V10 CENTAURO

V 10 centauro text

 

 

Hello Angel
I am located in Grenoble (south East of FR, in the Alps, not very far from Geneva Switzerland). Yes I have done all the changes myself and no I am not a mechanic (no diploma) but its my hobby. It’s the second engine that I work on. I have rebuilt a broken one for my bother in law.
Well, if your bike is only 11000 km there is little to do. Is it stock ? or already modified?
The are two things I would recommend to do are:
- remove the exhaust box (just behind the engine) and replace it with X crossover from Stucchi. two advantages: you can change oil without dismantling the whole exaust pipes. The bike breathes better.
- Replace the ECU chip with the one provided by Will Creedon (on this forum) It really improves the bike behavior mainly in altitude compensation (usefull in the Alps).
And that’s about it

Some advises and findings:
- Use 20W50/60 oil (highly recommended). I used till now 15W50 but a thicker one is better due to the constraints in the head cams
- Always fill the level to the max never below, you may disamorce the oil pump in hard accelerations.
- I found the that the Bridgestone BT020 on the front wheel make the bike much more easy to handle.
- Suspensions are bit tricky to adjust
- Grease the transmission regularly. Do not change it (they mention to replace it regularly in the manuals), never heard about a failing one.
- Excellent bike

When you will be around 30000Km you may want to check the state of the valves and guides (depends on how you drive) and the oil pump (known to fail).

I personnaly know guies that put more than 80000 km on it without trouble.

Enjoy
Jacques

 

 

Hi Plotino,
I own a 1100 Le Mans cafe racer and a California also. The Centauro I have since one year now. I bought it in Sth. Germany with 20thousand km. The pre owner exchanged the cam belts already. I use the Centauro often on longer trips, it runs great and never had problems. I am not a mechanic either, so I hope it stays that way...
In comparison to the other Guzzis with the additional valves, it runs and sounds different and I had to get used to it. I love to ride it and through the special look of the Centy (people love it or hate it, not much inbetween) it chatches a lot of attention-I like that too

Let me now when you are in Berlin. Stay in touch!
Glenn

 

No exchanged exhaust box until now, but I wanna change the exhaust system next winter for a better sound and look. I am using the Michelin Pilot Road 2 and I am very happy with them. I like to go for a higher rear suspension.

I also use a front windshield, cause I like to go long distances and I change the big rear mirrors to small ones on the ends of the handle bar. I am not happy with the stability of the seat. Also will have check the transmition next winter, because sometimes when the oil is very hot, I cant find the neutral gear easily.

My Centy is at the 25K km inspection in Berlin at the moment. Will get it back on Monday.
Keep you posted,

I Live in Houten. That is a bit SE of Utrecht. Utrecht itself is ~30 km S of Amsterdam.
My bike:
http://www.xs4all.nl/~rloef/Centauro/centauro.jpg
http://www.xs4all.nl/~rloef/Centauro/centauro-2.jpg
Pictures are from the shop in Germany where I bought the bike. The flyscreen is now gone and will be replaced with a sportsfairing with a Gustafsen screen.

Biggest improvement untill now: a replacement ECU from Karsten in germany. He will send you the chip for the price of an EPROM plus shipping costst (<< E10). Made low rpm handling of the motor much better

Have a nice holliday in Amsterdam

 

 

Hi Angel,

I Replaced the EPROM in the ECU with one I received from Karsten. This is not the Wil Creedon C5 chip. There are lots of alternatives to the C5 chip.
You will find that most of the german Centauro owners are using Karsten’s chip.

 

 

The only real issues are the shape of the seat, the shape of the tank, and the footpeg position.

The V11 foot controls solve the one issue. Convertibars will do the best job on the bar issue, just a matter of ajusting them back as far as you can to just kiss the tank at full lock. The subframe needs to be lifted a little at the rear, here are some plans for a shim.

http://community.webshots.com/album/546636344TYvElk

 

The painting job made previos owner as well as the leather seat. The rest of modifications are made by myself. They inslude carbon racing cans, cross over pipe, C5 chip, extra light Rizoma handlebars, clear optics front light and side indicators etc. Front fairing is moved 2 cm forwards and 3 cm upwards.

Hi Angel

I bought it from here:
http://stores.ebay.fr/MotoMoto-NL_Batteries_W0QQcolZ4QQdirZ1QQfsubZ16063748QQftidZ2QQtZkm

 

The world is my dyno. 1100 Sport iniezione elettronica -- the perfect merge of a superbike and a steam train

 

Welcome, and congrats on the bike.

Where in the world are you located - UK I take it?

I’m sure you’ll find that the gearing suits the bike once you’ve put a few miles on it - change at or just below the rev limiter.

