BrianG

Afret checking out the more likely "short to ground" as mentioned above, don't be too surprized that the switch has failed. They are pretty flakey and prone to failure from what I've read on this forum over the last few years, although I must say that generally what is seen is the opposite of yours..... that is, they fail to make contact and fail indicate neutral.

Mine cost me almost $1000.00, all in, to western Canada.

Hail and hearty, those rough men who stand guard for our freedom, so that we can live and love knowing that they watch over us in the night......

Ya, it's all great fun until somebody loses an eye!!

The Stucchi doesn't seem to do much for the midrange torque hole on this graph. Anyone here have all of the Stucchi, Mistral, and stock graphs from one bike?

While the between-bearing spacer length is critical to short spec, I don't think that even +0.5 mm would be an issue provided that the outer race isn't pressed in past initial contact of the inner races with the spacer.... The critical issue is to avoid any lateral pre-load. I also don't get where the material compressibility of the spacer arises as a concern. The axle-nut on many front fork axles simply locates the string of parts along the axle and requires only minimal torquing to secure this locating role. It is actually the pinch-bolts on the fork legs that locate the axle component-string between the forks and secure it there.

Phil, let me offer the olive branch here. My use of "theoretical pontification" was meant to reference the typical intellectual meanderings found on internet forums. It was definitely not aimed at your empirical observations. One of the unfortunate realities of the internet is that inflection and tone are poorly transmitted in these short bursts of text. No disrespect was intended. And I'm no big fan of Italian motorcycle transmission design, myself!

All I have to go by is my own personal experience with a coupled PC III / DynoTech dyno session. With my unmodified 2000 V-11 Sport the auto-mapping demonstrated a desire to enrichen things only below 3000 RPM and most significantly only below 2000 RPM. With a modded air-box and Mistral mufflers it wanted to change the fueling all across the RPM range, curiously not always wanting enrichment. These flow modifications raised the torque output across the majority of the RPM range and fattened the infamous mid-range flat spot somewhat although a lesser flat spot did persist. The peak torque number was not much altered. Dirvability was remarkably improved in spite the relatively minor torque curve shift. If this real world experience leaves me "wide of the mark" compared to theoretical pontification, so be it.........

It seems unreasonable to presume that a manufacturer would send a product out into a highly competitive market place with a less-than-best-effort release. While there are some fuel-mapping issues related to EPA considerations, they are mostly in the idle-to-low-RPM range. These issues may affect drivability, especially when flow restrictions have been reduced, but mostly they are not apparent in stock configuration. The infamous V-11 mid-range flat-spot is beginning to be revealed as something other than a fueling issue, if we are to believe recent revelations of our members on this forum. The upshot of all this is that there is likely little to be gained by simply revising the fueling map in the ECU of an otherwise stock bike. Owning a MG has never been a lazy-mans gambit anyway... If you want a toaster, buy a Honda!

There would be no reason to disassemble the clutch to do the transmission recall, either, but I think we did establish that the friction plates were aftermarket units. You have two choices in this and neither of them are pretty. You can drop the engine forward and work on the clutch away from the bike, or you can drop the swingarm and transmission and work on the clutch in the frame. They are both about the same amount of work. I dropped the back end because it gave me the opportunity to disassemble and reseal the leaky tranny cases at the same time. The task is quite doable with basic hand tools........ just be certain to have top quality allen keys/wrenches.

This sounds EXACTLY like what my 2000 V-11 Sport started doing last fall. I found that someone, at some point, had assembled the clutch incorrectly. The friction plates are not symetrical. They MUST be assembled with the hub protruding aft, NOT forward. In my situation the assembler had placed the forward friction disc with the hub facing forward (wrong) and the rear one facing aft (correct). The result was that, after some wear of the front friction disc the hub becomes the item of first contact with the flywheel, instead of the friction material. This creates the most bizzare clutch engagement feel that I have ever experienced. I think it is because, on the initial contact of the clutch surfaces, with light throttle application, hub material actually succeeds in engaging with the flywheel. Then, as you add power, the metal-to-metal engagement slips, then as you complete the engagement, the rear disc engages sufficiently to lock it all up. So, you get this weird mid-engagement slippage that feels so bizzare. Examination of the forward friction disc's hub and the corresponding location on the flywheel did reveal evidence of contact, in the polishing of the contact surfaces. Proper reassembly resolved the issue and I have not experienced that symptom through this riding season. Hope this helps.

