al_roethlisberger
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Posts posted by al_roethlisberger
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Scre,
Thanks again for the info, but again.... since your dealer seems to be cooperating on this issue, is there any chance you might have, or could get, a Recall or Service Bulletin(or whatever MG calls them) number we can reference to alert our local dealers?
I had spoken to the owner of my local dealer, but he said MGNA wasn't talking about any such recall, as MGNA hadn't finished with the various NHTSA red-tape
It would be really helpful if we could:
1) Have that reference number/info to give to a dealer to give them a head-start
2) Compile a recall FAQ/list and the relevant official MG identification cited
If you have any idea, thanks!
al
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I don't have the solution necessarily, but I have heard and personally experienced that leaving the bike parked in neutral tends to make the switch stick much more often. Instead if you leave the bike in gear while parked, the switch plunger is not depressed for a long period of time and it workes more reliably.
I'm not sure if this will fix your issue, but it did clear up the "sticky neutral switch" on my bike.
al
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Russ,
BTW, I'm curious, what was your "buckshot technique"? I assume you didn't just leave them loose in there??
I'll be installing my Dual-Stars and Gel grips this week. BTW, I just ordered my Dual-Star elements last week from casporttouring.com (California Sport Touring) and they had them to me in a few days.
al
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How do the full-floating disks differ from what comes stock on the V11? What's the advantage, other than they are noisier
BTW, anyone have a source for a floating rear disk? That might help with our rear disk warp/groan problem.
al
P.S.
You have closer and clearer shot of the calipers Paul?
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Well, all I know is.... it started and ran
It was getting dusk when I finally got the bike back together. ...got the wires installed, Jet-Hot'd exhaust all bolted up, fuel system plumbed...
Just in time to take a whole 15 minute shake-down run down to the gas-station, as the fuel light was glowing
So, with that brief run, all I can confirm is that it appears I didn't break anything
(Knocking on wood 
)I'll write more about the forks in the "hollow axle" thread, but it was too short a ride to tell much about the performance of the engine. I'll be pulling the plugs tomorrow morning to double-check their health, but the bike ran fine as far as I could tell from the brief trip down the block.
But so far, I guess I'd call it a "success"
But of course I have no way of knowing yet if it's added anything positive or otherwise impacted performance or efficiency. Hopefully I can find out more later when I get it mapped and dyno'd in a week or two.As I know more....
al
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Glad to hear it's all coming together Carl
I haven't had to break the disk bolts off of a wheel yet, but I do remember Rich Maund writing a while back what a bear they are... so I don't look forward to it.
al
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Well, I've finally got the new dual-tower coils all installed, hooked up, and the new wires cut and crimped as of tonight(Friday). After a quick test, it looks like they are all 4 firing just fine.
So I guess I'll put my exhaust back together tomorrow morning, and hook the tank back up and see if it runs as expected. I don't see why it wouldn't, but you know how these things go
I'll let cha know <_>
The real test will be a test-ride around the block, then a trip down to Hare Racing next week or so.
al
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Yeah, at those speeds, who really cares... plus, especially on our bikes, there's always someone "faster"
I did my one time "high speed" runs some years back on Hwy50 in Nevada, the "Lonliest Highway in the World" :
According to my FJ1200's also I'm sure very "optimistic" speedo, my friend and I hit 155mph. We even did a 160 mile run from one moutain pass, across the bottom of the valley to the horizon up the next moutain, in 80 minutes. You do the average speed math
In all these cases, the bike was rock solid, and I think it had a bit more oomph to go. But especially in retrospect I realized how close I came to dying. If *anything* had happened, and we saw a lot of *anything* on that trip, deer, vultures, tumbleweed, you name it...
One of those *anythings* was when we were cruising along at about 80mph outside of Area51, when a dust devil came along and literally blew my friend off the highway into the desert. Although he pulled it off(but almost dumped it), the VFR obviously wasn't designed for "off road" use
Anyway, not being judgemental, and to each their own.... but I personally don't think I'll be doing any top-speed runs again any time soon. Been there, done that, and although nothing happened, hindsight tells me that I was very fortunate. So I'll count myself lucky, and not push that luck again.
I've just seen too many motorcyclists in my area die over the last year or two, and it's sobering....
al
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Thanks Ian
I've forwarded this to Moto Italiano to give them more info. I haven't heard anything from them yet, although they supposedly had a call into MGNA
I hate to have to keep following up on this stuff myself
al
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For those of you installing aftermarket forks; don't most race forks (certainly Ohlins) use alloy internals? And would these not degrade the oil quicker than steel internals?
I think that Ohlins recommend fork fluid changes every 5,000Km or less.
I have a mix of envy/admiration for those of you with both the time and disposable income to make the vast array of modifications proposed on this and other sites.
