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G'day folk's Well life has conspired to keep me off the green one for the last 6 bloody weeks.....Argghhh! Finally, an opportunity arose to get a ride in turned up when asked to help out at our Dandenong branch last week.So not only did I eagerly volunteer, I didn't give a flying fornication what the weather was going to do or even if it snowed on Friday.... I'm taking the bike! So up a wee bit earlier in case of trouble starting her,I'm togged up and ready to go at 5 am. Ha ha no sign of any snow and a nice cool morning! Hit the starter and bingo she fires right up! I expected some bother after 6 weeks but warmed her up well as I normally do and pulled out the driveway and through town to the Freeway on ramp.Just as I feed in the power to get up to speed, she just loses all power and dies! So Brrrr Brrrrr over to the side of the road and what the....I turn everything off and try to re-start but all I get is d,d d, d,d d, d,d,d and no go! Weird and just as I'm about to get off and call the wife I thought I'd flick the kill switch a couple of times and try again.BINGO she fires up! Great so off to the servo for gas and she won't fire up again! Another flick of the kill switch and she fires up...Phew! I decide I'll keep going but she's running ok but just not quite right.Can't put my finger on it but give her a bit of the ole Italian tune up a few times when I'm certain Mr Plod's not looking and by about 50 or so Kay's she's coming good! By the time I get off the freeway at the other end she's back to her old self again! She stalled when warming up after work but quickly back to normal and I had a so so ride home. It was only due to traffic on a Friday arvo of a long weekend but I did enjoy a few brief clear patches. After that wee taste I decided I'd take the bike again Saturday to see Dad after we'd done the weekly shopping. She fired up ok but I think she took a little bit longer to warm up and idle ?? Not sure but she was all good on leaving the servo again. Now about this time the cloudy overcast morning gives way to a bright and sunny clear 20 degree wind free day and I hit the brilliant twisty bits between Drouin and Lang Lang! Both of us ( me and the bike ) are running well and we have the road to ourselves....! It was just one of those rides where everything goes just right and made even more enjoyable as it'd been too long ! I was babbling away about it for ages when I got to Dad's but my brother's an ex- rider and knew what I was on about! I could see the wistful look in his eyes and left the subject alone from there. Twas a great catch up but more of the same lay ahead on the way home again.I didn't quite have the road to myself this time round but we still had a bloody great ride home. I'm sure as hell not leaving her sitting idle for six weeks again! ( touch wood ). Cheers Guzzler

I'm just a custodian. But don't make me send in the lady with the broom to spank your bacon slicer . . . .

Thanks, but to be honest, too much time has passed since I've thought about these things, so I'm doing a bit of a reboot.... Now @docc ...he's the wizened elder I think

I am starting to worry about the Moto Grappa … … and am glad I decided to put this sign inside instead of outside. OTOH, living as I do in Frederick County, at the top of Virginia, I think my views are more of the Molon labe sort ... Seriously, I appreciate the commercial need to protect intellectual property of all kinds, yet, especially for mini-brands such as Moto Guzzi, balancing the loss of trade dress protection by the name becoming generic against the gain from “advertising” by enthusiasts of the marque would sure seem counterproductive. Rather than absolute “cease & desist” letters, Piaggio suits might have accomplished the same thing with requiring a token payment for use, thus protecting their ownership without alienating so many Guzzisti. They must have a rosier view of the moto-future than I do. Maybe it’s just the “principle of the thing.” That then gets to that old curse: “God grant my enemy a lawsuit in which he is right.” Back to reality here, which, in my case, means Her Grace’s list. Bill

One can never have too much insurance. The only concern is cost, and this is not a place I'd save money. I don't have metal core gaskets in mine, but I will if the sump ever comes off again. I recommend replacing the stock sump bolts with 5mm longer ones, to be sure you have full thread engagement. Nobody wants stripped sump threads.

Either will do the job. Is there an *Ideal* solution? Don't ask me! I know the thicker aftermarket gaskets fix the problem. I'm pretty sure Rolf's suggestion has equal merit! All I suggest is that for CARC bikes you get rid of the earlier, truly shit, original gasket.

Yeah... California, Nevada, the Stelvio National Park, and LeMans are gonna have to think of something quick.

Could the model names be next? Seems this hapless Cardolino has blundered into the snare . . .

The BEST stuff. If it goes on R/R aircraft powerplants , it must be good. Just a smear is all you need. When you disassemble , the gasket remains intact and if you want you can reuse it.

This bike sounds unreal, incredible.

