pete roper

You'll get lots of differing opinions on this. My advice is just rode it *normally*. Don't lug it, (Wide throttle openings at low RPM.) don't thrash it, (Self explanatory.) and spend lots of time going up and down the gears and allowing it to slow down on the over-run as this helps draw oil up the bores. Don't be too gentle or you can risk glazing a bore although this is rare with Nicasil as long as friction modified oils are avoided. Because Guzzis are an all plain bearing motor you don't have to worry too much about breaking in. You'll probably find that your own natural caution engendered by riding a new bike will prevent you from doing anything too untoward and damaging. Once you're over the 1,000 Km-600 mile point do the first service and then up the pace gradually. You'll find that the greatest benefits after this point will come from tuning your suspension which is probably the component most likely to need breaking in on a modern bike. Pete

I know some people never seem to get the 'Flickering oil light of death' and I'm at a loss to know why? I can't see there being sufficient difference in the sump or pick-up manufacture. I tend to think that maybe it is down to the pressure sender's sensitivity, maybe some people just keep their oil a little bit over the full mark and that is sufficient to prevent pick-up exposure? Perhaps some people just don't ride hard enough for it to happen but I really do have no firm idea. I think though that it has been adequately demonstrated that the pick-up can be exposed and when this happens you do get a period of time when pressure drops to zero which is NOT a good thing. Independent testing would seem to indicate that the plate cures the problem which makes me happy 'cos it proves I'm not a complete dolt Pete Sorry Keith! Brain still in jetlag mode. Yup, all funds etc. recieved. I'll PM you. Pete Oh, spoke to the plate manufacturer yesterday, since the first batch was made the material has increased in price by 80%. They did have some old stock of 1.6mm plate rather than the 2mm I was using before so we're doing the next run in that. It is still about 35% more costly than the 1st run but I'll wear that. Next run after this though will be considerably more expensive. Pete

Ack!!! Budget for a set of big end shells if it's happened more than a couple of times but the plates are $175AU inc postage to the US of A. Pete

I'm ordering another batch today. I'll post when they're ready. Pete

Lots and lots of thread repair kits available but the 'Re-Coil', 'Heli-Coil' types are easy to find and come with full instructions. Just make sure that the kit you buy also contains the drill needed, some of them don't and it's a pain having to go back to the shops to buy the drill . If you go to your local fastener shop, (Nuts and bolts and things!) they will almost certainly be able to supply you with what you require. If you really have trouble I'm sure one of the listees in your neck of the woods can give you a pointer. If you *really* can't find something suitable? Give me a yell, I can buy a Re-Coil kit in town and post it to you. There are very few fasteners I use a torque wrench on on a Guzzi. Rod bolts and head stud nuts are two that spring to mind. Pretty much everything else is done up by feel or woth a sodding great rattle gun Pete PS. If you want to avoid doing this sort of thing again buy yourself a set of 'T' bar allen wrenches and just do 6mm fasteners up 'Single Hand' tight, (Unless you have forearms like Popeye!). It's hard to strip 'em out with one hand. Use anti seize on the bolts too.

While the spring on the new(er) type guzzi tensioner does seem a bit feeble it also seems to work quite adequately. Remember that it's only real purpose is to take up a small amount of slack on the long run between the oil pump sprocket and the cam sprocket. The wear in the pins of the chain i so small that any lengthening of the chain between the crank and cam sprocket is going to be so infinitesimally small it can make no discernable difference to the timing under load. On the over-run it may flop around a bit more but at that point it doesn't matter if the cam timing is out a few degrees. As long as it isn't out enough to allow the valve to clout the pistons, (And it would have to be out by a pretty large margin to allow that on a softly set up motor like a Guzzi.). Compared to the original so-called tensioner they used in earlier bikes it's streets ahead and many high mileage riders, mostly on Cali's, have done in excess of 150,000 miles without changing their chains or suffering disasters so it must be doing something right! Pete

As long as your sump has a 'Manhole cover' to access the filter it's the same unit and the plate will fit. It is strange that Sporti's don't seem to suffer from the problem of pick-up exposure but Hi-Cams and V11's do???? Pete

Well, I wouldn't run a 'broad sump' model without one but seeing as I'm the manufacturer and a self serving and venal bastard to boot any suggestion I make would be solely self promoting rubbish designed to fleece the gullible . Nah, do a search on 'Sloppage Sheet' and I think you'll get most of what you need regarding the history of the manufacture and design of the wretched thing. I'm currently out of stock but am about to have another batch made. Alternatively I think that Moto International and MPH may well still have some in stock so you could give them a yell. Pete

I'll go with the other boys. If there is no scoring of the crank pin just dress it up with a length of 1200 wet'n'dry tape after pushing the rods and pistons up the bores. Wash thouroughly with something like contact cleaner or brake cleaner after polishing and you'll probably find most of the blue disappears! Put in new shells making sure that the inside of the rod and the cap are SCUPULOUSLY clean and DRY. Then coat the bearing faces and crankpin liberally in assembley lube before tightening the caps back on. Try turning the crank by hand to ensure it spins. If it does? Re-fit the oil munt and sump and fill ith oil, press button and pray! Plain bearings either work or they don't. If it doesn't seize up in the first 30 seconds it will probably go for another 200,000 Km!!!! Pete

