Spun bearing = rod/crank repair

[Blueboarhound]

Please forgive my lack of mechanical knowledge. I always joke an tell people that I know where to put the key and where to put the gas but that's about it.

With that in mind, what can cause your bike to spin a bearing and bend the rod/crank? This is the scenario I have with my '96 Sport 1100 and I'd just like to be aware why this happened so I can try to avoid experiencing it again.

The Sport has had very little done to it other than the heads being ported and polished and is relatively stock except for a Staintune exhaust. It also has low miles, around 15000, so the motors not clapped out.

Another question that I have is with Raceco gone and a shoddy dealer network who is there to go to on the east coast for performance enhancements, repair, etc.

I've owned the bike since new and plan on keeping it but if I have to tear it down for these repairs I might as well take advantage of it being apart and enhance it a bit for the street.

Thanks in advance for any advice you guys can throw my way.

[pete roper]

Oil starvation. Carb or Injected?

Pete

[Blueboarhound]

It is a '96 carbureted Sport 1100

[pete roper]

Rare for the carb models to torch a big end unless the filter has come loose or the OPRV has fallen out or jammed open.

Anyway, the whole thing is going to have to come apart anyways so you should be able to identify what caused it.

If the rod is bent it's history. crank may or may not be salvageable. Any modifications from stock?

Pete

[GuzziMoto]

You said you wanted to know who on the east coast was a good place to go, east coast of where? If you meant east coast of the US, there is Mike Rich Motorsports in Pa, Europa Macchina south of Harrisburg, Pa (where I take things beyond my skills and time), and Speed's south of Baltimore, Md. There was also Stan's down in Fl. but I do not know if he is still around.

As for the bearings, Guzzi's use plain bearings for the motor, a lack of oil pressure will kill them. But until you take the motor apart it is hard to say.
Good luck.

[Blueboarhound]

Rare for the carb models to torch a big end unless the filter has come loose or the OPRV has fallen out or jammed open.

Anyway, the whole thing is going to have to come apart anyways so you should be able to identify what caused it.

If the rod is bent it's history. crank may or may not be salvageable. Any modifications from stock?

Pete

Pete,

It has had very little done to it other than the heads being ported and polished (local mechanic/Guzzi Dealer) and is relatively stock except for a Staintune exhaust and it's been re-jetted. It has low miles, around 15000, so the motors not clapped out.

[Blueboarhound]

You said you wanted to know who on the east coast was a good place to go, east coast of where? If you meant east coast of the US, there is Mike Rich Motorsports in Pa, Europa Macchina south of Harrisburg, Pa (where I take things beyond my skills and time), and Speed's south of Baltimore, Md. There was also Stan's down in Fl. but I do not know if he is still around.

As for the bearings, Guzzi's use plain bearings for the motor, a lack of oil pressure will kill them. But until you take the motor apart it is hard to say.
Good luck.

Guzzi Moto,

US East Coast, Mid-Atlantic region. Thanks for the tips you've already posted although I couldn't find Speed's online. I did find the others. Do you know anything about the shop that bought Raceco's inventory etc. when Manfred shut down? I believe they were/are from the NY/NJ area. Are they still around?

[pete roper]

A plain or hydrodynamic bearing either works or it doesn't.

For it to work both the bearing and journal it spins on must be perfectly round, the clearance between them must be correct and it must have a constant supply of oil at the correct pressure. If any of these parameters are not met the oil won't be able to wedge, you'll get boundary lubrication and the bearing will fail pretty much instantly.

Your job is to find out which of those criteria hasn't been met and fix it before puting the rebuilt motor back into service.

Pete

[GuzziMoto]

You said you wanted to know who on the east coast was a good place to go, east coast of where? If you meant east coast of the US, there is Mike Rich Motorsports in Pa, Europa Macchina south of Harrisburg, Pa (where I take things beyond my skills and time), and Speed's south of Baltimore, Md. There was also Stan's down in Fl. but I do not know if he is still around.

As for the bearings, Guzzi's use plain bearings for the motor, a lack of oil pressure will kill them. But until you take the motor apart it is hard to say.
Good luck.

Guzzi Moto,

US East Coast, Mid-Atlantic region. Thanks for the tips you've already posted although I couldn't find Speed's online. I did find the others. Do you know anything about the shop that bought Raceco's inventory etc. when Manfred shut down? I believe they were/are from the NY/NJ area. Are they still around?

http://www.speedscycle.com/
But I would lean towards Mike Rich or Europa Macchina personally. Although Speeds did do some porting on the wifes V11.
I do not know about RaceCo and where the inventory went.
Mike Rich sells some very nice pistons as well as push rods and con rods.
Europa Macchina is a vintage Porsche restoration and racing shop. They are a cool place to visit. My Daytona trans is going there along with a Bassa trans to have the guts swapped as Pete recommended a while back. I would do it but I find I do not have the time any more.