Kiwi_Roy

I have the tekno bags also, they are really great and quite waterproof. The frames are really solid, I pick up the rear end by the frame to get into a tight parking spot. If someone else doesn't jump in I will take a picture tomorrow. Roy

Looks good! Do you have a picture of it on your V11? Which size are you using , medium or large?

My buddy and I are going on a 3 week camping trip in the fall. I already have side bags but I would like to mount something above to carry bulky stuff like tent, sleeping bag etc. Last time I just strapped it to the seat but it would be nice if I had like a flat area I could throw everything on and anchor with a cargo net. I don't want to spend a fortune since it won't get used much. Any Suggestions Thanks Roy

I had to fab up a cable to fit my V11 Sport, it has a gearbox at each end. I bought a kit from Lordco. The hard part was getting a square end, I finally heated the inner up to burn off the oil then saturated it with JB Weld to make it solid so I could file it square. When I get around to it I plan on adapting a LeMans cable Yamalama gave me and do away with both gearboxes. I thought I could just do away with one gearbox but then I realized I would have to ride in reverse, I didn't fancy that LOL

Ooopps, it seems to be down again this morning

Welcome to Guzzi, the Veglia speedos seem to have a reputation for their unreliabolity. My oddometer quit at about 70,000. Perhaps try turning the knob backwards until it unwinds and you can take the rear cover off, you might be able to see something then. Give me a call sometime, I sent you my phone in a PM Cheers Roy New West.

I must say I was surprised by the fast response I got. I saw he copied my enquiry to several in their group and this is the response I got later in the day. So remember to shake the bottles before you use them to get the additives. Cheers Roy

Why would you see it? It stays in the bottom of container unless you keep it inverted for about 5 minutes. As I said this component is very viscous, I noticed by by accident last spring, in the bottom of each container. Thinking it was put there for a reason I flushed it into the sump. If it drops out in the container it probably drops out again in the sump over winter. I will try passing it by Agip and report back. Roy That was fast, I got an immediate response from a fancy address. American Agip Co. Inc. 485 Madison Avenue New York, NY 10022 With a follow up message a couple of hours later asking for more info.

Here you have it - Exhibit A A brand new bottle of Agip 20W50 Racing Synthetic I poured it out then cut the bottom off to find about half a teaspoon full of sludge. This sludge has a much higher viscosity than the rest of the contents, it won't pour out unless you leave it quite a while or shake the bottle to mix it in So what is it? Something good, something bad? Ok, Ok, I'll stick to electrickery

What! you don't use Luigi's recomended oil, I'm shocked. I got serious flack on another forum for even suggesting an after market filter. I can see I will have to provide some photographic evidence in support of my built in the bottle Agip sludge I'm sure you are correct about the sludge in the crankcase caused by water, it's pretty damp in Vancouver for sure and I don't shy off riding in the rain. Does warming the case drive the moisture out?

+1 Roy ... white stuff is likely from moisture (I used to get more of a creamy film when living on the wet coast) but I would be concerned to find it in un-used oil ..? Maybe you need to change brands (hey we haven'nt had a good old oil thread for a while) ... or just drop a couple of diodes in there and ride longer ... I am talking Agip oil, the brand Guzzi recommends, fresh from a sealed bottle. There should be no moisture in it but there's something that drops out after it's been sitting for a while. Next time you change oil pour the first bottle in without shaking you may see what I mean. Admitedly some of mine had been sitting for over 2 years, the remains of a crate 10W60 I inherited from PO, I think the stuff you use might be 10W50. I thought water also but wondered if whatever I see in the bottom of a bottle is dropping out over the winter Perhaps the steady rain is getting to me Then again, perhaps you are missing the secret ingredient by not shaking.

I changed my oil last evening and noticesd a thin layer of whitish oil at the bottom of the sump. At first I thought it was emulsified oil but now I'm not so certain. If you take a new bottle of Agip 10w60 and just pour it into the bike in the bottom of the bottle remains a layer of whitish looking sludge so I have taken to half emtptying the bottle then put the cap back on and shake it up. I'm wondering what this white stuff is? Are we supposed to shake it up or decant it as Luigi would a bottle of rough wine? I put K&N pods on the bike and ran the breather down to beside the gear lever with a filter on the end, I wonder if that encourages moisture ingress. Any bright ideas about what to do with said breather. Thanks Roy Update What! 41 views and no response, am I the only one who has noticed the sludge in a bottle of oil?

Could you give an estimation what percentage of total battery capacity this loss would mean? I mean, if starting the bike might need 1,5 Ah, how much of that would be regained after 20 minutes of average commuting at 4000 rpm under standard winter conditions? Hubert What I'm trying to get across is without the headlight current passing through the original wiring the regulator doesn't get the benefit of the Voltage drop. Two bikes that I know drop ~0.6 Volts The regulator setting I see is 13.8 With normal wiring 13.8 + 0.6 = 14.4 (thats what the battery charges too) With headlight relays it will only charge to 13.8 a loss of 0.6 Volts If you figure 12V is flat and 14.4 fully charged 13.8 is 1.8/2.4 or 75% I may not have my facts straight but it's 25% lower than normal. This would be a lot more significant if the battery normally only charges to 50%, it would end up 25% charged. You will never regain the 25% because the regulator stops charging once it sees the battery at 13.8 (It thinks the battery is 14.4) I hope this is clearer than mud

I really have no experience of the modern ones, after 2004 they changed as you say. My gut feeling is they will be a lot more reliable not relying on the relay bases to make good contact, they also ground to the battery negative thus eliminating the steel to aluminium contact where the reg bolts to the frame.. If I had to purchase a new one that's the way I would go for sure. I didn't mention adding additional driving lights etc, they should be wired thru a different relay direct to the battery otherwise the voltage drop will cause over-charging. I also think loose connection in the reference probably contributes to regulator failure. It would be interesting to know what the Electrosports are set for.

