docc

"Purists" post here!? I feel nekked.

I do love the way air cooled cylinders ring in the cool crisp air of the morning. I would hate to damp(en) them with a jacket of water. Of course, this is the same tune of aging aficionados everywhere. The "corporate" Moto Guzzi experience reminds me a lovely curvaceous thing I dated (briefly) before the Aging Aficionado thing set in: "Of course I'm not giving you any. But you're, like, out with me , right?" Where will MG go from here? My goodness, imagine the blog traffic (that would have been) when MotoGuzzi ditched 46 years of outside flywheel horizontal singles for this new-fangled V-twin thing? If they shift gears now, I can still keep my hottie V11 Sport, even if she doesn't always 'give me any.' Really, I'm looking forward to fueling up one day next some young bucks on those new age Guzzis. "Whoa, fellas, those are some of those spectacular Italian water jacket buggers with the laser-plasma rear drive! Who's your dealer?":oldgit:

"(Tom M): How do they expect "aging officianados" to mount a Windjammer and ammo cans on this???" Ah, yes, we "seasoned (pickled?) Guzziomos await the Mandello answer to the Ural Patrol. Something tells me Terblanche has not jacked up his Jeep Cherokee yet.

It does make me a bit sad to hear Galluzzi say, "The older crowd is going to go away at some point." Ouch, I "resemble" that remark! And then there's the guy who says something about "aging aficionados." Hey, at least that makes me an aficionado! The idea that bikes have become too heavy is very real. I keep trying to get 40 pounds off my Sport, but it runs out of gas!

"Quite easy to uncover" is an intriguing statement. Do you mean once the potting material is removed and the circuit board is out of the case? The Hawker does not seem happy with mediocre recharging voltages (under 14vDC). It would be encouraging to see charging voltages in the specified range. I didn't get my starter apart today for cleaning and lubrication. But, it is a 'must do' as the voltage cranking drops to about 9v. Don't get me wrong, she fires right up and reading that nine volts is fleeting. Yet, I'm taking the Sport on a rather challenging Sport-Tour in eight weeks where I cannot afford a start-charge failure. Like aviation or marine craft, the well prepared motorcycle must be entirely and completely reliable. Where my Sport is showing 9v cranking, 12.5 at rest, and 13.6 charging; I will be more confident with 10 v cranking, 12.8 at rest and 14.2 charging. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- :o"Look at you! Where ya goin'?" . . . "Goin' to the moon!":ninja:

You don't think maybe a fresh valve adjustment, and exacting throttle body balance with careful air bypass screw adjustment might affect those temperature readings? Beyond that, the autos I own need period "fuel system treatment." Techtron, and SeaFoam, make great ones and worth trying before launching your injectors off for "intervention." If your 70,000 kM are high, my 116,000 are scarin' me!

It looks like I've launched a simultaneous thread without realizing."Regulator Rebuild" Tom, I think your findings and mine are pretty much the same. I've ordered a new Ducatia Energia regulator form EuroMotoElectrics and a new Hawker from West coast battery. It will be a wonder if my charging voltage comes up to 14! But, hey, one can hope! Perhaps KiwiRoy will have a proper regulator upgrade for us now!

(Moved here from "How to.") So, Nano, do you have a manual petcock or electric (it's on the left side of the tank)? After fitting my manual, I find it takes some firm winding to be sure the thing is fully closed which prevents very much leaking as the lines are disconnected.

I've always thought the '04 is the best of the breed. That black LeMans . . . belissimo!

At this point, I would say my 4 1/2 year old Hawker, the 5 1/3 year old regulator, and the 10 year old starter are all "suboptimal." None of them are "bad," but none of them are really good either. I'll try to pull the starter tomorrow for a refurbish and try to check the integrity of the magnets. I have a new reg/rec on the way and I think I'll replace the battery as well in order to restore maximum reliability and stimulate the economy. Then I can tear down the old regulator and have my way with it!

I'm thinking I don't know how to use my diode tester. The display reads 1564 with the leads free. One yellow shows 448 and the other 428. Reversing the leads, the 1564 read out stays unchanged checking each yellow to the red. If the 1564 is the meter's battery voltage (1.564 vDC), then the readings of 0.448 and 0.428 are "about" 0.5vDC? Haven't checked the starter yet, but what about these readings?

Groaning crank over again this am in spite of the long ride yesterday. What do you suppose is a reasonable service life for the regulator and for the Hawker Odyssey? I'm thinking five years (+/- 6 months) for each would be "normal."

Well, OK, 20 minutes. The GPS said I had 6 hours in the saddle today. Pretty cool to meet up with a couple other spine frames and rip some backroads. Even if it was 100F/40C. I suppose my rear drive inner seal still needs some attention, but it looks like the big outer is holding. My greatest aggravation today was the GarminZUMO acts like it may need some "reconditioning." (Not quite three years old). Once again, amazing how this site can bring Guzzis together!

