MartyNZ

It is called "infant mortality" nowadays, and is a consideration in a "reliability centred maintenance program". It's not the whole story, but the effect is real. https://blog.aopa.org/aopa/2014/02/11/roots-of-rcm/

Have you seen KiwiRoy's picture of what can happen when the main ground comes loose on the gearbox? Could your bike have had that problem sometime in the past? https://www.v11lemans.com/forums/index.php?/topic/20813-electric-problem/&do=findComment&comment=239405 https://www.v11lemans.com/forums/index.php?/topic/19212-brand-new-guzzi-owner-please-chime-in/&do=findComment&comment=206855

Yes, you're right that the brass housing would radiate heat, just in a slightly poorer way than the adjacent aluminium fins. However, it would still be at cylinder head temperature all the time. I think that the plastic housing would be cheaper than brass. My original plastic housing didn't have any heat conductive paste in it either, but after I broke it, I made sure that the replacement housing had some. I think that a temperature sensor should be thermally coupled to the part that you want to measure. If the engine does not run well like that, then there is an opportunity to tune the engine so it does run well. Having an air gap seems to add the chance of ambient air (temp and speed) corrupting the sensor output. I can't see how the brass retains heat. It is thermally coupled to the cylinder head, so is always within a fraction of a degree of the same temp as the head. If you are meaning the sensor is slow to respond to cylinder head temp changes due to the internal air gap, then I agree. I added thermal paste to remove that possibility on my bike, thinking that Luigi was being economical with the thermal paste, just like the lack of lubrication in the steering head bearings. I am really happy with how my bike starts and runs, with good relays (credit Docc), great electrical function & grounds (credit KiwiRoy), awesome engine performance (credit Meinolf), and nice shifting (credit Chuck, Scud & Lucky Phil).

Here is some extracts from the V11 workshop manual, and information about the brass sensor support I fitted to my bike.

The temperature sensors are usually NTC thermistors mounted in a housing. NTC (negative temperature coefficient) means that as the thermistor temperature rises, it's electrical resistance drops. The measurements you made need to account for temperature of the sensor, for example is it in your warm hand or outside in the cold. If you are talking about the air sensor in the air box, it is usually trouble free, unless your friend is in the "pod filter" brigade. Then he needs to mount the air sensor somewhere where it measures only intake air. https://www.v11lemans.com/forums/index.php?/topic/19831-air-temp-mod-for-no-air-box/ Since a thermistor circuit is usually low current to avoid self heating, the circuit is sensitive to extra resistance from a bad connection. Unplugging and replugging connectors can help, especially if you clean and treat the connectors with something like DC4 or DeoxIT. I bought packs of 20 thermistors from Aliexpress for about $2 a pack. Let me know if you want a selection sent to you, I know I will never use them all. Note that the rating for thermistors is measured at 25 degC. The illustration below is for the V11 air intake sensor, but the V11 oil temp sensor has the same rating thermistor in a different housing.

DD mounted a sensor I made for him above the rear shock. Pictures and ride report here: https://www.v11lemans.com/forums/index.php?/topic/19831-air-temp-mod-for-no-air-box/ The extended sensor is just the equivalent thermistor wired to an extended loom, with the last 100mm or so stiffened with a 3mm steel welding rod, covered with heat shrink. https://www.v11lemans.com/forums/index.php?/topic/20032-pods-what-size/&do=findComment&comment=222872

When I did a little fuel system maintenance, I found brown fuzz in the fuel tank shutoff screen, in the fuel pump inlet screen, in the injector inlets, and in the regulator screen. The fuzz on the tank screen was so thick that it looked like felt wrapped around the screen. The fuzz probably came from a decomposing fuel filter paper element which was exposed to too much alcohol or injector cleaner. I imagine that if it got thick enough it would restrict engine power, but not necessarily rpm. I cleaned all the fuzz I could find, washed out the tank with hot water and detergent, renewed all the fuel hoses and the fuel filter, back flushed the injectors, and after all that it ran just as well as before.