Me too....... I think that the better midrange drivability as a result of the smoothing of the infamous flat spot encourages less desire to "get through" that RPM range.

Sweet! Can you provide a "compliance letter" for RIV? Someone needs another Guzzi!

This motorcycle is just like my Porsche 928........ if something runs amok, first chgange out the associated relay. If that's not it, revert to normal diagnostic proceedures....

One requirement of importing a motor vehicle from the USA into Canada is that recall issues have all been cleared. An official letter referencing the VIN is required for all vehicles being imported. In order to comply with this requirement I called MG USA (just after the Aprilia aquisition) and had them send the "compliance letter" for my 2000 V-11 Sport. The upshot of this diatribe is that "yes" the national distributor will have record of recall compliance (date and facility name) if it is done (and registered) by an approved service facility.

I know it's not a bit that sees much removal/replacement, but those crush washers harden over time, with heat cycles and with re-use. If the seal is where it's leaking you can anneal the crush washer to re-use it, or just replace it. I prefer copper crush washers to aluminum ones, but that's just me.

#74 bulb type is the instrument panel ennunciator light (LED). I tried their Tri-power and their standard single LED unit. No notable difference. Their "white" color is a bit strange in that with them the "N" and well as the hi-beam are now both blue...... Nacelle is the shell.......

Does this mean that you have sacrificed one of the hi/lo functions with this type of bulb?

I have converted whatever I could to LED lights. I found a LED-capable flasher unit to replace the OEM unit that requires more current draw than LED's provide to trigger the flashing. Also, replacing either the front OR rear signal light bulbs with LED's but leaving the other pair as incandescent will provide sufficient current for the OEM flasher. I replaced all of the ennunciator (idiot) lights with LED units but discovered that you cannot replace the signal light ennunciator with a LED. I don't understand how, really, but that circuit reverses polarity when changing from left to right, so with LEDs you will only get the ennuciation one way OR the other but not both. All of the M/G light bulb's LED replacements are available here http://www.autolumination.com/ Be careful buying a HID replacement for the V-11 headlight. The nacelle is shallow and many of the H4 bulb's element actuation unit makes the HID bulb too deep for the nacelle.

You could surplus some electrons by converting to a HID headlamp and LED lights elsewhere. The HID units typically draw about 35W and are actually brighter, so about 1/2 of a decent quartz-halogen unit, and LED's draw almost nothing. This might helps some..

Best support in the PNW too!

Of interest to me was the fact that the dyno did not always show best-power being made a 12.4:1 A/F as demonstrated on the WB 02 sensor (which is the theoretical best power mixture). I used to operate on the premise that target A/F ratio, as read by the Innovate Motorsport WB O2 system, was a very efficient method of maximizing performance. The dyno shows otherwise. It seems that 02-sensors are falling from favor with high-end tuners. They are now turning to CO reading as a more accurate determinant of combustion efficiency. Unfortunately, that technology is still very expensive......

Would you be kind enough to measure the vertical distance (down the fork leg) that you have moved the clamp from its original position, as well, please.....

A EFI system uses quite a bit of electricity. I would not jump to the conclusion that you are overdrawing the system. I would look to the charge side first. This sounds like a typical dead/dying voltage regulator/rectifier. Just attach a volt meter across the battery terminals with the battery freshly charged. You should see 12.2 - 12.8v across the battery disconnected, and connected but with the ignition switch "off". With the switch "on" you should see over 10v unless there is a short somewhere. Start the bike and you should see 12v+ and rev to 3000rpm and you should see over 13.5v Preferably up to 14.5v but not over. If you see less than 13.5v at 3000RPM it is likely the voltage regulator/rectifier. If you see some other abnormality post it up and I'll direct the rest of the diagnosis....

I'm still trying to figure out how the blinker indicator reverses polarity when switching from left indication to right....