Greg Field
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Posts posted by Greg Field
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The PC545 is meant to be completely sealed and completely leakproof, but is it? These AGMs gas less, but are they absolutely, completely leakproof? I know there has been discussion here about this before.
The Odyssey label warns to charge in a ventilated space, wash hands immediately after handling etc.
What happens if it is seriously overcharged? Is it going to explode... or is it going to vent?
I can tell you exactly what happens: When you walk into the shop in the morning, it smells like battery acid. You realize you've porked the pooch and shut off the charger and look at the battery. The case is distorted hot to the touch. It now will leak if you tilt it to the side. This was a 14-amp rate overnight.
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After reading many threads on the best stand for my V11 Sport I have decided to get the MG shop stand or the Abba but, hard to find. Were is the best place to get either one in the US? Help, I need to spend the money before my wife spends it her bike...
Email me at parts@motointernational.com if you haven't found one yet.
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Hydros have a unique camshaft. Oil to fill the hydraulic lifters is supplied through the block, not through the cam.
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Hi,
I am new to this forum. I have 2 x V11 sports. One did 180,000 in 2 years while the othe has only 50 k since new. I am in need to parts. Namely big end bearing shells and piston rings. Can somebody help, I love my bikes but lately the costs in keeping them going is pushing me towards another japper. I have a Bking which has done 57k in 18 months. I have car now so and my own business so I don't get to ride as much as I like.
Steve
If your local folks can't supply, Moto International can. We ship all over the world. Rings're about $40 per side. Rod shells are about $16 each in stock sizes.
What happened that you need rod shells and rings?
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Was there not enough oil spray (from the crank,etc.) to lube the cam lobes?
There never is too much. Traditionally, the RH exhaust lobe wears fastest on Guzzis. Why? Being in a lubrication shadow is one theory. Usually, the RH exhaust lobe is the one that wore out on the hydro EV cams that were failing. Guzzi tried three different cams before it was fixed. Part of the fix was the oiling holes.
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The holes ooze oil oil directly onto the lobe. I can't remember for sure if the late V11 cam had them or not.
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If you want a roundhead, get a roundhead. This is like putting fake "knucklehead" rockerboxes on a Twin Cam Harley engine.
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I'm probably the only one who thinks this is all obscene, but there it is. Go all the way and put the exposed hairpin valvesprings of an early Falcone, too!
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Dan, I went to school with lots of people from the Detroit area (where Gary was, last I knew). By the time I graduated college, even Western Michigan (opposite side of the state) was getting "too close" to Detroit. Parts of Detroit were starting to resemble a war zone by then. Some o' the experiences of the guys who came from there were beyond imagination. I got out before the complete collapse of the entire state economy. Detroit Eurocycles (the last Guzzi dealer in the state, I think) closed down over 2 years back.
This VIDEO likely provides a few solid hints about why Gary's dropped off the multiple Guzzi Forum radars for awhile:
I reckon you've seen much the same on the south side (and surrounding areas) of Chicago?
Gary live in Utica, which is north of Detroit. Last I heard, he was doing well. He grew tired of squabbling on forums.
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I put out an ad on a local forum so depending on how that goes I may reconcider again
Also, just keeping the FBF ones on the shelf is not too bad since I'll almost certainly will own a V11 at some point in the future.Edit: Damn, a stock piston ring kit is almost 100 €
Edit again: Double Damn, need two of them, that's 200 € - what I bought the whole FBF set for.
Raz: We've got 'em for $39.95 US per side, so with shipping it'd be about $110 for both sides.
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That's a thought. Pistons already seemed level with barrels (unless my new base gaskets differs from the old ones) so I guess I'd just take a mm off the heads. I would keep the stock pistons but replace the rings and maybe I can sell the unused FBF pistons for €200, which is what I paid for them... that route would hurt my wallet less, thanks for reminding me.
It seems a new cam from Guzzi is 310 €. The only one available is 05053331 "Breva, Griso, Norge, Cal. Vint.", I wonder if that has the same specs as my old one?
Similar specs but not exactly the same. We have fitted them to 4-5 Sports. They work just fine and are a drop-in. You could also go with a Megacycle cam or nay of several other offerings that are common in Europe (Scola, etc.)
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On a new Guzzi cam of this era, both front lobes taper toward the front, and both rear lobes taper toward the rear. The taper is not much, 0.002 inch or so. (FWIW, Guzzi's use of tapered lobes started, I'm pretty sure, with the Sport 1100; earlier Guzzi cams feature flat-top lobes, or so I have been told by one of their engineers.)