Studs can be a pain to get out and if they have been farted about with it usually makes it worse but they are never *impossible* to remove. If all else fails you can get the remains spark erroded, it'll be a lot cheaper to repair than replace the head. Pete

I've noticed a lot of V11's seem to have this end float in the queer 2 part bearing. I put it down to it settling in service . Oddly enough a similar amount of end float in an earlier bevelbox would almost certainly of led to the demise of the gears. On V11's it seems to make little or no difference, (Although it could be one of the reasons the outrigger bearing on the end of the pinion tends to sh!t itself?).All I can put this down to is the fact that the size and angle of the teeth is much greater on V11, (And CARC equipped boxes.) than it is on the earlier ones so the point of contact can wander a bit without the pinion excavating the base of the crownwheel teeth. Just a guess there though??? Pete

I'd heard about this but since I've not had to rebuild one yet, (I live in an extremely dry area where salt and other such guff is never put on the road so calipers don'tsuffer unduly.) I haven't explored it. What I can tell you is that I'm sure that if I get an example in my sweaty plam I'm 95% certain that I could get the seal from my 'Brake Bloke' and if the piston is munted and no replacement is avialable then machining one out of stainless shouldn't be a huge ask. If someone has a buggered one they would be willing to send me I'd be more than happy to do the legwork. Pete

To the best of my knowledge the original, *aftermarket* RAM units are pretty much unburstable. The problem with the Scura units was that some plank at Guzzi insisted they be re-engineered for the V11 Scura. On the weight issue? I've ridden lots of bikes with RAM clutches. I've also ridden heaps with the late model twinplater with the very light steel flywheel and ring gear. IMHO the difference in the engine's ability to spin up and down is undetectable between the two. Perhaps if you're ridding 99% the whole time you *might* pick it. Personally I think that the main effect is psychological. The single plater does on the whole have a lighter feel and smoother take up but there are of course downsides. Having a single plate, although it is slightly larger in surface area than an individual plate from the twin plater, it is still smaller and will wear quicker than the twin plater. Removing more material from the wheel of the late lodel twin plate flywheel would be difficult. It's pretty much been shaved as far as it can be. What would be possible is milling some slots in the ring gear between the mounting bolts if you really wanted to. To be honest though I think that it would achieve very, very little. As I've said before. I have no problem with the twin plater, but for those that wish to stick with a single plate unit? Buy a RAM. They work, they are proven and they probably aren't any more expensive than the twin plater. Damn sight cheaper than cutting the gearbox off the back of the block anyway! Pete

Driveshaft play is due to the three dog engagement of the straight cut box probably. Lift up the back of the bike and engage a gear and you'll find that you have 30-60 degrees of rotation in the rear wheel before it stops, (Engine off of course.). This, along with the lack of a rear wheel cush drive is what kills Sport C boxes. Pete

Usual things. Sort the gearbox out BEFORE it shits itself, don't wait for it to get noisy, examine the magnetic plug for frag. Since it now has pod filters it will be even more important than usual to re-jet it. Originally it ran a pressurised induction system with the airbox connected to the carb vents. Removing the box and vents will stuff up the carburettion badly and it was never crash-hot ex factory. Pete

I have a feeling that quite a few people bought Grisos thinking they were a much more powerful and brutish 'Street Rod' a-la Suzuki Bandit or one of the other naked musclebikes and wee probably disappointed by the comparative lack of brute horsepower. Certainly they handle superbly, (For a road going shafty.) once set up but they are't as *refined* as many other bikes although compared to most previous Guzzis they are streets ahead. Look, I love mine, I think its superb, but I wouldn't say that objectively it is either *the Best* motorbike around or the best value for money. Thing is I don't look at motorbikes in those terms, I think with my heart rather than my head when it comes to bikes. That, along with all the classic Guzzi virtues of simplicity, robustness and ease of maintenance are what make it a winner for me. Pete

The Cali II motor with the smallvalve heads has pistons to suit those heads. If you stick the mid-valver heads on to those barrels and pistons you substantially lower the compression ratio. No amount of decking of the heads will return the CR to anything ine its original without changing the pistons. Best bet would be to buy an 88mm Gillardoni kit for a Mk III Lemans. This will slip right on and will work very satisfactorily with the mid valve heads and you'll effectively get a 950cc Mk III LeMans motor which will give you considerably more poke thn thr original Cali donk especially if you carb it up a bit. Unfortunately 36mm PHF Delortos are getting hard to find. If you consider the fact that you'll save money by not hving to do any machining to parts and can defray the cost by on-selling the Cali Barrels and pistons you'll find that the cost won't be exhorbitant. pete

Not absolutely certain but it looks very similar to the setup on the Breva and (?) 1200 Sport, maybe Norge too but I haven't had a look at that. Given that it's usually the Cruiser set who piss and moan about inadequate charging I find it odd that they weren't able to find a way of fitting in the upgraded alternator. At least it gets real suspension at the back at last. Not my cup of tea but I'll take a set of those wheels for the Griso Pete

