GP FIRST RIDE QUESTIONS

[rrey]

Hi again.

I just wanted to share my first impressions on riding my just bought used GP. As I said in previous posts, I had a Corsaro for 3 years and was very satisfied with it indeed but I decided to change for something more practical for two-up and touring. GP was the choice.

In my first ride I discovered many of the details I had previously read in this forum (great!!) . Among them I must say I don´t like the instrument panel: small, you can´t read the rpm numbers correctly (just the bars), the FL indicator as 100% all the time, thankfully I had read here about it before otherwise I´d think my fuel tank would last forever!!. As well, it seems you can not display the rpm (in numbers) or the battery voltage while riding, is this correct or am I missing something?. It´d be perfect to fit the Corsaro/Scrambler panel to this bike but I don´t know if it is a plug an play operation or not or if this has been done before..??

Handling is good, not obvioulsy as good as the Corsaro for sport riding but it is far better than any other trail I had ridden before (including Tiger 1050, GS1200, KTM 990 SMT) . One problem I detected is ground clearance in bends, it is quite easy to drag the side stand which is a bit upsetting because it will get worse with two up on the bike!.

Gearbox and clutch is much softer than in the Corsaro. I don´t really know why!. It should be the same thing .. but the fact is that all is very soft in the GP, even finding the neutral which was difficult when hot in the Corsaro.

Engine is definately very good and fast enough. Very flat torque and not as jerky as the Corsaro at low revs. It is delightful to drive at 2500rpm with this bike and it was hell with the Corsaro!. On top end indeed is not as fast but it is enough , at least for me. Nevertheless I´ve read that some modifications can be done to the intake and exhaust to improve overall performance. Any idea of K&N or BMC air filter or opening up the airbox inlets to the filter for more air?.

As well, what about a de-cat tube for freeing exhaust flow ? . Has anybody tried this before?.

What about the Lambda?. Is it really a closed loop lambda?. It seems it is not because I´ve seen that the ECU only needs to "see" it connected to the plug (otherwise you get the engine light on) but I haven´t found any difference if it is in the exhaust or direclty to the air!!.

What about the Power Commander or the Rapid Bike? Any of you with it? I know it´s much better go for a direct ecu reflash than a piggyback but that is not so easy to find!.

Any finally about the tyres. I see there are not many options for 100% road use with the front 110/80-19. I am changin tyres in a couple of weeks and I´d like to go to the most sticky ones but I have no idea what is best for this bike among the few options available. Any suggestion??

I apologize for such large post. Lots of questions when on the new bike!!

Best regards

[nfitz]

HI Mate

I also had a Corsaro for a few years before moving to Benelli ownership and now back with MM on a GP. Ive owned a GS so able to benchmark the GP

Ive done around 400miles since owning it and have similar impressions ... side stand/centre stand can drag and the centre will need removing if I ever did a track day. Lack of working Fuel Level is rubbish for this level of bike so I have to run the trip counter and start to work out how many literes of fuel is in it and how many miles this equates to.

Heated grips are OK, seat comfort is OK (better than GS) Luggage is Hepco Becker and is OK but it would be nice to be able to remove the rear top-box frame without having to strip the bike down.

Performance wise i think if it had Corsaro full-fat power it would buck and weave a bit as with the large front/small rear rims it can get a bit unstable over 130mph.

I swaped the 3-4yr old Metzler Touraces for a set of the new Mitchelin Pilor Road 3's. Dunlop RoadSmarts are also availbale in the right size for a GP. The PR3's are excellent and especialy grippy in the wet.

[rrey]

Hi nfitz.

Thank you very much for your reply!. I do agree in all you said after my first 200miles o the bike. I must say I am happy with it so far. I had the Corsaro Special Edition with de-catted full Termignoni Exhaust and ECU and that was fast!... but very unconfortable for anything but track days.

About tyres, I appreciate your suggestion. That is indeed my main concern because I will use it 100% road and I don´t have a direct feeling of what is happening at the front as with the Corsaro so I need sticky rubber to be sure I can push safely!. Not many brands offer tyres available in 110/80-19 !. I will go for the PR3 then!.

Performancewise, in the mid term I hope I will make some modifications to improve top end but nothing radical as I love the bottom end and mid range

All the best!!

[Gedge]

when you say the FL indicator is reading 100%...you do realise that this is the readout for the heated grips..with 3 setting showing in bars,...the fuel level is only shown by the orange light bottom left hand side of gauge..(switch for HGs is on left hand switchgear lower front...


PS you must be a daring rider to drag the sidestand...I cant get even close to that despite trying hard for 3 years and 15000 miles....big respect

Just read again...I dont have a centre stand so maybe thats why the sidestand doesnt touch down

[nfitz]

Gedge - the FL must be "fuel level" as when I use the heated grips I get a second set of indicator bars above the "FL" to show the level of heat in the grips.

