pete roper

No 'Almost' about it Greg. The whole motor is scrap bar the heads, and they'd need rebuilding. Pete

Mate, as per the PM. Anything I can do to help I will, chances arewhat I'm going to be saying will make me 'Persona Non Grata' with Piaggio, I'm execting to be given the arse as a troublemaker soon anyway, the importer here has stopped replying to my calls so the end is probably nigh. A shame. I love the marque, I even like the new engine design, I just hate seeing everyone from MAndello to the end purchaser getting given the digit by a corporate entity that puts short term profit over long term gain. You should get a new engine, the rest of the bike is fine but the engine is scrap. Yes, they could salvage the rods, the timing gears and the dummy shaft and the heads themseves are probably fine. The rest is most likely scrap, but what would I know? I'm just a mechanic from Oz. The Gurus from the factory have spoken. who am I to question their wisdom? Pete

The virtually undamaged cam I tested came in at 60Rw. The tappet? 39Rw. Is that the only problem? who knows, but having no offset on the cam/tappet face and insufficient, (if any!) radiusing doesn't help. Pete

No reason at all. A micrometer and bore guages are your friends though. Pete

While the cam and tappet wear are obvious and extreme what worries me more is the state of the cam bearings surfaces. These are good, High Res pics and to me it looks as though there is a fair amount of damage to the bearing surface of the camshaft. I don't suppose you were allowed to look at the bearing surfaces in the 'Scaffold'? To me it looks as if the cam bearings have been quite severely damaged, in all probability by shit that has gone right through the lubrication system and has now embedded itself in the alloy bearing surface of the 'Scaffold'. this will, effectively, turn the scaffold into a bench grinder which will then destroy the new cam bearings as well. Also, if the oil is from the same pump that delivers oil to the bottom end then the mains and big-ends will be similarly stuffed. The idea that a simple 'Flush', (Without even taking the sump off!) is going to be adequate in this situation is insulting to the inteligence of anybody with even the most rudimentary understanding of lubrication theory. It sucks. If it were mine I'd be screaming from the rooftops. No doubt by saying that publicly I'll put myself even further on the outer with the powers that be with Guzzi and the 'Sky is falling' retards who can't separate cause and effect but really I can't be arsed any more. I really like the new motor, I just think it's been #@$&@#@ over by beancounters and its reputation is being rubbished due to poor QC and cheap buy-ins from the lowest bidder on parts and now they are hoping that they'll be able to hide behind an inadequate repair that will hopefully get the bikes out of warranty. I'm sickened, it stinks. Pete

Dave, unless I specifically say otherwise, (And I haven't yet!) anything I 'Publish' on the net is fair game for anybody who is interested, they can modify it, re-post it, anything they like as long as they don't try and on-sell it for profit. I'll get thoroughly 'Old Testament' on the arse of anybody who does that. Same sort of shysters who try and sell Carl's wiring schematics on fleabay. Pity they never turn up to rallies, they'd be prime candidates for the 'Whale Joke'. Pete (Believe me, if you don't know the 'Whale Joke' just let it be said that it isn't very pleasant and can need a visit to a medical practitioner if you have pissed someone off enough )

Dave, if your dealer is a dunce? just get the bits and get him to sign the book. It's no big deal, but read CAREFULLY about separating the 'Scaffold'. http://wildguzzi.com/forum/index.php?topic=24953.0 Sorry, I would of posted the whole thing here but my 'pooter says something about 'Dynamic Lynx' and I don't want one of those roaming about the house! three cats are bad enough!!!! Pete

You can usually tell if it is the 'Big' seal one the wheel side of the box or the smaller, harder to get at internal seal on the swingarm side of the box by looking at a.) where the oil is coming from and, b.) examining the box once the wheel is removed. If there is oil coming out around the spindle nut on the swingarm side of the box it is most likely the internal seal. Also if when the wheel is off you can see fresh oil running down the internal, splined for the wheel, part of the crownwheel this too indicates an internal seal failure and that requires taking the box to bits. If however it is simply coming out between the bevelbox and the wheel it is most likely just the large seal that you have replaced. simple answer, if it's cured you'fe replaced the right seal! It might be worth your while removing and cleaning the box breather, (The little mushroom shaped thing at the top.) seals usually blow due to over-pressurisation. If the breather is clogged it'll do it again. When you put the box back on the bike did you; a.) Make sure the driveshaft was properly aligned? (This is VERY important!) b.) Check, clean and grease the wretched needle roller that lives in the swingarm side housing of the bevelbox. Pete

