GuzziMoto

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.

The air valve looking thing on the bottom of the reservoir is where you pressurize the shock with nitrogen. On remote reservoir shocks that nitrogen usually fills a bladder in the reservoir that applies pressure to the oil. The pressure on the oil helps keep the oil from foaming. If the oil foams, the dampening fades. Do not release the nitrogen from the valve. Do not even try to check the pressure with a gauge. It is under very high pressure (over 125 psi usually) and it is a very small amount volume wise so that any loss has a large impact on the pressure in the shock. If you have let the air out, I would take it to a shop that services shocks and have them recharge it. Some people have recharged theirs themselves, but it takes a special rig to do it properly. For the little bit of money it costs to pay someone else it is not worth the time and expense to do it yourself in my opinion.

Here is a link to a bike on ebay. Warning, it is not for the faint of heart. Graphic content. http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/2003-MOTO-GUZZI-STREETFIGHTER-CAFE-RACER-TRIUMPH-DUCATI-/160429603751?cmd=ViewItem&pt=US_motorcycles&hash=item255a597ba7#ht_561wt_956

You can tweak the map in the rpm and throttle ranges you are having an issue with to see if it helps. There are other maps out there, I believe there are a few on this site in the map thread as well as Todd from GuzziTech has a lot of experience with Power Commander maps for the v11. But what works well for one Guzzi may not work as well for another as Guzzi's are hand made and have a bit more variance from bike to bike. That is the advantage of having a map made for your bike. It is well worth the money if you can find someone with experience with air cooled twins. Plus with the stock cans on there may end up being a flat spot that you can not quite get to go away due to the compromised design of the stock cans.

As mentioned before, there is supposed to be a 2 to 1 ratio between wheel and shock on the V11. This means that a 10mm longer shock should raise the back of the bike 20mm. This will steepen the front steering angle and reduce the trail. This typically will speed up steering. It can decrease the stability as well, but most who have done this, including myself, have not had a problem. As mentioned already, properly setting up the sag front and rear, and even having the forks revalved/ resprung, would complement the shock well. At the very least set the sag. Be methodical about any changes you make and write them down to keep track. Don't be afraid to ask someone else's opinion if you aren't sure.

Rumor has it that there is a two to one ratio between axle movement and shock movement. That means that a 1 mm change in spring preload should equal about 2 mm change in ride height. Suspension set up is a matter of personal preference, but a couple rules that I use as a guide are; Front and rear race sag (with rider on board) should be pretty equal. This maintains the steering geometry when you climb on board. Race sag should be about 20 to 25 percent of average suspension travel. Free sag should be about 5 to 10 percent of average suspension travel. If you set you race sag and your free sag is off then you need different springs. If in doubt about where to start, a pro suspension guy is a good investment to get you started in the right direction and it is surprisingly cheap to have your suspension professionally setup. Well set up suspension is worth its weight in gold.

That SportRider article on sag is not bad, but I personally put more emphasis on free sag then they do. And I apply free sag to the front as well as the rear. I also look at target sag numbers as a percentage of total travel and not a certain number someone applies to all bikes. But that is just my opinion. I do agree that proper fork springs are a cheap investment that is worth much more then it costs. Great value per $.

That is the shock I have on my wifes V11. Michael Himmelsbach and the technicians at Penske did a great job hooking us up on that one. What a great shock that has turned out to be. You may be able to adjust the forks to suit, the lack of compression dampening may not extend to your later forks. But if you weigh more then 150 lbs or so you may want heavier fork springs to get your sag right. Keep in mind that adding preload is not the same thing as increasing spring rate.

Well, by Gregs list that means that my wifes 2001 V11 has series 1 forks on it. So what I described doing to them would apply to series one forks. I have no idea what later forks involve or require, but I doubt they are any better. Standard Marzocchi practice is to make them the best you can at first and then cheapen them down for later versions in the name of profit. Like the zokes on my KTM, the first series 45 magnum forks were sweet (luckily that is what I have). Later years were not as good, although there was a easy mod much like what I described as the ideal way to do the Guzzi forks that many would do to their later zokes.

