al_roethlisberger
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Posts posted by al_roethlisberger
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I think this is the common "Vapor Lock" issue reported on many 2000 V11 Sports, and some later models in hot climates. There have been several causes attributed, but most folks have found that the fuel supply line on the 2000s rests too close to the left head(sometimes touching), and after a long ride, then sitting, the fuel boils in the line making the pump ineffectual until the bike/head cools down.
The fix?? ...let the bike stand for 15-30 minutes to cool..... or a precautionary tactic.... move/mount/shield the fuel-line away from the head. The 2000+ bikes have the line covered in a metal braid, and installed a couple inches away. I moved my lines further away on my 2002, both on the fuel supply and FI return line, and so far(knock on wood) no "Vapor Lock".
The other big known issues with the 2000 models are certainly replacing the relays.
One final suspect on pre-2003 V11 Sport/LeMans is the fuel pump that is located above the left head. This is also exposed to some significant heat, although it is several inches away. Several folks have mentioned and thought about making a heat-sheild for it, but no one has yet confirmed that this problem is actually caused by overheating the pump/fuel, where some people have seem benefits from moving/shielding their fuel supply line. Certainly a well-made aluminum sheid for the pump "wouldn't hurt" though
The 2003's will have an in-tank pump, so this should be a non-issue for them....as an aside, I wonder how much fuel capacity will be lost with the in-tank pump on the 2003's... hrmm...
I think Guzzi would really do the LeMans a favor if they could squeeze another useable gallon out of the tank.
al
P.S.
...oh, and as another "aside" since I'm thinking about fuel. I wonder why (and if it would be hard) Guzzi didn't include some sort of "balance tube" for the tank so we wouldn't waste fuel or have to "wiggle" the bike to get to fuel stuck on the right side of the frame/tank over to the left where the petcock/tap is. Seems silly. I wonder how hard it would be to pierce the tank and make one yourself... that is reliable and durable that is... esp given that the tank it plastic. Dunno if it would even be worth doing.
P.P.S.
.......ok, and one more "aside". I still haven't done my "run dry" test yet.... I know, I know... been talking about for months
But, anyone have any reliable data yet on how much fuel is left(Gallons/Liters) after our low-fuel light comes on? I think we all agree that ~130 miles is where it lights, but as far as I know, none of us know for sure how much fuel is actually available after that. Again, I'll be testing it personally at some point, but I just keep forgetting!
My mileage has gotten a bit better, and is in the 36-37MPG range now instead of pegged at 35. I guess the engine is loosening up
I still want 40 though!
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Also, I believe that Ian was compiling a list of known issues. It's somewhere in the threads in this forum, and may make a good checklist of things to be aware of when considering before purchase, or addressing after.
But I'd definitely recommend a test-ride if possible as well... a good long one if the dealer doesn't mind. The Triple is a different ride than the Guzzi... not better, not worse, just different
al
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Ha... mine was even more of a pain that that. Even if you held the end, my whole assembly inside still turned and wouldn't come out! I had to turn, pull, turn, pull... then when enough of the "nut" under the plastic end showed, I could get a wrench in there to grab it. Royal PITA
But with my Throttlemeisters one now, no problemo
al
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Yep, also check out The Tankslapper ...same stuff. They have ready-made pieces for the V11 Sport/LeMans or full sheets you can customize, which is what I did
al
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...hrmm, she must have been reading over your shoulder eh Jaap?
al
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Those do look nice, and certainly for more "light weight" luggage needs. Would be great for a day-trip or similar.
I'm still waiting for my Tekno's though. I just got off the phone with the dealer, and they still haven't received that "big order" they've been told by Guzzi should be here any day now.... been saying that for a couple weeks *grumble*
Well, I'll give them until Tues or Wed, then I'm getting them direct from Tekno. They've offered me a good price to compensate for my inconvenience, although by the time I factor in relatively quick shipping, the price is about the same
Neat bags though. Can you provide a URL to who sells them, which model, and the cost?
thx!
al
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...yeah... yeah.... yeah.... *laugh*
My dealer has been telling me that "the big order" was everything from "on the water" to "should be here any day"... for about a month.
I don't think it's his fault though. I think this is just what Guzzi keeps telling him every time he inquires. I am certain that I am not the only customer waiting for parts, so he bugs them frequently.
