GuzziMoto

It can be hard to tell where exactly the leak starts, it is hard to imagine that it started at the electrical connections. But a fuel leak in your fuel pump is bad, unless it is at either the fuel line in or the fuel line out it seems like replacing would be a good idea.

No doubt for some people a locking gas cap is useful. It would prevent both people stealing gas from your tank and also prevent people from putting foreign objects / substances into your tank. I don't live or frequent places where a locking gas cap is overly useful to me. I really don't need one. That said, the V11 Sport came with a locking gas cap and the OP is having and issue where that locking mechanism is stuck. To be fair, it could be stuck even if it wasn't a locking gas cap. Unless your gas cap is screw on, most all gas caps have some sort of mechanism to secure it to the gas tank. Whether that mechanism uses a key or just a knob doesn't really enter into it, unless you think a gas cap that secures with a knob you twist would be less likely to seize up then the stock mechanism operated with a key. That could be true, but either way the OP needs to free up his current presumably key operated mechanism now. gstallons suggestion to make sure the key being used operates the seat lock and / or steering lock before you get too crazy with it. It is always possible that it is not the right key. I don't know about others here, but I have tried to use the wrong key on a motorcycle.

I am not worried about the Bagger races, although I don't think they are stupid, because I won't be going to a MotoGP race next year and being a support race we don't get to see them on TV in the USA. As to the racing in the Bagger class, they race hard. If you aren't into racing, fine. But they race hard. The MotoGP version of the Bagger class seems to be shaping up to be a spec Bagger class, all running the same HD Bagger racebike (it is a racebike that looks like a Bagger).

A classic relay issue was turn the key on and the fuel pump doesn't run. The wifes V11 did that shortly after she bought her V11. She turned it off at a gas station and when she went to start it the bike would not start. The fuel pump did not run when you turned the key on. Turned out it was the relays. The OP said they swapped relays, but that doesn't mean the issue isn't the relay or the relay base. It could also be the relay is holding out the fuel pump for a reason. I could be wrong but I thought I remembered there being a safety where if the side stand was down and the bike was in gear (i.e. not in neutral) the fuel pump would only run if the clutch was in. But I am not sure and am not in front of one to check. But before you get too far of into the weeds, is there power at the pump? If yes, no point tracing power to the pump. If not, you have to figure out why not.

As mentioned, step one to me would be see if I have power at the pump. If I have power at the pump (and ground) and it doesn't run I likely have a pump issue. If I have no power at the pump, it could be a relay issue, a safety issue (like sidestand / neutral switch), or an issue with the ECU not telling the pump to run. No doubt there are other possible reason for the pump to not be told to run. But step one is determine if power is going to the pump and then to ground.

Yes. But there seems to be only one place for him to go, Honda. And would Honda pick Martin over Acosta? I think Jorge Martin has screwed himself if this is true. He will have demoralized his team, poisoned the well in the team so to say. That will impact the rest of this season for him. And where does he think he is going from Aprilia? His only option seems to be Luca Marini's seat. And people already think Pedro Acosta is going to leave KTM and take that seat. If that happens, possibly Martin could take Acosta's KTM seat but right now that does not seem like a move up from where he is at. In fact, I don't see an available seat for him anywhere that would be a move upwards, I don't see any available seat for Martin that would give him a faster bike then what he has now. He seems to have a knack for shooting himself in the foot.

While it might be considered historic, I am not sure that would be because it was a great race. It was entertaining, but I have seen a lot of better races. It was also a big warning shot to Ducati. While the race wasn't a complete disaster for them it was a clear warning that they are going down a dead end path. They appear to be making the same mistake Honda made and they had made back in the Stoner days. Making a bike that only one person can tame and go fast on. The 2025 Ducati is clearly slower then the 2024 Ducati for anyone not named Marc Marquez. All those years gaining front end feel has been lost faster then I thought they could. I figured this was going to happen, but I did not think they would go this far in one year with Marc. As to crowd size, that is a big turnout. And the new rules about leaving the grid and / or swapping bikes / tires came into play. And while things did work smoothly I think it was clear that a double long lap penalty for the various options was not right. If you followed the rules and swapped bikes / tires after the race started you would have to pull down pitlane during the race. Where as people who took the penalty for leaving the grid or pulled into pitlane before the race started only had to do a double long lap penalty. Pulling down pitlane to swap generally costs 30 seconds or so, a double long lap penalty is at best half that, likely less. So people who took the penalty came out ahead, where as people who made the right call didn't get the full reward they deserved.

There is a difference between you personally owning something and moving from one country to another and you in one country selling something to someone who lives in another country. They don't already own what you are selling, it is being imported for the purpose of being sold. That being said, I don't agree with tariffs. They are a way of taxing that is tilted to penalize the regular guy.