If you want to clean and backflush your injectors, I could post a little kit to you. (so long as you send it back). The kit is a bit crude, but allows you to flush forward and reverse through the injectors. It can't help if you have worn or mismatched injectors, as mentioned by Luhbo. Those injector retaining screws were fitted with locktite so I drilled off the heads and then got new screws. https://www.v11lemans.com/forums/index.php?/topic/18805-brand-new-scura/&do=findComment&comment=215317 https://www.v11lemans.com/forums/index.php?/topic/20282-fuel-injector-cleaner-yea-or-nea/&do=findComment&comment=229694

The manual says 0.7 - 0.9 mm gap. See extracted page. Shimming V11 RPM Sensor.pdf

Have you seen this post: https://www.v11lemans.com/forums/index.php?/topic/17865-v11-ecu-diagnostics-and-reprogramming/&do=findComment&comment=219395

Good point. You are right, the manuals give the same pump part number for V10, MGS01, & V11. This conflicts with a paragraph from Guzziology; perhaps things changed mid production. The manuals I have give these figures: V11 pressure regulator setting adjustment 3.8 - 4.2 kg/cmq, which is about 3.9 Bar, or 57 psi. The V10 manual says the same. The MGS01 Corsa manual gives the regulator setting as 5.5 Bar, 5.6 kilograms per square centimeter, or 80 pounds per sq inch. All done with a pump with gears 16 mm wide by 26.27 mm dia. On my bike the red light goes out, and it runs fine, so I don't want to change anything.

The hi cam Guzzi engines (v10, Daytona /Centauro /MGS01) have two camshafts, so will need higher oil flow than a single cam V11. The normal running oil pressure and relief valve setting are likely to be similar for all engines with plain crankshaft bearings. Guzzi used a bigger pump on high cam engines to achieve optimum pressure because the oil flow is delivered to more outlets. So to answer your question, there's no value to fitting a hi cam relief valve to a V11. There is a happy range of oil pressure in a piston engine with plain crank bearings. Too low and wear/damage occurs. Too high causes bearing scouring, among other bad things. The relief valve takes care of "too high" when the engine oil is cold or the engine is running at high rpm. The flow of oil lubricates, and carries away heat and wear debris. Also important is the action of suspending moving parts from touching each other. That hydrodynamic wedge in crank bearings is important, and between the cam lobes and followers, it is critical. For me, this all means use good oil, change it regularly with a good filter, and avoid extended idling.

Docc's experience shows that the standard V11 oil pump is durable and well suited to the V11 engine. If someone is keen to replace it with a different design, then fine, but for normal use, it may not offer any benefits. A higher capacity pump will absorb proportionally more engine power, and surplus pressure will be dumped by the relief valve. The standard pump still has enough capacity to allow use of the oil cooler (if the oil temp gets above 70degC, which is not happening this winter around here). Guzziology says GU 30146400 pump (fitted to the V11) has been around since 1991. It has 16mm width gears instead of earlier 14mm gear pumps, but the oil pressure relief stayed the same. This pump not the same as the 21mm Daytona/Centauro pump, which is not only bigger, but spins faster. Dave Richardson says "these pumps fail at about 35000km because of the lack of a bearing on the driving shaft. A favorite solution was to copy the MGS01". 16mm V11 OEM pump https://www.af1racing.com/store/Scripts/prodView.asp?idproduct=46944&sku=GU30146400&description=Oil+Pump+-+GU30146400 15mm gear aftermarket V11 pump. https://www.mgcycle.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=1985

Is your bike SN 344? If so, it was advertised on Trade Me in 2016 with a new RAM clutch in a package included in the sale. https://www.v11lemans.com/forums/index.php?/topic/6728-scura-register/&do=findComment&comment=209802 If that flywheel & clutch was installed, you don't need to worry. Perhaps you could ask your local Guzzi dealer Scooterazzi. They may have done the work. https://scooterazzi.co.nz

