moscowphil

Like fotoguzzi says, check that it isn't something simple like the exhaust rattling against something. The fact that it appears to be on one side only does suggest this, and on my bike at least some of the clearances between pipes and frame are very small.

Well, I don't think it really makes any difference. If you leave the oil in, the bulk of it just sits in the bottom of the sump where it can't really do any harm. Probably no different to it sitting in an old oil can in the corner of the garage. Whether or not you drain the oil though, it does mean you have old oil on all the bearing surfaces. I don't think this matters at all for just a month, but if you intend to let is stand longer, my inclination would be to drain the old oil, refill it with new oil (after changing the filter), and then run the engine to cover all the bearing surfaces with the new oil. That should guard against any possibility of corrosion from contaminants in the old oil. If you do leave the bike empty, make sure you put a big sticker on it saying no oil! it's amazing what you can forget in a month .....

I'm only guessing, but I'd certainly suspect one of the springs (from memory I think there are actually 3, so tripling the chances one of them will break!). Certainly there have been plenty that have gone in under 7,000 miles (one of mine went at 4,000) Fortunately its not that hard to get into the gearbox to replace them, so I'd be inclined to replace them all. It may be that one of them is very weak and just about to break. Can't think of anything else that might give those symptoms.

some thoughts on the cause of your seizure - if the bike has only done 1700 Km as you say, it isn't even run in. Some people might disagree, but I reckon these engines do need running in the old fashioned way - gradually building up to maximum power and revs. 1700 Km is way too early for this, and could well explain the seizure. I reckon on abut 5,000 miles to properly run in a Guzzi engine before you start thrashing it.

A few thoughts: (1) it's true that checking valve clearances won't show if the cam lobe is worn. However, I can't see how a worn cam lobe would produce a mechanical knocking, so I doubt this is the problem. (2) Are you certain the noise is mechanical, and not caused by pre-ignition? This can sound confusingly similar to a mechanical knock. Check the condition of your plugs for any obvious signs of this before you start pulling anything apart. (3) Are you sure the noise is coming from the RH cylinder? A loose timing chain can also make quite a bit of noise. (4) One you've ruled these out, I'd be inclined to pull the head and barrel. That way you can check everything properly - i.e. check condition of piston, rings and bore, and check for play in big end bearing and small end. Stripping the top end of a Guzzi is very easy to do, so worth the effort.

Looks like all 2002 bikes had the same problem. The paint blistered on my Scura within a couple of weeks from new. Amazingly I managed to get it repainted under warranty, and so its fine now. I guess that repainting is really the only long term solution. But that gets me thinking - the original Tonti Le Mans, which must be one of the most beautiful bikes ever made, didn't have paint on its engine at all - it was bare ally. So was my old T3. This meant endless cleaning with Solvol Autosol to keep it looking beautiful, but providing you did this, it stayed beautiful for evermore. Presumably it would be possible to do the same with the modern engine block? I might try it when I get fed up with black. And think of the weight saving!

I've modified a trolley jack by bolting a lump of wood to the jack. I've added two wooden 2 side rails to support the sides of the sump, to make it more stable and to take the pressure off the sump centre (which i guess is the weakest part). See attached pic. However, I have to say that this arrangement is not very stable, and I reckon if you are going to use this method you definitely need an assistant to keep the bike upright while you are removing the wheel.

I agree with Richard. It's highly unlikely the oil is leaking from the inlet manifold, it's probably coming from somewhere else. best thing to do is clean up the whole area so it's spotless, then ride it for a bit to see where the oil is coming from. Chances are it will be nothing serious, and will be fine for a 900 mile trip.

You can do most things with a standard metric socket set, a few metric spanners, and some metric allen keys. The only regular maintenance item I can think of that needs a special tool is, surprisingly, changing the oil filter - you need a tool to get the cover off the bottom of the sump, and another to get the filter out. However, you can get round this by dropping the sump using an allen key. This method has the advantage that you can then attach a hose clamp to the new filter - there's plenty written in this forum about why this is probably a good idea. (Plus a few voices of dissent). Oh, and you will find that greasing the front UJ is a pain unless you have a suitable angled grease gun attachment. Again, plenty written about this in the forum.

I tried with a flexi-hose, but no success. The problem is that the flexi hose has a rigid metal bit at each end, which means you can't get the bend close enough to the coupler. The bend needs to be as close to the coupler as possible, so that it will clear the swing arm tunnel.

Yes, I didn't have to take anything off at all. I had already ditched the hugger mind, but I don't think that would get in the way. I've posted something in the other thread that's running about this topic, which explains how I made the fitting for my grease gun. It took me a couple of hours , but worth it in the long run.

