P11 ride to Leavenworth

Rode my P11 from NE Seattle over Stevens Pass (4062' elevation) on HWY 2 to Leavenworth WA today. 218 miles round trip. It was a plug test. Most of the ride is fairly steady speed in the 50-70mph range with a few sweepers. I'm still getting over 60MPG with the 35mm Keihin FCRs. Plugs look like they did when I took them out of the box with just a little color on the ground electrode. Probably a little lean. Runs great though.

Here it is with the Wenatchee river in the background. Color appears all fugged up on my laptop. The bike is metallic candy apple red.



I usually complain about the little 7" x 1" drum brakes on this bike, but now that I have no big disc brake modern bikes left to compare them too, the little brakes work alright for my slower pace. I never went over 80MPH.

Wondering what your sweet spot is for open traffic cruising before the vibrations become too annoying? The faster you'd go the more they would buzz, shedding parts after awhile. The several I've ridden were best under 65 mph. Good looking special by the way.

jerrykap said:

Wondering what your sweet spot is for open traffic cruising before the vibrations become too annoying? The faster you'd go the more they would buzz, shedding parts after awhile. The several I've ridden were best under 65 mph. Good looking special by the way.

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Good question. For me it doesn't get annoying until around hour 3 when my hands and butt would prefer I stop for a while. Crank is lightened and balanced at 80%. Bars are filled with silicon. With the factory balanced crank vibration was greater. How it works: In 4th it starts to get up on the cam and smooth out around 70 mph under acceleration, but I can't ride it there all the time with the darned exhaust being as loud as it is, and the speed limits. I keep forgetting to put in my ear plugs. Anyway I would agree that it is a nicer ride at a lower speed. Probably best around 57 mph in 4th on flat ground, but I'm too far off the sweet spot for the 35mm carburetors at 57 mph unless I'm in 3rd, and then the exhaust is back in my right ear. It would be a better overall cruiser with the next step down 33mm FCR carburetion. I can live with what I have, but a pair of 35mm carburetors is overkill for the street.

Today I'll be cleaning the road grime off and checking how tight the nuts and bolts are, so I'll be ready for another ride.

Since I've got you here so to speak, which breather related hose is supposed to be attached to the upper foam tower hose connection pointing toward the rear on the oil tank? Is it the vent hose to atmosphere (chain oiler) or hose from the timed cam breather? I actually don't have a chain oiler or a cam with a timed breather, but still want to know how it should be connected in a stock configuration. I figured the top hose connection on the tower is a vent, since it is the highest of the two connections up top, but could be wrong.

With a froth tower the top hose is meant to be connected to the chain oiler tube that is a tube on top of the chain guard, just like the Atlas.
Doesn't really oil the chain much, from my experience.

Bernhard said:

With a froth tower the top hose is meant to be connected to the chain oiler tube that is a tube on top of the chain guard, just like the Atlas.
Doesn't really oil the chain much, from my experience.

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Froth tower. I had a feeling my use of foam tower was wrong, but close. I knew somebody would straighten that out.

Thanks for the answer Bernhard. That's how I figured it worked with regard to the hose connections. While performing a test I had both hoses previously connected to my odd breather set up open and blew air through them. Really made no difference in that air would go in one and out the other, which is actually a good thing. It's just a pair of holes that go into the oil tank above the oil level. When I got the dirt bike it didn't have an oil tank, and the P11 is not very well documented.

Anywho, I connected a filtered catch can at the end of my Froth Tower hose, and the other lower hose connection goes to the back of my timing side where the magneto normally went. That hose has a light action PCV valve on it on a 90 degree setup so it stands straight up. My valve covers are also vented to a catch can. It works, but is not perfect. I still have to empty the valve cover catch can once in a while. I'll eventually get around to making a setup that uses a properly orientated aftermarket Ducati stainless steel reed valve solution. I had one on my 996S and it worked fantastico. It's big, doesn't foul up with oil, and flows a lot of air on one direction.

