jrt

harsh.

And the next question is do you have a carb synching device like mercury sticks? The throttle bodies need to be in good synch or else the bike will be 'buzzy'. But Carl is right- the first order of business is to check the TPS setting.

The rear brake is prone to dust/dirt buildup. Perhaps a good cleaning, or actually pulling the pads out, then cleaning might help.

The world's a crazy place. I don't care much for the graphics on the 999. That tribal stuff just doesn't do it for me. On a related note, I saw perhaps the ugliest bike I've ever seen in person the other day at an auction. It was a Harley (though that doesn't matter). The theme was 'bones' (real creative). Imagine an electric blue chopper, with the front stanchions shaped like arm bones with the hands holding the axle, and the headlight was a skull. Inside the gaping maw was a single household halogen bulb (like in track lighting). Nice. The brake/clutch levers were finger bones and there were ribs on the gas tank. Oh, the humanity. I almost wish I'd taken a picture of it, but my eyes are still sore, so the camera may not have been able to take it. Tacky, tacky, tacky. edit: behold the power of the internet- note the lovely femur bones on the saddlebags.

Well, for what it's worth, I'm pretty happy with the Techno bags sold by Guzzi. I have ~10K miles of touring on them. They faded, they aren't waterproof, and I poked a hole in one of them when I dropped my bike (in the garage, LOL). But they work just fine. I REALLY like my tank bag. I use that thing ALL the time.

Wow, that's an excellent- and elegant- solution. Greg has a large library of loopframe materials and thumbs up to him for hosting your schematics now too. J

I think you'd be hard-pressed to damage anything that way. It might run like crap, but that's ok cause it can be fixed easily enough. I've only burnt one valve in about 300K Guzzi miles (still not sure why) muppet...damn, I'm still laughing about that. dunno why.

Glad to hear it! I'm still surprised that the rear pinion broke...that's just odd.

I'd rather not try out nursing homes...

Good for you, and welcome. Of course, it has to be said:

I'd try a dry lubricant like teflon- it wears slowly and it doesn't attract dirt. I've been using this stuff on my motorcycle chain and it seems to be doing a fine job. It does leave a white residue from overspray that can be wiped off.

Enzo, you have to take these readings with a small grain of salt- the Sigma computer uses a speed algorithim that can miscalculate occasionally. It's reported mid 90's mph on my Eldorado while I was really doing 63 or 64. Not sure why, because it doesn't seem to be a simple harmonic and it only seems to happen under acceleration. 120 is the fastest I've taken the V11, and I put a sigma on there as well. I certainly agree with you that they are a nice investment. Oh, and track days are not necessarily over $200. I just got back from one and got a couple adverts for $100-150/day. Look around and try one or two- they're worth trying even if only once.

I'm serious, but I wouldn't put it on the sport. I do have G5 that it's perfect for...the lines match my sidecar. Why don't you wait till you get settled in OK. If you ever decide to get rid of it, then let me know. I don't want to push you into selling something you would rather keep. J

Ditto. I'm going to re-route some plumbing as well after I have time to think about it. Glad to hear you had fun! Nice write-up-

Can I use this if I send you royalties?

Well, normally electronics are "supposed" to spec'ed at about 2X the operating point.........but this is a Guzzi, I suppose. I'm only referring to the spark plug wires here- I totally agree with Carl that the rest of the electronic equipment should be isolated from a 17 V operating point. Couple o' questions- for the capacitive discharge and swirling- wouldn't the combustion front dampen the swirling because it is an isotropic expansion? For the MSD unit or for dual plug heads- wouldn't you need to retard the timing in order to take advantage of this?

You should never be applying that much force to the handlebars- especially if the bike is in motion.

Yeah, well don't worry about it 'cause it don't do nothin' but fall off. Oh, and 2X4 scrap piece (6" or so) works well to elevate the back of the tank so you reach up underneath it. J

Damn, I leave town for a couple days and all hell breaks loose. Sorry Tony- I know how you feel, and although I can't help much from Iowa, I'll keep my eyes and ears open- also for Miss Daytona... Jason

OK, I just probed (heh heh, probed) those two 'mystery connectors'. One is a straight ground as far as I can tell. They are fused at position 1, and on turning on the ignition, they provide 12V as long as the pump is powering up, then switch off, so they are wired through the relay as well. Not so good as a source of power goes- must be there for testing purposes?

A series of rubber bands and cantilevers? Sorry- it just popped into my head.... I don't have any great ideas for you...maybe call reboot spares? An older Sporti or Spot model might fit (and were better quality)

Welcome- it looks like we have a lot of pilots on this board.... short answer: I think so. I am writing up a short FAQ on buying a V11, but it's not on this computer. I recently posted it, so you should be able to find it pretty easy. You can buy one or you can get a 27mm nut and put a bolt onto it...or get a 27mm bolt for that matter. I think there may be a picture of one on the mgcycle website (?) You can download the entire shop manual which is out of date, or you can buy an out of date printed shop manual Fortunately, Guzzi's are so similar year-to-year that the manual works just fine for all models. The manual can be had from yahoo groups- v11manuals, I think. If you have trouble, PM me and I'll help you get it set up. J

Call up your friendly Snap-on dealer and get a full set. They ALL come in handy.

No, the diagnostic connection is a three prong AMP connector. I have the bullet connectors also- no idea what they go to, but someone mentioned that small, poor motorcycle companies sometimes buy 'generic' wire looms. Perhaps this is a leftover connection from a generic setup? You don't really need a relay for a low draw application. Relays are just remote switches that can carry a higher current. their function is to provide an electrical path that is more direct and not through a toggle switch. To wire one in, you wire battery-->relay-->draw AND wire in battery-->toggle switch-->relay. The toggle switch then activates the relay, which carries the load.

LOLOLOLOL