RichMaund

I brought my bike home in the crate over two years ago and then disassembled it to see what Guzzi was mucking up lately. True to their factory tradition, all that stuff was dry as a bone. Pivot bolts, swing arm bearings, splines, you name it. Even the cush drive was grease free. They red Loctited the damned fasteners, but couldn't be bothered to grease anything. Guzzi tends to operate on tradition, habit and inertia. This is what you have to expect from them and correct it yourself when the bike is new! Much like Ural's made in the 1990's, they are just kit bikes assembled by drunks as a courtesy to ensure all the parts are there. It's up to the owner to put it back into kit form and then build it correctly. Sort of a Italian made Bradley GT! Anyone remember those?

Here's an old fashioned way to set up those bypass screws: Slowly open one up about 1/16th of a turn at a time until the idle speed just peaks. Congrats! You've just achieved a nearly ideal low speed mixture. Set the other screw to the same setting. Or... screw them back in 1/16th of a turn if you prefer a idle mixture slightly richer than ideal. Mine are like this and I occassionally foul plugs. I probably should open them a tad. (I was just trying to keep it cooler running at idle.) Use the individual Allen set screws to balance the linkage at idle. There's enough slop in th elinkage to allow for that usually. Adjust one air bleed bypass screw though if you must to get them balanced. Then balance them at 3-4k rpm with the white knob. I do this after each valve clearance check using a Twin Max. The bike rips at speed and behaves wonderfully around town! Of course, YMMV!

Sorry for that. I thought TB was a common abbreviation for throttle body. I prefer a Twin Max to gages or Hg sticks as it is more accurate.

I had the 1950's reproduction mufflers for my Ural done by Jet Hot. I think they look really nice. Lifetime rust through warranty as well. Cost was $112 for a pair with return shipping. Had t hem back 10 days after I sent them!

I believe the 6k mile interval is some sort of marketing gimmick. My valves and TB balance won't stay in adjustment that long and the bike would run like crap if I let everything go that long. I check valves, set TB balance and change fluids every 3k miles. I change the filter every third change. I use synthetics exclusively. This interval is more in keeping with what Guzzi used to recommend and reflects, in my experience, a reasonable amount of use that the bike will run well between adjustments. Some of you may think I'm nuts to leave all that "contaminated" oil in the filter between changes. But it is a relatively small volume. I change it frequently enough that the left over oil in the filter is still good by Guzzi's reconing. And the filter is plenty large enough to do it's job for three changes. Heck, that's how long the old style shorter filer was good for. This one should be no different. Besides, as tricky as it is to remove and replace the manhole cover below the filter, better to do it every 9k miles and save much wear & tear on it!

I ran synthetic gear lube with moly added in all my old 5 and even a 4 speed Guzzi's. It made them shift smoother and never caused any troubles. Perhaps it was just these old gear boxes time to break?

There are a number of documented cases of early 6 speeds having catastrophic failure. The cause seems to be improperly heat treated parts. They wear quickly. An early sign of it is the bike sticking in gear or requiring way too much effort to shift. Especially when hot. I have a friend who has these problems right now at 15k miles. His was one of the first V11S's the Dealer sold. The Dealer refuses to ride it more than two miles to test it (Doesn't get it good and hot.) and says it's fine. He is now selling all his Guzzi's as he's fed up. No, I won't say the Dealer's name here since I am not a direct participant in this drama. He is a twenty year Guzzi owner and is walking away from the marque. I wouldn't take that lightly. So far at over 11K miles, mine shifts sweet and effortless as ever. I pray it stays that way as rebuilding it would break my bank account! I can appreciate your rant. I have been on both sides of the fence of this issue myself. But Guzzi does still have serious quality issues to deal with. Ever since old Mr. Honda passed away his companies level or quality has been going down. Superhawks with exploding cam chains at 10k miles. Gold Wings that overheat and have no range on the CB's. VTX's with serious ignition nightmares... etc. Looks like I need to build my own bike to do it right!

Heck Folks! I couldn't leave even if I sold the bike. This is the only Guzzi forum I participate in anymore. Ever since the MGCL turned too nasty for my taste, this has been my "connection" to my fellow Guzzisti. I am a life member of the MGNOC. I wouldn't disappear that easily. I must say that this is the best group of Guzzi folks I have ever dealt with in a forum or discussion list. The fine attitude, sense of humor and shear high level of technical expertise and innovative ideas I see here will keep me coming back for more. I'm not bullshitting or sugar coating that either. I mean it. Jaap is to be thanked heartily for building up this forum as he has! This one reason I stick with Guzzi's ... and Urals for that matter. It's the people that keep the machines interesting and fun for me. Great bikes with character and fellow riders to match. A fine combination! Now if I could just get you all to ride here some Saturday afternoon for a bar-b-que THAT would really make my weekend!

