moscowphil

Hi Michael, I emailed you something about this way back in May 2007 when you were first thinking of doing the job! It's a description of how I went about it with my Scura - though I fitted a RAM replacement, not twin plater, which might make a difference. Anyway, if you haven't still got the email and you want me to re-send it let me know. Good luck. Phil

I use Mobil 1 15-50. It's 1200 ppm phosphorous and Mobil recommend it for flat tappet applications - see http://www.mobil.com/usa-english/motoroil/files/mobil_1_product_guide.pdf. Mobil 1 v twin formula has an even higher phosphorous content - 1600ppm, but is a 20-50, not a 15-50, but I don't suppose this matters too much unless you do a lot of winter riding. Mobil 1 racing 0w-50 looks even better phosphorous-wise at 1750 ppm, but the blurb says "not recommended for street use". Anyone know why not?

I've just stripped the paint off the alternator cover (half of it had fallen off anyway)and polished it up. It seems a bit greyer than the one on my T3, but doesn't look at all bad - better than peeling paint anyway. Think I'll wait a few months and see how badly it corrodes before I do anything else.

The paint on my engine cases is coming off in lumps - looks horrible. It's not the famous blistering problem - that was fixed under warranty - but the paint they replaced it with is now peeling away from the engine case, and it looks seriously crap. So what to do? On my previous Guzzi (77 vintage T3) the cases were all completely unpainted, and while I probably spent a fortune on Solvol Autosol to keep the corrosion at bay, it looked good even after 25 years. So I'm toying with the idea of just removing the engine and gearbox paint on my V11 and leaving it unpainted. Think of the weight saving! Has anyone tried this? Is the alloy the same as on the old round case engines? Any advice welcome.

Well, I'd assume the bigger K&Ns are less restrictive than the smaller pods, in which case the bike is likely to run a bit leaner, which can cause the detonation you are experiencing. Solution is probably to tweak the FI map - easy enough if you already have a Power Commander or similar installed, but otherwise an expensive fix.

Don't know anything about twin-plugging the v11, but I did twin-plug my old T3 - which was a huge improvement. Felt better throughout the rev range, and cured an ongoing pre-ignition problem I was having. So I'd certainly be interested in any experiences twin-plugging a V11.

This is no help at all I know, but it seems to me that all bike manufacturers, including Guzzi, just don't care about fuel consumption. Maybe it's the bike press that's to blame, being totally obsessed with speed at the expense of everything else. The efficiency of bike engines is really no better than it was in the 60s, which is crap. As it happens, I was just reading about a new big twin that pushes out 84 bhp and averages 70 mpg, which seems a lot more like it. Only problem is, it's a car - fiat 500

Mine had a similar rattle which turned out to be just the front brake hose rattling against the mudguard (I think). It went away when I re-routed the hose.

I went for a bar conversion - Renthal ultralows on pull-back risers. Probably a bit more effort than MPH etc, as it means drilling the top yoke, but quite a lot cheaper. I'm very happy with the results - as well as being more comfortable it makes the bike feel a LOT lighter and easier to control on twisty backroads with steep hills hairpins etc. You get a lot more leverage with bars. Here's a pic of my set-up

No Mistral cans aren't marked in any way, though they do provide a couple of stickers which look a bit naff, so quite likely the previous owner didn't stick them on ( I didn't as they look much better without them). As supplied in the UK the Mistrals don't have any baffles at all - you can see straight through them - I think the "DB killers" must be an optional extra. And yes, the sound is quite muted at small throttle openings, but that's what I like about them - it means I can ride around town with an illegal exhaust without attracting attention from the police, and as you say they still sound great when you open it up.

Who is transporting the bikes? Sounds like a good price

I greased the splines on my clutch, but it did need a complete strip down - I did it when I replaced the clutch anyway. I used a very small amount of special clutch spline grease that I got through a BMW dealer - BMs have their splines greased as standard, Guzzis don't. I guess I must trust the engineers at BMW more than those at Guzzi!

The dealer you took it to is obviously completely clueless. Guzzis have used the system of a short stub on each side, locked in place by a locknut, since the year dot - all the tonti framed bikes from the 1970s onwards use this system, as well as all the V11 series. So there is absolutely no excuse for a dealer to not know this. After this, I wouldn't even trust them to change the oil! Hopefully they will do the decent thing and repair the damage, but if not I'd have thought you ought to be able to sue them for negligence - there's no other word for it. Good luck, and hope it hasn't put you off your bike!

Probably a broken pawl spring - a common fault. You can find tons about it on this site if you search for it. it's only a cheap component (probably too cheap - maybe that's the problem?), but it does involve a certain amount of dismantling to replace it. I wouldn't have thought more than a couple of hours work topside though, so shouldn't be ridiculously expensive.

