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California Vintage


mikie

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I have sent him a message a while ago, but no response yet.

In the mean time, roadside assistance brought the CaliVin home. Empty battery. I diagnosed her yesterday: molten 30A fuse (second time, I discovered it was already in a separate fuse holder, done by the PO). I'll replace the fuse holder and also give her a full service in a few weeks time.

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     I'm not that familiar with ecu/efi or mechanics in general so I was reluctant to post, hoping that someone with more knowledge and insight might jump in; but I do own a CalVin and can give you some basics that may help you.

     The CalVin is basically a blend of 2 models, the chassis is like a California, but the engine ecu/efi is like a Breva 1100.

      You can apparently use guzzidiag on the CalVin in a similar fashion to the capabilities on the V11's; you don't get full access and control with it like you apparently do on a CARC bike.

     A factory defect that "all CalVins" ? shared, was the disintegrating fuel lines/pump assembly in the tank, one of the symptoms could be running out of gas at higher throttle levels as the fuel pressure leaks out inside the tank at higher levels, inform yourself and ensure that the fix has been done, lots of info on wildguzzi about it.

      Could the fuel line defect cause the pinging you are describing,,, possibly,,, I can get my CalVin to ping, if I'm a little lazy on my gearing, ie running the rpms too low, imho.

      They were known for lean mapping and running a bit hot, the 3rd muffler in the crossover is a bit of plug in the whole works, I'm in the process of replacing mine with an H pipe, fwiw.

     Dead batteries on CalVins, are usually caused by using the 55 watt driving lights, most guys swap them out for lower wattage or LED bulbs, I just make sure that I don't turn them on, I have no idea if their use could have contributed to your blown 30 amp fuse, idk.

     The ECU "should" be a 15RC, TPS measurements have to be taken with a voltmeter at the TPS connection, I used little copper wire jumper cables, but picked up a Caspers break out cable for future use.

      I think the proper TPS baseline and idle settings can be a somewhat fluid thing, but at this point it seems that a baseline setting of 150-157 mv and an idle setting of 485-500 mv should be in the right ball bark. Iirc.

     The consensus on the best tuneup guide seems to be this one http://www.bikeboy.org/tpssetting.html

     Beetle does have a map for the CalVin, and his improved tutorial on guzzidiag over on wildguzzi is the go to reference for any of this type of work, jmho.

     Like any tuneup on a guzzi, I like to start it with the valves adjusted and finish with the TB's or carbs sync'd.

     Good luck

     Kelly

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TPS setting, etc. is similar to the V11s.
These Instructions are very helpful:
http://bradthebikeboy.blogspot.com/2012/10/throttle-position-sensor-setting_21.html
I have used Guzzidag for this too.

Unfortunately the Vintage is running very lean. The Cali is popping and stuttering as soon as the ambient temperatures are high e.g. 28- 30°C.
I have tested various maps (one from Beetle - very rich and also useable for gasoline of bad quality I guess).
I also worked together with Beard (Guzzidiag) and got one which is better than stock (but also lean) but this one did not work so well in another Vintage.
All those maps switch off the lambda probe, so you have to set the CO-trim (possible with Guzzidiag).

I ended up with a fine tuned mapping from DÄS Mototec (Germany) on a 15M ECU which solves all the problems (lean running, torque dip).
This mapping was made for an airbox w/o snorkels and a BMC air filter but I have decided to keep the snorkles otherwise it is much too loud for the driver.
The bike still delivers more torque than stock . Däs proposed to lower the CO-trim then (e.g -20 to -30).

I was lucky to get an used 15M ECU (from a Ducati) for approx 100 Euro, the mapping costs around 200 Euro.
Roland Däs develops all his maps on a dyno test bench for individually for your motorcycle (which is more expensive I guess) but I have never visited his shop.
I have just sent him the ECU which is good enough for me.

