Aftermarket Slip on muffler questions. V7

[MotoBug]

Tomorrow I'm thinking of fitting the ex demo Staintune mufflers I bought when I bought the V7II back in May. Any advice you think would be useful before I go ahead?

I'm a woodworker by trade so not so familiar with mechanics but my main concern is warranty related. If my V7II Special with 4300km on it has the thrust washer issue then can the dealer/distributor say the slip on mufflers contributed to that?

Other thoughts are, how likely is the risk of valve damage if they are causing it to run too lean? How do I gauge whether it's too lean? Should I definetly use the copper sealant I have or try without first?

As always all advice is appreciated. I've attached a pic of the demo bike that had them fitted and a couple of the mufflers themselves. They're more or less a straight through pipe but apparently the design was researched in regards to performance. Marketing blab? Maybe. Staintune website says they're 94dB compared to the 91 of the stock mufflers.

Cheers









https://staintune.com.au/products/moto-guzzi-v7-classic

[coastdude]

I fitted a pair of Staintune pipes the same as these a couple of weeks ago, I think they are fantastic and have improved the bike from stock significantly. I was a bit dubious of the claims made on their website about extra horsepower but believe it now + more feedback and aural presence... The upgrade was my wifes idea when she complained she couldn't hear me coming home as she could on the Ducati, she suggested I use my tax return on this upgrade.
You're in luck mate, they are better then the stock pipes and very easy to fit, I can send you a copy of the instructions if you don't have it. Andy

[MotoBug]

Hey thanks Andy, I'd appreciate the instructions. Great to hear it was an improvement for you. What version of the V7 is yours? I recall the demo bike in the pic I posted popped on decel. I was told elsewhere that the ecu might possibly readjust itself after ~200km but not guaranteed.

[coastdude]

Mine is v7II, I was told by Staintune that i would not need any remapping if air filter was still standard.
1.Ensure bike secure on stand and existing pipe is cool.
2. Remove heel guards on standard pipes and loosen ring clamps.
3. Undo main mounting points, wiggle muffler and it will come free.
4. Smear a light cover of high temp silicone grease on join between new muffler and header.
5. Fit new muffler tightening mounting point and ring clamp alternately.
6. Clean hand marks off pipes before starting or they may discolour.
7. Dont stand behind new pipes when starting for first time.
8. Check joins for leaks and tighten if neccessary.

[MotoBug]

Thanks for that. I'm aiming to do it this afternoon. I'll let you know how it goes.

[MotoBug]

Mufflers are on. I remembered speaking to the guy at Staintune a while back and he told me if it's a snug fit you don't need sealant. I figured I'll try that and use sealant if needed. You can't use the bike for 24 hours while it cures.

I fired it up and no problem starting. Not very cold here today at around 14 celsius. It's definitely louder than the stock pipes. Very punchy sounding without that stick in a tin can sound.

After 30 mins riding I'm going to go with placebo effect until I have more time on the bike. First impressions, I wonder if the bike runs smoother. Less vibration or coarseness at a couple of usually rough spots in the revs. Low to mid revs seems a tad more responsive and running through the rev range upto 140 seemed to get there with more ease than before. It feels looser if that makes sense. Again I'm thinking this is my brain telling me what I want to hear but would be great if not.

On the negative side there is slight popping but only occasionally. It started a few minutes after warming up so I'm guessing the richer mix during warm up period had something to do with it. The pops are much less frequent but a little louder than stock muffler. Stock ones kind of gently crackle popped on decel most of the time. When removing them I thought the clamp bolts were not as tight as I would expect so maybe that contributed to it.

The main negative is that it's possibly too loud for my liking. I'll give it some time and see if it bugs me enough to swap back.  Thanks for the replies. I recorded the sound so if I can work out a way to post it I will.

[malik]

[quote author=MotoBug link=topic=91923.msg1451058#msg1451058 date=

After 30 mins riding I'm going to go with placebo effect until I have more time on the bike. First impressions, I wonder if the bike runs smoother. Less vibration or coarseness at a couple of usually rough spots in the revs. Low to mid revs seems a tad more responsive and running through the rev range upto 140 seemed to get there with more ease than before. It feels looser if that makes sense. Again I'm thinking this is my brain telling me what I want to hear but would be great if not.

[/quote]

No, it's not your brain. It actually does that. At least it did so on my V7C - freed up the restrictions in the mid-range magnificently. The difference was stunning. Yes, there was still some light popping on the overrun. Note that when I changed the Staintunes for the Agostinis with the stainless Agostini headers it seemed to take a few hundred kms to adjust completely.

I just rode a V7III Racer, a V7 II Racer & a V9 at the demo day on Saturday - yes, they were all low mileage bikes, but the stock mufflers did feel restrictive. My notes on the Classic do tell me that the engine did seem to loosen up significantly at around 15,000km & again at 30,000km, but on the Special, I did not notice any significant change.

And if you do decide against keeping the Staintunes, please let me know - I would be quite happy to take them off your hands.

