[Diagnosing Slipping Clutch Problem]

ShoNuff! I should say "you can do it!"

 

I just need to make sure I don't end up like poor herbie.

 

[Diagnosing Slipping Clutch Problem]

no offense but after reading your posts I don't think you should attempt this fix alone.

 

yeah no offense taken, I've thought the same thing more than once. like I said, did a lot on my other bikes, had the frames fully disassembled, carbs, exhaust, forks rebuilt myself, but never had to crack into the engine or transmission. First time for everything though, right?

[Diagnosing Slipping Clutch Problem]

If you have an oil leak thats getting into the bellhousing area it would only take a few drops to cause slipping. If you get a few more drops it may start to degrade the friction material. If its an oil leak thats causing the problem its only going to get worse. Maybe you could try an oil additive that helps to restore the seals. You might get lucky and it will actually work. Worst case scenario with the additive is it doesnt work and you're out a few bucks.

 

I picked up a bottle of this stuff, is this what you are talking about? Anyone think it's a terrible idea for my guzzi? I once put some carb cleaner into my old vf500, and it ate up all the crud that was sealing the petcock together, made it leak like a sieve... I'm a little leery of additives now!

 

[Diagnosing Slipping Clutch Problem]

 

Attached photo shows slot in bottom of bellhousing (note that this photo shows transmission side & this is an old 5-speed box but V11 is very similar & as I recall has similar slot).

 

The oil will be coming from either the gearbox input shaft seal (shown in centre of my photo) or from the crankshaft seal opposite it on the engine side, if either is bad. Another possible culprit might be the crankcase breather that runs thru the bellhousing. All these are within the bellhousing & oil will drop down to the bottom of the casing & show there. The joint between motor & bellhousing is unsealed.

Check if it's gearbox or engine oil by smell.

In any event, if there's significant oil showing at the joint between the engine & the trans & your clutch is slipping, you will need to split the two to investigate.

 

KB

 

I can't visualize this. Is this the inside of the clutch housing, facing towards the front or back wheel?

 

another dumb question, is it Engine->trans->clutch->wheel or engine->clutch->trans->wheel?

 

I did a ton of work on my old VFR, electrical, body, and carbs, but never had to crack into the engine itself, and I'm not thrilled at the prospect of tearing into my guzzi.

 

Can I get everything off with it up on one of the shop stands that holds it up by the bolt at the bottom of the porkchops, or will I need to pull those off too?

[Diagnosing Slipping Clutch Problem]

If the oil leak is between the engine and the transmission ie. rear main seal or trans input shaft seal that will cause a slipping clutch. If you look at the bottom of the engine where the trans and engine mate up you will see a little cutout on the line to allow a leak in the bell housing to escape if that is where the leak is its a seal.

 

I can't find the cutout you speak of, but I stuck my camera way underneath to get a different angle and I think I see the seal you are saying may be spoiled. It does look like a seal is gone, but I don't see how the oil could get from here up to inside the clutch. :-/ Seems like it would be working against gravity.

 

 

On the first picture that is the shaft the pawl spring and selector set on. I cleaned it up put sone tribond in, then a dime (it fits) more tribond on the dime and the leak is gone. This was suggested by another on this site and it works.

 

Are you saying that the piece I called the "window" in my previous post is the "shaft the pawl spring and selector set on?" And that I can seal it up with a dime and some super strength epoxy?

[Diagnosing Slipping Clutch Problem]

An easy thing to check is whether you have any small drops of oil leaking underneath at the back of the engine. If the seal has gone this could be contaminating the clutch- it has happened to me before.

Look for oil leaks either from the engine crankshaft or the gearbox drive shaft. This will show as drops at the bottom of the bell housing as my learned colleague has indicated. If it's not that, plates are very worn, or springs are weak, probably the former. Either way you will have to split engine and gearbox to find out - about 2 hours work with the swinging arm out.

 

Cheers

 

Guzz

 

Based on the suggestions to start looking for leaks, I started hunting, and may have found something. I apologize I'm sure my descriptions are off. On the left side of the bike, below the starter cover, and above where the oil pan split and all those bolts is some oil that looks like its very slowly leaking from between the engine shell and the transmission. it's a little forward of where the transmission lever goes into the transmission.

