GuzziMoto

I find the Converti-Bars to be crude looking and somewhat hokey. A friend gave me a set.in case I could use them with my Daytona. I may have them around somewhere, I did not use them. I think the MPH solution is far more elegant looking. I also don't like them from a physics point of view, I don't like the the bars could rotate in the steering axis. I guess it comes down to personal taste. There are also nice options from companies like Woodcraft that replace the entire clip-on with a new clip-on that has a rise to it. The wife and I went with the simple solution of converting the bike to a handlebar set up. To each their own.

I don't know why one side of a relay would be rated for less currant than the other side. One thing to remember is that a relay is just a two position set of contacts that is controlled by a separate power feed. When no power is applied to the control circuit the relay bridges the controlled feed to the NC (Normally Closed) contact. Apply power and the relay switches to bridge the controlled feed over to the NO (Normally Open) contact. NO and NC do not refer to the normal running state of the contact but only to the state of the relay when power is not applied to the control circuit of the relay. Why that NC contact would be rated for less amps than the NO contact is surprising to me but I assume it is because that side of the relay is not built as heavy duty. I am no electrical engineer, but I do work with relays and control logic. I defer to Roy whenever possible on electrical things. I assume he will be along shortly to explain what I don't understand.

My opinion..... Give is not really desirable for what it does. It is locating the rear bevel box, keeping it oriented correctly while separating its orientation from suspension movement. The factory uses a rubber bushing for cost reasons and to reduce any vibration feedback through the link. But it is not any sort of "cush drive", it does not there to reduce shock to the drive train. There is a cush drive where the rear wheel meets the bevel box for that.

Finally a custom Guzzi I would actually want to ride.

I don't yet have numbers but I do know the wheels off my Daytona (currently only the rear is still on it, the front is rolling around in my garage) are dramatically heavier than the wheels on the wifes V11, and those wheels are heavier than the wheels on my Griso. The Daytona wheels feel stupidly heavy in a simple picking them up comparison. The GSXR front wheel I am currently running is likely half the weight of the wheel it replaced.

Aren't those MAX levels? The oil specs restrict the max amount of things like ZDDP you can have in an oil, not the minimum. That is why an oil can be SG/SH/SL. If it meets the max ZDDP level of SL it will also, by default, be under the max ZDDP level of SH or SG. What you want, if you want an SG oil, is oil that meets SG but NOT any newer specs like SH, SL, or SM. In this case the newer spec is not your friend. The specs restricts the max amount, not sets a minimum amount. I do go for an SG oil, but I also think some worry too much about it. The most important time for this was during break in. After that most any oil will do as long as it is changed before it is worn out. A synthetic oil will last longer, and it may deliver slightly better protection. But failures due to oil are rare in such a stone axe motor as the Guzzi lump. I prefer synthetic SG oil, but mostly it is a matter of using oil vs not using oil.

We have a Penske shock on the wifes V11. There are other good options out there, but I like that Penske custom makes every shock here (last I heard they make them in PA.) to your needs. They are really high quality and offer various adjust-abilities. But I have no direct ties to them or any other shock company. The length question is, as I recall, based on there being two different length shocks from the factory for the V11. The normal one and the longer Ohlins shock. The longer shock increases ride height in the rear and steepens the rake slightly which may improve steering. When you get an aftermarket shock they can make it to either length, or like my Penske it can be adjustable for length. In the end, you pick the shock you like at the price you can afford or are willing to pay, it is all going to be better than the stock shock. Improving the front at the same time is also a good idea. There are many threads around here about suspension improvements. By the way, if I remember correctly the stock spring is around a 500lb / inch spring. It really is not overly soft. If you measure your sag you will see where you are at as far as spring rate vs. your weight.

I also don't know them, but my heart goes out to them and I hope they will both recover fully with minimal long term effects.

I thought it was a difference in the overall shock length, not just the spring length. A longer spring would not make much difference.

Oh, I don't know. Ducati posers are always putting the "latest bling" on their ducks, and many times very low mileage rotors, calipers, etc show up on the bay. I upgraded my Jack All tractor when I put a hack on it to a dual rotor front end with duck Brembo stuff for a little less than 150 bux. That is fine. It's a free country. But for me, it is not a place I scrimp to save a few bucks. I am sure some of those parts on ebay are in good shape, but I know some of them aren't. People seem to think their worn out / broken cr@p is worth pretty serious money all to often. And if I am upgrading my brakes I would rather upgrade to higher quality parts. While the OEM Brembo's on Ducati's (and Guzzi's) aren't bad their bespoke stuff is of a higher quality and performance. But to each their own. You pays your money, you takes your chances.

Good Plan JRD.Can I partner with you? I'll set up a refugee camp on my back lawn for the displaced US citizens. You can send them over to me, but they can only stay till 'Merica is great again. (Not that USA is not already great; that phrase confuses many people in other countries. All USA needs is to get rid of 1 cent coins, and adopt the metric system). Hopefully that will only take a few months. The downside for my dog, is he wouldn't be able to run around the house anymore. He would only be able to ran, 'cause it's past tents. That slogan confuses me as well. I am down with getting rid of the penny, but I am not sure about the metric system. I still think it might be a fad........

Brakes are a funny thing. I can't imagine they are a good place to skimp or cut corners. Buying used brake parts seems silly to me. I put that in the same bucket as buying used tires for my motorcycle. I know people do it, but I don't. As to iron vs steel, it depends on the feel you want and the pads you use. I don't like metallic pads either, I prefer the feel of iron rotors and organic pads. But that set up is becoming less and less common and as such serious brake set ups tend to rely on some sort of sintered pad. But as far as I know "sintered" pads are metallic pads. I do recommend using pads that match the type of rotor you are using, they make pads that work best on steel rotors as well as pads that work best on iron rotors. BrakeTech makes a nice iron rotor, Brembo also offers a few to choose from. But steel rotors and metallic pads are becoming the standard and iron set ups are getting harder to find.