The V10 ’box has a set of ratios that are unique to the bike and IMHO in combination with the 4 valve lump are just about the best streetable combination the factory has produced - use the torque and the whole rev range and you should find that two of the cogs may become redundant for general riding. Dave has grafted a 6 speed ’box onto his C but I like the V10 box so much I swapped a spare 6 speeder with him so I can use a Centauro box on a race bike.

I ride a Cali EV as well and the difference in engine output means that the gearing of the two can’t be directly compared on the street, (at least by me) - it’s not a swap which I am aware of anyone doing - maybe Guzziology will reveal the ratios if you seriously can’t get on with it.

Graham

Hello Graham!
I would like to acquire rear sets for my ’98 Centauro. Can you steer me to a supplier?

Thanks,

 

Check out the Matra pegs in the "For sale" section. I have them on my Lemans and they are the best. Really well made and thought out. I have everything John sells and it is top quality. Shoot him an email if you have questions about fit on the Centauro.
-Kev

 

Harper’s also has billet foot pedals in the original Centauro configuration as well as V11 Sport (same as Sport 1100). I moved the pegs back to the "porkchops" on mine and used the V11 Sport pedals. If you take the same approach, you will also have to get a stock V11 Sport brake pivot bolt.

Howard

 

I got those from Pete at Reboot Guzzi - source of all things secondhand Guzzi but in this case newly manufactured. http://www.rebootguzzispares.com/index.html?mainframe.htm&2

He ships worldwide.

 

 

 

this is it: the connection screw from the inside of the gear pedal to the joint broke while I was in gear 4. so no more regular shifting. I checked the construction-within the massive appearance of the beast, this is a filigran construction for shifting gears up and down... is this breakdown a common thing, any experience? I am thinking of getting a whole new set, if available-but than I have the same thing again sooner or later. Any suggestions?

 

http://www.swva.net/jkenny/

 

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Hi all
After reading the oil pump problems I am very concerned about my bike .
I have spoken to my mechanic and he seem to think it is more of a problem with bikes that higher Ks on them mine has 22000Ks .
So has anyone fitted an oil pressure gauge to there bike to keep
an eye on the oil pressure ?
Also what is the recommended oil pressure at idle and when at higher RPMs ?

Or should I just do the oil pump mod and be done with it ?

 

 

 

Hi,

I have done both. I used a VDO oil pressure sensor with low pressure detection to keep the light feature on the display panel.
The oil pressure I have noticed is dependent on several things:
- oil temperature
- oil fluidity
I also fitted and oil temp sensor.
Oil type 15W50
oil temp <80 deg C normal-high range 3.5-4 Kg/cm2
idle ~ 2kg/cm2

>80 - 100 3Kg/cm2
1.5 Kg/cm2 (idle)

Oil type 20W60
oil temp <80 deg C 4.5-5 Kg/cm2 (the valve should open as it must be limited to 4Kg)
idle 2.5
>8-100 4Kg/cm2
idle 2Kg/cm2

Cheers

 

This is the oil gauge I fitted to my centauro (Ryland version) recently. We had to manufacture the bolt that goes between the heads, but we gave the specs to John (Ryland). It fits to either the left or right screw on your instrument panel mount. It’s slick and good to monitor. Peace of mind.
-Kevin

 

It is not just bikes with higher K’s. I bought some parts from a guy that was parting his bike that had an engine blow when the oil pump failed at somewhere around 9 thousand miles.... Just something to keep in mind, and when it happens a gauge is not going to help much when you are turning 5k+ RPM unless maybe you have one eye glued to the gage at all times. It will let you know what happened as you are coasting to a stop on the side of the road and that is about it. I would like to have a gauge, just to keep an eye on things, but it will not help in the event of a catastophic pump failure.

 

 

I agree Joe with catastrophic failure, however, if there is something more subtle going on before the complete failure (i.e. gear shearing) maybe it will register as a blip on the radar. I don’t know if anyone can say for sure because I doubt many have a gauge that have had the failure. Please chime in if you have had failure and noticed or didn’t notice anything on the gauge. I personally would have it no other way on this known issue on the "BEAST".
-Kev

 

Hello,

I have made a plate on each side of the counters that fit into the fairing

Jacques

 

Symptoms:
after usual local ride around (fully warmed up, 45-90 minutes), noticed tach was very low; pulled over, cut ignition, turned key off, waited ~ 30 seconds, restarted with very slight hesitancy to crank over - tach OK the rest of the way home (NOT where I was heading.)

Let sit for several hours while emptying garage to reorganize; went to start (dead cold) and had No idiots lights, no headlight, DID not try to crank. Noted smell of something too hot - kinda electrical in nature.
Rolled into garage, removed batt. leads, measured voltage: 12.35 - it’s almost always 13.2-3. THIS was at 11:00 pm (beautiful moon and ~68 degrees) I haven’t looked yet today.

