GraeV11

As I sit here at the roadside waiting for a van to pick up the bike thought I would ask for a lead on my prob. The bike has been running fine bar last week when it suddenly cut out at 60mph. I coasted to a stop and affer some extended wiggling of wires and flicking the kill switch a few times it finally fired up and all was good. Have done about a hundred miles since. Today after a few hours riding in heavy traffic I parked up. The bike was very hot. Half an hour later it fired up again but would not idle and just kept cutting out. The battery is flat at 11v. On a jump start the battery is not taking any charge but is very hot. Idiot lights do not indicate a problem. It is a two year old odyssey battery. Where to look first ? Or should I just ditch the battery ?

Here is a few that I spied at Brands Hatch today for your Sunday challenge. Check out the sink plugs in the carbs in first picture to keep out the rain ! Also, nice forks in second picture.

Done and have forwarded to my biker buddies.

Maybe its just objecting to being taken to England. can be a bit depressing there some times. Try a trip to sunny Italy, or even Australia. Ciao Just enjoying a real ale in the English sunshine. How's your pissy lager in the rain Phil ??

Free gift !

Steve Do you need to change any cable or hydraulic pipe lengths ? Thanks.

Thought I had seen that backside somewhere before . . . . that's my photo bomber

Hi Denis. I would check that the cable is routed properly, i.e., as few twists and turns as possible., Happy riding.

Having a Lagavulin at the mo to chase out a cold. Large measure for purely medicinal reasons of course. If it doesn't cure I wont care anyhow.

Did something similar, getting it off again was also a 'challenge' with much swearing and despair.

Like a puppy that just ate your shoes . . . Yeah, it is staying outside until it starts behaving itself.

Voila

You actually made me go and check. It is definitely green. I guess my camera is not up to the job.

Here is broken spring and melted fuse for the record.

Caol Ila 18 year old.

How old is the brake fluid? I think that a well sorted car shop can measure how much water it holds already. Brake fluid on at least my list is something very close to the end - your post reminds me to look up when I changed it last time. Hubert It is 18 months old. Still looked the right colour but I guess that is not the best guide, Will certainly now be replaced. Here is a map of one of the roads as an example, this was a very steep descent. So very hard test of the brakes.

Wow! The brake failure sounds pretty scary! I saw some car skid marks going off a steep edge with no guard rail. I also suffered a breakdown but, not nearly as thorough as yours. My regulator fried itself on the second to the last day. Luckily I had a reservation at a hotel and called them. They were able to sort out a tow truck to come rescue me. The bike shop sent a truck for it the next day and I took a cab to the airport. Yep, those mountain roads are fairly unforgiving. I had been going a little bonkers, breaking hard and late into corners for a few hours, having great fun. The lever suddenly pulled right back to the bars without any bite. It was fine after it had cooled down for 15 mins . . .but did slow me down a tad. Think I boiled the fluid. Sorry that your trip was cut short.

The tools were provided by the hotel I was booked in and managed to limp to. Deserves a mention here . . The Belvedere Hotel up in the mountains on Little St Bernard Pass. Biker friendly, decent beer, loads of tools, oils and other fluids plus much needed encouragement and advice. Great mountain views. You can also sit outside with said beer and watch bikers take the challenging corner the hotel sits on and admire the sparks from their side stands. For the tools and parts to take I would add; A pawl spring of course. A couple of relays. All shapes and sizes of allen keys for those hard to get to bolts. A junior hacksaw for tailoring your allen keys to the job, plus altering the heads of those bolts you manage to round off. A selection of spare bolts and washers. A set of spanners - adjustable spanners will not do the job in those 'hard to get at' places. a couple of decent screwdrivers. Long nose pliers. circlip pliers . . . unless you enjoy looking for circlips in the undergrowth as you ping them off with a screwdriver. A tube of plastic gasket. A decent smartphone to look up the sage like advice of the good people of this forum. A spot of homework understanding the more frequent repairs - such as the pawl spring replacement. Said smartphone for taking pictures of the parts you are fixing as you dismantle them (as reference when you put them back together) A box of band-aids for those knuckles you are going to rip to pieces. A pair of disposable rubber gloves, European Recovery membership for those catastrophic failures. A load of patience. There are plenty more suggested toolkits on this forum Seriously though, I was very unlucky and these bikes should take you anywhere in a very unstressed fashion.What I haven't mentioned here was one of my friends was on a Triumph ST1050 and his bike died the same day and needed a new stator. Top marks to the local bike shop that fixed it next day before 12 noon after it was dropped off at 6pm the evening before on a truck. I couldn't imagine the same service here in the UK. Have a great trip !

Not so nice place

Nice place

Here is a summary of my trip . . . Day 1 - speedo and mileometer stopped working. Day 2 - massive brake fade before a very hairy corner on a mountain pass (I had been riding hard for a few hours). Nearly lost it over the edge. Stopped for deep breaths. Maybe should have fixed the speedo ! Day 2 - the pawl spring snapped late afternoon (second time in my ownership of this bike). Day 3 - spent the morning replacing the pawl spring (missed some great riding). Lucky I was carrying a spare (take note all). Day 4 - Charging circuit fuse melted. Day 5 - finally got home, parked up the Guzzi and will not go near it for a few weeks now. When it is working it is a mighty fine bike, but too much spanner time is needed to keep it there. I also ache like hell. Losing the faith again. . Will post the GoPro footage when I calm down (the good bits were very good). You may see a v11 in the small ads soon . . . At least it didn't rain . . . hope you had a great trip Orson.

In 2 hours time I am booked on the channel tunnel. It is then down to the Alps, France, Italy and Switzerland and back in 5 days. 2,000 miles in all. Will report back with film from my GoPro. Should be epic.

Sixth gear ? Never go there.

I am with Docc on this one. Pull that fuse and have a good look. I had one with a fracture on one leg that gave the same symptoms.

Keeps the wind off my chest but unfortunately finds its resonant frequency at 4500 rpm and things get a little scarey. Need to rethink how I have mounted it.