Scots word of the day - "Scunnered"

Pronounced Scunert - The feeling that well up inside you when your GRiSO begins to make a screaming noise from clutch resulting in GRiSO requiring to have a new clutch fitted!

For sure it Scunnered your wallet......please tell us more ....Mine does screetch when cold and also has other clutch noises under normal town riding

Very early in the life of the 8V there was a tech bulletin about the thrust bearing. I don't know what exactly the issue was because I never encountered it but it was I believe something to do with premature failure. The solution suggested by the factory seemed at the time rather bizarre to me as it was the addition of a second thrust bearing on top of the original, there was also a *New* thrust cup but when I bought one to examine it turned out to be identical in every way to the one already installed! .

There were two things though that really stumped me though. Firstly adding a second bearing does absolutely nothing to reduce the load it operates under. Sure it means the bearings themselves will run at half speed but it won't alter the load one iota. The second thing was that a lot of noise was made about ensuring the correct clutch pushrod is used, (There are four different lengths.) but when adding the second bearing absolutely no mention is made of needing to change the pushrod length! That would imply that either the length isn't critical because there is sufficient travel in the slave piston to accomodate the added depth of the bearing or that the need for accurate checking of pushrod length is bollocks! You decide!

Anyway, it's worth checking the thrust bearing first before pulling the gearbox off. If it turns out to simply be the thrust bearing and it hasn't thrown frag through the tread input shaft bearing it might just be worth flinging n a couple of stacked bearings and seeing what happens. It might need new inner and outer thrust bodies too but sense will tell you when you look at the whole thing.

If it does indeed need a new clutch you at least have the benefit of getting the new 1400 unit which has a substantially lighter pull than the early units.

It is worth noting that the thrust bearing is only supposed to be loaded for short, almost momentary, periods. It's never a good idea on any vehicle to sit with the clutch in for extended periods of time. If you do get stuck in traffic it's much healthier to knock the bike into neutral and release the clutch at a standstill if you can. While the thrust bearing is lubricated by oil from the gearbox it's a bit hit or miss so treating it with a bit of kindness is always a good idea.

Pete

Hi Pete,

I'm told the bearing has gone and the pushrod too, fragments welded to the flywheel I think it was. Long and short it's a new clutch. I will pass on your comments to the mechanic doing the work. I do normally click into neutral when at a standstill but cant account for previous owner.

21,000 miles for a clutch has my wallet a bit pissed off!

Totalling the spend between the labour for the rollerisation, the main seal from the gearbox fail, the clutch and a few other minor common GRiSO problems, I do now regret not having thrown and extra couple of thousand onto what I paid for the GRiSO and I would have had a younger bike that had these issues ironed out..... live and learn eh!

Hopefully this will be an end to her major surgery sessions.

The saving grace is she is a thing of beauty and a joy to ride.

Angus.

Once the bearing has gone everything else goes to hell in a hand basket pretty quick. Why some bikes are so plagued with problems I don't know. Really, in all honesty, apart from the 'Elephant in the Corner' of flat tappets they are overall very reliable. Your bike seems to have run the full gamut of early 8V problems. Given your luck I'd replace the spacer gasket too just to have that base covered!

Until my first engine shat it's tappets my 2008 was essentially a turn-key proposition. No leaks, squeaks or failures! Just 80+ thousand km of pure fun.

Pete

PS. Do make sure they order that latest substitution part for the clutch assembly. There have been three versions of the clutch and the latest one is by far the best of the bunch. My bike had the original 'Super Heavy' unit, the motive unit I have in it now has the much better but still heavy mid period unit and the latest substitution which is the Cali 14 clutch is the best of the lot. We just stuck one in the bloke whose bike had been shaved aped by the flange-hammerer and he immediately commented on how much nicer it was than the early unit. Latest part# is 2A000107 retails for just under £300 from Teo. Could be a lot worse.

Thanks for info Pete - I'll probably be following Angus if mine ever gets worse than a few complaints at cold. Looks closer to 600 gbp though.

Scunnerd... Hehehe. You blokes don't realise the joys of GRiSO ownership carries with it the exquisite pleasure of BDSM. A dynamo hum of joys.

I've not had the clutch fail yet but looking forward to it. As an owner of an 'éarly' GRiSO I'm glad I've not had the problems of the 'sorted' grisos. With the swingarms falling off and the head core plugs failing. What? official factory fix is new heads?

No my latest joy is a result of looking after my bike. Putting a cover on it. Left hand plastichrome mirror fell off and the indicator stalks have all split. Gaffa for the latter and some nice sport 1100 mirrors for the former. They seem far stronger and better made.

paulbrice wrote:

Thanks for info Pete - I'll probably be following Angus if mine ever gets worse than a few complaints at cold. Looks closer to 600 gbp though.

Well don't buy it from the local importer if they're gouging you! As I said, the clutch RETAILS for just under £300 from TLM, even with postage and VAT that would be a very healthy saving if you're being asked to separate yourself from £600 locally for the same part.

Pete

You are right - TLM is around 350 gbp if they had it in stock. I used them for Rollers kit and lots other bits. Lots of others not so good pricing

I use them for most stuff simply because I don't have enough life left to waste comparing prices from five or six different sources and they give me a decent TD. Virtually anything from them is cheaper than buying local here and with most things if they haven't got stock it's usually possible to get it in a few days.

Thanks Guys,

I will keep you informed.

Pete, I have emailed the mechanic with your comments on which clutch to go for... as always thanks for you advise it's very much appreciated.

Cheers,

Angus.