Does this merit a Bodge Point?

[savagehenry]

I submit this cheap and easy method at finally securing the dreaded "floppy X over". 18 inches of exhaust wrap and 4 stainless tie wraps.

[JoeV11]

Nice job, SH. Not too ugly really.

 

I just noticed my bike gets louder after extended riding and the crossover is floppy, so maybe it's leaking. Does anyone know what would be the effect of just removing the crossover and blocking the openings? It wouldn't be as pretty as older style pipes but wouldn't cost hundreds of dollars either.

 

Thanks, Joe

[savagehenry]

Hola Joe, Thanks, I don't think it looks TOO bad, and the "road patina" the tape has developed actually makes it harder to see. Oh Boy, did you possibly open yet another can of worms with your follow up question. Some sez "No NEED for the front Xover at all..." and some swear it is absolutely necessary for a seamless powerband...time to duck and cover now

[Skeeve]

Nice job, SH. Not too ugly really.

 

I just noticed my bike gets louder after extended riding and the crossover is floppy, so maybe it's leaking. Does anyone know what would be the effect of just removing the crossover and blocking the openings? It wouldn't be as pretty as older style pipes but wouldn't cost hundreds of dollars either.

 

Thanks, Joe

 

According to Ratchethack, this was the solution applied by his friend & it worked perfectly. If you noodle around w/ a search, you can probably turn up pics of it. I say, plug the spigots, then braze the x-over in place on one side, so it looks stock, but won't rattle around... That would certainly be worth a bodge point!

[raceboy]

According to Ratchethack, this was the solution applied by his friend & it worked perfectly. If you noodle around w/ a search, you can probably turn up pics of it. I say, plug the spigots, then braze the x-over in place on one side, so it looks stock, but won't rattle around... That would certainly be worth a bodge point!

 

 

I seem to recall seeing a front crossover removal job on the V11 forum last year. The end result was very clean. What this chap did was cut/grind the spigots off and had a welder seal up the holes nicely with a perfectly cut piece of stainless and ground smooth. This is exactly what I will be doing in the very near future. Any loss or difference in the torque curve I will learn to ride around and / or deal with and hopefully the Stucchi x-over will help.

 

I shall post pics and results when complete.

 

raceboy

[Flyboy]

Just a thought but if you`re going down the welding route, could you not just weld the crossover in place to the head pipes? Not familiar with the crossover setup, so excuse me if it`s a incorrect thought.

I seem to recall seeing a front crossover removal job on the V11 forum last year. The end result was very clean. What this chap did was cut/grind the spigots off and had a welder seal up the holes nicely with a perfectly cut piece of stainless and ground smooth. This is exactly what I will be doing in the very near future. Any loss or difference in the torque curve I will learn to ride around and / or deal with and hopefully the Stucchi x-over will help.

 

I shall post pics and results when complete.

 

raceboy

[Guest ratchethack]

Just a thought but if you`re going down the welding route, could you not just weld the crossover in place to the head pipes? Not familiar with the crossover setup, so excuse me if it`s a incorrect thought.

Coupla thoughts.

 

AFAIK, every known "fix" to seal the leaky front crossover (both many and varied) have been only "temporary", with the exception of eliminating it altogether.

 

Todd Eagan at GuzziTech has probably pulled as many dyno runs on V11's as anyone on the planet as Tech Advisor to DynoJet when developing the PC III for the 1.5M Guzzi ECU, and ever since. According to Todd, eliminating the front crossover has a negligible effect, if any a-tall, on the torque and power curves. It was an emissions-related ploy that was introduced with a slight change in valve overlap that evidently flopped. In retrospect, it seems to've been pretty much a disaster all the way around.

 

Todd has made up and sold custom "no crossover" and "no crack" replacement headers that have met with good success, and as far as I know, he's had no complaints.

 

The front crossover DOES NOT serve ANY PART of the same purpose of the rear crossover, and vice-versa. One is in no way, shape or form a substitute for the other.

 

Welding the front crossover in place sounds feasible, but to my knowledge, you'd be the first, since simply blocking off the spigots and welding them shut (as my Pal with '04 LM did, with no perceptible change on the butt-dyno) has no functional downside, and BTW keeping them separate would potentially make the headers easier to mount and dismount than one solid piece joined at the crossover. Heat expansion and contraction effects of a welded crossover potentially contributing to more cracking of already crack-prone headers? UNKNOWN, but at least semi-dubious, IMHO.

 

Hope this helps.

 

Any Q's on any o' the above, may I suggest send Todd an email at Todd<at>GuzziTech.com. He's pretty good about answering email and is always glad to help.

[savagehenry]

Just checkin' in on this. Still holding tight, alot easier than the welding route. I think welding the cross over in place would be a problem down the road, taking it apart, putting it back together, clearances, etc. I would make a set of caps for the cross over stubs, but this was so much easier and faster...Egan's custom pipes look nice, but I need another set of tires more...

[Greg Field]

There's a coupla ways to seal those joints. Give up and remove the front crossover if ya want, but you don't have to. Guzzis run better with crossovers. The more the better, within reason, and two is within reason.