Mal

[timax]

[quote author=MotoBug link=topic=91923.msg1451058#msg1451058 date=

After 30 mins riding I'm going to go with placebo effect until I have more time on the bike. First impressions, I wonder if the bike runs smoother. Less vibration or coarseness at a couple of usually rough spots in the revs. Low to mid revs seems a tad more responsive and running through the rev range upto 140 seemed to get there with more ease than before. It feels looser if that makes sense. Again I'm thinking this is my brain telling me what I want to hear but would be great if not.



 Note that when I changed the Staintunes for the Agostinis with the stainless Agostini headers it seemed to take a few hundred kms to adjust completely.




Mal

Can i ask where you got the headers?
I have a v7 special with only 2k on it that im starting to mod.
Just put some K-tech razor shocks on the back but mufflers and a re map are on the cards.
Cheers Tim

[MotoBug]

Well that's good to hear Malik. I'll see if the bike adjusts with use. I've heard that it can from a guzzi mechanic. I recall reading somewhere about resetting ecu by disconnecting battery for a minute or so too.

[Yukonica]

Well that's good to hear Malik. I'll see if the bike adjusts with use. I've heard that it can from a guzzi mechanic. I recall reading somewhere about resetting ecu by disconnecting battery for a minute or so too.

I am certainly not one from whom you'd want to take mechanical advice but I've been down this road a few times with my bike.
The cans are different but the process is the same. Put on a set of Mistral shorties and initially hated them. The bike ran alright for about two hundred km then started farting and burping and generally sounding like a teenager's rat bike so I left off the battery overnight. I misread the advice I received here and rode the machine at a constant RPM for probably 150 km. At that point the bike was still obnoxiously loud but it ran fairly well in and around the rpm I had ridden at. Everywhere else it sucked so I put the original pipes back on re-did the reset and started over. Then I learned two things: there are decibel reducing inserts for my pipes and the reset of the ECU really requires variety of conditions to help it learn a new map. I rode all over the place at different RPM and engine loads (even used it as an excuse to ride to Skagway for some sea level mapping). Now I love the sound and the bike runs well except when the air temperature goes over 25C. This winter I'll buy a map from Beetle to finish the job. Start reading the Guzzidiag thread. Not sure if they have built a map for your model yet but I'm sure they have it on the radar.

[malik]

Can i ask where you got the headers?
I have a v7 special with only 2k on it that im starting to mod.
Just put some K-tech razor shocks on the back but mufflers and a re map are on the cards.
Cheers Tim

The headers I bought directly from Agostini Mandello in Italy. At the time they had had them in stainless & black painted for both the 2TB & the 1TB, and for both the Racer/cafe & for the standard (Classic/Stone/Special). Lately, they have not had all that they have made available & In August, Italy is on holidays. Do note however that I have not been able to fit the Mistrals or the Staintunes to these headers - the brackets don't line up - though the Agostini mufflers fit with not problems.

[MotoBug]

Yukonica, sounds like it's not been a simple process. Far from ideal if they couldn't handle temps over 25C! I'll hope the Staintunes aren't so fickle. If they turn out to be unsuitable I'll revert to originals and try Staintunes later with a Beetle map when the warranty runs out on my bike. 

[Yukonica]

Yukonica, sounds like it's not been a simple process. Far from ideal if they couldn't handle temps over 25C! I'll hope the Staintunes aren't so fickle. If they turn out to be unsuitable I'll revert to originals and try Staintunes later with a Beetle map when the warranty runs out on my bike.

The process was time-consuming but not complex. The biggest issue was I began with no knowledge. None: as in 'ignorant of facts'
Thankfully forum members are generous with their experience.
As for the 25 degree part, everything is relevant; my bike rarely sees temperatures that high; 15 degrees is pretty normal so if you began at 25 your bike may have performance issues at 35... don't know because I'd be hiding indoors.
Main comment: I'd start with a map from Beetle to match whatever pipe you want on your bike and everything else should fall into place easily.

[MotoBug]

In Australia any change to the mapping will void the warranty. Hence I'll wait until my warranty expires before remapping. In the meantime I'm in two minds about what to do. The Staintune pipe looks absolutely gorgeous and the sound is great but it's starting to run a bit rough and sometimes backfires if I blip the throttle.Sometimes a bit of black smke puffs out when blipping but can't see any smoke at all when idling. Noticing more popping too. It's only done about 50km so I'll try the fuse removal reset (or disconnect battery?) and give it more of a run.

[MotoBug]

Yukonica, After reset did you do the initial 15 minute idle without touching throttle before riding the bike through all the revs gears, usual riding etc? I recall reading that on here before.

[Yukonica]

Yukonica, After reset did you do the initial 15 minute idle without touching throttle before riding the bike through all the revs gears, usual riding etc? I recall reading that on here before.

Yes, by the second attempt I had been throughly educated on the process. (Thank you forum members)
At that time the Guzzidiag maps hadn't been completed so my options were push forward with the Mistrals or go back to the original pipes. Mistrals with baffles it was.
This riding season is almost over for me and my main winter maintenance project will be upgrading to the correct map.