george42

Said a sad farewell to my beloved v11 last week ,5 years of ownership in which i allways felt i was riding somthing a bit differant and classy ,not that some of my mates would agree, boy have i had enough of the comments of where do you fit the ploughing attachments and didnt Henry the eighth have one of thoughs ,mind u i would make them eat there words on twisty mountain roads . She suffered all the usual gremlins,gearchange spring ,dodgy speedos,duf neutal switch,(duf oil press switch which left me stranded on the motorway in a thunderstorm), ect ect, not quite honda reliability ,but so much more satisfiying. Great forum and full usefull info on faults and servicing especially the throttle bodies set up and balancing which on mine needed doing every 3/4 thousand miles to keep it smooth as after i unpacked the cans (see the thread) it became more sensative and the TPS had to be spot on . Sadly familiarity breeds contempt and i fancied a change and a bit more go which it has allways lacked a bit as i had a firestorm before and ihave missed thoughs missing 20 horses . My new toy is a Aprilia tuono and its a new world and a very fast one at that ,its not got the same charm and a bit devoid of character but at least its italien ana a v twin. Busy rebuilding my 78 le mans so i can still hold my head high as quirky guzzi rider !!. Cheers All George

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxEmery ,i am in the same boat as you,I have scoped all sensors ,temp,air , oxygen sensor,tps. Mine has run fine all year up to two weeks ago ,now horrible on slight throttle. Set up to 160mv base and the oxygen sensor does not respond at all till reved hard,if i bring it up to near 200mv smooother running and sensor now switching,but still does not sound and feel like she should, and idle lumpy.More hours of head scratching in the workshop needed. GEORGE

Yes slavomir ,i do believe i have sprouted a few more hairs on my chest since i sliced the cans! Unfotunatly not on my head .It was a bit of a risk that i might ruin the runing,but as it will still probably produce more backpressure than a pair of straight through cans that would have cost me a few hundred pounds i foolishly as you think took the gamble and after a few ride outs am very very pleased with the result. The sound is not excessive by any means and the top end definatly pulls much stronger. I have noticed a slight glitchyness around 2500 3000rpm,hopefully a little tinkering with the tps settings might sort out,but as i saved a few quid on cans i can now afford a pc2 .regards GEORGE

end can after steel wool removal. I choped off the end pipe and tacked it back on to the end cap so it looks normal to any passing policemen,

cat out and baffle to main outlet removed

sliced up

I had previously unpacked the steel wool from end of cans ,but the tone was still i thought a bit low still. Mine is a 2006 ballabaio with catalyst fitted in the front of the cans.Simple job i thinks to just cut a hole in the side,break up the cat and shake it out ,as with most jobs,was definatly not as easy as i hoped!!.The cat is inside a internal pipe and held in place by 4 stainless pins going crossways through it,and just to make it really interesting the cat is a metal corragated form,not the brick type i normally see which you can simply break up with a air chisel.Second can was a bit easier to do as i sliced cat up with disc cutter first,but still a hell of a job.Dont attempt this if you do not have access to a air chisel,small angle grinder ,breathing mask(nasty dust) and a free afternoon. Have still yet to try down the road in anger as i need a friend to reweld the plate back on ,but i slid the outer cover back on and end cans and sounds just right to me ,not too loud ,and hopefully with no cat in the way and also a much shorter easier route for the gases to get out might even make a smidge more power.At least with a more rumbly exhaust,it might drown out the awfull clutch noise which i hate. GEORGE

So if the cans will fit no problem , is the ecu a no no, or can it be reflashed to suit my later model bike ,or can i just run it as its fitted. Thanks .GEORGE

Will a titianium kit of cans and ecu for a pre cross over type engine 2002 ,fit my 2006 balabaio with cross over pipe with out to much problem.Thanks GEORGE

[size=1] pic 1 view from hotel .pic 2 lots of lulvly roads. pic 3 watch out for the cows and cow poo!!.pis 4 the beast at rest,note strange shade of blue and yellow on down pipes!.Pic 5 waiting for the others. pic 6 could not fit bikes into the cable car.Pic 7 Fantastic 2 star hotel ,biker friendly and english owner ,stuff camping!!!. you will have to scroll right for rest of pictures ,not to good at this yet.GEORGE

Just got back from a weeks riding in the picos de europa ,northern spain.Thease have got to be one of the best roads ive ever been on,Zero traffic ,miles and miles and miles and miles of twisting ,sweeping ,hairpins ,fantastic sceanery which the v11 just laped up.whent with a 9 others with 100o fazers ,aprillia 1000 ,triuph sprints ,bmw gs ,vfr800,ect ect,so i thought i would be left way behind ,but to mine and everyone elses amazement the v11 was in its element and gave no quarter to anyone .on the twisties peak power dont come into it,the easy power delivery and sit up position made her a dream. Everywhere she went , would attract attention, Very glad now i choped in my old firestorm. GEORGE