A while back I identified the problem with powering the headlight relays direct from the battery with a Ducati Energia regulator, It effects the charging slightly. Without the headlight current passing through the loom the Voltage drop between battery and regulator is lost and the battery gets charged to a lesser Voltage This may not be an issue for you but if you are having trouble starting in cold weather it could be one cause. If you don't already have headlight relays its a simple method of brightening up your life with a single relay and a couple of feet of wire. Headlight Relay - Ducati Energia.pdf I first became aware of this when I added a pair of headlight relays, I didn't know why my battery was undercharging at the time so I just cranked up the regulator setpoint. Helping another owner it suddenly clicked and so we added a diode in series with the reference to boost his Voltage by ~0.6.

If you're a cheap bastard like me you would make your own. Sump Gasket.pdf I traced around a new one I bought in a moment of weakness. Do you think $23 is ok for a simple paper gasket?

The Cush Drive on mine works fine. I drilled some large holes in the rubber wedges as someone here suggested. I recently pulled apart an 84 california, it's cush drive was still ok also

I don't know if theres a setting but the bolts are pretty tough, I just tighten mine up as tight as I can using a short handle allen key. It's such a solid arrangement I don't think anything would happen if the bolts were left loose i.e. just nipped up. BTW, be carefull to line up the indent in the shaft with the holes in the coupling otherwise it's very easy to spoil the thread of the bolts. Don't forget to line up the paint marks on the shaft if you pull apart the splines. Roy

I'm no expert but I think you are refering to a circlip that hold the bearing housing in there, if so no, even if you do you wouldn't be able to budge that part. How do I know, I tried. You will get a better answer when the other guys wake up Cheers Roy

Here's a follow-up to that thread: http://www.v11lemans.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=15408&view=findpost&p=171867 raz Thanks Raz - I recall reading about your adventure but missed the compression test update ... something I learned (I think?) from that old thread would be that the calculation for a stock motor (spec compression ratio of 9.3) should give expected compression of around 9.3 x 14.7 = 136 psi ... I also learned that there are many other variables here (temperature of motor, accuracy of gauge etc) but is this a theoretically correct calculation? This is purely for my own interest ... it's still the "off" season remember! 136 psi Absolute not Gauge i.e if you take a compression ratio of 1 1 x 14.7 = 14.7 psia or zero gauge So the pressure you see is 136 - 14.7 = 121.3 psi (gauge) Of couse the calculation doesn't take into account the additional pressure due to temperature rise. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boyle's_law (it's too early in the morning to do this complicated math) Roy

Me too, I tighten the bolts till they strip then loosen them a bit As you say, better to have steering a little tight than a little loose. When I replaced the ones in earlier post the steering felt a little weird for a while, no longer crunchie. Strange to say I didn't notice anything wrong until a dribble of rusty water came out one day It didn't actually fall apart, I destroyed it getting off.

Did you remember to hold the throttle wide open? Just asking Roy

Did I say my bike doesn't handle well? I am very happy with the way it behaves at high speed even on bummpy bends. I definately have to push steer at speed, perhaps the feeling it want's to drop into a bend at low speed is just a reflection of my riding ability. When I said the head bearings are tight I should have been more specific, what I meant was, the bearings aren't loose as in worn out and rattley, Not at all like the ones I took out Just nipped up like you would the tapered rollers on a car wheel. I would love for someone to show me how to properly set up the suspension that's something I have never been shown how to go about.

Dave, I find this thread very interesting. My V11 Sport feels like it wants to flop into a corner, especially at lower speeds, is that what you describe as pushing? I am running Pilot Road II front and rear and my head bearings are new and tight. At the Deep Woods Campout last year I watched a young lady with a fairly modern bike, not sure which model unclamp the triple trees to let the fork tubes slide up about 2 inches. I think she was doing it for the same reason to make a rake change and improve handling rather than just lowering the bike. I used to ride a Vincent that allowed you to change the rake between 3 settings in a couple of seconds by rotating an eccentric bushing.

I don't know which is best, I think the Bosch should spin the engine faster, it looks like it will draw a lot more current. Series motors used to be used for traction applications such as electric locomotives, they have a wide speed range whereas a shunt motor (read Valeo) quickly runs out of torque at speed. The Bosch certainly looks a lot beefier. I know some owners have switched from Valeo to Bosch and probably the other way. I have also heard the Chinese Valeo have some issues but I haven't any experience with those. I suspect others have switched instead of fixing the root cause, bad solenoid circuit wiring (see note 1 on my sketches). These days series motors have been replaced by 3 phase AC motors with Variable Frequency Drives for traction, perhaps one day we will see this type in a Guzzi starter, I was really surprised to see a permanent magnet Valeo. Perhaps Guzzi will come out with an electric drive train, who knows?