polebridge

I have 7K on my V11 now. Since buying the bike the bolt that holds the steering damper in place backed out. I pulled over and fixed that. Last night I notice that the handle bar (it's a Coppa Italia) mount was quite loose. Another nut that worked its way loose. I assume this is due to vibration. I will tighten that one tonight. My question is this. Do I need to start checking all the various nuts and bolts for tightness? Does anyone else have these issues and, if so, can you recommend a procedure for checking these i.e. which nuts and bolts give the most problems and need checking and how often? Thanks.

Never heard of it and I can't seem to find much info out there. Here is an article on a different hop-up option you might want to consider. http://www.moto-euro.com/sample_article_9.htm I started a thread some time ago regarding opinions on this type of hop-up work. It precipitated quite a debate. I found the advice from board members to be very helpful and insightful. I suggest you track down that thread and give it a read. I did not mod my bike in this fashion. I have installed the Ti cans, FBF X-pipe and air box replacement kit and have had a PCIII installed and custom mapped by Ferracci. The bike runs great. 87 peak HP and 74 peak ftlbs torque. From 3K rpm to redline the torque curve never drops below 60. Hope this is of some help to you. Good luck and keep us posted on whatever you wind up doing.

I have always used the key (30 years now). There is on advantage to the kill switch though. Back in the early 80's a buddy of mine, upon returning to his parked GPz550, discovered that someone had hot wired his ignition in an attempt to steel his bike. Apparently, when the bike wouldn't start, the would be thief wrongfully assumed that he had not got the hot wiring quite right and eventually just gave up. His real problem was that my buddy always hits the kill switch when he parks his bikes. Without inserting his ignition key he simply placed the kill switch back into the run position and the bike started right up. So...however you decide to stop your engine it is not a bad idea to hit the kill switch either way.

How often do you visit Chatterboxe's diner? I live not far from there. Perhaps a group of us could meet there sometime. I have contacted you in the past regarding your forward foot peg kit (I have a V11 Coppa Italia) but have not yet decided if I want to go that route. If I do it might be nice to meet somewhere to pick up the kit in person. Do a lot of bikes show up there on Thursday? About what time? I agree about northern New Jersey. They have some really great roads. I used to work in Branchville and always enjoyed the commute.

Does Racer-x have a web site were I can see/buy the pipes?

Thanks everyone. It looks like you have saved me the trouble of re-installing the stock X-Pipe. Anyone ever install a complete after market exhaust system on one of these (or know a source for one)? I understand that the older model V11s did not have the front pipe. Maybe instead of welding the things shut I sould just install a set of the older pipes?

Just wondering if anyone else has had this problem. I just noticed that the front crossover pipe is completely loose on my V11. It is not falling out or anything like that it's just that it has pulled out a little on both sides and is very loose. I think this may have been caused by the FBF X-pipe I installed. When I installed it last year I noticed that it didn't fit perfectly on the exhasut pipes and I think it is applying a bit of 'outward' pressure on them. This in turn has caused the front crossover pipe to work its was loose. Maybe? Anyway, I am considering putting the stock X-pipe back on. Has anyone expereinced this? For those out there that have installed the Stucchi or Mistral x-pipe (and have a front crossover pipe), have you had any issues with this? Thanks

I have one. A Coppa Italia. Great bike! I only have 7K miles on it but no problems so far (except that the high beam light stopped working). I really like this bike. One of my all time favorites. What have you owned previously?

My M-1s wore out in 5K. On the advice on this boards members (well, mostly Rachethack's) I replaced them with a set of Z6s. I love these tires. Plenty of grip, great handling characteristics and, hopefully, longer wear. Thanks for the advice Rachethack. By they way, you mention that they have 90% of the grip that the M-1s had. You must ride fairly hard to have discovered this. Did you take them to the track of something? While I was in LA on business last week I notice that I guy had a set of Z6s on his R1. I'm not sure if that says something about his riding style or about the Z6s? Either way, great tires for the V11 in my opinion.

I understand your point but I think it's interesting that you say you have been riding for 38 years and only recently have you tinkered with various 'adjustments'. I am thinking that maybe it is only with experience that we start to notice that things aren't quite right. I do not agree that the discussion is BS but this particular thread does have a hostile tone to it. Unfortunate because I think that the two main protagonists here are both quite knowledgeable and have both helped me in the past with some really good advice. No offense to either (or to you) is intended. 38 years! Keep up the good work!

