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General Discussion / Re: Travels with Ernie: V7 850 USA coast-to-coast loop
« Last post by Dr. Enzo Toma on Today at 03:28:48 PM »I think my bike was built on a Friday! My first tour of the US with it in 2022 the steering bearings rusted out, then the beginning of this trip the final drive issues began.
Since returning from the trip I've had the bike into the local shop twice, and it's still there waiting on parts now. The first time they replaced the input shaft oil seal which was three weeks of waiting on the seal from Italy. When I got the bike back I put just over 100 miles on it to make sure it wasn't just residual oil coming out, but it was still leaking profusely so I brought it back in which they were disappointed to see. Last week I called and spoke with the mechanic who had done the oil seal replacement and he said he dug further into it this time and the gears are chewed up which he thinks caused the leak. Seems a bit like a chicken and egg scenario to me as with the leak the final drive was low on oil at points, which could have caused an issue or exacerbated it. They've ordered a whole new final drive as they weren't able to order just order the gears à la carte. I've got my fingers crossed that having the whole unit replaced will put this to bed and I'll be able to enjoy some worry free riding on my V7 as it's now had ongoing issues for more than half of the 21k miles I've put on it. I asked what the mechanic thought the cause was and he was honest to say he didn't know, but he would highly recommend servicing the final drive every engine oil change or every other engine oil change as a precautionary measure. I'll get the damaged parts back after it's repaired and put them on my altar of offerings to the God of speed along with the steering bearings, but doubt there will be an obvious tell from the parts. The bike's been serviced by MG shops (hard to find while touring!) within 1,000 miles of each recommended service interval, so it doesn't seem like the cause of this could be attributed to my negligence, just bad luck and poor quality assurance.
A pie run up to Estes Park to put some miles on it after having the input shaft oil seal replaced
Stopped to chat with the neighbors
After it was clear the final drive was still leaking oil I cleaned the oil off at home and then rode it the 8 miles or so to the local dealership, and this was what it looked like when I dropped it off.
Since returning from the trip I've had the bike into the local shop twice, and it's still there waiting on parts now. The first time they replaced the input shaft oil seal which was three weeks of waiting on the seal from Italy. When I got the bike back I put just over 100 miles on it to make sure it wasn't just residual oil coming out, but it was still leaking profusely so I brought it back in which they were disappointed to see. Last week I called and spoke with the mechanic who had done the oil seal replacement and he said he dug further into it this time and the gears are chewed up which he thinks caused the leak. Seems a bit like a chicken and egg scenario to me as with the leak the final drive was low on oil at points, which could have caused an issue or exacerbated it. They've ordered a whole new final drive as they weren't able to order just order the gears à la carte. I've got my fingers crossed that having the whole unit replaced will put this to bed and I'll be able to enjoy some worry free riding on my V7 as it's now had ongoing issues for more than half of the 21k miles I've put on it. I asked what the mechanic thought the cause was and he was honest to say he didn't know, but he would highly recommend servicing the final drive every engine oil change or every other engine oil change as a precautionary measure. I'll get the damaged parts back after it's repaired and put them on my altar of offerings to the God of speed along with the steering bearings, but doubt there will be an obvious tell from the parts. The bike's been serviced by MG shops (hard to find while touring!) within 1,000 miles of each recommended service interval, so it doesn't seem like the cause of this could be attributed to my negligence, just bad luck and poor quality assurance.
A pie run up to Estes Park to put some miles on it after having the input shaft oil seal replaced
Stopped to chat with the neighbors
After it was clear the final drive was still leaking oil I cleaned the oil off at home and then rode it the 8 miles or so to the local dealership, and this was what it looked like when I dropped it off.
