pasotibbs

Does the plug smell of fuel or is it visibly wet ? If it is then your Injector etc is ok, if not then the fault is in this area.(I'm not sure beyond this point other than checking the electrical connections, its not a good idea to mess with high pressure fuel !!) If it is wet then you need to check the coils (on my Lemans they are under the tank at the front above the oil cooler)you could try swapping the Plug lead and and other cables from left to right to see if the fault moves with the coil (ie the LHS should now not work but the RHS does) Good luck Dave

That sounds more like the sensor failing when its wet than a genuine oil pressure fault to me. Loss of oil pressure under load for more than a few seconds is almost always going to be terminal.

If it wasn't revving its nuts off I think you'll be fine as the engine wasn't under any load. I wouldn't make a habit of it though

The only thing I can think would give this fault would be burnt/dirty connections in the solenoid, as from what you have said you have checked and cleaned the motor but not the solenoid?(sealed unit ?) I think this would explain the fact that it works on the bench as the current it needs to pass for the motor to spin unloaded will be way less than that required to turn a 1100 V twin !!! Next time it fails you could try testing the switch feed to the solenoid with a test light (this will check all the other suggestions in one go)If that checks out try shorting the battery feed and stater feed connections on the solenoid with a jump lead connector(don't touch the frame or starter case !!!) , or something suitably robust as it will get a little bit dramatic with big sparks (make sure its out of gear and wear gloves as whatever you use could get hot !!) if it turns over its the solenoid if not its the Starter. If your not sure about this stop at the test light part and seek out a mechanic !!

The clicking will be the relays/starter solenoid going on and off as there isn't enough power to turn the starter and power the solenoid. Pressing the starter causes the solenoid to connect, the starter attempts to turn using all the battery can give (not enough)which causes the solenoid to disconnect the starter,then as the power is now available at the solenoid again it conects and so on and so on ......hence the click.... click... click ....click.... Charge the battery and you may get away with it, I wouldn't run the bike in this state as the task of charging the battery and running the fuel pump, coils ,lights(if you can't turn them off that is) could overwelm the already minimal charging circuit! $ If you are really stuck for a charger you could disconnect the battery and use jump leads from a car(they have their uses) to recharge it to the point where it will at least spin the bikes motor over. good luck

If the battery was totally discharged it may not recover enough to start the bike. Get a volt meter and check the voltage,I think I'm right in saying that if its less than 12v your battery is deceased and it may only possibly be recovered by a specialist charger if at all.

We made it to the Trofeo Rosso and back without any problems. The pannier frame worked very well so it will get its plastic coating as soon as I get chance. The show was well worth the visit, I've never seen so many V11's in the same place before (I'm usually the only Guzzi let alone the only V11 ) Seeing a couple of fast well ridden Guzzi's mixing it (and sometimes beating) big Ducati's is worth the 1500 mile round trip ride alone ,add in excellent weather and the fact that you will see some of the best Italian bikes ever made means I'll be going again for sure!

I'll have 1 ( or the template to make my own )

I just made it to keep the panniers from resting on the bodywork and indicators they don't attach to the frame itself as such,they just hang off it, so it should work for any universal panniers.

I thought you might like to see my home made pannier frame. I used 4mm Alloy for the arms and 5mm for the Pannier Frames. If it survives next weeks trip to France (the Trofeo Rosso) then I'll get it plastic coated to finish it off.

Yes the fairing needs to come off to get to the Headlight (you would need to do this to change the bulb !! ) I've got moisture in mine also but haven't had chance to look for a solution. While your at it check the mountings out as mine had quite a lot of play in the various bushes (the headlight seemed loose ), wrapping the bushes and bolts with pvc tape took the clearance out and cured it easily.

Is that someone who blows up Dolls ?

Dave Yes the Ohlins would be better but then I'd have to do the forks and then.......! I've hopefully managed to get another Sachs from Reboot (off a 2004 low mileage bike) for £100 so that will do for the french trip and I'll see about getting a better shock later as I've also discovered the bevel box has the common play in the pinion problem and also needs the right needle bearing replacing !(I'm just about to ring the dealer) When its back together a run out would be great,I live over near Concord /Meadowhall and work at the Childrens Hospital. Dave (also!)

Very true, its only because I read this forum that I checked mine out How many people out there are riding around with this problem totally unaware? Someone will Die or be injured due to this fault, its just a matter of time :!: In July I am going to the Trofeo Rosso in France with pillion and luggage, its so lucky that I checked when I did. We need to keep this post going so that everybody knows to check !!

yes thats after I cleaned it.I haven't got a photo of the other part but it is basically a bearing,I easily pressed it out using too sockets and a vice (the split probably helped ! )it wasn't as badly corroded as I expected and cleaned up easily(the internal "fish eye" part still moves freely and seems corrosion free). It looks like the joint part is pressed into the alloy and the corrosion that will occur when water (and in the UK salt) gets in just weakens and stresses the alloy until it fails. As others have said, keep it greased / shield it from the spray off the back wheel (who at MG thought that hugger was ok ? )and it should last...maybe. Now all I have to do is work out how to take the play out of the bevel box pinion, replace the right side bearing and when I get the new shock, put it back together again!!

Check your Shocks !!

Just checked my shock and it is also cracked due to the corrosion !! I'm really glad I read this post as I am going to France in 6 weeks and you just know it would have failed in the middle of nowhere, with neither of us speaking French that would have been fun (assuming it hadn't put us under a passing Citroen that is !!!) Can anyone recommend the best course of action, is the Hagon shock ok or am I better getting a more expensive replacement ? ( I assume Sachs don't do repairs ?)

Another Guzzi in Sheffield ! cool, its not just me then !

I just tried to get the grease gun adapters from www.mcmaster.com but they can't deal with private individuals outside the US, only companies.

If I remember rightly on my UK spec bike, viewed from the saddle, the one on the left hand side is the water/spilled fuel drain and the one on the right is the tank breather. If you open the filler cap you can see the difference (the lowest hole is the drain). Its worth checking the drain as on my Lemans it was blocked both in the tank fitting and the pipe (due to it being tie wrapped too tight down near the starter)I only noticed when after washing the bike I opened the cap and water poured into fuel After removing the fitting I used a drill bit to clear it and then replaced the squashed piece of pipe with a piece of copper brake pipe (hidden by the starter cover)

When I got my Lemans last month I stripped it and checked all the electrical connections (I have a Ducati also !!!), the same bullet connector had corroded so much that it fell apart when I touched it. So I imagine you have had the same problem, a corroded connector that due to its increased resistance got hot enough to melt the insulation.I have done a repair with male/female spade connectors and lots of heat shrink, you will need a high wattage soldering iron as the heat bleeds away to much to get the ends of the cables hot enough.My intention is to take the bike to an auto electrician and get a decent weather proof connectors fitted. When I contacted the previous owner(I bought from a dealer) he said he had noticed the light stay on a couple of times but when the garage checked it was charging fine, so if anybody has this fault then it would be wise to check/clean and grease this connector as it may fail suddenly. Hope this helps.