Kiwi_Roy

Just be aware if you connect a GPS power supply to the battery and then unplug the GPS the power supply will still draw current, enough to completely flatten the battery in a few weeks. For this reason I have mine hooked into the headlight circuit. As Gavo says, the plug has a power supply card inside that drops the Voltage from 12 to 5 Volts, if you cut the plug off and wire it direct say goodbye to the GPS. Another option I have used is one of those dual output USB adapters that plug into the cig lighter, you can power the GPS from that with a second outlet for your phone. Again I smashed the case off and wired it into the headlight circuit I tried to find a neat way of making it waterproof like a screw on cover.

For anyone over the pond considering the same www.superbrightleds.com they have a motorcycle section. The type 194 is my favorite for the dash, throw away the old holders and glue them in place.

Whatever happened to Cicciolina? It appears she's alive and well in sunny Caracas http://www.ibtimes.com/star-porn-whatever-became-italys-cicciolina-1104912 Keep up the reports Roberto, you will get all the help you need to keep her happy right here.

The OEM chain tensioner was a piece of junk, the little coil spring had no hope of keeping the chain in tension. I changed it along with the chain hoping to cure the sneeze, didn't do a thing, it still spits back and stalls if idling too slow, very annoying. My Eldorado project has steel gears, I guess it was standard in 72

And if you stick around the shop long enough you are bound to run into some of the Stradavarious crowd www.stradavarious.ca BTW as Guzzijek points out the shop is now known as Valley Moto

I don't see how it could improve anything, chains are so reliable.

Yes the wheel bearing. One went on my EV, part of the cage was hanging out. Surprisingly the bike was quite happy to continue on for another 60 odd miles until I came to a bike shop that had a bearing, by that time there were 6 balls and no cage. You could drive the bearing out with a screwdriver and a rock but I think it would be good to travel a bit further to some kind of shop. Although the bearings are a common one it's always hard to find them on a weekend,

Without the airbox you might find a flat spot, it really needs the velocity stacks. As a temporary fix I used the existing rubber intake and fastened the pods to that. One other thing, you can re-route the main loom without disconnecting. It normally tucks around the seat release lock, I removed it from there and it now runs along the frame to the front of seat with the extra length just folded under the tank in-case one day I want to put it back to stock. I also installed my regulator under the seat in the space previously occupied. I too would like a pair of nice aluminium velocity stacks.

It's not important to reach 14.2, your 13.7 is good enough and probably easier on the battery. I can tell you how to increase the charge Voltage but need to know more about your existing wiring. Headlamp size? Do you have headlight relays? OEM regulator? Sent you a PM Roy

The GPS only uses a few milliamps, I tied my outlet into the park light, that's on when the key is On. I broke open the case and just have the circuit board taped up floating in the headlight bucket. An alternative would be a 12V USB adapter, that would allow you to charge other USB devices, it would need to be waterproof though. Docc asked if there's a better way to reference the Voltage regulator. Lately I have been suggesting to run it off relay 4 / 87 contact. that's pretty much direct from the battery, this will give a slightly lower charge Voltage but you can compensate for that with a series resistance. A 100 Ohm trim-pot would let you adjust the Voltage Note: I haven't tried this on my bike because I have an after-market regulator. If anyone wants to try this send me a PM with an e-mail address I can send a sketch to, I can't use photobucket from here.

Ssshhh, I have been trying to convince Roberto in Caracas that his ECU is upside-down, He has an intermittent fault that cuts back on when he moves the wires at the plug. My theory is pressure from the seat has caused the circuit board to crack. The previous owner spliced a different plug onto the loom. Roy

I also like Trevini's solution to re-use the charge light. Tap into the wire between Relay 4 / 87 and Relay 5 coil, If you slide the little connector out you can solder a small wire to it,

