Hello to all after a long absence! I am looking for advice as to what should be done to my 20,000 mile 850T3 FB "while I have it apart." Life situation prevented me from getting it back on the road two years ago, but things have improved and now is the time.
Taking some risky advice I drove it for several thousand miles on the original chrome bores. I am sure I didn't do any damage (popped a cylinder off the other day and the chrome looks perfect, I'm hoping the other looks as good) but want to get rid of the chrome bores before my luck changes. The bike ran ok, but in hot weather while loaded it would ping a lot.
I ride equal time solo unloaded and two up with camping gear. Also about equal time 45-55mph backroads and whatever the flow of traffic is on I-80 or I-90; between 70 and 80mph. I frequently travel in very rural areas and am frequently faced with the choice of 86 octane fuel or nothing. I'm a fairly conservative rider but I'm not afraid to really RUN the bike when needed.
Since the engine has so few miles for a Guzzi, I was originally planning on getting the original cylinders nikasil plated (someone recomended Millennium in Wisconsin to me) and putting in all new seals to stop the obnoxious oil leaking. Then I was talking to my friend Howard who claims his 850 not only has more power with his B10 cam, but also gets better fuel mileage, and he thought the next hotter cam might get better mileage yet, at least on the interstate. Since I live in the midwest superslab driving is a near requirement for any vacation... the thought of not only improving power but also fuel mileage is very appealing to me.
I guess the point of this thread is I'm looking for advice from more experienced people to help me get this engine right the first time. I don't want to waste money doing unnecessary things but I don't want to have to do things twice because I'm unhappy with the result.
In brief: Looking for a do-all bike that will see hot weather and camping loads, won't ping on crap gas, and will have enough power to be fun yet get 40 or more mpg cruising.
My current thoughts are stock pistons, nikasil plated original cylinders, b10 or slightly hotter cam, tight squish, and possibly dual plugging the heads (again, don't always have access to high octane). I know a lot of people want the 950 cylinders for the grunt and bigger carbs for the top end power, is it worth the dollars?
Any advice? I appreciate all viewpoints! Thanks!
Taking some risky advice I drove it for several thousand miles on the original chrome bores. I am sure I didn't do any damage (popped a cylinder off the other day and the chrome looks perfect, I'm hoping the other looks as good) but want to get rid of the chrome bores before my luck changes. The bike ran ok, but in hot weather while loaded it would ping a lot.
I ride equal time solo unloaded and two up with camping gear. Also about equal time 45-55mph backroads and whatever the flow of traffic is on I-80 or I-90; between 70 and 80mph. I frequently travel in very rural areas and am frequently faced with the choice of 86 octane fuel or nothing. I'm a fairly conservative rider but I'm not afraid to really RUN the bike when needed.
Since the engine has so few miles for a Guzzi, I was originally planning on getting the original cylinders nikasil plated (someone recomended Millennium in Wisconsin to me) and putting in all new seals to stop the obnoxious oil leaking. Then I was talking to my friend Howard who claims his 850 not only has more power with his B10 cam, but also gets better fuel mileage, and he thought the next hotter cam might get better mileage yet, at least on the interstate. Since I live in the midwest superslab driving is a near requirement for any vacation... the thought of not only improving power but also fuel mileage is very appealing to me.
I guess the point of this thread is I'm looking for advice from more experienced people to help me get this engine right the first time. I don't want to waste money doing unnecessary things but I don't want to have to do things twice because I'm unhappy with the result.
In brief: Looking for a do-all bike that will see hot weather and camping loads, won't ping on crap gas, and will have enough power to be fun yet get 40 or more mpg cruising.
My current thoughts are stock pistons, nikasil plated original cylinders, b10 or slightly hotter cam, tight squish, and possibly dual plugging the heads (again, don't always have access to high octane). I know a lot of people want the 950 cylinders for the grunt and bigger carbs for the top end power, is it worth the dollars?
Any advice? I appreciate all viewpoints! Thanks!