It is also the tires. Both MotoGP and WSBK use a single brand spec tire. WSBK uses Pirelli and MotoGP uses Michelin. THe Pirelli's in WSBK seem to suit a wider range of bike designs. While a number of bike designs struggle with the Michelins in MotoGP. KTM has issues with the rear Michelin chattering bad. Aprilia also have issues at some tracks getting the Michelin tires to work right. Whereas Ducati seem to have the best handle on the Michelin tires. So they have an advantage. When KTM had the tires figured out a while back, Michelin changed the tires and KTM was struggling again. Other brands also tend to struggle with getting the spec tires to work. I get that part of racing would be getting the tires to work, but it seems much harder to get the Michelins to work in MotoGP then it is getting the Pirellis to work in WSBK. And then you have the goal post being moved, Michelin brining out a new tire construction and / or compound. Ditching the aero should be done, but so far they have no plans to do so, only to reduce / limit the aero. It is in the plans to get rid of the ride height adjustment, that will help. But they should be getting rid of the aero. They are also going from 1000's to 850's, that may help but odds are it will hurt more then help. When they ran 850's before it put more emphasis on cornering speed, so the racing was more processional. If you tried to pass someone you gave up your momentum and they just went back by. So instead you followed, hoping they made a mistake. And the end result was speeds were as high down the straights but higher in the corners, where they tend to crash. So the danger wasn't reduced by the smaller engines, which was supposed to be the point. Odds are at least one brand will get the smaller displacement combo right and the others will once again have to catch up, as happened last time they switched to smaller displacement. And the limits on testing slow down catching up. Currently Yamaha and Honda have help there, they get extra testing and the ability to change things like engines. But Aprilia and KTM don't have those concessions. They are struggling to catch up that last bit to Ducati. Moving to a spec ECU with limited traction control was a great step towards equalizing the racing. The one team that missed that was Yamaha, who didn't hire Weber/Marelli people to help them work out how to use the limited capability of the spec ECU. So even today Yamaha struggle with getting the power down. It makes it look like Yamaha are way down on power, and they are down on power. But they also struggle to put what power they do have down. Their only ace in the hole is Fabio is really good at making the most of the Yamaha and what it does do well. But their issue isn't just needing more power, they also need to be able to put that power to the pavement. Honda also lack power, and they also lack traction. But their traction issues seems to be more an issue with mechanical grip, not their traction control. As with most complex equations, there is usually more then one factor in why any team / bike is slow. Adding more power without the ability to use that power may actually make you slower.

I am pretty sure that some bars are the larger diameter. For example, the stock handlebars for a Ballabio are the larger size.. I fact, you can buy the Ballabio bar risers and handlebars and install them on a V11 Sport that came with clipons from the factory. On the wifes V11 Sport that is what we did. The stock top triple clamp even had the boss in the casting for where you would drill the hole for the handlebar clamps. I just drilled the holes for the clamps, and installed. There are lots of options for the larger size bars out there. Most of them (if not all of them) are larger in diameter where they attach to the triple clamp but neck down where the grips and brake / clutch lever attach. I do agree that the higher the handlebars the less direct the steering feels. But another large factor in that is width of the handlebars. Usually clip-ons are narrower, and offer less leverage. Side note, as I recall the Ballabio uses rubber inserts where the handlebar clamps mount to the triple clamps. You can do the same when fitting handlebar clamps to a bike that did not originally come that way, or you can solid mount the handlebar clamps to the top triple clamp. That will increase vibration in the handlebars but improve steering feel.

Bagnaia is not liking the 2025 Ducati. He seems to have very little faith and feel in the front end. He had similar issues last year, struggling to get the front end to do what he wants / needs. But this year the 2025 bike seems even worse for him. Hopefully he will be able to sort that out. Bagnaia also has issues with the smaller sprint gas tank, and that is making the sprint races worse then the main race. Think back to JLo on the Ducati, he struggled badly until they modified the gas tank (this was before sprints), then with the gas tank sorted he was suddenly fast. At the level they are at, the smallest details can make a lot of difference. Marc seems to have the speed, right up until he looses the front. I would venture that both Marc and Bagnaia lack the right feel in the front, but Marc doesn't care. The upside of that is Marc is faster, the downside is Marc has crashed out of a couple races already, and the season is young. Ducati seem to have issues with the 2025 bike. And they may be relying on Marc to ride around it. But that is a slippery slope, one that can lead to them being back where they used to be. I think at this point a lot of MotoGP fans are rooting for anyone who is not on a Ducati. That is probably not what Ducati want, but it is a direct result of them signing Marc. They really should have let Marc go to KTM or Aprilia, it would have made them look better and be more popular. A Ducati would likely still be winning, but they would be beating the guy who is arguably the fastest guy in MotoGP right now. They may have also avoided the trap they fell into with this years bike had they not had a rider who could ride around the bikes flaws with front end feel. As to Michelin and their developmental front, this is what the release and the articles about it said. https://www.motorsport.com/motogp/news/michelin-decides-against-new-front-tyre-for-2025-motogp-season/10656046/ "Michelin decides against new front tyre for 2025 MotoGP season. After analyzing data from the Misano test, Michelin has decided to postpone the introduction of a new front tyre originally intended for next season. Michelin has backtracked on its plans to introduce a new front tyre in MotoGP next year. Despite receiving a positive reaction from riders at the Misano test, Michelin has taken a conservative strategy and opted against introducing the new compounds in 2025." They don't even mention Dorna when talking about delaying the new front tire. Why they would delay it is likely the same reason they forced these stupid tire pressure rules on MotoGP, "Better safe then sorry". They would rather not take any chances. As mentioned, a spec tire series is a series that the tire manufacturer can only look bad in if tires don't work right or even fail. They will never beat anyone else, but they can beat themselves by having tire issues. So they really don't want tire issues. That would make them look bad. I personally think they look bad with the need for minimum air pressure rules, but clearly they don't agree.

