A look under the seat.

[audiomick]

Today I got around to having a look under the seat of the V11 Le Mans. The short version: it doesn't look butchered, which is a good start.

This is the V11, and for good measure her sister, the V35 Imola. The big Bertha under the cover behind the Le Mans is my Kawasaki GTR 1000.

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The VIN has a "2" before the "M", which I gather is a sure indicator that the bike was built in 2002 (first registered May 2003).

and the build year is corroborated by the label on the ECU

 

Under the seat looks like this. Turns out there is even a collection of mediocre tools in there for rounding off the heads of bolts on  the side of the road.

 

There are more photos in the Gallery of the seat base and a couple of spots on the frame where it is obvious that there is contact, as there is wear visible, as is also the case on top of the batterey. The battery box mounts at the front haven't been moved to under the frame rail yet, so I'll have to do that soonish.

 

After having already given some thought to relays (see the "Best Relay" thread) it occurred to me to take notice of what is in there now. Turns out that they are all 5 pin relays. SPDT is the acronym, I believe, i.e. they have both an NC and an NO contact. NO 35 A., NC 20 A., so I'll be leaving them in for the time being. Never heard of the brand, but I expect to be able to find some info in the net somewhere.

There are no signs that the relays are contacting the seat base, which is good, but the upper mounting bolt in the picture, i.e. the one to the front of the bike, seems to be.

 

The blinker relay (I guess) is mounted behind the relays with a cable tie. Is that where Luigi put it, or has it been moved?

 

It is apparent that someone has been at the wiring. The first clue is a red wire going away from the battery positive. There are also more pictures of the "new wiring" in the gallery.

 

It looks like a fuse holder that is normally not assigned has been used to supply a fuse for this wiring, the light blue one at the top of the picture for which there is no pictogram on the fuse box lid. Is this assumption, i.e. that this socket is normally not "assigned", correct?

 

Following the wiring, I found this, a 12V accessory power supply socket from Hella. The wire going to it (photo in the gallery) has "Niedervoltleitung" written on it. German for "low voltage line" or "low voltage cable".

 

There is a ball mounted on the handlebar that looks like it will fit the RAM mounts for my Sat-Nav, so the power socket makes sense, and the wiring looks half-way sound, so that is also good.

 

The biggest question is, who's bloody idea was it to put the lock for the seat on the right-hand side of the bike? Took me quite a while to find it.

[LaGrasta]

Good overall report, pics too! I'd say the bike looks like it was owned by a decent owner, few little mods here and there.  You're in good shape. Give it a good wash and ride on!

I like the way the Ram mount is located, I may do the same.

[docc]

I fiddle with my sat-nav far too much to mount it on the brake/throttle side. Garmin even designed their motorcycle units to operate with the left hand.

[audiomick]

Yeah, I will almost certainly move the mount to the other side. I've always had the Sat-Nav on the left handlebar, and in the car down in the left bottom corner of the windscreen, not in the middle.

I think that probably has, at least in part, to do with my eyes. On account of amblyopia (Wikipedia knows what that is...), I'm practically blind in my left eye. Putting the device on the left means it is there when I actively look at it, but otherwise doesn't bother me. On a computer with two screens, the right-hand one is also the "main" screen. The left one is there when I look at it, but otherwise just "parked". 

 

On top of that, the accessory socket on the Le Mans is on the left, so it would seem to make sense for purely practical reasons to move the mount to that side.

[audiomick]

Regarding the questions in the first post:

 

I found the answer to this one in the circuit diagram. Fuse 8 is labelled "Fusibile a diposizione", i.e. "available fuse". So my assumption that an unused fuse socket has been used for the 12V accessory socket seems to be correct.

5 hours ago, audiomick said:

It looks like a fuse holder that is normally not assigned has been used to supply a fuse for this wiring, the light blue one at the top of the picture for which there is no pictogram on the fuse box lid. Is this assumption, i.e. that this socket is normally not "assigned", correct?

 

Does anyone have an answer for this one?

5 hours ago, audiomick said:

The blinker relay (I guess) is mounted behind the relays with a cable tie. Is that where Luigi put it, or has it been moved?

 

And most important of all, this one.

5 hours ago, audiomick said:

The biggest question is, who's bloody idea was it to put the lock for the seat on the right-hand side of the bike? Took me quite a while to find it.

Anyone?

[p6x]

I think they made the song: -"Under the seat" after the V11 release...

 

[p6x]

50 minutes ago, audiomick said:

51 minutes ago, audiomick said:

The blinker relay (I guess) is mounted behind the relays with a cable tie. Is that where Luigi put it, or has it been moved?

 

It was there on mine too. I installed LED everywhere in an attempt to be more visible. As you know, if you change the incandescence bulbs of your turn indicators, you need to change the blinker central.

This is how mine looked before I replaced it with one for LED, that failed one month after I had installed it.

 

[audiomick]

Somebody probably thought there was a good reason to make that video, but I can't imagine what that reason was...

