Moto Guzzi Club of Queensland Forum

Tony,

The gearbox needs 1 litre of oil in it. Guzzi changed its recommendation to 900ml because the oil was spitting out of the breather. You need to modify the breather but it also acts as the detent spring tensioner so whatever you do the thread must insert into the gearbox the same distance.

If you are getting a howling out of it that's probably OK. They are a straight cut gearbox. Some seem to howl others don't. Its probably occurring around the 4-5000 rpm mark. I have one gearbox that will howl but I use 30% oil stabilizer in it and it quietens it right down.

Later model gearboxes had a plate that directed oil up to the higher gears but it is evidently a pain to retro fit.

The Lario originally came out with a solid cam. This was changed to a hollow one tto increase oil flow to the cam and tappets. This should have been done on your bike.

You will also have a lot of trouble getting 16" tyres for it, especially for the rear.

Rod

Manual.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Moto-Guzzi-origin ... 240%3A1318

Took me less than 2 minutes to find. Buy it or one like it. Google and ebay UK or USA are great sources of things and information on older Guzzis.

They also come on CD but the quality is sometimes iffy. I have one that you could copy but they left out the wiring diagram. That's available though at: http://www.thisoldtractor.com/guzzi007/sportissimo.html

Some Lario stuff here: http://www.manualz.info/ Parts list and wiring diagram.

Tom is also a real asset. I always try and get things through him first. He will give you advice over the phone, the least you can do in return is to buy parts from him when you can. He can't always access them though and its not worth his while to trawl through ebay looking for stuff for you.

Rod

Rod,

Thanks for all that and I will be trying to use Tom as much as I can for parts as he has gone out of his way so much already and good to talk to. I'll have to get into this E-Bay stuff and learn how it works but rather buy parts from Tom with advise and knowledge he has, I have already tried all the other links you suggested and none actually have a repair/workshop manual just wiring diagrams and parts lists and views which are helpful in there own way.

My gearbox noise is between 60 to 90kmh and not in as high rpm as you suggested and sounds and sends out a vibration and noise as if a gear is not meshing correctly, sounds and feels like I'm swinging a racthet around and around by the extension bar, it then smooths out to the Guzzi whine after 90kmh. What gearbox additive have you found best and don't worry I will not hold you responsible for any failures on recommendations. I used mainly Moorey's in my british bikes as it was readily available at the time. I'm really enjoying the Guzzi and its completely different to my old Brit rides and sounds lovely. I could ride around all day just going up and down in the gears to listen to the exhaust note. I'm about to reset the rocker clearances to the update gaps of 0.10 & 0.13 as I currently have them gapped as per the original Italian bike handbook. I will also look at extending the gearbox breather as I had noticed a slight oil residue under it, does it just screw straight out and no hidden tricks? Once I get it out I'll redesign and see if I can get a litre in the box as I know it currently only has 0.9L in as the level is 5mm below plug level as per handbook and they state 0.9L content.

Tony

Morey's, Lucas, it doesn't matter. What you are trying to do is keep the oil on the gears and up in the bearings. I use 30% and it works fine on one of mine. The other doesn't need it. You could always try 80W140 if you prefer.

The breather just screws right out. Its 10mm from memory and I think its course pitch but don't quote me on that. its been a while. I know some that just pull the cap off the breather and glue a hose onto the stem. Its got a notch in it so you need to make sure it seals properly. I used a 10mm bolt, drilled a hole through the centre, used retaining fluid to hold a nut the correct distance form the end, cut off the hex and had enough of the collar to slide a hose over. Run the hose up high onto the frame and bend it over backwards so no crud can get down it. I only drilled a 2.5 or 3mm hole in the bolt from memory. It doesn't need to be much. Of course don't try and change gears when it is out.

The link to the manual didn't include the whole address. Go to ebay, go to the bottom of the page and click United Kingdom, in the search box put in guzzi manual. There is usually one for sale in the U.K. The v35, V50, V65 manual has an additional section at the back for the 4 valve models.

The rear drive should have 160ml of 80W140 and 10ml of moly. Its available in a tube at repco and other places. The moly does make an appreciable difference and the drive will run cooler. Be careful of the threads. The casings are alloy and they are easily stripped. Anneal the aluminium washers before you replace and I usually use some gasket goop on the threads to ensure the bolt won't rattle free. That way you don't have to tighten too much. If one of the threads is already dodgy, goop it in as I stated but use a marker on the bolt and the casing so you can easily tell if its moving. Next time, probably never, when the rear drive is apart, helicoil the thread.

At some stage you should pull off the swing arm and check the U-joint on the drive shaft. If that lets go on a small block the rear gearbox casing gets trashed. Good opportunity to grease all the splines and check the output seal. If you do that there is a steel bush that can be purchased or fabricated that fits inside the gearbox casing around the U-joint. Tom knows about them.

Enough for now.

Cheers.