Check studs after tip over??

Todd at Guzzitech says
"I have been involved with several major engine failures over the last 10 years (mostly on 1100-2V motors), where piston/rings/cylinder destroy themselves due to cylinder studs being bent from everything from parking lot tip-overs to moving falls. This drops tons of metal into the bottom end and trashes the motor. Yes it can be rebuilt, but easier to replace the motor in this instance.
I'm not posting this to scare anyone, but it is worth the time to inspect everything from even the most minor falls; Pull and check the studs as a minimum, and on the 8V motors, valve gear since the valve covers are bolted to them. Most of the time you will likely be OK, but it has shown to be prohibitively costly if things go south."

Is this true? I dropped my GRiSO about a month ago, a small scuff to the valve cover and the end cap on the exhaust. Got it picked up at went on a ride, been riding it since with no
indication of any problems. I replaced the valve cover and everything looks fine. Also the valve cover bolts are undamaged, no bending. I would expect them to show damage since they are much thinner than studs.

Is this reality or an invitation to spend a bunch of money on shop time?  No one else seems to advance this theory.

I read that too. Kinda had me worried. A harder hit or would scare me more but I hope a simple tip over wouldn't do that.

Was standing beside mine putting my skid-lid on when it rolled off the kick stand. Broke turn signal lens and clutch lever, plus 2 little stone chips in the valve cover.

Those engine guards he sells might get on my bike sooner than later!

Its like riding a Faberge egg!!

I've never heard such a bunch of arrant piffle but seeing it's source I'm not surprised.

I will look for tons of metal when I change my oil. So far its not sounding like an engine eating itself...

If you were to hit something hard enough to bend studs not only would you shatter fins and the like but the gaskets would be severely compromised and would leak. There is also the fact the barrel has a sodding great spigot on the bottom that is a sliding fit into the crankcase, you'd have to shear that off to get sufficient movement to bend studs. If that happened the connecting rod would also be bent. See where we are going here?

Of you crash and gouge a hole in a rocker cover there is a very good chance that the motor will ingest some dirt or gravel. Obviously you don't want that in there so you can either strip the motor and clean everything or, and this depends on how much shite has got in of course, drop the sump off and flush out the oil return galleries with a heap of kero. If dirt has got into the pushrod tubes or cambox then you obviously have to go in further.

On the 8V's the rocker covers bolt to the rocker carrier and cambox. Yes, with a big enough hit you will damage the mounting holes and then it gets expensive but how a crash would damage pistons and rings is beyond me.

I think the reason why he's seen 'Multiple Failures' probably has a lot more to do with not having a fucking clue than any inadequacy of the product.

Pete

I've gone down 8..or is it 9 times?

My bottom end must be filled with megatons of metal! Oh noes!
(Rends garments in anguish)

What fate, my beloved GRiSO? Doomed to destruction by imaginary leavings from the non existent results of a fall! O heart! O fate!

Mine's been on her side more times than I am willing to admit. At least now I know why she is so heavy - all that megatons of metal sitting in the sump. Lord help us!

So.... guessing the general consensus is this throry is B.S?

Ya think?

I volunteer to sacrifice my GRiSO by riding it. I will check for chunks of metal when I change my oil.

Anything is possible, I've seen in line four cylinders with a bent crankshaft from an accident ................. but half the crankcase was missing.

As Pete suggested, some numpty didn't clean all the shite out of the head from a broken tappet cover.
Gotta blame something else ..........

I say that here's a guy that lost the perfect opportunity to shut the fuck up!
Wouldn't let him wash my bike... lol

Ooh Lordy,
If the so called guru has to rebuild a 1100 2V motor after it falls over how the hell do us mere mortals who have old guzzis (Mk4 lemans) survive which has been down the road a time or two, thats right you pick it up replace broken spark plugs (always carry spares) check bike over and jump back on the horse so to speak and ride into the sunset. And when I recently honed the bores and replaced rings and redid the valve guides I saw no such evidence of broken studs etc, one would assume that if my old guzzi can survive a trip or two down the road that the more modern guzzis would survive as well considering they are build as solid as a brick shithouse, mmmmm one does wonder

If you want 'Fragile' look to a V11, especially an early 'Short frame' model. Drop one of them, even at walking pace, and there is a very good chance you'll smash the timing chest at the point where the front downtubes bolt to it. The spine of the spineframes isn't as rigid as it might be, (I always thought a round tube would of been stronger than the rectangular one they went for.). It's fine taking stresses as it is designed to in service, (Although they do get to feel a bit 'Willowy' if you really push them.) but drop it and you're in deep shit.

In comparison Grisos crash really well! And where the fuck would 'Tons of metal' appear from in the sump? Does it get there by magic? Teleportation? Is there a wormhole in the space time continuum installed in every crankcase through which metal can be squeezed when the engine is on its side? Actually that's the most likely. Perhaps it would explain where the oil went on the 1400! It just worked in reverse!

Black holes, I Say, black holes. Oh and dark matter...

It's just another global warming conspiracy.

I guess GRiSO is keeping up with the Universe...which is expanding.

Oh my, I need to reach out to GT right away! I hope he can help me....... O wait, I am banned from his website, I cant That has to be one of the dumbest things I've heard. A major crash perhaps, with exterior damage, but a simple drop? mee thinks sumbuddy is looking for customers. Surprised there wasn't an 'ad' or 'offer' to buy engine guards to help prevent this. Profiteering shill.....

All his lickspittles will be queuing up to bend the knee, offering their hard-earned, as all good brainwashed supplicants should.

Excerpt from Todds post...

"Crash-bars are cheap insurance IMO, and I run them on all of my bikes that can easily accept them.
All said, my first Guzzi had been down a few times (minimal impact to the valve covers only), and it made it 265k miles. The motor was still running great when I pulled it out to build it into GTM-01.5."

Whew! Glad to hear that my engine should be OK. I was hit by a car last month - Threw me 10 feet but I'm OK and so is the GRiSO save for some scuffs and a broken front fender. I was stopped at a light BTW and the impact was below 10mph.

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P.S. anyone know where to get a 2011 black fender? My "dealer" says they're no longer stocked by Piaggio. I've looked in all the usual used parts places.

Holy-oh-fuck, WC! That looks like it could've been a whole lot worse. Glad you weren't hurt and hope the GRiSO will be better soon.

Pete (Street)

Wet Coaster wrote:

P.S. anyone know where to get a 2011 black fender? My "dealer" says they're no longer stocked by Piaggio. I've looked in all the usual used parts places.

Well, that looks like an earlier model than 2011 -- a 2007 or so GRiSO 1100, maybe. In any event, a black (front) mud guard is listed as available at af1racing. Search there for part number gu0643430000BM .  (The part number has changed from the one in the original parts list, it seems.)

You won't like the price, I think. $347.85.  

How about some Bondo instead?

Moto

For less than that you can get a piece of carbon fibre tosspottery like I've got on mine!