 

On a more serious note, I had a look for the relays that are in the bike. Turns out they are apparently readily available here, and not that expensive at less than €3.50 each.

The type is HKE 4133

https://www.conrad.de/de/p/hke-4133-s-dc12v-c-r-kfz-relais-12-v-dc-35-a-1-wechsler-1366558.html?refresh=true

https://www.voelkner.de/products/850370/HKE-4133-S-DC12V-C-R-Kfz-Relais-12-V-DC-35A-1-Wechsler.html

https://www.digitalo.de/products/731498/HKE-4133-S-DC12V-C-Kfz-Relais-12-V-DC-35A-1-Wechsler.html

 

Here is a spec sheet. The code on them is 4133-S-DC12v-C-R, so C form and with a resistor.

https://asset.conrad.com/media10/add/160267/c1/-/en/001366558DS01/datenblatt-1366558-hke-4133-s-dc12v-c-r-kfz-relais-12-vdc-35-a-1-wechsler.pdf

[docc]

Re: Relays - Isn't the "Contact Rating" of 35/20 for the inrush current and the "Switching Current" the continuous load rating?

In that case, you have relays rated 20/10.

Re: Fuses - the #8 fuse was used on the early V11 for the Electric Fuel Tap, unused position with Manual Fuel Tap V11. Take a close look at your #3 green 30 amp fuse. Are there heat signs of melting and the case starting to spread?

Re: Battery - I've never seen a battery turned sideways in a V11. It looks like that necessitates some "extensions" of the wiring, including main cables? Is that an unshielded positive junction behind the battery on the right of the bike?

 

[p6x]

1 hour ago, audiomick said:

The biggest question is, who's bloody idea was it to put the lock for the seat on the right-hand side of the bike? Took me quite a while to find it.

So, on all European motorcycles, you have a lockable hook for your helmet. In Europe. you leave your lid on your motorcycle, or anything else for that matter, and when you come back, it is gone. At least this is my experience in France.

Therefore, on the V11, the lock for your helmet is on the left hand side. If I remember correctly, all the helmet locks were on the left hand side. I am going out on a limb here, but I am guessing Guzzi put the seat opening on the opposite side, for symmetry, or because they could not put the lock directly under the seat, where everyone would expect it to be?

[audiomick]

26 minutes ago, p6x said:

I am guessing Guzzi put the seat opening on the opposite side, for symmetry...

Well that's a reason. I think.

 

I can't help comparing to the GTR 1000. It has the seat lock under the seat on the left-hand side (where one would expect it), and a helmet lock on both sides.

Admittedly, one can't get to the helmet locks when the panniers are mounted, but there are two of them, and when the panniers are mounted, you can most likely put the helmets in the panniers.

[LaGrasta]

yeah, my blinker relay is generally just tossed under there as well. The OEM rubber sleeve is old and dry so I discarded it. Just tuck it away and forget about it, no harm.

#zipties 

[audiomick]

docc, I just noticed that I didn't respond to this

 

On 3/31/2023 at 12:24 AM, docc said:

Re: Relays - Isn't the "Contact Rating" of 35/20 for the inrush current and the "Switching Current" the continuous load rating?

In that case, you have relays rated 20/10.

That has been discussed in "Best Relay", I think

On 3/31/2023 at 12:24 AM, docc said:

Re: Fuses - the #8 fuse was used on the early V11 for the Electric Fuel Tap, unused position with Manual Fuel Tap V11. Take a close look at your #3 green 30 amp fuse. Are there heat signs of melting and the case starting to spread?

Re: Battery - I've never seen a battery turned sideways in a V11. It looks like that necessitates some "extensions" of the wiring, including main cables? Is that an unshielded positive junction behind the battery on the right of the bike?

 

Fuses all look ok.

Yes, the wiring has been changed. However, the bolt holding several cables together behind the battery is not an unshielded postive, but rather a "common ground", i.e. it connects a cable from battery minus with a connector out of the loom and an addition that supplies the negative contact to an accessory socket up behind the instruments. So it is not dangerous, even if I am not completely happy with the solution.

[Tomchri]

The bolt on the left behind the battery has a cable coming from the + side of the battery. Doesn't look like a ground bolt.  Seeing you have a little play at the end of the cable, opening the seat. Coud save you for some swearing later on. Best of luck with the bike.

Cheers Tom.

Cheers Tom.

[audiomick]

I had a very good look at all of that, and I'm certain that the cable from the + terminal is not connected to the bolt behind the battery. I'll have another look now that you have all made me uncertain, but...

 

What I saw was the "monstercable" with the connector with the yellow insulation that is connected to the - terminal definitely goes to that bolt. On the photo, one can see the same type of terminal at the bolt. That is the other end of that wire. There is also a connector on there that seems to be part of the original loom.  Also, there is a cable that goes to the - side of the accessory socket that is installed in the fairing.

If a cable from the + terminal were also connected to that bolt, the battery must already be short circuited to death. It isn't, so I am assuming I followed the wires correctly.