30,000 miles on a V11

[Guest Brian Robson]

At 50,000Km the bike decided to give me a wake up call or two.

Firstly the timing cover decided to leak oil for the first time, and while tightening all of the bolts seemed to stop it, I have purchased a new gasket and will be replacing it this weekend.

Secondly, while stopping for gas last night after a great ride in the country, the bevel box had a tiny amount of grease on the outside..no worries mate, as this shows me we reached over 120 mph on the ride BUT the bevel box is loose/wobbly/jiggly.

Bottom line is that the outer needle bearing on the bevel box is history, as is the sleeve the axle turns in. I saw Pete Ropers disassembly and he commented on the fact that the bearing was dirty, but mine had flattened needles and these had in turn damaged the sleeve.

After a few days riding in the rain, there is a line of dirt on the box under the bearing, and I think this means that once a week in the rain I will be greasing this bearing(previously it was once per month).

It is easy to access and will be cheaper than a $100 bearing/washer/spacer from MG.

Once I have the new in, I will buy some bearings and have some spacers made up.