Guest captain nemo Posted November 2, 2003 Posted November 2, 2003 Guzzisti, Today I took a nice trip with 'Big Dog' over to the Washington Peninsula. Temp. was 32 degrees f. (0 Celsius?) when I left this morning, and it didn't get much warmer (see thread on Aerostich). The V11 was flawless all day. 80 mph sweepers and a couple forays into a ton (100mph.) No problem. We stopped many times for eating and nick nacks and passed through many small towns - still got 36 mpg. which is not bad. After hours of this business we took the ferry home and ended up at Big Dog's house for dinner and to change out of my hand grips. HOWEVER, on the way back to my house about 6 miles away I couldn't get the Guzz out of second gear. It was stuck! A couple times I managed to find third, but mostly it was good for only first and second gear. If you put your toe under the shifter looking for some resistance into third, there was nothing there. About the time I got to my house I figured a way to shift the thing. You had to put downward resistance onto the pedal GENTLY....and then you could get the next gear. Odd!! I also noticed when I walked the bike into my shed that the shifter lever felt loose. Maybe this is how it is supposed to feel so I don't know. The only other thing I know about the gearbox is that a couple weeks ago we drained the oil and put in Kendal 80/140. On top of this Big Dog squirted in a very generous portion of moly oil additive. That is all I know about it. In the morning when it is light, I'll go have a look at the shifter. OK all you Sherlock Holmes out there. There is the mystery......what do you think happened in your opinion??????
docc Posted November 2, 2003 Posted November 2, 2003 Good news or bad news? It will be good news if you look at the linkage and find something rattled loose. Good then! Just put it back together! After all, these things do vibrate a bit and you may have been vibrating yours more than most. The bad news is the shift springs are made of glass. ( OK, well, they're not, but maybe they'd be happier if we shifted them like they were.) The side case is very accessible and the springs are inexpensive. Not uncommon for the return spring to break ( maybe more on the '02?) just like on the early 5-speed Eldorado (850GT).
Mike Stewart Posted November 2, 2003 Posted November 2, 2003 I have not heard of the shift spring breaking on a 2000 V11. I have had my linkage come loose at both ends of shift linkage but I can't see it causing a hard shifting issue. But when my 2000 was at the shop for the trans oil leak repair, it did get stuck in 3rd gear and would not come out. Turned out 3rd gear came apart and took out every gear in the transmission. 3.5 months later, I had my bike back. I hope your transmission does not have this problem. Mike
Guest captain nemo Posted November 2, 2003 Posted November 2, 2003 Well the problem was simple. Today was warmer and everything was fine! The problem was that the other night was 25 degees f. Plus, my shed is separated from the house so no heat whatsoever. I noticed first thing in the morning the shifting was also 'stuck.' All day when we were running hard everything was fine. Then again at night when we let the bikes sit for a couple hours, it was 'stuck' going home. I am running 80/140 gear oil which is too thick for this sort of temperatures. The manual recommends 80/90 SAE. Plus, we put in very thick moly additive to the gear box. I'm convinced now that this is all a mistake. I drained the gearbox and put in Valvolene 75/90. Now it shifts like a baby Honda. I'm all Guzzed out again! Now I'm taking off parts for the powder coating treatment on Tuesday. Should be nice.
al_roethlisberger Posted November 3, 2003 Posted November 3, 2003 ...sounds like a good "lesson learned" Glad to hear you have it figured out. That's always a relief versus a mystery
dlaing Posted November 3, 2003 Posted November 3, 2003 You might try switching to synthetic, which should have a wider "real" viscosity. John in Vancouver and others have recommended the Redline shockproof heavy duty gear oil, to give you a "schlick" shift! You might want try a the LightWeight shockproof, based on your experience and what time of year this is. Here are some redline shockproof descriptions: Heavy can be rated as a 75W250 Gear Oil, but has the lower internal fluid friction of an SAE 75W90. LightWeight can be rated as a 75W140 Gear Oil, but has the lower internal fluid friction of an SAE 30 motor oil. SuperLight can be rated as a 70W90 Gear Oil, but has the lower internal fluid friction of an ATF.
jrt Posted November 3, 2003 Posted November 3, 2003 John in Vancouver and others have recommended the Redline shockproof heavy duty gear oil, to give you a "schlick" shift! Oh, yeah- everything was going fine and then you had to bring up Schlitz Oh, wait. Schlick. Never mind, occifer. Glad to hear it was a minor deal Cap'n. Sail on.... J
Guest captain nemo Posted November 4, 2003 Posted November 4, 2003 Schlitz - what's that? My 75/90 gear oil might be considered superlite, but I watched that oil drain down into the box, and it was pretty thick looking to me. Much thicker than regular motor oil. It seems to have the right viscocity for cold weather. Actually, even this stuff looks a little stiff to me. We'll see how it acts up here in the Great Northwest.
jrt Posted November 4, 2003 Posted November 4, 2003 Groan. OK, for those who don't know what Schlitz is: http://www.40ozmaltliquor.com/schlitz.html Good for what ails ya'. Cheers, Jason
Guest captain nemo Posted November 4, 2003 Posted November 4, 2003 "Heineken? @#!#$# that shit, Pabst Blue Ribbon!" (quote from the movie 'Blue Velvet.')
docc Posted November 5, 2003 Posted November 5, 2003 Ok, sorry about all the Schlitz. But, hey, it's an oil thread so it's open seaon, right?
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