Sukiyaki Django Guzzi

GUZZIMOTO -— one word! If the Piaggio lawyers knock on your door, tell ’em it’s a Japanese name...

For more details on these new gaskets and more in-depth information, you can check Rolf’s thread on the Ghetto. https://www.grisoghetto.com/t6888-new-oil-pressure-gaskets-for-the-8v-engine

I see no reason not to use the metal core gaskets.

All kidding aside, I propose we pin thread in FAQ with links to current business names with links and a reference to the name that had to be surrendered.

Yeah, just plug the ECU in directly. Look, especially, at your CO Fuel Trim setting. "Zero" is a good place to start. Negative double digits are worth zeroing. With a proper "Decent Tune-up," any desire to keep a PC will likely fade . . . Here, Al, I distilled our collective knowledge into this compendium thread. The first post is all 6 steps.

Not so much the sump gasket, but the upper gasket between the spacer and the block. Rolf's image shows that the later metal gasket would replace the earlier V11 gasket for those so inclined . . .

I recall interviews in the Centenery Videos asking the question, "What is one word to sum up Moto Guzzi?" Pausing only briefly, Alis Agostini replied, "Struggle. " She would know.

It mainly affects the 8V's and the problem seems to be that the gallery in both block and spacer is larger and the bottom of the gallery in the block has a largish chamfer on it. This means that the actual thickness of the clamping surface for the gasket is very thin. Couple this with the clamping force being applied still by only two 6mm bolts and the shitty quality of the original gasket and it's a recipe for disaster. PS. It has been known to happen n 2V CARC bike engines too, but it's much rarer. I wonder if it became an issue when they went to the trochoidal pump from the gear pump but I'll likely never know.

Yeah. It doesn't happen to all of them but it's common enough that Michael and I recommend it to all of our customers who are having their bikes rollerised and inform other people and let them make the choice but we do encourage it. I've had it happen on two of my engines. Both required new big end shells as a result. Many people go essentially the life of the motor with no problems but failures are frequent enough to be a concern. Unfortunately the first symptoms are usually big end knock at idle. If it is allowed to progress from there it can get to the point where the cam chain tensioner plungers aren't getting enough oil to prime and they rattle! By then delivery to the top end must be well marginal and I'd expect there to be further damage to the tappets and cam bearings.

The problem with the sump spacer to crankcase oem gasket blowing out around the oil delivery galleries has been well documented with the CARC 8V engines and it’s been one of Pete Roper’s crusade to have them replaced with available aftermarket thicker gasket as routine maintenance, to prevent it from happening and the consequent loss of oil pressure. These oem metal core gasket recommended by Rolf are new to the 1400 engines and are now spec’d by MG on 1200’s as well. Aftermarket thicker gasket: https://www.mgcycle.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=34 Oem metal core gasket: https://www.mgcycle.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=5495

Scud You can do it for me if you want. Rolf

In general - a simple paper gasket between 2 very small surfaces where you have a a varm oil pressure, are not the best choise of materials. A reinforced steel gasket is in my oppinion the better solution.

The 1400 models uses a steel reinforced bottom gasket - to prevent a "blow out" of internal oil - resulting in loss of oil pressure. This gasket has No: B063861 I will advise this gasket to be used on all big Guzzi's from 1965 and up.

If this happened under extreme braking it is unlikely to be pressure loss due to pick up exposure. The pick up on the 'Broad Sump' motors is at the front on the right of the sump. Under heavy braking the oil will slosh forward and there is little chance of it being exposed. It's on hard acceleration, and especially if you wheelie it, that the pick up is likely to be uncovered. In this case, if I'm interpreting the OP correctly, the light remained on for ten minutes after the event during which time the motor was running and the bike was being ridden. If there had been a catastrophic loss of pressure the crank would be toast. Plain bearings simply can't survive without a constant supply of oil at the correct pressure. We are talking seconds, not minutes for irreparable damage to occur. That leads me to think it is far more likely that the cause for the light coming on is far more likely to be something as simple as a dodgy switch, (A well known and documented issue.) or even simply the connector on the wire that goes to it being loose and just the inertia of the cable hurtling forward as the brakes were applied may of caused it to slip and break the circuit. I'd still suggest the installation of a sloppage sheet as it really is very cheap protection for your crank but in this case I don't think it would of helped.

Avec la GOMME DUNLOP, the lady with the broom won't catch you till you drop...

