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Prize winning Rosso Corsa commits hara- kiri

H

HaydnR

Just got it firing!
Joined
May 4, 2011
Messages
3
Hello all , I lurk here from time to time.Thought you may be interested/scared by a post thet I put up on my regular forums. I look forward to your views

Haydn



It was only two weeks ago that this fine example and its proud owner was picking up first prize for best in its class at the Scottish Motorcycle Show which is well and truly deserved as this is no unused kept in cotton wool show pony, but an all weather,lives outside under a cover motorcycle used everyday for commuting, weekends away and annual holidays and most importantly Harry Boyle's pride and joy.

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Falkland in Fife was the location for the monthly meet of Moto Guzzi Club GB Scottish branch. The weather was superb for March. It was a good turn out with guzzisti travelling from far and wide. We had an enjoyable lunch chatting with each other in the afternoon sun. Harry and I are the branch organizers so are usually the last to head home after seeing everyone off. Linda(my wife) and I waved Harry off with a hint of envy as today we had travelled by car with the kids in tow. Twenty minutes later I received a call on my mobile, it was Harry, he had broken down. I pulled over and spoke to him, I advised to phone for a recovery truck as from telephone diagnosis it sounded unfixable at the roadside. He wasn't far away so we detoured to go give him some support. When we found him a couple of other members were on the scene. The bike could freewheel, engage all gears, clutch disengaged engine from box ok but wouldn't turn over as if starter jammed so quickly diagnosed engine was fooked, partly confirmed by 90% of the dipstick missing. The truck arrived after a 45 minute wait which wasn't at all bad. The bike and the Harry were loaded and dispatched to my house for further investigation.

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Once at home the oil drained and sump dropped, a photo was taken as fat head (me) hasn't got eyes on stalks.

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The photo confirmed that the conrod had gone bang.

Further knuckle scraping to inspect further damage proves that all but the top end of the engine is toast.

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And as for Harry, he is not one for being down but it's obvious to those who know him that this is very trying.

At the point the engine went bang Harry was just starting an overtake, so the power was on, at a guess about 5000rpm. I drained 2 1/2 litres of oil out so don't suspect oil starvation.
Click to expand...
 
Good thing is; he didn't die. Everything only gets better from there.

As for the engine it could have been a big end bolt failure but there's so much damage it's impossible to tell especially without knowledge of maintenance history. Bearing shells and oil look OK so it points to catastrophic component failure. Hopefully the heads could be saved?
 
" ... quickly diagnosed engine was fooked, partly confirmed by 90% of the dipstick missing." :woohoo:

Yes, even I might have so concluded. :whistle:

Seriously, please convey our condolences to Harry.

On the bright side, a grand ending (or new beginning) to a gorgeous machine. Anward, admiring corowds, beautiful day for a ride and gathering ... then, the tragic demise.

But, whatever Harry does to her -- and I hope he brings her back to life -- he'll have some wonderful objets d'art for his coffee table and garage.

Best,

Bill
 
:blink:

Condolences. Look forward to the rebuild and happy Harry post.
 
Certainly looks like either a rod bolt failure or it was hydraulic'd which is unlikey unless he rode into a river!

For once on a V11 it doen't seem to have been oil starvation caused lockup. The shells, though flat, haven't seized.

Has it ever had the rods out? If so, were the bolts re-used?

Pete
 
Thank's to everyone for your replies. The engine 'had' 25K miles on it, Harry has owned it for four years, when he bought it had 6K miles on it. As far as we are aware the big end had never been apart.

I went over to Harry's today and had another look at the damaged parts that he had taken home. My initial thought when I opened the engine up was that the conrod bolt had failed, but looking closer agree with those on this and other forums that the bolt failed after the end cap broke proven by the clean break on what appears tho be the weakest point of the end cap and the rolled outer edges of the conrod and cap where they hinged apart until the bolt after bending snapped.


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WOW! That sure put the ugh in ugly.

Who would have thought that a rod big end cap would fail? Glad everyone is OK.

My Eldo once dropped a valve... on the last stroke after shutting it off at home... whew.

Alex
 
Auch, this really hurts!!
My condolences with this tragic loss. :cry:

I hope the rebuild brings you a new bike. ;)
Although the subject hurts like hell, the pictures are fabelous.

Ad B
 
Wow , I saw pretty much the same when a big end cap bolt broke in my car.I had just pulled out to pass a slower vehicle , just got into the passing lane as she kicked down from 3rd to 2nd , revs went to 5500 and KAAAARRRRBBOOOOOM.
I was able to determine that the swaged head of one rod bolt had been detaching for quite some time . The extra load I placed on it finished it off .
Darn , this looks to me like another engine for you sadly.I hope everything goes well with the rebirthing.
Regards Supaflee
 
Glad to read that this STUNNING machine is back on the road!
 
So, tell us what you did in the end . Was it a complete brand new engine back in the hole ?
I was asking on the forum a while back where these engines sort of run best . One of the Dudes suggested between 4 and 6K.
Were you just unlucky , have many others gone bang without warning ?
I dont have a late model like yours , mine is an '85. Started life as an SP11 V1000 , but over the years has turned into a raw looking Lemans .
She's cool but hell Ive had some wiring issues . I bought it earlier this year from a Dude that openly said he knew mothing about Guzzis. I wish he'd left the bloody wiring to someone that knew .
I'm finding help on the forum UNBELIEVEABLE.No bs.Excellent for Guzzi stuff.excellent!!
Good luck , enjoy the new engine .
Keep the rubber side down.
Regards Supaflee
 
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