moscowphil

Hi KB, I'm a bit mystified by your question. The RAM clutch kit comes ready assembled, and (unlike the copy fitted to the Scura as standard) it is designed so that you have direct access to the bolts that mount it to the crankcase without having to dismantle the clutch assembly. So all I had to do, once I'd removed the Scura clutch was to bolt the RAM clutch straight on and then refit the gearbox. No centering of the clutch plate necessary - it was already centred - though you do have to rotate the gearbox input splined hub thingy to get the splines to align with those in the clutch plate. This is pretty straightforward though - just put the bike into gear (top is best) and then rotate the back wheel. This was all very easy on my bike. Maybe I was lucky? Hope this helps. Cheers. PS - if for any reason you have dismantled the clutch assembly - which is obviously necessary when replacing the friction plate - I'd say Paul's suggestion is right - just measure it. I used to centre the plates on my T3 just by eye - if they looked central they generally were - so you could probably do the same with the RAM clutch, but I guess some way of measuring it would be better.

Mine ran worse when I fitted Mistrals until I also fitted a Powercommander - it lost torque (subjectively), and generally felt rough at low revs. Not so bad when ridden hard, but a bit of a pain around town. The Powercommander sorted it out (it now feels great), and Mistrals do sound lovely (not ridiculously noisy, but hang on to your originals for MOT time!). I guess the answer is probably that every bike is different, so you might just have to fit them and see - but be prepared for the possibility that you might need to spend more money sorting out the injection.

As promised I've put together some notes on what you need to do to replace the clutch and flywheel. Unfortunatrely I haven't got a web-site to host it on, and it's too big to put it on the forum (291K), so if anyone wants it please send me a personal message and I'll email it to you. Cheers

For those of us in the UK, I came across this the other day - no idea whether they are any good, and I've never heard of the company before. Seems to be the right idea though. Anyone know anything about them? http://www.prattlay.co.uk/fasteners?page=crenel/hugger.html

Here's a thought. There seem to be no end of examples of cheaper alternatives to genuine Guzzi parts, or cheaper sources in other countries. With perseverance you can quite often find them by searching through the forum, but it might be dead handy if we had a special place in the forum dedicated to this type of thing, where people could post up thier experiences of using alternatives. Could save us all a lot of aggro and a lot of money. Moto Guzzi club GB has something similar - www.motoguzziclub.co.uk/forum/forum_topics.asp?FID=26 - but an international version on V11lemans.com would be so much better. What does anyoone think, and how would we go about setting it up?

Finally got round to taking off my flywheel and clutch and replaced it with a new RAM unit from Agostinis. This was the first major job I've done on a V11, so I approached it with some trepidation. In fact the job was not nearly as difficult as I had feared - much easier than the old Tonti framed bikes I'll put some notes up on how I did it in a day or two, and a few pics, in case it helps anyone else setting off down the same road. Nothing obviously untoward with the one I took off, but I'll get it crack tested to see. First impression of the RAM unit - the horrible clack - clack - clack noise in neutral has gone ! Worth it for that alone - people don't stare at me every time I stop at the lights now. Lever action is incredibly light - it was light before, but its much lighter now. And I've realised I have to pull a bike to bits before it actually feels like mine. Just putting petrol in it and riding it just doesn't do it for me. That's probably why I lbought a Guzzi in the first place instead of a Japanese bike. Now I can start riding it!

Have you got the manual for the OHLins fork? (if not you can download one from the Ohlins web site). The manual gives quite a lot of info about how to set up the forks, and it is clear that one of the critical factors is the oil level in the forks. This is because the air space above the oil acts as an air spring - and the higher the oil level the more progressive the air spring becomes. So raising the oil level will tend to reduce the amount of dive under braking. If the bike's a few years old and hasn't had a fork oil change it probably needs one. When you do this, make a note of the existing oil level before you empty the forks, and maybe raise the oil level a bit (say 10mm higher) when you refill. If the bike has already had a fork oil change, it may be that it wasn't refilled to the correct level. I'd also try increasing the cmpression damping. These are the adjusters at the bottom of the forks - screw them in (clockwise) a couple of clicks.

