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Showing content with the highest reputation on 10/22/2019 in all areas

  1. So goes my life, but it has been torrential downpours or 6 weeks of a 2 week virus which has almost completely frustrated my attempts to ride the new-to-me Ballabio. It came with a nice multi-reflector/clear lens unit that appears to be OEM(?) My thought is that lenses are asked to do too much when pressed into service as both lens and refractory/dispersal unit. I think the process is more clearly controlled when the multi reflector directs the light in small "bites" wherever the engineers place it, while the lens is clear and does nothing except transmit about 92% of available light. Here is the "Infitary" LED unit that I am playing with. The separate driver is compact enough to fit in the OEM headlight shell and the light unit itself can be rotated 360º until optimal pattern is achieved. As can be seen, the LED chips are sized and arranged to closely emulate the filaments in an incandescent bulb. That alone keeps the light from scattering all over the place. And, there are two machined-in shields similar to the halogen units. If one is patient, the units may be ordered from China for about $18/pair. I do not yet know their longevity, but at $8 per, not that much more than halogen units.
    2 points
  2. I guess peaks wouldn't do much harm. Besides that 30A x 14V make for over 400W, well beyond what the alternator can deliver, not to mention the losses in the regulator and wiring etc. In my opinion it's only a matter of cheap non-automotive fuse holder contacts.
    2 points
  3. I like that as you say you would be able to replace it until you have a chance to solder another in. I had one fuse weld in so I cleaned up the contacts and tightened the clips and it never re-occured. I always meant to look at the current with an oscilloscope, I'm sure the peaks must be well over 30.
    2 points
  4. Over two years and ten thousand miles, this effort remains one of the best things I have ever done for my Sport. Thanks, again, to all that made it possible! On a little routine check-over I saw the vulnerable crankcase vent hose under the frame resting on, and abrading from, the oil supply lines for the heads at the front top of the engine block in the "V". A carefully placed Zip-tie and no hole will ever work through there . . . One of several updates to the Tank Off Maintenance Checklist . . .
    2 points
  5. Nah, just making counter-points. I'm Scotch-Irish, which would make me a drunk, except the Scotsman is too cheap to buy the liquor. My primary belief here is that brighter, whiter light for less watts is a good thing. Having partaken of four clinical trials, I like research. Got some skin in the game. And, as Albert Einstein reportedly said: "If we knew what we were doing, it wouldn't be called research." When all is said and done, and the brilliance (pun) is revealed, give all credit to docc.
    2 points
  6. A 1987 EX500A1 (GPz500S) that I bought from my BIL for $450 in 1999. He fell down at about 20mph in a paving area and never rode again. A few things straightened out and here she is. I put Progressive springs in the forks, tapered rollers in the steering head, jet kit/K&N, additional airbox snorkel, some well-made and long-lived Cobra F1 slipons and later on, a pair of WebCam 245 hard-weld cams. Dang near the ideal commuter bike, as it is quick enough to stay well ahead of traffic and the engine has a sweet spot at about 7K or 80mph/120kph. I know it will do 120mph. If it would do 121, I'd tell you. Actually a pretty roomy bike for 500cc, as the wheelbase is only 2" shorter than my Ballabio.
    1 point
  7. Thanks, Tom! https://www.grote.com/products/90941-5-grote-7-inch-led-headlight-sealed-beam-replacement/
    1 point
  8. It is. I put LEDs in the tail lights, too. Mostly, I use the Lario for short trips, and over a period of time I'd notice the voltmeter going down. Putting on the brake lights would send the needle into the red. Now, it really makes no difference, and the needle stays centered. The LEDs just seem to take the load off the old wiring and connections, and I haven't had to put it on the charger since.
    1 point
  9. Still have my eyes looking at Grote, supposedly made in US. 7inch led sealed beam. They have a factory in Germany to. I quess I will be the quinny pig later this winter, or did someone check this out? Cheers tom.
    1 point
  10. Sounds as if it is an English bike ... Wait, my LMIII has that, too. I never really noticed it until now. Maybe that was a part of riding in analog times. Ride, burn fuel, have fun. Don't talk about it to the internet. Battery empty -> recharge. Shocks wobbly -> ignore. Yet, somehow I can't remember flat batteries or wobbly shocks or other annoying things. A tank was 20 litres was 20 Marks. Now it's 15 litres and 50 Marks. But I have a special forum for every single bike I own. Substantial progress was really slow the last 30, 40 years, wasn't it?
    1 point
  11. Now, a headlight that uses less voltage / wattage could be useful in a Lario. The electrical system in mine is weak as Bud Light. They put a gauge on the dash to show you how bad the electrical system is.....