I assume that that motor, like the original Lario motor, is not a heron head motor. But I would think the main differences are only in the heads.

I though Ratchethack WAS Donald Trump........ He has the same air of ignorant confidence.

Here in Maryland, and pretty much all across the mid-atlantic, we have been getting fuels with 10% ethanol for something like 20 years. Other than race fuel you can't buy non-ethanol gas at gas stations around here. I don't remember what non-ethanol fuel is like. But other than the plastic fuel tank swelling and an occasional vendor using products like rubber hose instead of proper fuel line I can't say I have really had much issue with it. When it was first hitting the market around here, before it was universal, it was actually sought out as a remedy when you had water in your fuel as it allowed the water and gasoline to mix and go through the system without causing issues..... Ironic.

As I recall we did a three day trip to pick up the wife's V11, one day down two up on my Buell (she did not like that at all) and after buying the bike the next morning we spent the rest of the three days riding back in the Blue Ridge. But we really didn't go that far, it was more a matter of taking the scenic route.

I like what you are doing. I did something similar a long time ago. It was on an early red frame sport. I don't remember all the details, but what I do remember was that stock it had zero compression dampening until the piston had traveled past the bleed holes in the tube. That was because until it went past the bleed holes none of the fork oil was actually forced to go through the valving in the piston. Once past the bleed holes it went from zero dampening to a lot of dampening. Basically stock it wasn't really adjustable compression dampening but rather an adjustable hydraulic bump stop. You may find that with the mod you need slightly thinner fork oil, but at least the adjuster will have some effect, and different weight oils will let you fine tune it even further. I spent considerable time with the forks partially assembled without the spring working it back and forth to test the dampening and how the changes I made impacted it. Then, once put back together with the spring in place it was all good. I should probably open it back up to see how it is doing, Fresh fork oil would not be a bad idea, but too many bikes and not enough time conspire against me. We just got back from a two week trip to Moab in the Jeep........It was awesome. First time I have ever taken two weeks off at one time.

Perhaps it is my reading comprehension that needs work. Detonation is not likely at idle, it is more common under load. My bad.

How can I find out if it is? One way would be to have someone else ride it who is familiar with detonation and what it sounds / feels like. Another way is to run higher octane fuel and see if the issue goes away or is reduced. A third option is to look at the spark plugs for signs of detonation, but that can be tricky if you don't know what you're looking for. Is there an rpm range where it does this? Is it in the 3,000 to 4,000 range?

Apologies seems I'm missing a lot of details these days. Ciao I think you confused the OP's post with Footgoose. The OP's post stated it made this noise under load, not at idle. I would still look into it being detonation.

Is it detonation? If it does it under load only, and it sounds like a metallic rattle, that could be detonation. If you back off the throttle a little does the rattle go away?Are you sure your premium gas is good?

No, by and large Guzzi's are not that bad. And when properly cared for they can out last a Honda or the like. Plus, they are more fun to ride. Every now and then Guzzi gets one wrong. It seems (although there is mixed opinions on this) that they got the newer 8 valve motor (which has 4 valves per cylinder but is referred to as an 8 valve motor to distinguish it from the earlier attempts at a 4 valve head) wrong. Perhaps they used valve springs that were too stiff, or the geometry of the valve train was wrong. Whatever the cause, the early 8 valve motors had issues eating the valve train until they switch to a roller set up. That switch seems to have occurred mid 2012, some 2012's got the new valve train and some did not. Many that did not get the new valve train have since been converted to roller tappets, they have kits for that. Aside from that issue, I have very good experiences with Guzzi reliability, I have taken many long trips with the wife, both of us on Guzzi's. We have never been stuck, stranded, or otherwise SOL, in many tens of thousands of miles. I do own a Honda, but I am trying to sell it. It is boring, it has no soul.

Setting sag is not V11 specific, or even Guzzi specific. It has been discussed on this board a fair bit. here is a link to one discussion. http://www.v11lemans.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=18010&hl=%2Bsetting+%2Bsag&do=findComment&comment=191357 and another http://www.v11lemans.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=15502&hl=%2Bsetting+%2Bsag There is also plenty of info on setting sag elsewhere out on the interweb. Note; all I did to get those two was to type "setting sag" in the search bar in the top right of the page.

The hard wheel to replace is (obviously) the rear wheel. There have been a few people who have customized rear wheels to work on a Guzzi, and there have been a limited number of off the shelf options. But usually the off the shelf options go away almost as fast as the show up as there ain't much money to be made selling expensive bits for Guzzi's. If you find some and they are what you want, buy them as you never know how long before they are no longer available.

I would love to see Guzzi back in racing. I still remember when they were running private efforts here in the USA, winning in Pro Twins and Endurance series. But I am not holding my breath. I don't mind if they use technology from Aprilia, but if they just re-badge an Aprilia as a Guzzi with only cosmetic differences I want nothing to do with that. Now, a sideways V4 from Aprilia in a Guzzi sportbike / racer, I would buy one in a heart beat. I am not a stick in the mud that feels Guzzi should only make what it is currently making. A V4, a 3 cylinder, a parallel twin, even a single, whatever. As long as it is really a Guzzi and it works reasonably well. No badge engineering. But they don't listen to me...... If they did they the MGS01 would not have gone away....