Must be the usual as my brand new balibaio 800 miles also has a dodgy neutral light. Luigi must have found a box of dusty old neutral light switches under the stairs!!!!!.GEORGE

Jack I last went to the v twin rally in shaftsbury 1991 (still got the badge ,sad eh !) kids and business allways seem to get in the way,this year allready booked that weekend but will definately join the MGCGB this year . Luhbo thanks for the info on tune edit,i would love to learn how to play and adjust the ecu specs ,i am in the car trade and run my own small mot @ repair business ,but have never ventured into the dark depths of re maping . Looks a bit daunting looking at your earlier thread on subject,more figures and settings that you could shake a stick at !!,but once got your head round it ,probably not too complicated maybe. GEORGE

Wow what a fantastic response . Will wait till the first service and get them to check out the throttle body settings ect, cliff mentioned pinging ,and i have noticed a bit ,so sounds like one is possibly out. Power comander goes to the top of my shop list,3 differant types,i guess the usb ign and fuel is the one to go for?. Does any one know if anyone makes an extender fender for front mudguard,first ride out on sat got drowned going over quantock hills ,and my brand new pride and joy looked liked it had been pulled through a field!.I live in stogursey ,near bridgwater ,graham. Must join up ,and go to some events,show off my 78 le mans mk2 with matching red and black sidecar,sacrilage you cry!!.GEORGE

Proud owner of brand spanking new v11,could not find a dececent second hand one ,but found a good price on the end of line stock new one .It did break down on the way home ,but it is italien i suppose (battery faulty).Now done 500 miles and very pleased,but at low revs ,especially slight throttle 2500 rpm definate hesitation and jerkyness. Is this a trait of standard v11 if so i,ll put up with it.or somthing i should press on my dealer when it goes in for its 1000 mile service .Any idea what is a good price for first service ,manager there said about £200. seems a hell of a price to pay for an oil change and a check over. Rev counter mists up as well as the headlamp,throttle idle wont stay in position,Standard stuff i hear you all cry!!!!. If i wanted 100% swiss watch reliability i shouldnt have sold my old honda vtr1000 ,5 years and never a single problem,but does not look half as luvly as my new girl. Too bloody quiet though,will have to sort that out .GEORGE

Cafe sport on ebay i have also seen ,but sadly out of my price range,wives are so unreasonable!!!!!.Have also seen the two in exeter,one very nice but overpriced(its been in their showroom for well over a year)the other a rebuilt high mileage .£5700 for a new balbaio sounds very cheap,but again to much for me.Think an early balbaio is going to be my best bet.No fuzzy paint,dogy gearselectors,clutches and flywheels,ect ect ect ect.Spring is still a couple of months away so no rush.Thanks all chaps for your input.GEORGE

PS How does one tell if a v11 has a single or dual layer clutch,Is the scura model one to avoid NOGBAD ,suppose a 2004 balbaio with all the mods done would be the same price as a 2002 scura with all its faults.If only i had enough money to buy a cafe sport ,truly the most handsome beast of the range. GEORGE

Why is it my old 1978 lemans 40000miles owned for 20 years,the gearbox or the clutch has never made a rattle or a whir,yet a new version sounds like an out of balance cement mixer.Progres!!!!!GEORGE

Just been to look at a 2002 scura for sale .lovely looking ,even engine paint good,but on idle horrible rattle from clutch or gearbox.noise goes when clutch pulled in.I know all v11s have noisy clutchbearings giving a whiring sort of noise which goes when clutch pulled in ,but this is quite a loud pronounced knocking sound,is this a common problem,and how could it be fixed.Commonsense says walk away very quickly,So Still looking for a tidy v11 in somerset.GEORGE

This is all good stuff guys .keep it coming!GEORGE . PS There are only 3 "O"s in oooarrr Guy.

Thinking of going to the spanish pyrenese this sumer with a group of 10,Ferry to santander expensive .Would trying to get from le harve to the spanish side of the pyrenees in one day pushing it.PS any suggestions for what are the best areas to explore if we make it .Maybe is the french side a better bet to visit.Any information gratefully accepted.PPPS As i have finally floged my old firestorm,looking for v11 to keep my old lemans mk2 company.I live near taunton somerset if anyones got up for grabs.THANKS . GEORGECBGDB@TISCALI.CO.UK

thinking of buying a 2003 v11, i know all early engines sufferd flaking,and paint was changed when new engine came out, this one is an earlier engine ,but had guzzi sorted this problem on late pre models.can you tell the difference by looking at paint texture and is it possible to prevent early paint from flaking off. thanks for any advice you can give.GEORGE