Lucky Phil

So I had along with my wife and dog a very pleasant catch up with my mate on his farm over the last week where we among other things, worked on the gearbox mount repair. He is extremely experienced in these type of crankcase weld repairs and modifications over many years. He reported that the cases weren't nice to weld due to probably a high content of zinc in the alloy very much the same as late model Ducati bevel cases. He started off in the mill by machining down the square lug section with a ball end cutter to the level of the case to give himself some space to get the torch in and a nice radius to weld up to. We then locally heated the case with a torch to 190 deg C. As soon as the welding was completed I held the case and he used a 1/4 inch arbour in a rivet gun and peened the entire weld while it was still soft. This stress relieves the area and reduces or eliminated any distortion to the gearbox end plate face and also shaped the welded area to a degree. He then used the die grinder and blended the welded area to the original lug. When I got home I did some further minor detail work with the die grinder as I had a very small cutter and then used some emery to further smooth it off. It did of course look a bit nicer with just the die grinder finish and if I weren't going to paint it and leave it in its natural finish I would bead blast it and it would be almost undetectable. We checked with a machinists flat and the end plate face was totally undistorted but interestingly I had checked it on my granite surface plate before we started and found in the area from the cracked mount around to the fastener below the oil filler port you could geta .004" feeler gauge in so the rear plate face wasn't true to start with. Pete put it on the mill and levelled it up with a .0035" cut. The whole process took a couple of hours with me doing nothing but assisting with heating the case and holding it during the peening process. I guess it would be a $125 US repair at an estimate with the exchange rate as it currently is. We both kind of feel that the cracks origin is probably more to do with the casting and cooling than anything else. Some will have a tiny intergranular crack develop during the cooling process due to the large local change in cross section and will then go on to develop a full blown leaking crack after an undetermined amount of heat/stress cycles. This case wasn't leaking and had no visible crack so it may have gone on for years without issue or the crack may never have propagated. So cleaning painting and assembly to go. Might need to consult Pete Roper for a borrow of a few gearbox tools. L/H mount radiused and smoothed. This lug interface with the main body of the gearbox housing was also not radiused so I undercut the lug end and formed a radius. The final repair Ciao

It's a WKF that red paint has much higher tensile strength than black hence the more chassis rigidity of the red framers and better handling. You need to carry a post it note with "please turn" to stick to the top triple clamp every time you come to a corner with a black framer /sidecar hauler. Real men like em to wriggle a bit when you're riding em. ciao

From memory normally the earth is made when the plunger is extended. Sounds like yours is the reverse. Put a meter on it and depress the plunger and compare it to the original. ciao

My greenery has a 5.5 inch rear wheel ciao

Docc, maybe of interest to you https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/GUZZI-kit-serrature-completo-V11-sport/163841096033?hash=item2625b0b961:g:6IEAAOSw7L1dajSB Ciao

Docc I suspect your cap seal is leaking (it looks a bit ropey near the hinge) and allowing some fuel seepage down the overflow line and into your catch bottle. Try some fuel proof non hardening sealant like Hylomar around the seal with a full tank to see if you still get the spooge(for proof of theory) or better still fit a new cap as it appears from your comments it needs one anyway. Ciao

No works with the std system. Ciao

I'm running a screw on race style cap to suit an Aprilia. Fitted it about 5 years ago Ciao

Internal tank shot of the lines looks fairly normal to me docc. All of my new tanks look like this although the newer internal pump ones look like they might use a different retaining clip. The tanks are made by the rolling mould method(like an ester egg) so everything internally gets coated with tank material. Maybe its ethanol related? seepage into the lines through the tank material overlaying the vent and overflow lines and through the rubber hoses. Or maybe the cap venting is stuck fully open and venting all the time and the spooge is what remains of the vented fuel after the volatile components have evaporated off. Try having the cap cracked open when the bike is parked with some absorbent paper or something over the inlets to the vent and overflow lines aand see if it still produces the spooge. If it doesnt then the source is via the cap and if it still does its probably via the lines internally. Ciao

I've even seen someone that rigged up a pump to evacuate the air inside the instrument with the inlet air going through a tube with an inline silica gel reservoir. Worked as long as you were prepared to replace the silica gel every week as silica gel is only meant to be used in sealed/confined places not having air drawn through it. Talk about overkill. Ciao

I've had several BMW's and Triumphs with fully sealed instruments and all they do is fog up and stain the inner face of the glass. When it first happened to the BMW instruments back in the 80's I consulted a well known and respected instrument repairer and maker here and he advised me that he had talked to VDO on a trip to Germany about the issue. They were aware but said they just built the instrument housing to BMW specs. His advice and solution was to vent the back of the instrument via some shielded holes. Worked perfectly. The Triumph (modern) instruments had vents in the rear case but the baffle fitted inside hindered the ability to cope with changes so the baffles were removed and problem solved. Ciao

As long as it shower proof is all thats needed and shielded from slipstream blown water. Fully sealed instruments always end up fogging up. Ciao

Well I wouldn't be buying it for its aesthetics. Is it waterproof? Ciao

The black bikes look good Ciao

As an aside and on this subject one of the best pieces of riding gear esp on a sports bike with a seat that's not built for comfort is pushbike riding nicks worn under your jeans or pants. You know those Lycra shorts of various lengths with the chamois gusset that provides padding and sweat absorption for serious cyclists. Anything that can make the difference between a day on a pushbike in agony and the same day as a total non issue comfort wise has to be good. So instead of wasting a small fortune on custom seats and lambswool covers or airbag attachments and other hideous looking stuff spend $50 on some riding nicks and ride in comfort. Ciao

Some models had dual return lines. Ciao

Sorry but those mufflers look horrible. Just no class, style or elegance. Marabese would be rolling in his grave. Ciao

The Italians were the masters. Who could forget the classic Ducati owners manual warning of "never start a cold motorcycle" Maybe they expected a big burner under the crankcases Ice racing style. Ciao

You know docc when I first got my drivers licence in the 70's avoiding dogs on the road was a routine occurrence and then the councils everywhere cracked down on having them properly housed and restrained. I've remarked to people a few times over the last few years about this, generally when you see the very unusual sight of a dog wandering about free. A very rare event these days here. Back in the 70's a friend just down the road used to ride a green frame Ducati 750SS to work every day (after he managed to get it started) and the next door neighbours dog with its starting attempt pre warning would be laying in wait for its scamper down the drive way which was perpendicular to the street and the peal off at the end to intercept on a parallel course to the Duke. More than once the mutt misjudged the hard turn required and the whole show got very fraught for both parties. Ciao