V11 scura gearbox problem

[Paul Minnaert]

well, I don't know if your bike is in his shop until he returns from holiday, but I think if you phone TLM (www.tlm.nl) that they have it in stock, and can get it very quick to you. Maybe some shops in england too, but I don't know who has what there. part 30157400 If you can take the tank of, then getting the thing on should be a DIY job.

[pasotibbs]

Get the bike back if you can,a length of car heater hose can be used to get the bike mobile [i made one for mine and it still seems ok after 2 years,but I don't do many miles!!] and then you can then buy a new one or as others have said a trip to a breakers yard may supply a suitable replacement from a car.

[pete roper]

There is also a hose from, somewhat appropriately, a John Deere tractor with exactly the right bends, can't remember the part # offhand though

 

One has to remember that a lot of Poms are still very weird about dealing with 'Foreigners'. They will also accept poor service and levels of idiocy that would be considered completely unacceptable in most other nations in the world. A case in point being the statement that a train ticket cost seventy quid! I can FLY to most of the major cities in Oz from Canberra for that and go to Cairns on the train! The UK is only the size of a postage stamp yet getting anywhere costs an arm and a leg.

 

While I don't expect everyone to be a mechanic if you are going to depend on a vehicle for transport and decide that a seven year old model from a very obscure manufacturer is going to be your vehicle of choice it *does* help if you have an expectation that occasionally you're going to have to do more than simply turn a key and press a button.

 

Pete

[ozzydog]

Hm. Perhaps you'll forgive me if I'm not all that overly sympathetic with your rant, Heather.

 

I reckon you must've missed my comments altogether in post #12 (just above your last) -- maybe my post was too much for you to read, possibly it appeared to be foolish blather to you -- or maybe my suggestions just looked like too much effort on your part?

 

Now I fully understand that not everyone is handy with tools. But it seems that at a bare minimum, an informed quick and simple 10 second inspection above and below on your part (no tools needed) might've saved you considerable grief, time, and cost, not to mention pushing the Guzzi, the train ride, a repetition of the great oily mess, an odious harangue with an incompetent dealer, etc. -- and on top of all this, could've quite easily even had you back on the road 10 days ago. . .

 

This Forum is a GOLD MINE of information for those willing to learn and actually take on at least SOME of the responsibility of properly maintaining their own Guzzi's with a little effort -- regardless of experience level. Is there no practical DIY self-sufficiency and personal involvement with the machine in some riders a-tall anymore??

 

Enquiring minds. . .(well, you know). . .

Yes I did read your post all the way through, more than once and despite what you may think i do agree with what you have said in both your posts but by the time i'd read post 12 i'd already booked it in the dealers and booked and paid for a van to cart it there. Sometimes there can be more important and serious things going on in life that prevent you from having the time to investigate and sort it youself and as its my only form of transport and as it turned out i really needed it that week i thought taking to the dealer was the safest and quickest option. Hindsight is wonderful and i've learnt my first lesson. I understand that if i'd taken your advice then maybe the bike would of been back on the road 10 days ago but 10 days ago i was sat in intensive care hoping my husband would be ok.I have taken steps this evening to address the problem of my lack of maintenance and am glad you posted because maybe it was the kick in the posterior that i needed to get my arse in gear and sort the bike out. I really would like nothing more than to be able to maintain and fix my bike whenever its needed but when you don't know what you are doing it can seem rather daunting and there is a large fear of making things worse rather than better . I know that there is a lot of very good information on this forum and in future i will try and search it more thoroughly before posting a question on here. Now that things are somewhat calmer i'm gonna make as much effort as i can to learn about my bike and what i need to being doing to it and hopefully i won't post anymore dumb ass questions. Thanks for the kick, i consider myself told off

Heather

[ozzydog]

well, I don't know if your bike is in his shop until he returns from holiday, but I think if you phone TLM (www.tlm.nl) that they have it in stock, and can get it very quick to you. Maybe some shops in england too, but I don't know who has what there. part 30157400 If you can take the tank of, then getting the thing on should be a DIY job.

