Chuck

Absolutely. That was part of my rant on this job. Guzzi is bad about service accessibility. It was going to be hard to get to that bracket nut, so I mistakenly took off the two small screws to get the reservoir out. It's harder to get to that back nut than the bracket nut. Really, all three should be captured nuts. I'll fix that the next time I have it off.

Excellent work Chuck. Try the shift lever arm extension mod ( I mean its an hours work to a bloke with your skills and equipment) and it will be another giant leap in performance. Ciao Thanks Phil, maybe this Winter. I'm perfectly happy with the way it shifts now.

Hi, Phil.. do you have a part number for the kit? Yes Chuck, p/n 01 20 16 41. About $120US from memory around 18 month ago Ciao Harpers wants a mere $344.37 Gulp. I'll make do with what I have.

This morning, I took the front nut off, loosened the rear nut but didn't let it come off, took some big hunker channel locks and moved that sucker that 1/8". Now, I have about a quarter inch clearance between the balance knob and the power lead to the starter. Perfect. Luigi still sucks, though.. It's been raining off and on today..still.. but I just had to try it out. I'm fully aware that the natural tendency when you've done some wrenching or spent some money is to say it's better. It is. I'm *really* familiar with how this bike shifts. After all, I've ridden it 14000 miles, mostly in the California canyons, shifting pretty constantly. It has never been this good. Period. Props to Lucky Phil. I set my riding gear out to dry and called it done.

Agreed. After all they are the last of the *real* Guzzis..

^^^^^ I can dig it. My transmission window is green, though, so I've got the greens.

Pfffft. Much ado about nothing, IMHO> I ran my Centauro with Mobil1 75-145 or the 80-140 for years without issue. If I had a choice, I'd run the heavier weight in the rear drive. I've been running Redline green, whatever weight that is in the Mighty Scura, but didn't have enough to fill the transmission when I put the new centering spring in. So, now I'll be running 700cc green mixed with 150cc pink milk shake in the transmission. I'd be a little concerned about mixing different brands in case of additive packages not being compatible, but not *really* concerned. It's just oil. That said, I run dino in the small blocks with moly in the rear drive. Guzzi guru Sean Fader told me to. Edit for typo

Ok, let's pretend that you are a new guy that has never done this kind of thing. Like me. Maybe I can help get around some of the pitfalls that are lurking on this job. Reading the threads: Box in NEUTRAL. Detach shock reservoir from bracket. Although you will be tempted to just take the two screws out of the reservoir bracket.. DON'T DO THAT. The bracket is held onto the pork chop bolt by an almost inaccessible nut. Get your M17 wrench and figure out a way to remove the bracket. More later.. Isolate battery. Remove starter motor. Detach neutral switch term. Detach shift link from shaft. You *did* remember to mark the location, right? Drain gbox oil. Remove 11 (5mm) socket cap bolts. Remove Selector cover plate (there's no gasket, goo holds pretty firm). Sounds pretty simple. Notice that two of the bolts are a little longer. Hmmm, no amount of wiggling, prying, etc will move that selector cover plate. The two longer bolts are at the bottom center 1-001 by Charles Stottlemyer, on Flickr and the top right. That is where the dowels that locate the cover are. Get your special Guzzi tool, cleverly disguised as a screwdriver with a shallow angle ground on the tip, put it right at the split line by the bottom dowel and give it a rap with your copper hammer. Pop! the glue lets go. Then take two 1/4" diameter rods, put them in the top corner bolt holes.. 2-002 by Charles Stottlemyer, on Flickr Squeeze, and you'll have a lever to wiggle the top off the dowel while the screwdriver does the bottom. Oh, By the way.. I've read tales of doing this job on the side of the road. Not without this cut off allen wrench in your tool kit to access the bottom bolts. 4-004 by Charles Stottlemyer, on Flickr Remove 2 selector gears (retained by circlips) & mechanism, to access spring. Ensure NEUTRAL in box (check spaces between sliding dogs & gears are equidistant) & in selector before replacing plate. Move the selector forks into the neutral position before replacing the side plate (rotate the rear wheel to confirm neutral - if the plate doesn't go on you've got a false neutral). Main thing is get box in neutral with selector forks equally spaced from sliding sleeves before putting the cover back on. Also, selector wheels in Neutral. There's no gasket on cover. Use sealant/gasket cement. All this is true, but. You'll probably move them when you are trying to get the cover back on. The best way I could find is to start the bottom in first, then work the top around the hoses. Needless to say if you bump and move one of the dogs, the cover won't go back on. Well, that was pretty easy. All you have to do is put the shock reservoir back on. You say you took the two screws off the bracket? May your soul find peace. This is one of Luigi's most diabolical pieces of afterthought engineering I've ever seen. Naturally there are no captured nuts, so you have to have fingers like an orangutan to get them started. Then.. you can't rotate the reservoir, so you have to give it your best shot, tighten the bracket bolts, 5-006 by Charles Stottlemyer, on Flickr Then you only have to install one nut that you can't see or get your fingers on. That is why I warned you right off the bat. After installing it and admiring your work.. you have to be **very** careful to make sure the reservoir line has no way of vibrating down and touching that big electrical wire to the starter (!!) It's very close, so make sure it has enough clearance. You don't want the battery exploding when you are putting down the road. It would more than likely ruin your day. 6-007 by Charles Stottlemyer, on Flickr you notice that at full throttle, the balance knob just grazes the reservoir. (!!) If the throttle sticks, you just might die. I know one guy that did. Now, I get to mark the reservoir, take everything loose, move the bracket about 1/8" and do it all over. So. If you like the position of your shock reservoir, don't take those two screws loose. Other than that, the job is a piece of cake.

