Oil Changes

New GRiSO owner here, I have an 06.
Do you change your own oil? Are there any tutorials out there with instructions? Do you stick with the 6200miles/10,000 KM interval?
I was told that it had to be done at the dealership so they can adjust the valves at the same time. Is that true?
Thanks for the help.

Hi fmrima, Welcome,  Someone will be along soon to help I'm sure.  
Maybe best to post an introduction here     [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]  , click on new topic etc etc,  and a pic of your bike too , we like Pics.
Have you serviced bikes before ?

What waterbottle said.

Oh, and are you in Washington State or Washington, D.C.?

Bill

The 10,000 Km or yearly oil change interval is fine as long as you use a suitable lubricant for each lump.

As for valve lash? Yes, 10,000 Km is a safe bet and when you do that you'll need to balance the TB's and recalibrate the TPS too. All this stuff is not hard and people will fall over themselves to help you.

A manual will show you where the drain plugs are and a filter wrench is available for pennies at 'Wottalottacrap auto'.

Pete

Hi Waterbottle,
Thanks for the notice, I will post a thread there later today. I do minor service on my bikes, I've always changed my oil in the past, but I've always had carbureted bikes before, this is my first jetted bike. I wouldn't say I'm a mechanic by any means, but I can do basic stuff.
Bill, I'm in WA state, I updated my profile.
Pete, I use synthetic oil, I do know where the drain plug and the filter are, but don't have equipment for balancing and recalibrating. Is this synonymous to adjusting the valves?

When you adjust the valves you alter the cam timing. This means that the engine breathes slightly differently so the balance will change. W5AM controlled Guzzis, (The W5AM is the type of ECU.) are particularly sensitive to throttle body balance deficiencies. While the bike will still run it won't run optimally and may exhibit some odd behaviours like idling high and vibrating more than it should.

Pete

fmrima wrote:

Hi Waterbottle,
Thanks for the notice, I will post a thread there later today. I do minor service on my bikes, I've always changed my oil in the past, but I've always had carbureted bikes before, this is my first jetted bike. I wouldn't say I'm a mechanic by any means, but I can do basic stuff.
Bill, I'm in WA state, I updated my profile.
Pete, I use synthetic oil, I do know where the drain plug and the filter are, but don't have equipment for balancing and recalibrating. Is this synonymous to adjusting the valves?

You may want to download GuzziDiag & get the correct cables to connect bike to computer. Beetle will probably chime in here & give you some pointers & links to get the correct stuff. GuzziDiag is free software that allows you to look at what is happening inside your bike & also to upload new maps to the computer. Amazing software & you don't need a super computer to run it pretty much any old machine will be ok.

You will also want to study up on synchronizing the throttle bodies & balancing them. Sync is a mechanical adjustment & balancing requires a tool.

In the beginning it is a bit of a mind boggle or at least it has been for me coming off of carb'd bikes & really not wanting to have anything to do with technology BUT it really is pretty simple once you have done it a few times.

Introduction done!
Pete, what you described there sounds like what my bike does. I've attached a video of it when idle. The variation in RPM is even more when it's hotter and it has a general vibration to it.

Red Dog, I've looked at the GuzziDiag, it's pretty neat stuff. I also found Beetle's tutorial. I am more comfortable with software than I am with mechanical parts, so maybe this won't be so bad.

Are both of the air bleeds open? Betcha they are! Needs a tune up.

fmrima wrote:

I am more comfortable with software than I am with mechanical parts, so maybe this won't be so bad.

Why you gotta be on the west coast? I'm the opposite, the tech side baffles me.

Pete, the natural response is... where are the air bleeds and how can I tell if they're open?
Red Dog, with our powers combined....

If you look at the outside of your throttle bodies there are two *Tubes* cast into the bodies themselves. If you stick a flat bladed screwdriver up in the rearmost tube you'll find it engages with a screw. If the screw is closed it will only move in an anticlockwise direction. If it can move both clockwise and anti clockwise then the air bleed is open.

With the W5AM system the idle speed is controlled by an 'Air over idle' system. The target idle speed is programmed into the ECU and is a non adjustable parameter. The way it is controlled is by a stepper motor which is essentially a solenoid valve that controls how much air is passed into the inlet manifolds. The more air the leaner the mixture and the higher the engine speed.

OK, I can hear you thinking. What has this got to do with the air bleeds on the throttle bodies? Well because the amounts of air being flowed are very small correct set up and tune is vital for the system to work efficiently.

This means you have to balance the throttle bodies accurately and really, nothing could be simpler but you do need a manometer of some sort to balance the throttle bodies and a tool like Guzzidiag to reset the TPS after balancing.

So connect up your vacuum gauges or manometers of some sort. Most of the blokes here use the Morgan Carbtune. It's a grouse took and not expensive. Warm up the engine and close bothe the air bleeds. You don't need to crank them tight shut! Just close them so the screws are seated with a light tweak. Connect your diagnostic tool, (Guzzidiag.) and look at the live data. Check the TPS reading, on an 1100 it should be 4.6 I believe. If it isn't? Kill the motor with the kill switch and re-set the TPS, then re-start the motor.

Next step is to run the motor up to 3,500-4,000RPM and using the screw on the bell crank on the LH throttle body balance the manifold vacuum by turning the screw one way or the other.

Once the high speed balance is set allow the throttle to close fully and check the TPS reading. Because the TPS is on the RH throttle body when you move the screw on the bell crank on the left TB it will change the TPS value. So once again you need to re-set the TPS. Once that is done look at your balance tool/manometer. It is almost certain that one cylinder will be showing a higher manifold vacuum. On that side and that side only you open the air bleed until both sides reach equilibrium.

Kill the motor using the kill switch. Re-set the TPS one last time just to be sure, clear the trims, (Re-set auto learning parameters.). Disconnect your balance tooling and Guzzidiag. Put the balance port screws back in and go ride.

The reason why it is very important that only ONE air bleed be open is that while you can maintain idle balance equilibrium with both screws open if they are both open far more air than necessary will be being passed. This leads to a lean condition so the idle will rise. The ECU will recognise this and will try to cope with it by slamming the stepper shut. Because the stepper is a fairly crude device it will tend, if the tune isn't right, to overcompensate so the mixture goes too rich, the idle falls below the target it is programmed for and once again the ECU panics and throws the stepper wide open! The mix goes lean and the cycle repeats itself ad-infinitum. The result is exactly what you see in the video. An idle speed that constantly surges up and down, up and down, up and down!

Tune the bike fully and correctly and the problem should vanish but if someone has messed with the throttle stop screws or the linkage rod between the TB's? All bets are off!

Pete

PS. The set up for the larger TB's on the 8V is the same but the air bleeds are inboard of the TB casting and require a 5mm allenkey to adjust.

Pete that was exactly what I was looking for on how to balance TB- I will save this thread for next tune up. Thanks

Can you post in tech archives?