GuzziMoto

As mentioned, the key to the fuel sensor is it has enough resistance when covered in fuel (kept cool) to prevent the low fuel light from lighting. As long as there is enough resistance, it really doesn't matter how much there is. When it is exposed, uncovered, its resistance goes down and it can flow enough electricity to light the low fuel light. It is a really simple circuit. Besides testing the resistance of the sensor you can confirm that applying 12 volts to the rest of the circuit will light the low fuel light.

Not only do you not need to flush the old oil out, if you find you are out in the middle of nowhere and need to add a quart of oil and all you can find is dino, you can add a quart of dino oil to your sump of synthetic oil as needed. The two types of oil are fully compatible. In the early days, they sometimes didn't mix well. But those days are gone.

It sounds like the OP is talking about the side to side play in the floating brake discs. That is normal, and as long as there is no rotational play in the buttons that locate the brake discs he should be fine. Full floating brake discs have side to side play. And they also can make odd noised when wheeling the bike around in the garage or driveway. But as long as they have no rotational play between the disc and the carrier you should be fine. I prefer pads that are of a softer material than the discs, so it is the pads that wear. But there are some interesting pad materials out there, some that coat the disc with pad material and then create friction between the pad and the pad material coating on the disc. Very cool, but it does require very specific break in procedures.

First, you have to think about how the horsepower is being measured. If you are measuring it at the rear wheel, there is likely around 15% more power at the crank. So a bike with 100 hp at the rear wheel has probably around 115 hp at the crank. Then you have the old joke about how small Italian horses are.... As a former racer of Ducati's, I know all about inflated horsepower claims. Our Ducati racebikes would make an honest 75 hp at the rear wheel (two valve air cooled 750 twin). We raced against guys with similar motors claiming upwards of 100 hp at the rear wheel from their two valve 750's. Oddly, I don't think I ever had another 750 two valve twin motor past me on pure horsepower. I did get out motored by a guy on a Guzzi, but it was something near a 1400cc Guzzi big block. Wicked fast down the straight. Even compared to a Ducati 996 it was fast. I do agree with Pete, focusing on horsepower is not really what Guzzi's do well. But I really enjoy the power my Daytona makes and how it makes it. It is faster than the wife's V11, but more importantly it is how it feels. It feels like a hot rod, it is raw and visceral. Much like a V11, only more so. Is the valve train a great design? Probably not. But it makes more power than the two valve Guzzi big blocks it is based on and feels like it. And it doesn't eat itself. As long as the oil pump doesn't fail before I get around to replacing it, I should be good. And I hope my Lario holds together as well, less sure about that one than the Daytona. But so far both are doing great. And both are great fun to ride.

Unlike newer Guzzi's like the V11, the airbox on the Daytona was not exactly ideal. So a common aftermarket mod on normal Daytonas was those velocity stacks and foam pod air filters. Mine (not a Dr John) had them when I bought it. They have since been swapped out for better quality pod filters. I have considered trying to fit a V11 airbox to go with my V11 subframe, but I would have to fit the V11 gas tank as well and don't see that as likely. I prefer the Daytona gas tank. But with the V11 subframe on mine the stock airbox for a Daytona isn't an option. So, pods it is. Not ideal, but it works. The stock airbox on an MGS01 looks like a much better design than either.

Welcome to the forum. Do you own a Guzzi? If so, which one?

We replaced the original battery in the wifes V11 with an Odyssey PC545. Ran it that way for years, but swapped it out before leaving on a long trip years back. The battery wasn't dead or anything, just didn't want it to die on the trip (had a bad experience with the original). After sitting in my garage for a few years, the battery in my lawn tractor died. So I grabbed the PC545 and put it in the lawn tractor, where it is still chugging away now. It just keeps going. And it gets very little special care or attention, nothing what some do for their batteries (docc?). I mention it because I am just so impressed with both the original and the Odyssey replacement. I have considered a Lithium battery, but in a 500 lb motorcycle I don't think the weight difference is worth it. I am fine with a heavy battery that works forever.

And that would be a widget in my world.

How do you connect to the ECU without a widget?

Yes. He is. With a widget and some software you can write new maps to the ecu.

Many years ago we had Penske build us a shock for the wife's V11. I can't remember if we gave them her shock or simply gave them the measurements along with weight and riding style. What I do remember is we were tight for time and they came through for us and we had the new shock in time for our motorcycle trip. The original Sachs shock had done what they do, the lower eye had cracked. And as such the shop doing the new clutch would not put it back together with a broken shock. So we needed a shock quick, and Michael Himmelsbach at Penske came through for us. It has been a great shock as well, but back then nice shocks usually didn't have as many adjuster knobs as Phil's sweet shock.