...but, good news if true. I'm still waiting on my bags since May.
al
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Reflectors and lenses for LED applications are quite different than for incandescent bulbs. As mentioned, LED don't have much off-axis visibility, so a reflector and lens has to be designed to accomodate that. In every case where I have replaced incandescent bulbs with LEDs, the result was that the LEDs were a bit brighter/redder sometimes "on-axis", but they were *always* less bright and visible from the side. Unless you make some modifications to the lens and reflector of a light fixture designed for incandescents, you will have this issue with the current crop of LED replacements.
Another side effect to be aware of is when one replaces all the indicator lights with LEDS, they often will no longer flash at the appropriate speed. Generally because of the much lower impedence of the LEDs, the flasher will flash much more quickly... quite annoyingly actually(although fully electronic units like the Signalminder are unaffected).
For a lot more info on this, there are several long discussions on the FZ-1(Fazer1000) Owners Assoc forum on EZBoard. There is a fella there that did a lot of research into which flashers will replace the OEM units, and support LEDs. He also has spent about a year with various prototypes to build an enclosure, reflector, and lens that will make the LED replacements have the same off-axis visibility as the OEM units. Interesting reading, that illustrates that a true LED replacement is no trivial or inexpensive task.
I just stick with the bulbs... as LEDs do "burn out" all the time. It's just not the same cause.
al
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It's the vapor-recovery charcoal cannister. Hey, just be grateful that Aprilia/Guzzi relocated it from under the seat(in the tool tray on 2000 V11s) to the new space above the exhaust cross-over
But, yep... that was on my bike for almost exactly 48 hours
I have removed them from just about any bike I've ever had, but honestly for me it was just to simplify all the morass of hoses and tangle. Just more places for vacuum leaks. But, removing the cannister doesn't do anything for performance in any way, except maybe saving a couple pounds/kilos.
Once you remove the cannister, you can either do what I did, just cap off the vacuum nipples on the intakes, or just run a "balance" hose between them. No difference either way.
I did think it was pretty ugly hanging under there though... so that's a benefit in my eyes!
al
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... great idea Jaap!
I was also thinking of a FAQ section as well to host topics such as aftermarket products, common problems, etc.
So when someone logs on for the first time, they don't have to ask "..what aftermarket exhausts are available for the LeMans?" And instead, they can just look for the "Aftermarket Exhaust FAQ" thread. I suppose we could either have another forum for FAQs, or just have those threads in here?? Either way is fine.
Just a thought.
al
BTW, I've been spending waaaay too many hours playing "Neverwinter Nights"... hence the volume of my posts have suffered lately *laugh*
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Yep, they're basically TLM's American counterpart. TLM has a link to them from their main site for North America
al
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Jason,
Yep, I saw the photos of your wreck, and was very sorry to see that. I'm sure it was very disappointing. But you never did elaborate on how the accident happened?? At least it appeared that you were unhurt, and considering the type of accident it appeared to be, the bike was relatively unscathed... at least it seemed so from the photos.
al
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Up under the tank, about 2 inches long, black. I have mine vertically lashed to the front engine mount when I removed my carbon cannister and all the associated vacuum hoses some time back.
The tip-over valve orientation has been inconclusively linked to the "vapor lock" issue that often comes up. So I'm hoping that my mounting it more permanently verticle, I can at least remove that variable from the mix.
al
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Well after posting this question to the MGCL list, the replies seem to support a "little of both"
According to the consensus, and I waited until I had about 10 replies, the "choke-thing" is simply a throttle-stop as Janus pointed out. It does nothing to change the fuel-mixture directly, nor affect air-charge, or interact any differently with the TPS or ECU. The throttle is simply held open at the appropriate setting, and the ECU goes through it's "cold start" map until the engine warms up, and then you'll probably notice your RPM jump from about 1.5k to 2-3k.
The consensus also seemed that although you could conceivably use it for a "cruise control" this would require modifying the cable "ramp" to advance the throttle enough to achieve highway RPM/speeds(which Janus also pointed out), or be content with 2-4k RPM under the best circumstances(Stock, mine only goes to about 2.5k when warm on the "choke").
Some respondents did say that they occasionally use the "choke" as a temporary "cruise control" on their bikes for short runs, and it is usually in that 4k RPM max range. But most recommended or commented that for regular use, one might want to consider something like the Throttlemeister.
...which BTW, still amazes me regarding the vibe damping!
Again, thanks for the suggestion Janus. I just wanted to clarify any risks before this became a recommendation, as I had my doubts. ...which are now assuaged
al
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BTW, a link to some photos of the Throttlemeister installed on my LeMans:
Al's Yahoo Briefcase with photos of the Throttemeister installed....
