AndyH

Sometimes it's not worth doing the forensic analysis when there's some ridin' to be done

I think there are different species in the US and in Europe, but have no idea which is worse. It's usually North America that has the more evil version (spiders, snakes, scorpions etc), but I'm not being competitive about this: I'll be happy to know I'm living somewhere benign. Leave that competition to the Aussies: they'll be sure to have a wasp that'll turn your brain inside out with pain.

Zokkis by the looks, but should fit. Don't part the bike out just for some missing forks. you'll always regret it.

...one bit of good news though: 'while the back wheel was off' (q.v.) I checked the bevel needle roller bearing. In spite of our frankly miserable damp climate here, it showed no sign of rusting and a quick clean and lube put it back on the right track. How do you guys get that bearing in such a state?

Actually, as I didn't want to ruin the new finish I took it back to the shop for them to fix which they did (their bad, their risk) without complaint: it looked and runs fine now. Although it has all the new cush rubbers in (undrilled too!) it seems the power delivery is smooth: there are other posts running at the moment that discuss the backlash and cushioning. Mindful of this I did observe that I generally give the transmission a soft time by not dumping the clutch. Even fast gear changes are accompanied by a slight clutch feathering and noticed I do this in cars too (we Brits do like our stick shifts). Must be from long habit/experience on some pretty clunky machinery over the years. (Morris Mini Van with collapsed engine mount rubbers springs to mind!). The front wheel was a bit of a different story. After front wheel bearing replacement last year at the local MG dealer, they deformed the front bearing spacer enough to prevent easy passage of the axle. The pet ape in their workshop must have used a serious lump hammer to force it through, peening over the blunt end in the process. One reason why my precious ain't going back there any more. Even though the new workshop use proper presses to push bearings in and out, the bearing spacer seems to have got out of shape again just a bit more and will have to be replaced along with the now mushroom-headed axle. I still blame the local shop for starting the process of deterioration. .

is it one of the recalls that Moto Guzzi made?? i had the dealer look for the history on mine to see if they had been done... ill do some reading on that thread but i dont think that my abilities can get me that far... Yours is an 01 - it seems the early once might not have such a problem as 02 onwards. I've never had the problem. Carry a spare spring under the seat if you go far from home! Andy

The bike's 13 years old and has 30,000 mi + on it. The idea was... for the minimal cost, while the wheel's apart, to bung in a new set. The bearing appears to be in its alloy carrier correctly (i.e. flush with the end of the bearing carrier tube) but as far as I can tell from the manual, the retainer plate needs to be all the way down the carrier tube so that the bearing is flush with the end of both the carrier tube and the splined spigot. Wish I'd taken more notes and pics of the assembly. As so often, Luigi was having a good long sunny afternoon at the local trattoria before he wrote this bit, so apart from the photos and diagrams, that section's about as much help as "Take it apart then put it all back together". "Use two screwdrivers to prize out the retainer plate" is accompanied by "using two screwdrivers may damage the alloy". No sh*t Sherlock! I'd be stuffed without it, but at times, to be honest, the manual's more use as bog paper. Not that I would of course ...

Always a possibility and it wouldn't be the first time it's given me problems on a bike, which is why I went for the cush drive rubber kit as supplied by Stein-Dinse for the V11 Sport 99-01. They are usually pretty reliable as a supplier. Andy

I took my wheels to a local bike workshop for a much needed refurb: the corrosion had got under the coating. They needed to be disassembled for this and I asked them to replace the bearings (obviously) and the cush drive rubbers. The front is OK as far as I can tell but the back came back with the flange plate convex side out. I thought something looked not quite right but couldn't out my finger on it. On closer inspection and comparison with photographs in the manual, I found that the cush drive plate had not been driven in enough. The bearing on that side in its carrier is about 6mm in from the end of the splines and it should be flush. The shop had put the bevel flange on the wrong way round because the screw holes wouldn't lie flush on the carrier otherwise. They're normally pretty good but this is a blooper. I tried to push the plate further in, even using a hide hammer to try and get some progress but it doesn't seem to want to go any further. I know that bedding in new cush drive rubbers can be a pain - it's never particularly easy to assemble them - but have the shop made a fundamental error in assembly of the wheel or does it just require more pressure on the plate before screwing the flange down? I'm going to take the wheel back and ask them to get it right as I don't want to wreck the new finish rectifying their mistake. I can feed (helpful) comments back to them to ensure they don't make matters worse. Andy

