wavey_davey1

Thanks Docc, felt great! Yes good advice, I had the bike supported in a front wheel chock, ratchet strap off the rear frame loop to the rafters and a car jack with wood blocks under the sump (not really taking any weight) whilst doing the swing arm etc as the Becker stand obviously had to be removed. I'll do the same with the front wheel out (it's back on the Becker stand now with lower rear subframe back on) and also rig up a second ratchet strap off the bars or similar. Makes sense that the connector isn't AMP I guess but the pins fitted nicely in the OEM connectors so jobs a good un as my dad said.

Good point about bar angle Phil. Years ago I had a Laverda RGS, one of the very first bikes with a hydraulic clutch actuation. Anyway, a previous owner had sheered off the slave cylinder bleed nipple, and that was a big deal as the slave cylinder was cast into the gearbox cover! It turned into a non issue however, as tilting the whole bike carefully against a wall away from the prop stand put the master cylinder at the highest point, then zip tying the lever overnight and it bled up every time! In fact you could get it 90-odd% bled by doing the lean against a wall and pumping the lever gently a few times. Putting a bleed tube on the nipple on the master cylinder banjo I fitted and cracking it slightly effectively did the same thing as tilting the whole master cylinder I think, as that was what seemed to finally sort it (hopefully)? I put ptfe table on the bleed nipples when using the vacuum setup, as I know what you mean about sucking air in around the nipple threads. This helps and I only use a small vacuum to try and minimise this, but I like the grease tip, thanks I understand your viewpoint on the remote bleeder but it really is a pig to access with the later subframe. Maybe a solution looking for a problem but it weighs almost nothing and took 30 minutes to make up??

Last update tonight. While waiting to see if the clutch hydraulics are going to play ball I have fitted the new throttle bodies I sourced off German eBay after corrosion saw off one of the original ones (see earlier posts). The freshly serviced and tested injectors went in without apparent drama so before the inaugaral fire up I needed to set the TPS. I ordered some AMP superseal connectors I THOUGHT were the right ones, but of course they weren't. AMP make a few variants beyond just the number of pins apparently. Anyway, no worries, I made up a lead to clip the multimeter to using just the pins from the connectors, as in reality you only need to use this lead for a few minutes every year or two at the most? The TPS that came with the "new" TBs looked to be in better condition so I went with that one, and after a bit of fiddling (as pretty much everyone on this forum is aware) I got the reading as near as dammit.. I had also performed a compression test on the starter motor and both cylinders were within a few % and healthy reading, albeit on a cold engine. Tank back on (after being aired empty for a few weeks with cap open and pump and filter removed) and fresh fuel. Ignition on, (after refitting the pump relay) and everything seems to be ok, except fuel leaking from one of the injectors, possibly due to the hose being kinked due to poor routing forcing the injector to not sit properly in it's seat. Anyway I was too impatient to remove tank etc, as the leak isn't bad and went for it! Success! The motor fired after about a second of churning and sounds super healthy, no smoke, rattles or nasty noises. A real landmark in bringing the princess back from her slumber. I've only run her up a handful of times as the clutch/swingarm/rear subframe episode has taken over, but she sounds sweet, even on standard pipes and collector. Next steps after the clutch ok (hopefully) and refitting rear end are new tyres booked in for this week (pair of Pirelli Angel GT2 s). I just need to work out how to support the bike so i can take BOTH wheels to the tyre fitters rather than two 30 mile round trips. I'm starting to get excited!

Here's a pic of the remote bleeder I made up with some stainless hose and fittings. The actual bleeder is from these guys, they do a zinc plated version and stainless so I treated myself! https://www.competitionsupplies.com/remote-bleed-fitting/remote-bleed-fitting-stainless-steel However, although the clutch had been working fine before I touched it (going purely by lever feel), it proved impossible to bleed up with the remote setup, air getting in somewhere? I ended up fitting a banjo with a bleed nipple at the master cylinder end (I had one spare from when I rebuilt my Guzzi T3 linked brakes which were a nightmare to bleed afterwards!) and reterminating the hose fittings on the bleeder, in case I'd trapped some stainless wire from the hose cladding inside an olive or something? In the end I was able to bleed it up ok with my vacuum bleeder and all the nipples ptfe taped to prevent air coming in. I am waiting to see if the clutch lever remains firm despite lack of any obvious leaks, before I refit the swing arm etc. Possibly in bleeding (and obviously pumping the clutch lever repeatedly) I've exposed an issue with the master cylinder which has presumably sat for years unused, but everything looks nice and dry? This has proved to be the most frustrating aspect of the recommissioning so far!

and here's the thrust bearing with a new o ring and washer, note slight witness marks;

You might be right Docc about the bleed nipple on the clutch slave. I removed the rear subframe, which is a swing arm out job and checked over the slave cylinder. No leakage apparent and piston in immaculate condition. The thrust washer on the end of the clutch pushrod had tiny (and I mean tiny, no surface corrosion evident with a fingernail test) witness marks from the radial bearing it sits against - see pic. Presumably because it's been sat in that position for over a decade and the oil film broke down on the top half? Anyway, nothing to worry about. I flipped the hardened washer around so the clean side is against the bearing, changed the o ring that seals in the gearbox oil and replaced everything with A4 stainless fasteners (copper greased) after respraying the corroded paint with etch primer and the VHT case paint. Looks a lot better and a good match for the rest of the cases. THEN I decided to fit a remote bleeder setup (as Guzzi did with the Griso), what a pain that turned out to be! More later...