No easy pics on Google. Got some weird results from Yak Udders though!!! Pete

Sorry. I thought it was time for another nipple pic. Pete

DAve, one of those sets of pliers is on its way to you right now. Pete

Posted on Guzzitech, dunno why I bothered, I'll probably just get insulted by a 'tard for doing so. Plug caps for 8V motors These are known to be a right bastard to get off without damaging the caps. Mario in Perth has also had experience of them simply failing in service as the spark arced through the insulation. It seems that you can snip the caps off and then use NGK plug caps with the part # of SB05E (Maybe with the suffix of 89054, I scribbled that on a bit of paper and don't know if it is relevant but better you have it. I've forgotten the details.) These apparently have an angled top but WILL fit under the plug lead covers and cost a LOT less than a new set of leads, although everyone will be getting a set of *New* leads with the cams and tappets apparently. OK. Back to other stuff. see ya. Pete CARC boot clamp replacement. Anyone who has to take a CARC apart for any reason will find that the clips that hold the boot to the torque arm are basically a 'One use' type. If you're careful you can re-use them but the reults can be less than stellar as far as sealing is concerned. The clamps are not sold separately. You buy them with a new boot and the price is absurd, something like $350US I believe. Most times unless you're a retard the boot will come off un-injured, all you require is the clamps. I've tried to find *thin* as in 7.5mm wide hose clamps of a suitable size but with no success, at least locally. But today my tiny, peanut brain must of chimed in on an extra cylinder as it suddenly occurred to me that Universal Joint boot clamps on most small Japanese shitbox cars are about that size. A quick trip into 'Wottalottacrap Auto' got me a couple of clips for the princely sum of $1.50 AU. They work perfectly. Pete

Here's another beauty!!!

Sorry. I thought you blokes liked a comely pair of udders? Pete

Oh well, I'd better rectify that;

Hmmmm. Interesting, since the oil pumps reside in the timing chest, not the sump. To check the pumps you have to drop off the alternator, unhook its drive belt, remove the crank pulley take out the frame bolts and then take off the timing chest, (You may have to remove the ECU too, not sure about that. Haven't done it yet.). Once the chest is off you can remove the oil pump gear and then the pump for inspection. Yes, it's a bit of an embuggerance but I'll be doing it if there is any hint of damage to my cams/tappets when I do the recall work. Dropping the sump should basically be de-riguere in any situation whare there might be bits floating about in te oil. Pete

God's teeth! 37 bloody pages! Surely the horse hasn't just been flogged to death it has to be just a bloody smear on the pavement by now Pete

So it's a rod issue then What's the stroke on this thing and what are you revving it to? Looks like the MEPS is too high. Install a rev limiter or get a longer, stronger, rod. Problem is that when you put in the plate it'll screw with the camchain length. Do the sums first. Pete

That's him!!!! Thanks Slamovir.

motomoda optusnet.com.au. Not wanting to be negative but unless a miracle occurs a decent second handy isn't just going to drop from the heavens and there are no aftermarket alternatives yet. I was lucky enough to snap up the one off Steve's wrecked Griso but it is being used by Todd for development purposes so isn't available. Other places to try would be Ago's and TLM and that nutter in France who wrecks lots of Guzzis, (Can't remember his name?) but if time is of the essence I can do it better than NZ and quite quickly. Pete

As I said elsewhere I can get you one pretty quickly and cheaper than the NZ price. Importer here has, (Or had.) one in stock, I could have it to you in a week or so. pete

There's none so blind as thems as don't want to see Fish.... Pete

The Oz importer has heaps of pics of everything from mild wear to total destruction. Unforunately they won't let me publish them. On the one hand I can understand why but on the other hand I always feel that full disclosure is best. Dunno if I posted it here but I did get some failed parts and had them tested at the Oz mint which is an impecable metalurgical institution using a beakers machine and the tappets are way too soft, (Cams are fine @ 60Rw.+). I also think that a mistake was made in that the tappets are un-radiused and there is no camber on the cams to impart spin and no off-centreing of the lobe but the most obvious culprit is the pete

It's more complicated than it seems. Tex has consistently been one of the funniest blokes posting anywhere on the net. I've had the privilege of breaking bread with the man and he is every bit larger than life as he appears. The 'Gay Black Dentist' was one of his masterpieces over on WG.

Heed what Greg has said about other damage. Any of the early spineframes with the 'Pork Chop' side plates with holes over the crossmember are VERY prone to cracking the sideplates in a fall, no matter how minor. These may be invisible stress fractures that are not readily detectable by eye. The big issue is that if one of the plates fails it will usually do so in a 'High Load' situation, ie when cornering fast on a bumpy road. The sideplates are what hold the swingarm in place, if one breaks while you're in transit you have a MAJOR problem on your hands. If it was mine I'd be pulling off the sideplates and getting 'em crack tested. To do this you have to drop the swingarm off anyway and since you're up to that point anyway I'd simply pull the transmission, weld the plate, shim the selector drum and replace the crappy 3205 ATN9 bearings with AC3's. It'll allow you to check the pinions for damage at the same time. 5th gear is particularly prone to it. If the case hardening is dodgy replace it with the helically cut, 5 dog, gear and it's mate from a late model Cali. Pete