Rocker59's Spine Frame Chronicles...

[Chuck in Indiana]

What a great old bike.  It's been months since I've ridden it.  The new batteries fired it right up this afternoon.  Rode it to the gas station and filled up, then rode some backroads near home.  The bike started and idled just great!  Glad it's back on the road!

Now, I need to do a few more miscellaneous things to get it ready for Colorado.  Tires, oil change, and a few piddly things.

 :bike

Don't forget that extra ground..

[rocker59]

Don't forget that extra ground..

You think the Sport 1100 needs it, too ?

[Chuck in Indiana]

You think the Sport 1100 needs it, too ?

*every* bike with the Ducati alternator needs it. Losing the ground in Guzzi's tenuous wiring is what causes the rectifier to let out it's magic smoke.

[Travlr]

What metal gas tanks would fit a V11 Sport?

Daytona?  Sport 1100?  other?

travlr

[rocker59]

What metal gas tanks would fit a V11 Sport?

Daytona?  Sport 1100?  other?

travlr

Tanks are the same for the Daytonas and Sport 1100s.  There are differences in fittings on the bottom for the carb vs. injected bikes.

I'm sure you could make a Sport 1100i / Daytona tank work on a V11 Sport, but would probably require some fiddling.  If it's a later V11 Sport with internal fuel pump, then you would have to deal with that issue, too.

[oldbike54]

Michael, this means you are good to go for Cedarvale ?
Dusty

[rocker59]

Michael, this means you are good to go for Cedarvale ?
Dusty

We'll be there, one way or the other.

[rocker59]

Time for new tires on the Sport 1100.  The Pirelli Diablo Strada was a fine tire, but it never was a great handler.  And, it got worse with age.  I have missed the performance of the Bridgestone BT-014 I've run in the past, but not the short life.  Well, last year Bridgestone introduced the T30, a sporty sport-touring radial to replace the BT-023.  I read some reviews and decided to give them a go.

I ordered a set from American Motorcycle Tire and had them delivered to my house.  This morning, I had my friend at the local Honda shop mount them up for me.









Jesse was able to mount the tires while I waited, which was nice.  He was in between PDI-ing those Honda Goldwing custom things.  Whatever they're called.

After getting the wheels remounted on the bike, I took it for a short test ride, and Man!  What a difference!  Yes, there is always a joyful difference from worn tire to new tire, but these T30 Bridgestones really handle!  I took the bike on a twisty county road for about 10-miles.  50-60 mph type of road.  These new tires have a nice, light feel and offer good feedback. I can't wait to really put them to the test on the next lunch ride.

 :bike

[Blueboarhound]

I'm jealous, my Sport likely will not see blacktop before next year. Twist your throttle for me.....

[rocker59]

I'm jealous, my Sport likely will not see blacktop before next year. Twist your throttle for me.....

I rode with no earplugs on the 10-mile loop.

The Staintunes were glorious at 5,000 rpm !!!

 :bike

[Chuck in Indiana]

I rode with no earplugs on the 10-mile loop.

The Staintunes were glorious at 5,000 rpm !!!

 :bike

Staintunes rox..  ;-T

[LowRyter]

what? 

[Chuck in Indiana]

Lemme turn up my hearing aids.

[jknight611]

I have a intermittent tail light on my Carb Sport. Being bone lazy can anybody tell me if there is a relay for the tail light? The brake light works.  I keep planning to remove the cowl and double check the connectors.  The socket seems to be OK,  and it seems to work when near home.  I went to a bike night in New Orleans last month and it was out for the 110 mile trip home.  A nice policeman mentioned to me it was out. 

All the best
Jay 

[rocker59]

My bet is either the socket or the bulb are at fault.  Those old 1157 sockets aren't the greatest.

[rocker59]

Oh, and the Sport has finally turned 30...   30,000 miles, that is. 

Bought it new in March 1997.  For most of its life, it's been a second bike for me.  First in fun, though!   :bike

[Kiwi_Roy]

The tail light comes from a different contact of the ignition switch. A friend had the same problem with his LeMans  I told him to check the switch contacts, it turned out the wire had broken off with the constant flexing but check for power at the socket first as Mike says.

The reason for the seperate contact is for parking, in the Park position the light is ON but ignition is OFF, it should also go to the small lamp in the headlight.

 

[Chuck in Indiana]

For whatever reason, the Centauro used to eat up tail light filaments. <shrug>

[jknight611]

Thanks guys, I plan to remove the seat cowl and do some basic troubleshooting.  I found a wiring schematic, that'l
Help.  It has been basically trouble free save for the mondo carbs. Just replaced the timing chain and tensioner due to a "noise" in the gear case.  The bike now has 61,XXX miles and I wouldn't have a problem gulping a Advil and strike out across the country!