They are aluminum, and *are* nicely made.

.7mm= .028"

Still working ok. http://wildguzzi.com/forum/index.php?topic=62087.0

Hi, Phil.. do you have a part number for the kit? Yes Chuck, p/n 01 20 16 41. About $120US from memory around 18 month ago Ciao Thanks..

Sort of a x post from WG.. Lucky Phil is not the dumbest bear in the woods, so when he speaks, I listen. No matter that he doesn't care for my beautiful red gaiters on the Aero Lario.. I ground the pawl surfaces where they ride on the shift drum pins. 1-003 by Charles Stottlemyer, on Flickr 1-007 by Charles Stottlemyer, on Flickr 1-006 by Charles Stottlemyer, on Flickr 1-004 by Charles Stottlemyer, on Flickr ferinstance 1-005 by Charles Stottlemyer, on Flickr I've learned a few things that might be useful here. I'll post them when I put it together.

As far as I know, all V11S are susceptible..

Give that man a coconut..

Yes Chuck, replace both springs. The detent arm spring doesn't usually give much trouble but while you're in there and ordering stuff. Glad it was something so simple. You have the earlier shift plate assy so check the dia of the boss on the shift pawl arm and compare to the ID of the pawl spring and make sure there wont be any binding. I suspect it would have broken by now if its the too big 16mm dia boss, so it should be fine. Ciao PS make sure you get the centering/return spring installed the right way up Chuck, if you dont one of the arms rubs on that crescent shaped land just behind the stop pin in the photo. Thanks, Phil. I have a spare pawl spring in my tool kit, so I'll just install it and keep the other for a spare. Maybe I should paint it red?

IMHO, there have been issues with some runs of UFI filter gaskets. Some filters came loose, some stuck so hard Superman couldn't get them off through the porthole of a V11S, some stuck to the seal surface, and the mechanic didn't notice (!) and ran another filter on top. I quit using them after having a leaker, and reading about others leaking at the crimp. I now use the Bosch 3330. It's an ok filter, available anywhere.

Hi, Phil.. do you have a part number for the kit?

The bike has 32K miles. Should I put a new pawl spring in it while it's apart, or go with what's been working?

Who ee, it's hot out in the hanger today. It was the centering spring. 1-003 by Charles Stottlemyer, on Flickr With one leg broken it won't shift up. If I held the gizmo (technical term) on center, it would shift normally. 1-005 by Charles Stottlemyer, on Flickr $9.88. Cheap.

Couldn't stand it. My cub didn't come in to work today, so I'm going to have a look at the pre selector even though the shop is full of airplane and parts for a steel mill. It's only supposed to be 91F today.

Correct. Never have heard of that.

So far, I'm liking what you are saying.. I'd much rather it isn't internal.

It's free to move down to neutral or first, but not up.

I would think that if the spring was broken, the shift lever wouldn't return to the neutral position.