GuzziMoto

I thought JohninVT nailed it on the head.

Some KTM's use mineral oil in the hydro clutch. Not sure how well it would cope with the 400 plus degrees that can be generated by stopping a 500 lb Guzzi, but you do not want to mix and match the two. DOT 5 is the same way with water, but it is not incompressible (is that a word?). That results in a soft lever. No one wants a soft lever, do they?

Sorry to hear that with your Zumo. Mine acted up at one point, but it is fine now. I thought I pulled the battery or something to reset it. You may be able to update the firmware from Garmin.

As mentioned, but to elaborate, the dry boiling point accurately reflects the boiling point of the fluid. But being hygroscopic, it absorbs water. Since water has a boiling point of only 212 degrees give or take, as it absorbs water it lowers the boiling point of the fluid. Some fluids cope better with this then others to a small degree but they all suffer from this to a similar extent with the exception of DOT 5 fluids. DOT 5 is also referred to as silicone fluid, and while it has issues being hygroscopic is not really one of them. DOT 5 fluids are not compatible with DOT 3, 4, and 5.1 fluids, which are mostly compatible with each other. There are a few sites on the web that go further and explain it in greater detail. I encourage you took look. The StopTech link earlier in the thread is a good place to start.

Not sure how having three switches to do the job of one is better, but if that is your idea of "progress" then sure it can be done. Obviously you will have to run extra wires from the location of the original one switch to the other side of the bars, but if you want three switches instead of one it is just a matter of wiring them up. I'll stick with one switch.

That is a cool old Guzzi, and if it is what you want then fine, go for it. But an old bike is not like a newer bike. It will likely require more time and effort to ride it and keep it running. But if you are willing to pay the price I think it could be really cool.

Thanks Pete.

This picture and a couple posts have gone away. Here is the pic of the Sport Cycle Pacific valve covers on a Griso.

Yeah, Pete. I agree with you that the new Guzzi motors are great. But do the different models use different final gearing like the 1100's did or do they use the same final gearing?

In my opinion there have been plenty of cool bikes with character, if not soul, built by the Japanese companies in the past. Not even that distant past either. It is in recent times that they have contracted and condensed their line ups down to certain formats. Not much thinking outside the box, and when they do it seems to result in answers to questions nobody asked.

Do they use different gearing like they do between the 1100 motors? That would do it.

That is not a Suzuki, it's a Honda. And it is not a typical massed produced Honda designed by committees of bean counters but one designed by race engineers. One of the truly cool Honda's you could buy. Honda doesn't build bikes like that any more. Although the ST1300 is kinda cool. If only it had a soul.

The fluid he bought (Valvoline) is DOT 4. It meets the DOT 4 specs as well as the lower DOT 3 specs. It is suitable for use whenever DOT 3 OR DOT 4 is required. I have used the mentioned fluid in my Guzzi's without issue. As someone mentioned, Valvoline labels it 3 & 4 so that people with either requirement will understand that this fluid is suitable. The only real difference is the higher boiling point. It is made for use in either system.

There is no reason to use a DOT 4 over a DOT 3&4 that I am aware of. DOT 3&4 meets the same specs as DOT 4. The Valvoline fluid is not as good as it used to be. The boiling points wet and dry are down a fair bit. But I have used the new version without issues. I seem to recall the older stuff came in a silver plastic bottle. For a road bike I doubt you would have issues with the lower boiling point. If you do then likely something is wrong or your a nutter. Aside from the boiling point change it is decent stuff in my experience. Meaning I have not had any troubles as a result of running it.

I think Stoner on a Honda will win some but I think he will crash too often to mount a challenge to the championship. The other interesting change in the world order will be going back to 1000cc machines. It will be nice to see rider skill becoming more important then rider weight. And the premier class machines should be absolute beasts to ride. Dumbing then down so that more people could ride them at the front was a stupid idea and I'll be glad (as will Rossi and most of the true talents) to see horsepower and throttle control come back.

While it is possible that Rossi will go to Ducati to replace Stoner, I am not sure what a photoshop image of Rossi on a Ducati means. I think Rossi may fair better at Ducati then most others, but it is definitely a step down from where he is at now, especially if Burgess does not go with him. It looks like both this year and next year may be Lorenzo's titles.

I would agree. My fear would be that something is starting to circle the drain.

That does not sound good. I would expect to see at least 14 volts.

