pete roper

Kid said he was hitting the rev limiter? Bet he was trying to launch hard and pull wheelies to impress his Beavis and Butthead mates too. Both or either of those are likely to expose the pick up and toast the big ends. If he was dim enough to try and ride it home after it started going 'Knock-Knock-Knock' it is no wonder it seized. Usually when the big ends let go the rider will shut the engine down immediately and not even try to start it again. If you're the sort of irresponsible retard who thinks its fun to abuse a bike that has been loaned to you and are so impervious to PAIN as to do it to your FATHER'S bike that he's lent you then you're probably quite cretinous enough to continue to ride it with buggered big ends and zero oil pressure so chances are it's seized the mains, stuffed the crank and maybe buggered everything in the motor bar the cylinder heads. Good job Kid! Where'd I put my beating stick! Pete

The Texa tool and the Axone are identical. The advantage of buying the Texa package is that you get updates for *everything*. Since I'm extremely unlikely to ever work on anything other than Guzzis and my new Aprilia Mana when it arrives I have no need to buy the whole Texa box and dice but it IS a useful tool but it isn't a magic bullet and it won't get you the ECU codes. Pete

I used to own Pommy bikes. They were fine, but if you made 'em perform to 1970's standards they went 'Pop', regularly. So I had to look for something else. I got a Jawa 350 with a chair that I wish I still had, brilliant, but slow. A great tool but not a bike that you could have serious 2 wheeled fun on. I didn't like BMW's and their riders were tossers. I couldn't afford a Ducati, and their riders were tossers. I could afford a truly awful V50. It's owner was a tosser. He'd rattle-canned black the whole bike, including the fork staunchions and brakes! I cleaned it up and fixed it a bit and then flogged it to death over about 18 months. It was utterly reliable! The only smallblock I've ever known to be so . Then I got left 800 quid by a relative. That, along with the trade-in on the V50 got me a 1979 1000SP. The rest is history........ Pete

You'll need at least 2 litres/quarts as the rear box takes a bit over 300ml from memory. Can't remember the exact figures but this stuff isn't super-critical. Just fill the gearbox with the bike upright until the level is half way up the window and the bevelbox until it's at whatever it's supposed to be at? Bottom of the threads on the filler plug I think or whatever the book sez. As long as neither are either grossly over-filled or under-filled it will be fine. Pete

No, but to me the implication was there Hubert. As for wealth? You can afford a V11? You're rich beyond the dreams of avarice compared to most people in the world. Perhaps living 'In the Continent Where Guzzis are Made' your experience of true poverty is somewhat limited? I dunno? All I do know is that fact that if I decided to give up work tomorrow and live on my investments I could, comfortably. I don't have a MOTIVE to gouge people, but then of course there are always those who seek an ulterior motive in anyone. Most places it's called 'Paranoia' Pete

Why bother with identifying valve numbers. Go by appearance 2V Per cylinder = Blockhead 4V Per cylinder = Knobhead Pete

Actually I pride myself on being a complete charlatan and wasting my life producing sollutions for problems that don't exist. I chose to do this with Guzzis because there is such a huge, thriving market out there that my ability to retire to a private island with a bevy of Brazillian swimsuit models on the obscene proffits I make is guaranteed within weeks! Coming soon to compliment the plates will be my bat-winged orgone accumulator, a thrunge grommet stabilizer and a new tank-pad elliminator that looks exactly like a tank pad! All of these under designed and poorly researched products will be available for obscene amounts of money and I'll try really, really hard not to deliver them . Pete

Correct. If you do a search on 'Sloppage Sheets' there should be a dozen links. Buggered big-end bearings are the bane of the 'Broad Sump' motors and for some reasn the V11's more than anything else. Most people first notice the problem when their oil light flickers on hard starts. Pete

If you are planning on doing a lot of track days and/or hard launches I strongly recommend one of my plates if you want to avoid bearing damage. Pete