Nah, usually it's silent. Pete

To be honest I think this is probably wishful thinking but I'd be delighted to find out otherwise. As I've said often before I designed the sheet with the sole intention of curing the oil pick-up exposure problem, any advantages due to the deduction in viscous drag are purely an added bonus. Pete

OK, just to expand a bit on what others have said. The clutch thrust bearing is a small, flat, 'Torrington' type bearing that sits between two parts reffered to as the Inner and Outer 'Bodies'in the endcase of the gearbox. The clutch actuating arm pushes on the outer body which in turn pushes onthe thrust bearing which pushes on the inner body which pushes on the clutch pushrod which finally pushes on the thrust cup in the middle of the pressure plate withing the clutch itslf which lives in the engine's flywheel. Clear as mud so far? Now, when the clutch is properly adjusted there should always be a couple of mm of free play in the clutch cable. If there isn't, (And some people like to have none as it makes the clutch lever feel *firm* and not rattle about because it is under tension from the cable.) this free play then the thrust bearing and the entire assembley forward to the thrust cup are forced to spin at crank speed. Not only is the bearing not designed to take this at higher RPM for anything but a moment as you whip in the clutch to change gears due to it's rather marginal lubriction but as Graham said the tendency will be for the push rod to start to spin in the thrust cup in the centre of the pressure plate. When this happens it will get hot and will eventually ither deform or, in the most extreme cases, friction weld itself to the centre of the thust cup. Once this happens rapid failure of the pushrod and usually the thrust bearing soon follows. Having said all that another likely cause for your Dad's problem is the friction material un-riveting on one or both of the friction plates. Carb sports were producd at a time when Guzzi did use a batch of inadeqate plates. Not nly are these *early* plates prone to de-riveting but they also has thinner metal centres that wer prone to cracking between the webs in the plate the friction material is bonded too. There have been at least two upgrades to the original plate design that involved both thickening the metal plate the friction material is affixed to and also both riveting and laminating the friction material to the metal centre. If the friction material de-rivets, or the centre rips out of one of the plates, the problem usually manifests itself as wonky clutch take up and/or too much or too little free play in the cable that once adjusted out then returns quickly as the friction material or loose bit of friction plate moves about within the clutch assembley. Unless Your Dad was a 'Tight Clutch' man my guess is that one or both of the friction plates have disintegrated. The thrust bearing may also be at fault but the symptoms, to me, sound more like rooted plates than thrust bearing. Note also that the clutch has three adjustment points, at the lever on the handlebar, at the other end of the cable on the back of the gearbox and also on the arm that presses n the 'Outer Body' there is a screw and locknut adjuster. On Carb Sports, as the clutch wears and the arm on the back of the box moves back t is possible, if the screw and locknut adjuster isn't used to repositin the arm, for the arm to end up jammed against the gearbox mount that goes from the porkchop to the bottom lug on the gearbox casing. If this happens then once again the thrust bearing runs pre-loaded all the time resulting in the thrust bearing and clutch operating system being overloaded as described above so it's important to get it set up *right*. That being said I reckon you'll have to take the box out and do the clutch. Being a Carb Sport I would HIGHLY recommend that you go into he gearbox at this time, check for pinion damage, especially on 5th gear, replace the big input and output shaft bearings with 3205AC3's and shim up the selector drum properly. Pete

Because they don't make 100 BHP Mike, and as every pin-head, pencilneck and chinless wonder KNOWS you can't ride a bike that makes less than 100 RWBHP more than twenty miles because they just don't have the power. Also, being a Guzzi it has all sorts of weird and unusual foibles. Did you know that because of the 'Funny angle' of the cylinders you have to set them up so that one throttle butterfly opens before the other one? Pete

No, it's not. It's a fine pitch. From memory its a 12 x 1.25 but I don't have one in my hand at the moment. Pete

Yes. It's a direct result of the ratio between swept volume and crankcase max and min volume. The later bikes, especially the spineframes/broad sump models seem to suffer from it less and it is, of course, very dependent on how the bike is riden how much blow-by and windage occurs. I do think we can say pretty safely though that it's a GOOD thing to keep your oil filled to maximum or a bit above and if it's pumping out a fair bit, (It'll be being breathed through the motor, how do your plugs look after a good thrashing?) you might have a ring-seal or valve guide issue. Pete

Hopefully yes. Probably in the first or second week of April. I'm hoping to be doig another gearbox seminar in Hampshire on the weekend of the 1'st (?) and Gordon who is a Nuvo Falcone owner is hosting and I want to pick his brains before I go to Teo Lamers and order up some bits for this awful old sh!theap I'm doing up in Oz at the moment Jaap suggests I fly into Germany and then nip back across the border as I can fly from Stanstead which is only 50Km or so from Cambridge. I'll only be able to stay a couple of nights maximum but it would be very nice to catch up with a few of the Netherlands push while I'm over here. Pete