GuzziMoto

I'm sorry, I didn't realize that saying "His idea to lower the temp the sensor reports to the ecu to cause the ecu to add more fuel (or at least not take away fuel) was not a bad idea." and pointing out where the debate got stupid was slagging him. I thought it was a positive comment. I apologize.

I have the black Guzzi valve covers from Sport Cycle Pacific for my Griso. I like them. Powder coating when done right is the most durable way to go. Use a quality shop and make sure they know that they are valve covers and will get hot. Anodizing can be good too but not all anodizing is equal. Hard anodizing would be how I would go. It can fade over time when exposed to sunlight but that depends on the dye they use. Quality jobs should last well. Painting can be anywhere from OK to bad. The front face of the valve covers get chewed up and in my experience paint does not last well there.

Yeah, this one was beat to death at one point. His idea to lower the temp the sensor reports to the ecu to cause the ecu to add more fuel (or at least not take away fuel) was not a bad idea. It only got stupid when he kept insisting that his mod MUST be inproving the accuracy of the sensor because the bike ran better. If you have a problem with your Guzzi in hot conditions running lean then modifying the sensor to report a lower temp is not a bad idea. I personally would not do it but my bikes also have to run in cool conditions that may cause an issue with that. Plus it is a crude modification in that it adds more fuel everywhere and not just where you need it. But it is likely better then nothing. I went with Power Commanders so I could adjust the fueling in some areas to add more fuel and to add less in other areas. But the ETS mod is much cheaper.

The voltage you see depends on what the regulator/rectifier is set for. That is typically just over 14 volts (14.1 - 14.2). If you are seeing 13.9 volts, that could be an issue or it could be that your meter is slightly off. I would try another meter to confirm the reading. If it does check out that it is indeed 13.9 volts, you regulator rectifier may be going bad. Check the connections to confirm their condition and clean as needed as well. It could be a duff replacement battery but I would check other options first, as the odds of two batteries exhibiting the same symptoms points to a charging issue.

And yes, it is just a return line for oil that has made its way up into the frame through the breather system. No pressure in the line other then crank case pressure.

What is detonation in the air filter?

Yeah, obviously the mixture can make a difference in the temp it runs at. I think part of what he was getting at is with the MyPC thing you can adjust the correction factor that is applied based on engine temp if I heard correctly. The stock set up leans out the mixture at higher temps. With Cliffs MyPC you may be able to richen the mixture back up at higher temps to assist in cooling a hot motor. Or not.

That is pretty much what I did. I used heat to help as there was a bearing that came out with it as I recall.

Supposedly it is not possible to run hot from being too rich, and I tend to agree. Everything I have read on temp says that max temp is a little above to 14.7:1 and then it drops on either side. That does not take into account fancy lean burn combustion chambers or anything like that. What is possible is to have crappy fuel mileage from being too lean. I am not saying that I know you are not too rich, but just because you have crappy fuel mileage you can't just assume that you are too rich. Once you start leaning out the mixture past the point where power starts to suffer fuel mileage can go down hill as well since you end up having to open the throttle up more then you should just to go however fast. Basically you can lean it out past the point of efficiency. It sounds like you have a set up issue or something is out of wack.

I have done plenty of clutchless shifts, but usually it was on a dirtbike or a roadrace bike. But I do find that the smoothest shifts on a Guzzi seem to be when I use the least amount of clutch possible. If you can smoothly shift with no clutch at all the it is true that there would likely be no harm done. But the odds of things not going smoothly resulting in increase wear and tear on your trans seems higher when you shift with out the clutch. Personally I use a minimum amount of clutch. Using no clutch isn't going to automatically blow up your trans. But it does increase the risk in my opinion. In the end you pays your money and takes your chances.

I would ask Todd @ GuzziTech. He probably sells more PowerCommanders for Guzzis then any one else. As far as I know the one issue is any changes made to the fuel curve in the closed loop part of the map will be undone by the O2 sensor. I believe Todd can alter your ECU to remove the O2 sensor input. He can also hook you up with a PCV and an AutoTune module that will allow you to set air/fuel target numbers and it will adjust the mix to meet your targets.

Do your current rose joints have play? Because if they do not and are just very free moving, that is a good thing. A steering damper is there to damp the movement of the forks, but any binding or added resistance (from the mounts) is a bad thing. Turn the damper to max and feel for play in the movement of the steering. If you have play, inspect the damper to determine if the play is in the mounts or in the damper.

As mentioned, the preload rings should be on the top, chassis side of the stock shock. The quote about increasing the rear preload to get more weight on the front end is a common idea. It has limits on how far you can go and it is not just a matter of moving weight, but the idea is somewhat sound. If you want to try that, you may want to learn more about motorcycle geometry and how it works. The best way to go in my opinion is to adjust your preload based on rider weight, confirm that your spring rates are correct by then checking sag without the rider on board, then maybe make some small adjustments to the preload to fine tune the behavior of the bike. Your 35mm of sag is not bad, but if you check to see what your sag is without anyone on board it will give you more info. You should have 5-10mm of riderless (free) sag when your sag with rider on board (race sag) is correct. If after adjusting your race sag you have too much free sag then your springs are too stiff and if you do not have enough then your springs are too soft. I prefer closer to 25mm of race sag and 5-10mm of free sag, but that can be part of the fine tuning once you are in the ball park. Running less race sag does not mean a stiffer ride as so many seem to think. Increasing the preload on a straight rate spring does not change the spring rate. Adding preload changes the ride height. Increasing the ride height increases the available suspension travel. Changing the balance of the ride height front to back affects the geometry and behavior of the bike.

