Test File
Solving the water in the transmission problem on V11 Moto
Guzzis
A common problem with the V11 Sport/ Le Mans is water in the
transmission oil after riding in the rain. The most common solutions are not riding in the rain or
prying off the gearbox breather cap and running a long hose from the outlet up, under the tank/ seat
and down to the lower part of the bike.
While this works well it still lets the rear tire throw water
and road crud (sand, rocks, small animals, Harley parts, etc.) at the back of the bike. Sand
blasting the swing arm, frame cross tube, clutch slave cylinder and back of the transmission
(including the breather) struck me as a bad idea so I looked for another solution.
After looking at the design of the V11 swing arm and "hugger"
I realized that on most bikes I have seen the hugger continues down to the swing arm, on the
Guzzi it ends where the shock bolts to the swing arm upright. Since the swing arm upright made a
sort of template I figured even someone with my limited fiberglass skills could make a part that
would protect the gearbox and frame without detracting from the looks of the bike.
I started by cutting a piece of cardboard slightly larger than
the shape of the upright and held it in place over the upright to get the size and shape
very close but still slightly larger than the upright. The I got the cardboard damp and forced
it to form to the shape of the upright and swing arm (it is not quite flat) while drying. Once
I was happy with the size and shape (note the cardboard still needs to be slightly larger than
the final part) I mixed a small batch of resin and lightly coated the back (side facing the tire)
of the cardboard. Once it was dry I had a simple mold to make my part.
I used a type of 'glass called "E Glass", it is unusual in that it
has a mat side and a woven side. I used this for the simple reason that I had some left over from
a kayak repair. However, it turned out to be a good solution as the woven side looks (from a
distance) a bit like carbon fiber and a single layer made a very strong piece.
I would love to see one of the more talented folks out there make
a production version of this part, mine looks OK mostly because it is nearly invisible when the
bike is fully assembled.
This is the part after removing the cardboard and roughly
cutting to shape. Note the holes for cable ties:
Cut to shape, painted and in place (note classy cable tie
mounting ;-):
Updated version with more coverage. Still with cheesy cable
tie mounting, I'm working on that:
