pete roper

Mike. Same same as your 1100 Sport. 0.1 inlet 0.15 exhaust. or 4 and 6 thou in real language . As you know most of the 1100 motors have 'US' and 'World' spec settings, these were purely noise related. With the *New* motors for the Breva/Griso etc everything has reverted to 4 and 6, presumably because the variable compressability of the kingerlite gaskets has been removed. While I've never heard of anyone burning a valve at 2 and 4 bikes set up that way have been known to stall at traffic lights after a hard flog. Pete

Not in a Tonti. The shaft offset is too great. Pete

No. The pinion head is far too large for starters. The gearing would be absurdly high on a five speed too. What are you trying to achieve? Pete

So you're saying the nut had completely come off the camshaft? and the pin had then worked it's way forward and fallen out of the front of the sprocket after it had ceased to drive the cam? Never heard of shuch a thing? Not even sure it's possible???? pete

Yuo pull the chain and sprockets as a *unit*, all three of them. The cam sprocket is located, but not driven, by a pin. If the cam nut is loose? Spin it off and behind the washer you'll see the pin. Behind the sprocket is the 'Phonic Wheel' which is the trigger for the crank position sensor, (That's right, being a Guzzi the crank position is measured off the cam ). If the pin is intact then the timing won't of wandered far enough to bend valves. If the pin has sheared you will need to replace it and if you're really unlucky the broken bit will be stuck in the cam so the cam will have to be removed to get it out. Tis is a very, very odd occurence. pete

Has it sheared the locating pin? If not the timing won't of been effected. I'd double check that before I just tried tightening up the nut again. If it has sheared then the cam timing will of been lost and tightening the nut will achieve nothing apart from a securely incorrectly timed cam. If the timing has slipped it is extremely unlikely that you won't of caused considerable damage. pete

Jason, my reply wasn't implying any criticism of your thinking. I agree, in theory a bi-metal set *should* be better. All I was doing is communicating my experience. Pete

Jason, about five years ago or so I bought a very expensive set of timing gears from Stein Dinse. These were a helically cut, fine toothform set with a steel crank gear and an alloy pair for oil pump and cam. I was assured that these were the answer to a maiden's prayer, were vernierable, offered extraordinary accuracy and would never wear out etc, etc. I installed them on my SP, scarcely a fire breather, and it was immediately apparent that they were extraordinarily noisy which surprised me for a helically cut set. Anyway, a few months after I'd installed them another bloke on Phil's forum posted saying how he had the same set and had suffered a catastrophic failure. This prompted me to pop the timing chest off for a looksee and sure enough both cam and oil pump gear were galling up in a manner that I considered unacceptable. So I took 'em out and put a chain back in with a Valtech tensioner, end of problem. It was after that that another character started to get seriously stuck into me on the same forum about my criticism of alloy gearsets. His belief was that as long as they were installed properly, (the implication was always that I didn't know what I was doing.) alloy gears would last forever, he even posted up a pic of a set of gears from his bike to prove it. To me they looked thouroughly munted but I didn't know what I was talking about Anyway, for some reason he decided that it all had to be personal and it got terrifically boring very quickly. I will not resile from my belief that any of the currently available gearsets are at best a lottery. I know of people who have had them in for years with no problems they know of, but few of them have looked to the best of my knowledge. My biggest dislike of them is that as the teeth gall up they wear by tearing off tiny particles of alloy from the gear teeth. Some if not all of these particles are small enough to pass through the oil filter, (Or maybe they clog it early so it starts to by-pass.) and they end up in the second line of defence, the sludge trap in the crank. I have yet to take a crank out of an alloy gear equipped bike that didn't have a sludge trap chocka-block with alloy paste. As I always say, it's entirely up to individual owners what they put in their engines. I don't give a fig. I do strongly advise against the fitting of alloy timing gears though and I won't install them for people even if they beg me to. And the gains of having the cam timed in to the absolute 'N'th degree are unlikely to be noticeable on a road going Guzzi engine. Pete

I have to say that cam and crank nuts coming adrift is very, very rare. I've never seen it happen on ones that are tightened up sufficiently and they are usually as tight as buggery from the factory. As for timing gears? Well, if it is a loose nut having gears rather than a chain and sprockets would make absolutely no difference. You'd still have a buggered top end. While I don't think there is a specific gearset designed for models with the 'Phonic wheel' behind the camshaft sprocket it would be very easy to modify a set for an older bike simply by turning the rquired thickness off the boss on the cam gear. As you probably know though I don't believe that there is a decent or safe gearset available on the market for ANY of the big block Moto Guzzis and see nothing to be gained by fitting them. Given the circumstances in which the engine failed I'd be more inclined to think it could be the result of the dreaded oil pick-up exposure rather than cam related but if you've experienced this problem before....... Pete

