polebridge
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Posts posted by polebridge
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Well...I am riding her again! She is not 100% yet but getting very close.
A special thanks to Todd at MPH cycles without whose help this would have been much more difficult for me. He has been just super helpful, reliable, and fair. And thanks to the folks at MG Cycle for recommending Todd to me.
We may be short on dealerships but as long as there is such a great community to provide advice and support, and you don't mind spinning a wrench or two,
I see little or no problems with ownership.
So far I have replaced the foot peg, shift lever, valve cover guard, front turn signal, and the sump spacer. I was able to straighten the handle bar without the need for any extra hardware. Todd has located a replacement fairing for me and it is on its way. Still searching for a left side valve cover in brown. In the meantime I am going to try and find a close match in the spray paint department of Home Depot for a quick fix.
Once I figure out how to do it, I will post some pics.
Thanks to everyone on this board!
Mike
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Thanks so much to everyone for the kind words and advice. It really helps.
Right now my biggest concerns are the sump and the fairing. Thanks for the offer Pete, I may take you up that spare if I can not find one of matching color. I suppose I can probably find some shop that can coat it for me. How much do you want for it?
As for the fairing, it has some scratches and a crack (about 3-4 inches) on the left side. I don't know if it is possible for a good body shop to fix cracked plastic. I know I can get the paint matched if the crack can be repaired. Otherwise I will need to find a spare Cafe Sport fairing and have it painted to match I guess.
I will probably start my parts search tomorrow and I WILL keep you all posted on my progress.
Thanks to everyone for all the leads and encouragement. I am determined to get her back in shape!
Mike
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I haven't been down in over 23 years. Until today that is. My Coppa has seen better days and I am not very happy at the moment. I'd rather not go into the details but I am glad to report that no one, including myself, was hurt. I should also say that the police officers on hand (all three) were terrific. They all rode bikes and were great talk with.
OK...here are the damages:
Left side footpeg
Shift lever
Left front directional
Left spark plug cap
Handle bar risers
Clutch lever
Left cylinder guard
These should be easy to replace I hope (not sure about the bar risers), Now for the really bad news:
Front bikini faring (the nice tri-color Coppa Italia one)
Left valve cover (a brown-ish colored one)
Upper Sump (Black). I don't if this has ever happened to anyone else. I went down on the left side and the impact to the side stand broke the area in the upper sump were the sidestands bolts on (the lower sidestand bolt).
That's it (I hope).
Anyone got any advice on how I can get her back to new again? Any guess on costs or even some words of encouragement would be helpfull.
Thanks,
Mike
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Don't know if anyone noticed but the Stelvio just got a good review from the MO guys. Amongst other things they concluded that it was a bike with real substance. They really liked the motor. Even thought that it might be a bit too powerful for a bike of this type.
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Just got back from a trip to Buenos Aires. Saw quite a few Moto Guzzi 850 T5 Police bikes. Only saw one Harley, one GSXR (not police bikes). Other than that a lot of scooters and a bunch of single cylinder 4 strokes which sounded great.
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Lefty here too!
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It's an experience
I don't own a Hi-Cam but a good 'Tona will crack the 100HP barrier if not with ease then with some sensible work, mainly tuning the FI. It should be remembered though that is is still a big, heavy, crude, long wheelbase mororbike. If you wants *Fast* there are any number of bikes that will do that much *better* than the 'Tona but it FEELS ike I think a motorbike should feel and it has a real "You f@ck with me and I'll kill you!" attitude that makes you feel like a man, even if you are, like me, a mouse studying to become a rat 
.I'm hoping that my Griso 8V will offer the same sort of visceral punch, it's essentially a very similar engine in most ways to the earlier Hi-Cam. Thing is that the nice people at Piagio will probably of sanitized and Honda-ized it so that it will appeal to yer aveage BMW owner. S'not really an issue though as making it uncivilized will probably be a lot easier than making it civilized. There has to be *more* to get out of the 8V as its what Guzzi have pinned their hopes on for the next few years. I just hope that someone can convince the Piagio drones if they made a Nuovo LeMans it wouldn't steal sales from Aprilia but it might get some riders off other mounts like the Bimmer twins.
I'm told that the filthy scow with the first shipment of 8V's has docked in Sydney so I hope to be able to join BFG soon in a festival of gurning at my new steed and trying to work out what does what and what's going to go wrong before it has a chance to
Pete
Pete,
The Griso 8v is on my short list too. Let me know how it compares, 'feel' wise, to the V11. I seem to remember reading on another post that you currently have a standard Griso. If so, how does this one compare to the V11? Which do you prefer? Just curious as someday I will probably want to own another Guzzi and I really like my Coppa.
