Mike Stewart

Finally after a 2 plus year wait for the Mike Rich pistons, the Ghezzi Brian is road worthy once again. That is after a new battery, reinsuring, getting new tags for the license plate etc. I just did a 20 mile loop to check her out, and she obey's my commands, hard throttle to force the piston rings to expand to seat into the cylinders walls equals the beautiful sound of the engine's exhaust that brings the hairs on the back of my neck to stand up straight Mike

Hmmm, My 2000 Sport never pushed in a corner at any speed , slightly nervous on fast winding roads forces you to be smoooooth on the transition from throttle to braking. Could it be the tires you are using? Also, the other bikes you mentioned are quite lighter and have a shorter wheel base than the V11 Sport. Mike Factory specs as 25 degrees, my bike actual 25+- .5 degree without rider. My goal was to build in room to raise the forks without causing even more twitch. It is still pushing around corners though...

NICE! Thanks for sharing!

I could see finding people to buy the California pistons being more difficult, mainly because I don't believe they have the ping issue like the Sport models. When I talked to Mike Rich a while back, he ordered 14 sets of pistons (for the V11 Sport) and was going to keep a set on the shelf, well someone also purchased that one. He did say that another batch would most likely be made. I am just happy that it was a win, win situation for all parties. Maybe you should put the Sport pistons in your California along with the larger valved heads? Another way to go is with the FBF pistons, but then you might have a ping issue afterwards. Just a thought, Mike

The EV (Tonti frame) and Spine frames are completely different animals. The clutch replacement is the same, but engine/trans removal I think would be much different. I would use the method JRT's link has as it looks the best for what you are doing. Keep us posted, Mike

If I remember corectly, it was written by Pete Roper quite a few years ago, it was called Crabbing the Frame. Basicly I think you take off the fuel tank, seat, rear swing arm/rear wheel and hoist up the rear of the bike, making the front engine mount the pivot point to allow access to removing the transmission. This way would save alot of time in a shop or if you were working against time. Mike

Hi Hubert, Some history on the shifting problem I was having, the trans shifted well in all gears around town. The problem I had was when the bike was on the race track or even on the street at high rpms (redline), I would have a false neutral just about every time shifting into 4th gear. I have been told that 4th gear isn't the usual problem gear on the Guzzi 5 speed transmission. When I took the transmission out, I did spend alot of time with it on the bench before I opened it up. To me, it seemed like the shift drum would not completly rotate enough to line up 100 percent with the detent hole. I tried adjusting the outside pawl adjustment, but it didn't make any difference. The drum would rotate into 4th gear but then would pull out when pressure was removed from the shifter arm. I was hoping that shimming the shift drum would fix the problem as the gap of the 3-4 shift sleeve was large on the 4th gear side. So now the shift drum is correctly shimmed, the 3-4 shift sleeve is centered but the shift drum still does not line up with the detent hole 100 percent. That is when I looked closely at the detent spring and it looked like it had been cut. My thinking is that the detent plunger/spring aids the shifter drum to holding it into place. (under load the gear dogs are cut on a slight angle and will pull the gears together also). So, with the correct spring, the transmission does finally shift correctly on the bench, but the real test is putting it back in the bike and taking it for a good run up to red line. Thanks again for your input, Mike

You also could just go the cheap way but it is more time consuming. All you need is a large bolt that fits the center of the crankshaft and a large washer to compress the clutch springs and plate (the washer has to be large enough to catch the spring plate and small enough so you can remove it from the clutch disc splines). You then eyeball the clutch plates for alignment. Yes, the right tools would be easier, but this way did work for me. Also, when you put the trans up to the engine, have the transmission in gear so you can rotate the output shaft to catch the clutch disc splines. And don't force the trans to the engine, it should slide up pretty easy, if not, your clutch plates are not aligned good enough, back to step one I think the bolt size is 12mm with a 1.5 thread pitch. Mike would the 5 speed tools work? I will gladly lend out my big bolt, spacer and extra input gear (from a 5 speed). send pm. Hmm don't know I'll call MPH if no one chimes in here. Thanks foto!

One end of the shorter spring does look like it was cut I did install the longer spring and everything shifts fine now on the bench Well, at least I now know the shifter drum is nicely shimmed The true test is when it is back in the bike and it is road tested Mike Well, it certainly *could* be. You can see that the short one is either cut or broken on one end. From a production standpoint, a defective shift drum is more unlikely.. So. Have you tried the longer spring?

So, I have been wanting to take the 5 speed trans out for sometime to check out why I was having a false neutral shifting into 4th gear at high rpms. The previous owner told me that the trans was out before and had the updated shifter drum replaced to make the transmission shift better. Hmm I thought over the years since this was an 02 transmission which is suppost to have the updated drum already I thought that the shop must of shimmed the shifter drum wrong, so I pulled out the trans and checked it out on the bench. I noticed when I shifted it into 4th gear (yes while spinning the input shaft), the shifter drum would NOT keep the gear engauged, the shift drum would rotate backwards. Strange I thought to myself, hopefully shiming the shift drum would fix this problem. I ordered the parts and two of each shim sizes, I went throught the different ways to shim up the shifter drum and I found that there was about 7 thou too much end play in the drum and I had to put the thickest shim at the rear of the shift drum to allow equal distance between 1st and 2nd gear (went from a .8mm to 1.2mm shim). Great I thought, put the puppy back together, tightened the input and output nuts, ran her through the gears And, it still will not engauge 4th gear, the shift drum rotates and engauges into 4th than rotates backwards and pulls out. Oh no, my head was spinning, could it be a defective shift drum? I noticed when I take out the detent spring and put a small screwdriver into the detent sleeve, the transmission will shift fine. I looked at the detent spring and it looked like it had been cut. Thankfully I have another bike to check the detent spring against and would you believe the spring was cut by 1/4 inch. Was this my problem all along or am I missing something else

