pete roper

Thanks. That's exactly what I needed.

Thanks Phil. I got contacted by a bloke in Canberra/Goulburn today who has just bought a RM from Western Australia. He drained the gearbox and the oil was 'Silvery' and had a few bits in, (I'll post up the pics he sent later so everyone can have a scry.). I don't have enough experience with the 'Old' six speed to know what's what so some feedback would be helpful. pete

Were affected by the gearbox dog issues? Was it 2000-2001? Did the Rosso Mandello fall into that category? I can't remember???

If you rode it for any distance chances are there will be some bearing damage. Plain bearings cannot be run without oil.

Just be careful with 'Older'. You don't want a flat tappet, high mileage, Stelvio.

There are some truly absurdly low priced Griso's and Norge 8V's out there at the moment. 2015 Griso's with low mileage for $5.5-6K, there's a Norge in MN for $4995. Might need rollerising, can't remember but I think it's a 2014 from memory.

Sounds like hose blown off filter Bill. See my Ghetto post.

It was a factory job.

It is indeed a work o'fart! The vernierable system for the cam timing is wonderful, but should of been completely unnecessary even in the seventies. That isn't to say it wasn't in its own way admirable, but few people, then and now, would translate that admiration into dollars in terms of servicing. No, you don't have to worry about that in 'Routine' maintenance, (And yes. Belt replacement is routine!) but the fact remains that most people at the time, and even more so now, would and do view this sort of thing as *Exotic*. And let's face it, they are right! I have a huge admiration for Todero's swan song. But it was, and remains, a 1950's racing engine thrown out as a production vehicle. From an economic standpoint it was always marginal at best. With the advent of the first Suzuki GSXR 750 it became a quaint anachronism that could never hope to garner interest from people outside a small coterie of nutters like Phil, Paul and myself, although nowadays I prefer to observe from afar! Pete

Nah. That'll be the ball from the clutch switch I'd think.

I had one Daytona RS that had one 'A' kit cam and one 'C' kit cam. That had me buggered.

It sounds to me as though for whatever reason the piston on the master cylinder isn't able to return fully. This means that the priming port that allows fluid to return to the reservoir is blocked off effectively making the system closed. This being the case as the brakes warm up the fluid expands but being unable to release the pressure by expanding into the reservoir it's only option is to push the pistons in the calipers out, therefore applying the brakes, which in turn causes more heat, more fluid expansion, more pressure etc. until the front wheel locks. I think there was another thread recently where someone had exactly the same problem with their rear brake? What I'd check first is the plunger that presses on the piston of the master cylinder. Most of these are adjustable on Brembo M/C's although I can't remember the exact set-up on V11's. Most likely there will be a small barrel in the hand lever with the plunger threaded in to it. This will be secured with a tiny grub screw with a 1.5 or 2mm Allen hex in it. Loosen the grub screw and wind the plunger a bit further into the barrel, (Try 1/2 a turn at a time.) and then relighted the grub screw and re-mount the lever. Check that when the lever is released the piston can fully return. If it can't? Repeat until it can. That priming port has to be open when the lever is released or you'll end up going arse-over-tit again! Pete Edit. Yup. Just a few posts below this one. Phil and Moto seem to have nailed it.

