Pressureangle

Odd, they appear in your response to me

Gears are better than chains in every way but one- noise. Gears are noisy, chains are quiet. So any bike that has to pass any sort of noise test (EPA here) benefits from using a cam chain instead of gears. Even HD went to chains in their big twins, because they trade the cam noise for exhaust/intake noise. Functionally? Probably not noticeable, if the chain is good and the tensioner is adequate. Still, I'll have a set in mine eventually, because riding an Italian motorcycle and asking why something makes sense is a silly thing.

...finally got around to installing the RAM mount I bought before last year's trip. Kudos to whoever it was that sorted this out before, took the FOFIU out of it. Simple enough; cut the stand off the bottom bracket, follow the instructions for stem mount, but you have to hold the bottom nut assembly against the screw from the bottom. I used a piece of 3/8" fuel line. Nuthin' like close-ups to show you where you need to clean and polish.

I reserved garage space, but likely won't bring more than one bike. So I'll have extra. Unless H-D gives me a boner back for the Livewire.

I hadn't ridden (nor washed, nor pulled maintenance) on the Sporti since my trip last fall. Changed fluids a bit ago, engine oil a couple days ago and rode to the car wash. Forgot that eating it in the parking lot 4 times on that trip led to a stripped valve cover bolt and gasket leak. So, todays project was installing Time-Serts in the lower 4 bolt holes. I'd have done them all, but it really wasn't necessary and I didn't want to pull the fairing.

Reserved my spot at the Lodge yesterday.

Probably counterfeit. Even if Timken and FM actually have plants in China, I've crossed more than a couple websites for Chinese companies that make it their business model to print whatever brand name you want. My Cousin was U.S. Customs in Detroit, they captured TONS of counterfeit stuff crossing from Canada made in China, of every possible OEM from Ford to Harley to Caterpillar to Kraft foods. Bastages.

If you drink enough coffee, it comes out from your pores.

...you can use the AMEX as both an underarm scraper and dental floss.

Aerostitch Roadcrafter 2 piece Underarmor long top & bottom Thorlo boot socks Gasolina Typhoon boots Held Rodney gloves Shoei GT Air Did 10k miles/ 8 weeks with this, one t-shirt, one pair jeans, one Patagonia hoody and my AMEX card. I would not change a single thing. FL/TN/OK/KS/CO/WY/MT/ID/WA/OR/CA/NV/CA/AZ/NM/TX/FL. Started at 95*F and saw ~45*F a couple times.

So it is that I'll spend much of the summer in Ohio. So when you get set, ring up and maybe I'll get loose for a ridealong for a while. I have friends in Traverse City I could visit.

Funny, I came to the same conclusions about the vent; a larger tube and a small filter. Still, we'll do a comparison with my patch. I'd feel more comfortable if I'd brazed a piece of square stock over the hole rather than something that can possibly dislodge, although it's tight and glued and probably won't be noticed if it gets in the gears. We'll see.

Huh. Well, whatever was in it when I got it was thinner and black, and it still pushed out of the seal. Even putting in 250cc over the top of whatever stuck leaves the level low enough that I can't see it through the fill hole, so if I can control what comes out of the vent hole, it'll all be good. Hopefully this works, if not it may take a more sophisticated baffle. I'm not one to worry about overfilling gearboxes, unless you've seriously doubled down.

Soooo... Finally got around to washing and servicing the bike after the 10k... it literally got put away as it came in the driveway. Shame on me. So, specifically to the rear drive oil question. The bike pushed some gear lube past the seal onto the wheel the first time I pushed it 90mph. So I vented the fill plug by simply drilling a small hole, maybe .040" and fixing a grease zerk that had been gutted for a hose barb. On the trip, the thing spit oil all over the back of the bike through 4' of hose every time the speed got up. To start, I went by the book and put in 230cc of Redline (V-Twin) Shockproof oil- dunno if that's the light or the heavy. I didn't add the moly, so was 20cc short of book anyway. I never checked the level again during the trip. So today, I roached on my intent to flush the drive with a measured amount of solvent and simply drained it, leaving however much stuck to the gears. Oil returned was 165cc, not great I reckon. But the magnet only had a piffle of gray dust on it, and the color of the used oil I'll chalk to leftover moly from the previous owner- the previous oil was quite black. The drive was checked for temperature regularly and often, never got warm enough to comment on. Guessing not more than 110*F. The teeth look great. I refilled with 250cc of Redline Shockproof again. So, while I had the plug out I took a small but very sturdy plastic screw cap from an unknown source that was a nice tight fit up in the recess of the plug, drilled the side of it with a vent hole which can breath into the box as the cap is tapered. So there is no direct path for the oil to be flung out the hole as before. I'll update after a good long stretch of turnpike, hopefully in the next day or to else it'll be 2 weeks.