I have been riding for 30 years. It's not about learning to ride, it's about enjoying the experience. Before setting sag properly my bike felt a bit 'reluctant' to turn. Kind of like it just wanted to stand back up instead of track at the angle I placed it into. After setting sag properly it really transformed the bike. Now it stears in a more neutral fashion and just stays were I put it. In my case it wasn't about learning to ride. It was about learning something about suspension that I only wished I learned a long time ago. For anyone out there who isn't happy with the way their bike is handling this may be (maybe not) a very simple fix. You must think yourself a very splendid rider I am guessing? Guys like Hayden and Rossi are really great riders and they spend an amazing amount of time every week setting up suspension on their race bikes. I can only guess that they also have their personal machines set up to their liking also. Same goes for brakes tires etc.

Does this help: http://www.sportrider.com/tech/146_0308_geek/ This is how it was done on my Aprilia Falco. Great results.

Based on the collective experience of this board's members, I installed a set of Metzler Z6's on my Coppa Italia. They are great! Unless something changes I will probably use these tires exclusively in the future.

Z6s it is! Thanks everybody. My dealer had both the Z6s and the Diablo Corsa IIIs in stock. He explained that he orders the Z6s by the dozen because so many guys like them (mostly sport touring bikes). He has one customer that takes his Aprilia Futura on track days with the Z6s and says that they stick like glue. Strange choice for a track bike though? Once I pick up the bike and get some miles on I'l let you all know what I think of them.

I too installed Ti pipes on my Coppa Italia (in my case the kit came with the Bike included in the price). I then installed an FBF X-Over pipe, FBF air box kit, and a PCIII. I then took the whole thing to FBF in PA and had them do a custom map for me. In my case I had the custom map done with the STOCK ECU in place (not the race ECU). The reason for this is two fold. One is that the FBF guys were of the opinion that the stock ecu with the PCIII would make no difference compared to the race ecu and PCIII and in fact might work even better. Second is that I figured if I ever wanted to try different pipes I could sell the Tis with race ECU included and my custom map would still work pretty good (maybe). Anyway the bike runs great. I get 87 hp at the read wheel and 74 ft/lbs of torque. It's a really great bike. My torque curve shows that the bike is already making 60 ft/lbs at 3,000 RPM and never drops below that all the way to redline. I just test rode a Buell TT and I can tell you that the MG V11s have a much nicer, torquier feel. Don't know why that is but that is my observation. (the TT had only 10 miles on so...) Depending on how many miles you have on your bike I definitely recommend getting a custom map. Once you have it all set up you will love it! I would like to hear your opinions once you get set up. Good luck. P.S. I know that there is no such word as 'torquier'!

Thanks everyone. I am inclined to go with Ratchethacks opinion on this one also. It seems a lot of guys like the Z6. I really like a lot of 'stick' though so I may go ahead with the Diablo dual compounds since my dealer has those in stock and it doesn't appear that Pirelli's in general have a negative affect on the handling of these bikes. If I go this route I will certainly report back my experience on their performance and durability. Baldini, have you actually tried the Michelins on your bike? Thanks.

I have read through some of the tire threads but I am looking for some very specific advice if anyone can help me here. I have a Coppa Italia with Metzler Sportec M-1s on it. After 5K on the rear it looks like I need some new tires. I am thinking about the Diablo dual compound corsas. I currently like the way the bike handles, particularly the light and easy steering character. I would like more grip but not if it means heavier steering feel. Has anyone here switched from the M-1s to the Diablos? If so, did you find that the bike steered heavier or handled and better/worse? Thanks for any advice you can give me.

This is nuts! Now I am really concerned about my last oil change (I used a UFI filter and tightened it with a torque wrench to about 10 ft/lbs.). I wonder how this guy tightened his. By hand? With a wrench? With or without removing the oil pan? Is there any reason why you shouldn't just put some blue loctite on the threads? I have seen this done by Volkswagon dealer mechanics on my wife's car.

Agreed. I should have been clearer. I intend to try to use the torque wrench to calculate the amount of tightening torque I get by hand the next time I do an oil change.

I have always used the K&N filters on my truck and my Jeep. I have always tightened them by hand only and they have never come loose or leaked. I wonder just how much torque I am getting on them by hand? Next time I change my oil on my truck I'll see if I can slip my torque wrench in there and figure it out. I'll let you know how it goes.

Excellent info! Thanks Dlaing.

Is that correct? K&N mediocre? Crap, I have been using the HP-1002 on my truck for 5 years! If you have a link to the research I would appreciate it. Also, I did not know that the HP-1002 would work on my V11 Sport. Is that really correct? If so it would be nice to use the same filters on both.

Can't we just all get along?

Jim, I hope you're correct about those torque specs (7.5 - 9 ft. lbs.). I just changed my oil for the first time (used Motul 15w/50 syn) and I tightened the filter to 9 ft. lbs. I guess I'll see. Thanks for the tech info. Mike

profWacko, I see you are a computer geek! polebridge