 

Many thanks for that, i got one today from motomecca but can't get bike till he reopens after the holiday. when he does i will collect the bike and fit it myself. Gonna try and turn over a new leaf and learn how to do what needs to be done

Many thanks

[pete roper]

There are no dumb-arse questions, plenty of dumb arse answers about though .

 

Honestly, you'll find that keeping a Guzzi going is generally a very easy proposition as long as you perform regular maintenence and do a bit of preventative work, (Especially if you ride in winter where they put salt on the roads.).

 

The biggest issues with Scuras are their exploding flywheels, (Sounds like yours has already let go. Try and find out if it was replaced with another single plater or a twin plater.) and their dreadfully inadequate springs ex-factory.

 

Address those and they are overall a good bike.

 

Do make sure that when the rear tyre is replaced that the shop knows the shaft needs to be aligned and have them stick a wodge of grease in the bevelbox bearing each time the wheel is out and it'll probably run like a freight train for pretty much ever.

 

Watch your oil light under hard acceleration.

 

Pete

[Guest ratchethack]

. . .hopefully i won't post anymore dumb ass questions. Thanks for the kick, i consider myself told off

Heather, I don't find anyone here telling you off, nor kicking you for asking dumb ass Q's.

 

Far as I'm concerned, you asked reasonable Q's and you got wot I consider reasonable answers. But then you ranted (your word) about the disastrous results of ignoring the advice, after I had given you some pretty direct warnings about the potential consequences, that seem to've described for the most part exactly what developed.

 

Sorry to hear about your husband being in intensive care. I hope everything's OK, and that he's doing well now. It must be rough, now that you've been without your only transportation for 10 days, and it looks like a minimum of another 2/3 weeks before you get your Guzzi back.

 

Look, it's certainly not possible to divine all your unmentioned circumstances out of thin air, and I have no idea how mechanically inclined you may or may not be. But a simple inspection (as I suggested -- no tools required) could have potentially made a difficult situation lots smoother for you. Glad to see that you seem willing to learn from this and that you're willing to have at it yourself now. There's nothing here that a few hours of focused attention can't solve without any further concern for at least many years. I've done the linkage maintenance and adjustment on 2 V11's, and the breather hose replacement on my own, and again -- though access is limited, it's pretty straightforward.

 

Good luck

[GuzziMoto]

Let it go Hack, Give the lady a break. Besides, she had already discovered that the breather hose had split before you posted that she should check it. May be if YOU had read HER previous post.....

Nevermind. Just let it go.

Heather, best of luck to you with your sweet bike. There is a ton of info on this board, some of it even from Hack. But he lacks people skills sometimes so you may need to toughen up your skin. But he means well (I think).

[Guest ratchethack]

Let it go Hack, Give the lady a break. Besides, she had already discovered that the breather hose had split before you posted that she should check it. May be if YOU had read HER previous post.....

Now here comes Quasimodo with nothing to add as usual. Say Quasi -- are you running low on your medication again? Maybe if YOU had paid closer attention, you'd have noticed that Heather's post noting the split hose was just 16 minutes before mine. This indicates I may have been interrupted while posting, and never saw her post, which was in fact the case.

 

. . .[sigh]. . .

[GuzziMoto]

I DID pay attention and I DID see that.

So does that mean you're allowed to be a Richard because it was only 16 minutes before what you posted?

Before is before, 16 minutes or 60. What kind of excuse is that?

[Guest ratchethack]

I DID pay attention and I DID see that.

So does that mean you're allowed to be a Richard because it was only 16 minutes before what you posted?

Before is before, 16 minutes or 60. What kind of excuse is that?

Say Quasimodo.

 

What seems to be your problem -- can't you find a bell to ring somewhere?