Not trying to be picky, and you may know this already: the permanent magnets in the rotor can slowly lose magnetism if not kept inside the stator. https://www.v11lemans.com/forums/index.php?/topic/18967-sorting-out-a-multiple-owner-2003-lemans/&do=findComment&comment=211275

Lithium batteries are a bit fussy about being fully discharged, or charged improperly. Perhaps balance charging would have fixed it? Here is what Shorai says: If using a lead acid style charger, do NOT use if it has an automatic "desulfation mode", "repair", "recondition", or "recovery" mode, which cannot be turned off. Lead acid charger/tenders can be used for regular maintenance charging and then be disconnected after the battery is fully charged. DO NOT leave the lead acid charger connected to store the battery, because most will NOT maintain the proper voltage for lithium batteries. IMPORTANT- if the LFX battery is deeply discharged below 12.86V only a lithium charger with cell balancing can be used to recover the battery. The Shorai BMS01 charger or the Hyperion EOS 720 chargers are the suggested balance type chargers. https://shoraipower.com/charging

I bought Shorai LFX21L6-BS12 battery for my bike. It is a bit bigger than the dealer recommended, but still slightly smaller than the standard battery. It came with lots of different thickness self adhesive foam pads to make it a firm fit in the battery box. It spins the engine faster than the previous battery, so I think it is awesome. The only two downsides are COST, and the need for the Shorai charger for balance charging and storage. It charges fine with the V11 system, and the Ducati regulator hasn't missed a beat (after I fixed some bad connectors and grounds).

Are those Tonti frames hanging on the wall?

Perhaps there is road grime in that anti-rotation block between the swing arm and the caliper mount arm? Or a piston sticking in the slave cylinder? Does the sound change when the rear brake is on?

You might want to think carefully before using any 7000 series alum alloy instead of steel. 7068 is lighter, and easier to machine than steel, but like other 7000 series, it suffers from corrosion and "stress corrosion cracking". That pushrod is in compression and resists buckling, so 7068's great tensile strength is no use to you there. Exposed areas would need anodising and paint but also need a smooth surface for the oil seal. It would be a good choice if you had light clutch springs, and could easily inspect it every few years. If you really wanted to make your own, perhaps hollow 4130 steel or titanium tube with steel tips at each end would be better?

Here is a young NZ woman singing about the frustration of troubleshooting the V11 neutral (green) light and sidestand interlock. Then she goes on to explain the existential joy of owning an Italian motorcycle. At least I think that's what she is saying.

I got a response to my quote request: Wei said "PF3C price is $5.95, and shipping costs 50pcs around $100-120". This is a US$ currency quote. Adding that up: (50 x $5.95) + $120 = $417.50. An order of 50 would probably get the attention of NZ Customs, so I'd have to pay a 15% import tax. So $480 divided by 50 means $9.60 each landed at my place. Then I would have to add packaging/addressing/shipping/beer costs. Shipping from China can take up to 60 days, compared to shipping from NZ to anywhere else takes up to 14 days. This is a bigger outlay than I expected, considering about 20% of the stuff I buy from China is disappointing, and a few things I bought were dysfunctional fakes. Does anyone want take a half share of the costs and risks?

I asked the question of Alibaba; price for 50, plus price to ship to NZ. I will report back.

I dug out my old timing light, pulled the bung out of the RH side of the bell housing, and ran the engine from idle up to 5000 rpm while watching for erratic movement of the flywheel teeth under strobe light. Sure enough, the gear teeth didn't move smoothly, but jumped around erratically. The only reason I can think of that causes that is a worn cam chain & tensioner. The bike has done about 80 000 km. Unless someone can think of another reason, I'm changing these parts this winter.

Good advice above. Especially don't use WD40 on brakes. Scud did a test to show why: https://www.v11lemans.com/forums/index.php?/topic/19330-fluids-and-brake-seals-test/&tab=comments#comment-208819 You could also look at https://www.v11lemans.com/forums/index.php?/topic/18158-rear-brake-binding-and-master-cylinder-brembo-ps11/