221 is mine - west yorkshire

Took the hugger off my Scura today, for no particular reason - I just wanted to see what it looks like without it. I was amazed at the amount of road crap that was wedged between the hugger and the swing arm - seems designed to enure this will go rusty in no time. Also amazed at the amount of crap plastered all over my nice expensive Ohlins shock, which the stock hugger clearly does nothing to protect. So does the hugger do anything useful at all, or is it just a styling gimmick ? Personally I think it looks better without it, and at least now I can get at the shock and frame properly to clean them. Mind you, I might be tempted by a carbon hugger if I can find one (anyone know who sells them?).

Hi KB. Nothing useful to add at the moment I'm afraid, but I'm just about to start the same operation myself - RAM clutch turned up from Agostini's today, so tomorrow I'll be making a start. I will keep you posted on any problems, fixes etc I come across if you will do the same. Doesn't look like it should be too bad a job though (famous last words!). Having had a look at the new RAM unit, one thing that occurred to me is that the flywheel itself is actually a very simple shaped lump of metal. Has anyone thought of getting one (to the same design as the original) machined up out of steel? Ought to be cheaper than the 500 Euros I had to fork out for the RAM unit I would have thought .... Cheers Phil

I've put a PCIII on my 02 Scura, and it works fine. Got mine from Todd Egan as well, even though I'm in UK - highly recommended. As regards whether you need one or not, I put carbon Mistral slip ons (round) on my bike, with no other mods, and as a result it ran decidely worse than with the standard cans (rough running and loss of torque at low revs). That's why I bought the PCIII, and it did cure this problem. So I would say the PCIII is needed if you are going for slip-ons, even with the standard crossover. Which makes the slip-ons an expensive purchase! They sound great though. No problems so far from UV - but then I do live in Yorkshire, which is not exactly renowned for its hot sun.

I must say I'm inclined to agree with KB on this one. Yes, my clutch might be a good 'un, but it might not, so I guess I'm going to have to pull it apart and at least look at it, for my own peace of mind. I'll keep the forum posted on what I find. What's the vote on which is the best way to get at it? Crab the frame, or engine off the front?

Hi KB - have you taken your old clutch out yet? And if so, can you confirm that your new RAM clutch is indeed a different design? There seems to be some differences of opinion about whether the original scura clutch (or rather flywheel) is or isn't a RAM. I had a look at the Reboot site - no Centuro clutch, but he's got a Corsa clutch. Anyone know what design this is? Is it the steel 2 plate job, and will it go straight on a Scura? If so I might go for this, as I use the bike mainly for touring anyway. Might seem odd, but I actually find the Scura makes a very good tourer (my idea of touring involves lots of hills and bends, which the Scura loves).

My spring went at only 4,000 miles, which is rubbish. However, I'd endorse everything everyone else has said about it being an easy job - it doesn't involve any messing about with the gearbox internals, just the actual selector mechanism. Being a cheapskate I just took a file to the 16mm boss and filed it down to 15 mm. It's probably not exactly round, but I don't suppose that matters - it's just to make sure the coils don't lock up on it. Time will tell. But why can't Guzzi get gearbox springs right? I used to have a T3, and that went through centralising springs every 10,000 miles or so. Which was actually much worse, as getting to it was a horrendous job. Plus it left a bit of broken spring swimming around in the box..... I eventually ended up modding it in true Guzzi style by putting the spring on the outside, which worked brilliantly up until the bike got nicked. Anyway, enough of this rambling.

Being of a generally paranoid disposition, and having read all the stuff posted in the forum over the years about exploding Scura flywheels, I've decided it's time to pull the thing apart and put in a replacement. A RAM seems about the best option from what I can gather from all the discussion in the forum, but has anyone had a bad experience with one of these? And does anyone know where to buy one at a reasonable price? (I'm in the UK). And are there any other alternatives other than converting to the old two plate design? (Not that I've anything against these - I'm fine with heavy flywheels - it's just the astronomical cost of buying genuine Guzzi replacement parts). Cheers everyone.

You can also buy a manual on CD from www.datamanuals.net - costs 20 Euros. It does include the Rosso Corsa I think (got a picture of it at any rate)

Just how noisy is OK for these clutches? Mine was OK for the first couple of thousand miles, but now (4,300 miles) makes the most horrible clack-clack-clack noise when ticking over in neutral (hot or cold) that disappears when I pull the clutch lever. Strangely, if I then let the clutch out again the noise can be either quiter or louder than before. It's starting to make a similar noise when under light load too, but not when accelerating. Clutch is dragging as well. So what do you all reckon - should I pull it apart to investigate or hope for the best?