Thanks - turns out Guzzirider lives near me as well, so I've sent him a message to say I'll have it. Hope he reads it - I've just discovered I've got messages from years ago that I never read! So apologies to anyone whose PM'd me and never got a reply.

Hi everyone, I want to go touring on my Scura, so need to fit a luggage rack. It needs to be strong enough to carry a small tent, but being a poser I don't want it to ruin the look of the bike. So far I've found two that might be OK - an aluminium one from Agostinis in Mandello, and one being sold by Stucchi Luigi (also Mandello)which I think might be a genuine Guzzi item. Has anyone had any experience of either of these 2 racks? Or anyone got any other recommendations? And anyone know if they are available in the UK? Cheers. Phil

Hi John, Have you thought about trying to repair the titanium sleeve? It doesn't look that badly damaged from the photo, and you could always turn it round so's the damaged section is positioned where it shows least. Apparently titanium can be bent fairly easily if heated. And if it doesn't work, well you've lost nothing really, and it's not cost you anything to try. (As you can tell, I'm a total cheapskate).

I'd say don't bother trying to reduce the gearing. Instead, spend a few quid on getting the injection properly set-up. A properly adjusted V11 will trickle along at little more than tickover with no problems (so long as you don't suddenly decide to give it a big handful). Your bigger problems, if the surfaces are really bad, are going to be weight and unsuitable tyres, and there's not a lot you can do about them.

They do look quite like Mistrals to me. Here's a pic of my bike with low, round, carbon mistral cans. They seem a pretty similar shape. Don't understand why anyone would attach "arrow" nameplates though.

From my own experience with Guzzis (a T3 before the V11) the thing that is most likely to leave you stranded is the gearbox pawl spring. My T3 got through 3 of them in the years I had it, and it was an absolute bugger to replace - engine/gearbox out and strip the gearbox. Not something to do at the side of the road! So far I've got through one on my V11 - but that was after only 5,000 miles! The good news though is that if you are handy with spanners, and have a spare spring and basic tool set (including hex keys) about your person, you can replace a V11 pawl spring at the side of the road, so it's not the disaster it was on the T3. So I'd say, yes you can tour on a V11 but take some tools (not the ones that come with the bike!), a spare pawl spring, and a spare relay, as insurance.

202 Kg fully fueled is seriously light by any standard. So where's all the weight gone? Quite a lot from the wheels presumably, but where else? Please give the rest of us a few clues! I reckon a weight saving of that magnitude will turn the V11 into the bike it always should have been!

Are you sure the sponginess is down to air in the system, and not because the caliper is sticking? If one side of the caliper won't move when you operate the brake, the side that will move just ends up pushing the disc away from it, so it doesn't feel solid. Have a very close look at the disc as you apply the brake - it shouldn't move sideways at all. if it does, a seized caliper is probably the problem, not an air lock. I have to say I've never re-built one of these calipers, so can't be much more help than this I'm afraid.

You need to be certain that it really is engine oil that is getting onto the clutch plates, and not gearbox oil. You need to smell the oil that is on the clutch plates once the clutch is out, not just the oil dripping out of the bottom of the bell housing. I had a similar problem with a T3, and it turned out that gearbox oil was managing to work its way along the splines fastening the clutch hub to the gearbox input shaft. This meant that gearbox oil was being deposited neatly into the centre of the clutch, where it could do most damage. You say your bike has the 5 speed box. This is the same as my T3, so it could be the same problem. I took me ages, and several ruined clutch plates to figure out what the problem was, as my main bearing oil seal also leaked constantly (despite replacing it twice), so I naturally assumed this was causing the clutch problem. But it wasn't. Once I realised what the problem was, it was easy enough to cure - I just used silicon sealant on the splines - and never had problems with the clutch again. The main bearing oil seal continued to leak, leaving embarassing little puddles of oil wherever I parked it, but this didn't create any problems for the clutch, as the oil was getting thrown outwards off the flywheel, and not finding its way onto the plates. So whoever you get to put your new clutch in, make sure they check that no oil is finding it way into the clutch from the gearbox, as well as checking/replacing the main bearing oil seal.

There's various discussions about greasing the front uj on this forum if you use the search facility. Here's one I started off a couple of years back: http://www.v11lemans.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=13418 (Hope this works!)

My 02 Scura's got a grease nipple on the front UJ, and I suspect they all have. Undoing the UJ guard is no help getting to it or seeing it - you have to get at it from the back with an angled greasegun - or disassemble the whole thing.