As I recall (it has been a while) I used the head and a very short bit of the shaft from a machine screw (just enough to locate the screw in the hole, don't let it stick through the hole or it will stop the piston as it travels past) that was the right size. A more normal way would be to use those one use pinch clamps that are often hated by owners when you go to work on your bike. You could also use a piece of thin aluminum wrapped around the tube and secured with safety wire or the afore mention pinch clamps. The trick is to make sure that whatever you use does not foul the forks as they compress through their travel, both inside the cartridge and out. The pros would weld the hole closed but that is easier for them, I have to borrow a welder so I usually look for a way that does not involve welding. Besides, the aluminum sheet and safety wire or clamps is reversible/adjustable. I just plugged one but I make no claims that the way I did it is the best. It is merely the way I was able to make it work at the time. With more time and effort it could be done better. My personal favorite would be to plug both holes and then drill a series of smaller holes in the cartridge that would act as progressively as the fork neared full compression so that it would not be so abrupt. With the stock setup it goes from no dampening to a lot very quickly.

Sorry, I did mention it but kept it pretty low key for reasons mentioned earlier. It is only a weekend job though to do it.

No, no thread that I am aware of. I mentioned it a couple times a while back but that was when there was a troll living under this board and when you posted something he did not agree with he ridiculed and insulted you until you gave up. But it is pretty self explanatory when you take your forks apart. By memory (I might not have the details correct, but you should see what I mean) there are a couple bleed holes in the cartridge tube that allow the oil to escape as the piston is pushed up. These allow the oil to avoid going thru the piston so there is no real dampening until the piston is past the holes. Then as soon as the piston is past the holes the oil has to suddenly go thru the valving in the piston. That is a bad set up. All you need to do is block off one of the holes (as I remember there are two holes and I blocked off one but I could be wrong) or half of each so that some of the oil is forced thru the pistons valve stack. The idea is to find a balance of oil weight and how much oil the piston can flow. Try putting your fork back together with out the springs and you will be able to feel it very easily. After you do this you may want thinner oil then you had as now oil has to go thru the shim stack instead of an open hole and that requires thinner oil. As it is stock, at low to medium speeds all the oil that needs to move as the piston moves up thru the tube can do so uncontrolled thru the holes as they are pretty big. Only when the fork starts to move very rapidly is there any reason for the oil to even try to flow thru the piston. And even then I don't think much of it will. The difference between the before and after the mod was night and day. It was a bigger difference on my wifes bike then anything else I have done.

Changing the way the fork works so that it actually has compression dampening is not that hard and it is the only thing that has made an improvement aside from correct springs rate. Before doing it the fork action was to harsh which would make you think you needed lighter oil but what it was was the fork blowing through the first 3/4 of travel and then hitting the last 1/4 like a bump stop. Thinner oil was not going to help much (I guess it would make the transition smoother) and thicker oil would only make the transition worse. For me the solution has been modding the fork so that more of the oil has to go thru the valving and lighter oil for the now relevant valve stack. Anyway, how many different types of forks have there been on V11's?

If your V11 has the same forks as my wifes 2001 does, which has the compression and rebound split left and right and they click, then it does not actually have compression dampening adjustment for most of the stroke. Until the forks have compressed 3/4 of the stroke or more the fork fluid does not go thru the piston but rather thru large holes in the damper tube. Until the piston goes past the holes the fluid is not forced thru the piston so there is not really dampening to speak of, and turning the adjusters only effects that last bit after the piston has gone past the holes. And unless you count those large holes as "low speed dampening" (they are not really) there is no high and low speed compression dampening. There is only no compression dampening and compression dampening. It is not a very sophisticated fork. I went thru them pretty thoroughly a while back and even went so far as to assemble them without the springs in them to evaluate and correct the dampening. It is not something that thicker oil is going to help much.

