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Dum..Dum......Dum.. Dum.....Dum..Dum... Guzzi etc Dum...Dum...Dum...D um...Dum...Dum....B MW boxer etc
Lugging is a hard thing to describe/quantify. There's nothing wrong with running at low RPM provided you're not putting much of a load on the engine. I sometimes apply the least amount of throttle possible on a level stretch of road, starting from a stop, and shift at 3800 rpm for the first few gears. My bike just eats it up. Again...throttle BARELY open. Other than that, I shift north of 4500 rpm. Let 'er run.
Suffice to say GG, that a Guzzi puts it’s power to the ground like a cantering horse.Dum..Dum......Dum.. Dum.....Dum..Dum... Guzzi etc Dum...Dum...Dum...D um...Dum...Dum....B MW boxer etcIf you notice the second example, you’ll see that there are even dots (time intervals) between the bangs.Although both examples deliver the same number of pulses (basically) in the same time span.If you are pushing your kids out of the door to go to school, they will slow down in between pushes. The best way is to push them every 2 seconds.If you push them once then wait 5 seconds and then give them another one, they’ll have slowed down and will continue forward in a series of intermittent lunges...Once you get them moving at a pace where they’re about to crash forward on their faces, the motion starts to smooth out.Sound more familiar now...?
As to Huzo’s point about Guzzi timing versus BMW flat twin. A Guzzi 90 degree twin is a 270/450 degree engine in terms of when each cylinder fires. Imagine a steady drum beat, in musical time. beat, beat, beat, etc. A Guzzi is this:BANG. beat, beat BANG. beat, beat, beat, beat. Then repeat.
Shift at 5K rpm's and cruise at 4K & + rpm's. You'll like it and your bike will too. Rolling accelerations will be quicker.
I get it with the BMW, but calling my Guzzi a dum dum is FIGTING WORDS !!
Bottom line, have any of you ever seen a Guzzi engine damaged by lugging? Classic example would be a piston holed by preignition or broken rings from detonation.
They usually decide that the screen is 2.5 mm wrong in height, or the ‘pegs are a minuscule distance off perfection and sell the bastard with 2,300 miles added.
I wonder if the engine is happiest running between 4.5k-6k. This is on a V11 motor.
I guess it is easier to just run them 4K and up vs sorting out fueling/ignition/timing/TPS/balance/jetting/etc.
Again, I think it has a lot to do with fuel/ignition map (or carb jets) and tuning/setup. My Quota (v11 motor) is happy from 2000 rpms and up ... I can come out of a corner at 2500 rpm, roll on the throttle and away we go, no need to keep it 4k+ to be happy and run well. Many here seem to think there is some Moto Guzzi mystical thing going on that makes them happier when you spin them 4K and up ... I think it is poor running (due to poor setup) below 4K rpms vs mystical stuff. But ... I guess it is easier to just run them 4K and up vs sorting out fueling/ignition/timing/TPS/balance/jetting/etc.
Darren, that’s my understanding as well. Lots of people think having the engine turn more slowly is better for it, and creates less wear. No, you need to let it spin fast enough to be in the correct design envelope. Even if it will “run” at lower rpm doesn’t mean that’s better. Look at it this way. For any given load, the engine has to make a certain amount of power. If you rev slower, then each individual combustion event must the more powerful to pull that load (compared to a faster rev with weaker, but more numerous, combustion events). That’s why you have to have the throttle open more at lower revs compared to higher revs, for the same load. There is a point at low revs/high load where you are demanding so much power from so few combustion events that you are pounding away at the bearings, and sending high impulse shocks down the drivetrain. Lower rpm can also compromise the oiling. You are more likely to get detonation. Etc. In contrast, letting the engine spin at the correct, higher, rpm avoids all this, and does not “wear out” the engine.