I'm not certain about the difference in the internals of the Ohlins R&T forks, versus "superbike" race forks, or as opposed to the stock Marz, but the Ohlins that myself, Paul, and Jaap have fitted are the MG OEM forks for the new Cafe' Sport.
So I would assume that they are similarly durable as they are original equipment, and there isn't any special considerations that I am aware of.
As far as I know, the Road&Track forks are designed as OEM replacements, and are comparable.
... and BTW, I've got them all installed, along with the Cafe' Sport Carbon fender. It all fit up just fine and looks quite good along with the polished front rim.
al
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Well my VIN is ZGUKRAKR72M114733 so I guess I am exempt from the transmission recall.
Perhaps this is one of the rare cases where owning a 2002 is an advantage?
al
P.S.
Honda just issued a recall for all 2002+ VFRs, due to the rear aluminum subframe cracking from vibration. So, it's not just us guys
Even the much vaunted Honda reliability, such as the rectifiers on 98-99 VFRs frying, and the new Goldwing's frame, head, and heat problems... show that all makes can have their share of issues -
Chatted with Moto Italiano(San Mateo, CA) and they said, yes, there are reports of said transmission recall in Europe, but MGNA is not fielding calls on the transmission recall for the USA yet as it has not yet been issued. So they didn't have any information beyond what we know.
They didn't know anything of a connecting rod bolt recall issue...
Also had them call MGNA on the delayed engine-case replacement that was reported from Moto International(isn't this confusing?
) ...but MGNA hasn't gotten back to them on that yet.al
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Part Product DC Static Flow
Number Description Type Color Resistance (3 bar)
WFI91 Injector IW031 Green 16.2 Ohms 270 cc/min
...hrmm, I wonder how much that spec above about "3 Bar" matters, and what it references exactly?
The reason I ask is that after talking to the folks down at Evoluzione a while back about their kit to make the fuel-pressure regulator adjustable, they recommended bumping the fuel-pressure up to about 3.5 Bar(~50psi) over the stock 3 Bar(~45psi) once one increases intake or exhaust capacity/flow significantly. I had read this somewhere else before as well.
So, I have a 3.5 Bar pressure regulator I am about to install, and wonder if the spec above means that the injectors aren't rated for over 3 Bar?
I'd hate to "blow them out"... although Evoluzione has had their pressure cranked up on their Tenni for a long time, so maybe it's fine... al
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There was a discussion on either Wildguzzi or MGCL regarding FBF cross-overs cracking, but I'm not certain if it was the cross-overs for the cruisers and/or for the V11 Sport models
I know that doesn't help much
...but you might post the same question there to see if anyone has any experience. I do know that the cross-over for the cruisers, which is more of an "H" pipe design, does seem to have an awful lot of welds, which isn't reassuring
al
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Moto Guzzi V11 Sport/LeMans Transmission Shift Pawl Failure FAQ
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Introduction:
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Many owners of V11 Sports and LeMans have experienced a failure of the shift mechanism where the transimission will no longer shift out of the current gear, often 2nd or 3rd. Upon inspection, the cause is found to be the "shift pawl return spring" breaking where it makes a tight 90-degree bend.
For many owners, this has been happening around a 5k mile interval regularly, and often happens again with factory replacement parts.
At this time Moto Guzzi has not addressed this problem, although there have been rumors of an official updated part that have yet to be verified.
However, after investigation by several other owners, looking into spring design and linkages within the transmission, it now appears that the culprit is not the spring itself.
It appears that a manufacturing lot of shift linkages with 16.5mm diameter spring bosses, instead of the prescribed 15mm, were delivered to Moto Guzzi, and installed on primarily 2002 V11 Sports/LeMans, but may show up on a few earlier and later bikes.
This outsized boss causes the shift return spring to bind and not cleanly rotate around it's shaft, reaching coil bind, and putting undue stress on the tab at the end of the spring itself. Over time, this stress causes the spring to break.
The solution is to either replace the shift arm link with one using the correct 15mm diameter boss, or grind down the boss on a defective unit to the correct size.
Sources for alternative springs as listed below are still relevant, as supplies from Moto Guzzi can be time consuming to source, however the root cause seems to not be defective spring materials or manufacture, but the boss on this shift linkage.
As of April, 2005, Moto Guzzi issued the following Technical Bulletin, which confirms that the oversized boss is the problem:
Model: V11Problem: broken gear change pawl spring
Solution: In case of breakage of the pawl spring A in vehicles with frame numbers before KT111435 - KS112350,
the pawl B should be changed (when asking for the spare part, you automatically receive the pawl updated
version).
The change consists in the reduction of the diameter on which the spring rests from 16 mm to 15 mm.
Part nos: 04 23 51 01 for the new arm, 04 23 83 00 for the OEM spring.
However, be aware:
OK, new update(July 19th, 2005)Called all around the US parts guys; MPH, Harper's, Motointernational.
