pete roper

Studs can be a pain to get out and if they have been farted about with it usually makes it worse but they are never *impossible* to remove. If all else fails you can get the remains spark erroded, it'll be a lot cheaper to repair than replace the head. Pete

I've noticed a lot of V11's seem to have this end float in the queer 2 part bearing. I put it down to it settling in service . Oddly enough a similar amount of end float in an earlier bevelbox would almost certainly of led to the demise of the gears. On V11's it seems to make little or no difference, (Although it could be one of the reasons the outrigger bearing on the end of the pinion tends to sh!t itself?).All I can put this down to is the fact that the size and angle of the teeth is much greater on V11, (And CARC equipped boxes.) than it is on the earlier ones so the point of contact can wander a bit without the pinion excavating the base of the crownwheel teeth. Just a guess there though??? Pete

I'd heard about this but since I've not had to rebuild one yet, (I live in an extremely dry area where salt and other such guff is never put on the road so calipers don'tsuffer unduly.) I haven't explored it. What I can tell you is that I'm sure that if I get an example in my sweaty plam I'm 95% certain that I could get the seal from my 'Brake Bloke' and if the piston is munted and no replacement is avialable then machining one out of stainless shouldn't be a huge ask. If someone has a buggered one they would be willing to send me I'd be more than happy to do the legwork. Pete

To the best of my knowledge the original, *aftermarket* RAM units are pretty much unburstable. The problem with the Scura units was that some plank at Guzzi insisted they be re-engineered for the V11 Scura. On the weight issue? I've ridden lots of bikes with RAM clutches. I've also ridden heaps with the late model twinplater with the very light steel flywheel and ring gear. IMHO the difference in the engine's ability to spin up and down is undetectable between the two. Perhaps if you're ridding 99% the whole time you *might* pick it. Personally I think that the main effect is psychological. The single plater does on the whole have a lighter feel and smoother take up but there are of course downsides. Having a single plate, although it is slightly larger in surface area than an individual plate from the twin plater, it is still smaller and will wear quicker than the twin plater. Removing more material from the wheel of the late lodel twin plate flywheel would be difficult. It's pretty much been shaved as far as it can be. What would be possible is milling some slots in the ring gear between the mounting bolts if you really wanted to. To be honest though I think that it would achieve very, very little. As I've said before. I have no problem with the twin plater, but for those that wish to stick with a single plate unit? Buy a RAM. They work, they are proven and they probably aren't any more expensive than the twin plater. Damn sight cheaper than cutting the gearbox off the back of the block anyway! Pete

Driveshaft play is due to the three dog engagement of the straight cut box probably. Lift up the back of the bike and engage a gear and you'll find that you have 30-60 degrees of rotation in the rear wheel before it stops, (Engine off of course.). This, along with the lack of a rear wheel cush drive is what kills Sport C boxes. Pete

Usual things. Sort the gearbox out BEFORE it shits itself, don't wait for it to get noisy, examine the magnetic plug for frag. Since it now has pod filters it will be even more important than usual to re-jet it. Originally it ran a pressurised induction system with the airbox connected to the carb vents. Removing the box and vents will stuff up the carburettion badly and it was never crash-hot ex factory. Pete

I have a feeling that quite a few people bought Grisos thinking they were a much more powerful and brutish 'Street Rod' a-la Suzuki Bandit or one of the other naked musclebikes and wee probably disappointed by the comparative lack of brute horsepower. Certainly they handle superbly, (For a road going shafty.) once set up but they are't as *refined* as many other bikes although compared to most previous Guzzis they are streets ahead. Look, I love mine, I think its superb, but I wouldn't say that objectively it is either *the Best* motorbike around or the best value for money. Thing is I don't look at motorbikes in those terms, I think with my heart rather than my head when it comes to bikes. That, along with all the classic Guzzi virtues of simplicity, robustness and ease of maintenance are what make it a winner for me. Pete