I looked at those, didn't get one...still haven't mounted mine on the stem. What sort of SNAFU is it to get it on the stem? It was obvious as soon as I opened the box it wasn't going to be a standard easy install.

I spoke with Pete about making them here in the U.S. under his name and sending back profit per piece. He hasn't any made, and said next batch he'd send a sample. If anyone actually has a genuine Roper plate they'd like to give up temporarily for a pattern, that would speed things along. I ain't buying one from Guzzibits. Oh hey, Pete. Your post magically appeared after I put this up. Still open for business.

I've been thinking about this for a while before responding. Elevation equals reduced cylinder pressure, no exceptions. So that cannot be the source of your ping. I can say with certainty that the variability in pump gas out west was disconcerting and surprising. My 1100 Sport-i was sensitive to gas stops far more that it was to altitude. I never got pinging, but I did get noticeable weakness and a couple times generally unhappy low-throttle running. I don't believe for a second that either the octane number nor the alcohol listed on the pumps is a reliable indicator of what's going in the tank. Miles per gallon was the most noticeable difference, however. It varied between 45-ish in Georgia to 34-ish in New Mexico, though the performance aspect is not so apparent on those long flat fast stretches. NoCal and Washington State seemed the least consistent. Of course, none of this is scientific, only subjective- but over 10k miles one gets a good feel for what's going on. So I'll suggest that your condition is a symptom of local fuel quality. The worst tank I had by far was somewhere South of Sacramento. Not quite. Pre ignition or ping as well call it here is caused by hot spots in the combustion chamber that cause the fuel in isolated areas to, well pre ignite hence the sound you hear. Detonation is caused by the fuels inability to maintain its chemical stability during the ignition event and the oncoming flame front and then burns in an uncontrollable fashion combined with the spark ignited flame front and the two intersecting a lot more cylinder temp and pressure is created. A much worse scenario than ping. The reasons for both are many and varied. But back to the original issue.Poor fuel can of course cause ping but the altitude can also play a roll if not be the actual cause. When you climb 3000 feet the pressure will drop 3/4 of a psi. (old aircraft engineers figure-1/4 psi per 1000 ft) Chuck may be able to confirm piloting and all. So thats about a 5% drop in atmospheric. The ecu of course leans out the mixture to compensate and of course you get a commensurate drop in power. Problem is your brain and right wrist dont necessarily accommodate this loss of power and unconsciously just apply more throttle to achieve the same performance. So what you end up with is the same load ( speed and resistance to climb the given rise) but with a leaner mixture and more throttle and if the temperature is also high more leaning.Result....increased combustion chamber temperature, hot spots and ping. Your theory about elevation and cylinder pressure also only holds true for WOT or a given throttle position. But in the real world when we all ride the reduced atmospheric pressure is compensated for by opening the throttle more to maintain the performance we seek. Most of us even when we are "going for it" in the twisties are only using maybe 35-50% throttle. You'd be amazed how little time even a race bike spends at WOT. Ciao Throttle position isn't even in the equation here. You need a given amount of cylinder pressure to do a given amount of work, and if you need to open the throttle farther to get that, it's irrelevant unless opening the throttle adds in more ignition timing, which is usually the opposite. So your point about 'my theory' is problematic because you say it 'only holds true for WOT or a given throttle position' WTF even is there other than WOT or a given throttle position? Would you like to add acceleration enrichment to 'my theory' and explain how a richer mixture makes it ping? One might reasonably suggest that his ride at altitude was more aggressive than below, but I surmise that he rides pretty near sea level aggressively as well without the ping, or he wouldn't have bothered with the question eh? The point is that at one altitude higher than another, there is no point at which the cylinder pressure can be higher, at any given throttle opening, than at the lower altitude, so that cannot be the root of the problem. On to the next 'theory'.