Folks Had a great time at the Ural Rally in LaPorte Indiana over the 4th of July weekend. Despite losing the AC compressor in the RV only 1/3 of the way into the 1800 mile trip, it was still a good trip! Hell, I even sold enough stuff to pay to get the AC fixed today. ($600!!!!!) The week off eliminated the pain in my hip that was nagging me. That tells me I need to stop working 15 hour days on my feet in the shop for months on end. I'm too beat up now to work that way anymore. 'Been busy in the shop since we got back. I played hooky today after taking some customer packages to the Post Office on the V11S. I just said screw it and took off riding. Beautiful day for it too! I guess I just needed time alone with the bike to remind me how good it is. Riding two-up just isn't the same. With precious cargo aboard the ride just isn't the same. I took some of my favorite freeway ramps (The only real curves around here.) and had a ball. This really IS a light handling bike and a joy to ride. I stopped by the local Beemer shop to kick tires. The owner there finally took me up on my offer to try the Goose. I told him to use yellow line as a shift point and don't cruise below 5k rpm. We all watched as he took off on it. Every employee there commented in unison on how good it sounded. Rich came back and said "It feels like a heavier Monster with more power. Fun engine! Quick handling too. I'm used to bikes with longer wheel bases and this bike really flicks well!" They used to sell Ducati's there, but gave them up since the Beemers were better business for them. So they are familiar with Italian bikes. I got to try a K1200 GT. Finally! A full sized "K" bike for short people! I loved the style and handling, but it did lack soul. Damned good appliance though. I rode back taking a few more of my favorite ramps along the way. This V11S really is the most competent Guzzi I have ever owned out of twelve. I can't sell it. It still pulls too many heart strings in me. The passion is still there. She runs better than ever now and I may as well enjoy the honeymoon now that my "divorce" from MGNA is final. (The warranty expired in May. ) I won't miss MGNA's dealings, but I would miss this bike very much. Something similar went on when my 1997 Cali 1100 finally lost it's warranty. It just didn't need one anymore. I had de-bugged the bike by then and was sick of MGNA jerking me around. Once I didn't have to deal with MGNA the headaches subsided and joy in ownership took over. At least until the 2000 National where I test rode the then new V11S. I, as an owner, seem to function better on my own and away from Dealerships. Once I totally take over the maintenance of my bike, the bike seems to settle down and enjoy the attention and reward me with good service. I hope I am in that stage again now. That was a fun ride this morning. I hope to have alot more just like it. I wish you all the same too!

Here's the bike's issues in two years of use. Relays and oil cooler brackets were junk. Winchester sent new ones to me right away. Bike had some common drivability issues when new. 90% cleared up when Winchester did a computer tunr up after I completed the break-in maintenance. PCIII took care of rest of problems. VERY well behaved now. Electro-petcock leaked and insulation on it's wires disintegrated from gas on them. Replaced quickly by Winchester under warranty. They sent me the new twist to shut model. I prefer that to the electro one. Paint flaked off valve covers and clear coat chipped off the wheels from the first week. MGNA denied the claim on the valve covers. I used that as an excuse to finally get a blaster cabinet. I blasted & polished them. I didn't bother claiming the wheel problem as the new ones would do the same damn thing. I had them blasted & powdercoated red when I did the tire change in March. Oil leak from the forward tranny seal. MGNA took a month to get part to Winchester. Winchester then took another month to finish the repair. That had me pretty steamed, but it is their only "whoops" in a long series of "attaboys" in the past six years I have dealt with them. Both side panels cracked on top. Replacement refused. I was told bodywork was only covered for 90 days. Rear wheel bearings were rough at 8k miles. I just replaced them as I wasn't about to wait on MGNA. Tach was always a bit inaccurate and would stick at 6.5k rpm. You know the story on that now. It is a very good bike right now. It runs like a dream and the trip to the mountains didn't faze it a bit considering I live at sea level and that's what it's tuned for. Much of my heartburn with MGNA dates to the warranty problems on my last new Guzzi and the criminally negligent way they handled them. Some of them were serious safety issues and they blew it off. That Dealer no longer handles Guzzi's anymore. That is a real loss to Guzzi enthusiasts as they were a great shop. (After he closed I went to Winchester.) He was really pissed at MGNA for they did in my cases. Add the steady trickle of bullshit to the drama of getting my last new bike sorted out and I find I can easily live without MGNA in my life. Mix in some very painful arthritis and I am left wondering if I should just sell it. I am not comfortable riding anything for more than an hour at a time now. My riding days are numbered. This tach problem was just another straw in a great big weighty pile over the last five years.