The Cali II motor with the smallvalve heads has pistons to suit those heads. If you stick the mid-valver heads on to those barrels and pistons you substantially lower the compression ratio. No amount of decking of the heads will return the CR to anything ine its original without changing the pistons. Best bet would be to buy an 88mm Gillardoni kit for a Mk III Lemans. This will slip right on and will work very satisfactorily with the mid valve heads and you'll effectively get a 950cc Mk III LeMans motor which will give you considerably more poke thn thr original Cali donk especially if you carb it up a bit. Unfortunately 36mm PHF Delortos are getting hard to find. If you consider the fact that you'll save money by not hving to do any machining to parts and can defray the cost by on-selling the Cali Barrels and pistons you'll find that the cost won't be exhorbitant. pete

Not absolutely certain but it looks very similar to the setup on the Breva and (?) 1200 Sport, maybe Norge too but I haven't had a look at that. Given that it's usually the Cruiser set who piss and moan about inadequate charging I find it odd that they weren't able to find a way of fitting in the upgraded alternator. At least it gets real suspension at the back at last. Not my cup of tea but I'll take a set of those wheels for the Griso Pete

Nah, usually it's silent. Pete

To be honest I think this is probably wishful thinking but I'd be delighted to find out otherwise. As I've said often before I designed the sheet with the sole intention of curing the oil pick-up exposure problem, any advantages due to the deduction in viscous drag are purely an added bonus. Pete

OK, just to expand a bit on what others have said. The clutch thrust bearing is a small, flat, 'Torrington' type bearing that sits between two parts reffered to as the Inner and Outer 'Bodies'in the endcase of the gearbox. The clutch actuating arm pushes on the outer body which in turn pushes onthe thrust bearing which pushes on the inner body which pushes on the clutch pushrod which finally pushes on the thrust cup in the middle of the pressure plate withing the clutch itslf which lives in the engine's flywheel. Clear as mud so far? Now, when the clutch is properly adjusted there should always be a couple of mm of free play in the clutch cable. If there isn't, (And some people like to have none as it makes the clutch lever feel *firm* and not rattle about because it is under tension from the cable.) this free play then the thrust bearing and the entire assembley forward to the thrust cup are forced to spin at crank speed. Not only is the bearing not designed to take this at higher RPM for anything but a moment as you whip in the clutch to change gears due to it's rather marginal lubriction but as Graham said the tendency will be for the push rod to start to spin in the thrust cup in the centre of the pressure plate. When this happens it will get hot and will eventually ither deform or, in the most extreme cases, friction weld itself to the centre of the thust cup. Once this happens rapid failure of the pushrod and usually the thrust bearing soon follows. Having said all that another likely cause for your Dad's problem is the friction material un-riveting on one or both of the friction plates. Carb sports were producd at a time when Guzzi did use a batch of inadeqate plates. Not nly are these *early* plates prone to de-riveting but they also has thinner metal centres that wer prone to cracking between the webs in the plate the friction material is bonded too. There have been at least two upgrades to the original plate design that involved both thickening the metal plate the friction material is affixed to and also both riveting and laminating the friction material to the metal centre. If the friction material de-rivets, or the centre rips out of one of the plates, the problem usually manifests itself as wonky clutch take up and/or too much or too little free play in the cable that once adjusted out then returns quickly as the friction material or loose bit of friction plate moves about within the clutch assembley. Unless Your Dad was a 'Tight Clutch' man my guess is that one or both of the friction plates have disintegrated. The thrust bearing may also be at fault but the symptoms, to me, sound more like rooted plates than thrust bearing. Note also that the clutch has three adjustment points, at the lever on the handlebar, at the other end of the cable on the back of the gearbox and also on the arm that presses n the 'Outer Body' there is a screw and locknut adjuster. On Carb Sports, as the clutch wears and the arm on the back of the box moves back t is possible, if the screw and locknut adjuster isn't used to repositin the arm, for the arm to end up jammed against the gearbox mount that goes from the porkchop to the bottom lug on the gearbox casing. If this happens then once again the thrust bearing runs pre-loaded all the time resulting in the thrust bearing and clutch operating system being overloaded as described above so it's important to get it set up *right*. That being said I reckon you'll have to take the box out and do the clutch. Being a Carb Sport I would HIGHLY recommend that you go into he gearbox at this time, check for pinion damage, especially on 5th gear, replace the big input and output shaft bearings with 3205AC3's and shim up the selector drum properly. Pete

