pete roper

I've heard of, but never seen, severely worn guides on the V11's. Why it should happen i don't know. What I do know is that you can have horribly sloppy valves and guides and Guzzis won't tend to smoke. The best diagnosis technique I know is to have the engine stone cold, start it and run it for three or four minutes then kill it and let it sit until completely cold again. If the guides are suspect when you re-start it you'll then get huge clouds of smoke for a couple of minutes and then it'll clear and everything will appear *normal*. Years and yeard of dealing with the hateful big-valve motor taught me this . The V11's use a slightly more aggressive cam than the big-valvers but their valves are smaller so the rocking motion imparted by the rocker sliding across the top of the valve is inherently less than with the big valver but the accelerative forces and side thrust will be greater due to the more aggresive nature of the cam. From what I've read here and elsewhere it looks like Guzzi got a bung bunch of 'Free Grandfather Clock With Every Hundred' valves made and threw 'em willy-nilly into V11's. Certainly my understanding is that the problem rests with the valves rather than the guides, it's very difficult to f@ck-up a sintered bronze guide! Getting some decent valves made by someone like Manley shouldn't be too difficult and as long as the valve guides are still firm in the head I say you can't go past K-lining. Not only does it keep the new valve concentric with the seat meaning that less material has to be removed to cut the new valves in but the scrolled nature of the liner means that they actually hold what little lubrication they get better than the parent material and so they last longer. A further bonus is that when they do wear out you simply ream 'em out and replace 'em again. All in all a much better sollution than re-guiding. In case anybody want's to suggest that this might be an OK sollution for Lo-Po old sh!tters but not for a fine, race-tuned, (Snuffle, guffaw!) engine like the V11 I'd like to point out that both of the Moto Moda race bikes run K-lined guides and we're running considerably more aggressive cams than the V11 one and we've never had a failure. The K-lines in the 'Roundfin' bike have just been replaced after two and a half seasons which isn't a lot in miles but remember that this is a race bike that is caned to the max from cold virtually every time it's started! Incidentally I'd like to know how the diagnosis was made that the guides were shot? The only *real* way to be sure is to take the heads to bits. If it was merely down on compression it could be any number of things and if it was leaking down I'd suspect a charred valve over worn guides at any mileage under 25,000KM??? Pete

'03/04 EV's are cheap as chips due to the problems, (Now sorted.) with the Hydro motor and the clutches. Thing is that the Hydro motor IS magnificent, I love the Hydro's. You could pick one up for not a lot and while it's a *different* ride to the V11 it still has oodles of all the things that make a Guzzi fun but it's also comfortable for us of a more decrepit nature and can carry everything you're ever likely to need. They also handle surprisingly well! Alternatively, you could try a Breva or Griso. I'm not a fan of the 'Dog Shagging a Hockeyball' riding position, never have been, but my Griso offers me an upright riding position AND the ability to go really silly in the bends. It may look radical but don't discount it till you've ridden one! Pete

It's obviously buggerd. I'll give you a nifty for it and you can send it to Jon in LA on your dime. M-a-y-t-e-e! I'm doing you a favour!!!! Pete, (Got some Tonti's, Got a Griso, Got an Eldo, (in bits!) needs a spiney on the cheap ) (PS doesn't need a Hi-Cam Sorry Paul )

I run Mobil 1 15-50 in the big G. Why? Not because I reckon the basic design needs it but because the factory *may* of decided to cheap out on some manufacturing processes and a top of the range synthetic will probably offer marginally better protection in boundary lubrication situations. Also, to the best of my knowledge, they come from the factory with a full synth in them. Of all my *concerns* with oil, which are overwhelmingly minor, I have found that machines that have swapped from a synth to a mineral or visa-versa are more prone to leaks. Since I spend an inordinate amount of my life stopping grubby shite coming out of the insides of other peoples bikes I have no desire top have to waste any more of it stopping it coming out of mine. Ipso facto I use a TOTR synth in it in the hope I won't have to pull it apart in the next 10 years. Personally I think that any old mineral Yak Fat will do the job every bit as well, but for me, who's time NOT farting about with bits of broken munt is important, I'll pay the premium and if it goes tit's up I'll scream blue murder at the importer for a warranty claim and fix it for $$$$ Pete

It's a Guzzi. Itvreally will run quite happily on Yak Fat. Stop worrying! Pete

Looking back at that old post isn't it ironic? I never thought I'd buy a *new* motorbike, never mind a new Guzzi, and now here I am absolutely besotted with my Griso. One of the great things about being an irrascible old fart is that even when you've been shown to be a complete hypocrite you really don't give a toss Pete

