Questions about installing Stucchi Crossover

[Guest JoshM]

OK, so installing a new crossover is probably one of the simplest modifications that one can make to one's bike, but it's giving me just a little bit of trouble.

 

Specifically, how the heck do you get the little rubber doughnut thingies that hold the stock crossover in place under the bike OFF of the stock crossover so they can be used with the Stucchi?? There are what appear to be bolts at the top and bottom of these things, but all they seem to do is rotate when a wrench is applied--they don't "back out" or otherwise come undone. I cannot for the life of me get these things off of the stock crossover. I was able to partially separate the assembly and get one of the doughnuts free, but I can't get the bolt-like things off of the stock crossover and mounting bracket.

 

Since I have never seen this problem mentioned here before, I can only assume that my difficulty can be blamed on my "density" when it comes to matters mechanical. Can anyone please help? Many thanks.

 

 

 

As a side note, I did the 12,000 mile service (well, most of it anyway) on my bike last weekend, in addition to installing the FBF airbox kit, the crossover (sans bracket for the time being), FBF pipes, and a PCIII. Many thanks to this board for all the information, as I'm still waiting on my shop manual and copy of Guzziology.

 

I spent all day in the hangar at work and thoroughly enjoyed myself except for a couple of problems: I couldn't get the oil filter cover off with the marginal tool I had available, I couldn't lube the front U-joint with my particular grease gun, and I couldn't get the doughnut thingies off the crossover. I know most of these items have been discussed on this board, so I'll figure them out, except for how to get the stupid doughnuts off. I also plan to do the fork oil a little later, once my shop manual and copy of Guzziology arrive (it's been about a month since I ordered it, and no sign yet).

 

Anyway, does anyone else have this combination of mods? Do you find that your bike is borderline offensively loud? I am seriously considering going back to at least one stock component (airbox, crossover, or pipes) in order to reduce the noise level. I suppose I'll give it a month or so to see how it goes, as well as polling my friends (mostly non-bikers) to see if they think the bike is excessively noisy as I go by. I like sound, but I don't want to be "that guy," and it's just a little too close to "that guy" status as it stands right now for me to make the call.

 

Thanks for any help,

 

JoshM

[dlaing]

I can only assume that my difficulty can be blamed on my "density" when it comes to matters mechanical. Can anyone please help? Many thanks.

 

 

 

Don't worry you will get it eventually.

Just attack it visually from every angle.

You will then see that the crossover is hung by two nut/bolt pairs.

So, you need two wrenches, one for each nut and one for each bolt.

It is that easy.

[belfastguzzi]

Have you had the bike from new?

 

If you haven't had these parts off before, they must just be 'baked' on.

 

On my new bike they came off easily enough, so maybe penetrating fluid and more brute force is needed.

 

:!: BTW, I think this question/thread probably belongs in Technical Topics, as I think this forum is for explanations / demonstartions of how to do things? I could be wrong – Jaap? Mod?

What is the Official difference between the two forums?

[Admin Jaap]

Belfastguzzi, you are right about moving this thread to Tech Topics.

 

My initial goal was to have forum where members could share tips & tricks, or even write down a manual . But boundries are quite vague... It doesn't matter much to me...

 

On some forums, especially computer related ones, you'll get flamed by a 15 year old geek who hasn't left his bedroom for three consecutive years, f.i. when accidentally posting in the wrong forum. Not here!

[al_roethlisberger]

...just grab the rubber isolator for the crossover in the middle with some channel locks, and then wrench on the bolts on the end. They'll come out. You might soak them in WD-40 or penetrating oil overnight if not.

 

But don't ride the bike too long without the crossover support. As you've no doubt noticed, the crossover is quite heavy, and you might break/crack the exhaust somewhere without that support.

 

Congrats on the bike, and glad to see you are having fun "tinkering" with it

 

al

[Guest JoshM]

OK guys, thanks for the replies. I'll have another go at it tomorrow, perhaps with some WD-40...One thing that still baffles me though is that there do not appear to be any threads associated with this assembly; as I said, the bolts just seem to rotate. I'll have to look at it again, though--perhaps the nut on the other side is just blocked by a washer or something.