If you look at the sides of your cam's lobes, you can see this manifested in the worn (high point of the taper) and unworn (low point of the taper) areas. On a new or good Guzzi cam, the unworn area would extend up and over the tip of each lobe and would be as much as half the fore-aft width of the lobe. As the cam and tappets wear, the fore-aft width of the wear pattern will move forward on the front lobes and rearward on the rear lobes until eventually it marches off the front or rear or the lobe. Once this has happened wear accelerates. Pretty soon, the wear stretches across most of the side of the lobe, too, leaving just a crescent unworn on the upper third of the lobe, and circular spin marks near the center of the side lobe. Things are still spinning but wearing fast.
This is exactly where your camshaft is at. Look at the exhaust lobes, especially the front (for RH cylinder) one. The crescent is there and growing smaller. Can you yet catch a fingernail on the edge of the crescent? Soon, you will be able to. One day, one of the lifters will cease spinning, and then you'll soon hear nasty noises. Replace the cam or have it re-ground.
Use new tappets or good re-grinds. As said in the other similar thread, they must not be flat on the bottom. They are ground on the bottom surface to the shape of a very low cone, such that there is a point in the center, to mimic a "radius."
Commit to using good oil that contains API SG levels of zinc and phosphorous (1200+ ppm of both).
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Same here. Mine looked great. I can take a pic if you like.
I saw your pics in the other thread, those exhaust followers look nasty. I'm surprised your cam is OK. Hopefully Pete or Greg will chime in on your other threads.
Clear is good. They must also retain the radius on the bottom. To check them, put two of them face-to-face. Hold their inter face up to a strong light. Light should shine through a narrow gap between them, except at the very small part of the faces where they actually touch. "rock" them against one another, and you will se the gap narrow on one side and widen on the other. If the gap doesn't do this, they're worn too flat for safe re-use.
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Does anyone know why on both pistons, the amber colour is below second compression ring, but not between first and second?
Usually, that means you oil rings aren't as sealed as they should be.
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will do next year! it is much better when you see the results
(dont wanna open the oil pandora box again) so let's see how the pistons gonna look like after another 20.000km next year 
Slavomir: Use new rings. Install them dry. Your engines main problem appears to have been complete lack of ring seating.
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left piston after 50.000km
I use 20w-50 oil
change every 5000km
valve clearance is factory standart
left piston where oil has been running to the cilinder
right piston, also small leak through gasket
another view
and I wonder where did I get the line on the right bottom corner of the piston... no damage to the barrel visible
Slavomir:
Look at all that chocolate on both pistons all the way down to the oil rings. Your rings never did seat, or you've been running it a long time after it lost ring seal.
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Like Tom and Slavek I just removed my heads and barrels for some work. Cylinders look like new after 72,000 kms, pistons look good too as far as I can tell. But the followers doesn't look all that good. On both sides the exhaust follower showed pitting while intake side was better.
Here is left side pair, exhaust at the left.
Here is right side ones, again exhaust at the left.
Cam looks absolutely fine as far as I can tell without actually dismounting it.
Questions include: Should I replace some of them, all of them, none of them? What do I need to know if I replace them? Break-in measurements? Mineral oil with lots of zink? Moly? Or just pop new ones in and forget about it? And what's the price tag on these things anyway?
I'll find answers in older posts here and on other boards but anyone bored with the low activity here please speak up if you wish!
Send a pic of the cam, particularly of the RH exhaust lobe. Show the lobe tip and also a side view of both sides of the lobe. I can tell you what to look for.
Tappets that look like that usually indicate a lot of water in the oil. They can run like that for tens of thousands of miles, so long as they keep spinning. One day, they will stop spinning and very soon wear out. Replace them with new or re-ground tappets. New are about $30 US each. Re-ground are half that.
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One of our techs at Moto Itnl. has a Givi on the back of his Coppa Italia, mounted to the factory rack, and it works great.
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Ask Ratch. He'll write a 3,000-page screed on it.
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OK. I have it on my calendar and will put more planning in after the first of the year. Could be good fun.
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Here's the story, or the parts that were printable in a newspaper:
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/loca...8_horse15m.html
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The 1200 Sport kit includes an ECU that is open loop. I do not know of a way to get its mapping data. What I can tell you is that many of these twin-plug bikes seem more prone to pinging than our V11s, but there could be many factors that contribute to that.
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I think they started a sex farm in Enumclaw, WA. (Look it up . . .)
Odyssey PC545 question
in Technical Topics
Posted
They most definitely will leak juice, if you overcharge them and distort the case, or at least the one I ruined definitely leaked. I've sold hundreds of them through our shop, and only two have failed. One died on its own. I ruined the other trying to revive it after it had gotten weak. You can almost always revive them by whacking them with a high charge rate. That would almost certainly have revived this batter, but I forget to turn off the charger before I went home at night, so I had to buy the customer a new battery.