Having a Voltmeter is a great reassurance especially if you're running heated gear. Pin 87 of the ECU relay would be a good spot, it's direct from the battery via a fuse and very little load to cause Voltage drop. I think I would add a resistor (100-470 Ohms) 0r small fuse close to the relay to protect the ECU circuit in case the meter got accidentally shorted. (oooppps I just noticed Moto Fugazzi suggested that) http://www.thisoldtractor.com/guzzi007/schematics/1999_V11_sport.gif BTW, I often tell guys the petcock fuse is a great place to monitor, if you are having an intermittent rough running, If the bike won't start or is cutting out that's the first thing I check, Is the ECU relay getting good clean power to it's coil? Suppose you lose your key, look where the petcock fuse is connected. It would be interesting to see what happens to your observed 0.9V drop at the petcock fuse/connector, try it several times opening and closing the ignition switch, operating the stand switch, operating the kill switch. The V11 Sport is a lot more forgiving than most other Guzzis because the start relay is not powered through the ignition switch, just the coil is. We don't get many "Startus Interuptus" discussions on here.

1 spare wheel bearing, I lost one on the EV last summer Sent from my shoe phone!

I have a pressure gauge on my V11 Sport, it drops to zero on hard acceleration if you let the level get a bit low. The oil pressure switches fail regularly so you may not see a low pressure. Acceleration uphill with low oil would be inviting disaster, Get a Roper plate or keep the level topped up.

MikeDelta, The size is not very important since it's so short. I would use no less than 14 AWG or the equivalent of 20 Amps in metric size. If it's close you could always use a strap made of Al sheet-metal that way it would be Aluminium all the way and it might even look better. Don't forget to add some grease between the joints, that will extend it's life. Roy

Gerbing also have a lower Voltage line, 7 Volts I think with appropriate battery.

BTW, I just pulled the wheels apart on my 72 Eldorado Tapered rollers, look like new, if they were balls like later Guzzis I'm sure it would have gone through several sets by now.

After years of looking at Guzzi wheels with cheap 2RS ball races for bearings imagine my surprise when I pulled the wheels apart on my 72 Eldorado to find tapered rollers with a proper dedicated seal. I think it's a good idea to have at least one spare bearing with you when traveling any distance.

If it's just the big ends they are fairly inexpensive, about $80 for a set.

MikeDelta, The fixing screws on mine were almost stripped, it had those silly spring clips to the horn bracket that's why I drilled the fin The Horn bracket is bolted to the frame with no obvious attempt to make a good contact . Since doing that I have done other Guzzis with just a lug under the mounting bolt. Yes, just connect the strap to the nearest timing cover screw or another bolt on the engine. The path back through the engine, gearbox and main battery ground is better than the small copper wire Luigi provided. I thought about disconnecting Luigi's wire but I think it may provide some insurance in case the main ground works loose. Without a ground I see nothing to stop the +12 battery terminal reaching 60 Volts or more, for that reason it's also important to keep the terminals clean and greased. You have probably read it's not a good idea to jump the bike from a car battery because of spikes, I think it's ok provided the bike battery is connected so it can suppress any Voltage spikes.

Stewgnu is right as far as fitting by chilling or perhaps you could wind them in with a length of ready rod, I don't remember it being dificult If I remember correctly I just tapped the outer race out with a bar from the back-side. The tricky one is removing the lower inner race, I drove a cold chisel in between the bearing and the lower triple clamp.

Zooter, I think you may be trying to post an image, I sent you a PM Roy

Yes, just jumped the contacts, left the relay out, another quick fix is to wrap a strand of wire figure 8 fashion around 30, 87 & 87A pins of the relay and put it back (I include 87A because some other Guzzi models use that pin instead of 87) Just looking at the Digikey site (sorry I can't copy the link from here), trace it back from my relay link Switches / Magnetic, reed switches I see a bunch of 1 Amp reed switches that would be perfect for the stand switch, the relays and petcock add up to about 750mA Expensive though about $1.50 each. The glass switch could be potted into a length of non ferrous tube activated by a magnet on the stand to make a really rugged switch, typically reed switches are rated in billions of operations, I use one as a pickup for the speedo. Part No 374-1043-1-ND, HE133-ND or 374-1070-1-ND for example

At the moment I just have a length of wire stuffed in 30 to 87 of the relay socket. For some reason I am reluctant to change the wiring, if I find a good side-stand switch I will re-instate it, perhaps a magnet activated reed switch thus avoiding the chance of future corrosion I agree, it is really the Neutral relay