Jay

[Greenman]

30,000 miles, I've just passed 82k kilometres on mine. How far have you pushed those forks through the yokes? I've recently set mine to 25mm and it certainly has quickened up the steering.

[rocker59]

30,000 miles, I've just passed 82k kilometres on mine. How far have you pushed those forks through the yokes? I've recently set mine to 25mm and it certainly has quickened up the steering.

On my Sport 1100, I've lowered the front 20mm / 0.8 inch.

[Greenman]

from what I can see the only limitation is the possible interference between the mudguard and the fairing. If I could I would drop it even more, but 25mm seems a good place to leave it. For what is basically a free mod it certainly makes a huge difference.

thanks
Dennis

[Aaron D.]

Dropping the front has been a real lesson in steering geometry, a lesson which Johnr posted in another thread.

It finally cured the front-end deflection problem I was having on fast, very bumpy corners. I am considering a further drop, I'm currently between you two at the moment.

[Chuck in Indiana]

Thanks guys, I plan to remove the seat cowl and do some basic troubleshooting.  I found a wiring schematic, that'l
Help.  It has been basically trouble free save for the mondo carbs. Just replaced the timing chain and tensioner due to a "noise" in the gear case.  The bike now has 61,XXX miles and I wouldn't have a problem gulping a Advil and strike out across the country!

Jay

I assume the harness is similar to the V11 spineys. There's a 4 pin connector toward the left front of the tank where you can check power going to the tail light. As Roy mentioned above, it's probably an almost broken wire in the ignition switch. Removing the seat cowl is pretty much a waste of time, don't ask me how I know.. ;D

[Phil_P]

I have a intermittent tail light on my Carb Sport. Being bone lazy can anybody tell me if there is a relay for the tail light? The brake light works.  I keep planning to remove the cowl and double check the connectors.  The socket seems to be OK,  and it seems to work when near home.  I went to a bike night in New Orleans last month and it was out for the 110 mile trip home.  A nice policeman mentioned to me it was out. 

All the best
Jay 

If its the same as the Sportie, then the Ducati monster tail light is the same, and there are plenty after market LED versions out there.

My money is just bad contact between the bulb and fitting, they really are quite poor.

Phil

[rocker59]

yeah.  Sport 1100 tail light is same as Ducati Supersport  Monster.

[Aaron D.]

OK, back to the topic of dropping the front, and combining it with another Carb Sport "issue"-

The stories of fifth gear failure have been attributed to bad heat treatment of fifth gear. This makes no sense to me.

But-early on I saw that the Sport transmission needs more oil to get the level up, not to the level plug, but to the point that the gears visible through the fill plug would pick up lube. And fifth is further back yet!

And..I rechecked my oil level after dropping the front-and again it was leaving the rearmost gears dry.

The Sport transmission, when the bike is sitting on its wheels, slopes toward the front. All other Guzzis I've owned have either been level, or sloped to the back.

A Sport ridden hard will have oil sloshing back and forth under acceleration and braking. A Sport ridden in "SofCoq" fashion will have a fifth gearset running with reduced lubrication.

I would recommend checking that your layshaft is picking up lube, especially after dropping the front of the bike.

[rocker59]

Worth checking, but I doubt most of the failures were from lowered bikes.  Most of the Sport 1100s I've seen have not been lowered in the front.

And, any acceleration or upward incline in the road is going to move oil towards the back of the transmission.

I just measure the recommended amount of Mobil-1 75w90 gear lube into a mixing cup and pour it into the transmission.

[cruzziguzzi]

Worth checking, but I doubt most of the failures were from lowered bikes.  Most of the Sport 1100s I've seen have not been lowered in the front.

And, any acceleration or upward incline in the road is going to move oil towards the back of the transmission.

I just measure the recommended amount of Mobil-1 75w90 gear lube into a mixing cup and pour it into the transmission.

I'd also guess that lots and lots of moderate to hard on and off throttle at cruising speed without a cush drive does its fair contribution to failure.

[Doug McLaren]

Does dropping the forks make a big difference? I've just changed the wheel bearings, steering bearings and outer drive box bearing on my Sport 1100, also drained the sludge from one fork leg and the gnats p*ss from the other, put the correct quantity of fork oil in and the handling has been, unsurprisingly, transformed. It used to stand up in a bend if I backed off the throttle by even a small amount and just felt generally vague. Lots better now but still feels like it needs a lot of input to make it turn.