Biggest issue for me with the original Griso can was its weight! 'Cos it's got the CatCon in it it weighs as much as a space shuttle! When your 8V arrives I'd be very grateful if you could measure the OD of the pipe where it enters the muffler and tell me what it is. If, as I suspect, it will be the same as the 1100 I can simply swap my Lavizzari pipe from my 1100 to my 8V when it arrives (There is no 'Skinflint' emoticon is there?). With my Lavizzari set up I have removable baffles. I leave them in most of the time because without them in the bike is eardrum-shatteringly loud which gets old VERY quickly. With them in it is remarkably civilized but still makes a pleasant racket for the rider when I've got ear-plugs in, (Which is ALWAYS 'cos I'm a half deaf c@nt!). Be aware that while you can swap the pipe for pretty much anything on the 4V bikes and they will seemingly run fine, (Albeit with a bit more vibration and only a marginal power gain.) messing with the airbox will cause a lot of detonation grief that is very difficult to tune out. My guess would be that the 8V will be the same or worse but as I say, 'Guess' is the opperative term. 4V bikes come out of the factory with the valves set too loose and the TPS set incorrectly. Probably worth checking both of these things immediately with the 8V. The TPS has to be set electronically using an Axone or equivalent. Pete

C@nt! How come some snot-gobbling turd from the six counties can get his before I get mine! It's an outrage! I hope his cock falls off! Nah. Good on yer Mate! Enjoy!!!! Pete

Now now Mike! Until I have a looksee later today I have no idea if there is a serious problem or not. My guess is that there probably isn't, most likely it is simply the seal has let go. My Griso has had 40,000 hard kilometers, its NOT a show pony, it gets thrashed regularly and is also used as the 'Works Ute' most days of the week. As people probably know some of the very early Grisos and Brevas DID have a problem with their CARC drives due to the bean counters buying in a bunch of super-cheap low quality bearings. The factory did the right thing and replaced the CARC units effected immediately the problem was identified. Many of these were done BEFORE the bikes were ever ridden/sold and its because of this that I happen to have a spare! I got one of them that was taken off a zero Km machine and simply swapped out the bearing and installed a new seal! Apart from those I have heard of ONE confirmed case of a bearing failure and that was on a bike very close to the supposed cut-off number for the CARCs with dodgy bearings. My bike too is only a couple of dozen from that magic number so it MAY be that I was also the recipient of a left over cheapie but it's got to 40,000Km when most of the *Bad* ones failed at a few 100 Kms. I think this may well generate a lot more interest than it really warrants simply because its 'Pete Roper's' bike. Thing is while I think it is important that information is shared and problems discovered I also believe that it is vital not to blow things out of all proportion! I'm not going to deny there is a problem if it exists but there again I don't see a seal faling at 40,000Km as a big deal either. It's a poxy bit of steel and viton with a spring in it. If it DOES turn out to be a bearing failure? Well, that *may* be an issue but since I haven't heard of any rash of failures, (I'm sure my bike can't be the only one to have reached 40,000KM?) I tend to think that if it has gone tits it will either be because I got a duff bearing or simply bad luck. If the next one fails at or about 40,000 THEN I'd say there was an issue! Pete

I've never actually given it much thought? I'd simply take the buggers off and measure 'em. If they were out of spec or if there was a significant difference in free length between any of 'em I'd throw 'em away No need to take the heads off even, just do the indian rope trick and use a push compresor on the caps to get the poxy collets off. Of course if it's been sitting for 25 years I'd take it to bits whollus-bollus anyway to clean the earwigs out of it! Pete

Brian, the V11's don't have timing marks. You should have a TDC mark for each cylinder and also another line or arrow on the wheel which will align with the centreline of the barrel when viewed from the back of the crankcase with the gearbox off. For setting the valves you can, as Ratch suggests, just get the piston close to TDC compression, a few degrees either way will make no odds as long as both followers are on the base circles of the cams. If you want to accrately find TDC without the botheration of degreeing and dead-stopping you can use a bubblometer which can be surprisingly accurate if you use a nice thin tube. Pete