What does feel for the front have to do with high siding? Michelin has had one of the best (ok, the best) front tires in motorcycle roadracing. Around here it is the yardstick others are measured against. I do agree that some people will be faster on one brand of tire or another, and not do as well on other brands. I have seen that myself. And Michelin tends to be less forgiving in terms of sliding at the edge. That would more likely have been Stoners problem with them. But his style has always been very much a pin it and see style. Well, you could be right but from what I have seen and read he uses more TC then most and relies on it more then most. The fact that Ducati's TC is better then the others and how well he is able to trust it has been the biggest reason why no one else has been fast on a Ducati. Best of luck to him, and I could be wrong.

I have no doubt that changes to the ETS can effect the way the motor runs, and changes in the right direction could very well make an improvement for the better on a motor that does not run right. I don't doubt your observational skills. I am glad it has helped you.

I worry that with out Ducati's electronic aids Stoner is going to crash his brains out. I know he has won the title, but until he got on a Ducati he was a crasher. Honda go in cycles, they will listen to the rider and build the bike the rider wants and do well. Then they will forget that it is the rider, not the engineer, that matters and start to build a bike that may be a technological marvel but the rider can't ride it. Or they will start listening to the wrong rider and design a bike that is not as fast. They need someone like Doohan (actually it was likely Burgess) who can keep the engineers in line and on track.

I understand what Docc did. The debate is about what effect that had on the system. See, that is where the debate gets fuzzy. You say that the brass is insulating the actual sensor. In my experience, brass is a horrible insulator for heat. It actually conducts heat better then air, which is what you are "replacing" the brass with. I have yet to see anyone post any actual measured data that supports the theory that removing the brass and adding air increases the response time or the accuracy of the sensor. Or any evidence that the stock set up is "a very, very slow sensor". So then it comes down to opinion and belief, and that does not make for something worth debating. Docc (and Hatchet Wacker before him) has made a change to his ETS that alters the value the sensor is sending to the ECU and that is changing the way his Guzzi runs. I don't have an issue with that. But there is no evidence that he has "improved" the accuracy or response time of the sensor. The only evidence is that his bike now runs better, and by the description of the change in running it sounds to me like it is running richer. Based on what I know of the Guzzi ECU that means the moddified ETS is telling the ECU that the motor is cooler. This makes sense to me as what was done to the ETS (remove the brass and replace it with air) I would expect to lower the temp reading of the sensor. If you choose to draw a different conclusion from that action/result, fine. But unless you have some evidence to support your claim......

WSBK is okay, but MotoGP is much more interesting to me. I prefer to see the fastest riders on the fastest bikes. I have no illusions about being able to buy one or ride like that. I have gone to F1, MotoGp, World Superbike, AMA Superbike, NASCAR Busch series (ok, the tickets were free), and assorted other races. So far the coolest I have seen was either the F1 or MotoGP, with the node likely given to F1 as the absolute coolest. Those things are amazing. But I think the MotoGP was more enjoyable due to the huge motorcycle scene that went with it. Like Sturgis is to Harley people. I am disappointed that Stoner is leaving Ducati. I will be surprised if he does well at Honda. I think that Lorenzo and Spies are the ones who may come out of all this on top.

As mentioned, that "valve" is the fuel pressure regulator. It is not likely the cause of your issue. Heat soak boiling the fuel in the hose and in the pump is more likely. A tune up is always a good thing. When you have trouble starting the bike when hot it is a good idea to make sure your valve clearances are not too tight. But if I was to guess, I would say that the issue would be solved with insulating the fuel pump and line from heat. But I would check the valve clearances, that is easy to do on a Guzzi.

Docc has modified his temp sensor so that it gives a different value then it used to, apparently lower as a lower temp reading would cause the ecu to provide a richer mixture and that is what it sounds like is happening. Good for him. He realized he had an issue with the way his Guzzi ran (though at least part of the issue may have been self inflicted by improving the heat transfer to the temp sensor when it seems like it was working well to begin with) and he took steps to correct it. The hows and whys of this have been beat to death and I doubt it is worth continuing the debate. Good for you Docc. Glad to hear your bike runs well. My wifes V11 runs well too (with the stock ETS). My Griso has an issue with getting too hot and I have considered a similar mod to slow the heat transfer to the ETS so that it gives the ecu a lower temp reading. I don't think the ETS is the root of the issue and I realize that modding the ETS would be treating the symptoms and not the cause, but the bike has been gone over by a few mechanics and no one has yet figured out why it detonates when hot. It is not the only Griso to have this issue, but most do not. So clearly it is not the design of the temp sensor causing the issue. But modding it may be a band aid fix to help the bike run better.