If you load the map from Meinolf then no power commander needed and no low rev cough either! He's a member on here. 🙂

A summary of all three metal core gaskets that MG Cycle sells: ENGINE SUMP GASKET CALIFORNIA 1400 SERIES, GRISO 1200 8V PART NUMBER: B063861 https://www.mgcycle.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=5495 VALVE COVER GASKET METAL BREVA 11/12 GRISO VINTAGE NORGE 976139 PART NUMBER: 976139B https://www.mgcycle.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=4634 METAL CORE TIMING COVER GASKET, BIG TWINS UNTIL 2009 GU05001230 PART NUMBER: 12001200M https://www.mgcycle.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=5044

What a great looking Ducati that stands out from the more popular 916/748 crowd. Just slap some bags on it and it's a perfect tourer! I wonder if those are the same or similar Lafranconi mufflers that were on the Centauro and Sporti1100?

Thanks, I would love to eventually eliminate the PCIII and hopefully will; not because there is anything wrong with it, but it is aging technology and another added complexity and potential point of failure. Now that we can tune the ECU directly, I think that's a real opportunity to simplify.

From my V11 Lemans days I can remember that also loose oil filters caused this problem. Owners did not use a tool + torque wrench + 15 Nm. Maybe the gasket of the oil filters can cause problems. This one comes with an improved one: https://hmb-moto.de/Oil-Filter-Cali-1100-V11-Breva-Griso-Norge-etc

And no reason not to use the thicker paper gaskets as they have been proven reliable, Pete? Your choice, they both improve on the original gasket! The metal core gaskets are actually a bit thinner than the better paper ones - 0.5mm to 0.9mm respectively according to Rolf’s measurements - and since you need two with the roper plate, they will reduce the stack height some but not by any significant amount.

what about Goose, Gootsie, etc? they can't trademark everything Lots of HD places began using "V Twin" A local BMW repair shop switched to B&W must be some creative ways around it.

You can and just for safety's sake put 5 pin relays in all positions . The one 5 pin relay in your bike now acts as a load shedding relay. This removes all unnecessary power so all the current can go to start the bike.

I like the word left in place but scribbled out!

I think its an excellent name!

So I guess I'll wait to order two of the metal core gaskets until there is some clarification on that question I'm not installing the Roper plate any time soon, so no rush. But I will forget about these special gaskets if I don't order them soon

I welcome any feedback,while this topic is on the burner,because it also happens to be on my "to do" list; there is one other aspect to this that iirc was an issue. I've read a ton of info on the pros/cons replacing the gaskets in the crossovers with solid machined pieces vs just eliminating the crossover completely with new headers. Iirc there were a few/many? owners that replaced the gaskets at the crossover with solid machined metal pieces and experienced cracking in a variety of places around fixed fastening points of the header pipes, because of the loss of flexibility dealing with vibration/engine/pipe movement etc. fwiw idk

Other than cost (paper is about $5, metal core is about $13), why wouldn't two of the better metal core gaskets be a better choice to sandwich the Roper plate between? Is there some concern or drawback to using two of the metal core gaskets?

So is there a metal core sump gasket for the V11 that should be considered for extra insurance, or is this only available for the later bikes?

+1 True, as the oil pressure switch rides ahead of the left cylinder, vulnerable to the weather. IIRC, the connector to the oil pressure switch on the V11 are all just pressed on with no shielding. Worth a careful clean, crimp, seal (Vaseline®). I sourced a switch boot from the EV series for mine . . .

With this occurring after a recent oil change, it would be good follow-up to check the oil level (yes, a Roper Plate moves the sump oil lower and away from the pick-up. Seems to me that the upper mark on the stick remains valid as the full mark, regardless of the volume added. It has been so common that the old oil filter gaskets remains stuck in the engine when the new filter is installed. I have made myself a BIG NOTE IN RED to check this at every oil filter removal. Certainly, the tightness of the filter is another matter of debate. The old method of "hand tight" is not adequate for these filters. One of our members diligently derived "one and one-eighth turns past gasket contact.

So, with a "Roper Plate", two of these would sandwich the plate above the spacer?

I chased a low pressure situation for a while on a 2003 LeMans. Turned out that part of the gasket (as pictured in Rolf's post) was missing. This internal leak allowed oil to escape but maintained low pressure - the light would sometimes come on at idle, but would always go out with a blip of the throttle. It ran like that for a long time without any failure, but I did find excessive wear on the washers on the rocker-arm shafts. The problem with the warning light is that it only tells you about dangerously low pressure. If you care for a lengthly and somewhat philosophical exchange about this issue, see my topic about it at: "Oil Pressure vs. Oil Flow"