Lucky Phil

Yes still a twin plater, I'm saving the RAM for the Daytona/V11 engine project. Ciao

A few things Scud, thicker clutch plates will slightly increase the lever pull effort. The springs are now .6mm more compressed so the lever load will be a fraction higher. It shouldn't however effect the amount of lever travel required to get the plates to release once you have shimmed the pushrod as you have done. Some thoughts on that, Firstly if the clutch friction compound is a little more aggresive than the std type or if the new plates aren't nice and flat as they should be then you will need a little more lever travel to create more friction plate clearance than you're used to. I know its obvious but is the clutch bled properly? If the new plates are as mentioned then there will be less tollerance for air in the system than the std plates and you may figure it was ok before so it should be now, understandably. All this will effect neutral finding and general clutch take up from a standstill but it wont have any real effect on shifting. A little bit of clutch drag doesnt really effect shifting much as the gearbox likes to spin to change nicely, its about real load when it comes to clean shifting not full and total release. I'm very used to clutchless upshifting on the track and so also use it a lot on the road even with the Guzzi. So unless I'm tootling around town or bumbling along in the country with my wife on the back i never use the clutch from second through to 5th gear. I'll use it into 6th only because by that time I've hit cruize mode and it's like relax time:) I've never, repeat never missed a clutchless upshift on the Guzzi, or my track bike so as I said full and complete release isnt that important for shifting as long as the load is reduced its fine. I really don't know why these aftermarket companies dont take the extra effort to just make the plates to the std dimensions, I mean the difference in thickness between a new clutch plate and a worn out one isnt that much and .3mm doesnt sound like a lot but is quite significant in the scheme of things when you consider it has to be multiplied by a factor of 2 in the case of the Guzzi. That .6mm may be just whats needed to allow for less than perfectly flat friction and drive plates. Ciao

Yes Chuck, my rear spacer was around 1/2 mm too short but I had a kind of off beat clattering feeling in the left footpeg on floating throttle. Ciao

All major bearing brands no matter where they are made should be very very close dimensionally, within a couple of tenths of a thou. You wont find the kind of variation that will cause the spacer to be too short. Ciao

I agree with your feeling on the short spacer. I have a box of Ducati crank and gearbox shims and I used one of them so I cant tell you which one it was exactly. All you need to do is figure how much too short you are by measuring the distance between bottom faces of the the bearing cavities with a machining block or striaght edge and a 6'' caliper and add 0.005 to 0.010" depending on how confident you are on your measurement and you can make one out of sheet metal. It will probably be around 0.020" too short from my experience. A little bit longer is better than shorter hence the extra 0.005" to 0.010" . Make it out of steel not aluminium. Aluminium that thin will crush and deform. Loctite the shim to the spacer and Bobs you mothers brother. Ciao

Excellent, lets all launch ourselves to the absolute worst case senario first and forget about that messy basic, simple, methodical, troubleshooting Ciao

Try the shift shaft seal Ciao

Oh Ok, I thought that the whole internal mechanism would be attatched to the back of the instrument. Ciao

Well done to those that have done the de/re crimp. I always thought it may be possible to machine up an aluminium end cap that sleeved into the body and was held in place by a couple of 4mm button head screws.Carefully cut the old one off and rob any necessary bits like bulb holders etc and use on the new end cap. Then you could access the instruments any time you needed to. From those that have had them apart would this be viable? Ciao

Thats cool, whenever you get a chance. Ciao Chance. My Harpers order arrived today, so I tapped the seal in. It is the same as the one I removed. IMG_5866.jpg Thanks man, I have a couple on order at $35 each...gulp. The std plain 42x56x7 are $5. Hopefully worth it:) Ciao

I agree with the chase out the crack and TIG it option and also the heat it up to reduce the distortion which I believe wont be a major issue ( the selector cover face may need some "fettling" with a flat file though). Dont even consider the epoxy/JB weld option. I would also fit the optional extra gearbox mount as mentioned here a few months ago just for insurance. Ciao

No, local wild card rider that year, Mal Campbell, ex Aussie Superbike champion, ex WSB rider and gentlman. Ciao

OMG, I once left paper towels in the intake manifold of an old Cadillac V-8. It started and died, started and died. Then it shot the whole wad out the tail pipe and ran perfectly. Had a Ducati 996 Corse on the dyno after a rebuild for the upcoming Phillip Island round of WSB one year and it seemed to be running a little raggard on the first start then it shot something out the exhaust and cleared itself and was all good. Went looking and found a piece of chewed up smoldering rag outside. Like the one you use in the inlets to stop FOD with the airbox lid off.Oh dear..... Ciao