I’ve been rereading prior posts on failed tachs - noteing mention of loose (tach) grounds, broken bits shorting, etc.
My bike is fully grounded front to rear w/12awg cable, ecu seperate cable, diode installed.

 

Trust your nose. Check your fuses. Try to isolate the problem by idientifing which circuit is being affected. My guess is your blowing #4 fuse. This is headlight, starter, indicators, brake light and tach.
Good Luck...

 

Bad #3 relay!! (center Left)

To all of you who posted in the past with same/similar problems:
LOTS OF GRATITUDE!!!

 

Get the MATRA relays as posted in the for sale section. I just ordered them today myself. They are the best. OMRON made in USA (sealed or unsealed). They are amazing in the Lemans. The idiot lights alone light up like a x-mas tree now. My friend also noticed huge difference before I had them in mine. He will send all the test data if you should want to know. He does not work for them, but realizes the need for good relays in our Guzzi’s (and his). I have no affiliation with him, but have all of his mods and think the world of his research (and development).
-Kev

 

Thanks Kevdog-sounds like a great resource.
When I replaced my orig. OH MY GAWD - has it really been EIGHT years?!?
- yes 8 yrs. I bought enough for two complete sets of Bosch; so that was my source this a.m. for t/shooting & R/R

It might be good to post this guys info in the "Replacement Parts" sticky note.

Thanks again!!

 

 

 

Don’t forget to install the missing reg/rec earth to battery negative if the previous owner hasn’t already done it - and the additional subframe and ECU box earths if not there. 

---

Los amis te sugieren que conectes un cable desde el regulador a una toma de tierra (al chasis directamente.. ) si éste no la tubiese..., pienso que debería tenerla de serie  pero échale un vistazo por si las flies... Aconsejan hacer lo mismo para  la ECU (unidad de control del motor = la caja negra  )

Matt

 

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Hello, My name is Ed. My wife and I live on the California coast, dead center in the middle of Monterey Bay. I bought the Centauro as the latest in a 40 year quest for the perfect dual sport machine. To me, "dual sport" means able to cruise and to tour.
After trailering the Beast home on Friday, we took it down the California coastline on Hwy 1, past Big Sur to Lucia and back, about 130 miles/200 kms.
In all my years on bikes, I have never experienced nor even heard of this much power on tap - it’s like somebody miniaturized the motor from a semi tractor and shoehorned it in the bike. The bike was very hard to handle at lower speeds. I found I had to be in the tallest possible gear to maintain a semblance of control. Both exhilarating and terrifying - like riding a Beast
I also found the rear suspension to be overly harsh. I weigh about 165 lbs dressed out. With preload, dampening, and rebound at their lowest settings, my back was getting banged up on the bumps and still hurts as I sit to type this. Big Beast! I attribute this to the slightly cramped seating position and will be hunting for rearsets, as well as a softer shock.
Other than the above nits, the bike is an awesome, jewel-like piece of work, definitely unsuitable for mass consumption.
Any comments and/or fixes fellow Beastmasters?

 

Ed...I agree with you wholeheartedly about your first impressions. I too am 165 lbs and 34+" inseam. I don’t find the legs an issue, but the rear is pretty harsh even at the softest setting. The throttle is also quite "unsafe" feeling at first. Check my post on "twitchy throttle". I’m very new to the beast myself, but I’m finding more and more as I ride it I’m really settling in on things. Is it totally stock? Tell us about your bike a little if you would. Also, I found if you set the front forks equal to the dampening of the rear it balances things out more. I had to crank mine up much stiffer up front and also make them rebound a bit slower. It helped the throttle a lot to steady the front end from bouncing around. The harsh bumps are also now transferred over the whole bike, not just the rear end. It felt like riding a bucking bull before.
It is definitely a bike you grow into. It’s not for the faint-hearted nor for a rookie. At least I wouldn’t want to learn on this thing! As you get to know her a bit (and tame the BEAST) t is an incredible experience that sucks you in . Right now it may feel like you had your first date with Osama Bin Laden’s red-headed stepsister, but that will all change...trust me!

 

Yes - to all the above !!
Having regard to the suspension , are you only going to ride solo ?
If you are then a reduction in spring rate is worth consideration and not expensive. The stocker is 500lb. A friend whose wife rides a V11 (same set-up) eventually went down to something like 360 lb. She is light . You are not heavy yourself. If you will ride two-up then the stock spring you will probably have to live with. Road surface conditions do have a large part in this of course. The spring length is not an off the shelf length , (here in England at least) at 165mm free length but if you don’t mind a struggle ! you can get a 7" on .
It’s important to get the static sag right here. You could go down a little but need to wind the preload up to get the ride height.
The low speed "switch-like" low speed throttle response can be cured by an aftermarket Ecu from Oz.
Enjoy the ride ....eh Centy owners !!!! heh heh.
_________________
English Dave