V1100 Sport question - crack in tranny?

[slowkitty]

Hiya all,

 

I am helping a mate of mine to post this. The bike in question is a 1996 V1100 Sport (EFI version). In the course of cleaning up the bike, there seems to be a hairline crack on the plate on top of the tranny. This is the plate which attaches to the frame. The following pics were the best we could take in the circumstances, I am trying to get a part diagram.

 

Any risk to continual riding of the bike with this? Or do we have to drop the tranny to weld the crack? Ideas?

 

Thanks in advance for any assistance.

 

Cheers

[Greg Field]

Weld the plate. Look for other damage, as a crack there is almost always the result of a fairly serious wreck.

[slowkitty]

Weld the plate. Look for other damage, as a crack there is almost always the result of a fairly serious wreck.

 

Hiya, Greg, I do not think that the bike was involved in anything more serious than a low speed drop. The owner is torn between dropping the gearbox (means time in the shop) and is itching to ride it if possible. Due to the position of the crack it cannot be welded without dropping the tranny.

 

BTW, thanks for the great way you handled my last order from you, Greg. Really appreciate it.

 

Cheers

[Greg Field]

Kitty: Is the crack on the tranny case or the mounting plate? If the latter, unbolt it from the frame and from the trans case, remove it, weld it, and re-install it. I'm glad it finally got there . . .

[Skeeve]

Hiya, Greg, I do not think that the bike was involved in anything more serious than a low speed drop. The owner is torn between dropping the gearbox (means time in the shop) and is itching to ride it if possible. Due to the position of the crack it cannot be welded without dropping the tranny.

 

BTW, thanks for the great way you handled my last order from you, Greg. Really appreciate it.

 

Cheers

 

Look, you asked for help. Greg [who is widely recognized here as being one of the more expert of expert opinions, given that he works for MI and has written a book on these bikes we love so much] offered the input that yes, in fact, your friend needs to drop the tranny & get the plate welded.

 

Regardless of your beliefs about how serious or not the drop the bike might have been involved in, it would be right thing to do for you to tell your friend that he should do a close exam for other damage and get the plate fixed. Riding w/ the crack will only propagate the crack until the plate breaks; its the nature of physics [not to be confuzzled with "fizziks," which is the study of carbonated beverages...]

 

As an aside, there has been evidence offered in the past that Guzzis are prone to unfortunate amounts of damage in simple tipovers, as they weren't designed to be ridden shiny side down, but have reasonable expectation of lifespans exceeding many other brands when kept rubber side down. One might say, "those are the breaks" if one was prone to excessive punning, as I have been known to be!..

[slowkitty]

Hiya, gents

 

Yes, my friend and i do appreciate the gravity of the "worst-case" scenario. He is the one who asked me to consult the members here on whether to take the risk to ride with the hairline. Thing is he had not ridden the bike for a year (yes, it's been that long) and he does not want to delay the roll-out if possible. I'm grateful for the input of members on any problem, more often than not, this Board has been more informative and valuable than any manual on Guzzis.

 

The crack is on the mounting plate, and we will try to remove it without dropping the tranny. I am sure that my friend would have contemplated that, but we'll have a (second) go anyway. I wonder what lies under the mounting plate, so it is a good opportunity to satisfy my curiosity. Obviously if it is the tranny case then the risk is reduced, as opposed to direct access to the tranny internals.

 

Is this a common problem? I understand that the Jackal / California's tranny is also mounted this way.

 

Cheers

[slowkitty]

Managed to get the parts diagram although in PDF. Looks like just a mounting plate without access to the internals. I'll try to put up a jpeg of it.

 

 

Cheers

[slowkitty]

Gearbox parts catalogue in jpeg ....

 

Part no. 22 is the mounting plate

 

Cheers

[pete roper]

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

[raz]

we will try to remove it without dropping the tranny.

Note that there are key pins (or what you call them) around the bolts so you need to lift the plate straight up from the box a couple of mm before you can move it forward and away. So you will probably need to remove most of the engine and gearbox bolts anyway.

[slowkitty]

Note that there are key pins (or what you call them) around the bolts so you need to lift the plate straight up from the box a couple of mm before you can move it forward and away. So you will probably need to remove most of the engine and gearbox bolts anyway.

 

Just an update. We gave up, ... just not possible to remove the mounting plate without dropping the engine and gearbox from the frame. Wonderful, these bikes