jtucker

Al, I think the benefit of Ken's adjustable kit is that it lets you dial in the pressure if, by chance, it is not up to spec. The pump may be rated at 45psi, and you may have the 45psi regulator cartridge, but the question is, how well do you trust that regulator? If memory serves, Ken had a big issue with the Aprilia systems, in that their actual pressure was all over the board when compared to what they were *supposed* to be. I bought his modifier and guage kit, but as my bike as been on the bench, I haven't had a chance to experiment with it.

Good news... the V11 bottom end is finally apart and will soon be sent off for balancing with the Carillo rods! ;-) And it seems my re-finished head should be back (again) within the next week or so. I may be finally making progress! __Jason

I just checked out Cliff Jefferies' site and see that Carl is working with him to come up with a My15M ECU - this is awesome! I'll have to keep an eye on that, as the thought of running a My15M - in closed loop mode - on my bike really gets me... um... excited! OK... not *really* that excited, but you know what I mean! __Jason

Ugh! Well, the first (and most trivial) thing I was having done was the "clean-up" of the dinged head. Finally got that back after about a year (I wasn't in a hurry - but I am now!) It came back the WRONG COLOR - a dreadful GREY finish in stead of the silver/aluminum finish that it had. We sent it back and this time I insisted it must be done pronto, or I will have it permanently installed in their asses. I'm going to take the reigns on this project now. Finally. Still have the M900. Just didn't ride much last year for various reasons. Feels strange going from 12K+ a year on the bike to ~200! While the Cooper S is a hoot to drive, I hope to be commuting more on the bike(s) this year. In addition to seeing that progress gets made on the Guzzi, my other priority right now is getting back into shape so I can actually FIT INTO my motorcycle gear again! I fell in love and gained 40 pounds in the process - funny how that happens, no!?! Trying to get back on track now. Oh, the other thing that's holding up the Guzzi? My mechanic needs to pull the crank to send out for balancing (with new rods), but apparently, they don't *make* a tool to remove the nut off the front "end" of the shaft. They've followed a few leads, but it looks like they're going to have to fabricate something to do the job. I think I'll stop by the shop on my way home today and see if any progress has been made (fingers crossed). Oh, and if anyone has any suggestions on an off-the-shelf tool to remove the crank, I'm all ears! __Jason

Gio (and all), thanks for the brilliant work on this. I suffered from the vapor lock problem as well, and will have to try the relocation mod for sure!

Hello again guys! Just checking in to see if how things are tuning out here... Not much has changed on my end since I last stopped by, but I'm starting to put some pressure on folks now to get some progress. I really want to ride this year! Still debating whether or not to do the dual-plug thing... has there been any definitive results from this yet?

If you are dropping the oil pan, you don't need any *special* filter wrench - the filter will be readily accessable when the pan is off. The only time you need to Guzzi filter wrench (or something similar) is when you are removing the filther without dropping the pan (via the small round access "cap" - for lack of a better term). Also, I've said this before, but I'll say it again: Anyone dropping the oil pan on a Guzzi should do themselves a favor and get a Torq-It: Takes about 2 seconds to remove each screw with this thing! Definitely one of my favorite tools. Can be bought at various locations, but I know Franz @ Spare Parts in Philly has them - 215-922-2214. No affiliation - just a happy customer.

How do you grease the wheel bearings? Aren't they sealed cartriges? BTW, my original rear wheel bearing is part of the guzzitech.com "Shrapnel Italia" page:

I don't understand - considering how much stress these angle drives are under - why they make them out of plastic? Some of them look like they'll fall apart if you just look at them the wrong way... Wouldn't it simplify things if they just ran the speedo off of the front wheel? Or, maybe even switch to electronic?

Yes. I have a Magni fairing on my Sport, which requires the addition of another angle drive. After a few thousand miles, I started busting angle drives. Every time I replaced one, it would break as soon as the bike started moving. Unfortunately, my bike has been on the bench since December, so I haven't had a chance to sort it out yet, though. My problem was very odd. I could turn the speedo by hand, and I could turn the cable easily by hand, but when I connected the two together, there was major resistance. I think the problem might have been the cable all along, so I plan to replace it once I get back on the road. Good luck!

I've used it in the past, and it's very flexible. If memory serves, it's sort of like a fiberglass fabric which has an aluminized coating on the outside.

Thanks for the info, Al. I decided to go for the gears for a few reasons: 1. To rule out slop in the timing system as a potential reason for "stoplight stumble". 2. I plan on going to a somewhat hotter cam, and again, I figured it would be nice to eliminate any slop. 3. I want that straight-cut gear sound!