Start with removing the tank. I noticed no one had answered this so... 1. unfasten the bolt at the rear of the tank and lift it up slightly 2. On the 2001 the fuel tap/petcock is operated by a solenoid (electric switch) on the left side: it should have wires coming out of it. You should not need to turn it off but it is a common mod to change this for a manual tap: if you can't find a way to turn the tap off, you don't need to! So you can pull the pipe off it safely. 3. Disconnect the fuel tap wires at its connector under the tank - you may need to lift the rear of the tank slightly to get at it. 4. Also disconnect the fuel level sensor connector on the same side, nearby. 5. On the right side, you will also need to remove the fuel return pipe from the return valve (on the opposite side to the fuel tap). A little fuel will escape but should soon stop. 6. After removing this the tank will now be free for you to lift it up and you can see the spine of the frame in all its glory! Don't think I've forgotten anything... Buena Suerte Andy

I believe it's pronounced La-froyg'. I still I have a bottle of Bunnahabhain, another Islay whiskey, quite different in character from other Islay (yes Eye-lah) whiskies, but still truly delicious... It took me several months to find out it's pronounced roughly Boo-na-ha-venn' (stress on the last syllable), and I'm stil not sure... Happy to share a dram if you're over this way. We're blessed with some fabulous drinks in these isles but as ever the spelling's a pig... Try this, may come in handy: http://scotchaddict.com/how-to-pronounce-scotch-whisky-names.html

Welcome Maxi, you'll be glad you found this forum. Saved me loads of money and grief. Best model-specific bike forum on the 'net.

Happy half-C Grae. Some mates eh? That stuff's seriously costly... they owe you big time.

I see that spelling is something of an obsession with dangerous

"Bad suspension geometry" on the Maico... set me to wondering if something similar could be the cause of the failed eye on V11 Sachs Boge shocks? Although it doesn't happen to Öhlins or WP shocks as far as I know.

But an ancient sage once told me that, contrary to what you'd expect, 'soft wears hard' in engines. Not sure about the absolute truth of that but that adage seems to have held true in a number of cases (old Triumph clutch baskets was the case in point at the time as I recall). If so the teeth on the plates shouldn't in fact be softer but harder. Old sages' tales though, perhaps.

.. as long as they are round and black, and you prefer them, they work

I agree - bad practice on any bike but Meriden Triumph ownership teaches this lesson particularly well...!

Only had the loosening problem after fitting the Mistral X-over so maybe doing so pushed things out of line a bit. Anyway, after losing/nearly losing the dome nut a few times and having pushed the tightening/retightening as far as I dared, apparently to no avail, I used a medium thread lock to keep things in place and haven't had any problems since.

Me too... not yet anyway at ca. 30000 mi

Check the steering head and lock stops don't interfere with the front indicator wires. This same thing happened to me last year. I had the fuse blow after I had put in my bike for the annual MOT at the local MG dealer. It passed the MOT but they reported that it had blown a fuse for the turn signals and they had replaced the fuse before handing it back to me. Top marks for customer service, I don't think (why not look into the cause rather than replace the fuse...?) The fuse blew again on me on the way home and after a load of head scratching investigation it seems they had put the bike steering lock on (which I never do) to secure the bike after the MOT inspection: this pinched the pair of right front indicator cables between the lock stops just enough to short them together but not enough to sever them. I still think they shifted something while the bike was in their care but can't prove anything. Anyway could be worth checking out. It was an easy fault to miss.

Sure it's not something loose in the X-over like I had? People were sagely pronouncing that it was a possible clutch problem (and I did too, to be honest) until I held my boot against the X-over box and the rattle stopped. Just a thought...

Welcome Diego, stunning indeed!

I'm guessing it still shows speed (needle still moderately accurate), right? If so, it'll be the speedo itself and Casadimoto is good to do the work http://www.casadimoto.de/ but the site's in German and as my German is really poor, I sent my tacho to Stein Dinse and they handled the transaction with Casadimoto (and probably made a few quid out of it) but made the process really straightforward. Otherwise, the 60deg drive at the gearbox end is probably the culprit: stripped nylon worm (nylon, I ask you!?). I have 3 junked drives in a box, so it's been a regular event. Replace the cable at the same time (it's the cheap bit), lube it well and give it the straightest run possible.

And did Martin make it? Pin a medal on him for trying! It's a long way.