I've never had a problem with this but somebody else (?) Pat Hayes maybe (?) emailed me saying they'd had a problem with the four holes that the oil filter/thermostat mount go through. The plates themselves are lazer cut, perhaps this causes some slight discrepancy? Perhaps the discrepancy is in the block? Anywaythe holes can be opened up slightly with a drill if required or if anyone feels that it is a big problem please return it to me and I'll either refund the money or send another one that I'll modify as required. Pete

If ever there was a motor begging to be supercharged it's the little Griso . Personally I can't see the point though. If you want something with lots more mumbo buy something that has it straight out of the box. Forced induction is never easy or cheap and for petrol engines it's a horrible series of compromises. On a diesel? Now yer torkin!!!!! Pete

When new the *new* six speed and the shaft/CARC arrangement are clonky and noisy. Over time this improves markedly. I'm getting close to 20,000Km on my Griso and while if I do something stupid and unthinking I can make it clank I'm generally able to travel without any undue noise or drivetrain issues. I remain convinced that the 'Clankyness' is the result of the rubber cush drive incorporated in the shaft. Especially when the gearbox is cold whne a gear is selected at a standstill the viscous drag of the oil in the box will cause the whole driveline to pre-load up. While this isn't noticeable as in a tendency for the machine to 'Creep' it does mean that the output shaft will try to spin once a gear is engaged. The shaft tries to spin but then the pinion in the CARC wallops the crownwheel and the rubber cush drive in the shaft loads up and immediately unloads again sending another shock wave back up the driveline to the gearbox. The backlash in the gearbox pinions is then rapidly reversed so it clonks. All of that happens in a fraction of a second and yes, it sounds bloody awful but it doesn't do any harm and as the box loosens up there is less viscous drag so the clonking diminishes. As stated above, by 20,000km it is virtually gone. The thing to remember is that the 1200 Sport is in fact more of a stripped down Norge than anything else. Like it or not the Griso is currently the closest Guzzi get to a 'Sports' bike. Don't believe me? Look at the suspension. All the others have stuck with the crappy Marzocchi forks and have a soft touring shock, (I'm reliably informed that you can improve bothe the Norge and 1200 Sport out of sight by putting a firmer spring on the back.) The Griso gets the superb Showa forks and a decent, if more spartan, Boge shock. I've just fitted a screen to mine, the larger of the two 'Factory' screens and it has further improved it's ride and character. No, there are plenty of bikes that are faster but the big 'G' handles far, far better than any big, heavy, shafty has any right to and pulls in the midrange like a 14 year old schoolboy with his first stick-book. The 8V motor is coming, it's still undergoing serious testing at the moment according to my sources, presumably Piagio don't want any stuff-ups when it does finally hit the streets. My guess is that this will offer more serious top-end mumbo for those that want it and will, eventually, be the powerplant for a 'Nuovo Lemans' It's interesting to note though that it's launch is going to be in the Griso which I think gives a pretty good indication of which bike Guzzi see as their flagship model and, IMHO, with bloody good reason. It really is a superb 'road' bike and has killer looks which are really individual. It's not a clone of something else and it performs superbly within it's limitations. I can understand it's ergonomics not suiting some people, certainly taller riders seem to have problems, but don't discount it simply because it doesn't have a 'Dog shagging a hockeyball' riding position. Pete

More comfortable it actually has a seat rather than a sort of rubber date-saw, it had an air filter, the smaller valves give the heads a much easier time, the heavier flywheel makes it easier to plonk around on, you don't have to be built like a gibbon to ride one, some of them came with wire wheels, most of the guards and stuff were made of steel and were less prone to breakage/dropping off and performance was only down by a fraction compared to the LeMans. I don't disagree that the LeMans is a styling tour-de-force, (Although I prefer the S3 meself.) but IMHO the T3 was and remains a better bike. pete

Yup, if MI and MPH still have them and you want to get moving quick they are probably your best bet. The new run should be ready in a week to 10 days but if these guys still have 'em? Buy from them. Not an issue with me, they've paid me already. Pete

Yup. Which is a crying shame. Not to knock LeMans's which are a splendid thing but the T3 was actually a better bike. Pete

Price remains the same as before for now $175AU, (Not US.) including postage. As said elsewhere I'm currently having another batch made, I'll post as soon as they're ready. Pete

You'll get lots of differing opinions on this. My advice is just rode it *normally*. Don't lug it, (Wide throttle openings at low RPM.) don't thrash it, (Self explanatory.) and spend lots of time going up and down the gears and allowing it to slow down on the over-run as this helps draw oil up the bores. Don't be too gentle or you can risk glazing a bore although this is rare with Nicasil as long as friction modified oils are avoided. Because Guzzis are an all plain bearing motor you don't have to worry too much about breaking in. You'll probably find that your own natural caution engendered by riding a new bike will prevent you from doing anything too untoward and damaging. Once you're over the 1,000 Km-600 mile point do the first service and then up the pace gradually. You'll find that the greatest benefits after this point will come from tuning your suspension which is probably the component most likely to need breaking in on a modern bike. Pete