Here's another basic one, I dont know how far you had this thing apart but you havent put a rag or something in the inlet whilst in bits? Ciao

You took me back 40 years Chuck to my time as a second year apprentice doing my 3 month stint in "wheels and brakes" working in the bearing shop, washing, inspecting and relubing 747 mainwheel bearings. They were somewhat larger Timken tapered rollers though:) Ciao

Are you aware that every time you cycle the ignition and the pump runs to prime the system it also squirts a shot of fuel down the inlets? If you're cycling the ignition to prime the system you will almost certainy flood it. If you have flooded it you may well have ruined the Platinum plugs if thats what you are using. Ciao

I just re listened to your video and your bike sounds just like mine, flick the clutch quickly and it stops clattering for a bit when the plates realign and then after you cycle the clutch it starts up again. Meh, mines been doing it since day 1. I'd forget the gearbox and go with the Aluminium flywheel. MartyNZ made some valid technical points about aluminium as a material but its mostly irrelevent in the grand scheme of things with regard to the flywheel. A bit like the argument about how bad telescopic front forks are, technically valid but more honoured in the breach than the observance, so to speak. Ducatis have used aluminium baskets as have Japanese bikes for many years and fatigue failure is not a realistic worry. Neither is wear really with the exception of the dry clutch Ducatis and even then they last for 30,000 or so Klms before replacement. The Guzzi however has far more toothed surface area so its life would be many times greater. Besides unless you spend all your time commuting or towing a sidecar around then the std flywheel assy is a massivly heavy joke and needs to be ditched for something lighter. Even the lightest V11 flywheel is in my opinion way too heavy. Ciao

If I was to do it over, I'd make my own. I've got the Ghezzi Brian one, it's very nice, but I think I could have made my own for less, using tricker parts and materials. Some 7068 round bar and a couple chromoly+PTFE rod ends, and done. Exactly, you could make one with a decent drill press and machine vice if push came to shove. Or Chuck could make one with a egg beater drill and a G clamp:) Ciao

Wow that is amazing. Always good to know what you can "get away with". Ciao

No doesnt really work like a conventional automotive clutch. These have lots of toothed plates spline interfaces that are dry and wear. A car clutch has only the friction disk spline to gearbox input shaft spline to rattle around. Even with the clutch engaged and the plates clamped together the drive plates can still rattle around in the flywheel. Thats why when idling and it sounds a bit rattly if you pull and release the clutch quickly they quieten down a little as the plates re-orientate themselves in the splines. Ciao

The problem is Andy with gear face wear that bad the issue will be a fatigue crack in one of the teeth that will eventually break off. For safety reasons I'd rather not be the one riding it when that happens. Ciao

I can tell you from first hand experience Chuck the brake levers are able to be bent back into shape. A little heating with the old soap and propane torch and it will go right back into position. Nice how to BTW. Ciao

You've got it this far apart, and if there appears to be no leakage from the breather tube into the bell housing from the external hose and fitting you may as well pull the gearbox off and take a look at the breather fitting and engine rear seal and gearbox input shaft seal. Ciao

Or an antique airplane. A little oil is like a little blood. Looks like crap, but isn't much of a *problem.* I think you got a little carried away before really troubleshooting where it is coming from. You mentioned the baby powder (or spray athlete's foot powder trick. Seriously.. you should have done that before getting this far. It will be harder to find out where it is coming from, now. At least do the sniff test so we know whether it is engine or transmission oil. Report back. Hey Chuck when I was working on Pratt R2000's we lived by the addage you only need to worry when it's not leaking oil, that means its run out Ciao

I agree, look at the breather hose first, that oily mess on top of the gearbox is a bit of a giveaway. If its leaking then fix that and then cleanup the rest and re-appraise. A little bit of oil leaking from the engine commonly creates a somewhat dirty mess further aft. My recent r/h rocker cover leak was leaving oil on my boot and r/h footpeg and the side of the porkchop plate. I was distracted by the fact that the rear gearbox seal was also leaking and put it down to that and didnt clock the rocker cover leak until the test ride..doh. A few small drops of oil turned into mist from from airflow from the engine leak can create an oily film on things further back that traps dirt and makes you think that component is leaking. Just a thought if you cant definitly confirm the rear bevel is leaking. Ciao