Schwany said:

Since I've got you here so to speak, which breather related hose is supposed to be attached to the upper foam tower hose connection pointing toward the rear on the oil tank? Is it the vent hose to atmosphere (chain oiler) or hose from the timed cam breather? I actually don't have a chain oiler or a cam with a timed breather, but still want to know how it should be connected in a stock configuration. I figured the top hose connection on the tower is a vent, since it is the highest of the two connections up top, but could be wrong.

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The front facing nipple on the oil tank vapor tower takes the tubing from the timed breather on the left hand crankcase and the rear facing nipple can be routed as you like but generally secured to the lower frame aimed at the drive chain, HTH

jerrykap said:

The front facing nipple on the oil tank vapor tower takes the tubing from the timed breather on the left hand crankcase and the rear facing nipple can be routed as you like but generally secured to the lower frame aimed at the drive chain, HTH

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I thought I replied to this, but must have walked away from my computer and not posted it. Thanks for the additional confirmation.

That's a great looking bike. Sometime when the heat comes down we should do the ride to Leavenworth. I'll bring the Atlas. I had it balanced to 64 percent which works well. With the stock balance factor it would vibrate worse than anything I've ever ridden. The pain and numbness would creep up my arms, by the time I reached Sacramento I was all in.

Ride back over SR20? I liked that loop on the Commando.

seattle##gs said:

That's a great looking bike. Sometime when the heat comes down we should do the ride to Leavenworth. I'll bring the Atlas. I had it balanced to 64 percent which works well. With the stock balance factor it would vibrate worse than anything I've ever ridden. The pain and numbness would creep up my arms, by the time I reached Sacramento I was all in.

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Thanks. I get a kick out of the old horse.

I wouldn't be able to remember my name or why I was in Sacramento if I rode all the way to Sacramento on my P11. The first time I got on the bike and rode a mere 93 miles to Marblemount, I couldn't remember my PIN when I got to Arlington. Had to ride to the next gas station in Darrington before it came back to me. Riding to Leavenworth didn't bother me though.

What I have found is I need to get to Monroe by 7:00am, or the ride is not that much fun behind the line of cars on HWY 2. Traffic is also better on the return earlier in the day.

HWY 2 is nasty and bumpy for about 4 miles coming up to the summit. Much worse than usual. My P11 is a little stiff for getting through it, but it still holds a line. In addition there are sections where DOT repaved the road near Index and it has turned into short moguls. That is annoying, but any day riding is better than just about anything else.

The main part of the ride isn't too hot right now. It's hot in Leavenworth, and miserable getting stuck in the return traffic through the lights in Monroe. High 70's would be nice, but it'll still be hot in Leavenworth. Anyway, let me know via PM. I get the notifications in my email. I don't always get on this site. Sometimes I have some reality to take care of.

gortnipper said:

Ride back over SR20? I liked that loop on the Commando.

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I think the P11 would make it, but it's a long one. I've only done that in cars. It is a great loop.

The traffic ruins everything. Also, I am sound asleep at 7AM.

Well best forget that idea then.

gortnipper said:

Ride back over SR20? I liked that loop on the Commando.

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I did the SR20 Seattle to Winthrop round trip side of that loop on my P11 yesterday. 370 miles and 8 hours in the saddle. 8 hours of that high frequency vibration hurt my hands. My front suspension is kicking my butt too. It's set up for smooth pavement, and being 35 years younger. Probably won't be doing anymore long rides until I update the front end. SR20 is a much better road ride for a motorcycle than SR2 on it's best day.

Schwany said:

I did the SR20 Seattle to Winthrop round trip side of that loop on my P11 yesterday. 370 miles and 8 hours in the saddle. 8 hours of that high frequency vibration hurt my hands. My front suspension is kicking my butt too. It's set up for smooth pavement, and being 35 years younger. Probably won't be doing anymore long rides until I update the front end. SR20 is a much better road ride for a motorcycle than SR2 on it's best day.

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Good on ya. That is a lovely loop tho. Well done.