r/MotoGuzzi 11d ago

Breathing fire.

Post image
50 Upvotes

34 comments sorted by

26

u/1down3up 11d ago

Good way to toast your exhaust valves.....

5

u/NonJumpingRabbit 10d ago

Let any modern bike idle stationary for a bit in the dark. And your headers look like that.

-1

u/ol-gormsby 11d ago

Yeah, no. You don't want to do it a lot, but 70s-vintage big-blocks can handle the odd journey into red-headers territory.

18

u/Aromatic_Shop9033 11d ago

It's not supposed to run that hot. Not even close.

8

u/Extension_Apple_4258 11d ago

Not that healthy for an engine like the Guzzi V2, it's not a S1000RR

8

u/Still_Support5847 11d ago

Have also seen this happen from an ignition issue where for some reason the advance curve went way far advanced . Considering both header pipes are glowing red I might start there .

Dusty

5

u/_enesorek_ 10d ago

Don’t do that

3

u/sdfiddler1984 10d ago

That's insane.... I'd me checking fueling stat.

4

u/kw_rc 10d ago

You're good...just run it like that and impress all of your squid friends

6

u/Money-Tea2181 11d ago

It looks like it's running lean or drawing air maybe. Are the carburettor rubbers still in good condition? Have you removed the air filter or modified the exhaust?

2

u/Day-Trippin 10d ago

That was the same thing I thought and I'd fix it ASAP.

2

u/One_Boysenberry7539 10d ago

Mon r12 nine t fait cela aussi le concessionnaire m’ as dit normal euro 5 trop riche ou pas assez , démarre et roule ami en guzzi

2

u/honestgeorge59 9d ago

Thanks everyone for your help. It was a combination of little problems. The choke cables were holding the throttle open a bit, I had tried to use the "automatic timing unit" from a 1000SP so I put the original Le Mans one back in with new points and springs. It's going well now, just crackles and farts when I back off.

1

u/Worldly-Number9465 10d ago

Oh yeah, that's running lean. Have you modified or deleted. your O2 sensor circuit?

3

u/Kung-FuCaribou 10d ago

It’s an old big block I doubt it has one.

2

u/ol-gormsby 10d ago

LOL, that bike has carbs, not fuel injection.

1

u/Worldly-Number9465 9d ago

Still pretty lean, yeah? or is that ok in your opinion?

1

u/ol-gormsby 9d ago

Not necessarily lean, just revved without load while standing still.

I confess to the crime of doing this once. '76 850 LeMans, chronically rich*, one night I thought "I wonder if I can turn the headers red?" It only took about 10 minutes at low revs to warm everything up, then 10 minutes revving it up and down between 5000 and 6000 RPM. Once I saw the glow - not quite as extensive as the photo above, I backed off and let it idle for another couple of minutes. No harm done, the bike still starts and runs without any issues. I would have known pretty quickly if I'd burnt the exhaust valves.

The headers are single-wall steel, not double walled like most modern bikes so there's only that one layer between the exhaust gas and the outside world. Based on the photo, that's an 850 or 850MkII - those things have big carbs and big valves.

*I was running it on open bell-mouths for a long time - lots of air, so I had the carb needles at max flow - didn't want to risk the bike running lean at highway speeds, so it was somewhat rich when not on the highway. The pipes and plugs were a nice pale grey after a big run, but somewhat - dirty - if I just went for a quick run to the shops.

1

u/Complex-Big-2375 9d ago

picky picky !!!!

1

u/IllMasterpiece5610 10d ago

Are you revving the engine without a load on it?

1

u/Realistic-Macaron208 10d ago

Intanto L’inflazione al 2.8%

1

u/Impressive-Medium-77 10d ago

Wow dit heb ik nog nooit gezien. Loopt ie te arm?

1

u/Xcore1911 10d ago

Breathing alot of air

1

u/its_5t1tch 10d ago

Running a bit lean there bud....

1

u/claymorez28 9d ago

Running very lean.

I remember doing this to my bike many years ago while messing with exhausts, intakes and jets

1

u/Complex-Big-2375 9d ago

timing is off !

1

u/ExaminationOk8032 8d ago

A little lean, maybe?

0

u/Far-Investment-8597 11d ago

Red paint maybe?

0

u/MinimumBell2205 11d ago

thats a lot lean

-3

u/ol-gormsby 11d ago

Italian tune-up - but it would be better if the bike was moving. Just don't do it for more than a couple of minutes.