Got back from the Va. Guzzi Rally this afternoon. Great Rally, bike ran like a dream. But the new tacho is contaminated with moisture and fogs up in the sun. (My theory is they spilled cappucino in it after snapping the stud loose.) To Winchester's credit, I told Carl about it at the Rally. He got back to me an hour later and said "I made some calls. You have another tach on order." You can't beat service like that. Got to check out the new Breva. Except for the cheap facia plates on the wheel spokes (I predict there will be a problem with some falling off.), I was very impressed with the bike. Even the seat was great. I think they have a winner here. I was less impressed with the '03 EV and Special. Those seats are still POS's. I'd like to punch the fool engineer who approved them. The bolts holding the riders footpegs on are tiny 6mm grade 2 bolts. There have been problems with these breaking suddenly over the years. Stupid design. A grade 5 8mm bolt is the smallest I would have used. Aw well... Have much work to do. Gotta get back to the shop. It was great to see so many of my friends there this weekend. But I am undecided about keeping the bike. Hope you all had a good weekend as well.

I had read that one suspected problem with the tachs failing is the ground path they use. They are grounded through a rubber grommet mounted panel and then through greasy bearings to the bikes frame. Not a very good ground path. When my bike was new I made a simple ground harness to ground both instruments to the frame directly. I like to think that is why my tach worked when so many others were failing. Electronic instruments don't work well with poor grounds. But, like all the tachs back then, it was only a so-so instrument to begin with. The new one works well. Better than the old one ever did. I hope it lasts. But I still need to get used to not adding 300 rpm to the reading when I glance at it.

Folks My 2000 V11S had the typical tach problems with that era of Guzzi. It read 200-400 rpm higher than it should. Mine developed a "stick" at 6.5k rpm that was annoying too. It would stick there as rpms came up and then it it broke free, bounced up and settled where it should be. Really annoying during the dyno runs. I filed for a new tach under warranty late this Winter since the bike's 2 year warranty would end in May. Checked in June, oops they lost the request! We'll refile for it! I called a bit over a week ago. It's approved and we're just waiting on the part. Yesterday I get a box from Winchester Motosports with a very well padded and factory packed tach in it with a nice note from Dana there to go with it. Oh Boy, finally! This morning I take my instrument cluster apart to swap the tachs out. I had heard of lamp housing failures on these bikes and had set up the cluster when new with tape and wire ties to hold the lamps together. So should the plastic bit fall free, it couldn't short on anything. This has caused intermittant shorts and many headaches for some owners. Damned if that tape and wire ties weren't the only thing now holding the old tach lamp together! Cheap POS! Glad I did it now. Kept it working. I never knew it broke! I pick up the new tach from the box in it's factory heat sealed bubble packing and I hear a rattle! I open it up and the bottom mounting stud is rattling around loose inside the tach! I can only assume it was busted when the factory packed it since it had enough padding that nothing short of being run over by a forklift could have hurt it! These studs are just badly die-crushed into place to begin with. This one was loose inside the case! I then spent an hour and a half fishing it out and cutting off the bottom 3/16" of the alloy extension stud (Used to lengthen the tacho stud to the forward part of the cluster where the acorn nuts secure them.) and using it as a lock nut to hold the stud in place so I could then install the remainder of the extender onto the stud and then finish the installation. The stud and extender are alloy and soft. Had to do this delicately. End result is a permanent repair but most of a morning lost in time. The new tach came with a improved lamp assembly. Nice touch there. More metal crimped around the plastic base to hold it. Bumping the old one would have knocked it loose! I didn't tape this one! Happy ending... The new tach reads zero when the engine is stopped. Old one read 500 when stopped. New one reads rpms accurately at all rpms and no sticking. Nice to see the improvement in the breed there. But the whole experience was killed by the bullshit, the long wait and then recieving a busted part that I had to repair to use! Lucky for them (And me?) I am also a machinist. I spoke to the Dealer at length about this. They will be filing my complaint with the importer. But I doubt they will even care. Here I am with a beautiful silver V11S that has never been in better running order. It is better now than when new! But I hate looking at the bike because Guzzi has soured the whole ownership of my last two bikes for me with their pathetic excuse for service. I plan to ride out to the Blue Ridge Mountains Friday for the Virginia Guzzi Rally. If the ride and some time cool off my temper and I fall in love with the bike again, I'll keep it. It was at that Rally in 2000 that I first test rode and fell in love with the bike to begin with. If I am still this hot when I return, you will be seeing my bike on EBay. All the custom one-off bits included. A complete package deal. Right now I feel that MGNA is so screwed up they could f*** up a wet dream. This has gone on with me for the last five years. I am pissed off and frustrated enough to now walk away from a marque that has fascinated me for many years. I'll talk with y'all next week!

