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Any reason why rockers would be tight even backed right off?f
Molly replied to Molly's topic in Technical Topics
Thank you, gentlemen. Appreciated, as always. - Today
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Any reason why rockers would be tight even backed right off?f
pete roper replied to Molly's topic in Technical Topics
Wot he sed -
Any reason why rockers would be tight even backed right off?f
Lucky Phil replied to Molly's topic in Technical Topics
You're trying to set the clearances on the overlap. Turn it another 360 degrees. Phil -
Thanks Marty. Heading back to Methven come August (all being well). Will shout you a beer.
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po18guy started following Oil froth in my rocker covers...
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Looks just like the valve covers of an air-cooled VW used for short drives. Allow time to make the full Isle circuit and you should be fine.
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You are not the first person to ask that question. See: https://www.v11lemans.com/forums/topic/22336-what-is-the-extra-sump-plug-for/#comment-256978
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MartyNZ started following Oil froth in my rocker covers...
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@cash1000 and I put a remote breather on our gearboxes for just that reason. See pictures: A spray flap is a good idea too. https://www.v11lemans.com/forums/topic/31139-transmission-problem-shift-bendix-any-ideas/page/2/#findComment-299737
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Fortunately our fuel doesn't contain ethanol. Some fortunate quirk of Island life.
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Harley-Davidson troubles
Joe replied to Pressureangle's topic in Special place for banter and conversation
My dad traded a 96 Sporster custom for a 98 Buell S1 White Lightning ⚡️I think it was $10,599. It had a crude seat, vibrated all over the place when idling, but once moving it smoothed out, suspension was WP, the front brake was epic. You had to remember not to hit the rev limiter(which was really low), if so it kept a respectable pace through a curvy road. While racing me on my 98 Honda SuperHawk 996, we about blew the motor, the bike had many recalls and dad wrecked it once so it lived at the HD dealership. On a trip back from Deals Gap the oil light came on, we pulled over to check, it had almost no oil in it. Dad traded the bike for a 00 BMW RT and the Buell chapter was over. A lot of fond hooligan memories mixed with mechanical failures & some scars. -
A major additional factor is Ethanol fuels. Ethanol is hydroscopic and any fuel dilution of the oil which happens with short ride/multi cold start cycle engines attracts additional water in the oil. People that run their engines on E85 have a major issue with this even with ultra short interval oil changes.
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Thanks chaps. Appreciate you taking the time to compose those replies. I should investigate my bike's plumbing a bit more. When I drained the oil I noticed only one oil line next to the drain plug, whereas the illustration showed two (one either side of the drain plug). On my bike, one is blanked-off. Might be unrelated to oil temperature but I was curious about it. Thanks again.
- Yesterday
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Dash cam on your motorcycle, anyone?
Pressureangle replied to p6x's topic in Special place for banter and conversation
I have INNOV front and rear camera set on my 'Sport. I did not have time to install cameras on my BMW prior to last summer's trip, but I had a helmet cam facing forward and missed the integrated system every day. I intend to have at the very least a single 360* camera mounted before the next big ride, probably the GTT. I have cameras in all of my cars now, as well. Unfortunate lesson learned; 2 years ago I got hydroplaned into and wrecked my beautiful '94 Chevy pickup. I had F&R cameras in that one as well, but the system wasn't known to me- and was a complete Chinese POS even though wonderful and expensive, because it filed recordings to the card every 30 seconds, and the G-shock system couldn't lock the file until it was written; because I turned the key off before the file was written, the *ONLY FILE* i needed in 2 years of recording was not saved, and I had no evidence. So I went to YouTube, viewed hundreds of crash videos, and bought Rexing brand for all my cars since they seem to have the most videos that actually made it to YT so their system is proven. They also have a tiny supercapacitor to keep the system alive if your battery disconnects or fails. The innov system on the Guzzi, iirc, writes the files to the card as it records. Oh, and yes, the fine Haitian gentlemen who so kindly helped pick up the pieces lied to the Trooper, who wrote the report as if he never even spoke to me, and reported 'accident, no fault' so I couldn't get paid. My passenger was a WA State prosecuting attorney, member in good standing of the Bar, and the BS went deep enough because the Troop didn't want a racial incident that my insurance paid me what they could, chased the other side for recompense of their own accord but in the end the bastards got away with it. I trust NO part of the justice system... Kicking this soapbox away before somebody declares me Elon Musk- 1 reply
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Mine's apart but with the trans and swingarm out; it appears that the subframe is symmetrical along the frame spine axis.
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^^ this Full synthetic oils are less prone to this as well. I remember back in the 1970s, Pennzoil brand was particularly bad for this; Pennsylvania crude oil is high in paraffin, and the wax emulsified with the water easier than non-paraffin crude extracts. The advent of synthetic oils put most of it to rest. So if you're using dinosaur dookie, try synthetic at the next change.