The stock spring for a non-Ohlins V11 as measured by Penske was 500 in/lbs. That equates to 87.5N/mm.

The damper should move freely, but should not have any actual play in the mounts. The more freely it moves the better, as long as there is no play. The best way to feel for play is to turn the damper up to full stiff and then rotate the bars side to side. That will highlight any play in the system. It is also a good way to check the state of your damper. That said, the damper from my wifes bike failed years ago and caused a handling issue. We solved that by removing it and did not replace it as the bike handled better for her with out it. My Daytona also has had the damper removed to improve it's handling. Whether or not you want/need a steering damper is up to you. But in my opinion in most situations a V11 does not need one (based on the geometry). Running one does slow the steering down slightly but the trade off is a more stable, confidence inspiring bike that some people prefer. Ironically some people keep the damper but then slide the fork tubes up through the triple clamps to lower the front end increasing the rake and decreasing the trail, claiming it improves stability. To each their own.

I use the manual as a guide for how much to put in but rely on the level plug, sight window, and dip stick for final say on how much is the right amount. And I am a fan of Redline Shockproof for the gearboxeand rear bevel box.

A hydro clutch SHOULD be self adjusting. If it has gotten out of adjustment then something is likely wrong with it, like old fluid or air in the system.

The seals are reusable as long as they are not leaking. It sounds like yours might be leaking. I have never tried using copper grease on caliper pistons but I have always been told the same as mentioned previously,t don't use anything but brake fluid and brake grease on anything that is internal to the system. Seals and o-rings that contain brake fluid should not touch anything other then brake fluid of brake grease. It sounds like you need to rebuild or replace that caliper. Brembo stuff is likely hard to get but that is a caliper that has been around for a while and if you can't find seals for it (try looking for them based on measurements) you should be able to find a used caliper around. Good luck.

Zokes are not horrible forks, some of their top line forks are even pretty good. Maybe not Ohlins good, but pretty good. Unfortunately the ones that came on the V11 are not top line zokes. Some models appear to have come with bottom of the barrel Zokes. There is room for improvement. You can have the zokes modded by a quality suspension guy, or you can replace them with a higher quality fork like Ohlins. But an Ohlins fork that has the wrong length, wrong spring rate, and the wrong dampening is likely to be worse then the stock Zokes, not better. I do recall that some Ohlins forks were adjustable length wise, if you could extend then at least 20mm so that you were only 20mm shorter then I might consider it if I were you. But even then you still have a lot of work/money required to throw at them to get them set up correctly so that they are actually an improvement. I am a big fan of Ohlins, I have ridden bikes with various sets of Ohlins forks and they were noticeably better then others. But they were always set up for me and my needs. The odds that these forks would be an improvement over your stockers is pretty slim. But if you have the money to make them right it might work.

A narrow band sensor is about worthless as a tuning aid (or anything else for that matter, they have no resolution). A wide band sensor is a good tool that can be used to tune the injection system. But like any tool it is only as good as the user. You can use it to tune the air/fuel ratio, but with out a dyno to figure out what the best air/fuel ratio is you are guessing. That said, I too am in the "do it yourself" camp and enjoy doing things like that myself. But it is a lot of trial and error to get it as well as a good dyno operator can get it. But "good" dyno operators are sometimes hard to find. Too many of them don't put the required time and effort into it. You can do it yourself better then that.

My Daytona did that at 50 mph. I replaced the tires (they were old) and replaced a missing engine mount bolt (from the previous owner) and the wobble is gone. My guess is that the missing engine mount bolt was the problem, but it could have been a tire/balance issue.

You have a KLR and/or a Honda with a knobby rear tire fitted on the front? Why? Sure you could ride this bike, but it will not work very well on pavement or dirt. Too much weight and no ground clearance for the dirt and too much rotating weight on the front wheel as well as poor grip on the pavement. To each their own but to me it is a sign of in-breeding.

Okay.... If you thought it made more sense when too much static sag (free sag) after setting your race sag meant you needed stiffer springs..... As far as the term "race sag", I did not make it up. It is the correct term. As for Marzzochi forks, MV Augusta uses them for the same reason Guzzi does. They are Italian. They are not in the same league as Ohlins. That does not mean they are bad forks, but Ohlins are better. Ohlins tend to work smoother with less stiction and have better valving then others. And the valving is more easily adjustable/configurable by suspension guys then most stock forks. But a set of Zokes that are fully adjustable and have been set up for your weight and riding style could work as well or better then a set of Ohlins that are just generically set up. Getting the forks set up for you is as important as who made them in my opinion.

No, that is not what I said. I said that when checking you free sag (how much the bike sags without the rider on board), after you have set your race sag (how much the bike sags WITH the rider on board), that if you have too much free sag then you need softer springs. This is telling you that in order to get you race sag where you wanted it you had to back off your preload too much because your springs are too stiff. If you don't have enough free sag that is saying you had to add too much preload to get the race sag where you wanted it because your springs are too soft. I hope this is clearer to you.

That is not a bad beginners guide, but there is an error in the part about sag vs spring rate. "Once you have set your rider sag as close as possible to 30-40 mm, next check your static sag. If you have more than 10mm then you may need stiffer springs. If however, if your static sag is less than 5mm or you have no static sag then your springs may be too hard for your weight. " Both scenarios say your springs are too stiff. It should say if you have too much static sag then you need softer springs. If you do not have enough then you need stiffer springs. "Rider" sag is also called "race" sag. Also worth pointing out is that preload does not effect spring rate unless you have progressive springs. Adding or subtracting preload with normal straight rate springs does not change the "softness" of the spring.