Jump to content

Dirtybill

Members
  • Posts

    252
  • Joined

  • Last visited

Everything posted by Dirtybill

  1. Don't feel bad. Mine fell over in the garage, broke about an inch off of the front brake lever, so I thought may as well replace it. Quoted $200 Canadian from one dealer and $150 from another I don't think so.
  2. The old oil issue Did anyone read the long tests in Motorcycle Consumer News regarding oil? The bikes they used however were wet clutch bikes so some of the info may not be valid, but the testing they did was exhaustive and interesting. A very general consensus was that Amsoil, Motul, Redline and Mobil 1 were about the best. "Best" is a very vague term though as some oils were better at heat disipation than others, some had more anti-wear additives etc. The conclusive point though was that full synthetic is the way to go in bikes. Even if you change regularly, it doesn't break down nearly as quickly as dino oil. Before I read these tests I would use dinosaur oil in everything I own. No more. A question though. I noticed my local Wal Mart is now stocking 15-50 fully synth Mobil 1 which does NOT have the starburst energy saving logo on it and it says it's approved for all Japanese valve trains. 15-50 is what is reccomended for my Triumph so I'm wondering if this stuff is ok? It does not say on the bottle that it is bike oil and I believe it has a couple of checkered flags on it and says "New" or something to that effect.
  3. Re seat heighth. Not sure if it can be done with a Guzzi but narrowing instead of cutting out the heighth of the seat will give your legs a straighter path to the ground. I've seen KLR650s with this done as well as motocross bikes with success. The beauty of it is that only the front part of the seat has to be narrowed and you shift your position there when coming to a stop. Also have seen a gel seat on a KLR which really reduced the seat heighth. I'm not a fan of lowering suspension as it changes all kinds of stuff like steering head angle etc.
  4. 1 possibility is the pollution hardware on US models. The Guzzis we get in Canada are the same EPA approved ones as in the USA, including California. The FIRST thing to do is to remove this crap if it's on the bike. My dealer did it during PDI without me even requesting it. I also suspect I haven't heard of a any vapor lock problems on Canadian Guzzis because of this also. The PC111 which was on sale for a while and was for the Quota, works fine in my Sport.
  5. Idaho!!!!!!!!! Highway 12, Lewiston to Missoula!! "Winding road for next 77 miles" Future Cycle http://www.futurecycle.com/front.htm
  6. Bunch of lumberjacks on here I'm in the Vancouver BC area. dkgross, how do you like your Mini? My wife is thinking of getting one.
  7. I have the same squeak. I'll give these solutions a try. Thanks!
  8. There's a custom shop in Richmond BC, Canada which is about 30 min from the Washington border, called Future Cycle. They have a Super Flow dyno and told me it would be about 3 hours labour to design a map for my V11. Don't know if that's the standard time or not but your US dollar will go a long way up here. If anyone is interested, I'll look up their exact address. They do mostly Harleys for drag racing and custom stuff so don't let the Milwaukee iron fool you. A friend of mine takes his race bikes there and is very pleased.
  9. This could be totally unrelated. But my Sport has been doing an intermittent miss at 6000rpm since the dealer downloaded a map into the PC111. I've got pipes and a K&N on it. Before the dealer downloaded the map, I set the PC to run 1 indicator rich at low, mid and upper ranges. It pulled like a Clydesdale! Now the settings show it to be set on the lean side. Arggggh! I've just returned the settings to where I had them and am about to go for a ride to test it out. Also, the dealer will not replace relays unless he tests them and they show they're faulty The side of the road is NOT where I want to find that I've got a faulty relay I've sent an email to Dan
  10. No offence, but I've noticed most Americans don't like their clip on positions unless they're set up like Chopper. It's a European bike, designed in the traditional cafe style. What's next? You gonna put tassles on it? I'm 5 11" 215 lbs and find the clip ons perfect, the wind blast with no fairing (V11 Sport) is perfect. I don't see why people make all these changes. It's like you bought a bike that you don't like.
