Motomonster

Well, the RCS certainly helped my bike out a lot. I bought my 2000 V11 used and the front brakes were very inconsistent: sometimes they were fine but most of the time they were mushy. They were never great. New fluid didn't help. Jason at MI diagnosed it as a problem with the master cylinder. Over the weekend Greg and I tacked one of these things on my bike and the difference is dramatic. We also changed the front rotors to a thicker set from a Ballabio. Since my stock set up was obviously not working right, I can't say if it would be worth it for someone with properly working brakes. I can say that my brakes now work very well: the bike slows to a stop much more rapidly with excellent feedback. I tried both settings and didn't feel like I was going to lock up the front easily. I never even got the tire to howl. I can also say they work better and give better feedback than the brakes on my Ducati. I don't believe I'm invincible but I do believe my bike will now stop in a hurry if need be. If this makes me a deluded fake-ass racer boy poser, then so be it.

Yeah, don't worry. You made a great choice. In the words of Stefano, the Italian gentleman who accompanied us to the Malibu rally: "Ducati is a nice, but a Guzzi, ahhh, Guzzi is a special. "

I've started a new thread so as not to hijack this one.

Bob, I'll start off by saying that your impression is correct, in my experience. I have done a lot of fiddling with the V11 and it is running a lot better than when I got it. The GT runs perfectly, and I've had the shop do all the work. From reading the Ducati sites, most of the guys who try to tweak the bikes themselves are having a horrible time trying to get everything to work well together. As for the bikes themselves, I am a big fan of air-cooled twins and have owned nothing else for the past 15 years or so. The Guzzi and the Ducati are both fantastic, but they are very different. To start, my GT is not stock. In stock form, the bike is rather annoying. The gearing is wrong, the suspension is way too soft, and the ECU is under recall. So, a new owner must be prepared to sort the bike out for his needs. This pisses some folks off, but I didn't mind because I like to personalize my bikes anyway. I've switched the gearing from 15/39 to 14/41, re-sprung the forks and installed YSS shocks, and the previous owner installed Termignoni pipes and accompanying ECU. Greg Field helped me do some other minor stuff like swap out the clutch slave, etc. My bike is now perfectly suited for me and runs flawlessly. My only problem has been a dead battery. The bike is light and nimble and revs hard and smooth all the way to 9K. I had a dyno done and it gets about 89hp and 65 torque. The powerband for cruising is from 3K to 5K; from 6K to redline the bike positively rips. Fantastic acceleration. The brakes are decent, not amazing, but they work well for the weight of the bike and so won't throw you over the bars like the 1098 brakes. I can comfortably trail brake. The bars are wide and you have to steer lightly. Coming from a Guzzi Stone, I had a tendency to muscle the bike too much and I had to really practice toning down my technique so I wouldn't have to correct my line halfway through the corner. The ergos are very comfortable for a sporty bike. You are a bit forward for a cruiser -- and a normal standard -- but nothing too drastic. I just clamp the tank when braking and am fine. I took the GT (fully loaded for camping) down to the Malibu rally and back, about 3500 miles, and was comfortable the whole time. The bike was subjected to all sorts of conditions: straights, sweepers, twisties, super tight twistes, super tight twisties on horribly potted roads, gravel roads. The bike handled them all effortlessly at all rates of speed. I was grinning the whole time. The Guzzi isn't like that -- yet. To be fair, I am still sorting this thing out, but I've done quite a bit. I took both bikes over three local mtn. passes back to back one weekend and so feel I can make a reasonable comparison. As always, Greg Field has been very helpful in getting the bike sorted. The Guzzi was stock except for Mistral cans when I bought it and the filter was horribly filthy, so you can imagine how the bike ran. I've experimented with a number of set ups and here is where I'm at right now: dropped the forks .5 inch, CRG levers & mirrors, Phil's airbox mod, new filter, Powercommander, Raceco valve specs. I've done about 10 valve adjustments in the past week trying out different maps and valve spec combos. The bike is now running very well. The low RPM's are solid -- gut-punches of torque. I barely notice the 4.5K dip, and the bike has nice acceleration from 5-7K. This winter I'll get a crossover and a custom map. The Guzzi is obviously a heavier bike and I've had a few pucker moments trying to ride it like the Ducati, so I've been totally re-evaluating my approach to it. I have tried to emphasize low end torque and riding it in a way that utilizes momentum rather than raw acceleration. It goes fast, but it takes a little more time getting there and I try to keep the rpm's down. For some reason, I think because I need to improve the suspension (yes, I've adjusted it), the bike is more comfortable at lower rpm's, even at higher speeds. Riding it at 6-8K it feels like the bike can get away from me. Like there is too much momentum. Of course, I really need to bleed my brakes and clutch fluids, so I'm sure this has a lot to do with it. Also, like I said, the suspension doesn't handle well in those conditions. So, I have had to work on smoothness again, but a different kind. The bike responds well to "body steering" and since it's a heavy bike it feels great to slide over and ride the momentum through the corners. I don't have a feel for tight twisties yet and resort to a sort of low-speed counter-lean approach, which works alright, but I don't want to use it all the time. I think the front tire is the original (8 yrs old), so I don't trust the grip much and don't like the profile. I will swap it soon for a Pilot power and I expect this will really help. The more I practice on the Guzzi, the more I love it. I love the low torque and using it to pull me through the corners. I am getting the feel of how to coordinate the clutch, throttle and brakes to operate the bike smoothly and the more it becomes second nature, the more confident I become. So, in the end, the Guzzi is more fun at lower speeds while the Ducati likes to be ridden a bit faster. At times, daily traffic feels unbearably annoying on the Duc, while on the Guzzi, it's fun to just cruise along on this massive cloud of torque. The Guzzi is fun to ride fast, but mostly if there isn't a lot of traffic to pass or cut through. Of course, as I said, my assessment will likely change as I continue to improve the bike and the bike continues to improve me.