Griso 1100 was launched in 2005 but deliveries only really started in 2006. The model was produced for two years really, 2006 and '07 a few were sold in 2008 but were simply plated as that year. The 8V commenced production in 2007 but once again deliveries only started in the next calendar year. Early 8V's were plagued by several problems besides the flat tappet issues. The rear main bearing flange was prone to leaking and the gasket between the sump spacer and the block was prone to blowing out and lowering oil pressure leading to horrible noises but rarely failures. The big issue though was obviously the flat tappet fiasco. Early engines had chilled cast iron tappets. These were quickly found to be failure prone, more so in some markets than others, and there was a recall for these motors to replace the chilled cast iron tappets with forged steel ones with a DLC, (Diamond like Carbon.) coating on the sliding face. Unfortunately these too proved to be unreliable and although there was at least on further update to the manufacture the system continued to fail. Sometimes they take longer on one engine than another but they will ALL fail, no ifs or buts. Be aware that if you are thinking of buying a pre-'13 8V or any 1200 Sport 8V even if you check with a dealer or Piaggio and are told that there are no outstanding recalls on the bike you are looking at it will not mean that the bike has been rollerised as there was never a 'Recall' for rollerisation. In 2012/13 the Piaggio 'Service MotoGuzzi' portal announced a 'Technical Update' which stated that in the event of failure, providing the bike had a full service history and entirely at Piaggio's discretion they would provide a kit for rollerisation but the owner would have to pay for the install. Yes, it sucks, but that's the way it is. The reality is that these bikes are now seven years old at the youngest. Few have a full history and Piaggio just wants to wash its hands of the situation. A free kit is unlikely unless you have a dealer willing to go into bat for you. While rollerisation usually fixes the issue on rare occasions the bottom end will fail after rollerisation due to bearing contamination by DLC debris. As I say, rare, but of the couple of hundred rollerisations we've done we have subsequently lost about five motors, one of which was mine. The answer is to simply purchase a post '12 model as the swap over from flat to roller tappets on all models except the 1200 Sport was in the first half of MY 2012. While there are bargains to be had in buying a flat tappet machine there will always be an element of risk. I've seen engines with sub-10,000km that have completely trashed top ends. I've also seen bikes in their 30's that are only showing the early stages of wear. I'm pretty sure I know why they fail now and it depends on two things, climate and use. The other annoying thing is that until the DLC has all gone and the parent metal of the tappet starts to erode there will likely be no signs anything is wrong. No odd noises or running problems so to the unfamiliar the bike may appear fine. As a general rule if you choose to buy a flattie the lower the mileage on the bike the better! Checking to see if a bike has been rollerised is very easy. Just take off a rocker cover and look, (There are plenty of pics on the web of what to look for.). If you also want the shop to pull a cambox to inspect the flat tappets? On any model other than a Norge you can pull the left hand cambox in fifteen minutes. If they want to charge you a stupid sum, (One poor sod I know was charged $2,000US for this 'Service' to be told his tappets were fine. They weren't!) tell them to go get a big black dog up themselves! There are four different rollerisation kits available. They vary greatly in price. That info, and the cheapest way to rollerise, is also widely available on the net. I for one have covered it pretty comprehensively, it's not worth repeating here. If your Google Fu is so bad you can't find it it's probably best you don't look for a flattie! The other issues associated with all the W5AM Guzzis are them having been 'tuned' by idiots who don't know what they are doing, (There is a thread on this board covering what to do and not to do to the throttlebodies. (That's on a 2V Sport but the principles are the same for an 8V) The other thing is the dreaded grease phobia of Mandello workers. The swingarm bearings and shock linkage are rarely, if ever, packed properly with grease and this should be addressed asap as replacing the swingarm bearings is a right, royal PITA and the shock linkage costs a couple of hundred bucks complete but is within a few dollars of buying the bearings, seals, pins etc. so it isn't worth rebuilding a rooted one. The long and the short of it is that a well set up and correctly mapped 8V is a magnificent thing. This is not to take anything away from the 1200's, 1100's or 850's with the old 2V motor but in terms of performance there is simply no comparison. In the same way that diehards here love their V11's I am a CARC bike tragic and 8V evangelist! The loss of this platform I consider an enormous step backwards for Guzzi but judging by the reaction to the V85 I'm in a minority on that score. No skin off my nose but it's a shame that the most advanced engine they built has been shitcanned in favour of an other 2 valve, pushrod, lawnmower engine. Pete

Or do it yourself. instructions on Greg Bender's site by both myself and in more detail by John Noble.