I don't have immediate access to my bike, so can anyone tell me... what is the o.d. of the fuel lines? I'd like to get some of this stuff to insulate them: Thermo-Tec Thermo Sleeve And, for those familiar with my saga, it looks like the Guzzi *may* be on the road again fairly soon! I haven't been able to get all the performance work done that I had planned, so that may have to wait until winter - I just want her back! At this point, I will have the Raceco timing gears installed, because I have them on-hand. The headwork can wait, though.

My understanding is that header wrap can trap moisture and promote rust... something to bear in mind. I'd probably go with a ceramic coating, myself.

One other thing to keep in mind: if you drop your bike (or lowside, in my case! ;-) it is much better to have the clip-on rotate around the fork leg than to have the bar break and/or bend. In my situation, I had the Magni clip-ons, which don't have this locator screw, and after my mishap all I had to do was bang on the bar a few times with the heel of my hand to reposition it and it was good as new. Had the clip-ons been physically locked in place by this extra screw, the bar surely would have been damaged quite badly. Food for thought.

Hmmm... if this coil is "lost spark" as you say, then I'm not sure if I would want it or not. I like the idea of the dual-plug setup providing some fault tolerance, in addition to performance. In other words, I would *like* to be able to run on a single plug if I need to...

You can also start swapping around relays to try and isolate the one that doesn't work. Basically, take the one from socket 1 and put it in 2 and test. If no change, put it in 3 and repeat. Of course, if 2 or more relays have died at the same time, this test may not help much!

I like the NGK racing wires: I have them on my Ducati, and plan on putting them on the Guzzi, if I ever see it again! They are nicely made, although you would need to track down the approprate ends that will allow you to use them with the Guzzi coils.

That sensor you mention is actually the ambient temperature sensor. I zip-tied mine to the side of the frame spine, close to where the intake pod is. This sensor just needs to read the temp of the air reaching the intake. Carl is right... the pressure sensor is inside our 15M ECU. As for the breather hose, I took the lazy route and just fixed it to the front left side of the frame... you can just see it poking out from under the tank. The only problem with this location is that I occasionally get a film of oil residue on the section of the motor below the end of the hose. When I get a chance, I'm going to get a longer length of hose and reroute it to a lower position someplace else.

Nice John! You're work is almost identical to what I had planned for my bike... cam and all. Unfortunately, my work got delayed, and the bike has been on the bench since December (detailed in another thread here). Can't wait to get it all sorted out! Have fun!

Hey guys! Long time, no chat! Glad to see this thread is still going strong. Unfortunately, I've got *nothing* new to report here. The local shop that got my dinged up head last November to re-finish it... STILL HAS IT! :finger: Some serious feet-dragging going on there. Latest word is that they are finally in the process of finishing it up. I'll believe it when I see it. Usually, I wouldn't let things go this long, but as it turns out, I've had plenty to keep me busy, so I haven't been obsessing over the bike so much. Not to mention, the weather so far this year has been crap, so... no big loss for me. I guess it's the "Summer of the MINI" for me! If I ever get the head back, I'm going to cut bait and just have the work finished up installing the parts that I have on hand... carillo rods and Raceco timing gears. I guess I'll wait until next winter to make another go at the head work. Bah! Hopefully, this thread will still be going by the time I get my bike back!

Good info about the valves, Al... thanks. My project is going slow, unfortunately... my head that had to be repaired is MIA, but will hopefully be back this week. Then off to Mike...

I believe I used the RU-0600 model K&N - did not fab velocity stacks, per se, but I yanked the intakes out of the airbox, trimmed off the flared end, and mounted the filters to that. Works well.

I may have misunderstood the original post. When you say "reflector", I think of the entire back of the bucket with the mirror coating on it. If you are referring to the little doo-dad that actually sits in front of the bulb, I would consider that more of a "shroud". I lost my "shroud" thing last summer in my crash. I pulled it out and tossed it in the trash and haven't looked back. The only down-side I can see of not having it is that there are strange light patterns now visible on the edges of my beam. Trivial, IMHO.

I was speaking to my mechanic the other day, and he seemed to think that there are already relays powering our coils on the V11S. Not 100% positive. A quick look at the wiring diagram should be able to verify that. I *really* like the idea of the My16M computer. The only problem is that we would still need to find someone with a dyno and an abilty to remap the My16M. Plus, we need to have the My16M modified to account for the internal pressure sensor that is on our stock 15M.