 

 

Buck up, Binky! Somewhere there's just got to be a belfry missing a hunchback.

[Baldini]

Last few posts personal, no contribution to topic, can't you just give it a rest. It's embarassing.

 

Heather, sorry to hear your bad luck. Where are you in UK? There are several good Guzzi shops with knowledge & love of the bikes. It's worth seeking them out - sounds like you got a dud - if hose was knackered it should have been replaced unless time didn't permit? Parts can generally be got pretty quick if you know where to look. Also I dunno if you visit http://www.motoguzziclub.co.uk/forum those guys are often offering to help out with maintenance advice if someone's a bit stuck & they're nearby. If you don't have the inclination, the time or the ability to work on your bike yourself or for whatever reason - there's no shame in taking it to a shop. Just make sure it's a good one. Learning to look after Guzzis yourself gives you a better chance of spotting something before it strands you & it puts you in touch with how the bike's working. They do reward a bit of personal involvement. Is it your first Guzzi? Good luck & I hope things sort themselves out for you.

 

KB

[savagehenry]

Hey Baldini, Good Post.

[Skeeve]

Hi Ozzydog (Heather?):

 

Don't let Ratch' & G'motos' bickering bother you; we're all like one big dysfunctional family around here!

 

Sorry to hear about your hubby in ICU; I hope he heals quick. Tell him that you've got loads of guzzisti just champing at the bit to find a Guzzi-riding widow if he doesn't get his act in order! That'll give him some incentive to heal up right quick!

[1]

 

Anyway, I dug up the old thread:

Oil return hose bodge

 

I find it ridiculous that a shop that:

 

A) Muffed your maintenance work in the 1st place

 

would then

 

B ) Hare off on vacation w/ your bike locked in their yard & leave you stranded

 

only I shouldn't, 'cause I got taken by a shop that rebuilt my SV650 4+ years ago after my "accident." [victim of vehicular assault] - not much of a rebuild, they charged me for work I didn't authorize & they never performed, but that's why shops like that won't survive the current GFC, hallelujah.

 

Best of luck, and glad you came to v11lm.com! Don't let any of our resident trolls [& I include myself in that august category! ] scare you away!

 

Ride on,

 

[1] My apologies if that was in poor taste; I truly hope he gets well quickly! Just trying to cheer you up...

[Guest ratchethack]

FWIW, the following is merely Web hearsay and no first hand experience here, but there's been increasing positive feedback on one of the auto forums lately about Goodyear EZ Coil. It's a stainless steel coil available in different diameters, designed to put inside BULK coolant and oil hose that allows you to put unmolded BULK hose into pretty tight bends without kinking. It seems that lots of auto parts outlets have been carrying this lately as an alternative to the historic practice of stocking thousands of slow-moving molded hoses specific to every different model and application.

 

From what I can tell, customer sat appears to be pretty high, and no complaints. LOTS less expensive for suppliers and customers alike compared to molded hose -- AND you have a choice of many commonly available higher-grade replacement bulk hose grades than the original grade (fairly low by my estimation, in the case of the Guzzi oil breather) for what amounts to a pennies per foot premium.

 

Seems like a pretty good idea to Yours Truly, but o' course, that's just me.

 

I've actually bodged-in a spring inside bulk oil hose in a pretty tight bend on the same principle on my Yamaha XT600E oil cooler, and it's worked like the proverbial Champ for somewhere around 8 years now without a hiccup.

 

If EZ Coil had been available at the time, I might've given this a shot with the high-temp, chem-resistant BULK hose I used on my Guzzi breather instead of plumbing in 90 degree and 135 degree "ells" with hose-clamps on each, though as noted previously, that's worked perfectly for many years as well.

 

I understand Goodyear EZ Coil is carried here in the US by Manny Moe & Jack (aka Pep Boys). Evidently, there are other companies making their own versions available from other sources.

 

Just a thought.