Mike
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OK. I removed the speedo cable from the trany end and discovered that it has broken right about where it takes that sharp bend. I then removed the conector from the instrument cluster end and tried to spin the cable by hand. Obviously I could not spin it very fast but I coud get it fast enough to see the speedometer needle start to move. I think if I replace the cable I will at least get my speedometer back. Not sure about the odometer though.
I really don't want to take the cluster apart. If it comes to that I'll post my progress.
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Ok. I think I have a clue here. On my lunch break I disconnected the cable from the back of the speedo housing. All that seems to go into the housing is a long, thin, square shaped rod. I rode the bike around the parking lot while observing the end of the cable (the rod). It was not spinning at all (as I assume it should be).
So it sounds like my cable is broken. Does this sound correct? If so, can anyone explain why the gauge failed incrementally (first the odo and then the speedo) instead of all at once? Also, any tips on where I can locate a replacement cable? I live in New Jersey U.S..
Thanks
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I can't believe it. I noticed this morning that my odometer has stopped working. The speedo was still OK so I figured I'll get to this when I have time. Later during my ride I glanced back down and now the speedo no longer works!
Looks like a lot of us got screwed with some real crap instruments. I only have 8600 miles on the bike. This really concerns me. The dealer that sold me my Aprilia used to be a Moto Guzzi dealer but dropped the brand. He said that the last three they sold were all lemon lawed and warned me that I would have problems with mine. I hope this is not a sign of things to come!
Anyway I have a 2004 Coppa Italia. I haven't got a chance to take a good look yet but I have a few questions. First, what is a "wonky angle drive" and how do I tell if I have one of these cable types?
Second, what is the best solution here? I noticed a fix involving the use of some JB Weld but this looks very tedious and time consuming. I think replacing the instrument cluster with the same model would be a waste of time since it seems they are crap to begin with.
I am curious how others wound up fixing theirs.
Thanks,
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Thanks Pete!
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I agree Pete. If what you want is Hayabusa levels of HP than you should probably just go out a buy a gosh darn Hayabusa and be done with it. You'll have a bike that was built from the ground up to handle that kind of power no problem.
Keep the Guzzi of course for when you are feeling a bit more sane.
My other bike is a slightly modified Aprilia Falco and I think that gets in the neighborhood of 115-120 HP. Plenty for me. I can't imagine needing any more power for a 'street' bike. My V11 gets about 87 RWHP and I ride this quite a bit more often then the Aprilia. I just happen to like the way those 87 ponies 'feel' and I would not want to do anything to jeopardize that. When I am feeling up to it I can always take out the Aprilia and scare the crap of myself.
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OK...I think I have a solution to my dropping oil pressure. I went with John's recommendation and added another half a quart (actually I think I now have 4.5 liters of oil in the bike). This seems to be keeping the pressure up even under hard acceleration. I even hoisted the front wheel about a foot and no problems.
My only question/concern now is what are the possible consequences of running too much oil and is 4.5 liters to much?
Also, I my be crazy but I still think that the bike runs better with the plate installed. It's like it lost 50 lbs or something? Strange. Maybe it's just that it's the begining of the riding season.
Thanks to all.
Mike
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I've been following the debate about the benifits of the roper plate with interest as I've just bought a rosso mandello,(first guzzi). After much discussion with friends who have long history with guzzie's(mk1,mk3,lario and jackal) they laugh and use rude words and say never had any such problems, is this a design fault unique to the V11 sport and only under really hard acceleration or people getting a bit carried away
I can tell you that my oil light came on under hard acceleration in first gear when there was clearly 'enough' oil in the bike. It was only after that that I learned, through this board, about this issue with V11s and the Roper plate. I now have one installed and only wish that I had learned about this BEFORE my oil light came on. Then I would not have to worry constantly about what, if any, damage has been done.
My advice. If you feel competent with a wrench, then install one of these plates and fill to the oil level recommended by these guys. Here are the instructions:
http://www.v11lemans.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=9425
Sometimes it's good to get carried away.
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Various people have mentioned that their bikes seem to run better with the plate in. I hope this is the case and I can see some reasons why this might be so but it wasn't the purpose the plate was designed for. If they do run better? Bonus!
Since your guage is a mechanical type I can't see any reason why the pressure should drop providing everything is OK. The pump should pick up at a constant rate and once up to pressure the limiting factor should be the crack pressure of the oil preeure relief valve (OPRV.) which on Guzzi big blocks should be about 55-60 Lbs PSI.
