dale-j

Cash, please post up what the results are... in particular if your suspension tuner was able to work with the forks. I have asked locally here (RMR Suspension in Abbotsford, BC who is a Traxxion installer and Ohlins dealer) and been told that on the non-adjustable Marzocchis fitted to the 03 and newer bikes, the cartridges are swaged together and are non-serviceable. No internal rebuilds, no gold valves. Apparently the options are to stick with setting up spring rate, preload/sag, oil viscosity and oil volume/air gap, or to replace the cartridges with the CAD$1200+ AK-20 kit. It seems a lot to spend but if it improves the sharp hits as well as the weave and wallow it might be worth it... best solution would be if you can confirm that the forks will take a gold valve kit though!! Steve

RHIP, this is exactly what the Evoluzione kit did when it was available. My brother in law has this on his red frame V11 Sport with the MPH risers, and IMO it succeeds perfectly where all the other kits miss the point. This bike transfers enough of the weight from your tailbone (which putting the feet more forward just makes worse) to your thighs by moving the feet down and back. The back and down is a less aggressive knee angle, better seat (butt) support and does not 'jack-knife you forward, and it provides a neutral cornering position to move around as you wish on the bike. Sad to say, the kit is no longer made. Apparently it was a simple matter of relocating in to existing holes on the pork chops and included some different bolts and bits and was much less expensive to boot, but was not really worth the hassle for the vendor to sell them for the small price (I think I was told it was less than $50) that they sold for. I have a promise from said brother in law to let me disassemble his alongside mine this winter, and see if I can source the needed parts. If it's just a matter of new bolts I'll post up information so that others can benefit as well. I will admit my first street bike was a GSXR, and I am partial to having my feet back. I found my FJ1200 to be too forward, as was my RD400 Daytona (although I had clubman bars on it, making it the jack-knife position I hated). I would like to get a peg position not unlike the one on my 93 VFR750, which is more back than seems to be the taste for many on the forum here. I don't get why, as to me you want to go down and back enough to support some weight with your thighs and off the tail bone... although hundreds of thousands of Harley riders obviously disagree.... By the way, I have raised adjustable Tommaselli clip ons on my bike, and while the 'feet forward, arms down' position is better than it was previously, it still needs a rearset solution to rotate the pelvis forward a bit....

By the way, the map that I am running is Map 4 from the PC3 map thread (somewhere) here in the fileshare section (thanks to Gord at Valley Motorsports for the assistance with this), that is intended for later crossover pipe equipped bikes running the FbF Crossover, FbF airbox lid eliminator, MG Ti cans etc. My bike is similar but not the same - I have the modified airbox lid per the thread (sorry, can't find it at the moment) that Greg Field, Doc and a few others contributed to (three 25mm /1 inch holes in specific locations, plus the removal of the rubber and expansion of the intake bells). I have what appear to be either Mistral or MG (Lafranconi) Ti Cans and a Stucchi crossover. Fresh UFI air filter (and oil filter, and 20w50 Redline synthetic, fresh Motul Transoil in tranny and fresh Redline Heavy Shockproof in the final drive). Valves were just adjusted to the world specs per Jaap's great write up, fresh NGK plugs, and as noted we followed dlaing's instructions on the TPS per the FAQ, which were clear enough (after Roy's assistance in clearing up my issues with the readings) even for a first timer. I have an Innovate Motorsports MTX-L Air Fuel Ratio gauge installed, so I have instant info on the mixture. SO, the richness at idle and part throttle is fixed. Beautifully so, and so is (it appears, after two long rides yesterday and no fuel light on yet) that my fuel mileage issue is fixed as well. Light throttle openings are now 13:1 to 13.5:1 give or take, depending on rpm and actual throttle position. BUT there is still detonation at larger throttle openings between 2000 and 2500, just for a short blip. Checking the PC3 map, map 04 has -12 and -13% fuel cut at those rpm, so I dialed about half of this back in. I was not sure whether the lean reading I got (14.5-15.0:1 AFR) was a result of the detonation, or whether a lean condition was causing the detonation. Lo, and behold... reducing the fuel cut at those rpm and the detonation is much reduced as well. Map 04, on my bike, is pretty rough. On the bike at different rpms even WOT, you can see the needle swing wildly. Same thing when rolling on the throttle. Looking at the map itself in the PC software it is easy to see why, there are wild +\- swings all over the map as well, which apparently not the best approach. I'll be tweaking the map some more to smooth it out, and will report - but for now the good news is she runs well and is both safe and generally much improved as well.

