luhbo
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Posts posted by luhbo
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LEDs get dim when they get too hot.
Efficient cooling of high output LEDs is a rather tricky job and divides Osram from the China cheapos for instance. So your bulb obviously was a China cheapo, running the single LEDs way too hot. That's no problem when it was five USD, question is how good are the 200,- USD units coming from China in the same container
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It's not a big thing. Keep the contacts clean, let the cover open, maybe replace the fuse from time to time. Works perfectly for me.
Or, more action, disassemble the fuse holder and from the downside solder a 30 Amp fuse to the correct cables. Then, in case this fuse should unexpectedly fail resp. burn you could still plug in a spare one from above and ride on.
BTW, putting in two 15A in parallel is not a good idea.
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The pegs are lower and the scratchers are one inch long, still I bet you won't bring them down enough to make street contact
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17 minutes ago, Kane said:
.... I don’t know if I can match the green, though.
...paint it black. I think black looks better.
(who's bike is that?) This is the factory version. Nicer then Stucchi and often in carbon anyway
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The ECU does a complete compensating of height and temperatures.
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11 hours ago, po18guy said:
No muffler, that is a reverse cone megaphone on the Wildcat Scrambler. What I did not know was that Parilla used the Gran Sport road racing motor in the Wildcat. Some noise and some fun!
I own some Triumph 2-strokes from the early 50ies and it's really an amazing thing to watch them slowly idle and hear nothing but in- and output noises. No gears, no valves, no clutch, nothing. Maybe a faint hum of the primary chain, that's all.
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Gossip says that Guzzi wasn't too keen on bringing this engine on the road. Seems as if they knew that the design was a bit tricky.
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8 hours ago, footgoose said:
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I'm with you on the front springs, mine (red frame) work well for my needs. Does raising the rear with a longer shock create the same instability conditions as lowering the tubes in the clamps, or is that different geometry altogether? I raised the rear on my R1100s to accommodate a 180, and did see an improvement. Thanks
and thanks to Kane
It's all the same, yes. Rake and trail get changed.
But there's no easy good or bad here, it depends on what you do with your bike. Some say the KR tends to wave at around 150km/h, that's 90 miles/h. This might not be that big problem in the States, if you live here and take the highways/Autobahn this might be something different and you might think about raising the front.
If you live in the mountains and know highways only from other people's stories you may want your bike to steer even quicker as it already does and rising the back in this case would be a good idea. Still lighter wheels would rather be what you want, but that's a bit expensive.Long story short: in my opinion the V11 "factory version" is a very good overall compromise which only needs tuning to bring it to factory specs. Adjust everything so that it meets the values given in the manual and you wouldn't want very much more. Otherwise you have the wrong bike anyway (power, speed, weight, electronics, media-related presence and won comparisons, silly titles etc. etc. ...)
Should you still be unhappy with the V11 - try to get a ride on one of the 'legendary' Tontis. You will see what 'goes like on rails' really meant. You had to take this literally. Really, jumping from the V11 to my LM3 is dangerous. The first bend always is a really big surprise!
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8 hours ago, Mikko said:
.... That being said, These Avon's are not too shabby for the more then reasonable price i paid for a set.
That's correct, of course. You probably won't find any shabby tyres nowadays. So, saying Avons weren't tyres was a bit overboard, sure. But even when bad tyres now are history it's still amazing how much different products can affect one's riding experience.
I know a guy who changes his' every 3000km. It's hard to talk with him about good or bad ones. His' are always new and perfectly round etc.
3000 km for him means two seasons, I make min. 9000 in one. Obviously priorities may differ. -
Such engines definitely needed loud pipes
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Pete, what oil pump is used with these gears? Here they sell these gears for the V11, too, but none of these sets has the pump gear small enough to be fittable with the standard v11 pump. Is it necessary to buy a Centauro pump or do they just relabel Centauro gears as V11's?
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8 hours ago, footgoose said:
So, what is your tyre brand preference and what are your thoughts on rear spring mods?
My tyre brand preference is Dunlop, because they're even older then Avon, I think Mr Dunlop invented the tyre entirely himself. Beat that!
No, in fact I tried these Avon 3Ds mentioned by Mikko as soon as they came on the market, alas was more then unhappy with them. They felt stiff, undecided, especially on wet roads they left me totaly on my own. This was so already when new and it just got worse. They acceptably performed on hot days only and on hot tarmac. Acceptably.
The Dunlop RoadSmart III are my actual favorit because they are predictable and quick and stable right from the first meters (practically) and they keep this nice attitude over the whole distance, 9000km this is. I just feel safe on them, in every weather.