What you need is a coupler with a bend of about 55 degrees. Then greasing the uj is easy-peasy, and you don't have to dismantle anything. If you can't buy a 55% degree coupler (I couldn't), you can make one - Here's a pic of mine, which started out life as a straight coupler. I bent it by: (1) taking it to bits, (2) put some thick wire inside the tube to stop the tube kinking too much as it bends (it acts like a plumbers bending spring) (3) put a nut on the the thread at each end of the tube, to protect the threads from getting knackered while it's being bent (4) Then got the tube bit red hot (in a wood-burning stove - seemed appropriate for a Guzzi!) (5) bent it while red hot by holding each end with a bit of old steel tubing and bending as close to one end a possible. (6) clean the tube and reassemble it. (7) I then attached the reassembled coupler to a flexible connector (couple of quid from machinemart), so that the grease gun body doesn't foul the swing arm. Took a couple of hours in all, and means I can now grease the uj in a couple of minutes. There's also something very satisfying about making your own tools, especially if you are a cheapskate like me!.

Finally got round to tackling greasing the front uj. Turns out it's easy if you have the right attachment on your grease gun. All you have to do is: (1) Put bike on side stand. Stand back and admire it. Say nice things to it - it's much more likely to let you get access to its grease nipples that way.... (2) Reach over the top of the guard covering the uj from the front, and you will be able to feel the back end of the uj with your fingers. Feel around for the grease nipple - if you can't find it, move the bike slightly forwards or back to rotate the uj. The idea is to get the grease nipple sticking up vertically into the oval tunnel in the swing-arm. (3) Push the grease gun attachment through the swing-arm tunnel from the back, and guide it onto the grease nipple using your fingers from front. You will know when it's gone on, as it clicks into place. (4) Pump away. (5) That's it - no dismantling at all, and you can do it with the bike on its side-stand. Of course there's a catch - you have to have the right attachment for your grease gun - it has to have an angle of about 55 degrees as close to the connector as possible, to clear the swing-arm tunnel. A flexible attachment won't do it (I tried), and I don't think a 45 degree attachment will do it either. But the solution's simple - make you own 55 degree attachment. I just took a standard straight attachment, heated it red hot in the fire and bent it. Here's a pic: And here's another of it on the grease nipple: You can see I've also included a length of flexible hose between the grease gun and my 55 degree fitting, so that the body of the gun doesn't get tangled up with the swing-arm.

Got my relays from Pyro Dan - www.dpguzzi.com - they are GEIs, which seem to be better than Siemens at least. Also very cheap, even including postage from USA. Dan will sell you the whole lot for less than the price you paid for one.

The Mobil-1 blurb quoted by Rocker59 raises a few interesting questions - Like it says that the main difference between Mobil-1 bike oil and their car oil is that the bike oil doesn't contain friction modifiers, because bikes share the oil between engine, gearbox and clutch. Er, well mine doesn't actually....... And that the V-twin formulation is great for V-twins because of the problem of cooling the back cylinder. Er, which back cylinder is that then? On this basis I'm sticking to putting car formula Mobil-1 in mine. OK so it's only got 2 wheels, but so far as the engine's concerned, I reckon a Guzzi is more like an air cooled car (Porsche 911 say) than a "typical" (i.e. Japanese) bike.

Mine went straight in with no problems as well. very strange

My Scura's the same. Quiet when new, but by about 2,000 miles had developed a loud "clack clack" at tickover, which disappears when you pull the clutch in. I had my clutch apart (replaced it with a genuine RAM), and it appears that the noise is a result of wear on the splines of the clutch plate. I put a bit of BMW clutch spline grease on the splines of new clutch - we'll see if this slows down the wear rate. (Guzzi assemble them dry; BMW, with a similar design of clutch, use grease - who knows who is right)

Lets hope that's the problem fixed then. Though I must say I'm a bit mystified as to how this could be, as the thin wire to the solenoid with the spade connector just carries the current to operate the solenoid, it doesn't carry the current to work the starter motor. All I can think of is that maybe a poor connection meant the solenoid was sort of half-working, so the switch in the solenoid that carries the main current to the starter was not closing properly. Seems a bit of a long shot though. Did you disturb anything else while you were looking at it? That might be the answer. Anyway, I'm glad the bike's starting OK now, lets hope it continues to do so. If not, get back on line and we can all scratch our heads some more. Cheers

If the bike shows all the symptoms of a flat battery (which it does), but you know the battery isn't flat (are you absolutely sure it isn't?) , then the problem must lie in the circuit which is carrying the current from the battery to the solenoid, then on to the starter motor, and then and back again to the battery via the engine, frame and earth strap. Somewhere in this circuit there is a bad connection, which is limiting the ability of the starter motor to draw sufficient power from the battery to work properly. Have another look at my reply from the last time you raised this topic, where I've listed all the places where this could be. The important point is that the problem must lie somewhere in this circuit, which has to transmit a massive amount of current to operate the starter. It cannot be a problem with bullet connectors, relays, starter button, sidestand switch, ECU or anything else, so don''t bother checking these. You can find out whether the problem is in the supply to the starter motor or the return path to the battery fairly easily, if you have a spare length of very heavy duty cable (e.g. a spare earth strap) - fasten one end of this to the starter motor body - under the head of one of the 2 bolts that attach the starter to the engine is a good place. Then attach the other end to the battery earth terminal, or just hold it firmly against the terminal DON'T CONNECT IT TO THE WRONG TERMINAL OR YOU WILL TORCH YOUR BIKE!! This effectively creates a second earth path from the starter back to the battery. Now try starting your bike. If it starts, you know the problem is with the earth path - usually the earth lead itself. If the extra earth lead makes no difference, then the problem must lie on the supply side - If you know what you are doing, you can check where, by using the same bit of heavy duty cable. to bypass various bits of the supply circuit. E.g. you can put another supply from the battery to the input side of the solenoid. But this can all be a bit tricky, with even more opportunities to torch your bike if you are not careful.

