CARC and swingarm service

I put an eyehook in the garage to hang the GRiSO from and have been doing research on swingarm maintenance for my new acquisition ('07 G11).

This report shows a Stelvio: [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

Did anyone do something similar for the GRiSO or is this close enough to be useful. DW

Hello DW
Thanks for this post, I like you have recently purchased a 07 G11, mine has 57,000ks on the clock.
From reading thru the posts I need to do this job sooner rather than later and was a bit apprehensive but with your post things are now a bit clearer even thou its a Stelvio.
Regards from down under in Tasmania.
Ciao

Mine has 8K and has obviously led a pampered life.  I am going to change the rear shock for one from a Stelvio so I thought I would do this for a little extra effort.

I drilled a hole through the main beam in the garage and put this in.  The bolt is rated at 550 lbs and the strap at 1,000 so should be good.

[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

Hi Guzziownr,

I done the same job on my G12 last winter and for the peace of mind it is well worth doing.

The link showing it been done on the Stelvio is a very good tutorial and the job is very similar on the GRiSO.

On the GRiSO I removed the foot rest supports and used trailer tie down straps hung from the ceiling joists in the Garage to lift the rear end off the ground. The brake line on the right side foot rest hanger does Not need to be disconnected,  just tie the hanger out of the way.
I clamped the front wheel in a wheel chock and attached the lifting straps to a strong point on the frame at either side at the rear.

And when you're in there make sure and grease the suspension linkage bearings. It makes it handy for torquing the swingarm if you have the special tool, if not you can tighten them by feel with a C wrench but you dont want to over tighten them!!

Mine weren't dry but at least its a job I wont have to return to for a while.
Take your time and good luck.

Thanks for the advice Cat I had the same experience.  Grease where it should be  It took all day due to interruptions but it was nice to clean and grease, locktite and never-seeze everything that needed it.

Two tools that not everybody has in the garage were the castle nut thingy available from Guzzitech and an XXL Hex for the axle. I recommend getting both before you start.

I made a pin out of an old bolt to help get the wheel back on.  Screw it in, put the wheel on put in three bolts and remove.  Not needed per se, but useful.

Going riding now to do suspension tuning and then a hot synch.  It still seems a little vibey.

The hot synch went well, synched at 4500 RPM as per Mr. Roper.  The '09 Stelvio shock is looking good.  I will adjust it softer as a trial but now it is firm with good road feel without sharp impacts or bottoming.  I weigh #225 with no gear so the stock shock was overmatched.

[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

Beefier spring and longer stroke of the Stelvio shock:

[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

Does going to the Stelvio shock give you more spring options?

dskustoms wrote:

Does going to the Stelvio shock give you more spring options?

Spring options on the GRiSO are limited by diameter.  The advantage of the Stelvio shock is a bit more stroke.  I like the higher ride height and the stock spring suits me as well as it is sized for the extra "baggage" of Stelvio owners.

Here is an old post I found very informative:

[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

Member Uzidzit says:  "Probably one of the masters of the sachs rear shock is Martin at TD,  It sounds like you are running quite a bit of sag at the rear.  One thing that is odd on the GRiSO is that the rear shock stroke is very short!  and the linkage is pretty high ratio  (not a really good combo for oil control)  The better solution for the front end is to not drop it, but to raise the back end it has the same effect and actually gains ground clearance.  

Now for the real trick,  If you have a penske built you can get it with a longer stroke.  I built mine from an old gsxr triple clicker I had.  I increased the shock len. 6mm (that is about .900" at the rear end), I did this not with ride ht. adjuster but by making the stroke of the shock about 34mm instead of 27mm.  the bump stop makes the wheel position in upper end of travel at the same place as it was stock, but I picked up ~1.00" of rear wheel travel and more piston stroke (really good for control) and having a real useable ~3.75 4.00" of travel is nice, you really only have about 2.2-2.5" of travel left with 38mm of sag in the rear. and the stock shock len.

There is another problem with the GRiSO (any carc bike really) and that is the shock well is very small in diameter.  Any spring with a rate above 800lbs /in is a problem.  the solution is to use 1093 series OHLINS springs they are true 57mm id through the full series, Hyperco the id grows with rate above 750lbs, and thus by the time you get to the correct rates for the Guzzi they rub, 84mm od is the magic number. a 971lb Ohlins is 83mm od, a 950lb hyperco is 87mm."

I made some videos:
[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]


Not in good quality (smartphone) and I removed my AC/DC garage background music due to YouTube copyright claims (!)
but I think my write-up below makes sense.

The Luigi who mounted my GRiSO (bought in 2011) made a good job => Grease on all connections!

...I don't personally think you need the castle nut tool as it's not a tight bolt...... nasty whistling noise your bikes making, even with the engine not running ....

