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OIl Filter Question


Dennis

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Just started to change the oil on a 97 Centauro that I recently purchased. I'm new to Guzzies and was shocked that when I took off the oil filter cover, all of the oil drained out. I hadn't removed the drain plug first. I assumed the oil filter wasn't sealed or worse but I've been told that this is normal. If so, why is a spin-on oil filter immersed in the engine oil?

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Ignoring the dirty oil answer and of course the oil filter has to be connected to the oil pan but there is no other car or motorcycle the has a spin-on filter in a chamber filled with oil. I don't get MG's thinking on this. 

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I don't get MG's thinking on this. 

Yer new to Guzzi, ain't ya, boy? :) They started out with no filter at all. When they decided to use a filter, the least expensive change to the tooling was to put it inside the pan. It only needed to be changed once a year or 9000 miles, but people complained that it was too much work, even though it gives you a chance to have a peek up her skirt once a year :helmet: and see if everything is ok, so they put the porthole in. I don't like the porthole in the Centauro.. it's fraught with danger..all too easy to cross thread.. Then, "You'd be in a heap of trouble, boy."

So. To answer your question.. it's cost driven. Tooling changes are *expensive.* Guzzi was broke, as usual. Just the same, they produced some fine motorcycles during this period with very little money, and that is part of their allure to me.

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Thanks for the info guys. I have a 2000 BMW R1200C and they don't do it like the K's. Seems to defeat the purpose of having a spin-on filter. In any event, my filter is on so tight I can't loosen it and I don't want to take a chance of damaging the cover threads so it looks like I'm dropping the pan. Thanks again.

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1 hour ago, Dennis said:

Ignoring the dirty oil answer and of course the oil filter has to be connected to the oil pan but there is no other car or motorcycle the has a spin-on filter in a chamber filled with oil. I don't get MG's thinking on this. 

There's your mistake right there imagining Guzzi had some form of rational engineering consideration here. It took them years to consider the fact that maybe people didn't want to have to remove the whole exhaust system and the sump assembly to simply replace the oil filter. Ever wondered why they decided to sink R&D money into hydraulic lifters on the worlds easiest to adjust valve clearance engine, or fitted the sports touring bikes with a sidecar lugging flywheel, or invented a shaft drive with a 15,000 klm factory recommended replacement interval, or DLC coated Griso tappets?

Work out those questions and you will probably know why the made the filter internal.

Ciao 

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1 hour ago, Dennis said:

I guess one of the attractions to a Guzzi is the quirks.

I'll be serious for a change. I've kept 17 Guzzis now.. :helmet: I've tried all of the "modern" Guzzis from the V700 to the Norge. Big block, small block, 2V, 4V.

It's the engine. I love the sound and feel of Guzzi engines. Maybe the sweetest was the Monza.. but the Aero engine has it's own character, too. Then there is the Mighty Scura which is not too subtle about what it's about.

I also loved the Centauro engine. Like all Guzzi engines, it wants you to feel involved in it's care and feeding. Sweet runner, too.. after a bit :grin: of sorting.

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My 87 SE hits like a 50 cal. pistol w/every combustion stroke , twists to the right with a blip of the throttle and the rear rises under acceleration with a powerband above 5k you would feel once in a lifetime and I wouldn't have it any other way !

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1 hour ago, Lucky Phil said:

Guzzis exist for engineers, or people that aspire to be engineers.

Ciao

Or, from our Boeing experience, they exist for people who are  constantly forced to correct engineers.

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