Lamedog Posted April 25, 2006 Share Posted April 25, 2006 I recently bought an '02 LeMans. The bike has 13K miles and was well maintained. The previous owner removed the steel wool from the cans, but is otherwise stock. The bike is wonderfully smooth and rides like it's on rails. However, there are two issues where I would benefit from those more experienced with the brand: 1. The bike has a very severe kick between 3600 and ~4000 RPM. Not above and not below This can really suprise if you roll through this range in a turn. Other threads on this forum seem to reference the issue, but I didn't realize how severe. Staying above this RPM isn't difficult, but it seems a waste. The bike pulls like a truck from 3 grand and is otherwise very smooth. Can I presume this is typical behavior and enter the ongoing debate about PC III fixes/Stucci X-overs and the like? Any thoughts on how I could confirm this is typical behavior? I'd really planned to just ride this summer and play with mechanicals/dump money into it over winter... 2. The bike very occassionally dies unexpectedly as I come completely off the throttle to a stop. Say less than one in ten times. I quickly learned to be careful restarting by letting the clutch out fom a roll as the engine torque can lock the rear. Anyway, the bike restartsreadily and seems to idle fine. Staying on the throttle a little is an easy enough fix, but why tolerate this? My general question is whether these "complaints" are just part of the MG charm and provide the motivation for off-season wrenching, or is there something going on here I should pursue with a local shop? Thanks... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ouiji Veck Posted April 25, 2006 Share Posted April 25, 2006 Hey!!! Geeeez ...another one.... Welcome aboard. Essentially Guzzi sells a kit...it's all put togeather but ya got to dissasemble it a little and put it togeather right...keeps the riff raff out of the blood line. Mine was doing the same thing...pukeing @ around 3-4K ...more speciffically @ 3.8K. I was gettin' ready to make a trip to my Beemer pals place and sync the carbs when one day I got so frustrated I just reached down and dialed it out on the fly. Purrin' perfect for the last 13K mi. Don't worry...you'll "get er done" All the niggling little quirks are just that. Take a step back and a deep breath and hang out here alot. All will be revield. Meanwhile...keep it above 4K...how bad can that be? I do love chugging around through the back woods and small towns @ 3K though.. It's a hoot...and banging up a Mt. switch back from down @ 3k..wop wop wop woooop Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mdude Posted April 25, 2006 Share Posted April 25, 2006 the kick is normal, but I didnt see it as severe on my bike... maybe a checkup would be on place? My kick or flat spot disappeared with the purchase of the Titanium cans and ECU. Now its wonderfully smooth and tractable. The sudden death is something I also have problems with. Probably due to too tight valves or incorrect idle adjustment. I'll adjust my valves first, then tinker with idle adjustment and throttle syncing... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Nogbad Posted April 25, 2006 Share Posted April 25, 2006 The jerk you refer to and the stalling coming to idle are 90% likely to be caused by out of balance throttle bodies. The first thing you should do is get a Carbtune or similar and sync them accurately, both at idle using the stops and at 3000 rpm+ using the rod adjuster. Do this and it will be a different bike, guaranteed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ouiji Veck Posted April 25, 2006 Share Posted April 25, 2006 Yup Balance TBs and losen the valves to world/ RaceCo Specs... (do the valves first!) It's all here...just do a search....might take 3-4 hrs the first time. 2 hrs next time... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mdude Posted April 25, 2006 Share Posted April 25, 2006 come to think of it, another problem I've got is that frequently there's a jerk ON my bike. how to get rid of that?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ouiji Veck Posted April 25, 2006 Share Posted April 25, 2006 I guess ya gotta- jerk off- your bike...... (sorry) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mdude Posted April 25, 2006 Share Posted April 25, 2006 I guess ya gotta- jerk off- your bike...... (sorry) 87260[/snapback] oooh, mate. thats so bad I think you owe me a beer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anthro Posted April 25, 2006 Share Posted April 25, 2006 Congrats on your MG I have the same burst of power but mine is at about 4500rpm untill a bit past 5k rpm. To me around 5k rpms is where you want more power anyways -it feels like a turbo activates at those rpms-. (I even got a wheelie in second gear while getting out of trouble by overpassing everybody before a HOV feeder ramp. I could not believe it, then it felt soo good... as if the buried racer soul of the Tonti based Lemans was awakened for a second or two ) Mine started when I replaced the center muffler with a H pipe (mine is a California) so you may read -to free the exhaust- or getting the metal wool out of your mufflers . I had this done at 6k miles. Now I am at 8.5 k miles. I believe that this happen when you make changes at the exhaust end with out retunning the admission side (trottle bodies). If you did not have the stalling issue I'll just say learn your bike and enjoy, then get it tunned the way you want it at the next scheduled tune up. But the tune up should be done ASP because the stalling issue needs immediate attention. Anthro Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jrt Posted April 25, 2006 Share Posted April 25, 2006 Stalling as you come off the throttle is often a result of valves being too tight, or the bike running lean (and hot). It happened on mine only in the summer and only at low miles. I would suggest checking the valves (20 minutes) and enriching the TPS (20 minutes). You can do the latter at the same time you balance the throttle bodies. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lamedog Posted April 25, 2006 Author Share Posted April 25, 2006 All: Thanks for the insights. Don't stop, I'm still getting off cheap. Some info I did not include: Previous owner (knowledgeable wrench) had done valves within past 1K miles, and afterward had throttlebodies professionally balanced at a Santa Cruz CA shop experienced in Moto Guzzi. This was AFTER unpacking the cans, which I understand has only minor performance impact. Second datum is that in changing the leaking battery (a well beaten thread on this forum).. anyway the wrench touched the ECU case and there was a spark. Scared the heck out of me, but I was relieved the bike started and has been running generally OK. This happened very early on, so I can't say it was source of observed performance. A search of this forum for "partially fried" ECU's caused me to discount this potential. (My take was ECU damage is either all or nothing, and there were plenty of folks coming clean about having made this incautious mistake once without severe consequence...). I'll check valves for sure, as soon as possible (seems straightforward). I can get a friend to help me with checking balance of throttlebodies, haven't done it yet but this piece of MG "stewardship" was anticipated. For when I eventually get in over my head, I would appreciate any "temperate" recommendations of Bay Area Calif shops particularly good with MG. Say between Santa Cruz and Santa Rosa? Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ouiji Veck Posted April 25, 2006 Share Posted April 25, 2006 Losen valves!!! In .006m / out .008 This is huge compared to fac spec..which PO may have 'em at...Makes the world much nicer. I'm running raceco specs even bigger Dose it go "back! KAck! badakack cak cak cakbang" When you shut off under load? Real noisy backing off ? Oh yea.....Hey Mdude... sorry..I couldn't resist ...no wonder my poetic licence got revoked. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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