So… having checked the back end of the bike, stripping , greasing and checking everything over it is all back together and I took her out for a little test rid. Which brings me to the next conundrum…
For reference the bike is a 2001 California EV that has been stood in a garage since 2013. And has only covered 5000 miles in that time. I have been changing all the fluids etc. which has been fun!
What I need to work out now is why it won’t start without the throttle advance fully on and even when warm will not tick over without the advance fully on. I have drained the tank, replaced the old fuel and it has new plugs. The throttle doesn’t feel slack but I am no expert on how it should feel. So my question what would be the guzzi process of elimination?
One thing to mention is that when I changed the oil there was a strong smell of petrol about it. I put that down (perhaps hopefully) to it having been sat for so n long. But I have run it a little the oil smells a bit petrol’y but I am perhaps being a little paranoid and I have a terrible sense of smell! Despite having to keep the throttle advance on the engine does sound fine and it’s not smoking or anything. Any ideas/ thoughts would be greatly welcome.
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Hi Blubbles,
Can you explain what you mean by the throttle advance?
Is it the mixture enrichener on the left handlebar switch?
Also, petrol in the oil is a bit concerning, we usually only find that where the fuel tap has been left on and it’s bypassed the carb bowls to run into the cylinders, not something that’d be a problem usually on a fuel injected engine.
Cheers,
Jeff
Hi Jeff, yes I mean the lever on the left handle bar. I assumed that all it did was advance the throttle. At least that is what it seems to do, it pulls the cable a little.
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on the petrol in the oil issue… I have another cali here. same model year etc. (interstinlgy bought by the original owners at the same time from the same shop!) so I had a sniff of the oil on the other bike and it smells the same… so i supspect that its my nose and a little bit of paranoia 
when I look at the throttle linkage/ cables etc they all seem a bit sticky/ loose so maybe that is my starting point?
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Hm… mine (1995) has the throttle cable and the ‘choke’ cable from the LH bar, which is separate, however you’re correct, it does partially open the throttle bodies for cold starting.
The system should then richen the mixture when cold, taking info from the air temp sensor, but that shouldn’t account for a smell of petrol.
As for not ticking over without the LH lever ‘on’, that sounds like the throttle bodies need to be balanced and set up and/or the throttle position sensor (TPS) setting u, although if it revs cleanly that may be alright, it’s just that they do break down with the years (as do we all!) 
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thanks Jeff, ok so that is where i will start. I have never balanced a throttle body before so it will be intersting!
Hi Bubbles I have 2005 EV which is fuel injected which also has a choke lever I never use it though. Your throttle should have 3-5 mm play before opening. Has your EV got carbs ? Did you replace the fuel filter as well.
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Hi Richard, now you mention no I haven’t replaced the fuel filter. I totally forgot! I did clean the filter in the tank. And it was relatively clean to begin with. But it seems sensible to change the other one. I would say the slack feels normal on the throttle, like you say about any 3mm.
The cable from the ‘fast idle lever’ (thanks Google) seems to have very little pull on the throttle body. It is only at the very limit of its action that it actually moves anything. Also I have just noticed that the metal guides that the throttle cables come through as they exit the controls are really loose and move easily. Is that normal i.e to allow movement at the handlebar?
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Hi bubbles sorry in not getting back to you so soon. Is your bike fuel injected or carburettor. Can you photograph the metal guides that the throttle cables come through.
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The throttle bodies are fairly straightforward to balance, although a pair of vacuum gauges are a very good idea - you can get an approximation by something like a 3mm drill bit to set the butterflies on each throttle body, however that is really rudimentary.
See here for a useful thread: Balancing throttle bodies
The TPS however, a thing I’ve left alone, as adjustment isn’t purely ‘mechanical’, it’s like a stepper-motor in reverse, so it incrementally gives a higher resistance value, not linear. Thus far mine has (thankfully) behaved itself.
It’s fuel injected.. I will have a pic of them throttle cable guides tomorrow 
Thanks for the link Jeff. I think I’m going to invest in some proper gauges as I have another bike to balance as well.
I’m waiting on a new fuel filter from gutsibits, should be here tomorrow so I’ll be going through all of it then.
I’m not sure if it’s related but when I’ve taken it for short runs, by the time I get back the fuel pump is whistling like an angry canary! I have drained and checked the tank, the strain filter was fine. But I’m guessing that the fine filter is probably 25 years old and has been sitting with old fuel in it for the last 10!
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I’ve had similar dramas with my 1995 (external pump) Cali, that filter is a swine to get at, recommend some fresh stainless screws on the clamp. The fuel pressure regulator is also a known culprit after a good few years, the OE is unobtainable, however there’s an ‘upgrade kit’ available from the like of Stein Dinse, or try what I (and others) have done with a variable pressure unit off one of the ‘online sources’.
See my recent thread and links for costs/sources.
Richard, these are the guides I am telling about. They are all loose and move easily..
Jeff, is there a way of testing the fuel pressure regulator? I will have the tank off today so might as well look into it if I can.
Hello Blubbles, unfortunately not.
The original Weber Marelli unit is preset at 2.5bar, the Stein Dinse upgrade will fit without issue, other than needing the hands of a very small person to get at the fasteners (as for the bloody canister fuel filter).
Thanks Jeff. Another interesting discovery along the way is that the original owner had replaced the electric fuel tap with a manual one. The one that screw in or out to shut off/ open the fuel line from the tank. Thing is it doesn’t do anything. Whichever way you screw it it remains open!
Ah! Yours must be more modern, mine has the two original taps either side of the tank.
Always ‘interesting’ finding someone else’s improvements, isn’t it!
Ha ha, yes! Interesting. the best bit was assuming that the tap was off and pulling the pipe off it 
. Then I thought maybe if turned the tap the wrong way only to discover it made no difference. many rags were used today!
The tank is off. The fuel pressure regulator is a tank mounted one so that’s not too bad. The filter looks ‘doo able’. What I’m wondering now is should I bother to triage all the fuel lines? Looks a bit more involved but likely worth it I guess?
I am enjoying this, but Sheesh, any ideas I had about simply replacing the fluids and using it for the summer have evaporated with the petrol.
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