 

There's a significant amount of oil and crud on what I think is a window into the transmission, and some around the bolt that goes forward into the engine case.

 

High res pics are hosted at the following link: -->Picasa Album click here

 

 

[Diagnosing Slipping Clutch Problem]

After breaking out my v11 sport for the first time this spring and being thrilled that it all seemed to be great after its long winter's nap, I'm pretty sure I was feeling the clutch slipping. I'd be heading off from a stoplight and feel like the engine was racing just a little faster than I was actually accelerating. So while doing a steady 30ish mph, I gunned the engine in 3rd gear, and sure enough the tach revved high without much actual acceleration. Bugger.

 

It's a 2000 v11 sport with a little over 30K miles. I've only had it about 18 months, the PO's did the transmission recall work and had the flywheel "lightened and balanced." It's had at least 23000 miles on it since that work was done.

 

So where should I start poking around? I don't see any obvious leaks but I read in some of the other slipping clutch threads that it might not take much. How easy is it to bleed the clutch? I guess I'm asking what can I do without having to pull the rear wheel and subframe? I read about some people cleaning the clutch plates in place with brake cleaner, but couldn't find a good description or pics of how to do that.

[Bad Idle, where to start?]

My pretty new-to-me 2000 V-11 Sport has developed a habit of chugging to a halt at idle, like when sitting at a stoplight. Not all the time, I feel like it's more likely to happen when hot, but not always. Sometime soon I'm going to pull the plugs and check them out, maybe replace them just for kicks, but if they are fouled then something else must be wrong. I have a powercommander but I don't know how it's mapped.

 

Should I just bite the bullet and take it to the local guzzi/ducati/triumph shop and have it tuned up? It came to me from a much lower elevation, so I'm not sure if that's what made the difference.

[Looking for broken Veglia speedo or tach parts]

Looking to replace my lamp holder from the back of my veglia speedo. I could use one from either a speedo or tach from anything similar to a 2000 v11 sport. Anyone have old broken bits they were holding on to for just such an occasion?

[New Gremlin: Tail and Dash lights?]

 

Looks like someone did already repair it before you bought the bike. Or are you the first owner? I'd take some 2-component epoxy and rebuild the things myself.

 

hubert

 

3rd owner I think. I could certainly fix it with epoxy, would just need to fab the little disk I lost and I'm not sure I'd ever get the spacing right.

[Wanted: Bulb holder for speedo or tach - 2000 v11 sport veglia instrum]

The bulb holder in my speedo is broken, hoping someone has an old busted speedo or tach they can spare the bulb holder out of.

 

Jacob

[New Gremlin: Tail and Dash lights?]

 

After several clockwise rotations, nothing seems to be happening. Can anyone confirm this? These are the Veglia instruments. I found other forum posts referencing this reverse-threaded odometer knob, but it doesn't seem to be working.

 

Yargh... I must have more faith in the interwebs. A couple more rotations and it came loose, and I even managed to put it back together.

 

So my speedo lamp holder had fallen apart. the back of the holder is a plastic base press-fit and lightly glued to the metal holder, looks like vibration and glue failure caused it to come apart. maybe that's what grounded and blew the fuse, I hope. Of course I'm missing a thin cardboard disk that is held in place by the spring inside there, basically the bulb holder base is missing a key piece. Can't find it on the ground anywhere, so my guess is that its somewhere on a road in Denver. If anyone finds it shoot me a message.

 

I emailed MPH cycles and MG Cycles hoping they can order a replacement part for me. If not, I guess I'll be trying to refab the disk/spring assembly in the bulb holder.

[New Gremlin: Tail and Dash lights?]

 

To remove the odometer knob, unscrew it in the opposite direction compared to resetting the trip meter. I think it's left-threaded.

/Anders

 

After several clockwise rotations, nothing seems to be happening. Can anyone confirm this? These are the Veglia instruments. I found other forum posts referencing this reverse-threaded odometer knob, but it doesn't seem to be working.

[New Gremlin: Tail and Dash lights?]