Sorry, I've been away at the weekend and busy, real busy, since and simply haven't had time to reply to this. Somewhere, way back when, I did a V11 bevelbox strip photojournal and I *think* posted it up here. Itmay still be around? Pete

Sorry, but this isn't accurate. The oil performs two functions in a plain bearing. Firstly there has to be a through-flow of oil to remove heat, a layer only a few molecules thick can't do this. Secondly what keeps the bearing and journal separate is not the film of oil per-se. The forces acting on the oil film are much greater than the 50 or so PSI that the pumped oil protect against. Just do a simple set of sums on the pressure exerted on top of the piston and the surface area of the bearing and you'll see this is so. What actually protects the bearing and enables it to work is a rolling wave-form within the oil film itself which forms, very conveniently, at the point of greatest pressure on the film. This is what is known as the 'Hydro-dynamic Wedge' and is what allows a plain bearing to function. as the point of the wedge the oil pressure is in fact multiplied by some very large amount, (a factor of ten always springs to mind but I'm not absolutely sure?) and it is for this reason that bearing clearances are critical. Too large and the wedge can't form. Too small and the through-flow of oil is too small and the bearing will cook. While it is true that at any given instant, as long as there is a layer a few mollecules thick separating the bearing and it's journal then all will be OK, the whole process is dynamic and on-going in service and therefore it can't be looked at in such conveniently simple terms. Pete

I hate to say it on this forum but the new models are, IMHO so far ahead of the V11's that they are as different a chalk and cheese. I'm not surprised they are getting favorable reviews. Bear in mind that I'm a dyed in the wool Guzzi nutter who LOVES the V11's but never enough to actually own one. Oh, and Jon, Erika flies into LA on Friday, (Only in transit though, she's going on to DC next day.) So if there is a major security lockdown at LAIA you'll know why . I've given her your address in case something horrible occurs, hope you don't mind, she is *moderately* house trained Pete

No, not neccesarily. the piston speed at any given RPM will be slower due to the shorter stroke. this equals better clinder fill and therefore more *bang*. The biggest problem the 2 valver has is that it isn't very volumetrically efficient. Sticking some sort of blower on it will effectively cure this at higher RPM but it doesn't mean that it will automatically be a slug without. Personally, as an 1100 Griso owner I can hardly fault my set-up, the smaller throttle bodies make it carburete brilliantly and it has more than adequate power for me and I have always thought that forced aspiration is great in theory but stinks in practice as it makes fueling so much more dificult and adds weight. If you're looking for outright power by increasing VE then you can't go past it but it needs clever engine management tro get it to work well. Pete

Stop yer whining Field! You bought a V11, get on with it . Also I'd have to say that fitting a guage would be pretty pointless! for one it's going to take time, (Which is of the essence!) to react and for two, when are you going to be accellerating so hard AND looking at a guage?!?!?! When I'm doing that I'm usually more woried about the state of my underpants Pete

Correct. The bore remains the same as the 1100 but stroke has been reduced to 66mm! Te shortest of any big block ever made. The thing should be a rev-hound and just begs to have some sort of forced aspiration! Pete

My little hot-rod was just coming up to 300,000 miles when I wrecked it out. Yes, it was like grandfather's axe but the cases and frame were original as were a lot of the bearings in the motor and gearbox. Since the newer bikes are more powerful and probably not as well made they will probably wear stuff out quicker but they're not really any more difficult to work on than the older ones, lets face it, the motor hasn't really changed in 40 years, (hi-Cams excepted. And even them it's only the top end.). Mind you in its last guise my little hot rod was making 84 RWBHP and the only thing it used to wear out a lot of was big end shells. Pete

I think that the newer, FI bikes, do run appreciably hotter. Isuppose it's something to do with running a leaner mixture. I know Greg also has had overheating issues with his Eldo, perhaps it's just the way it gets flogged . In my experience with numerous old roundfins I've never felt the need for any oil cooling apart from what is provided by the finning. Even my SP with it's full fairing would only get unaccepatbly hot after long periods of trickling along in traffic in 40* heat and as soon as I got some air flow over the cylinders and sump it would all cool down again. (The SP has both oil pressure and temperature guages fitted.) With the Griso with it's *smooth* sump I can imagine that the oil cooler will be a boon, but there again it'll only work properly when the bike is moving. I must admit though that I don't worry too much about heat, even in high summer. They always seem to cope. Pete