I can't believe you said that. I hope your V11 can't hear you typing. I hope my V11 can't hear you typing!

I've renamed the thread to describe the topic as it has developed. I've no way to rename the subtopic, so we're stuck with *shocking difference.* Now I wish I had saved my old, fried regulator (I usually save everything). I'd guess my reg/rec is an arcing mess as described. One more contributor to my Guzzichondria . . . Whacking the charge voltage to 15.5 really did wake up my Hawker, which is otherwise probably on its last dying electron. Time's tickin' , yah?

So, Buzzard, what make relays did you end up with? (Bosch, GEI,OMRON?)

Interesting that "the good" or "quality" was all the theme of Pirsig's book, Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance. By all accounts, he rode a Honda (early 305), but was right engaged with its running and upkeep. I recall his account of his BMW friend who was offended by the offer to shim a loose part with the aluminum from the beer can. Maybe if it had been Bavarian beer! How "character" might be different from the "soul" of a machine, I do not know. This whole concept of imparting animism to machines is quite, er, speculative, as you may know. Yet, as T.E. Lawrence once said (and, oh but do I paraphrase deeply), "We know if the Guzzi loves us, or no. And if she does, there is no greater feeling to the wind." (I'll dig up the man's real words before his ghost comes back to haunt my lovely Sport!) And, Hubert, an SR500? That's the bike that got me into riding! Beautiful with the red stripes!

Hondas can be 'given' character, but it ain't easy. First, buy a Honda nobody wants. Modify the intake, exhaust and electrical harness. Rejet the carburettor. About ten times. Wreck it and rebuild it. Keep it 18 years and ride it 46,000 miles. Maybe a blue dot tail light and some bar end mirrors. Outride some poor unsuspecting chap on a Ninja. Keep it til one of your kids thinks it's the coolest bike in the world. Instant character!

After the 15.5 volt "wake up" charge, the battery is holding 12.72, charge at idle is 13.3 and the full 13.7 comes on at 2000 rpm. The battery is 4 1/2 years old, stator about 1 year, and the regulator 5 1/3. The flash charge made a real difference. For now. Really, I seem to recall Luhbo had a more complete and well established method for this. I believe it involved using the proprietary charger for the AGM.

Today, the Sport groaned a bit on the start up. That's not happened since I found the broken yellow wire under the alternator cover. Oh, no! Another played regulator? Flinky earthing, again? vDC at idle: 12.5, vDC at 5k: 13.38. Not good. I put the Hawker on the 2 amp charger and it gradually increased its charge from about 12.4 (not good) to about 13.3. I then *flashed* the AGM with a 10 amp charge until it reached 15.5 vDC (took three to five minutes), and followed up with a 2amp charge until the battery would hold 14.92 (45 minutes to an hour). Now, the idle voltage is 13.10, and the voltage at rpm is 13.61. I must be letting my AGM battery get soft. I remember Hubert speaking of this before. . .

I'm still not sure whether it fits into a hole in the cover. Maye one of our shift cover specialists would chime in? BFG or baldini?

It looks like the pin that stands in the upper "toothed gear" of the shift mechanism. See Section N, pg. 26, of the Workshop Manual. Looks like it's shown on C9 of the parts pdf (no idea how to post that image).

I'll let you know how it goes when the ambient temperature turns off cold. I don't want to loose that magic on the crisp, cool morning rides! With a "heat index" of 105F today (over 40C), which accounts for the oppressive humidity, I do look forward to those crisp, cool morning rides with the sound of Mandello Magic in the air!

If the play at the lever is found tho have increased substantially, it is time for master cylinder rebuild. The spring inside can break (mine was in four pieces!)

The observations of empirical changes by an experienced rider are not theoretical. Otherwise, winning race teams would not have their riders giving feedback to the technical people. Certainly, my experience or observational abilities could be discounted. Yet, I'd say I know this bike pretty well, and that I've "tested" the three set-ups adequately to make valid observations. Please note: this is not a continuation of the old thread. That thread became the debate, and derision, over how and why the modification functions. No agreement could be reached on the mechanism of action. All attempts to debate or even define richer, leaner, heat sink, inertia, conductivity and so on devolved into a thread where the technical content is all but impossible to retrieve. There has been much interest in this Engine Temperature Sensor over the years. No one can be sure why Guzzi changed the holder to plastic. I would say if yours breaks, and you don't want it to break again, Guzzi dealers can sell you the brass sensor holder. After two years riding with the brass holder and a thermal paste, I thought it important to post that my Sport runs better with the stock sensor holder and no paste. The difference with the Delrin holder with no metal or paste whatsoever is substantial; feels like a fresh tune up.