 

Your sport is a nice green one like mine

Google Carl Allison Drawings

http://www.thisoldtractor.com/guzzi007/schematics/1999_V11_sport.gif

1/ Check first for voltage on both sides of fuse 6 with the ignition on (I suspect it's ok since the indicators go)

 

So I'm an idiot, it was the fuse. Using the multimeter instead of a visual inspection figured that out pretty quick.

 

Now i only wish I knew _why_ the fuse blew. That always makes me worry.

 

Still need to get the dash apart to reattach the light bulb in there. once I replaced the fuse, the spedo illuminator light is the only thing not lit, so that must be what the loose wire is in there I can see. Just can't figure out how to get the dash apart!

[New Gremlin: Tail and Dash lights?]

Jacob,

 

That circuit comes through fuse 6 and the ignition switch (no relay). It also powers the 4 watt "city light" inside the headlamp shell. Looking through the lens askance, you should be able to see its dim glow below the headlamp bulb. Turning the key to "park" lights this circuit without the headlamp.

 

Instrument bulbs are accessible under the front cover held by the four 8mm acorn nuts. Yet, with the tail light out, I would suspect the circuit through fuse 6. Check it out in the "park" mode . . .

 

Tonight I finally had a chance to work on this. I checked the city light with my multimeter, it's good.

 

I tried to check out the instrument bulbs, but I can't get the dash apart. I got the 4 acorn nuts off, but it seems like I'd have to remove the odometer reset knob, and I can't figure out how to do that without forcing something.

 

Something is loose though, Inside the spedometer. I don't know if you can see in this pic, but there is a yellow wire to a spade connector that seems like maybe its the backside of a light bulb holder. Anway, it was loose inside there, along with a spring. I'd like to figure out what that is all about, doesn't look right, but I cant figure out how to get the dash apart.

 

also seems like I'm missing something off the back of the dash, shouldn't something be in the middle, covering that hole I can see wires through?

 

 

I checked out the wiring diagram that Kiwi_Roy linked to, and since that whole circut is wired in parallel, I can't see how any one of these bulbs being out would knock out the whole circuit, so I'll start hunting around fuse with my multimeter and see what I can see.

[New Gremlin: Tail and Dash lights?]

Jacob,

 

That circuit comes through fuse 6 and the ignition switch (no relay). It also powers the 4 watt "city light" inside the headlamp shell. Looking through the lens askance, you should be able to see its dim glow below the headlamp bulb. Turning the key to "park" lights this circuit without the headlamp.

 

Instrument bulbs are accessible under the front cover held by the four 8mm acorn nuts. Yet, with the tail light out, I would suspect the circuit through fuse 6. Check it out in the "park" mode . . .

 

Thanks docc ill check that out when I get home. Are all those bulbs wired up in series so if ones out, they all go?

[New Gremlin: Tail and Dash lights?]

Got on to ride to work today and discovered my instrument dash lights (not the idiot lights like oil, turn signals, just the tach and speedo) and the tail lights (running light, not brake light) were out.

 

Same thing used to happen on my old honda when I'd get a short and blow a fuse, so after work I checked all the fuses. All good. Checked the tail light. It's good. everything else was fine, the bike started and ran well, just no dash or tail lights. From reading posts, this doesn't sound like an isolated problem from a relay, and the PO replaced them all anyway.

 

Is it easy to pull the dash illuminator lights? How do I get to them? This is a 2000 v11 sport with a fly screen. Green.

[shifting issues - false neutrals]

I would try everything you are looking at first,fluid,cover,spring,clutch fluid,as the clutch requires pulling the engine to replace.Ive been putting off replacing mine as some of the Scuras' have exploded.

There was a recall on pre 02 transmissions,don't know which year/years were affected ,00-01?Probably addressed by previous owner,but would be worth checking out.

Michael

 

yeah I'll try all sorts of things before I resort to pulling the clutch.

 

The PO did say they had addressed the recalls.

 

Tonight when I rode in, and yesterday when I went home, I had no troubles with it. I read through the threads you all linked to, and took to heart one post about how the transmission really has a lot of play in it, and you can't slam it around like a sport bike and expect it to behave. I've been very methodical about my shifting and it seems to like that better. So maybe some of it really is rider style. My old honda tranny had spoiled me.

[Suggestions for replacement speedo?]