Sure, I could say a lot, what specifically do you want to know?

This site has been valuable for me. I bought a 2000 V11 about a month ago and have been combing this site for info, tricks and fixes. Thanks all.

If everything goes right I should be able to get another bike next summer. At the top of my list is an S4R. I've heard a lot of good things about the performance and maintenance. I've got the "Moto" part covered, this would get me up to date on the "monster".

Very nice. Where's the battery & relays? Stuffed behind the seat?

Nice pix. Looks like a fun trip (and monster house!). I didn't realize he had so many bikes.

Thanks. I've seen worse flaming. It is a shame to break up that bike.

?? Which thread is this?

I yanked mine out and just screwed some bolts into the holes. No big performance diff that I can tell, but the less junk on my bike the better, IMO.

TX, the most frightening thing about you is the possibility that you are totally serious.

I got the free stuff. No sense in taking apart a perfectly good working motor for an aesthestic problem. Mine isn't that bad. In a few years, I may strip it all off and leave it that way. I like it better that way anyway.

There's a place on 130th and Aurora that's pretty good. I don't recall the name offhand. Why? You getting ready for your luch hour?

Ray is Gooddog over here and I'm pretty sure his lawyer beat the ticket. I think Enzo actually did too, but I don't have proof.

Watch out TX. He'll be your supervisor in a couple of weeks.

I think Enzo is right and they should just give the motor to Buell and go back to making mammoth cruisers. Although, I did see a cable special on how they developed it and it was pretty impressive -- or, more precisely, they were pretty impressed with themselves.

I don't listen to anything. Music along with road noise would be too tiring. I just stick in some earplugs and enjoy the scenery.

How about a man/goat in his underpants?

Spoken like a true Australian!

Hear, hear. That's very brave of all of you. Thanks, Martin.

Sorry to hear that, Dave. You had some nice dogs and I know you and your wife really loved them.

That's it. I'm ordering a roadcrafter suit ASAP.

George Dean. He mostly does Japanese racing bikes, but he'll slum it and do a Guzzi. http://www.soundrider.com/Dealers/SCS/