Yeah, and while I value Phil's knowledge and expertise, Pete has such a way with words when he is telling you things you need to know. "CF on a Guzzi is like shaving an elephant to make it lighter!" Classic. (sorry, this post is wandering off topic)

The OEM Ohlins shock is better than the OEM Sachs shock. But an aftermarket Ohlins shock is dramatically better than the OEM Ohlins. And that set up that Phil has blows all three away. There are plenty of options to have a shock made for you and your Guzzi. That should always be better than buying something off the shelf, even if it is an Ohlins. The one nice thing about an off the shelf OEM Ohlins is any decent suspension guy should be able to adjust the valving to match you and how you ride. Nice ride, Bill.

I concur with docc. A piggyback shock is a shock with a reservoir directly attached to the shock body. A remote reservoir shock has the reservoir attached to the shock body via a flexible hose, usually steel braided because of the high pressure. There likely would not be enough room on a V11 for a piggyback reservoir on a rear shock. You would want a remote reservoir shock. Also, the nature of the suspension geometry of a V11 is nothing like the geometry of a typical linkage suspension. So the valving and possibly travel of a shock made for a linkage rear suspension would likely not be very suitable for a V11 with its cantilever ( I believe that is the right term ) rear suspension. That said, there are a number of options for having a shock made for a V11. It hardly seems worth it to go with something not suited for the job.

Yes, I only blocked one hole and it made a big improvement. I reckon you could block both holes, but then you may want to run a lighter fork oil as all the oil would have to go through the valving in the piston. Blocking one hole allowed me to continue using the stock weight fork oil. Nice picture.

I have GSXR forks on my spine frame Daytona. I am sure there are others. I was able to make the GSXR forks fit simply by using a different steering head bearing set with a different ID, and I added a small spacer below the bottom gearing to adjust the length. I have another set of GSXR forks that will likely end up on the wife's V11 some day. But a Jeep keeps eating all my expendable time..... I am also the guy who found the odd damping set up in the early V11 forks. The early forks have two bleed holes that allow fork oil to bypass the valving until the forks compress past them. That means that only the last quarter or so of travel actually has compression damping. By blocking one of the two holes I was able to get not only damping, but now the adjuster actually does something. Previously it had no effect because the oil simply bypassed everything else and went through the two holes. Sorry, I am not around here much lately. I feel guilty, but in the end I am happy to be alive.

The steering damper needs to be able to move freely. Any resistance or friction in how it is attached at either end is generally bad. As the handle bars turn, the damper needs to be able to allow for movement in more than a single plane. Because generally the damper isn't perfectly perpendicular to the axis of steering. It is close, but not quite. I would rather have it a little loose than a little tight. I would rather run without it than run it in questionable condition. It really isn't required on a bike with fairly relaxed steering geometry like the V11. On a TZ250, yeah you need one with 22 degrees of rake and not much trail. But a Guzzi isn't nearly that aggressive steering geometry wise.

That is a very disturbing trend. One that doesn't bode well for small brands like Guzzi, Royal Enfield, and even Aprilia. But it sounds like it also doesn't bode well for larger brands if they simply can't meet the requirements. To have a city as large as Indy lose its BMW dealer, that is crazy. Are you saying that was the only BMW dealer in the state? Holy moly! I am not sure that was the outcome BMW expected. I have been to that dealer I believe, on the way to and from the track from downtown.

We are definitely side show freaks...... For a long time Ducati was in the same boat, Ducati was a brand that successful mainstream dealerships sold as a side show. Now Ducati is a mainstream brand.....

I hope that is good news. Around here most Guzzi dealers keep their doors open by selling a mainstream brand or two. Guzzi is almost always a side show brand.

That is sweet. I love it. Nicely done. I hope you are able to get it finished soon.

I was going to say, if my Guzzi clutch makes a screech like that my first response would probably be to do a couple hard launches on the clutch. It could just be surface rust or glazing of the friction material.

I would be more concerned with air pockets in the system than thermo-syphoning. It is, after all, a fairly high pressure system. Flow is going to flow when the oil pump is running. And I think that is why he wants to set it up the way he described. Running the oil in at the bottom of the cooler and out the top would help keep air pockets from forming in the cooler. But I do prefer the horizontal set up that the V11 originally came with, for reasons Phil described.

That sounds like an electrical issue. Check connections, as mentioned. Also, check your ignition switch.

Welcome to the forum. Yeah, that is one of the things that is way easier once you see how it works. But until then, it can be quite perplexing.