jrt

I wonder if some of the neutral switches weren't heat treated correctly for springyness. Some of them seem just seem to get loose and various owners have talked about always parking in gear to avoid wearing it out. It shouldn't wear out; I always park my bike in neutral and it always seems to work. So, does your bike maybe have an ill-tempered tang?

I think what Big J is politely saying is that electric bikes don't need oil.

I can be encouraging, but I haven't taken the timing chest off a spine frame- so I don't know whether you have to drop the engine or not. I would suspect not, but I could be wrong.... This particular location for an oil leak has been reported before. I guess you have the black painted engine cases? One cause for leaks has been a bit of paint stuck between the mating surfaces and eventually comprimising the seal. Fortunately, it's an easy fix. Remove off the alternator rotor (probably the most difficult operation of this), remove the timing case to expose the timing chain. Check it while your there- it should be fine. Clean both surfaces, put in new gasket and some sealant- my current favorite is hylomar- and button it up. An afternoon's work if all goes well. Eh, say 3 beers worth. If you haven't removed the alternator rotor before, there's a trick to it. Remove the center bolt, insert a hardened dowel about the same diameter, and just longer than the threads on the bolt. Re-insert the bolt, tighten it down, and it'll pop the alternator right off. Or tighten it up, wack it with a rubber (not metal!) mallet if it is stubborn and it should pop off. I'm sure I've missed something....but it is pretty easy.

Dammit Ratchet, you owe me a keyboard.

Pete, dude....you need to listen to this. I do cinch up the axel nut by hand. Not quite until farting, but reasonably close. Maybe some do use a torque wrench, but that (obsessive?) behaviour is part of the enjoyment of working on their own bike. Many of us on this forum are not professional mechanics. Folks like yourself and a few others can laugh, but it does me good to occasionally look at the numbers. I've stripped more than one bolt due to ham-fisted twisting. Besides were talking a discrepency here of an order of magnitude. Gently ribbing? Remember, intonation doesn't come through the typewriter very well. Anyone have some spare gorm?

I just cross-referenced against my G5 manual. Too funny. You're right, of course- 100+ft lbs is specified. I guess the section of the manual is incorrect. Thanks for pointing that out to me. J

Hmm, I better look this up when I get home, but on the downloadable CD, section F, page 5, it indicates 28-30 N m. 120 sounds a bit much. But I'll double check against the printed factory manual. J Edit- I see where you're getting that 120 value (front of the book). Dang, that still sounds like a lot. I'll look at a couple other manuals I have at home.

Txrider, Sorry, I didn't notice the ID you gave. I don't have numbers on black pipe, but that stuff is soft. Like butta. Several aluminum alloys are much more brittle. Here is a reasonably unconnected bit of trivia. Pipe dimensions change depending on whether you are talking to a plumber or an air conditioning guy. Plumbers use ID, AC folks use OD. So, 3/8" copper for me (former plumber) is 1/2" for someone else. Sigh. You can't imagine how many wasted discussions I've had with people over this. If anyone can find ANY data on compressibility, I'd like to see it. I coudn't find anything either, but all the machinists I've spoken to say it's going to be negligible- just don't put a wopping big cheater on the axle. The axle torque should only be 28-30 N m or 20-21 ft lb.

Shoot- I missed the big GP yesterday. I did manage to catch the 250cc GP, and what a show that was. Amazing riding by the top three finishers (De Punier, West, Stoner). Lot's of good slides, one fellow went completely off the track, through the grass, back onto the track (narrowly missing the #2 rider) and still got in the top 3 finish. Holy crap.

Time to step up. So who wants to be the guinea pig? I don't have time to do these myself, so I'll get my father in law (aka 'Bob') to run a few off for those who want one. He's a far better machinist than I am (I'm a hack, he's a pro) and he really, really likes motorcycles. Most of his work is making restoration parts for Excelsior's and such. The spacer in my bike is fine- I'll buy one off Bob just to have a spare. Because the one on my bike is fine and because my Eldorado needs my attention right now and a thousand other things, I don't have time to take the rear wheel off my Sport and make the requisite measurements. I won't have time for 2-3 months. Cost will be the cost of making it. I won't make but Bob needs to be paid for his time and the raw material. I was speaking with him last night and he recommended I look at metalexpress.net for materials. They are considerably cheaper than McMaster-Carr. Cool. However, the majority of the cost will be in work, not materials. C'mon, we're talking $20-$40 in material for 7 pieces. I would estimate an hour for each piece, simply because it will take longer than Pete's 5 minutes, and you won't find any machinist that will charge you for just 30. So, the bottom line cost will be $40 or less- I suspect less, but I don't want to lie and I don't want to end up subsidizing this and I'm not a businessman. Would anyone be interested in paying a surcharge (2-3$) and donating that to v11lemans.com? I haven't asked Jaap about this, and it would be completely independant of him- so he has no liablility in this matter. It's really a toss-up in materials between 6061, 2024 Alu and cold-rolled steel. The amount of material in each: a cylinder 113 mm long, 25.4 mm outer diameter, 2.5 mm thick is 22.5 cm^3. I approximated the volume of material as the surface area of outside wall X thickness. The density of alu is 2.6 g/cm^3 so the mass of the piece is 59 g. In steel, the mass of the piece will be 158 g. 2oz. vs. 5oz. So really, no difference. Pete addressed this point earlier. Dave, the DOM (drawn over mandrel) steel is just as strong as seamless. There is considerably less dimensional variation as well, so it is a superior choice. I'm leaning toward steel at this point for strength, ease of work and cost (2024 alu- $40, 1026 dom steel- $17). Txrider, the 7750k232 pipe is just black pipe- very maleable. It's also only 3/4", so I wonder if it would even fit??? Dimensions I've been able to glean off this discussion: 113 mm long 25.4 mm OD 2.5 mm thickness gives an ID of 20.4 (what's the diameter of the rear axle? I've asked before but never gotten a response) I'll make sure the ends are chamfered. So it's time to step up. If anyone is interested, send me a note off-list (pm or email). I can order materials tomorrow if needed. I welcome any suggestions you might have. Jason

