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Gmc28

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Everything posted by Gmc28

  1. I’ve only got a small elec service in that shop. I’m out in the country, and my father many years ago ran the line out there, and he was cheap about it (love the man, but that was how he did things)…. It tax’s things now to run the lights, compressor, a few other things, then god forbid i try and run a very small wire feed 110v welder. Yes, I should just run a proper electrical service out there, but its more than plug-and-play to run the lines that distance. That said, its what I’ll have to do at some point. A good friend of mine in southern Oregon (restoring an old Moto Parilla, and an unusual antique aircraft) was in same situation, finally bit the bullet and ran a new service for a mini split, and he’s rubbing my face in it…
  2. Love it. My annual debate with myself is on the same topic. Wood stove in the shop is great, but takes an hour to really warm things up. Various propane and electric heat options all fall short for various reasons. Need a mini split, but that means upgrading electrical service. I did replace the fuel pump on Goldie a week or so ago, and now she starts and runs, but something is amiss…as if it’s running on one cylinder. Both exhausts are hot, and it runs semi smooth, but with an odd vibration and it doesn’t rev up like it used to. Will have to explore more when there’s time. Removed the fuel tank from greenie, to get it to bead blast guy as prep for new paint, due to the bubbling clear coat. Red needs the left TB rebuild, and I have Phil’s write up on that, for when I get into it in a few weeks. Once the wood stove is cranked up….
  3. ok. at some point soon i'll have Red on the rack for some basic winter mx, and can compare to see about that sensor. If it is the air temp sensor, any reason to keep that goofy looking mod, or should a guy re-connect it to the airbox? But note the two loose/disconncected connectors over the left head (see pic), one of which is yellow (yellow inside, under the black outer cover), and the other is red inside. The red plug i found laying there, not plugged into anything, and i happened to notice that connector in the bottle is also red, so wondered if those two connect. may become obvious when i get back out there and pull that plug out of the bottle, but regardless i'm wondering what the loose plug over the left head is for.
  4. i'll keep poking around the forum, but anyone know if there's more info on the charcoal system removal? Actually, first question is whether its really needed... i've done it to the 2 other V11's but they are '02's with less tubing , and a number of other bikes, but your mention of 20' and 5lbs of equipment makes me wonder if there's more to this system thats worth knowing? usually self evident if one just traces the lines to see what's-what, but maybe there's some "worth knowing" pointers on a system with that much hose. Looks like this greenie already has some partial attempts at removing some of the overflow and breather tubing... finally pulled the tank off greenie today to get it ready to prep, Caslon coat, match paint best i can, and get it to the local painter. noticed some different things "under the hood" on this one. One, i noticed that someone had installed a union downstream of the right side (larger) tank vent tube, allowing it to be disconnected easily without having to reach up under the tank. Why didn't i think of that before, for the other bikes..... embarrassing, such an easy solution. But i'll make that easy change to red as well when i get a chance. then, next to the yellow (inner) plug for the fuel level indication (the one removed when removing the tank) is another plug of the same type but red inside, which looks like it would connect to the matching red-inside plug on the right side, now attached to that little water bottle set up (see picture). Know what that's all about? (hopefully its visible on the picture... the small thumbnail pic may not show it)
  5. Just received new fuel pump from MG cycle for Goldie, and hope to install this weekend, though it will pretty much still just sit even when fixed till next summer with the weather change here, and the fact that Red is my go-to rider… Guzzler, we’re (our company) just about to finish a deal to buy a plane from a company in Melbourne. Was hoping to weasel into getting over there to bring it over to the US, but the covid rules, although loosening now, are still tricky, so we’ll probably just get a crew from over there to bring it to us. Would love to rent a bike over there and poke around for a day or three, during your spring. Fun to think about riding down there as i look outside at the gray/rain each morning now…
  6. Interesting. I’m always highly skeptical of the snake oil products and how they can get a good or bad reputation over time. Like you say, just one situation, but still an interesting data point, that you got the bubbles…. I’ve used it for quite a few years, and will say that its been fine for me, but of course there’s no proper control set on my end. A number of bikes every year get it, and none of them have issues, but A) I’ve not had a control set of bikes of the same type and conditions that didn’t have the additive to compare, and b) a few of the bikes already had various damage from ethanol from the past which somewhat muddies the “test” waters. a much stronger data set was all my household equipment, mowers, blowers, chippers, chainsaws, etc., which i changed over to clear premium only at some point a number of years ago when i learned i could get the clear gas, and like a light switch the following spring all of them operated perfectly as if they hadnt’ been sitting all winter, compared to the headaches i had with most of them after using ethanol/gas in the past. But no startron in that data set. I do always put the V11’s (and other bikes) away in the winter with mostly clear premium in them. I’ll run the last couple tanks through in the fall with that expensive ethanol free gas, leaving only a very small dilution of ethanol in them, to which i also add some startron, and doing that i have zero issues with paint on my 2 LeMans or the other Italians over the years. The Greenie has the damaged paint on the tank, but it came to me that way. Fwiw.