    1 point
  12. The major concern is velocity, because that's what rams in the most air before the intake valve closes. Velocity and port shape have a correlated relationship; air will turn a given corner smoothly only up to a certain velocity. Then things get turbulent and the velocity is lost. So you smooth the path, and do it over again. There is a point of velocity at which mixture goes supersonic, and no larger volume can be drawn in; this is the point at which the port volume must be enlarged, to control velocity. Reduced high-rpm velocity also causes reduced low-rpm velocity, which hurts drivability. 'Guzzi heads as cast cannot be brought near the theoretical maximum velocity for intake valve size, because they simply have too sharp a bend, particularly in the port floor which leads to separation at relatively lower velocity (inertia of the mixture 'leaps' from the floor, like separating from an old carnival carpet slide). So no matter how you shape the port, ultimate charge density is lower than a better port with the same intake valve size. So, if you raise the port floor and D-shape the intake port, you increase the potential velocity before separation but without raising the port roof, you reduce volume and increase velocity past the point where the charge goes supersonic at high rpm and you lose top end power. Not to say that there isn't some room for improvement this way, but no path to theoretical maximum without raising the roof. To the statement above, "hogging the bowl" only leads to a worsening of port floor shape. This is not specific flow bench and dynomometer data from Moto Guzzi testing, this is general port design theory coupled with conversations with my engine guy about my '85 LM1000 heads (and 25 years of engine development discussion). So it's my somewhat informed opinion that having a competent and experienced flow bench man port your heads is very valuable, and easy for any garage mechanic to install, and the best bang for buck simply because a different cam is still sucking through the same holes. We're not talking about turning a Honda CB into a superbike, a V11 is already closer to max potential than some pedestrian under-performing engine- the stock cam is pretty stout by most OEM measures. That is to say, a 'hot' cam isn't as much different in your Goose as it would be in your '85 Chevrolet. So the more air you can suck in through the ports, the better the cam can work as is. Is any of this clear? While Guzzi ports are not "good" compared to a lot of other engines, it's still the least expensive place to find significant gains IMO and benefits any other mods you may make besides.
    1 point
  13. (Ahem!) Well, the runners are larger in the first 75mm/3 in. or so as they leave the box. So, might lop them off there and use 75mm silicone automotive turbo hose to just above the oil cooler (was going to say abreast of the cooler, but...) Fortunately, I have time to ponder this. Have an email into Uni-Filter, but no reply as of yet. I think their MG1 is for the 850-T and such machines. It is said that they flow as good and filter better than (brand redacted to prevent ...ummm...venting) the competing brand.
    1 point
  14. This just in. Found a NIB V11 air box lid on eBay. $32.95 shipped! I helped the seller out on shipping, as he was essentially giving me the lid. Now, to study it and ponder..
    1 point
  15. It’s now down to $3350. If I hadn’t just bought my V11 Greenie I’d be taking a ride out there to check it out. There’s also an 850T3 (my first love!) in West Virginia on EBay for $2000. I wish it were closer. I’d love to have an 850 T/T3/LeMans project. These bikes get under your skin!
    1 point
  16. My recent Japanese experience has been with GPz500s/Ninja 500Rs. They were hot-rodded by Kawi with good-sized carbs and reasonable cams, 10-something compression/4-valve heads and ports about as large as can be done. Young fellows are always seeking that big boost - and it just ain't there. 5%, maybe close to 10% improvement with some free flowing cans, and air filter, a slight mod to the airbox and that is about it. They run about 53-54 HP at the rear wheel on dynos and given their relatively ancient architecture (in the Japanese world) dating to about 1985, combined with a long, whippy crank and thin cases and one soon finds the limits. I added WebCam (the old Webco) 245º cams, as one of my rockers ate the OEM intake cam. So much for infallible Japanese engineering and manufacture. Guzzis strike me as being more like an air-cooled slice of Chevy/Holden V8. Basic mods can net a nice boost, but there is real HP hiding in there if one cares to go in $earch of it. Looking at the airbox on my Ballabio, I see two snorkels poking out of it, but not running quite far enough forward to be entirely out of the heated air. Daydreaming, I see some red silicone car turbo hoses with perhaps short velocity stacks capping them. Probably no real boost, but they might look very cool. Q for the cognoscenti: Is there an air filter that is a good ompromise of both flow and filtration? Very familiar with K&N, but they tend to flow better than they filter. Uni makes a Guzzi filter, but only for some of the pre-V11s.
    1 point
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