Weegie

I wonder if it's a spacer, it appears to have some kind of steel band around it and the cylinder/spacer on the rear appears to push the oil filter further back. The cylinder could be an extender to allow access to the filter with the fairing in situ. Not saying it is this type but HMB do a similar type of spacer https://hmb-guzzi.de/Oil-sump-extension-with-front-external-filter

Just still trying to get my head around this Does the bearing spacer in the middle of the wheel slide into the 25mm id bearing on the left reducing its diameter to 20mm and on the right the bearing spacer just butts up against the bearing? I'm thinking there must be logic in it (or is there?) On my planet I'd have thought that the spacer should either butt against the bearings OR slide into both bearings perhaps to tighten up parallel alignment of the bearings. Every day a school day

Surely both bearings should be 20mm int diameter on the runner. If the diameter was 25mm the spindle is going to slide into the bearing runner and will get tight only when either the threads on the LHS fork leg bottom out or the spindle passes through the bearing and gets stopped by the spacer between the wheel bearings inside the wheel itself. If the wheel was reversed then 25mm on the other side wouldn't work either AFAIK. You'd have a 20mm diameter spindle sliding into a bearing race that was 25mm, which would make for interesting handling on the road. I can't think of why the wheel bearing races would have different sizes.....................mind we are talking Guzzi here @80CX100 's idea is clever too

That's a dammed good explanation Chuck, I had not thought of that and it would make a lot of sense, although why they did it doesn't. I checked the 2003 V11 manuals for the Ballabio and the LeMans, no washer shown, but it does show what looks like a stepped spindle and a wheel nut..................So this is something different

No experience with that model either. I ass-ume from your description that the spindle is stepped with the RHS being a larger diameter than the LHS, if I understand it. On the forks I've got with that sort of setup the larger diameter side of the spindle butts against the wheel, pushing it against the spacer which is installed onto the other side. It appears from your pictures that the larger diameter side of the spindle is entering the wheel hub itself allowing the spindle to screw into its threads on the other fork leg until it bottoms. That would also be why the spacer is loose, as the spindle isn't being pulled into tension between the legs, pulling the whole assembly together, clamping the wheel at the same time If that's the case, then spindle is the wrong diameter or the bearing installed has the wrong inner race (which seems extremely unlikely) It could I suppose be one of these botched designs where that was the intention originally but didn't happen and the factory just installed a spacer on the RHS side as well. It would take a lot to surprise most of us familiar with Guzzis produced in and around the millenium @GuzziMoto beat me to it on the expalantion Let's hope somebody with that model shouts up

In the RR Heritage line there is a book by Phillip Ruffles on RR's ventures into producing their Turbofan engines and detailing the history. It's a dry read unless you're VERY geeky. My take was RR were overconfident to say the very least the early engines were a disaster. Shocking to read how bad the early engines were and how badly RR let down their clients. To RR's credit though they didn't leave their customers high and dry but continued doggedly to sort out the problems, however it was an unmitigated mess and took a very long time to produce a good working engine Hooker and many of the old hands were drafted back in to help sort it out, as mentioned in "Not Much of an Engineer" alongwith the Government intervention. I never worked on RR engines, but the GE LM engines, Land and Marine, an aero engine usually driving a generator (but not always) were bad enough. I never did get to grips with the variable bleed valves, IGVs and stator scheduling on the compressor. It might not be rocket science but it comes bloody close. John

Thought you might have been Phil, have you read the RR Heritage book on about the Meteor? Interesting read in many ways, as I remember it turned in the other direction to the Merlin, although thinking about it the Merlin did have "tractor" versions for some aircraft. RR opened up the tolerances on many parts so components which were scrap for the Merlin could be recycled and used in the Meteor. Hives offered it to the Millitary effectively free, the price they paid for each engine was what it cost RR to build one. The British army procurement did their level best to reject it, preferring WWI based aero designs. It started to gain traction (sorry) when they threw one into a tank and completed back to back trials. Of course it wiped the floor with the exisitng engines that the millitary had been using up until that point. Those of us of a certain age might remember John Dodds Merlin engined Rolls Royce which had a big splash in motoring mags many many years ago, I remember rumors that it was in fact a Meteor engine, but the details are all a bit scetchy Off topic again!!! On the supercharger design, Hooker mentioned that having a carb prior to the supercharger resulted in the charge being cooler as it entered the cylinders by a significant amount, I can't remember the exact number, due to evap cooling of the mixture as opposed to straight air being compressed as was the case with the DB 601 and later variants