  11. The reason bikes like the R1 used a longer swing arm was to keep the front wheel from getting airborne on acceleration. Not really a serious problem on a Guzzi. It also helped to line up the countershaft sprocket in a direct plane with the swing arm. And aren't you defeating the purpose of the paralever if you lengthen the swing arm and disconnect the paralever? And if I understand this correctly, you'll be altering the angle of the drive shaft? How do you know you have an angle that won't cause excessive wear on the joints?
  12. Just to let you know, that Bitubo has been around for a while now. They were supplying suspension parts to the Aprilia WSB team 2 years ago at Laguna. I've got some urls for a couple of Brit companies that supply shocks for all kinds of bikes. Let me know if you want them and I'll dig them up. A friend of mine who owned the Yamaha GTS was able to get front and rear shocks for his bike a while back from one of these companies.
  13. I had the same swinging needle problem. The shop replaced the complete speedo under warranty and it's been fine since. Except for my odomoter reset button. It's gone! I don't know if someone broke it off or it's unscrewed itself.
  14. I've taken some MVR (Mike Velasco Racing) CBR900 mufflers I found at a wrecker and clamped on some aluminum flex pipe to the exhaust pipes. $200 and I have a very nice sounding but not too loud system that also looks like no one else's. The flex pipe goes very well with the large fins on the motor. Gives it even more of a brutish look and has helped throttle response with no other mods..........yet. The K&N filter and PC are in the garage. I'm getting swayed to buying the Stucchi cross over. May as well go all the way.
  15. The "Off road use only" plaque has nothing to do with Guzzi liability. If the bike makes a sound louder than a predetermined range, then in the UK and I'm assuming European countries as well, all mufflers must come with this warning. In the UK, the cops will ticket you for loud pipes.
  16. I dunno. I enjoy the vibes my V11 gives off. The clip ons aren't an issue with me and the vibes get milder as more miles are added on. I mean if I wanted supreme comfort I would've bought a Gold Wing. The vibes are part of the soul to me.
  17. The only thing I can think of is a brighter bulb if there's one that fits. There are some automotive stores that carry lots of bulbs.
  18. Thanks Lex. I ordered mine on the 15th and still haven't got it. Probably held up at Canadian Customs. The probably think it's some sort of timer for a bomb.
  19. Whew............they still had at least one left. Just ordered mine Now that I think about it, I should've ordered the rest of them and sold them to the local Guzzi shop who just found a couple of new Quotas. I still miss mine Great touring bike!
  20. Thanks! Thanks! Thanks!
  21. Thanks. No offence but will this unit work on the 02 V11Sport? Any of you gearheads know?
  22. Dirtybill

    How to....

    Our water is soft so it doesn't normally leave stains. I usually take a couple of plastic bags and stuff them into the ends of the mufflers and put one around the steering head area, to keep water out. Simple Green is good stuff. I buy it by the gallon now. I just got a couple of sample bottles of some other stuff that works better though. It really does a good job of taking brake dust off. It's Spectro XL-1. Made by the same people who make engine oil. It does say that it can take some polishes and waxes off though, so I use it just for wheels, bottom of the engine etc. I usually towel or chamois it dry and don't go anywhere near the instruments with water, or I cover them up. If I use soap, I use the specific car wash kind. All this get's thrown out the window when it comes to cleaning my dirt bike though
  23. Thanks Jaap. I owned a Quota before this and always carried a spare Bosch relay that I never had to use. Looks like the Sport is a different matter then. Hopefully the shop will replace them all.
  24. Dirtybill

    Tach fix?

    Went to go for a spin today and noticed my tach suddenly doesn't work. It definitely worked the last time I was out. No big deal, as its under warranty, but can anyone save me a trip to the shop with a fix idea? It's an 02 V11 Sport.
  25. Idaho, Montana and certain parts of Washington. Forget Oregon, the cops are nasty there.
×
×
  • Create New...