Roy is being diplomatic, that's all.... The problem was first and foremost an assortment of junk multimeters of which only one was accurate, coupled with an extreme case of operator ineptitude and one bad crimp connection with no current. Once sorted, and the voltage reduced to correct levels, the low throttle richness is gone and wow is the bike smooth... it was not off by a lot, but the sync really made the idle nice and the throttle response crisp. Thanks again to Roy who is a brilliant mind with this stuff, I'm glad different people are good at different things because I'm lost with this stuff. Steve

Thanks Guys. I have fiddled some more and still nothing, but thankfully I happen to be a short distance from Roy and he has offered to assist. Will update when I know what the culprit was. S

Hey all. I'm following dlaing's TPS adjustment and sync sticky, trying to chase a running problem where despite several PC3 map changes the bike is still heavily rich (10.0:1 -11.5:1 AFR) at light throttle. Better at larger throttle openings after resetting PC3 closed and full throttle values, but that indicates there has been some TPS signal drift to my mind, as the values saved in the PC3 showed that at closed throttle, the PC3 was reading the signal as 13-15% opened (this might explain the detonation at 3K if the ECU advance curve was 13-15% ahead).... probing my tps connector using wires and paper clips inserted, I'm getting no discernable voltage with a multimeter. soldering extensions and pigtails on as the suggested alternative, I'm getting no discernable voltage with a multimeter. changing to my backup meter, I'm getting no discernable voltage with a multimeter. Borrowing my father-in-law's older analog meter, I'm getting no discernable voltage with a multimeter. Borrowing my brother-in law's newer and more sensitive digital meter, I'm getting no discernable voltage with a multimeter. Do I have four bad meters (yes, batteries are fresh in at least three of the four), or am I doing something wrong? Probing the two outside wires but have tried the middle against both outside wires as well; still no love. The bike still runs (if the throttle rod is reconnected)... makes good power too but is sooty black (exhaust and plugs), rich, detonates at part throttle 3K and delivers poor fuel economy compared with my brother in law's V11 Sport. Any suggestions? TPS is coded PF3C/00, bears the guzzi eagle, and looks stock. Steve

Any weight savings helps, but to be honest I just figured that with the smaller size, higher AH rating, faster recovery time and longer life (10 yrs) it was worth the premium on price regardless. I have Hepco and Becker bags that add back all the weight savings, but yeah no value in having extra weight in the battery so why cart it around?? If I could actually *feel* the difference riding it, I would be have to be a better rider than I can claim to be though....

Holes in the top triple are 20mm. I had a bit of trouble measuring it installed on the bike, as I have heated grip wiring running through one and wiring for an Innovate Motorsports AFR guage running through the other now. I also measured the OD of the bushings to be sure, and they were 20.11 mm with the steel inserts in, so about what you would expect to have a good press fit with everything assembled. My guess is you could even be the imperial fractional equivalent of 20mm if it was a little on the tight side (maybe 25/32"?), as in my recollection the bushings came out easier than I expected. Teh 3 piece bushings are a factory Guzzi part, top and bottom rubber goes in and then the steel sleeve is inserted which tightens the whole thing up nicely. Oh, the bushing holes are located in the 'thin' part of the top triple, just inside the line of the raised lip on the outside, and all the V11 triples that I have seen (mine included) have the boss cast in the bottom for reinforcement from the factory at the correct location.