 

In summary, The Vapor Trailtech is a good try, but not sufficiently well-developed to make a good substitute for the crappy stock Guzzi instruments.

 

Thanks for the feedback pierre. I was looking at the striker since it has the voltmeter, that's really what I was wanting to add. My tach is working (for now) so I don't need that function.

 

What I'm thinking of doing is making a new aluminum frame to hold the trailtech speedo box and have a round cutout for my stock tach. Then I could mount the stock idiot lights in a stock-ish position, could look pretty trick.

 

What is the low range for the temp sensor? I thought I might use it as an air temp sensor if it doesn't work for the engine temp.

[shifting issues - false neutrals]

Sorry guys, good point: 2000 V11 Sport. Profile hadn't been updated post-purchase.

 

Thanks for the links. I have trouble finding stuff with search. "False Neutral" searches for "false" -or- "neutral" not -and-. Makes it tough.

 

I ordered some replacement redline shockproof heavy, so I can venture into the bike's neather regions. Sounds like I should bleed the clutch too, thanks for the links about that.

 

I'm at about 30K miles on this clutch i think, per the previous owner. Would it be a suprise for it to be worn out by now? I think it slipped as I was riding to work tonight. Maybe it was a one-time thing, but who knows. I'll try bleeding before I pay to have the clutch replaced for sure.

[shifting issues - false neutrals]

So the first few times I took out my v11 sport I felt like I got a few bad shifts, but chalked it up to getting used to a new transmission. Now though, its happening a little more frequently, and I've been able to narrow down the symptoms. Shifting from N->1, and 1->2 usually work just fine. 2->3 is also 98% good. 3->4 though is sketchy. I often get a false neutral, and it seems I've "overshot" 4th gear. If I toe down the shifter back towards 4 it will often pop right in, though not always. I can tell by the tach that I'm in 4th.

 

I talked to the previous owner about it, and he said:

 

When I first got it myself and rode itin cooler weather, I thought I had lost the clutch altogether,it seemed to slip and be stuck in false neutrals. A change to Redline Shockproof Heavy Oil took care of that. One other time I was getting a lot of false neutrals and thuoght I had broken the shift return spring.I bought one and pulled the cover to replace it.I found a roll pin laying on a magnet in the case.The roll pin acts as a stop for the shift mechanism,if it falls out it will allow the mechanism to go slightly pass the engagement point for the next gear,false neutral.I didn't have any problems shifting it when I last rode it.It's easy enough to check though,drain the tranny oil,disconnect the battery,pull the starter,shift linkage,cover bolts and pull the cover.Make sure it is in neutral when you start.

 

So I may tackle this, check in there and see if anything looks bad.

 

Anyone have pics of what it looks like under there? Or where I might find the case magnet he's talking about? I have a replacement return spring if the old one looks like a mess. Any other parts I might order before I pull it apart?

[Mirror Bolts - 2000 V11 Sport]

... lower portion with the 20mm hex should thread fully into the bracket...

 

Thanks for the pic Docc, makes perfect sense now. I'll try to at least get them loose, and I'll keep an eye out on ebay for some extenders.

 

Or I could put both sets of mirrors on, kind of the Richard Hammond in Saigon look.

 

[Suggestions for replacement speedo?]

I removed the speedo cable from the dash end and it it looks like maybe the receiver in the dash for the square cable is a bit worn. Maybe I could pack it with jb weld or epoxy to firm up the connection? What's the best way to grease the speedo cable?

 

I hope I don't have to replace the 60 degree drive gears, mgcycles lists the transmission side bit at $140. For less than that one piece I could get a whole new digital speedo.

[Mirror Bolts - 2000 V11 Sport]

So which of the nuts is the locking nut? Which should I try to rotate? The one closer to the mirror or the one away from the mirror? Instinct tells me the one away from the mirror, but instinct has led me to breaking many bits.

[Suggestions for replacement speedo?]

Sigh. I strayed from my beloved Honda VFR because I was tired of fixing unfixable problems. I didn't want another boring japanese generic bike, so I got a V11 sport. First day out the speedo breaks, its all jumpy at any speed. If I were to replace it with an aftermarket digital speedometer, any suggestions? I found this one that has a built-in volt meter and temp guage...

 

 

Trailtech Speedometer