Wow Pete that's quite an generalization, interested in your reasoning A long time back I had a VW Corrado G60, which was a 1.8 2v/v engine supercharged engine, not terribly powerful (circa 160bhp). The engine wasn't designed from scratch but a modified Golf engine. I loved the way that it rode on a wave of torque at mid range RPM, it just felt so pratical, real power when it was needed. I do agree with Phil it's something I'd never consider doing, especially to that engine. However I can't get the standard lump to run properly, so when I see somebody supercharging one I'm fascinated. Pratically, supercharging motorcycles (especially air cooled lumps) has never had much sucess and I'd have thought the weight penalty outweighs the potential benefits As to my reasons for posting it up, I thought it was an interesting concept and would have liked some detail on the mods, the performance, the pressure made by the supercharger etc: How it is to live with, does it run hot for example? It seems an absolutely outrageous thing to even attempt, but rather than pour iced water over it, I thought others would want to know more. I'm fascinated by folks who throw the manual out the window, then do something that no sane man would consider and then get it to work. More power to them and long may they continue John

Oh Apologies, I'm sad to hear that @docc

@brlawson I think you'll find the Panasonic are rated at 20A continuous and 35A switching. So they're not as good as the Omrons. They are very good relays though and I've used them in the past and they haven't failed, but I'd still prefer to have the Omrons. You need to check the continuous rating not the switching load John

I don't know if it's allowed and besides I don't want to start posting pictures of somebody else's bike However on the COG forum I just noticed a thread opened up by a new member of the Group. Thread title "New Centaurist Says Hello" Somebody at some point has Supercharged a Centauro!!! This is just a link to the forum index, easy to find the thread. http://www.centauro-owners.com/phpBB2/viewforum.php?f=1 I can't get my HiCam to run standard without frying, I'm feeeling SOOOO inadequate

@VtwinStorm I tried using a Sharpie to mark upper and lower levels, but it never really worked for me, I hope you have better luck. Using the a Roper Plate, which is a highly recommended, inexpensive and not too difficult mod to install when you're changing the oil is a good idea on its own. It also solved all that dipstick m'larky for me too and I have plates on both the Sporti and HiCam. I don't own a V11.........but there's still time

@Chris Wilson I sympathise, I also find the dipstick thermometer almost impossible to read. Mine isn't chrome possibly stainless. I also have a Roper Plate installed on the bikes I have which tends to make it a little harder to insert the stick cleanly into the oil. Previously I used a seperate dipstick when I wanted to get a good reading, sorry a pretty useless answer. Even using a flat metal or plastic stick, I never had too much faith on the accuracy of the readings. The Roper Plate makes it a little harder, but that could well be my lack of dexterity. I've never had any issues with the bikes consuming oil between services, so I didn't dip it that regularly and when I did found it to be well within acceptable parameters Later I realized that with the Roper Plate installed into a Broadsump the dipstick can be rendered redundant. All I do now after recommendations from @Lucky Phil , @pete roper and others on the Centauro forum, is to fill the sump to just below the Roper Plate. This put the oil a good bit above the OEM dipstick high mark. The oil level can be seen through the hole with a flashlight. I've never experienced any pressurization issues, or additional oil consumption using the higher oil level and will continue to use it Not much of answer but best I can do

Deltic 2 stroke, Allen Millyard is probably installing one in a frame as I write

Doesn't sound like Startus Interruptus then Perhaps the starter motor is needing some love or the brushes are getting worn, but as I've never had to that I don't know what's involved One more thing, I haven't heard of it so much with Guzzis but is quite common on Ducatis, the large battery lead to the starter can degrade over time and the starter doesn't get the full voltage so the starter spins slower If there is somewhere you get easily get the battery load checked or test with another battery to totally rule the battery out, it's unlikely but again not unheard of. Wait until @docc comes back as he's a lot more familiar with these models than me John

Don't have a V11 got a Sporti they are sort of close at least the earlier models. 12.72V sounds like it should be sufficient to crank the engine When you say starting issues what are the issues? Does the bike not spin the engine on the starter or is it slow to spin, or does it start to spin then stops? If it doesn't spin on the starter do you hear a click or clicks or nothing at all? Startus Interruptus? A common and much debated topic, just google "Guzzi Startus Interruptus" being brief the factory made an arse of the starting circuit and there are fixes. Problem with the starter? That's not so common but certainly not unknown or does the bike not fire? If the battery is at 12.72V it does sound like the bike must be charging, checked the bulb on the charge warn light? I'm assuming the battery is good, many will read a good resting voltage but when a load is applied completely collaps Just some mad first guesses from an incompetent, better minds will be along shortly