'60s And damn, the trans am is the nadir of American design. I guess I do like 'hello kitty' kind of cars rather than the vader-style. I wan't muscle in a bike, not a car. With a few exeptions, cars are appliances, and my Prius has been getting 46 mpg lately- better than the Sport. J

You married Lucy Liu? I'm jealous.

Wait'll you're old as I am. I'm beginning to like the looks of the old VW Combi trucks again. We had one when I was a kid, so I guess it's nostalgia. Another car we had when I was young might fit your bill. Look for an early '70's Pontiac Roadrunner. That was a wicked fast car. My brother put a police 400 cubic inch shortblock into one and proceeded to grenade 4 pistons (at one time) in a street drag race. Fun while it lasted, but too many tickets.

Interesting. The bottom end on the Guzzi is fantastically strong, but I suppose not immune to f**k ups. Well, while you have the parts out, you might think about balancing the crank, or doing any internal mods that you have been considering.

ok, ok, so we've established that you don't like euro-roadsters. Probably doesn't have air conditioning anyhow. So I guess a VW beetle is right out.

Oh, great- 6 more months of therapy.

EEEP! The rest of the stuff looks semi reasonable, but Day-um. I'd be looking at some ammo boxes.

And that's exactly the measurement I'm trying to get. hmm, gh makes a good point also. Half the fun of this is an overindulgence in typing and beer.

Hi grossohc, There's two ways to upload photos. 1) use photobucket. Create an account (free) at www.photobucket.com. Login to your account there and upload a photo onto their website (it's pretty easy and painless). Under the photo are three variations on addresses. Copy the "url" address (the top one). Now, in the window where you are composing a message, click on "img", paste in the url you just copied, and voila, you're done. Photobucket auto resizes big pictures. Here's my Eldorado. Scroll down to read part two. 2) Use this website. In this windo where you are composing a message, scroll down to the bottom. Notice that "choose file" button? click it. Navigate to your photo, and choose it- hit return. The photo HAS to be less than a certain size (500k? I think). Now just click on "add reply". Also, at the bottom left of the screen, notice the info that says "global space left". You only have so much. That's why photobucket works well- it resizes. Ok, just added a picture of an album of German drinking songs. I know, it's silly, but I had to buy it (25 cents US). Hope that helps, Jason

I think you scared him off Nice words, Ratchet. I think you put it very nicely how Guzzi ownership is an involving rather than possessive condition. One of the characteristics or descriptions that always comes up with these bikes is simplicity. I suppose that can be a strength and a weakness, but it certainly drives the involvement for a lot of us. The simplicity of solid rockers drives the involvement of manually setting the valve lash. That kind of thing.

ouch. Glad it's under warranty. I wonder what happened with it? Assuming you kept the oil up, then perhaps a galleyway was clogged from the factory? Folklore is that on Guzzi, the mains are trashed first, so I would have them look VERY carefully at the front AND rear main bearings.

Is 6204/5 for right/left (or left/right)? That's interesting info! Thanks for sharing. I may have to order a pair just to have around. J

I can recommend some stuff that will.

What about this stuff? Sorry, I can't provide a direct link. Go to www.mcmaster.com and search the part #. 1968T39 Alloy 2024 Aluminum Tube 1.00" OD, .76" ID, .120" Wall Thickness 1" OD gives the right...uh...OD. Wall thickness of the part should be 2.3 mm or 0.09 in. (that sounds thin to me, but I haven't looked at one) The .12" tubing would be easier to drill out than a solid rod. The 2024 alloy looks good on paper; here's what mcmaster says about it: With superior strength and good machinability, 2024 is the most widely used aircraft alloy. The addition of copper improves strength, but decreases corrosion resistance. It can be spot or arc welded, however MIG/TIG welding is not recommended. Use for aircraft parts, screw machine parts, and wheels. Nonmagnetic. Temperature range to maintain properties is -320° to +300° F.

That's great, because the Bay Area came off as somewhat inhospitable. Good luck and Good ride! J