Ease of maintenance, or comfort?

[faffi]

After four hours of sleep, my brain was partly satisfied, and as I drifted in and out of a doze-like sleep, I discovered that comfort on the moped is more important than serviceability. After all, we spend a lot more time on the road than in the workshop, no?

But today I did some maintenance on the Roamer, and I wonder if serviceability isn't quite important, after all. On the whole, the Guzzi is OK, but a lot could have been made easier. Like taking the rear wheel off and on. Or changing the rear brake fluid. Or filling the final drive with fresh oil. Or draining the gearbox oil. Or getting to the battery. Or changing the plugs and adjusting the valves. Especially for such primitive mechanical bike that are also is a long way from being comfy.

To take the rear wheel off, the mufflers have to be removed. To take the mufflers off, the heating covers have to be removed. And to get the wheel out, you either have to make a hole in the floor or put a case at least two inches thick under the center stand. Which doesn't come stock, and if you miss that you will need something else to hoist the rear in the air. Unless you want to take off the rear fender, of course, but after doing it once I won't do it again. And when the wheel is to be put back on, you have to glue the rubber dampers with silicone or something, otherwise they will fall out before the wheel is put on.

Changing the rear brake fluid is almost impossible without a helper or a system that is completely tight and does not let air in while pumping fluid through the system. If you have to bleed, it's nice (not!) that the air nipple is at the very bottom of the caliper...

To fill the final drive unit with fresh oil, you need a syringe with a thin hose, preferably, since the filling hole is pointing straight back and is completely horizontal.

When the gearbox is to be drained, you have to unscrew one of the exhaust heat covers and bolt off the footrest bracket including the entire brake system to make room. If you want to use a socket instead of a wrench, the exhaust system must be removed completely.

To get to the battery, the side cover must be removed, and it is held in place with 3 screws. Not the end of the world, but unnecessary.

To change spark plugs and/or adjust valves, you must first remove 6 small bolts on each cylinder, as these hold in place their own unnecessary mostly decorative cover.

Not one of these issues exist on a Yamaha big block (if one is allowed to say that about engines ranging from 700 to 1100 cc), which is also a shaft drive, air cooled V-twin. There is only one thing standing in the way, and that is the fuel tank that must come off to adjust the valves. Lift off the quick-release seat, remove a clip, undo the hoses for fuel and vacuum and lift it off. And if you own a Honda CX500, you do not even have to remove the tank. So much for Japanese complexity on simple bikes 

In fact, my Guzzi reminds me of my old Volvos with OHV-engines. Simple designs made complicated because the designer likely never held a wrench in his life. For example, the water pipe leading water to the heater matrix went directly over the exhaust manifold nuts, requringing a full coolant drain and new seals if the exhaust manifold needed to come off or just be re-torqued. And the heater matrix regulator sat inside the car, meaning if it leaked the carpet would get wet and smell funny. That sort of thing. Primitive design made stupic.

Anyway, it feels good to have shared this, I feel much better

[Tkelly]

Congratulations on finishing the projects ,I will be trying to get someone to work on mine,thanks for the warnings.

[SIR REAL ED]

An excellent rant!!!

Reminds me of the joys of working on almost any farm tractor built from the 1920's to 1950's.  Totally different design intents.

"Farmer Brown wants a tractor to use, not that needs to be fixed!"

Spark plugs, points and condensers, batteries, fan belts, engine oil, engine coolant, air filters, etc.  The lifespan of all these items were measured in not months or years, but decades!

[SIR REAL ED]

....

To get to the battery, the side cover must be removed, and it is held in place with 3 screws. Not the end of the world, but unnecessary.

To change spark plugs and/or adjust valves, you must first remove 6 small bolts on each cylinder, as these hold in place their own unnecessary mostly decorative cover.

....
Anyway, it feels good to have shared this, I feel much better

*Can you use a magnet to hold the side cover in place?  Toss those 3 screws.  Quick gain of at least 1/2 horsepower....

Throw away the decorative cylinder head covers.  The bike will run cooler, last longer and be faster without them.

Get creative!!

[Antietam Classic Cycle]

None of that is an issue on Loopframe Guzzis... 

[faffi]

*Can you use a magnet to hold the side cover in place?  Toss those 3 screws.  Quick gain of at least 1/2 horsepower....

Throw away the decorative cylinder head covers.  The bike will run cooler, last longer and be faster without them.

Get creative!!

 

Undoing 3 screws is not the end of the world, and I can see the benefit versus platic pins and rubber grommets used on most bikes. Pins that break off, of course. But I remember me and my brother getting annoyed by having to undo two seat bolts to get to the battery on the Honda CB1100F's we owned circa 1990, meaning we were not used to that kind of stuff making life hard for us. After all, what's wrong with a hinged seat 

[turboguzzi]

mmm.... i hear you, but have you ever heard of autobleeders? if not, buy one 

if you have asked here BEFORE changing the fluid, we'd have told you!

[faffi]

I need to invest in a better bleeder - the ones I have tried fail to seal 100% around the bleed nipple, causing fluid to leak and air to enter. Never tried one that works on compressed air, though, only a container with a hose and one-way valve.

[turboguzzi]

no, not a "bleeder" tool,

menat an autobleeder nipple, also called speedbleeder.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/257032430168?_skw=GOODRIDGE%2C+SPEED+BLEEDER+1%2F4+X+28&itmmeta=01KPKH5HAP94DKABPT3AK65PKS&hash=item3bd853a258:g:vccAAeSwASBpw6JN&itmprp=enc%3AAQALAAABAGfYFPkwiKCW4ZNSs2u11xDljYLqY1nvwsESvnUr9ulEtiD2P7VUjQMaTDPuTmu2YmWc0DclGG7QWktAja%2B%2FN6LMIgA48sZz1PARjG%2B7pxR4blsBRNbP%2Bcl8oinvjw4fAPWH8Sv27MxvnvNYhkhbmh89GUdzvRcAudWB%2F6wmdvncMmn0dGM8PeOVIuDQDknCEeheo6TUNMNV1kloUNl6fGBvvQnDbOgYh2Da5Szya8%2BtnZ2y7MZfwnXJTbmAeFW06%2Flur93ZnqIZm2CjZ82MskqvC92CGX2fZZT%2FRo2Ruqz%2FGRXez4r5Y99JX5HBAFqZRV1WkCChD2gzdsbLt84Xxmc%3D%7Ctkp%3ABk9SR7qVlvG0Zw

if you wan to get even fancier,

https://www.louis-moto.it/it/stahlbus-vite-per-spurgo-freni-con-valvola-di-non-ritorno-10002856

there are also aliexpress ones....

[faffi]

Cool - thanks

[SIR REAL ED]

if you wan to get even fancier,

https://www.louis-moto.it/it/stahlbus-vite-per-spurgo-freni-con-valvola-di-non-ritorno-10002856

there are also aliexpress ones....

Those cost more than the Turbo Laser Plutonium Nuclear Particle accelerator spark plugs!!!