I don't see why you think Michelin would need Dorna's approval to not introduce a new front tire. They (Michelin) hold all the cards there. All they have to say is "We are not ready to introduce it" and it does not get introduced. There is no way Dorna is going to try to force Michelin into introducing a tire that Micheling doesn't want to introduce. I get that Michelin doesn't want to introduce it since they have very limited testing of it. But Michelin do not have to prove anything to Dorna. They are the ones supplying the tires, and if they say they are not supplying a new front tire they are not supplying a new front tire. Reports seem to indicate that Michelin has decided not to introduce the tire. If you have reports that put that on Dorna, please share. As to the Vinales incident and his penalty, I don't think anyone is saying that the rules should not be enforced. What many, myself included, are saying is the rule is stupid and should be changed. Many people, including racers, seem to be saying that. But as it stands, what we end up with is a situation where some racers are able to game the system, are able to run front tire pressure that is too low, but get away with it by artificially inflating that tires pressure by running close behind another racer for enough of the race to meet the letter of the rule. While other racers who are perhaps less skilled in such things, are given a penalty. Vinales's main issue, as you mention, is he ran better then he and the team expected. For that his race was ruined. That doesn't seem right. But, as mentioned before, my main issue with the front tire pressure rule is that Michelin are saying that you can't run the tire below a certain pressure for safety reason, but have no evidence of safety issues below that pressure. On the other side of that coin is that the tire works best below that minimum pressure they set. So, no tire failures have occurred from running below that minimum pressure AND best tire performance is achieved running below that minimum pressure. That makes no sense. I am hopeful about the change in tire supplier. And I do see the small reduction in aero along with getting rid of the ride height devices as being a positive step. I see the reduction in engine capacity as a step in the other direction, that will likely make the racing less entertaining, the same as it did last time. It will likely also increase the danger, as it did last time.

Some people like to drive past things, others like to drive through them. I find there is a time and place for each. One of our vehicles is a Jeep, with the top off and doors off you really drive through the world, not past it. Very much like riding a motorcycle, without the need for all the gear. Drop down into a gulch and feel the temp change. Head over a mountain, it changes again. But not everyday, not every trip, is a naked Jeep trip.

Two of my favorite two stroke experiences were racing a TZ250, which was a lot like the above mentioned TZ350, and a KTM 440 EXC dirtbike. The TZ250 was the classic two stroke, no power, followed by some power as you rev. Then, around 8,000 rpm it started to make noticeable power. At 10,000 rpm it kicked in and went, pulling hard up to around 13,000 rpm where it was done as quickly as it started. That bike was serious fun on a track. My other favorite two stroke was the exact opposite. The KTM 440 was a monster that didn't have to rev to make power. It was almost friendly at idle, but at some point just above idle it turned into a beast. It quickly went from making some power to making massive power. It was a dirtbike, so it didn't have a tach. But it didn't need one. The power was always there. It was a case of too much power being too much fun. I was not really faster on it then I was on my DR350, but my smile when riding it was way bigger. It would plaster a smile on my face the way it yanked me out of corners. It was like the way spaceships hit warp speed or light speed in sci-fi movies. Expansion chambers can make two strokes deliver amazing power. They don't automatically make for a peaky motor, they don't always means power up top. They can make power wherever they are designed to. Thinking of them as acoustic resonance is a good way to look at them. Depending on how they are designed they can make power down low, in the middle, or up top.

The feeling of fresh tires is always nice. The worse the previous tires were the better the new tires feel. I have a few stands, mostly rear wheel stands that lift by the back of the swing arm. Once secured on that stand, getting the front up of the ground on a V11 can typically be done with a jack under the sump. But I make sure the bike is literally tied to the rear stand before doing that. I also have a couple stands that lift the front by the bottom of the forks. I also have a dolly I built with 4 casters and some wood that fits under the sump of a Guzzi. That holds it off the ground and allows me to wheel it around while both wheels are removed. And in extreme cases I have a hoist in the ceiling of my garage that can lift the entire bike off the ground if desired. But that I don't normally do. That is overkill.