pasotibbs

Most here agree that the MG method appears to set the oil level too low,with a plate fitted it's safe to use the dipstick like a Honda as it is still below the plate level.

When you fit the plate it's best to use the dipstick like you would on a Honda ie don't screw it in to check the level but hold it on the top thread.Some say this may be good practice even without a plate but it's safer with ! Dave

I saw this card in a shop Guzzi Garage I bought it of course !!

I've thought about this a few times as well, and just haven't followed through on getting it over to a driveshaft specialist to take a look. Not sure if it's feesable or not, but I'm guessing someone here has looked into it further. Somebody here did rebuild their U/J's with off the shelf parts, I believe it was RossoAndy ? I haven't seen him post for a while so you may have to search for the thread, he also did a thread on replacing the bearings in the rear drive box and he may have mentioned the shaft joints there ?

Probably about right, certainly not low enough to require a top up.

Using a grinding head,cut through the inner ring it'll fall apart relatively easy I use a wooden dowel the size of the bearing to drive it in, about a half dollar invested for both As others have said the proper tool is best but I've heard that using a Rawl bolt to grip the inner race and then hitting it from the other side also works and is cheaper !! WTF is a Rawl bolt? An expanding bolt fixing, you must know them by another name ? see here

I'll check that. Thanks! I'm checking out of this hotel today and I don't know when I'll get back on the internet. Thanks for all the replies Mine does the same and I've always assumed its oil leaking from the Speedo cable, maybe its not but it is such a small amount I'm not worried about it.

Uh,,,, is that you ?

15 26 7 BA - from V11Sport.de Also try this link: http://www.stein-dinse.com/eliste/index.php?sid=ggg&lg=en or this one: http://www.hmb-guzzi.de/shop Following the one or other link you may end up here: Hubert perfect, I may even be able to get one on my way home tonight.

Do you have a MG dealer near you? Dealer is 45 miles away, bearing/seal shop (choice of 2) is 2 miles

Anyone know the size of the gear selector shaft oil seal ? Mine is leaking and I don't want to pull it apart until I have a replacement to hand if possible.

Using a grinding head,cut through the inner ring it'll fall apart relatively easy I use a wooden dowel the size of the bearing to drive it in, about a half dollar invested for both As others have said the proper tool is best but I've heard that using a Rawl bolt to grip the inner race and then hitting it from the other side also works and is cheaper !!

The Sachs shock has 2 main faults, the rod seal fails (letting the oil out)and in wetter climates the shock eye corrodes swells and cracks the alloy, both are most likely due to the short hugger allowing water/dirt do get off the rear wheel onto the shock.The best solution is to extend the hugger or protect the shock and replace the Sachs with another make, the cheapest(a £250 Hagon) is said to be way better than the Sachs and can be built to suit your weight.

Hi Docc You have a great forum here - I seem to have fixed my problem within a few hours so many thanks to all who posted ! I am going to undertake a beefing up as some of the cabling and connectors are horribly fragile . it looks ugly under the tank !....lovely motorcycle though cheers again Motocomiot Well done,glad it was an easy fix !! Remember to check that rear shock (see here )

Welcome I'm not sure what the cause of your fault is for sure(it may be more than one) but the UK climate is tough on the wiring connectors under the tank !! I'd have the tank off and clean up all the connectors you can find and go from there. The Red/Green wire from the Reg/Rec is prone to corrosion so check for that also as this will stop the battery charging. Also if you have a Sachs Shock then check the lower mounting as these have been known to crack if exposed to corrosive conditions and its worth extending the hugger to prevent this.

Try to buy a bike with Ohlins suspension or failing that one with an aftermarket rear shock as the OE Sachs is poor.

In this I must disagree. The Guzzi engine forces the rider's weight to the rear, unless you make the bike very tall to get knee clearance over the cylinders. Or, they could dry-sump it and lower the engine. Neither of those would work in the modern marketplace, though. Also, Guzzi was once a prosperous company. Many things contributed to the decline. Among them are an engine architecture that forced so many compromises on the bikes. No one loves that engine more than I do, but it's time to move on to something better, IMO. Yes, a V-8 might be nice. There are many other options, though. Good points. There is a lot to be said for what BMW is doing: successfully adding numerous engine configurations, while continuing the boxer heritage with zero diluted affect*... *not only has the boxer been developed for incredible performance (e.g. HP2 Sport), but BMW could introduce a 30s-50s era-looking boxer bike that could sell madly in a "classic touring" line. I believe BMW tried to get rid of the boxer when the they brought out the "flying brick" K series bikes but found sales fell so the boxer was brought back ?

Oh, crap! Now you're scaring me a bit Mikie as it's outta warranty! Hope pasotibbs story fits my bike $wise! Like Pasotibbs, I jiggled that kill switch a number of times and I kinda got a sense(errant?) that it had more to do with subsequent restarts than anything else I'd wiggled! (stopped near a bush, 'mose well drain me sump!) I getting a sense that this seems to be a fairly common problem though throughout the V11 years. I was hoping that being one of the "last of the V11's" things would've been a teeny bit sorted than the early examples. Oh, I forgot, it was still made by the same fella's - probably after lunch. If a cycling the kill switch seems to work I'd say relay or kill switch contacts are likely to be the cause.

When mine did this turning the kill switch off and on again restarted the engine, I swapped the relays around and the fault did not return on my next ride, so I put switch cleaner in the suspect relays (there is a small hole on the underside)and swapped them back and as yet the fault has not returned.Most faults like this are relays but the side stand, clutch switch and ign switch wiring have all given people here issues.

Don't throw the old battery, there was an article in the MG GB owners club magazine about repairing them, I tried it on my old Spark and amazingly it now works!! The article said to remove the cover from the battery, remove the rubber caps from the cells and using a syringe keep adding distilled water to them until the matting is visibly moist(it can take hours to get to this point as you add water, it soaks into the matting, you add more water etc) Once the matting is moist suck out any excess with the syringe and charge the battery(the details of the charging I can't remember but its something like 10% Amp Hours for 1 Hour ? ) I didn't follow the charging instructions (I didn't expect it to work if I'm honest) but just stuck my intelligent battery charger on it and left it for a couple of days, when I checked it seemed better so I figured I'd replace the dead battery in an old portable jump starter and use it for powering 12v stuff in the garage. A few months later and the regulator goes and takes out my battery so I get the jump starter and it starts the bike no problem, I really was not expecting that !!,Ok I think I'll take the battery out of the jump starter and put it on the bike while I fix the regulator rather than wait until the new battery arrives. I replace the regulator and the bike starts easily every time I try, the battery now lives on my Ducati and even though it isn't trickle charged (the bike hasn't been used for 2 years)manages to start it every few months. I need to attempt to repair my other battery but as the regulator shorted out it was totally drained of power (0v when checked) it stuggles to hold 12v now (it gives about 2 seconds of cranking before the solenoid just clicks)so I don't expect it will ever fully recover, but who knows ?

There is a thread about this somewhere, it may be the spacer between the bearings is too short.

I'm mostly left handed !! I write left handed, kick left footed but throw, use a hammer etc right handed !!

Ouch

Went to the Festival of 1000 bikes yesterday and saw these interesting bikes. great youtube clip great day if you've not been you should!!, just seeing the Rotary Nortons doing there stuff was worth the entrance fee alone !!!(what a sound!! )