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Yup, it’s just mayonnaise. Especially in cooler, damper climates as the engine heat cycles between runnng and not as it cools the water in the gas inside the crankcase, of which there will be a fair bit as water is one of the main y-products of combustion and there is always some blow by past the rings, will condense out on the inside of the cases. As the rocker covers always tend to run cool and are at the top of the motor this is where a lot of the water ends up. It combines with the oil droplets as it condenses and voila! The disgusting looking but essentially harmless mayonnaise. The answer to preventing it is getting the oil hotter. Once the oil temperature and internal temperature of the engine gets above about 90*C the the water will sublime out of the oil and off the internals of the engine and will over time be expelled through the breather system and rebreathed through the combustion chambers and expelled in the exhaust. No big block Guzzi begins to get even remotely warm enough to do this in winter unless you are doing motorway speeds for over twenty miles at least. Something I’d think it would be unlikely you’d be doing on the IOM, especially in winter! At least the V11’s have the advantage of having a thermostat in the oil cooler circuit which will help bump up the oil temperature a bit in cool weather. The 8V engines have a separate cooling circuit independent of the lubrication circuit and it directs the oil through the cooler unregulated. This means that any time the ambient temperature is under about 20-23*C it is damn near impossible to get the oil temp above 100*C which is where you want it unless you thrash the bastard mercilessly everywhere in 4th gear @ 6,000+RPM! Some of us owners have fitted external thermostats to our bikes, others, like me, who can’t be arsed, just tape off the cooler in the cooler months! Finding that nasty crap in the rocker covers is disconcerting the first time you see it and it is preferable that it not be there but it is what it is. Some oils are more prone to forming mayonnaise as well. Castrol has always been worse than many others and it’s one of the reasons I try to avoid it, but a damn good thrashing from time to time is the best medicine! Also, if you are riding in the wet at all make sure you put some sort of ‘Spray flap’ in the triangle of the swingarm cantilever or you’ll find your gearbox full of water as the stupid breather is right in line with the rear tyre. Mornin Phil!
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Cool climate and short trips with a high ratio of cold starts to miles ridden is your issue. Buy an oil dipstick temp gauge and monitor what your oil temps are during your normal riding regime. You may need to cover the oil cooler to get the oil temp up and burn off the water the oil accumulates in your riding situation. You do need to get this under control or it will wreck your engine eventually. In your climate i'd imagine anything less than a spirited 50klm ride and you'll be getting this issue. Phil
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Harley-Davidson troubles
po18guy replied to Pressureangle's topic in Special place for banter and conversation
Strange. Several versions are on their 2025 website. -
Confess, no. It had an oil and filter change when I bought it just 2000 KM ago. I was changing the oil because it's been about eighteen months since then. I don't tend to do short journeys but living in the Isle of Man perhaps my journeys are in fact short.
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Looks like “mayo” syndrome, perhaps caused by shorter rides where the oil is not getting up to temperature Did you drop the sump to get a look inside?
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The frame dimensions are shown in dimensional drawings in the workshop manual. Unfortunately, I'm not near mine right now. Welcome, @Paul57! [Watch for this topic to move to Technical Topics (just housekeeping).]
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Hi guys. What's causing this? I'm just doing a service. The oil I dumped looked ok but the inside of the rocker covers has me concerned. Thanks in advance for your advice.
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Dash cam on your motorcycle, anyone?
p6x posted a topic in Special place for banter and conversation
I received my Ride Texas magazine, and there is an article written by a specialist lawyer who provides legal services to motorcycle riders. What he is stating is disturbing but given to what is happening in the USA lately, it may makes sense; 1) if you are injured in a crash, it is your responsibility to prove liability. 2) the Insurance company's initial move is to blame the motorcyclist, based on the general accepted perception that motorcycle riders are reckless. 3) In claims without witnesses or hard evidence, it is common from the opposing party to blame your riding as the cause for the accident. 4) According to the lawyer, a video recording does the following: Show the exact timing of the impact (helps with proving the suspect was there in case of a hit and run, with later claim that he was never there in the first place). Disprove false claims made by witnesses and the police officers; according to the lawyer, it is very common to have witnesses describing the incident in unfavorable ways for the motorcyclist, swaying the police report against him. A recording my capture the driver's immediate action after the crash, such as fleeing the scene or initially accepting fault In extreme cases, accident reconstruction experts will be able to analyze the dynamic of the accident. What is disturbing, is he allegedly suggests police officers should not be trusted. Including the video camera they are supposed to wear to record any interaction. Those body camera are often not working, or footage lost, when it is convenient to them. In substance, he is saying that police cannot be trusted to do the right thing. Does anyone here ride with a dash came on his bike(s), just as a tattle tale?- 1 reply
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