I know some people never seem to get the 'Flickering oil light of death' and I'm at a loss to know why? I can't see there being sufficient difference in the sump or pick-up manufacture. I tend to think that maybe it is down to the pressure sender's sensitivity, maybe some people just keep their oil a little bit over the full mark and that is sufficient to prevent pick-up exposure? Perhaps some people just don't ride hard enough for it to happen but I really do have no firm idea. I think though that it has been adequately demonstrated that the pick-up can be exposed and when this happens you do get a period of time when pressure drops to zero which is NOT a good thing. Independent testing would seem to indicate that the plate cures the problem which makes me happy 'cos it proves I'm not a complete dolt Pete Sorry Keith! Brain still in jetlag mode. Yup, all funds etc. recieved. I'll PM you. Pete Oh, spoke to the plate manufacturer yesterday, since the first batch was made the material has increased in price by 80%. They did have some old stock of 1.6mm plate rather than the 2mm I was using before so we're doing the next run in that. It is still about 35% more costly than the 1st run but I'll wear that. Next run after this though will be considerably more expensive. Pete

Ack!!! Budget for a set of big end shells if it's happened more than a couple of times but the plates are $175AU inc postage to the US of A. Pete

I'm ordering another batch today. I'll post when they're ready. Pete

Lots and lots of thread repair kits available but the 'Re-Coil', 'Heli-Coil' types are easy to find and come with full instructions. Just make sure that the kit you buy also contains the drill needed, some of them don't and it's a pain having to go back to the shops to buy the drill . If you go to your local fastener shop, (Nuts and bolts and things!) they will almost certainly be able to supply you with what you require. If you really have trouble I'm sure one of the listees in your neck of the woods can give you a pointer. If you *really* can't find something suitable? Give me a yell, I can buy a Re-Coil kit in town and post it to you. There are very few fasteners I use a torque wrench on on a Guzzi. Rod bolts and head stud nuts are two that spring to mind. Pretty much everything else is done up by feel or woth a sodding great rattle gun Pete PS. If you want to avoid doing this sort of thing again buy yourself a set of 'T' bar allen wrenches and just do 6mm fasteners up 'Single Hand' tight, (Unless you have forearms like Popeye!). It's hard to strip 'em out with one hand. Use anti seize on the bolts too.

While the spring on the new(er) type guzzi tensioner does seem a bit feeble it also seems to work quite adequately. Remember that it's only real purpose is to take up a small amount of slack on the long run between the oil pump sprocket and the cam sprocket. The wear in the pins of the chain i so small that any lengthening of the chain between the crank and cam sprocket is going to be so infinitesimally small it can make no discernable difference to the timing under load. On the over-run it may flop around a bit more but at that point it doesn't matter if the cam timing is out a few degrees. As long as it isn't out enough to allow the valve to clout the pistons, (And it would have to be out by a pretty large margin to allow that on a softly set up motor like a Guzzi.). Compared to the original so-called tensioner they used in earlier bikes it's streets ahead and many high mileage riders, mostly on Cali's, have done in excess of 150,000 miles without changing their chains or suffering disasters so it must be doing something right! Pete

As long as your sump has a 'Manhole cover' to access the filter it's the same unit and the plate will fit. It is strange that Sporti's don't seem to suffer from the problem of pick-up exposure but Hi-Cams and V11's do???? Pete

Well, I wouldn't run a 'broad sump' model without one but seeing as I'm the manufacturer and a self serving and venal bastard to boot any suggestion I make would be solely self promoting rubbish designed to fleece the gullible . Nah, do a search on 'Sloppage Sheet' and I think you'll get most of what you need regarding the history of the manufacture and design of the wretched thing. I'm currently out of stock but am about to have another batch made. Alternatively I think that Moto International and MPH may well still have some in stock so you could give them a yell. Pete

I'll go with the other boys. If there is no scoring of the crank pin just dress it up with a length of 1200 wet'n'dry tape after pushing the rods and pistons up the bores. Wash thouroughly with something like contact cleaner or brake cleaner after polishing and you'll probably find most of the blue disappears! Put in new shells making sure that the inside of the rod and the cap are SCUPULOUSLY clean and DRY. Then coat the bearing faces and crankpin liberally in assembley lube before tightening the caps back on. Try turning the crank by hand to ensure it spins. If it does? Re-fit the oil munt and sump and fill ith oil, press button and pray! Plain bearings either work or they don't. If it doesn't seize up in the first 30 seconds it will probably go for another 200,000 Km!!!! Pete