Lucky Phil

You don't have much choice other than ride a V11 slowly.....they aren't that fast. Ciao

I don't see a real need to challenge my statement. Aluminium has this tricky behaviour, even the expensive alloys are not free of it. The Young-modulus and the resulting 3x bigger deformations are a fact, too. If you don't follow very special design rules or even avoid the material completely for certain applications it will give you problems. Now I don't see where the design of the steel wheel and the light alu one differs. Using such a bodgey flywheel for racing purposes may be something different, very similar to aviation if you like. But then you should keep the same maintenance intervalls as they have them for racing - or for aeroplanes. I at least wouldn't want to open my bike every 2.500 km just to check whether things are still fine, the more as 'being fine' is not clearly defined. Will you then change it as soon as the smallest crack is visible or only after the first small parts have come free? Hubert It needs to be challenged the same as the statement "a bodgey flywheel" needs to be as its a sweeping generalisation.Depending on the original design and application some things can be copied straight from steel to high grade aluminium. If we were to take your post a face value then we should all still have cylinder heads made from cast iron because the aluminium ones will compress under the load of the cylinder studs clamping them to the cases. Also what makes you think the RAM clutch unit is purely for racing?I would suggest the vast majority sold are running around on the street. There is also evidence to suggest the failures that have occured are with the "original fit" Guzzi units which used RAM clutch components but didnt use the RAM flywheel. Ciao

Stucchi cross over,Wilbers shock with remote preload adjuster,5.5" rear rim,Mistral mufflers.A work in progress.

Ah Phil, you missed the joke: we 'Murricans spell & speak it funny... No matter. As for the suitability of aluminum as the material for Guzzi flywheels, we can agree to disagree. My point was that there is marginal need to even go there, since one can machine the steel flywheels down to the point where they are close to the aluminum ones in wt., but manifestly stronger to the point that one does not need to be waiting for them to explode. And the Guzzi donk does like more flywheel mass than an inline four... Your point that the use of aluminum in airplanes argues that they should be safe for use in flywheels is not pertinent either, simply because the use of aluminum in airplane frames/skin is a vastly different application. You don't see aluminum being used for flywheels in aircraft motors, nor do you see ground vehicles subjected to the extremely cautious & diligent maintenance schedules one must adhere to in aircraft. I'm just sayin' there's a logical discontinuity in your argument. Even if you do spell aluminum funny! ;D Ok,copy the spelling thing. I guess we will differ on the flywheel issue,but as I pointed out the RAM units seem to be fine unlike some of the original Guzzi single plate units which apparently DIDN'T use the RAM flywheel. The RAM flywheel and clutch assembly weigh some 2kg less than the already lightest big twin (V11 Sport)dual plate clutch.Removing another 2kg off the V11 clutch would be rather challenging I would imagine. With ref to aviation,I wasn't considering aluminium skin structures but other aero applications.The concept that Aluminium compresses under bolted up load and therefor fails as a general statement needed to be challenged. Ciao

[emphasis added] Clearly an invalid assumption in re: the Guzzi "racing" flywheel. BTW, you misspelled "aluminum." The irony being that as Pete Roper has pointed out, the heavier flywheels are much more useful to a daily rider and don't put the strain on the rest of the components as the superlight alloy flywheel does... Ride on! I was speaking in generalities,but having said that I dont know that the genuine RAM flywheel has the issues that the std Guzzi one does. Peter is entitled to his opinion on the merits of aluminium flywheels,but after many years of riding Ducati's of all persuasions with much less engine rotating mass I have my own views. When I fit my RAM unit I don't expect to be able to necessarily ride the bike the same way as with the heavy unit and if that means I have to ride it a gear lower and keep the revs higher then thats fine by me.That's how I want it to feel and respond. Dont see clutch or final drive spline wear being an issue if the bike is ridden with some sense of awareness. Dont know where you learned to spell but where I come from its ALUMINIUM as I originally posted,but feel free to check the spelling/grammar and correct if required if it makes you feel better. Ciao

Cant agree with this,there are literally thousands of engineering examples of alloy components under stress held together with bolted joints that last many many years.The concept that a well engineered aluminium alloy component will undoubtedly deform over time and lead to the fastener losing tension and then failure is just wrong. The aviation industry would be in serious trouble if this was the case. Ciao

Hey John! Somehow missed your post above - Great to see you around again Been wondering what had happened to you. Best wishes, hope the house is working out. KB PS: RAM flywheel is indeed aluminium. Received my RAM clutch kit the other week and read with interest the supposed failure of these flywheels.While it appears to have effected the original Guzzi units and not the RAM flywheels its interesting to look at the RAM flywheel. I noticed on the inner face of the flywheel(the gearbox side) where the crank mount bolts are they have machined a mount face for the large steel washer/plate that the mount bolts go through.The outer edge of this machined face in my opinion lacks sufficient radius and this is where the failures that have occured appear to originate in the original post. I'll be disassembling the clutch unit chucking up the RAM flywheel and opening up that radius before fitting. Ciao

Well gentlemen, I'm back, nice to see that flywheels are still flying! I got a RAM replacement from Teo Lamers and it was fitted in Jaca (Northern Spain) but I've done very little with the bike since I've been building a new house which takes a little time. The RAM flywheel is a steel construction to my knowledge and is reliable as Teo Lamers have been using them for years. Best to you all, John No Ram flywheel is Aluminium.Just bought one for the V11.Sitting on my dining table. Ciao

Nice tank Ponti Ciao

V11,Stucchi cross over fitted,5.5" rear rim,chin fairing,valve covers,Rizoma mirrors.Wilbers fully adjustable shock on order.

Sounds good to me.... I think I will scrape off some paint so I don't have to lose weight. Is 246 lb. Heavy????? Get a painter to shoot some clear over it with matting agent added.Depending on weather etc the matting agent will take the gloss off the clear and give the finish you want and also UV protection as well if he uses the right stuff. Ciao

V11,Mistrals,factory fairing.Still to come...5.5"rear rim,Stucchi cross over,Penske shock.

Mistrals,from MG Cycles. Ciao

My first Guzzi.