Cream of mushroom soup!

[stockport claret]

Had my Mandello off the road for a while now since my throttle cable snapped while overtaking some cars on an uphill stretch .

Changed the cable then set about doing some other maintenance. Greased the U joints, bled the rear brake. I am working my to the front of the bike.

 

Anyway got round to the gearbox and engine oil today. Warmed the bike up then drained off what looked like 'cream of mushroom soup' (colour wise) from the gearbox and the usual dark used oil colour from the engine. Refilled with fresh oil and my how quiet things have become. Looking to do the same again in March/April and use Redline Shockproof that seems to be a favorite on here.

 

I have been suprised a what I have been able to do with the help of the workshop manual and looking through this forum

[belfastguzzi]

'cream of mushroom soup' (colour wise)

There's Campbell's Condensed inside the spine, if you ever get desperately hungry.

 

 

A good cupful stays in here:

That's the liquid level that you can see through the hole.

[pete roper]

The nasty looking oil is mayonaise. It is caused by water getting into the oil. In the case of V11's this a particular problem with the gearbox as the breather is in a direct line with the fling from the rear tyre and there is NOTHING fitted by the factory to keep water out.

 

Most folks who ride a bit in the rain will find the problem can essentially be cured by fitting some sort of shield between the rear tyre and the breather. Most folks do this by simply making up a triangle of plastic that will fit in he swingarm between the pivot cross-member and the two connector bars to the shock mount. It can simply be tied in there with cable ties. Once in place this stops the water being flung forward onto the breather which is where it leaks into the gearbox.

 

Pete

[gstallons]

When you are changing this fluid, refill, run and drain until this fluid looks perfect. Don't worry about the cost of oil doing this, it is less expensive than the cost of a gearbox overhaul.

Didn't the oil show any difference looking in the sight glass?

[macguzzi]

The nasty looking oil is mayonaise. It is caused by water getting into the oil. In the case of V11's this a particular problem with the gearbox as the breather is in a direct line with the fling from the rear tyre and there is NOTHING fitted by the factory to keep water out.

 

Most folks who ride a bit in the rain will find the problem can essentially be cured by fitting some sort of shield between the rear tyre and the breather. Most folks do this by simply making up a triangle of plastic that will fit in he swingarm between the pivot cross-member and the two connector bars to the shock mount. It can simply be tied in there with cable ties. Once in place this stops the water being flung forward onto the breather which is where it leaks into the gearbox.

 

Pete

These bits of plastic used to be for sale I think it was called the edge guard do a search on the site it should come up

[savagehenry]

These bits of plastic used to be for sale I think it was called the edge guard do a search on the site it should come up

And there's a picture of this swingarm splash guard with dimensions in "all pictures" at the top of this page if you wanted to make your own, too. I made my own, and made a "curtain" out of an old inner tube that hangs from the back of the battery box. I ride in the rain, (snow yesterday!) and do not have any tranny fluid fouling issues.

[stockport claret]

thanks for the replies.

I got in touch with The Edge about one of his guards and he said he would send one out to me as soon as he'd made another batch.

Will run the bike for a bit and drain and refil the oil a couple of times. thanks for all the tips

[slug]

The nasty looking oil is mayonaise. It is caused by water getting into the oil. In the case of V11's this a particular problem with the gearbox as the breather is in a direct line with the fling from the rear tyre and there is NOTHING fitted by the factory to keep water out.

 

Most folks who ride a bit in the rain will find the problem can essentially be cured by fitting some sort of shield between the rear tyre and the breather. Most folks do this by simply making up a triangle of plastic that will fit in he swingarm between the pivot cross-member and the two connector bars to the shock mount. It can simply be tied in there with cable ties. Once in place this stops the water being flung forward onto the breather which is where it leaks into the gearbox.

 

Pete

 

When I lived in Seattle I rode in the rain a lot and constantly fought the "pea soup in the gearbox" syndrome. My solution was as follows:

 

1. Remove the vent plug from the gearbox.

2. Tear off the venting thingy from the top of the plug.

3. Solder a short section of 1/4" OD copper tubing in place of the venting thingy, making sure that the copper tube sticks out no more than 1/2" from the top of the plug.

4. Slightly flare the top of the copper tube.

5. Put the plug back in the gearbox.

6. Attach a section of rubber hose to the plug with a small hose clamp.

7. Route the hose somewhere up under the seat where water doesn't splash up.

 

Haven't had a problem since.