  7. Thanks Roy - hopefully soon I’ll get some time to just pull the tank and do the easy stuff, like check voltage at the pump, see if it will run with a straight hot line, etc.
  8. Phil, tell us how it works for you. I've been interested in getting a unit that does the CCA test, so would love to hear if you like this one, and if so, the brand/model. cheers
  9. Scud - agreed. Never have had to do it, but I’ve seen the procedure. I may mess with that this winter when she’s in my shop. (the fuel pump issue on Goldie is still annoying me, and now has more of my idle attention… I’ll get back out there if i can and try a couple more things. )
  10. swapped relays, checked fuse block 2, then went back and checked block 1 on your advice. All clean, solid, and no change. All along I can hear the relays clicking, so with that plus doing the relay swap making no change, more likely the pump itself?
  11. Variation on the same thread topic: went out today to do other stuff in the shop, and thought I’d fire up Goldie, since she might get used next week of my amigo wants to do a ride out to eastern Oregon. Bike used to be his, and he’s supposed to buy it back, but it’s been sitting here now for over a year unused (I ride red instead, stablemate). key on, relays click, but no fuel pump sound. Cranks strong, no start. Fuses and relays ok upon quick inspection (pull, quick inspect, replace). Have to circle back to this so I can get other stuff done today, but refresher from anyone on typical culprits for no fuel pump action? Failed pump of course could be it, but other common connection issues that might be at fault?
  12. Wine on a farm, in Texas? Sounds like a twighlight zone episode. Cheap beer for dinner was the highlight of our day (evening) in the summer farm season up here. But at that age I would have treated all those beverage options the same…. Homer Simpson style.
  13. I would tend agree Docc that its just a matter of my girl needing a little attention (she’s a selfish girl sometimes….), and perhaps its less about a single flaw and more about getting things all lined up properly. And you got me on the CO ‘drift”…. You’re right, that’s not a wear-and-tear thing… touché, i just got too loose with my postulating. Get a few drinks it me and it’ll get even looser… we’ll be talking MG fetzer valves and framostats in no time. And P6x, are you implying i should replace the glow plugs on my Guzzi? I like the tractor analogy! In all seriousness, i certainly agree that some temp/humidity combo effects how she runs, where some days they will run perfectly with no burbles or flat spots while other (usually hotter) days little hiccups are apparent, but starting has always been about the same on the guzzi’s, as they’re almost freakishly reliable in how they start, all 3 of them, in all weather, whether they’ve been run the day before or sitting all winter. In that way, they are like my diesel machines (though maybe your IH and Deere are gas? ).
  14. That describes how i do it on both the V11’s, and works a charm. And usually on first attempt it will run on the “choke” for a little until i hear it accelerate a smidge then i can blip throttle, just as you’ve described, though sometimes it takes a 2nd attempt. Same thing now, but it might take 5 attempts, as i wait for that “acceleration” without touching throttle, but it doesn’t happen, and just quits after a few seconds (or if i blip throttle too early, it also quits). I feel like I’m making more of this than necessary, and once i get her into the shop this winter and just look things over it may be all fine, but it is still an interesting question. Again, not electrical insofar as relays and start switches, as all that works fine. The TPS idea seems a possibility, and i suppose my CO could have drifted from the “perfect” setting i had it at last winter, so i can check all that out easy enough once the rains come and she’s in the shop for the winter (she runs well enough to not waste the precious seasonal weather to do anything but ride). cheers
  15. Vanuatu? Good stuff! A lot more interesting than Oregon… (in the eye of the beholder) Heavy salt & humidity environment changes the equation a bit, in my opinion. Actually, all the same, but the details get more important. We ran various kinds of batteries and chargers for well over a decade in a (technical) rain forest area on the coast of western Mexico and lots of odd stuff happened over those years. I think the same advice applies, meaning Odyssey batteries, proper charger, deoxit and/or di-electric grease, etc, but be much more careful about connections. That’s Probably all old news to an island resident. I’d just add that odyssey is arguably best choice, and then just need to watch those connections….batt cables, the charger sae connectors, all that stuff has given me issues on the machines I’ve had in coastal Mexico.
  16. Perhaps overkill in some cases, but good stuff. Our aging v11’s may benefit from some use of it. I use it on targeted areas where it’s clearly beneficial on lots of my older equipment.