OK, apologies for lack of updates as life took over, but have made a fair bit of progress. First off I dropped the sump and changed the filter and checked the screen, totally clean, and no signs of anything untoward (corrosion, emulsified oil). So decided NOT to wait for the Roper plate from Gutsibits and button it all back up with new stainless fasteners. Of course the roper plate arrived a few days after this decision . The rear bevel box was a right mess with flaking paint, so I took out the rear wheel and then the bevel, all pretty straightforward. Removed all the flaking paint and a couple of coats of etch primer followed by the VHT case paint (already established as a good match for the rest of the satin black on the bike) and looking a lot better (see pic before final sanding and top coat). With the wheel out I could take a better look around swing arm and gearbox area. Looking around the clutch slave cylinder there was some localised paint flaking underneath it (2nd pic). I reckoned this MIGHT be leaking seals and decided to take a closer look at the slave, given how difficult it is to get at (Caution: understatement alert!!) With the later frame with additional lower bracing there is NO WAY to get that cylinder out without removing aforementioned subframe. At the same time as all this I attempted two different methods of greasing the front UJ. Yes, the bit I'd been dreading. There's a joke in Norton Commando circles that the bike was built around the horn (behind gearbox, in front of rear mudguard). Well I have concluded the V11 assembly line in Mandello started with that front grease nipple! 1st attempt :- heat grease delivery tube on one of my 3!) grease guns and bend it. Result - one broken tube 2nd attempt :- try from underneath with a flexible hose. This required taking a small notch out of the grease gun head to latch onto the zerk. Result - grease all coming out of the notch, none in the zerk Anyhoo, given the rear subframe has to come out for the clutch slave cylinder access, and that means the swing arm too, I could do the UJ (etc) greasing with all that out of the way... More instalments later!

The freshly serviced injectors were waiting for me when I got home today. The ASNU report showed they were in pretty good condition before the service with "good" spray patterns and flow rates of 296 & 292 cc/min Vs 300cc/min for both after the service. This is good news as either someone has already cleaned or serviced them or I suspect they've been stored dry (?) which should mean the pump will be ok too. This is guesswork on my part and I know injectors suffer less from ethanol than carbs but good news anyway?

Funnily enough, while lying awake in the early hours last night (something I do a LOT) I realised I didn't need the guzzidiag stuff just yet as the TPS is with a multimeter. This also arrived a few minutes ago from John Woolfe Racing, the only supplier of VHT products (like copper spray for gaskets) I've found in the UK. The rear bevel box is a mess, rest of the cases just need touching up here and there. Hoping this is a good match, recommended by Scud.

As per my comments regarding the rearsets on page 2 of this thread. They're made by a Japanese company called Vital Spirits but not a lot of information online other than the name cropping up on the odd Japanese bike dealer websites? These DO look like the footpeg arrangement was specific to the v11 and move the pegs back and up about an inch. This seems to be the opposite of most other v11 footpeg mods with Centauro pegs lowering them ( for comfort) for example. I do have the other footpeg and will give them a go as I have quite short legs, but can't really see the point? Maybe the p o wanted the Guzzi optional "ergal" pegs and this was cheaper or just all that was available, who knows? I also have the standard kit if needed later, though need to check it's all there. Am planning on refitting the sump this week as new stainless sump fasteners have arrived and then I can do a compression check on the starter motor. Hopefully the injectors will also arrive back from their service and maybe, just maybe, I can wake the sleeping princess!👸 Except I'm waiting for some guzzidiag leads...

Ahh, except there isn't one! Or at least not one that goes through the pork chop 😁. Check out the photo of the rearsets on page 2. No idea what the linkage leverage will work like until I ride it, but I do have the standard pegs and linkages that came with the bike.

Finally, removed rear wheel ready for tyre change and UJ greasing etc. There's a patch of corrosion under the swing-arm forward box section, but it's pretty localised and difficult to see, so will apply some satin paint after treating the rust, rather than a full swing-arm out and powdercoat job. Same with the front subframe, that's just flaked a very small amount on the edges of the fastener bosses. The red paint on my old greenie frame fell off like leaves in Autumn, this seems much better. Wheel and rear diff bearings and splines all look ok, will obviously grease the non-sealed ones along with the UJs.

Also the tacky (as in not very classy, rather than sticky) fake carbon wrap off the hugger. This came off waaay easier than the tank/seat film. Very satisfying!