UPDATE:
Just took my longest ride today at freeway speeds, and these things are *fantastic* damping the vibes! I literally couldn't hardly feel any vibrations at any RPM, except just enough to know the engine was running. It was far less vibration than on my old '89 FJ1200 by comparison, and no comparison to the OEM bar-ends.
I tell ya, just for the vibration damping alone, these guys are a serious "thumbs up"... and oh yeah, then there's the "cruise control"
al
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...I had thought about this as well, but a quick inspection shows a link between both throttle-bodies. I believe they both open equally.... the linkages at least both move in unison.
al
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OK... OK ......enrichment, choke... semantics to some degree.
I did not definitively say that the "choke-enricher-throttle-stop-thingee" *is* a choke/enricher. However, I did say that someone should probably put some time into making *certain* that it is or is not before using it as a throttle-lock/cruise-control. Better safe than sorry, and I am not currently convinced.
Keep in mind that part of a choke/enrichment "circuit" ala-cabueration is to change or "choke" the air-charge as well. So even though we don't have carbs, it is "possible" that the "enricher-thingee" may be opening the butterfly in the throttle-body at a different rate than the actual throttle for a given throttle position, but not sending standard info to the TPS to change the fuel-injection. And since this is an open EFI with no feedback via an O2 sensor, the EFI wouldn't know any difference.... and not vary/change the injection for that given throttle position.
Now, this is all speculation on my part... and please keep this in mind. I don't mean to create any disagreement.
However, again, I simply state "better safe than sorry" as running your engine at speed either in a too lean or rich environment will be at least detrimental to your efficiency, and at worst damage your engine.
If this is simply a throttle-stop, it does seem odd that the linkage, etc, is completely separate from the throttle system. It makes one wonder, which I do.
So, it probably makes little sense to continue to dispute this via text. I'll look at mine a bit, and perhaps someone else in the know can comment.
As I mentioned, good suggestion Janus, but for those interested in investigating this solution... you may want to double-check the function of the "choke" just in case, as I am not sure.
When I have the time and opportunity, I will try to look into it more as well
al
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...sorry to hear that John
On a lighter note, it's so hot here right now, when we came out of the movie this afternoon(Bourne Ident = good BTW)... a Diet Pepsi can exploded in the car with us while we were wrestling over it!
Big mess, but man-o-man we laughed all the way back!
al
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Janus,
In theory this certainly could hold the throttle open enough to work as you describe.
But to address your two points, and my concerns:
- Given that this is designed to be a cold-start enricher, I personally don't want to modify it too extensively to do something it wasn't designed to do. I especially would be concerned of my "ham fisting" this newly modified enricher to drive my engine to over 3k+ RPM during warm-up because I've enlarged the pulley. Perhaps this would be a minor issue, especially if care was taken to only partially engage the enricher. But I can see where I'd have to now very carefully fine-adjust it to get it into the correct RPM range for warm-up, or as a "cruise control".
Keep in mind that good "throttle-locks" just barely hold the throttle right where you leave them. If one were to use this method, you'd have to completely ignore the throttle and use the enricher to get to the correct RPM, and/or try to match RPM. This could be difficult, and seems harder than just using something like the Throttlemeister or Vista-Cruise type solutions.
Again, perhaps no big deal, but just a concern.
- Another issue *may be* running the bike too rich/lean by relying on the enricher function instead of the primary throttle. I haven't looked into the throttle body/linkage to verify this. But before going this route, I would suggest doing some homework on how the enricher may or may not open the butterfly differently than the primary throttle. If it is different enough, you will see significant performance, mileage, and potential reliability(i.e. if is consistently run more rich("choked") than the standard throttle). Dunno, but something to research.
If this concern is founded, and one ran for many hours/miles with this method, you could see unsatisfactory results over time.
- I'm not sure that one could safely modify the enricher's range(without sacrificing fine control) to be able to set it at a high enough RPM/speed. 100kph(~62mph) would not be sufficient for me. Where this would be most beneficial for me would be around 60-90mph(~100-130kph), where I am cruising on a loooong boring freeway.
As clarification, when using a throttle-lock/cruise-control, I don't take my hands off of the bar, except maybe to "shake out" numbness/tingles here and there for a minute. This offers the benefit of letting my throttle-hand relax and not have to "hold" the throttle. That makes a big difference in fatigue.
So, bottom line 100kph would not be sufficient for me, although it may be for others.