Thanks gstallons! The shims and gasket arrived from MG cycles today, great timing! Back to the garage Mike

Hello, I am reshimming the shift drum on a 5 speed transmission and after reading all of the articles on the shimming process, I don't see anything on the torque values to the input or output shaft nuts, I don't have any shop manuals on the 5 speed trans. Anyone know what to torque the nuts to? Thanks, Mike

Funny! I had Lindemann do my Marzocchi forks years ago and.... The first month I had the revalved/resprung LE forks on my 2000 V11 Sport, I met a guy with a 02 Lemans, we talked and we both happened to have our forks revalved by LE. I asked him how he like the revalve/spring job and his reply was something didn't feel right. Yes, the same feeling I had, but we just couldn't put a finger on why the forks didn't feel right. He said he was going to take his forks back to be redone and aggreed to take my back with his. I did but still didn't like the feel of the LE experence. Save your money or perhaps try another company to revalve your Marzocchi's. I ended up putting Ohlins on the front end and Penski on the rear. Mike

I'm just about there I checked the piston ring gaps, piston to cylinder clearence and clayed the valve to piston clearence. It is all good, now waiting on gaskets. Sooo close to getting my bike back together! Did I tell you how nice the M.R. pistons are? One thing I noticed right off the bat was the oil lube hole to the piston pin via the oil ring scraper. Nice! Mike

Saw this Ghezzi Brian Super Twin on ebay, it isn't even registered in the States and it is already at $13,000 US dollars, any guess on how much it will go for? http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=330641541861&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1438.l2649 I am thinking $16,000?

Hello, The Ohlins suspension are quite better than the zokes. Some of it is because of their adjustability (rebound and compression damping, spring preload), their valving works very well and the ride is much more compliant. I have had both V11's with the zokes and Ohlins. The problem was alway trying to get the zokes to work as well as the Ohlins, After much money spent on the stock zokes, I never found the fix, the only way is to change out the zokes with Ohlins. I believe it would be cheaper to buy a bike already with the Ohlins suspension, adding it later will cost you at least $2000. dollars for used parts and that is if you can find them. Mike

I love it when a mystery is solved! Mike

Hello, I wonder if going with a radial clutch master cylinder IF the needed clutch lever hand strength could possible be reduced. If it works for brakes, it should work for the clutch end of it. Just a thought to keep you riding , Mike

[son Brad (Greenie V11S) came down from Wisconsin and worked his magic on the zip tied together fairing/white paint splotched tank and we have the first roll out Chuck, When can I barrow son Brad to come to the Bay Area California to give my Rosso the same treatment? I always had a hard time getting the tank paint to polish as it always seemed like the paint was too soft. At least give us some hints on how to make the paint shine Mike

Damm, I just ordered one NOT

Another spot that could cause low oil pressure is the upper sump gasket, there are oil suction and pressure ports that this gasket seals. There is a oil pressure port going to the front and rear main bearing (front and rear of the engine case), look for a split or blown out gasket. Very possible that one has split in this area. The thermostatic valve I believe opens at a pretty high temperture, so if your light is coming on after a bit of running, I doubt if your leak is there. If you drop both of the sump pieces you will be able to check them out anyway. Mike I check that, and (unfortunately) they were not switched. There were no metal pieces in the oil, so for now I'll assume excessive clearance between the crank and bearings is not the case. I guess I'll have to take a look at the pressure valve. maybe there is some leak behind the thermostatic valve (to or from the radiator) which could explain pressure loss with warm engine? Another thing I heard was moist on the clear plastic sleeve where the sensor is attached to the engine block, so I'll have to check that too.

Wow, never thought of that one! If that was the case, it would be alot easier and cheaper to repair. Maybe check the oil pressure with a manual gauge? Mike

Hello, Strange problem, the oil relief valve is located in the oil sump, you will need to remove both pieces of the sump to get to it. It screws into the aluminum piece that the oil filter attaches to. The relief valve is really tight and I broke the housing on the last one I removed (it is loctited in, so maybe some heat will make it easier to remove. I think the only way to check it is to apply air to the threaded end, it should hold pressure (not bleeding off pressure). The oil pump is located behind the timing cover and to get to it, you will need to pull the front cover and the timing chain/sprockets. I have seen wiped out oil pumps but it is usually from alot of metal going through it as the oil is not filtered going to it. Was there any metal in the pan? The other thing it could be is excessive clearence between the crank and bearings. But if you didn't see any metal in the pan, you most likely could rule this out. Keep us posted and good luck, Mike

It is hard for me to believe that the rear swingarm would bend from a crash, unless perhaps another vehicle hit the rear of the bike from the side Any pictures for us to see what you are talking about? Mike

My gut feeling is that the front crossover might only be really helpful on the stock exhaust system A manufacture would not be adding cost to a product if they thought it did nothing. I have only seen dyno reports on bikes with aftermarket crossovers, mufflers and pcIII's which the front crossover just showed a hint of a hp increase. When my Rosso Corsa was bone stock (the first week I owned her), I went out with some Ducati guys for a ride. Well there was a long straight and their tail lights were becoming smaller, me in a tight tuck read 137 mph on my speedo. Later on in the ride, we came to a tight, narrow, steep road, I passed 4 of them inbetween two turns, coming out of a tight turn, my front wheel lifted, I never thought this bike could do that. The Ducati guys were scratching their heads after that. Now, the next week, I changed out the crossover and mufflers plus installed a PCIII. Yes, it has a bunch more top end, but my wheel lofting days are over because the bottom end grunt is gone. Something to be said for the stock setup. Mike