontal stop adjuster (2mm hex) on the LHS (left side) TB. This overides the stop on the RHS. Again I used the display from the PC to monitor rpm. 4. Fully close both air by-pass screws located on the underside of both LHS and RHS (right side) TB's (should have been between 1/2 and 3/4 open) 5. Bring the adjuster on the RHS TB flush with the stop (I had ~0.5mm gap following the above step) by loosening the screw, sliding the plate and re-tighten). 6. Adjust the balance using the thumbwheel on the connecting rod...* 7. Re-open both air by-pass screws between 1/2 and 3/4 turns (mine were set at ~5/8) out from closed. * This is the part I'm still struggling with. I found that I can only do this by holding the lock-nut on the RHS end of the rod (8mm) to prevent the link twisting and then turning the thumbwheel on the LHS. How much would anyone expect to need to turn the adjuster if the imbalance was say ~2cm Hg as measured using a carb stick? I have tried +/- 1/4 to 1/2 a turn each way but the readings are all over the place (hence the inquiry about the Twinmax as an alternative). I always "calibrate" each tube using a syringe before using (eg 15cc on the syringe gave 43cm Hg on # 1 and 2 etc). See earlier post for results. Please feel free to add or correct anything - this is a first attempt. Gio (now with even LHS - as in less head shake...)

Rich, I'm looking for an alternative to my Motion Pro mercury carb stix (work ok on my 4 cylinder Kawi but not so good on the MG it seems) You mention the Twin Max system. Are these electronic or analog gauges? What sort of cost are we looking at? Gio

Just to add to an earlier comment on this thread (and assuming we both survive the perils of syncing..) I will need to change transmission fluids shortly and plan to try some of the things I have learned here. Out of interest I asked my MG dealer what they currently use/recommend and was told 230cc of 80wt plus 20cc of moly for the final (bevel) drive (or use the MG product which has moly already added, BUT that there was some evidence that use of moly in the transmission (gearbox) fluid can cause leakage from the rear seal...? Anyone else heard this? Gio