I finally got my Ohlin’s shock back from Anreani. The shock eye’s are now proper for the V7. Initally they were awful but…they ALWAYS set the damn shock for BIG guys and far too much damping. ROCK stiff for my 160 pound gross rider weight.
I removed the 60480-12 16-26 nm/inch springs and put on the 60480-50 12-14.3 nm/inch. That doesn’t seem like much but is in use. I more than HALVED the compression and rebound damping to 2 clicks rebound and 4 compression. I also knew from past Ohlin’s used on my 1981 MAICO, that too little preload puts the shock shaft too far in the shock body and seems to be in a super ramped-up initial damping region. SOGGY and weirdly STIFF.
I changed the preload to MORE, even though this seems backwards, and the initial bike sag was one-half inch (bike sag, not rider+bike race sag). Seems too little, yes? No reference on the Ohlins as they use the threaded locking collars (I hate them), but over an inch more pre-load than before.
Rode the bike. I didn’t want to get off it, excellent. All the harshness is burnished off and the road FEEL remains. Big G-outs and woops are in and out and the bike STOPS moving instantly. Wash boards are a gear higher before it gets ugly.
The daming being so light suggest the RANGE center is way too high for my weight and the springs I need. But, as stuff wears I’ll ADD stiffer clicks so no big deal. I lose the cool yellow springs, though. The classic Ohlins color isn’t available in the 60480-50 springs. Still looks good with the GOLD reservoirs kind of weight the gold on the front disc carrier. But who cares right now, it is FINALLY working.
The V7 is a hoot to ride. Near 17K and rising fast. Sure, I did a few things with it but that’s part of why it is so endearing. It responds to easy changes; brakes, forks kits, shocks and fairings. It doesn’t hurt it is such a pretty bike.
I did reference settings 180 of what Andreani and Ohlins do. There is no manual with them, but I used clicks from full counter clockwise OPEN, and Andreani and Ohlins suggest clicks counted from full (clockwise) closed. So we had a good mixed-up Email on settings. I figured out the goof when he suggested the shocks can move with the “closed" (full CW setting). I referenced clicks turns in from OPEN.
After we got that out, 18 out from CLOSED is the same as 24-18=6 clicks in from OPEN. I ended up seat of the pants at 4 rebound and 6 compression from full OPEN (CCW).
I did recheck RACE (rider+bike) SAG, and added more preload. I had 2.5” sag laden rider weight and 30% of 5” total wheel travel is about 1.5” so a little more preload. I’ll have the guys at the Guzzi meet measure it with me in full gear, should be close. Plenty of room to add more.
Galen
PS - on the Ohlins I have the preload doesn’t impact damping at all, just SAG for proper geometry and neagtive wheel travel into dips. The Ohlins shim stack adjusts damping based on fluid velocity distorting the valve stack versus where the shock shaft is in the stroke (which orifices are opened). This makes Ohlins set-up more foregiving to sag (more for geometry than daming properties).
Now I ride an F800GT. But my previous bike, an F650CS, I was looking at another one on the showroom floor at some point (in YELLOW…what a beautiful bike) and a random guy came up to me and literally said “Why are you looking at that? It NOT a REAL BMW.” I had ridden one to the shop that day and last I checked, it had the Roundel, so…
I hate that type of elitism within a brand. Same crap you see around the Sprout. Just go away. I know what I like, and I like what I know. (…getting better in your wardrobe, going one beyond your show…)
I judge each bike by itself based on form/fit/function. What’s a real Guzzi? The V7, the V85TT or the V100S? Who cares, just evaluate the F/F/F and go from there. Many new bikes use “sourced" two cylinder engines, suspensions and brakes. Which parts are “the bike" and which aren’t the bike?
In the end, there is no real anything. Honda, Yamaha, Suzuki and Kawasaki all makes so many engines, frames and style formats what’s a (fill in the blank)? The Europeans are fast catching up in model diversity. Are they less than what they were before or more so? Again, who cares. The answer is what choices are available and how using component manufacturing expertise on engines, suspensions and brakes make stuff far, far more affordable and BETTER. That’s the ticket, make it BETTER. Even the Japaneses are now using sourced premium components on model, and this once used to be the European’s way of doing things. Good ideas get spread around.
