'17 Cali 1400 - leaky oil cooler fitting

[kballowe]

2017 California 1400, purchased this spring.  Took it back to the dealer for the initial service.
3,500 miles now.
.
.

.
.
Washed the bike, and did a light detail.  Found nothing unusual then. Toward the end of the day, and  couple hundred miles later, was getting a faint motor oil smell.   A quick inspection revealed a bit of oil seepage from the oil cooler.

Here's a muffler section, all properly oiled and rust-proofed.
.
.

.
.
The offending fitting
.
.


.
.
I was close to home, so I got a ride and then put the bike on a trailer.

My luck hasn't been all that great lately, and the Guzzi Dealer is only an hour away - so they're getting it back, for a bit of warranty work.
.
.
.
In the mean time, there were places to be, and BBQ to be had.
And this thing was parked in the way.
 
.
.

.
.
 

[guzzisteve]

There are 2 green orings inside, thats all.

[Bud]

     I had an exhaust manifold bolt loosen on my 14 Touring randomly at 12 kmi or so. I couldn't figure it out at first and was a couple of hundred miles from home. Bike ran fine and noise went from a squeak when it started to a loud clapping noise that sounded internal by the time I got home. Also noticed an oil leak under the bike coming from the oil filter area at about 13 kmi. Turns out one of the bolts holding the filter assembly to the oil pan came loose. Moto Guzzi shakedown!

[et18]

Yeah, I had the same thing on my 2014 Touring last spring.  I just tightened it about 1/4 turn and no problems since then. 

[kballowe]

.
The good news is that there was BBQ.

I had to make a "test" plate - just to make sure - because that slab of ribs looked a bit dry.
It was nice and juicy.   

 
.
.
.

[kballowe]

So, I had called the dealer and they said to please bring it in so they could have a look-see.

And yes, a little tightening of the fitting resolved the issue.  They cleaned it up real nice, too.

They said that they were very surprised that it was leaking.

200+ miles later, still dry.

zoom zoom

[lucian]

Discovered this leak on my 14 custom just before a trip to nova Scotia. Had to pull the tank and tighten the banjo bolt on cooling line from cooler to left cyl. head.  Nothing to panic about , just need to keep an eye out on these bikes before striking off to parts unknown. 

[kballowe]

I remember many, many, years ago when it seemed like virtually everything seeped oil somewhere.
We just let it seep (and kept a watch on the oil level)

 

[rodekyll]

My 1200 2v engine began leaking a little.  Then a little more.  I traced it to a leaky oil pressure sender.

[John A]

In my experience, there are usually small things like that leak showing up until you get a few hundred hours on a new machine. its important to keep an eye on stuff and fix it before it causes a bigger problem. Airplanes are a good example of that and after a while everything is fixed for a trouble free machine. Nice bike!

[lucian]

The other thing is that these are very vibratory lumps at idle,no surprise that things rattle loose.  Add to that repeated heating and cooling cycles and fasteners definitely need to be checked at the regular  service intervals.  My oil line loosened after 20,000 miles, just because. It's my guess that a lot of undesirable things will happen over time to these 1400's because of the stupid engineered lumpy idle.
Hopefully the code guru's will come up with a fix for it someday.
If the 14 motor could behave as well below 3,000 rev's as it does above ,the world would be a better place for those of us who ride one.

[Ncdan]

While in the subject of the 1400 oil coolers, has anyone had the fan to actually come on and can you actually hear it when it does? I don't think mine has ever came on that I'm aware of.

[kballowe]

..................The other thing is that these are very vibratory lumps at idle,no surprise that things rattle loose.  ............

Our CalVin vibrated the tail light bracket in half.  Have had cracks in fenders on some of our older bikes.

[Zoom Zoom]

While in the subject of the 1400 oil coolers, has anyone had the fan to actually come on and can you actually hear it when it does? I don't think mine has ever came on that I'm aware of.

Yes, I was stuck in stop and go traffic in Pittsburgh last summer. 4 lanes going nowhere due to one bridge being closed. Move a car length, stop, repeat. I didn't hear the fan kick in, but I felt it on my leg. It was extracting a huge amount of heat. This is the only time I'm aware of that it has kicked on. Under the circumstances, I'm glad it did, but my leg was on fire.

John Henry

[Chuck in Indiana]

In my experience, there are usually small things like that leak showing up until you get a few hundred hours on a new machine. its important to keep an eye on stuff and fix it before it causes a bigger problem. Airplanes are a good example of that and after a while everything is fixed for a trouble free machine. Nice bike!

This.
I did an "annual inspection" on the new to me G5 and found several things that were going to cause an issue sooner or later. I'd confidently ride it anywhere now. It took a full day, though, and  if you are a "Don't fix nothin that ain't broke" kind of person..  something will eventually break.
Guzzis, especially older ones, are *machines* rather than appliances, They never let you forget that going down the road, and that is the main attraction to me.

[mjptexas]

While in the subject of the 1400 oil coolers, has anyone had the fan to actually come on and can you actually hear it when it does? I don't think mine has ever came on that I'm aware of.

Mine comes on at regular intervals, as a lot of my riding is at 90+ temperatures.  Once I noticed that the fan was not coming on - found a small rock jammed in the fan - removed it and everything was back to normal.