Things I can think of might be the previously mentioned damaged or ovalized bearings or perhaps as the pump works harder air is being drawn in before the pump or oil is being forced out of the galleries after the pump. Are the o-rings on the thermostat/filter housing in good condition? Another possibility is that the pump itself is somehow damaged or running excessive clearance.
While the engine is obviously working fine at the moment if it were mine I'd be popping the timing chest off and having a looksee to try and identify if there was a problem with the pump and if that checked out I'd be dropping the big end caps for a squizz at the shells. Did you ever see the 'Flickering oil light of death' prior to the installation of the plate?
pete
Yes Pete. The light came on once but only briefly. Do I need to fill more oil in the sump? I put in just about 4 Liters.
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This is interesting and contrary to the expeience of myself and others.
What sort of pressure guage are you using? Is it a mechanical type or one with an electronic sender? The reason I ask is because current draw tends to increase when the engine is under heavy load. If the guage uses an electronic sender then the drop in pressure may be related to this.
Another possibility is that you already have damaged or ovalized bearings and when extremely heavily loaded pressure drop off will be higher than when running under light load.
If there is a significant drop off I'd be looking for another cause. The plate is there to prevent pick up exposure. Pressure should be good or, if the pick-up is exposed, non existant! If it's simply dropping off a bit then I think it's something else.
Pete
Thanks for the reply Pete.
I am using John Mickowski's (Ryland1321) guage which runs off of an oil line. I wouldn't say the drop is significant and I think that it drops more slowly that it did without the plate. I would say that without the plate I could see pressure drop from say 60 down to 40 pretty quickly in first gear. With plate installed I would say that it drops slower and doesn't quite get down that low anymore. When the weather is nice, I will experiment a bit more and report my observations. The bike seems to be running great! It's strange but it seems like it runs better with the plate installed. Maybe it's just the fact that I change the oil and filter while I was at it?
I'll keep you posted.
Mike
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I finally got around to installing my Roper plate yesterday. Pretty straight forward job. Took me about two hours. I still notice however that, with the plate installed, my oil pressure will still drop under hard acceleration. It seems to me that it doesn't drop as quickly as it did before but I was hoping that the plate would keep it from dropping altogether. Oh well. I will take whatever gains I get. I glad I made the install.
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'I had very close to ZERO interest in just about anything going on above 6-7K on the POWER CURVE'
That being the case Ratchethack, maybe you can help me out here. I installed an FBF X-pipe on my 2004 Coppa Italia V11 and had the FBF folks custom map it for me. Problem is the thing is a bit noisy in that it seems to rattle a bit a idle. Also, I have heard of a lot of problems with these pipes cracking (although mine is fine so far).
In light of this I have considered replacing it with a different X-pipe. Of course I have read some of the threads here and it seems like some are saying that the Mistral X-pipe gives the best mid-range boost at the expense of a little top end power compared to the Stucci. What is your opinion? Did you try the Mistral pipe and find this not to be the case? I too am more interested in improving the low-end and mid-range punch of the motor so I am inclined to try the Mistral pipe. My only concern is that I will probably need to have another map done for the Mistral wereas the Stucci and FBF are so similar in design that I may be fine with the map I am currently running.
Any thoughts?
Anybody?
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'And by all means, wotever floats y'er boat!'
I think you just hit it on the head Ratchethack. It's not always about just getting 'bang for the buck'. Some simply enjoy modifying even if the gains are only slight. I think that, within reason, I fall into this category. I have stopped short of investing too much money in things like high comp pistons and new cams but hey, if money is no object and you understand the caveats, then why not if you are so inclined?
The nice thing is that through this board we can all learn from each others experience (mistakes and successes). I know that for me it was very helpful reading the opposing opinions on this subject before I decided on my own mods. You may remember some of my previous threads on this subject. All advice was very much welcomed (and still is).
Great board!
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Hi ALdad, Here's my experience with my '04 Nero. I bought it from the original owner, who had ALL the work done by Fast By Ferracci. Before FBF started the project, they told him it did not sound like he would end up with the type of bike he was seeking to build. It wasn't, and he bought a much higher HP Italian bike (in stock dress, just beggin' to be made FASTER!
) not long after this one was done. Not to knock the theory/conjecture in this thread so far, but let's look at some "real world numbers",FBF 11:1 compression pistons- $300.00
FBF Cross over pipe- $240.00
FBF carbon fiber slip ons- $735.00
FBF oversized valve set- $276.00
FBF modified open airbox and BMC filter- $50.00
Power Commander III- $397.00
PLUS ($ charged is unknown)a big Breva cam,
Hand port and polished heads
In house Dyno tuning for a "guaranteed" 90 hp at the rear wheel.
