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