Don't get yer hopes up but I think I may have a single plate hub in my now heavily diminished Mountain of Munt. I have no use for it if I have it so it'll be worth a donation to MSF and postage if I can find it. pete

Doc, the reason it took two weeks is because I came down with the flu and with my current health issues I was told to lie low so the mailing was actually delayed by a week,sorry. The postal system from us to you seems pretty good. I was notified of when it left Oz, when it arrived in the US and then when it was delivered. With the Cables Antmanbee was kind enough to organise for us he was told that the tracking was only valid until it left the United States! After that? Nothing! If it disappears? Tough! I find that incredible! It's like 'Shithole Country' territory! I'm not concerned it won't arrive, I get lots of stuff from the US on a regular basis. It's just the 'Fuque off, we couldn't give a shit' attitude that rubs me up the wrong way. Pete

Anything that promises miracles from an 'Add On' especially a 'Cheap' one, is bollocks sold by fuquetards and spivs whose only interest is in transferring as much of your money as they can get away with into their wallets. Don't be a mug. Pete

I can't be doing with the retrograde technology Bill. That's all. The Hi-Cam, 4V design is ideally suited to the Guzzi 'Transverse' twin and going back to a prehistoric OHV design just leaves me cold. Yes, I know the smallblocks are 'Popular'. That's fine, they are aimed at, and are liked by, people with zero interest in any sort of 'Performance' be it power, handling, anything. What they want is a motorbike that looks like their grandads bike because it's 'Cool'. That's fine but it isn't what I want or what interests me and I'm certainly not going to to heap undeserved praise on it simply because it's wearing a Guzzi badge. I hope they sell squillions of them. Then they might be allowed to build a truly exciting motorbike again.

Precise location of the arse end of nowhere? Motomoda. 23, King St. Bungendore. NSW2621 Australia.

With the CARC bikes, particularly the 8V's, Guzzi finally built a machine for the 21'st century. Now Piaggio has decided to drag them back to the middle of the 20th. I fart damply and lavishly on their miserable little 2 valve pushrod motor. It belongs in a cement mixer, not a Moto Guzzi for the 2020's!

There is no really hurry and it's such a small monetary investment I cant see the point in paying usurious *Insurance* so just give me the $ figure and an address and I'll put the wheels in motion. No need to ship until you receive payment but knowing you from various boards you are obviously neither stupid or crooked so I'm more than happy to make sure you have the dosh before you ship.

Sorry to be the fly in the oiltment but I bought one for a big trip in the USA when they first came out and hated it. A great, heavy, imprecise, wallowing bucket of lard with all of the charisma of a roadkilled wombat in midsummer heat. Look, if you're a 'Cruiser' sort of guy them it will probably be fine but there was nothing about it I really liked and a whole lot I hated compared to my beloved CARC bikes. Weedy, spindly, non adjustable forks, limited travel twin shock rear suspension, no reactive drive, wheelbase longer than a supertanker, (And CARC bikes are scarcely short!) odd "I'm riding along with my legs poked out in front of me under the handlebars and it seems someone has inserted a star picket up my blurter!" Riding position and an exhaust note like someone shitting pebbles into a 44 gallon drum full of custard. I'd rather f*$# spiders than own another one. Pete

Fantastic. We'll grab four then. I want one, Michael will want one, Phil wants one and I'll grab one for Beetle as my Hydro Cali will be going for a sleepover in Wagga once it's back together so we can log build it a decent OL map. Send me an email/Paypal address and gimme a figure. Phil and I can sort it out this end. Pete

I have no desire to screw about making my own. Life is too short. If someone in the US could order three of them from Capers for me and then stick 'em in a USPS box for me I'd be grateful. I can Paypal the funds. thanks Pete

Not totally, but I can only really afford to batch manufacture and I end up with money sitting ties up in something slow moving for an obsolete model. I want them to be available. I also want the thieves at Gutsibits to take it up the arse and if someone else makes them and gives a 'Royalty' to Medicienes sans Frontiers on top of a cut for them I'm all totally fine with it!