Apparently, the part number IS NOT sufficient to insure you get the arm with the 15mm boss. There are still old arms floating around with the wrong 16mm boss under both part numbers: 04235101 AND 04235201.
I spoke to someone very knowledgable of the problem in Seattle at MotoI. He is now trying to find out how to deliver me a part that is sure to be the correct 15mm size. He measured the boss size of a part he had on the shelf, number 04 23 51 01, and found it to be the incorrect 16mm size. As you know, I ordered a replacement arm 04 23 52 01 from Harper's MotoGuzzi and received another fresh arm ALSO with the incorrect 16mm boss size.
Listed below are URLs and contact information for general information and several online discussions.
Information:
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A purportedly improved aftermarket spring is available from:
Bonnie at (405)524 7223
- Request a "Moto Guzzi shifter spring." Cost is $12.50USD
Hank Blackstock's Replacement Springs(Same as above)
Project to special order a complete set of custom made springs
V11 Forum Topics:
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Spring Failure and Boss Diameter Detailed - With Photos
Spring Boss Diameter Issue - Final Solution
Transmission Shift Pawl Spring Failure
Gearbox Spring Thread with Schematic
Transmission Shift Spring Failure (more)
FAQ Administrative Contact:
--------------------------------------
Please feel free to contact this FAQ's administrator via email or a Forum Private Message to submit new information or suggest corrections.
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So, which spring are we talking about having failed on everyone, the one on the far left or right of the diagram?
They both appear to have a worrisome 90-degree bend.
al
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Whoo-hoo.... so my more intuition and less scientific results of moving the pump above the spine seems to have been verified as having a positive effect
Thanks for the objective and very detailed testing Gio!
Awesome
al
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Just ordered two from Bonnie "just in case".... She was laughing that apparently this thread has really piqued interest, as she's sold a bunch recently, where she hadn't sold any for a long time.
She says their springs are made from a slightly larger material, and modified a bit. And although so far they seem to be working fine, they suspect that the fundamental design of the spring lends to their eventual breakage, so even theirs may break eventually at the bend
al
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I'll have to head home and check the "chassis number", but does this relate to the engine number? I do have that handy.
- Engine Number: KR 015765
Whaddya think, am I "in" or "out"
BTW, do we have a Service Bulletin or Recall # to reference?
al
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...or for the super "anal".... you could get one of those cool GPS mounts, and permanently mount your TwinMax and it's two hoses at the handlebar, with a remote TB balance cable/drive so you could adjust TB balance on the fly
al
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"can you hear me now" , didn't i say there would be a v-11 recall related to the trans! . ....no one doubted you, we just asked if you had more info as it's hard to follow-up with so little to go on from the initial post
But yes, thanks
al
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.... eeeeeeeeeenteresting. Do you have a Service Bulletin # or Recall # to reference so I can call Moto Italiano with that? It would make it much easier for them to cross-reference to check my bike's status.
If there is a connectiing rod issue, maybe I will just go for the Carillo rods and see if they'll credit me something...
Thanks <_>
al
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I have also heard that applying white(or similarly bright colored) fingernail polish is a good way to mark the high/low points on any of the dipsticks, stock or aftermarket.
I also have the "thermometer" dipstick, which honestly is more show than utility
....but hey, I like it... anyway, I scored the high/low marks with a pipe cutter(very very lightly) but it's still hard to read sometimes. I may clean it and apply the nail-polish as well. Posts to that effect on MGCL seem to think it's a safe method, as no one has had the polish come off, or cause a problem al
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I'm jealous
Hollow front axle?
in Frequently Asked Questions
Posted
OK, well as mentioned in the dual-plug thread, I took the bike out for a short "shake-down" spin tonight after finishing a few projects, one of which was getting the front end all back together after installing the new axle, bearings, fender, and most importantly new Ohlins forks
Now first, just let me say that I personally liked the look of the black stock Marz forks better on the bike, but based on my very cursory spin around the block... I think I can grow to look past their gleaming gold tone
Well, it's too early to know anything in depth in regard to correct damping, spring-rate, etc... but I can say unequivocably that these forks are much more compliant than the Marzocchis.
One of the most noticeable differences was when transitioning the sharp curb one finds when riding into a driveway or parking lot. With the Marzocchis, that bump was always quite sharp and jarring. With the Ohlins, it's soaked right up
Now, it may be true that the Marz weren't optimally setup, as I didn't spend a lot of time on them in that regard since I knew I was going to replace them. So it is perhaps true that they were overly harsh and/or could have been better than what I experienced if tuned. But from a quick 15 minute ride, the Ohlins.... also so far completely "unadjusted" .... feels worlds better
....and of course, as others have pointed out, now with the front end feeling so good, the rear is highlighted as feeling even more especially like keeeeeeeeeeeeeerrrrap
I know what's next on the shopping list, but then again, it already was
al