Parts and labor TOTAL PRICE- $5800.00
Hell, the Nero Corsa package was $15,000+/- to start with! Now we're easily OVER $20K!
And I always run premium fuel= more money over the long term...
Bought it with 5000 miles at two years old, and I have just turned the 10K mile mark in the last 10 monthes.
My opinion, based very far from what some consider the real world
as in "you ride a what?!? a MODO what?..."It is ALOT of fun, smile every ride, all that stuff you read in much better prose on this site by MANY others. And it has been utterly dependable. I have NEVER not made it home or left it somewhere dead. I want to ride, we ride. I use it to commute 25 miles a day to work. I've done a 450 mile day of nothing but curves and hills, pure shits and giggles in my helmet. I try to ride pretty much everyday above 35 degrees. And I ride in rain and cold below freezing with regularity. Took off the rear hugger and made a couple rain shields for the shock and battery box, dielectric greased every blessed connector I could find. Made my own "Roper "plate, LOVE IT! NO more red light take offs! DO IT if you chase HP, with out a doubt! I have done 95% of all scheduled maintenence, per the manual, myself. The price HE paid for this bike, and the extra 20 hp+/- was more than I would be able to afford, but I have shown it more love than money. I couldn't even imagine this bike if it were slower now. It is a PERFECT road bike to me. The torque is what makes it SO fu#kin' fun, and it is totally trust worthy. You,money, and a good builder can do this regardless of if it is a '00 or one of the later years, IMHO. The end.
Good luck, S.H.You forgot to mention how great your bike sounds.
One of the FBF mechanics started if for me (before you owned it I believe) and at that moment I knew I was going to be a future MG owner. I wound up buying a 2004 Coppa Italia. I have Ti pipes, FBF X-pipe, FBF airbox kit, PC-III and a custom map done by FBF. According to FBF's dyno I now have 87 RWHP which sounds a bit optimistic to me. Of the above mods which do you think gave the most improvement? By the way, they told me that your bike made around 100 RWHP.
Either way, nice machine you have there.
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I currently have both in my garage. I bought the Falco in 2001 and my Coppa Italia in 2005. In my opinion, these are very different bikes. The Falco is very much a beast compared to the V11. Performance wise, no comparison. The Falco is quicker, handles better, and stops faster.
That being said I ride the V11 far more often. It's not that I don't like the Falco, I love it and it's a really great bike. It's just that you have to be way more committed to ride it. Too much throttle in first or second and the front wheel is in the air (quickly in first). It just demands to be ridden hard and the riding position, although comfortable by sport bike standards, is again more committed than on the relaxed V11.
I am pushing 50 years old now and I like the fact that the V11 is perfectly happy to be ridden in any manner that fits my mood. It's hard to explain but some bikes just insist that you ride them quickly and the Falco is one such bike in my opinion. If I am in the mood than nothing thrills like the Falco and I have no intention of parting with the bike. I have put about 20K on it with no problems at all. I had the valves checked at 17K and they needed no adjustment (they have never been adjusted). The Falco has power everywhere and, in my opinion, is a really great looking machine. If you ever get the chance to pick one up I don't think you'll be disappointed.
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Moto GP is on Speed tomorrow (Sunday) at 3:00 PM pacific. Speed is Cox cable 56 in San Diego. Speed schedule here: http://www.speedtv.com/schedule/filter/dat...3-9/timezone/pt
Thanks.
Be careful. 3 P.M. Pacific is 6 P.M. here on the east coast and the TV Guide shows that Speed channel is airing the 250cc GP at that time. I did a little more checking and it looks like the MotoGp is showing at 10 P.M. Eastern time (7 P.M. Pacific).
You might want to check it out.
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Does anyone know if the race is being televised in the U.S.?
If so what time and network is carrying it? I just check TV Guide and they show the 250s on at 6:00 PM Sunday on the Speed Channel. Can't find a listing for the MOTOGP.
Help!!
Thanks
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One quick question before I start the install. What is the proper torque on the upper sump bolts?
Thanks
FBF high compression pistons
in Technical Topics
Posted
Sorry but I have not installed anything like this in my bike. I have however considered doing it in the past so, if you don't mind, I would very much like to hear your impressions of the mod. In particular, does it make your engine ping, do you notice performance gains/losses in the low-end, midrange, or high end of your engines power band? There has been much debate on this board regarding the benefits/wisdom of this mod. I have steered away from it myself but not ruled it out completely.
Any input after you are done is appreciated.