BMW has sourced some engines from Rotax for years; I don’t know if the parallel twin is one of those or an in-house design. It LOOKS like a Rotax but there’s only so many ways you can make one and mine has this odd, vestigial extra counterbalance on it and a firing order designed to sound like a boxer without the side-to-side rock that characterizes that power plant. All I know is it makes me happy, and that’s enough.
Don’t know. Don’t care. I twist my wrist and the bike goes “vroom”. It takes me where I want to go and as long as I remember to turn it off, starts right up every time (sorry, and thanks for the jump, Larry. That parking lamp draws a ridiculous amount of juice…). It can be off-putting when people choose to exclude, as my original story began, but there are few enough of us who choose to ride these miraculous machines that go way faster than evolution prepared us for, that we ought all be focused on our companionship instead of our differences. Just my 2¢.
Some people like to build themselves up by tearing others down. It’s the “purity test”. It’s especially prevalent in politics but the “purity test” finds it’s way into everything.
Recently I heard someone say that a particular model Harley is not a “real” Harley because bla bla bla.
I ignore these people.
The XR1200 got my heart rate up, but what really gave me palpitations was the Buell XB series especially the XB12SS and XB12R. Eric Buell’s transformation of the 1200 Sportster mill into the Thunderstorm motor was amazing. Redline was something like 6800 RPM but it was among the freest revving motors I’ve ever ridden. Effortless as an M1200. The XB12XT ADV is still the most comfortable stock bike I’ve ridden and, with its upright ergos, an absolute wheelie monster.
I had a Suzuki DR370 and that thing was a wheelie monster. It developed ALL it’s power right off idle to feel “big". And yes, it made my eyes BIG every time I tried to accelerate, worse than my orange 1976 Yamaha RD400. An after market throttle tube fixed the sudden throttle tip-in ( a car term, really).
My Old 1992 BMW R100RT was a grunter big time, signed off at 5,000 RPM. The two Guzzius, the V7 and V85TT both grunt or rev to 7500 super easy (need the shift ligt!) but do neither spectacularly so real peachy smooth engines, never a surprise. Ride it like YOU like since the engine is tuned so neutral. Some may not like that kind of SMOOOOTH power.
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On a weird note, my V7 is in the shop for a crank seal. I kept finding a SEEP, never dripped onto the floor. I never had to had to add oil even after 6,000 miles. It wasn’t 90W as that hypoid oil smell is distinctive. I though it was the washer leaking some or oil in the DEEP sump cooling fins and shedding oil but…I’d clean it up and it would come right back. The V7 engine isn’t a leaker at all so what’s up?
Enzo did a few things and said the oil is leaking out the clutch bell housing since this doesn’t need a gasket (all air and a clutch in there). The oil is seeping out the rear main seal he suspects. Guzzi OK’ed the warranty repair and Joe, the mechanic, suggested after he took it apart to replace ALL the seals, crank, cam window inspection plug o-ring, and transmission seal. Easy to do after its apart. My take was oil was all over in there and I coudn’t say THIS seal was THE SEAL. Why risk it? Replace them all. One was bad from the get go.
I was 50/50 on the clutch at 17K miles. I’m easy on clutches but said to go ahead and replace the assembly. Just 200 buck for that is cheap to do now as well. It wasn’t slipping and I didn’t see any sign of oil on it so I’ll just stick the original it in a box somewhere! Guzzi clutches go 100,000 plus miles ridden right.
I had a Friday beer night bike and one seal was installed crooked or got an edge damaged and seeped oil. I will say this, the V7 is such a good place to be tooling around and no, the V85TT isn’t like the V7 at all…so which is the “Guzzi"? They both are.
Depending on seal type, sealing systems can be deceptively complicated. Working one of many hydraulic pump sealing projects I was told by one of our sealing system SMEs that a lip type oil seal is actually designed to leak, which is how the sealing lip is lubricated. The balancing act in the system design is the pumping action to cycle that oil back to the oil side before it leaks or seeps to the air side. I never imagined the such mundane stuff could be so interesting.
I agree, stuff isn’t ever simple. I’m sure there are seal experts that will blow your mind. But, V7’s just don’t SEEP oil overall. Oil was eventually kind of all over so WHICH one is seeping? Replace them all and once and done as it goes. Clutch was cheap, start that one over too.