Images from Pete

PM sent Pete Looking like I got all Winter anyway the way the weather's heading I understand the issues, at least the basics, turning these engines over many times by hand Just wondered if the mass reduction allowed the newer engine rev higher. I can't find the thread but I'm pretty sure somewhere you commented on opening up the tappet clearances up somewhere else and didn't approve. Can't remember if it was Meinhoff or somebody else who suggested it. I think I can see the pros and cons For, you leave the valve on the head longer allowing greater heat rejection Against, the valve is no longer smoothly opened on the cam ramp but has to open start to open suddenly. John

Never got the pictures Pete but the statement in itself is insteresting. Does the "New" Hi Cam rev higher or is the difference simply due to the tappets being lighter and allowing the valve train to work more efficiently due to the reduction of mass and inertia? I've thought about getting the idler shaft cut so it runs on a single bearing on the front rather than the "false cam" that the early design was, as suggested by Phil and similar to the MGS design. Unless though I'm really at a loose end I doubt I'll follow through with it Another statement recently that Meinhoff regrading opening the tappet clearance up to hold the exhaust valve on the head longer also intrigued me. Think that was because of long opening ramp on the cam, however I'd have thought that might lead to other problems due to the tappet being suddenly opened and shocked, leading to more wear on the tappet and cam. John PS even trying to just use the links I couldn't get the pictures to show, perhaps I'm worse when it comes to being tech savvy. Gotta love this growing old thing

Told you we're all different If I had the tools and skills of Phil (or Pete) I wouldn't need fripperies and baubles as my engines would run as intended However being in the sausage fingers queue when the Almighty was handing out intelligence, I'm stuck with gauges.

Get back on topic you lot!!!!!! I only bought the dammed thing because Guzzi has not been building anything I fancied since the Griso. I briefly thought about building a Guareschi but the hassle expense and time I take to do anything would've ended up with me being too old to ride by the time I finished

On another note seeing I'm on a roll. Just acquired a Euro 4 BMW R9T, now that's different, BMW give you a little Yellow Triangle light, and a cute little engine outline with an explanation mark in the LCD. That covers everything from complete loss of oil pressure to a sticky exhaust flapper valve. You don't know until you hook up their diagnostic tool and a laptop or phone, to find out the code. I need to find somewhere I can place a gauge or aux switch minimum. Bee-emm guys seem to think that the bike will be fine in limp mode.................with no oil pressure............good fekin grief!!!

From my experiments with oil on the Sporti and the HiCam, my opinions, for all that's worth, is with a 2v/v Guzz you've little to worry about. Oil pressure and temp on my bikes are stable and of little concern. I've got a dipstick temp thingy and a pressure gauge on all the bikes. I run a 15/50 full synth on all these engines Sporti runs a bit hotter than my LM 1000 engine, which has a Vee sump and is stupidly well behaved and tends to run on the cold side. Sporti a bit hotter nearer 100C in 20C ambients and the pressure is rock steady. My HiCam C kitted bike is a completely different kettle of fish. It runs around 60ish psi in free air, over 40mph, and temp approx 105, the minute I hit traffic it rockets with corresponding drop in pressure. Seen 130C sump temps, God knows what the heads are at. When you reach there oil pressure at idle is through the floor, around 8psi or less and my pressure light will come on, time to pull over and wait. I advocated the dipsticks temps a long time back and was subject to some ridicule, not on here I may add. It depends on your philosophy towards engines, being a test engineer in another life, I always like to have data if I can get it. @po18guy jokes about ignorance being bliss but honestly I've came across people who really don't want to know. Again not on here, somebody advocated that pressure and temp gauges are useless because Guzzi didn't give you recommendations on their limits. I just find that attitude astonishing, but we're all different. As far as voltmeters I just run one of these little LED lights that changes colour when Voltage rises or falls between given thresholds. I'd rather have meter but not enough room and the light is enough to let me know I'd better get home or find somewhere to stop the bike and get a bus or train home. Better than getting stranded miles from anywhere on a dodgy road.

Not in the market for a new bike anyway and too old and set in my ways. Last thing I want is a bike that I need to spend 20minutes setting it up before I ride it and a bunch of servos, stepper motors and wiring which will go wrong, eventually. Piaggio are a money making machine first, foremost, always so I totally get the Adventure thing, altough I'm a short arse and hate them. I worry about the exhausts replacing the head guards, it's going to turn ugly when it falls over, even at standstill. However if I was in the market for an Adventure bike, that would certainly appeal the Greenie looks very pretty IMHO comparing to the competition. Guareschi just kick ASS, but that's the opinion of an out of touch old man living in the past