I only had to hang mine up for engine removal. If you are just removing the swingarm, it can be done by supporting the bike with a lift from under the sump. (Also tie down the front forks for increased stability.) I removed the swingarm like this a couple of weeks ago, it was really easy.

My Very expensive swing-arm removal stand
A jack under the gearbox is dangerous.

[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

This is WRT "how's it hangin',"  

In the course of the recent Moto Grappa Tech Days extravaganza — especially the part where I managed to have my Norge perched precariously on the lift   — I wondered about best to do that “suspending” thing next time I did rear work or even changed out the rear wheel.

While not impossible, it became impracticable to install hooks in the ceiling of the Moto Grappa as I had at the GarageMahalo in Atlanta and guzziownr did up nawth.

Jim Barron at Rose Farm Classics happened to call just before my “guests” arrived for the "wrenching event" and said that maybe I should consider these:

Lift Gate 1

Lift Gate 2

The first looks especially useful to me, but would like to hear comments from those who see disadvantages for the tasks we need to do with our Mandello maidens. Even though not extravagantly expensive, #1 sure costs more than Kiwi_Roy's homebuilt model.

Must go; HRH, Perfect Pillion Polish Princess   , has announced that she might like a margarita.  I have learned to respond quickly to such hints.    

Bill

Kiwi_Roy wrote:

A jack under the gearbox is dangerous.

A jack would probably be dangerous, but what I used was something like this, which provides a flat and stable platform for the flat bottom of the sump to rest on. With this plus tie-downs on the front forks, the bike remained quite stable as I removed and replaced the swingarm. It would be fairly easy to tie up the rear subframe to the rafters as I had for engine removal, but there didn't seem to be any need.

[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

I use the same type lifting table under the sump.

Fair enough I used a hydraulic equivalent. I found it not very safe as it's almost at the point of tipping and I wasn't able to fix the front wheel down on the large slab of concrete in our underground garage.
That's when I came up with the lifting plates, 4 x 2 legs fixed to the Luigi hole that would stand on the front and back of your jack. Sitting on two legs about 20" apart it's very stable. Note: I have a slab of wood on top of the jack.
[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

The later version doesn't need a jack, it lifts the rear straight from the ground with little effort and allows access to the swing arm pivot.

I will making one of your lifting gizmos soonest. I like it.

The Mk 2 free standing version?
You could make the same thing in metal, I deliberately chose a material everyone has access to and the tools to work are cheap. If you follow the dimensions I gave fairly closely it should work but you might want to make it a fraction longer or shorter depending on how your suspension is adjusted,
[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] Dimensions, 1/2" pipe is 13/16" OD
I'm not sure what the equivalent pipe is in your part of the world, perhaps 3/4" conduit that used to be 3/4 OD
The ready rod can be any size available, there is no strain on it, just holds it together until the weight comes on.
The side plates are just standard 6 x 2 building lumber, I tried 3/4" ply but its not as rigid.
The 3" block is 2 short 4 x 2 screwed together.

Kiwi_Roy wrote:

The Mk 2 free standing version?

Yep. I will have to either reposition the foot peg slots, or maybe even remove the pegs from the rearsets when I need to use it.



[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

paulbrice wrote:

...I don't personally think you need the castle nut tool as it's not a tight bolt...... nasty whistling noise your bikes making, even with the engine not running ....

The funny thing is that YouTube now "thinks" that AC/DC is filtered out but you can still hear it.

Yes, just a 1" wood bit by the looks, including the peg makes it more stable I reckon, but make sure you allow for removing the swing-arm on the left side, you probably have to remove the peg if you're planning to do that.  The overall length from Luigi hole to the ground should be the same.

Is that your 1400?
Looks sweet

Kiwi_Roy wrote:

Yes, just a 1" wood bit by the looks, including the peg makes it more stable I reckon, but make sure you allow for removing the swing-arm on the left side, you probably have to remove the peg if you're planning to do that.  The overall length from Luigi hole to the ground should be the same.

Is that your 1400?
Looks sweet

Removing the pegs isn't a big deal. I may even use steel square section with a second brace over the seat for stability.

Yes, that's the 1400.

Steel would be way overkill, I started out with aluminium box section, but switched to wood
Originally I thought I might put a length of wood under the frame with ready rod to clamp it all together but its really not required. The half inch pipe is a sloppy fit into the wood but when the weight is applied its absolutely rock solid, I suspect the pipe bends a little which locks it all together, you cannot bend a 6 x 2, nice and light also.

I went with  2 x 6 so I could make a larger hole for access to the swing arm pivot, it also makes it more stable for and back when the foot peg is off.

Try a quick one out of 2 x 4 you will see what I mean. This will help with the final dimensions.

I've got some 25mm square steel tube lying about, so it means minimal purchase! I might go the wood first, however.

[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

or you could spend $20 at Bunnings for a garden sleeper and some corner brackets...