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V85TT Mods Thread

The Great Madstad Project continues. After riding around with the Remarkably Ugly Test Setup for several hundred miles of back road, side road, and freeway, trying various heights and rake angles, using the good old hold-your-hand-in-front-of-you-o-meter to check the airflow, and measuring photos of the installation I had on my Tiger, it still seems like their setup for the 2011-2017 Tiger 800 could work for the V85, and I placed an order so I can give it a go.

If this works, I'll do a write-up with photos and lessons learned. If it doesn't work I'll just pretend it was an art project or something...
 
JC3 said:
It works like a charm. I bought a BMW R90/6 in 1976, had a toe/heel shift fabricated and kept it for 19 years. The Guzzi is smoother. BMW riders use to say the bike is not broken in for 5k miles. It wouldn't surprise me that it takes about that amount of miles for many bike's mechanicals to bed in. I bet yours gets smoother.
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JC3, I have made a heel/toe shifter for my V85 as well and love it, nice smooth changes no problem (17.5K on the clock). I do have PivotPez on my bike, I think helps with the gear change. Just have to be careful putting the side stand out as a couple of times I have accidently knocked it into gear, thankfully it just stalled.
 
I’m looking forward to getting the full system. I love the handling and usability of my V85tt, but it needs more power.
 
It appears that Madstad will be coming out with a system for the V85 around March, rendering my project to adapt their system for the 2011-2017 Tiger 800 moot. Oh well. It was still fun.

For the heck of it, here's what I came up with. It works fairly well, but I'm sure their system will be better. In particular, I imagine they'll have a much better baseplate design.

20210131.fig01.Outline.webp 20210131.fig02.IMG_4234.webp 20210131.fig03.IMG_4233.webp 20210131.fig04.HolesInUse.webp x20r60.IMG_4248.webp f20x60.MG_4239.webp x20r60.IMG_4246.webp

UPDATE: My final take on this project is that the system with the OEM windscreen as a baseplate worked great but looked 'odd'. The system with the 2011-2017 Tiger 800 baseplate looked great but didn't work as well. I plan a few more tests to determine why one worked so much better, but since Madstad is reportedly working on a system specifically for the V85, and have far greater design and test expertise than I have, anyone interested in going that route should probably wait for their system to come out -- had I know, I would have waited myself.
 
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Uncle Tony said:
TBH, I've found heated grips pretty useless when it gets cold. They certainly have their limitations but are convenient and offer some warmth on Autumn evenings.
These on the other hand are cheaper and will keep your hands proper toasty. I've used them as low as minus 2 deg centigrade and I was warm.
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Hey uncle Tony. Mine have chargeable battery pack inside and only heat the back part of the glove/hand. They’re good but too thick. I like thinner gloves. What are those and how did you wire them? Thanks.
 
Hugh, on each header pipe I loosened and removed both of the original nuts at the same time. The header pipe stayed in place and didn't move. No issues with the original flange gasket.
 
kiwi dave said:
Be aware that I experienced galling on 3 of the four exhaust studs when I used stainless locknuts on my V85. They were so tight, that I haven't been able to undo them even when held in a vice with a long socket extension.

I thought that galling only occurred with stainless on stainless, but not apparently so.
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I know I’m late to the party but.... since you mentioned it, here’s a great and quick article about galling: albanycountyfasteners.com/Thread-Galling-and-Fastener-Seizing-s/1248.htm
 
Chris Jessop said:
Hugh, on each header pipe I loosened and removed both of the original nuts at the same time. The header pipe stayed in place and didn't move. No issues with the original flange gasket.
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Thanks for the reply Chris. Nuts still looking good ?
 
Anyone using the Pyramid front mudguard?

"Designed specifically for the V85 TT to provide a caliper mounted mudguard for the front wheel without the need to remove your colour coded fork guards. A very subtle and effective way to protect your engine casings exhaust headers and lower bodywork."

I need something like this (or the Caponard Rally front fender). On my very first V85 ride yesterday, I rode through what looked like some water on the pavement, then I noticed the farm tractor pulled off to one side, a trailer and spreader attached. When I stopped a little further on, I found some nasty stuff on the front of the motor, and the pipes looked like they had caught a disease. I wiped off what I could, then when I got home cleaned the rest off, fortunately it came off pretty easily. Just have to scrub the headers some with Mothers Polish.
 
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Matthew Nuttall said:
Here is a picture of the V85TT with the 20" Madstad screen. It completely eliminates buffeting for me. The low position allows plenty of air and the high position is great when having to cruise on the interstate at 75mph or so.
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looks pretty good. How is the wind noise with this shield? I’ve used shields on other bikes that cut the wind away from my head and torso, but at the expense uncomfortable increases in noise.
 
PokeyGuzzi said:
looks pretty good. How is the wind noise with this shield? I’ve used shields on other bikes that cut the wind away from my head and torso, but at the expense uncomfortable increases in noise.
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I may not be the best judge for noise. I'm 50% deaf and wear 33NRR earplugs when riding. Wind noise has not bothered me with this setup though.
 
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