belfastguzzi

In the fire?

This is a great inconvenience, having to post twice. I shall accept your apology – this time. 2002 bike (Scura) at 1,200 miles

This is the thing it would be great to get more info on. Is it only 10's? Surely it's more? Are they concentrated within particular manufacturing dates? When you have a check, let us know how the spring bend is seated on the plate. Does it move freely; is it stuck in a rough gouge that it has dug; is the contact spread or concentrated on one point of the bend: even if the boss is 15 mm, is the coil still definitely free to move when the spring is under tension?

Forget the coffee can. You really need to try this with something more classy – cans by, let's say, Mistral, La Franconi or similar. By odd coincidence, you have posted this on a forum where there happens to be an abundance of such items. Now, who's first?

Well, well. Thanks for posting that bit of info. This is a bit of a worry again. It's probably a forlorn hope that your spring coil was undersized! That last time I had the bits out, I didn't have a welder at home otherwise I would have welded something onto the shift plate, as back-up. I like Baldin's idea of putting on a pin, or a bead or something to capture the spring, rather than relying on the bend at the end. But if the spring is a problem (as well as the oversized boss) how come bikes prior to 2002 have not been breaking springs? Have people just been keeping quiet or have I missed the info. I have asked a few times if the earlier bikes have given the same problem and I don't think there was a response to say that they have. Hopefully more information will gather up here.

I'm relieved to see that this latest avenue of discussion, despite initial worrying impressions, is actually on-topic.

Order quick – looks like there might be a run on them! When I ordered one from England it was the supplier's last one. Re which spring to get: going by the current theory, a thicker wire won't really help, it would just put off the evil day. If your pawl arm/ratchet arm whatever boss is oversize then the best change to the spring would be to get one with a bigger coil diameter, not a heavier wire. For that reason, Mike, why don't you take the cover off first and check the parts, because if it turns out you have the problem, you might be best getting the replacement pawl arm, not just changing spring. If you need to do that, you should claim the arm and spring under warranty. Pawl arm no, 04235101 Spring 04238300

Personally, it's no new gasket and copper anti-seize on the bolts, not loctite. The original gasket should still be good, just smear it with oil and bolt it back up. Although the oil and filter can be changed without dropping the pan, I think it's worth taking it off most times as you can clean out all the emulsion that gathers in it.

You really are a bad, bad motogoozer! Not least for posting such GIGANTIC pictures!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I was almost going to ask in the original post, does anyone still use Golden Hermitite? For old time's sake I used it this time, as you can see from the lovely golden glow. It was an old tube, but unlike the modern rubbery, silicone alternatives, it hadn't turned solid in the tube – and it is doing a fine job on the bike. The previoius time, I used the ubiquitous blue stuff. I don't think it matters much. It's a small cover with lots of fasteners and seems to match pretty tight. If you were doing a temporary repair out on the road, I think it would hold the gear lube ok without sealant, until you got home. You also don't want to 'glue' it on too solidly or it could be hard to get off again. You can't really lever it off from behind the cover. It can be levered sideways, from the left side. Look forward to seeing how your bits measure up and what sort of gouging there is in the 'shift plate'. Any sign of fatigue in the spring bend? Also interested to hear how much metallic paste there is in the bottom of the box. What is the mileage and how often has oil been changed? I was surprised by how much metal was in the new oil after less than 200 miles since the (first) change– but it's just in the running-in process.

Don't want to be alarmist, but MG's rack, which is the same size and locates at same points (as far as I can see from your photos) has a weight limit warning on it. I need to check what it is – it's very low though. It might be on their web site.

I'm so glad that mine broke a couple of weeks ago, just a couple of miles from home (forcing me to address the issue) and not in a couple of weeks time when I'll be travelling to England. The point that I have learnt about this is that the problem can be sorted beforehand or at least can be sorted on the road if you are prepared for it – you don't need to abandon trip and get trailered home (and then maybe wait weeks for a dealer to fix it). Let's hope that this is the complete answer. We're still interested to hear if there have been any/many problems with springs in boxes that have the correct sized 15mm boss???? – and what year/time period the bad part is found in???

Mike, I think that the best way to reassure yourself is to take the cover plate off and measure that boss. If it is over 16mm I would say you can count on the spring breaking, if it is 15mm you should be ok (as per Baldini's original detective work). If it is oversize, get a new one under warranty, or file it down. I think it is good to take the sharp, rough edge off the shift plate where the spring bend contacts it too. Pictures of that job were in this thread. Re false neutrals. As Baldini says, there is a relatively big physical shift needed to move the selector mechanisms between gear positions, except for first, neutral and second which are right beside each other– so there is potential for mechanism to sit between selections. The roller on this little chap can sit on the landing between selections (gears 3 to 6) if not shifted positively enough.