After my recent 5,000 mile/ 8.000 km tune-up, my Sport renewed it's undesirable popping and burbling on the over-run (closed throttle decelerating), idle stumble, with popping and hiccups below 3,500 rpm. But, it really ran like the cliché scalded dog 4,000 to redline. I had decided to skip the TPS reset and simply adjusted the valves, new plugs, and throttle body balance. I looked at my notes and see I skipped the TPS last time as well. No good. TPS was 172 mv. I have set it back to 157 mv, but probably will not get to test ride for some time. So, at 172 mv, would this account for why it ran wildly stronger in the upper range and lost its ability to stay stable below 3500? [Amended the Decent Tune-up to retain emphasis on this critical step.] Your fuel map would think you have the throttle open farther, give more fuel and richen the mixture. Perhaps you're a little lean up top normally.

I've been thinking about this for a while before responding. Elevation equals reduced cylinder pressure, no exceptions. So that cannot be the source of your ping. I can say with certainty that the variability in pump gas out west was disconcerting and surprising. My 1100 Sport-i was sensitive to gas stops far more that it was to altitude. I never got pinging, but I did get noticeable weakness and a couple times generally unhappy low-throttle running. I don't believe for a second that either the octane number nor the alcohol listed on the pumps is a reliable indicator of what's going in the tank. Miles per gallon was the most noticeable difference, however. It varied between 45-ish in Georgia to 34-ish in New Mexico, though the performance aspect is not so apparent on those long flat fast stretches. NoCal and Washington State seemed the least consistent. Of course, none of this is scientific, only subjective- but over 10k miles one gets a good feel for what's going on. So I'll suggest that your condition is a symptom of local fuel quality. The worst tank I had by far was somewhere South of Sacramento.

Mine were tight enough that I used a 1/2-3/8 adapter and a 24" 1/2 breaker bar. (because that's the one that was at hand) All components Snap-On, and the Allen key was inspected for a good tip. It came right off then with no drama.

On mine, that was the o-rings under the inside cyl. stud nut cover, the big allen plug.

Two points are paramount, and ultimately far more important than max-lift flow numbers. First, Low-lift flow. The intake valve spends all but a short period of time at less than max lift, and the closer it is to the seat, the more slowly it moves. So 10CFM between .050" and .150" lift is far more productive than 10CFM at max lift. Secondly, port velocity. The higher the velocity, the more air can pass a given opening in a given period of time. To maximize velocity, the port has to be the ... uh ... 'correct' cross section and taper to match the curtain area of the intake valve ('curtain area' is the area open between valve and seat at a given lift). Your port guy who suggests a good valve job is right on the money; getting the curtain velocity up by shaping the valve head and seat can find big gains even without port changes. Where the Guzzi port fails, is that it's already large, to make up for the water-pipe shape; velocity produces inertia, and if velocity gets too high for a short turn, the air separates from the floor and gets turbulent, can't make the turn and kills ultimate volume. The ports on my LMIV are raised, floor filled, and tapered from carb to valve. (Not discussed is venturi effect from the smaller throat to larger valve opening). So a perfect port would simply be a velocity stack with a given taper (I don't know that perfect number) without a valve in it. Modern engines come as close to this as physically possible. Then, RPM, camshaft duration and overlap, compression, and exhaust scavenging all have an effect on intake timing and velocity as well. It's complicated.

That pretty much covers it. The port floor entry into the valve is the main concern here- it can't have the radius increased without raising the roof to suit, and you can't raise the roof to suit without moving the port mouth to suit. My LM1000 heads flow about 240cfm, but they've been raised a half inch. That is a lot harder to do with EFI since the relationship between the two heads has to stay the same unless you do some serious rethinking of throttle activation and expense. I'm going to examine those possibilities this summer, see if we can come up with a significantly improved port that keeps the stock throttle bodies on their mount. The point of the exercise is not to make an extreme racer, but to find something economically viable, reliable, and streetable that you can install in your own garage.