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Thanks a lot for the responses! Some answers from my side:

- The bike NEEDS a full service and tune anyway, it has been over a year. Fluids/filters, valves, TPS, synch, the works.
- I will also change the fuel filter so I will have a look at the lines in the tank as well.
- The 15RC ECU can be read out using Guzzidiag, so I assume I can also read and adjust the map (I have experience in this on my V11 to solve light pinging)
- The bradthebikeboy tune is already on my desk as a print out:)

 

I'm familiar with Guzzidiag and TuneEcu.
If the tune up does not solve the pinging, can I add some fuel to help it in that area where she pings (this solved it for my V11) or does that only work on an open loop map (no Lambda)?

If so, any clues to where I may find a good Open loop (no Lambda) map as a starter?

 

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Hi Tinus,
I can send you the ones from Beetle and Beard (I have asked for this) for the 15RC ECUs.
Those maps were made for the original exhaust system.
Remember to save the orignal one and set the CO-trim to "0 %"
as soon as you use a mapping with the lambda probe switched off.

First steps:
- Check if the spark plugs are really connected corretly (double ingnition) - mine were not!
- Clean the throttle bodies and the air bleed screws and their ducts
- TPS check, setting + throttle bodies sync

In general: Luigi did not make a good job when mounting mine.
Grease was missing everywhere and it seems that the previous owner trusted his dealer.

 

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Excellent advice, thanks! I'll PM you for those maps.

One question on maintenance: the rear drive shaft on this bike is the enclosed/covered type. What maintenance does it require, if any?

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Check the cardan universal joint assembly (e.g. watch the video I made) on the next occasion.
My sliding sleeve had absolutely no grease at all!

This enclosed system system normally does not require a lot of maintenance, unfortunately Luigi was an idiot especially when the early Vintage where mounted and forgot the grease. I hate this guy :D
 

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I have known Luigi from my V11 and will check & grease the splines. Does this require the front clamp connection to be broken and then slide out towards the bevel drive?
Or does this mean swingarm removal?

Another question: my dad's CalVin has twinspark. Am I correct these spark plugs are different? The manual only states BPR 6ES, but Stein-Dinse states the inner one is PMR8B.

Is this correct and if so, should the inner one be gapped at 0.7mm as well?

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Thanks for those links! Which are the splines Luigi forget to grease, the forward (requiring swingarm removal), rear or both?

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There is only one at the rear. On the front you have the u-joint which also should be greased of course.
On my Vintage the u-joint had a bit grease, the spline had none.

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Jan,

The Calvin that belonged to me that then went to a friend and then now to another friend has now been brought back to me for a complete tune up.

I did the valve adjust and a TPS set to 157mV and idle and 3K rpm balance along with cleaning the throttle body bores and butterflies.

I have loaded the Beard map you sent me last summer and the new owner is now riding it 80 miles back home. 

He rode it around the block a few times and seems happy so far, but I will report back with his feedback later this evening after more extensive testing.

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CalVin.jpg

On 5/26/2020 at 1:02 PM, biesel said:

I ended up with a fine tuned mapping from DÄS Mototec (Germany) on a 15M ECU which solves all the problems (lean running, torque dip).
This mapping was made for an airbox w/o snorkels and a BMC air filter but I have decided to keep the snorkles otherwise it is much too loud for the driver.
The bike still delivers more torque than stock . If I remember it correctly Roland Däs proposes 3% CO-trim w/o snorkles and 0% with snorkles.

I was lucky to get an used 15M ECU (from a Ducati) for approx 100 Euro, the mapping costs around 200 Euro.
Roland Däs develops all his maps on a dyno test bench for individually for your motorcycle (which is more expensive I guess) but I have never visited his shop.
I have just sent him the ECU which is good enough for me.

You can see this mapping on the diagram above. My CalVin should now perform similar to the red curve.

Blue: New mapping + 1133 ccm, combustion chambers treatment, Mistral silencers, open airbox (no snorkles), BMC filter
Red: New mapping + open airbox (no snorkles), BMC filter
Green: Stock

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