Greg Field

In 24 years of working on Guzzis I have seen a rear main seal leak enough to foul a clutch three times in total, over hundreds of bikes worked on. I would submit that it is very unlikely that your one machine has seen three rear main seals fail. Look to the clutch pushrod seal.

First, make sure it is engine oil. Smell it. Does it smell like engine oil or transmission oil? If trans oil, it is most likely the clutch pushrod seal, though it could be a crack in the trans case or a leaky front trans seal. If engine oil, it could be leaking from the cam plug, the gasket around the rear main bearing block, or the two lower bolts for the bearing block (these need to be sealed). It could also be a loose or cracked breather hose.

It's always a great day when one can eschew something. Happy New Year!

Brother, you have the right attitude to be a Guzzi guy. That is, indeed, the only way most speedo knobs will mate with and stay on the speedos.

This is why the V7C should've been based on the Bellagio chassis. Light is nice, but underpowered never is.

God bless you.

I think Skeeve has nailed it.

The V11b six-speeds have an improved pushrod seal. Still, if tranny juice is getting on the clutch plates, that's what I'd look at first.

I just wish the high priests and acolytes of the religion centered around the Hallowed and Immaculate GWM (Global Warming Model) would pick one term and stick with it. Is it global warming or climate change? Then, show me when the climate has NOT changed. I remember two summers back standing by a sign outside Hyder, Alaska, on a little road up to the glacier, as my CoppaLabio idled impatiently. The sign said that at that spot 9,000 years ago, the ice was 300 feet thick. On the day I was there, the glacier was about 20 miles and 3,000 vertical feet above that spot. I began to wonder how much of that melt-off had occured since the advent of automobiles. I'm guessing not much. WHat caused the rest? Could it be that there is another dominant force causing the change other than hunman activity? If so, if the other force is dominant, how will changing human activity change the outcome? It won't. So might we not be better off spending out time and money to mitigate the consequences of the change that will be caused by this other force, rather than wasting it on behavior changes that will be inconsequential? These were the thoughts that occured to me that day.

You'll need the Centauro sideplates, to which the pegs mount. It's easiest if you use Centauro pedals. I can't remember what is required for the linkage. The one I did was so long ago. It's very comfortable, but it will impinge on cornering clearance. I might have some of the part laying around.

For the clutch, you can either pull the rubber bung on the bell housing and look, or do the feel test: Squeeze the clutch lever. If it's a fairly heavy and linear pull, it's a two-plater. If it's a light pull with a noticable reduction in pull as the lever nears the bars, it's a single-plater. For the cam, pull one valve cover. If the "adjusters" on the rockers are threeaded but the top part that extends above the rocker is broken off, the cam update was done.

CHeck, for sure, on the status of two intems: 1) That the final cam update was done. 2) Check that the clutch was updated to the double-plate design.

Loved that MC5 clip.

We've had snow on the ground for a week. That is a once-in-20-years phenomenon here. It's still snowing and likely will be for a few more days. Both burnouts and locking the rear wheel by compression braking are both equally easy today. You won't even have to lock the front break to do a burnout. You do on dry pavement. No weight transfer there . . .

Because the US always gets the "last year's models." Many, if not most of our 2003 models were what would be called 2002 models in the rest of the world. When looking up parts on the Guzzi diagrams, subtract one year if it's a US model.

It's nearly 20 years old. I certainly wasn't too old then.

Yes, or this one: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LUd48jRKzBo...feature=related

If you had seen as many hammered splines as I have seen, you might think differently . . .

It's great that the lists extend beyond the same old Stones and Ruttles. I doubt in my life I will ever play an album from either. I've heard both plenty for one lifetime.

If you're coasting at 40 mph, downshift twice, and dump the clutch, locking the rear wheel, when does the weight transfer occur? It doesn't. Now, coast at 40 mph, downshift as many times as you want and try with engine power to break traction on the rear tire on a stock-ish V11. You won't. What does this tell you?

I should've put a Pixies tune in there, too.

If one is not using the front brake, and the wheel locks instantly upon clutch release, why and when does this "unloading" occur?

Throttle and downshifting act on the same wheel, so the comparison is valid. If one can break traction but not the other, it tells which is the more violent force.

Is the drip from the weephole in the bellhousing? If so, it's probably the pushrod seal. That'll dump fluid on your plates and could cause a slip. If this is the problem, fix the pushrod seal, and I can tell you how to clean the plates without disassembling the motorcycle.

I lived just a few blocks from Bob when I lived in Minneapolis. I saw him frequently. I did not know him, though. I regret that.