V11 greenie in trouble

[Kane]

The torque of engine mount bolts has been suspect in cases developing cracks in some Ducatis. 
I have heard that the area that cracks on V11 transmission cases is thin walled, and the top mounting bracket should help.

It’s a bummer this happened, especially on a newly acquired bike. These old bikes are great and worth sorting out. I would  definitely pull the gearbox and have it welded. It’s also an opportunity to rebuild the tranny and, as was previously mentioned, have it freshly sealed as after 20 years the old sealant will fail and cause more leaks. Fresh sealant for your gearbox will be good to have!

[LowRyter]

1 hour ago, deadpen69 said:

Many thanks. My bike is at 12,000 miles. I haven't inspected the case yet but if there's something I can do preemptively I'll give it a shot. Best Wishes

Anyone with a red frame V11 Sport should get the the brace kit from Don at Motiv.  I think I bankrolled much of it from my repair.   He traced out the brace from a rendering of the factory part (no longer available), made a run of them and includes the bolts and fasteners.  I think he still has my can of red paint.

Contact Don here.

https://www.motivcycleworks.com/

[LowRyter]

43 minutes ago, Kane said:

The torque of engine mount bolts has been suspect in cases developing cracks in some Ducatis. 
I have heard that the area that cracks on V11 transmission cases is thin walled, and the top mounting bracket should help.

It’s a bummer this happened, especially on a newly acquired bike. These old bikes are great and worth sorting out. I would  definitely pull the gearbox and have it welded. It’s also an opportunity to rebuild the tranny and, as was previously mentioned, have it freshly sealed as after 20 years the old sealant will fail and cause more leaks. Fresh sealant for your gearbox will be good to have!

Guzzi did offer a brace at one time.  It wasn't installed on the bikes originally and is no longer available.   Don at Motiv made a batch after repairing my bike.  It's a pretty simple "crescent moon" brace and a few fasteners.  

[Pressureangle]

12 hours ago, laurent said:

It is leaking gearbox oil/cracked through

That crack quite visibly runs along the hard machined corner. Poor machining practice in a stressed area. It should have a radius in the fillet. 

[Chuck]

Yeah, the cutter should have had a radius. Luigi must have been promoted to manufacturing processes.

[Lucky Phil]

3 hours ago, Chuck said:

Yeah, the cutter should have had a radius. Luigi must have been promoted to manufacturing processes.

Yes Chuck on the LHS mount you're right. My repair was to the RHS mount so thats where my head space was. I removed this sharp corner on mine with a small round file wrapped in and wet and dry to finish it off although mine wasn't cracked here. It did undercut the mount a little but the trade off was worth it in my view. I also dressed the radii on all the sharp corners with the die grinder and a tiny ball shaped cutter as well which you can see in the images.

I also did the same on the RHS mount although this isn't where mine was cracked. I'd have prefered to do it with a small Bull nosed cutter in the mill but I didn't have the facility. My repair looked a lot nicer before I peened and dressed it back. It's rock solid now though.

[Scud]

Sorry to Laurent about your transmission, but thanks for posting it so we can all get a free lesson in mechanical engineering.

In retrospect, it seems Moto Guzzi solved this problem by stiffening up the subframe and adding the arms to the block. But it could have been solved with a change to the mold for the transmission case, and changes to the final machining of the contact surfaces. Interesting.

And lest we forget, this was Moto Guzzi's first 6-speed, and it was the best transmission they had ever built at the time.

[Tomchri]

1 minute ago, Scud said:

Sorry to Laurent about your transmission, but thanks for posting it so we can all get a free lesson in mechanical engineering.

In retrospect, it seems Moto Guzzi solved this problem by stiffening up the subframe and adding the arms to the block. But it could have been solved with a change to the mold for the transmission case, and changes to the final machining of the contact surfaces. Interesting.

And lest we forget, this was Moto Guzzi's first 6-speed, and it was the best transmission they had ever built at the time.

Free interessting lessons are great,, +1 to the forum, Thanks gents.

Cheers Tom.

[deadpen69]

19 hours ago, LowRyter said:

Anyone with a red frame V11 Sport should get the the brace kit from Don at Motiv.  I think I bankrolled much of it from my repair.   He traced out the brace from a rendering of the factory part (no longer available), made a run of them and includes the bolts and fasteners.  I think he still has my can of red paint.

Contact Don here.

https://www.motivcycleworks.com/

I spoke with Don this afternoon. Terrific guy, My red brace kit should be on its way from OKC tomorrow. $50 usd shipped is a bargain! While I didn't get out the dye I took off the airbox and I could find no evidence of cracking in any of the problem areas.  Thanks

[LowRyter]

15 hours ago, deadpen69 said:

I spoke with Don this afternoon. Terrific guy, My red brace kit should be on its way from OKC tomorrow. $50 usd shipped is a bargain! While I didn't get out the dye I took off the airbox and I could find no evidence of cracking in any of the problem areas.  Thanks

I'm kicking myself for not getting a commission.  

[deadpen69]

3 hours ago, LowRyter said:

I'm kicking myself for not getting a commission.  

It's funny you say that because after Don educated me a little about the part and the recall he said, "We don't sell too many of these!" I had to chuckle. I guess V-11's aren't exactly where the money is these days. You could have got a case of beer or two. Don said there's no instructions included but advised me to have patience when negotiating the throttle bodies but beyond that I'm not sure how this thing goes. Is this self-explanatory? Does anyone have a picture or two they wouldn't mind sharing? Not trying to Hi-jack your post Laurent, Sorry about your greenie. If not for this thread, I wouldn't have known to look into mine while I had the tank off so thanks and good luck with your machine.

[gstallons]

You nees to put one of these on w/everything in place . WOW , if I had it to do over again .

[docc]

Here, in a few hours, let me look for links and images of the frame brace. Indeed, it is a fiddly thing to fit, but not impossible. 

[laurent]

1 hour ago, deadpen69 said:

It's funny you say that because after Don educated me a little about the part and the recall he said, "We don't sell too many of these!" I had to chuckle. I guess V-11's aren't exactly where the money is these days. You could have got a case of beer or two. Don said there's no instructions included but advised me to have patience when negotiating the throttle bodies but beyond that I'm not sure how this thing goes. Is this self-explanatory? Does anyone have a picture or two they wouldn't mind sharing? Not trying to Hi-jack your post Laurent, Sorry about your greenie. If not for this thread, I wouldn't have known to look into mine while I had the tank off so thanks and good luck with your machine.

All good myself I am wondering how this brace fits. Have ordered it 3 weeks ago, still waiting. Couldn't find any pictures of it installed.

[docc]

So here are a few images that may help. It is very hard to get images of it in situ.

LowRyter's installation from the right looking forward:

MySport looking down from the left side (tank, airbox, starter, all removed), barely visible beyond the injector:

From the left through the "throttle rod tunnel":

 

The mounting tab, on the early RedFrame only, seen midway on this frame turned bottom side up:

One more from the left (tank and airbox removed) :