Because they don't make 100 BHP Mike, and as every pin-head, pencilneck and chinless wonder KNOWS you can't ride a bike that makes less than 100 RWBHP more than twenty miles because they just don't have the power. Also, being a Guzzi it has all sorts of weird and unusual foibles. Did you know that because of the 'Funny angle' of the cylinders you have to set them up so that one throttle butterfly opens before the other one? Pete

No, it's not. It's a fine pitch. From memory its a 12 x 1.25 but I don't have one in my hand at the moment. Pete

Yes. It's a direct result of the ratio between swept volume and crankcase max and min volume. The later bikes, especially the spineframes/broad sump models seem to suffer from it less and it is, of course, very dependent on how the bike is riden how much blow-by and windage occurs. I do think we can say pretty safely though that it's a GOOD thing to keep your oil filled to maximum or a bit above and if it's pumping out a fair bit, (It'll be being breathed through the motor, how do your plugs look after a good thrashing?) you might have a ring-seal or valve guide issue. Pete

Hopefully yes. Probably in the first or second week of April. I'm hoping to be doig another gearbox seminar in Hampshire on the weekend of the 1'st (?) and Gordon who is a Nuvo Falcone owner is hosting and I want to pick his brains before I go to Teo Lamers and order up some bits for this awful old sh!theap I'm doing up in Oz at the moment Jaap suggests I fly into Germany and then nip back across the border as I can fly from Stanstead which is only 50Km or so from Cambridge. I'll only be able to stay a couple of nights maximum but it would be very nice to catch up with a few of the Netherlands push while I'm over here. Pete

'Chacun un son Goat' (Probably mis-spelt?)

Greg contacted me just before I left for the UK. I think he's thinking about doing a series of videos, he asked me if I'd be interested in taking part. I'm keen on the idea, I think it could be not only fun but useful too. There's also a bloke In Sydney who's been pestering me to do the same. He has I belive all the neccessary gear and experience so perhaps I'll be able to persuade Greg to come over to Oz for a holiday and we can do it all there Pete

RM's have a single plate clutch that always sounds like a cement mixer full of bricks when the clutch is disengaged. Don't worry about it RM clutches aren't proe to failure. The V11's use cam plates rather than a selector drum for gear selection and while selection can be improved by smoothing and de-burring te channels in the cam plates there is no 'Shimming fix' for the six speeders. Pete

I went for a drive to Kirby Lonsdale yesterday with my *virtual* niece. We had lunch in a great little pub and I ran over a goat on the way back to Lancaster. Sorry, I thought it was more interesting than another trillion pages of sententious bollocks Pete

Dave, nobody *needs* any of these things but I think that given recent problems with filters loosening fitting a hose clamp to prevent it unwinding is hardly expensive, or arduous, and it's simply a cheap and easy risk avoidance strategy. Why scoff at it? Likewise the sloppage sheet. No doubt many people won't ever suffer the dreaded flickering oil light. Probably if I owned a broad sump model I wouldn't because I don't ride hard enough. I'd fit one, (A sheet that is.) though just to be on the safe side because torched cranks are boring and very, very expensive. As for the OPRV rusting up and sticking? Well to be honest it's only a problem I've seen on bikes that have sat, usually for years, with dirty oil in them but there again if you live in a cooler climate and only do shorter trips then it's entirely possible that it could gum up somehow and stick. Is this *likely* to be a problem for people? Personally I think that generally it will be exceedingly UN-likely but unlikely doesn't mean impossible as this case proves. As for cleaning and checking it? Well, if you take the sump off to change the filter, (And maybe even install the hated hose clamp!) removing and disassembling the OPRV will take all of ten minutes. No, it won't need doing every oil change, heaven forbid, but if for instance you've put the bike away for a spell in a cool climate and haven't changed the oil before doing so it might be considered worthwhile to clean and inspect it before returning the bike to service. Nobody is saying that any of these things are 'Compulsory' or 'Must Do's', simply that they are cheap and easy insurance against problems that if they DO occur CAN be horribly costly. Thassall. Pete

