Reintroduction to V11 Lemans, Part II

[bridge]

I am reacquainting myself with a 2003 Lemans, a bike I had owned from 2004 to 2011 and regrettably sold. This year I became very ill and during my recovery I decided I wanted to ride that bike again, and I acquired one a lovely black Lemans from Arizona.  I remembered spending lots of time and money sorting out the ergonomics on my earlier bike and realized I had to do the same on this one. This weekend I installed Apex bar risers, which, after hours of fiddling, worked perfectly. As for the seat (I had a Rich Maund seat on my earlier Lemans, but he's retired now), it still needs improvement, but it's basically tolerable with a seat pad. I tend to slide forward into the tank. Any thoughts on aftermarket seats? Russell seats look comfortable, if not attractive, and expensive. 

I relocated the stock footpegs using existing mounting points, and not leaving well enough, I kludged together a pair of adjustable pegs with bushings and shims to lower the pegs even more (probably a total of three inches). But the foot controls are way too high and are awkward to use (I miss lots of shifts). Are the stock foot controls adjustable? I discovered the Motobits footpeg relocator kit -- are there others? I had an Evoluzione kit on my earlier bike, no longer available, nor is the Motratech kit. Is there another option to adjust the foot levers, now that I got the pegs right? 

My Lemans burps and stumbles at low revs, and especially when decelerating. It's rather jolting and unpleasant. Riding at low speed is no fun. My earlier Lemans had a Power Commander III, which sorted out injection issues. Should I look at some electronic management device/remap, or is there another solution to the issue? The engine doesn't miss a beat over 5000 rpms. 

Lest it seem that I have nothing but complaints, I haven't had this much fun on a bike in a decade (when I sold my first Lemans, I guess), especially when riding with revs 5500 to 7000 rpm. It's an absolute joy to ride, and to look at as well. I love this bike -- 

 

 

[gstallons]

Mmmm . my Greenie does this and as  soon as I get it fixed I will let you know !  

At 30 mph or so , in town it is pathetic . Under acceleration , highway speed or anything else : PERFECT

[Kane]

1 hour ago, bridge said:

....I tend to slide forward into the tank. Any thoughts on aftermarket seats?....

Awesome, bridge! Please share pics as you sort your bike along!

This may be something that you are totally not interested in, but using grip pads on the tank may help as an interim aid until you sort the seat out. I put a set on my V11’s tank (TechSpec has a V11 templet) and they do help me to stay where I want on the seat and I get an easier grip on the tank without squeezing so hard.

[LowRyter]

Power Commander or Beetle Map.

[GuzziMoto]

We have a Power Commander on the wifes V11. But nowadays everyone seems to go with GuzziDiag. You can do more with it now using tools that re-program the ECU than you ever could using a cheater box like a Power Commander. That said, I like how a Power Commander works, and am not sure about the additional complexity of GuzziDiag. I know, people will say GuzziDiag is easy, but I am an old fart who hates "tech" and likes to keep things simple. But if I ever find myself needing to do additional tuning to her V11 the PC is coming off and I will have to learn the new ways.

There are a few sources of great maps already made for a V11 (like from Beetle). Plus you can edit your map if you want to go in deeper. I am more likely to try a known good map and see how that goes first. But I am no expert on it yet. So don't listen to me.

[LowRyter]

The PC that Brad (PO) put on bike works pretty good.  I don't have any fueling problems.  I might take all the cables and CD and get it dynotuned by Don (local Guzzi dealer) but doubt it would be good for another couple HP.  Don did note that the torque curve falls after idle until it's to about 1800 rpms.   I typically throttle right through that upon acceleration and never notice the drop.  That probably accounts for the low rpm "cough" that some riders feel.

[Rox Lemans]

A remap, throttlebody synch and a valve adjustment will cure your symptoms. It may just need maybe 1 or 2 of the 3 but you mightvas well knock it all out. Check the throttlebody boots for leaks or cracks. 

[guzzler]

Yeah I had the hiccup/stumble  thingy happening too, in the early days.

It REALLY PISSED ME OFF.

Touch wood she hasn't done it now in years  ( God I hope I haven't provoked the great Guzzi God of gremlins for mentioning it !)

Not really sure what may have sorted it as probably a combination of things.

Replaced the crap timing chain tensioner for the Stucchi one ( much better ), got rid of the power commander and had ECU reflashed, new TPS.

This was after changing out all sensors plug leads and generally chasing the demon blah blah.

Anyways she been bloody good for ages now!

Touch wood ha ha

Cheers Guzzler

 

  

[guzzler]

Oh something I forgot to mention.

After all this was done she was a lot better but still not quite right.

I think the last piece of the puzzle was setting the CO trim to +40 and no dramas since.

At one stage it was returned to +20 and guess what returned!

Hope this helps someone out there as this really did annoy me at the time eh!!

Cheers Guzzler   

[Lucky Phil]

On 8/19/2020 at 8:23 AM, guzzler said:

Oh something I forgot to mention.

After all this was done she was a lot better but still not quite right.

I think the last piece of the puzzle was setting the CO trim to +40 and no dramas since.

At one stage it was returned to +20 and guess what returned!

Hope this helps someone out there as this really did annoy me at the time eh!!

Cheers Guzzler   

Well that's using the CO trim like an axe when with Guzzidiag combined with Tunerpro you can apply a scalpel. The ability to manipulate the bin file is the key to great running and it's not hard. I'm no IT guy and even I think it's a doddle.

Ciao 

[guzzler]

This was some time ago and I don't think Guzzidiag was about ? Or if so in it's infancy.

Think it may have been done via Tunerpro alone?Don't quote me on that though.

But once the ole bugger was running well, pretty much left well enough alone eh.

Thanks though mate but doing it myself is beyond my capabilities.

I will look into having the map refined  at some stage as Guzzidiag sounds like it's a better option to fine tune it.

Cheers Guzzler

 

 

[Lucky Phil]

14 hours ago, guzzler said:

This was some time ago and I don't think Guzzidiag was about ? Or if so in it's infancy.

Think it may have been done via Tunerpro alone?Don't quote me on that though.

But once the ole bugger was running well, pretty much left well enough alone eh.

Thanks though mate but doing it myself is beyond my capabilities.

I will look into having the map refined  at some stage as Guzzidiag sounds like it's a better option to fine tune it.

Cheers Guzzler

 

 

Yes I understand. I was watching a show last night "escape from the city" which is as the title suggests people moving from the city in a tree change and Drouin was featured. I'm regularly at Lang Lang to see the in laws so not far away. 

Ciao

[guzzler]

Ha ha.

We watched that as well !!

Was good to see the town and environs on the TV eh.

We made the tree change 6 years ago and don't regret it for a moment mate.Beautiful part of the world.

Give me a yell next time you're heading to Lang Lang mate, maybe catch up for a coffee ? When we're able to get out and about freely again of course

I travel the Lang Lang to Drouin road a fair bit so any excuse to do it again eh!!

Anyways stay safe in Melbourne mate, it looks like we're gradually getting on top of it.

Cheers Guzzler

I  

 

[68C]

Being English, I had to Google 'tree change'.  Nice phrase.

[fotoguzzi]

1 hour ago, 68C said:

Being English, I had to Google 'tree change'.  Nice phrase.

Me too being a yank

 'tree change' is a phrase used to describe the move from city living to a more rural/country setting. Those looking to leave the hustle and bustle of the city behind often find themselves packing up their studio apartment and buying or renting a house in the bush.Nov 22, 2013