Yeah... It sounds like all those Sparrows will be needing new seats! I saw one once in traffic in Norfolk, Va. I couldn't stop laughing for over five minutes. That was just the dumbest vehicle I had ever seen! I had to start refusing to recover or rebuild old Corbin seats. The resin they use on the glass pan gives me a rash. Also, the foam is co-mingled with the chopper glass they blow into the mold. A real PITA to modify or rebuild! I won't touch them. I'm booking mid July now folks, if you want a V11S or Lemans seat rebuilt. Contact me with your needs! Thanks!

There's a old post around here somewhere with pics of my footpeg conversion. I used 1998 Kawasaki ZX6R pegs. Very nice wide rubber pad on top. I bought a complete set of pegs and the springs. The Guzzi "hero feeler" screws right in. Same 6 X 1mm fitting. But you will have to make a bushing for the retaining pins. Guzzi has 6mm pin, Kawi uses 10mm. I machined one from brass for each side. With that bushing, they are a drop in fit.

Geez Al I'm not trying to rain on you as you have spent a great deal of time & money on the bike. But your Dyno graphs look very similar to what bike achieved with just a set of pipes, a PCIII and general map for the equipment! You have me beat by 2 hp, about the same on torque. very close on the power delivery in the curves on the graph. But mine has no driveability issues anymore. 33 mpg city, 41 mpg hiway. I have to wonder if 90% of your money & time went into the last 10% of the performance gain?

I calculated mine using the old technique of "Radcon Math". (That how we used to calculate does rates in radioactive work areas before going in to do the job.) ie; get it close. That's good enough to work with! I increased the length of mine by 1/3". Close enough was good enough in this case. It works better for me now. I still have quite a bit of that PVC pipe here. (Tomatoes haven't needed staked yet.) If anyone wants some spacers cut to spec, just ask. They're yours for the postage!

Ha! For a sporting tire, my stock BT57's lasted 10K miles! But they were badly cupped up front and the rear was worn flat in the middle by then. Darn good tire when new, but the tendency to wear flat in the middle from hiway riding made them unsuitable for me. If my Pilot Street tires give me 8K miles before wearing out I'll be very happy.

I use the Michelin Pilot Sport "Street" tires. Supposed to have a harder compound in the middle for better sport touring. Good grip and handling. I'm very happy with them. Only 1200 miles on them so far, but we'll see how they last. They are aimed at sport tourers.

Roller tipped rockers and proper shims instead of spings! Very cool! Theoretically at least, this set up offers many advantages. I wish I could spare the funds for it right now.

I too believe it was a bad batch used in some 2002 models. I can't remember any others having the problem. My 2000 V11S still shifts beautifully smooth. Best to ride the snot out of it to test it! Most seem to fail quickly if they are to fail at all!

I agree. I always do mine during the break-in maintenance. I have always found them a tad loose from gasket compression and the heat cycles the engine has gone through. After that? I retorque them every few years. Usually when I have a really boring day in the shop during the winter. Nice time to get up close & personal with your bike!

In cold weather (40 's and below) my old '97 Cali would never properly warm up. Gas mileage went to heck and it would sometimes even fouled plugs when riding in really cold weather. Ran fine. But gas mileage and plugs? Ouch! That was the nature of the beast. They all did it to one extent or another. My '00 V11S has no problems this way. Warms up quickly and gas mileage is consistent no matter the weather or temeperature. I'll stick with the new stuff!

Just a suggestion, never, ever do more than one modification at a time when doing this kind of tuning work. If you do, you are throwing too many variables into the equation to be able to truly see what direction the changes are taking you. Everything works together in a synergistic sort of way. Change more than one thing at once and the variables multiply like a gravel slide heading down a hill. Makes it very tough to judge the process & results.

Bravo Al! Very cleanly done! I tried to think of a way to put mine there but came up blank. Those bits of hardware are inspired for the job. Conduit hangers? As a mechanic, I never used them. I have to add that to my Library! Thanks Al!