Roy, you have noted a phenomenon that many locals I know have discussed.... the British Italian Rip-off. Seems that the PO of my bike was paying $32 each for the OE UFI oil filters... the same ones that you can order from MG Cycle in a ten pack for about $80. That was after they gave him his 'discount' as a preferred customer. If there is something you need, and you have the time for a nice day ride, get in touch with Gord out at Valley Yamaha/Guzzi in Chilliwack. Couldn't be more different. Apparently news to British Italian, but Guzzi mechanics don't need to be rude and surly to be qualified to work on the bikes. I bought a couple of the thicker gaskets when I was ordering a bunch of stuff from Gordon at MG Cycle. They are a nice, thick laminated looking kind of plastic coated card stock and IIRC they were about $9.00 each. If I was to buy quality gasket material and cut one myself it would cost almost as much. I have their valve cover gaskets made from this stuff as well. Cheers, Steve

By the way, my brother in law has the MPH risers on his red frame V11 Sport, and is very happy with them. I wanted to try something a little different and less expensive with the Tommaselli's, but the MPH's are a very good system as well. I have the holes in my top triple from the Ballabio bushings, and also have the bushings so I can measure the holes over the next few days and will post up.

I went with the Tommaselli adjustable clipons sold by MG Cycle. I have them full up, as well as the clamps rotated to the outside rear to bring them closer to the rider. The rise and pullback do not appear dramatic at first - especially given that the location of the bars at the rear of the fork tube puts them at a lower angle that negates some of the rise- but the change in the riding position on the bike certainly is dramatic, and is good for me. I can use the back part of my seat now and the bike is much more comfortable to hang off in corners, with me not stretched so far out forward. It is more striking to see the old bars beside the new on the bike to see how much has changed, but they don't look 'stuck out' like the fat bar conversions I have seen. In addition, they clear the fairings with no issues and preserve the good looks of the stock bike, unlike (IMO) the Ballabio bars. They do require you to drop the triples down over the fork tubes by about 7mm, but with the change in body position and less weight on the front, it seems fine for stability. I did get a slight headshake on my last ride, on a bumpy down hill decreasing radius corner, however my damper was set very light and my bike is still far more stable than my brother in law's stock red framed V11 Sport. A small slide leaned over hard in a tight second gear corner was an even push front and back with no major drama, so I'm happy with the stability and balance of the set up, a little less happy with the stick of the Z6 Interact's however that's off topic. I did not have to do anything other than to loosen and reposition the upper brake master cylinder banjo bolt, however my bike had the Ballabio bushings in the top triple and the PO indicated that there was a Ballabio conversion on it when he bought the bike. Some cables may already have been rerouted or changed so the install might be harder for others than it was for me. I have lots of comparison and install pics if anyone wants to pm me an email address. Too many to post here... the picture attached is prior to sliding the fork tubes up but shows the general bar position I came up with. Keep in mind I have a fairly narrow build and strongly prefer a more swept back bar angle to the wide and flat dirt bike bar style of the Ballabio. I also think that the look suits the bike better too.

I have a Ballistic Evo 2 (LiFePo) 12 cell in my 2004 LeMans and have to say I am very pleased with it. It is small enough that I can now (in addition to the battery) fit a Stop n Go Tire repair kit and my PC3 in the battery area, and it has more juice than the original battery did. Weight savings (the thing weighs 2lbs 5oz) are a bonus but the size and durability are what sold me. It also has a really well designed (long, high quality) metric bolt system for attaching terminals. I did pony up the $71.95 for the special charger that will rebalance the cells, it is FANTASTIC, has settings for all kinds of battery and I use it for all of mine now. Ballistic Battery 12 Cell EVO 2 Lithium (2lb 5oz) - Type: L, - left, + right, $170.99 I ordered mine from Daniel at SoloMotoParts and they were great to deal with. Shipping to Canada (we usually get gouged badly) was only $28.65 and due to the battery being made in the USA there was no duty charged coming across the border (YMMV).