Before those two turn it into an acrimonious hair-pulling and handbag swinging session can I suggest you nip over to; http://www.guzzitech.dk/english/index.htm Up in the top right had corner you'll find a box with technical articles by the likes of Greg Field, Rolf Johansen an myself. In there there is a fairly well documented engine strip series, with pctures, done on a 'Big Valve' Mk IV Lemans engine. You'll find that the V11 motor is essentially exactly the same apart from the fact that it doesn't have a distributor, does have an ignition trigger plate under the cam sprocket and it has a different alternator and connecting rods. Yes there are oter differences like valve sizes an the like but the engine is, to all intents and purposes exactly the same in design and format. Believe me, they are a dream to work on. Sorry to hear of the failure, there have seemingly been a spate of filters loosening of late for no clearly definable reason, other likely sources are going to be the entire thermostat/filter housing coming loose or the stuck OPR valve as mentioned above. No way of knowing until it comes apart though. Pete

Forrest you tosser! Why buy a toy! For the money you wasted on that you could of bought a 'real' munty old RGV and taken it to Eastern Creek to give Rob some curry when he's not on the Moto Moda racer. He's riding an RGV too now. Talk about a bear riding a circus tricycle! I reckon he probably just inserts it up the arse crack in his leathers and sits down to get on it! It must be well nigh invisible when he's riding it !! As he himself has said "Being the MotoModa racebike pilot means never having to say no to second helpings!" Pete

Imagine the end two cylinders sawn off a chev smallblock and air cooled. The camshaft runs in the valley of the V, (Driven by a chain that also drives the oil pump.) and the valves are operated by pushrods working on rockers with screw and locknut lash adjustment on the pushrod end of the rocker arm. The Guzzi motor has changed very little since 1967, it is also incredibly strong and very, very easy to work on. Most of the other componentry is similarly robust and although if you peruse the forum you will find recurring problems there are no more or less than with any other manufacturerand the fixes, especually if you are capable with tools, are usually quick and easy. There are a few models that had glaring faults, the Scura for exmple has a time-bomb flywheel, and all V11's can suffer from oil pck-up exposure during hard, sustained, acceleration in lower gears but they are generally a happy, happy thing, but someone on this list, even thugh he doesn't own one, would say that wouldn't he Pete

A lot of it is down to personal taste. I have to admit I was never a great fan of the V11 series, that isn't to say I don't like them, simply that I didn't like one enough to buy one. I far preffer the Griso because it is, to me, more comfortable, it certainly has better suspension than the V11's at the back and considerably better than most of them have on the front and the overall package is much more refined and IMHO fun. THat's NOT to say that the V11 series aren't on the whole good machines, If I had one it would have to be an early 'Short Frame, simply that I think that in most ways the Griso is superior and to me a much nicer package. Incidentally, I went to visit Haywards this morning in Cambridge. I find it amazing when I go into bike shops and the people who work there describe the V11's as 'Old Stuff' . While I'm happy to accept bikes like my 'vert and SP probably fall into the 'Old Stuff' category an V11? Even the very oldes of them can only just have cracked a decade on the road. Shows the differences of attitude between the UK, (And probably the US?) and Oz I suppose. There again I don't really think of anything as 'Old Stuff' until it is irretrievably broken and/or you can't get/make parts for it any more Pete