  17. Thanks Docc, but this isn’t electrical, it’s presumably a fuel feed issue, or something along those lines. She cranks and initially fires just fine, but then if you try and blip the throttle it quits, and if you leave it alone it quits. Almost like the idle is set too low, but then next day and next several days its back to normal.
  18. Not a serious issue yet, but chewing on why in the last month or so red (2002 lemans) will now sometimes fire up, idle just a little, stumble, and then quit. If its in that mood, I’ll have to do that about 5 times before i can carefully blip the throttle and get her to finally catch. Most of the time its biz as usual, firing off right away, hot, cold, or in between, no problem. But about every 5th start, and often two starts in a row on a given day, it will fire-off, stumble, then quit (and repeat). Can happen after sitting for a couple weeks, or just sitting for a few hours between rides. If i had carbs I know where I’d be looking, but am noodling what the issue here would most likely be. She’ll get the usual winter go-through in a couple months, but thought I’d float it to see what obvious thing I’m missing…. Cheers
  19. Interesting. I was just musing about how long these Michelin pilots have lasted for me on my red v11, 3500+ miles, barely showing wear, and handle very nice. Those have been on through lots of highway grinding and lots of fun sport riding, in all temps. And, the Dunlop’s on the other V11 are low miles, in near new condition, but sure ride different, and “less good” in that category for my taste/riding style. But the Dunlop machine also has overly stiff suspension (I’ll fix that eventually), so while it seems a great side by side comparison for handling, I have to clarify that it really isn’t. It’s all soooo much better than my damn adv bikes that eat up expensive rear tires.
  20. That would be a hoot. Looks a bit like a “vw thing”. I think mentioned this before at some point, but living in France several decades ago and pretty much broke, I saw a 2CV for sale and went to look at it. Hey, James Bond drove one…. I was fairly mechanically competent at that age, but partly from youthful haste and partly due to a preformed assumption of what I should see under the hood, I walked away from the (super cheap) deal because I told my friend “no wonder it’s so cheap…. No motor, just that strangely mounted transmission”. Of course had I looked even slightly closer, I’d have seen the spark plugs on that “strange transmission”. Later that year I had friends there with a 2CV who would fill the car with 3 people plus skis and gear and somehow make it up into the mountains (Les deux alpes), with that 2 cylinder motor chugging away. Albeit damn slowly. Back in Oregon years later I see one and find out there’s an owners club here, and that a nice one would cost a pretty penny, many thousands of dollars. I’m quite sure the one I looked at in France (many years ago, and in rough shape) was $200 US. That said, I’ll stick with Italian (headaches and all). The French did a lot of unique stuff, but little of it appeals to my (biased) eye other than as an oddity.
  21. I recall there being some central/south CA residents on our forum who might have knowledge of local roads down in that excellent riding country..... In this case the Nacimiento-Fergusson road. Had to cancel my euro trip (mandello, etc.) due to more concern over covid, and may pivot to sneaking out of work in late september for a ride down south. A great ride I did a few years back was the Nacimiento-fergusson road over the coast range, back before it got "discovered" by more of the general public due to landslides on Hwy 1. I hear it got overused for a while at that point, and then this year had a lot of damage from rainfall and mud/debris, etc. Google maps shows that it's closed, and Forest service website says the public is "discouraged" from using it until it can be cleaned up and repaired, but trying to find intel on whether its passable on a motorcycle (ADV). Any locals down there have insight on that? cheers
  22. It is a bit of a waste to compare, but such a fun waste of time! i agree wholeheartedly with your assessment. I look back at the friendly “competition” i had with my good friend and work-mate years ago (we had a lot of time to kill together back then), him on his V11 and me on my 916, me bad-mouthing how the V11 just didn’t stack up in each of the categories we’d squabble about for fun. But now i find the V11’s to be my favorite bike(s) to ride, doing the “puts a smile on my face” thing that they do.
  23. I’m supposed to be over there in Mandello in late September. Did I miss some news about new restrictions, or is this more about the large group issue associated with that kind of event?
  24. Love my road 5’s. Ran them on previous bikes, and hadn’t really thought of them as ideal for the V11 but they came already freshly installed on Red when i bought her. The slightly stiffer suspension on Goldie (grade of oil used up front) and the bridgestones vs red with the michelin 5’s makes for a difference that is obvious every time when swapping between otherwise identical bikes. “Better/worse” would be in the opinion of each rider, but for me the slightly softer suspended, Michelin clad Red Lemans is much preferred. Grim - I’d venture a guess on your relay situation that perhaps the weather was just right after you changed the relays and got the “turbine like” running. There are certainly days when a well tuned v11 will purr more perfectly than in other temp/weather conditions.
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