[al_roethlisberger]

...naw, they are just brass nuts embedded in the rubber, like the various bushings/isolators on the bike. They'll "twist" quite a bit before breaking loose.

 

al

[Janusz]

Anyway, does anyone else have this combination of mods? Do you find that your bike is borderline offensively loud? I am seriously considering going back to at least one stock component (airbox, crossover, or pipes) in order to reduce the noise level. I suppose I'll give it a month or so to see how it goes, as well as polling my friends (mostly non-bikers) to see if they think the bike is excessively noisy as I go by. I like sound, but I don't want to be "that guy," and it's just a little too close to "that guy" status as it stands right now for me to make the call.

 

FBF topless airbox, Stucchi X-over, FBF pipes plus PC and you have doubts? Man, this is the best setup possible, the mother of all mods!!

 

Seriously, you could not do better then that IMO. Of course you need a good map and you can get one from Todd website custom made to these specs for one of our forum members. It is a good basis for further refining to perfectly fit your own bike and preferences. I found myself adding quite some fuel at the bottom to overcome stumbling at take off and also you might need to get rid of excessive leaning out at 2500 RPM at 20% to 80% throttle. I suspect the dyno operator must've had a sneezing fit at these settings.

 

To reduce noise levels? Are you kidding? This combination sounds the best in all bikedom, plese do not ruin it. Who is "that guy" anyway?

And "excessive noise" is normally heard in the vicinity of Sturgis or wherever pot belly guys concentrate. Your Guzzi makes music.

[Janusz]

Also Josh, from esthetics point of view, look at the perfect size of Ferraci cans. The only out of balance parts of a stock bike, oversized pipes which could not be any smaller and conform to all the governmental regulations at the same time, do not offend anymore.

The bike finally looks, sounds and performs how it should.

[Guest JoshM]

Hehe, thanks for the responses Al and Janusz.

 

Al, I'll try squeezing the rubber isolator with some good pliers to see if I can get the nut to turn--there IS a nut buried under there, right?

 

Janusz, thanks for the comments regarding my setup. I agree it sounds smashing, but I live in a quiet neighborhood, so I don't want to be "that guy that's always riding his noisy (er, musical) motorcycle around at all hours" (I use it for transportation as well as fun). That's who "that guy" is. "That guy" could also be the guy with the loud stereo, the drunk who doesn't realize that none of the ladies at the bar think he's funny, or anyone else who generally makes a fool or nuisance of himself. Sorry; it's a term my buddies and I use sometimes, as in "Josh, lay off the booze; don't be that guy [at this party]." The part in brackets is understood.

 

Oh, and I like the look of the cans, but I need to monkey with them a little bit to get everything lined up correctly (the left one is a little lower than the right).

 

Anyway, we've been having lots of wind here lately, and I think that most of my initial impression of excessive noise came from the fact that my earliest rides with this setup have been with a strong tailwind. That tended to keep the noise with me, rather than dissipating it as would normally occur when riding in calm wind or into the wind. I took it out yesterday for a spin in less-windy conditions, and it sounds about like my old Ducati, which is to say that it is quite audible without being ridiculous.

 

Right, so, enough goofing around with the computer; let's go play with motorcycles!

 

JoshM

[Guest JoshM]

OK, so I finally got this issue figured out, and I figured that I'd post the solution in case anyone else has this problem.

 

Basically, the rubber isolators (doughnuts) hold the crossover in place by tension and gravity. Two nut/bolt pairs are attached to the crossover and the support bracket, respectively. The nuts are not actually nuts, however; they are more like cylinders that are about 1/2" in length and maybe 1/4" in diameter (both estimates) that are integrated with a washer that is the same diameter as the rubber doughnuts. The cylinders fit into impressions in the central rubber isolator (doughnut), which is essentially sandwiched between the crossover and the support bracket. Tension between the bracket and the crossover is what holds the isolator, and in turn, the crossover, in place.

 

The issue was that there was no surface for a wrench to engage on these cylindrical nuts--they are completely round. The solution to getting them off was to use a set of locking pliers (i.e., vise-grips) to grip the nut while using a wrench on the bolt (thanks Al!). Once I got a good grip on the nuts, the assembly came apart easily enough.

 

That's it. Thanks for the help, folks.

 

JoshM