This is very unfortunate, you have my utmost sympathy. My kids? well two are grown up and the other is twelve but when they were younger both my wife and I were accutely aware of the fact that motorcycling can be dangerous but on ballance my overall mental health was so far improved by my being able to go out for a spirited flog that the trade off in risk was seen to be worth it. I did a lot of riding in cities when I was younger, despatch rode in London in the '80's, the sort of crash you had is an almost daily risk, in fact it's probably worse now as back then at least mobile phones weren't around! I can understand your wife's concerns and your decision is of course yours alone but I would offer a word of caution. One of the biggest groups clogging motorbike accident statistics is middle aged blokes returning to motorbikes after a lay-off when they had young families. IMHO it is probably statistically far safer to keep riding, although depending on where you live and work maybe not commuting, than it is to give it away for a decade or more and then to come back when the itch gets too strong. A couple of years ago I had my first major off in almost two decades. It certainly made me re-assess a lot of stuff and certainly made me realize that neither my reactions nor my skill levels are what they were twenty years ago. It didn't though for a moment make me think that I should give up motorbikes, not even limit myself to track days. Quite simply road riding is such an integral part of my life I'd be berreft without it and while your situation will obviously be different I'd give the matter considerable thought before I made a decision so soon after the incident. Act in haste, repent at liesure as the saying goes. At the end of the day you have escaped fairly lightly and that is a good thing. What man has made man can make again, the bike is only metal, although it's obviously disappointing for such damage to have occured. My advice would be to hop back in the saddle as soon as possible and make a decision based on being *in control rather than a knee-jerk reaction to the horror of what occured. Whatever you decide I wish you all the best and hope that the decision is the right one for you. Pete

F*ck me! It's a back-to-front Ariel '3'! Another wonderful piece of useless munt being promulgfated as a solution to urban congestion. Bollocks! what a load of yuppieish crap! Pete

Now THAT is a serious halitosis problem!!!!!! Pete

http://morini.com.au/phpBB2/index.php?sid=...37cc3c1dab9c837 I may be wrong about that, not absolutely sure, but I think it was there Pete

Yup, that's what it is and on most cars that I know of it is connected to the manifold. Why it isn't used on Guzzis, (Or any other similarly equipped bike?) I don't know. Perhaps it is simply that the demand for fuel isn't so great as to cause a radical drop in presure in the elivery system when the throttle is cranked? I seem to remember tehre was a discussion on this subject over on Phil's forum a while back. It might be worth doing a search over there. pete

Lee, you did the clutch on your 850T. If you can do that servicing the V11 should be a breeze. If you've done the tappets on the 850 T the process on the V11 is identical so there are no surprises there. Dropping the oils is easy just be careful not to over-fill the gearbox and bevelbox. If it's fueling itself nicely? Leave the FI alone! I know that lots of people fiddle endlessly with things like their TPS, IMO if it ain't broke? Don't fix it! One thing I would advise is dropping the sump off for a looksee. This is SUPPOSED to of been done at the first service but I now of few dealers who do. In the early years of V11 production there were certainly occasions where the factory was less than perfect in the cleaning of it's castings and it is a good idea tto drop the sump once and make sure there isn't any swarf or other munt around the strainer or lying in the sump itself. I'll be doing this on my Griso at the first service just to make sure anyway. It will also allow you to check that the thermostat/oil filter plumbing is securely bolted to the crankcase or sump extension thingy, (Can't offhand remember which it bolts to?) as these have been known to be left a tad loose at the factory. Having the sump off also makes it a lot easier to remove the filter, if you use the 'Manhole' you need a proper filter wrench. Apart from that? As the others have said give the air filter a blow out, check that everything is clean and tight, get the wheels off the ground and check the wheel bearings and steering/swingarm bearings. Take the plugs out and re-install them with some zinc-cote or copper-cote on their threads. Grease up the UJ's and sliding coupling and go for a flog Pete

http://www.flickr.com/photos/motomoda/ These show some of the damage, the LH header is ugliest after the headlight which I've replaced. Pete

Some crappy pics from when I was unpacking it. http://www.flickr.com/photos/motomoda/ We ain't au-fait with these programmes so you may need to play with the images to get a good look, I would advise *not* enhancing the one with me in, especially if you've just finished eating. Pete

Jim, the offer's solid. Next time you're here drop by, the bike is yours, with the usual 'You bend it, you mend it' caveats. Mouth breathers, oxygen thieves and people who think they are *nice* need not apply Pete

Mr F. The reason why my bike is registered as a business vehicle is so I can let daft farts like you ride it and Mr. Costello will pick up some of the tab. If you want to meander down here and take it out for a day? Feel free. Pete

Headlight still works, it's just got a huge farking hole in the lens. Incidentally the light is brilliant, (sic.) even with a busted lens the multi reflector thingy gives a great spread and on high beam the penetration is excellent. Pete