It's a 2001 V11 with Marzocchi's that have adjusters that click. I don't know how many different versions of Marzocchi's Guzzi used and there may be more then two, I don't know. There could be more. I just know there are at least two.

Also, which forks do you have? V11s have come with at least three different sets of forks. The early Marzochi's had no compression dampening as built. Turning the adjuster only effected the final inch of travel, more like an adjustable bump stop. I modded a set so they had compression dampening and have been happy with them since.

How much you weigh with gear on as well as whether the rear spring rate was increased, decreased, or stayed the same, would help. If all else fails, check the sag. Not only should the front and rear sag about the same but there is a ratio of free sag to race sag that needs to be maintained. If you set your front sag with you on board to the correct amount and you have too little or no free sag then you need a stiffer front spring. If the opposite applies (too much free sag when the race sag is set) then you need a softer spring. Talk to your suspension guy about this. He should know all this.

In my opinion and experience, the cross over at the front of the motor reduces noise and the cross over under the trans adds power. Removing the one at the front would not effect power output much. Removing the one under the trans would hurt power output. Improving the one under the trans will add power. Replacing it with a 2 into 1 collector will add more power still.

I could be wrong, but I believe all Guzzi's sold in the US meet CA standards. They don't sell enough bikes to bother with two versions of their bikes.

I would start with installing the Power Commander software on a lap top. Then save the map out of the Power Commander. Then do the TPS/balance/valve clearance (either learn to do it your self or pay some one, but it is not that hard to do on a Guzzi). There is no point in adjusting the fueling when you don't know where you're at. Then you can either unplug the PC and see how it runs or put in a map that is all zeros and see how it runs. It should run pretty good but will likely be a little lean on the bottom and rich on top. From there you can install a map made for your bike or a map for one like your bike or experiment to make your own map, or you can spend more money on a my15m from Cliff. I would try the Power Commander first since you already have it. The bike should run okay stock but should run better with a Power Commander or my15m. Swapping exhaust is easy to do and with a Power Commander or my15m you can have a map for each way and switch as you like. In my experience, with the Mistrals (or any other free flowing exhaust) you will usually see a slight improvement in power at full throttle and higher rpms but maybe a loss in drivability down low due to the slightly lean mixture of a stock ecu being leaned out that much more.

Seriously, check what the fuel system specs for the BMW are. If they run 3 Bar then you can be pretty sure that the pump can do it. 200KPa is 2 Bar, 300KPa is 3 Bar. Easy conversion. Your problem is that it is only giving flow at 2 Bar and you need to know what it is at 3 Bar, if it will make it that high. My guess is it will, it sounds like it says max pressure 700 (KPa?), that is 7 Bar. But with the amount of money at stake you probably want better then a guess.

It can do a lot more then the Power Commander. Is it worth double the money? That depends on what you need/want. If you want to be able to adjust your ignition timing or set your bike up to run closed loop with an O2 sensor and programmable air/fuel targets, then yeah. Because a PC won't allow you to adjust your ignition and the AutoTune only works with the PCV and that may or may not be available. Contact Todd @ GuzziTech about that option. As for support, that depends on how you define support. There is no local support that I am aware of in the States, no place to take the bike and have them make it work. If you are willing to put in the time and effort to do it yourself, with assistance by e-mail from other parts of the world, it certainly can work better then the PC option. But it is not as easy to do as the PC and more money. For me the PC was good enough and cheaper. I have more money now then when I bought the PC but I still think if I had to do it all over again I would still buy the PC. I like the idea of my15m, and if I ever build a race bike I will get one. But for the street the PC works fine for me. Many bikes run just fine with a PC, so no matter what anybody else says, the PC's DO WORK. They aren't as fancy and can't do as much, but for many they do enough for less money. What do you want out of it?