If disaster strikes when far from home, a roadside repair to the stuck-in-gear box can be done. No special tools are needed and you just need to lean the bike to save the gear oil. The biggest problem is difficult access to the lower allen screws in the side case. I cut down an Allen key to fit. I have seen 'ball-end' keys but haven't looked at them closely. I presume that they are designed to drive at an angle, so one of these might be the best answer. If you have a suspect (2002) bike and haven't changed parts, then checking that you can access the Allen screws and carrying a spare spring in addition to the tools would be a good idea. Otherwise, a broken spring can be repaired if you carry a pair of grips to bend it. Once home, a new ratchet arm with correct size boss can be fitted; unless you carry a spare one of those, or a file to cut down the original one. Pawl arm oe part number: 04235101 Spring oe part number: 04238300 Tools are easily carried. Gear oil saved in leaned-over box. Broken spring, repaired and a new spring. Oversized boss that seems to be the cause of spring breaking. New boss is correct 15mm. Also, repaired, filed down oversize boss. The three gearbox selector springs. Ready for the road again. The full pictures are here. Also see here

'nuff said

Does it not vent into the air box? I'm not sure, the bike isn't here to look at. Maybe you don't have the airbox anymore. You will find vented oil in the airbox and I think it is from this top line. Anyway, re oil leaks up front, while it is better to disassemble and fix things properly, it's maybe worth saying that I have found external repair using sealant over a major leak has worked 100%. This was the timing case leak problem common on the wrinkly 2002s, but it should work elsewhere too. http://www.v11lemans.com/forums/index.php?...indpost&p=17921 When covered with black stuff it's not noticeable.

How does that work then? Does the whole lot come off with a key?

TX likes that stuff too.

If you have a screen, you can undo the top two fastenings and pivot the screen on the headlight bracket, out of the way. If you are taking the speedo out, then you need to remove the tripmeter reset shaft at the side by screwing it out (clockwise?). It sounds like you want to remove everything though. As far as I remember, take off the 4no. 8mm nuts and the pod will come away so that you can swap the bracket (undo 3 screws, watch out for spring washers). If you are only replacing the tacho don't take the speedo clock out – save the pain of reconnecting the cable – unless you want to take the opportunity to lube the cable. Speedo case with gear housing removed. Check that the electrical connectors on the back of the metal tacho case are still good, including the scewed ground connection. If you are lucky your problem might only be with the easily fixed external connections.

– interesting – I've just noticed that.

As I said: DON"T PANIC – things weren't as bad as they seemed. The intake tube: showed signs of ripping right round – presumably because of pressure from metal band plus vibration. It's these tubes that hold the weight of the throttle assemblies. • The wall is actually quite thick and the cracking is nowhere near penetrating through. Rubbed in sealant and replaced, trying to tighten the bands 'just enough' and not 'too much'. The speedometer. Yes, the gear housing had come apart. • I thoroughly greased everything and reassembled, tieing the case to hopefully hold it together. The same parts are at the speedometer end. While up there, I considered • the tachometer fogging problem again. The main difference between the two clocks is the BIG hole in the metal speedo case where the shaft for the tripmeter goes through. I still can't see that drilling a hole only in the plastic case can make any difference. Air can get in anyway and the plastic housing is exactly the same on both sides. So I drilled a 6mm hole in the metal tacho case, up beside the bulb location. Maybe it will work. • Re the sooty plug on one side. Don't know about that yet... but while I was doing the work, I took the lid off the airbox just for fun. Who's that making all the noise with the jackhammer when I start the bike? A couple more pictures of speedo gear parts here

Is it just coincidence in this thread, or is this another problem that is particularly associated with 2002 bikes?

Re. the plugs – I haven't delved into the tps setting thing as yet. Re. the other problems – DON'T PANIC, don't panic, should perhaps be engraved on the headstock somewhere. Things aren't so bad after all. Need to go back outside as it's getting dark: will report later. I still think that there are some faults that are 99% guaranteed on particular models. The better news is that it looks like they can be fixed if caught in time or can be addressed with preventitive work. (It's just a pity that the factory doesn't do this before selling the bikes on.)

It is seeming to me there are a number of faults that are prety well guaranteed to be built into these bikes. The ones that I have seen reported here and have experienced myself are:– • The spring thing • Today my speedometer has stopped working • and I have looked closely at the throttle body rubber tubes and sure enough, they are cracked right round. Like so many others, all this on a very low mileage bike (1,350 miles). In the last few days I have noticed that the right side exhaust has a distinct smell, while the left doesn't. Pulling the spark plugs a few times has shown that the right plug is completely black while the left is a more healthy grey. Is this another well-known problem with new bikes? It could be a number of things, but any ideas from experience? (I don't think that the intake tubes are cracked right through yet.)

(preferrably in fourth gear) preferably in white ruffle shirt, bow-tie, Robin Hood tights and a porkpie hat