BMW dealers do sell the grease, which is outrageously expensive. You only need the smallest smear on the splines though - a little goes a long way. I managed to blag a bit off my local friendly BMW dealer when I put a new clutch in my Scura. Too soon to tell whether it will significantly reduce the wear on the clutch plate splines, which is what causes the horrible rattling of the single-plate models. In comparison with normal grease, the BMW grease is very sticky, which I imagine means it is less likely to creep onto the friction surfaces - which would be disastrous.

Haven't really got an answer for you I'm afraid - as far as i know it is not a common fault on Scuras or any other Guzzis. But looking at the problem logically might help you track it down. The starter motor needs to draw a lot of current to turn the engine, and the fact that it is struggling means that somewhere in the circuit there is some resistance which shouldn't be there, which is limiting the current flow. (I'm assuming the battery is OK). This resistance could be on either the positive side, or the earth return, so you need to check both. Possible places where resistance can occur on the positive side are (1) where the thick starter lead is attached to the battery (2) where the starter lead is attached to the solenoid (3) Inside the solenoid itself (corroded contacts) (4) the connection between the output from the solenoid and the starter motor itself. First of all check all of these (apart from inside the solenoid) to make sure there is no corrosion and no loose contacts. Then do the same for the return path - the starter earths through the engine and then frame, before going back to the battery via the earth strap. So possible places where resistance could occur are - (A) starter not earthing to engine properly (only likely if starter motor bolts are loose) ( Engine not earthing to frame properly (only likely if engine is falling out!) © Connection between earth lead and frame (I can't remember where this is on the Scura, but easy to find I imagine) (D) connection between earth lead and battery. If you've checked all this lot and still not found a fault, you are left, by a process of elimination, wth just the starter solenoid or the brushes in the starter motor itself. I have to say neither of these sounds very likely on a 5 year old bike, though I have just had to replace the solenoid on my 35 year old VW camper to cure exactly the same symptoms as you have described. Good luck.

I sometimes jack mine up under the sump and have not had any problems. Only difference is that instead of just a flat piece of wood, I use a flat piece of wood with 2 wooden side rails attached. This means that the weight is being taken at the sides of the sump rather than the middle, so less likely to cause damage I reckon. See attached pic. Be aware though that the bike jacked up under the sump is really not very stable. Much better to use a workshop stand if you are doing any work on it.

Hi Soren, I paid 480 Euros for mine, plus 35 euros shipping - got it from Agostini's in Mandello. By the way, as far as I can tell the rattling noise of the standard clutch seems to be caused by the splines on the friction plate wearing - mainly because Guzzi don't lubricate them at all. The RAM clutch is same design, and I imagine will also rattle as the splines wear. As far as I can see the rattling has nothing to do with the exploding flywheel problem, and probably does no harm At least until the splines get so worn they shear, at which point you would lose all drive). When I put my RAM clutch in I very lightly greased the splines on the gearbox input shaft with some special spline grease used by BMW. Hopefully this may reduce the wear rate of the clutch splines - we will see.

Weird that they stopped providing hex key bolts - it made the job much easier. If you are using the original bolts I guess your only option is to attach the flywheel first and then refit the rest of the clutch assembly as you are doing. But I think you should be able to centre the clutch plate accurately enough by measuring it as suggested by Paul, providing you can have got reasonable access to it. (Fine if you have completely removed the engine from the bike, but a pig I imagine if you've just moved it enough to get the old clutch out, which is what I did)

Hi KB, My RAM kit came with a set of hex key bolts that do indeed fit through the holes provided. I used these to attach the clutch without dismantlimng it, and torqued them us using a straight hex key attachment (available in sets from your friendly local Machinemart) that fitted straight onto my torque wrench. Assuming you have these bolts lying around somewhere, I think your best bet is to basically retrace your steps - i.e. reassemble the RAM clutch off the bike, so that it is back in the condition it was in when you received it. (You will need to centre the clutch plate by measuring it, as per Paul's suggestion). Then attach the complete clutch assembly using the bolts provided by RAM. Did your clutch ome with fitting instructions? Mine didn't as far as I remember, but I found the attached doc somehere on the web. Good luck.