I just dont get the FL bars to change as the fuel level drops ... so is ther no fuel gauge on a GP?

[Gedge]

No its definitely just the heated grips...the bars you can see just show the shape of the gauge and when they are on the other bars show above this..

[rrey]

Hi Nfitz and Gedge.

Yes, the FL bars are for the heated grips. the Granpasso doesn´t have fuel level, jsut the reserve light. In general, compared teh the Corsaro I´ve had for 3 years, display is rubbish: tricky to display information, rpm numbers too small.. I was wondering if a Corsaro or 9/1-Scrambler dash could be a direct fit...

Tyres. It seems the Dulop Roadsmarts are very good for dry, correct?.

And yes, I drag the side stand sometimes, not everyday!. Never did with the Corsaro!. I don´t have centre stand.

Anyone with Power Commander or Rapidbike piggyback units?

[Red S]

I've got a Power Commander 111 and a ducati 848 lambda sensor in an effort to cure a low revs stalling problem after getting the updated ECU map from 3X. It was 95% effective although the problem has got worse again now the bike is due a service.

Before fitting, it was making 110 hp and 72 ft-lbs of torque. It now has 118 hp and 83 ft-lbs respectively, all measured at the wheel, and definitely noticeable.
I had it on my first track day at Snetterton, using BT020 on the front and BT021 on the rear (180 section) and it cornered better than many sports bikes, easily dragging the footpegs. Easy for the bike that is. I had my arse clenched the first few times, as I've not managed this on the road. I've not touched the side stand down so maybe I'm too cautious.

I'm still really pleased with the bike, and a recent week in the Alps riding as hard as I dare returned 41.5 mpg. It also gets lots of attention wherever it goes, and has just persuaded a friend to abandon his R1 after one short ride en route to Snetterton. Hopefully the stalling will improve after servicing, as this is the only real fly in the ointment.

[rrey]

Hello Red S

Thank you very much for your reply.

About dragging the footrests and not the side stand. For me it happens simultanoeusly!. So it is not you are too cautious, maybe the suspension setup is different.

Power Commander is something I am seriously considering, Shame it does not allow to advance ignition timing. It seems to me this is a big difference with the Corsaro. I´ve seen up to 40 degress advance in the Corsaro (with Termignoni ECU) at low load and not more than 25 with the Granpasso.

As well, I´ve checked that it makes no difference if you have teh lambda sond in the exhaust or not as long as you have it connected. AFR valules (measured with a MoTec wideband sond equipment) are the same. Is it like that in your as well?

Tyres: Do the BT020 / 021 offer better dry road grip than the RoadSmartII Dunlops??. I have to change tyres and this is the time to decide!!.

Thanks!

[nfitz]

Just back form a 500 mile round trip to BSB at Snet myself on Sunday!

For the first time in GP ownership the bike was cutting out when on engine overrun coming into junctions ... probably happend 8 or 10 times so I have to manualy keep the throttle open a tad to be sure the rpm is higher.

What is the concensus of opinion here to resolve this... Seen opinion change from fuel grade to change maps, to PCV and new lambda sensors. What realy works?

[lstrbrr]

Hi there

I had the same problem - engine cutting out when you close the throttle quickly coming up to lights, or even worse, a roundabout........ The last time it happened several times was on my way to 3X for the bike's service a few weeks ago! I told them them to fix it and when I collected the bike later, I think they said they'd adjusted the TPS (throttle position sensor?) . It seemed to cure the problem as it's not happened since, so here's hoping that was the solution. Worth trying it on yours.

Regards

Alastair

[Red S]

I will be trying the throttle position sensor and the fuel change if things don't improve after the service.

rrrey - I'm afraid you lost me with the slightly more technical talk. I've had the lambda sensor replaced by a supermoto tuning company at the ame time as they installed the PC111, but I haven't played around with it. My stalling problems have only recurred in the last week or so, once the service indicator came on, so I'm hoping the service will fix it.

I've not tried the roadsmarts, but they definitely beat the pirelli scorpions I had non the road in the wet. The pressures for the track day were 34 psi front and 32 rear, as recommended by the tyre chap at the track. This worked well. I normally run 35 front and 39 rear after a bit of trial and error.

[padgman]

I have used Roadsmarts for last 10k miles (1 front and 2 rear). Primary reason being ability to get good mileage out of the rear on a lengthy tour last year! I should also mention that I have the 180 rear (it came with it - a dealer's own bike) so choice was even more limited! Minor glitch on recent 2000 mile tour around scotland - coolant leak from rear cyl. A few drops as engine warmed up then dry for rest of journey. A real bxxxxx getting hose clip on but it's OK now and will last until service. I have had a QD pipe fitted for some time now - runs a bit cooler and rear bodywork has stopped melting! I also experienced engine cut-outs but dealer sorted it. Overall, 12000 more-or-less trouble-free miles in just over a year and a happy owner! It ran rings around Guzzi Stelvios and GSs on recnt trip!