Dyno tuning questions

[tom3]

Hi there,

 

I have a 2001 V11 sport and I've been thinking about getting it dyno tuned. I'm the second owner and the previous owner had installed the following mods on it:

- Stucci crossover

- Mistral titanium oval pipes

- FBF high compression pistons

- Power commander 3 (serial)

 

Now the bike runs fine for the most part. The only problems (more like annoyances) that I experience and hope that the dyno tune would fix are:

1) very abrupt on-off throttle response;

2) sometimes around 2500-3000rpm, I experience a sudden and brief dip in engine output;

3) lastly, and this is really minor my bike seems to be consuming more fuel than usual. I get about 30-32 mpg (is this normal?), I wonder if it's running rich all the time

 

Besides these, I don't recall having any other problems with the way the engine's running. I'm not interested in maximizing power at this point. Given all this, would you recommend that I do a dyno tune?

 

I'm located in Seattle, I called Ducati of Seattle to ask about doing a dyno tune. They said I can either tune it one cylinder at a time (dual map), or both at the same time (single map). If I choose to do the dual map, they'd need to drill and weld bungs on the header pipe, and the total cost is about double. For doing the single map, they'd use the exhaust output to help them tune, so no bungs need to be installed.

 

I checked the header pipes this morning and found that toward the bottom where it connects with the crossover, there is a bolted-up hole on each pipe. Would they be able to use that to do a dual map, and not have to install bungs?

 

I'm very new to all this. Do you think I would gain any improvement with the dyno tune? If so, is it worth double the price to do a dual map? Finally, for those of you in Seattle, is there a shop that has more experience dyno-tuning Moto Guzzi engines? At least the guys I spoke with in the service department didn't seem to be very familiar with Guzzi's.

 

thanks!

[Tom M]

Whether or not you have a custom map done for your bike you should verify that the valves and Throttle Position Sensor (TPS) are adjusted within spec, and the throttle bodies are synchronized. Just doing that might clear up any running issues that you have and get you better gas mileage. If not at least you'll know that everything is adjusted correctly before getting a custom map made.

 

Do you know where the map that's loaded now came from? If it wasn't done for your particular bike do you know if it was created for a '02 or earlier bike with similar modifications to what you have? If not I would suggest that you try loading GH67 map from here. It's a known good map for your vintage bike with similar mods. If you don't like it you can always go back to your map or go the custom route.

 

If you don't want to get into tuning the bike yourself you are lucky to live near one of the best Guzzi shops in the country, Moto International. I'm sure they could do a baseline tune for you and recommend a dyno tuner if you're still not happy with the result. A former forum member posted their mechanic's method for tuning V11s which I and others here have used with good results.

 

The Micha method:

Step one - Set your valves to world settings (.15mm/.006" intake, .2mm/.008" exhaust)

Step two - Set your air bleed screws to open 1 full turn

Step three - Synch throttle bodies at just off idle (around 1800 rpm)

Step four - Set idle to 1100 using left idle screw adjuster only

Step five - Set TPS to 3.6 degrees (530mV)

Step six - Ensure idle trim is set to zero. This requires an AXEONE dealer tool or VDST software.

 

Hope this helps...

[raz]

I checked the header pipes this morning and found that toward the bottom where it connects with the crossover, there is a bolted-up hole on each pipe. Would they be able to use that to do a dual map, and not have to install bungs?

Unfortunately they can't be used; they are too small for a wideband sensor (I assume that is what they use). I think the existing ones are for CO (which is too slow for this kind of tuning). A wideband sensor has the same thread as your spark plugs IIRC.

[Baldini]

As TomM says - get motor/FI in spec first, there is no point in dynoing it when base settings are out. I have no experience of FI & take it to the shop to set - you are local to Moto International who have vast Guzzi experience & good reputation - you may find this is enough to get it satisfactory, but I have similar mods &, at shop recommendation, I got it dynoed after they'd set it up & ... according to the graphs... it improved it. I didn't ride it in between but I was happy, it ran great. You might want to ask dyno shop pay particular attention to low speed pickup/running as they may focus mainly on the other end. It may also pay to ask Moto International to recommend a suitable dyno shop, not all will be as... Guzzi friendly.

 

KB

[tom3]

Thanks all for your response. It was indeed Micha from Moto International that referred me to Ducati of Seattle for a dyno tune, when I asked about how I can smooth out the problems I was experiencing. However I don't think I had asked to have all the other things done first. Thanks Tom M for the list. I will definitely check with Micha to get those done first. You guys are right, it makes little sense to do a custom map on the dyno without first making sure that the FI/motor settings are in line..