The newer timing chest gaskets are metal with a layer of some sort of snot applied, probably worth getting one of these since i reckon they will be less prone flexure and disintegration. Also inside the collar that the front seal runs on there is an o-ring that is there to prevent the oil migrating up the shaft inside the collar, worth replacing that too. Pete

I sent another 10 to Todd a couple of weeks back and most of the rest of the last batch have gone. Chris Craft, who posts here as RossoRC or some such ordered one a few months ago and although my records say it was sent it didn't arrive so I've sent another one out which I hope will arrive more promptly! Other than that I've sold several to Europe and a couple more here in Oz. As I've said before I'm sure if anybody has ANY problems, with either non arrival or installation I want them to pester me, publicly if they wish! Pete

Ha! Don't try it on one of the newer bikes withe the so called *Clever* computers. Once the battery voltage on the Gris has dropped to the point the grips turn off the 'pooter goes into fail-safe mode an just turns everything off! Prick of an idea! Of cpurse if I was sensible I'd rig them into a starter operatd circuit, (Like the cretinous park light!) but really I can't be bothered so in winter I'll still occasionally make a complete prat of myself Pete

The stupid fat wheels on my Scura are already spoken for so I can't help you. You're absolutely right though, the fatter rear will make your machine handle like a pig on roller skates. Pete

Headers are cheap and readily available. I wouldn't recommend going for stainless ones as a.) They tend to discolour and b.) unless the correct grade is used they will crack. The 'H' piece and mufflers will be fine in stainless, (My Mk II has Mistrals but I've also got a pair of the very rare early Staintune Conti Reps I can put on if I want to be a hooligan). Original pipes haven't been available since God was a boy. Try fleabay if he wants originals but don't expect them to be in good condition. If he just wants a pair of pipes I've got some home made stainless ones in the shed he can have for postage and a case of beer. pete

Sounds to me like Greg's diagnosis is probably right if the clutch has been bled properly. One other thing might be the friction material de-rivetting from the centres of the plates and getting loose/falling to bits. I'd cordially suggest poping the motor off and exxaming the clutch. Pete

Flip the worn one over and re-install. I've seen all sorts of mixed up shims on rocker gear but I've yet to see one stop working because of it Keep an eye on it, blow the rocker spidles out with compressed air before re-installation. Go ride. Pete

There are ten in transit as I write this. If they aren't there by Friday it will be early next week. Pete

Couple of things here. 1.) It's a temperature sensor. I don't think it matters what you call it! I also belive that once the engine is HOT there is no need for any real variation in the mixture. Why should there be? There never was on carbureted engines and they worked well enough for well over half a century! 2.) You really, really don't want to stick the temperature sensor in the sump! Why? Because as soon as you're riding in the rain the oil temperature plummets! My SP has both a pressure and temperature guage, both are *reasonably* accurate. I can sit in traffic in Canberra in 40* heat and the oil temp will hit 150*C! Get moving and it will rapidly drop to back to 115-120*C. Ride into a storm, (As you often get in the afternoons at this time of year.) and suddenly, even though air ambient will still be 30*C +, the oil temperature wll plummet to roughly air ambient in a matter of a couple of minutes, if that! Evaporative cooling and simple conduction to the water running of the sump means that the oil gets quite cool very quickly. In Winter the effect is even more extreme. I have to say I was surprised when I first observed this, I hadn't realized exactly how radical the effect of water on the sump would be but it IS a fact. You can do a simple test with your hand. Go for a flog in the wet and then put your hand on the sump. If it's more than luke warm I'd be surprised, even on one of the lean running modern bikes. Pete

Yup, Agreed. I wasn't trying to have a go at anyone or even the bike but a serious dirt squirt it ain't. If it fits you and does everything you want? You go boy!!!! pete