- I would also have some concerns about basic safety if using the enricher versus a "throttle-lock". If in an urgent situation, and you have to react quickly.... your muscle-memory is going to send your right hand to the throttle in a panic, not to the "choke"
Anyway, I think this is certainly an interesting idea... and offers some potential.
But just some things to think about. Maybe someone can do some testing/investigation, especially into the issues around the differences between the regular throttle aparatus. Depending on one's needs and the results of further investigation, this may be a good inexpensive alternative.
Anyway... a little pricey true, but I shooooor do like my new Throttlemeisters
al
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...yep, that won't help me tool along at 70mph
Thanks Janus, good idea, but I don't think it will work in practice.
al
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OK, well I installed the Throttlemeister "heavy" bar-ends today, and all seems well
The units fit without any trouble, although they did seem tight at first fit.
Although I was expecting "screw-in" ends that would take advantage of the threading inside the bar, the Throttlemeister kits for Aprilia's use a friction/O-ring and support bar/insert solution that works very well. After working it into the bar, and it's a very tight and well-machined fit, it doesn't budge. Very nice workmanship.
Also, even though I had to work around my heated-grips, the installation of the friction ring was simple enough, and with standard or aftermarket grips, this also should be no problem.
The real test will be during the first ride, and that will be tomorrow. But as far as I can tell, this was a 30 minute job even if you are really taking your time... and delivers great results.
Oh, and BTW, I'm glad I opted for the "heavy" units. Yes, they are larger, but they look right at home on the bike, and I hope that the extra couple ounces of weight will benefit damping the vibrations. The brushed SS and red highlight stripe look like these should have come from the factory.
...and another thing. The insert for the Throttlemeister is about 1/2 as long as the stock "rod" attached to the OEM bar-ends, but the Throttlemeisters are quite a bit heavier... quite a bit. So, at the worst, they surely must damp the vibes as well, and ought to do better. I'll report later, but I have good expectations.
So far, a "thumbs-up"!
I'll call Throttlemeister and my dealer tomorrow to let them know that the Aprilia kit for Futuras and Falcos works fine on the V11 LeMans bars... at least as far as installation. Testing on the "cruise control" portion of the equation in the garage so far has been positive, but we'll see how well it works later in practice.
al
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..sounds like a similar gasket story as mine
I was fairly fortunate enough that my dealer had the gasket in-stock, and took care of it in one day for me. ....even came to my house with a trailer to pick it up But yes, very disappointing... and potentially dangerous.
I'll keep an eye out for the photos when you get a chance. Thanks again!
al
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....I use loc-tite on everything, even back when I had my FJ. I just pick and choose which "flavor". Medium blue works well for me so far, just enough grab to keep fasteners from walking away, but not too sticky to keep me from extracting them
I just reassembled my fairing the other day, and applied just a tad of loc-tite to every acorn-nut... but of course not the nylon lock-nuts!
With all this shakin' going on, you just can't be careful. I've lost too many bolts in the middle of nowhere <_>
..and if loc-tite is nowhere to be found, clear nailpolish is a great stop-gap. Just use it judiciously!
al
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...wow, anything else?
Yep, sorry to hear that so far you seem to have had *all* the various issues we've seen, but on one bike. So hey, no "vapor-lock" yet?
But regarding the oil-light, I think everyone else's answers are spot-on. I've had mine come on very briefly on one particularly aggressive acceleration/deceleration, but never again or since. I can only assume it's due to the abrupt change in oil-pressure.
BTW, AFAIK, the oil sensor is for pressure, not volume in the sump. Someone can correct me on that if incorrect.
As long as this isn't a regular problem, I wouldn't let it bother you. Especially during break-in, you should consume some oil, and certainly more oil than later once the rings are bedded.
Also, not that it's any better, I bought the temperature-dipstick at MG Cycle:
...about halfway down the page.
It's not really any better as far as legibility, but I think it's useful and more durable and aesthetically pleasing than the plastic unit. I marked min/max lines on the stainless shaft with permanent marker. Seems to have held up so far
al
Engine Ping and Stumble
in Technical Topics
Posted
In a similar vein... I'm thinking about getting my heads ported by Rich Maund(Cooked Goose sponsor) this winter, and now am wondering if dual-plugging the heads will make any difference...
I don't currently have any issues with pinging, but I'll have to ask him his thoughts. I've read a bit about it, and there are certainly different schools. Anyone have any experience with the benefits or otherwise with dual-plugging the heads on a V11 or similar? I guess I'd have to track down new coils too... I wonder if there are any ECU dependencies as well...hrmm
al