About the rear shock: I had mine reworked, a different spring and an adjustable pretensioner was added. Sorry, got no details about the spring. The shop owner, a former technician from Corte&Cosso, once a name like Oehlins in the cross business, said that these ZF/Sachs shocks are of good quality and need only minor modifications to perform really well. I'm quite satisfied with this mods. Don't overtighten the rear mounting bolt (it has a safety nut, you won't loose it) and keep the eylet greased (a little WD40 from time to time) to prevent the inner steel bushings from rusting and the eyelet will last forever (as its owner, of course). The original spring was a bit stiff for single use. I think the new one is softer, even when it's shorter because of the pretensioner
While you ask for suspension details: I like my bike as soft as possible (starting always from soft/open) and want the riding height with enough sag (I need 20mm additional preload in the forks for that, btw). In my eyes sag is the most important thing for relaxed road holding, especially at the rear end. Years ago riding height and sag/preload was good for a longer discussion here. Was a good thread IIRC.
And sorry now for highjacking the 'My New Greeny' thread
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Couple of suggestions from my side:
Get rid of Shinko, buy tyres. Avon, too, aren't tyres btw. (unless you're doing American highways only)
Check the regulator for a solid ground connection. Measure voltage between the reg housing and an engine bolt with the engine running (because of the lazy red light). Don't touch the hot headers when doing this. Add an additional cable if necessary.
Check the fork stops. A fork touching the tank is not a fuel problem, usually that is a crash damage.
Don't change the fork height, don't lower the triple clamps. The KR (Greeny) is short framed. Lowering would negatively affect stability and ground clearance (side stand and cans). Depending on your weight the front already sits too low anyway.
Don't buy progressive front springs or special cartridges. The springs are useless, right so any cartridges or special valves. The V11 came sufficiently equipped for everydays' leisure use right from the factory. In its days it was rather advanced in fact.
Don't be too afraid of tank swelling or actual gas qualities. Over here we have 10% ethanol fuel as well but no one talks about swollen tanks.
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Fairing is noisy. But it protects the instruments.
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I had over 200.000 km on my first V11 and the U-joints didn't show any signs of wear. In fact they still were stiff in all directions. I greased them once a year or so, maybe once every two. It's in fact one of the more robust parts on a V11. Not that I haven't seen failed ones though ...
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Better go for these.
Getting a screwed V11 straight is always possible, but it's not always the best basis for a lasting affair. In case you were the hot guy for such a nonbiased affair you would have made her yours before showing up here and asking questions about her. Really, it wouldn't be the best start.
I got a similar bike from Italy, cheap, 5 previous owners, it took me 3 years to build up confidence. And that after nearly 40 years of Guzzi.
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7 hours ago, docc said:
Thank you, gentlemen! I appreciate the tuition!
So it is that the V11 has a tall reardrive and short cogs in the gearbox?
Could be so. Quicker spinning cogs have to bear less load, can be smaller and lighter, see less pulsing
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You enjoy working on your bike, you enjoy the results when riding it, enjoying life is only a small step left then.
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2 hours ago, docc said:
Just trying to wrap my head around the practical math . . .
So, as the V11 11/32 is 2.9:1, the others are both much "taller" ratios? 8/33 = ~4.1, and 7/33 + ~ 4.7 (even "taller", yet)?
And "taller" would lower the RPM at a given speed? And a lower (?) gearing, like the V11, makes for more aggressive take-off?
Docc, that says 2.9 rotations of the engine for one at the tyre. We call that a long one. 4.7 at the engine for one at the tyre means a short one. The definition works the other way round. One turn of the crankshaft can move the bike a long distance - or a short one.
But the figures above are for the rear drive only. The chain goes from the crankshaft through the gearbox through the rear drive 'through' the tyre radius resp. circumference. Check the manual, it gives overall numbers.
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Actually I'm sitting in a cosy flat above Ascona, looking down over Lago Maggiore, I have the time for comments...
What I'm saying is that without these restrictions this engine would definitely be equipped with the same air box as it is now. Because it performs better with it. You could always get performance kits from the factory or from such pros like Scola and others, consisting of camshafts, head jobs, crossovers, high flow mufflers, ECUs or maps. They always stick to the stock airbox, with snorkels even.
Did you ever wonder wether a silk smooth running engine after an air box mod could be just a symptom of an engine running rich and lazy?
Edit: The last time I read about wonder holes and such was some years before you bought your Scura, so when I mentioned them it had nothing to do with you directly
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I know a handful of guys reporting very good results with LiFe cells/batteries, though others had them burning (one) or suddenly gone dead (also one). I don't know what they did to theirs or what quality/money they were, fact is that this cell type is great and a good alternative to a Hawker. The problem is, you cannot get them from Hawker, you're bound to what comes from China. I think it's called YMMV ...
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It's still a 2 valve low camshaft engine, quite the same as it was already in the 60ies last century, so thinking this air box could be choking or restricting the power output in any way is rather unreasonable.
Of course, you'll always have people reporting about covers with magical hole patterns having magical effects on rideability and power output from idle to red line and the like, but hey, that's what the forums are invented for.
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(Reasonably available) bikes you’d like to own!
in Special place for banter and conversation
Posted
ahem … no. Not really. Maybe the colour scheme, some black, some chrome. If you see it alone, you could say it's a motorcycle, but below a real one 'disapointing' is the least what comes to my mind. Cringey rather … Sorry if it sounds too negative, must be the confrontation with the original