1996 1100 Sport Transmission Whine

[MedicAndy]

I serviced and rode my "new to me" 96 Spot with 21k miles on the clock, today. I used Mobil 1 V-Tvinn for my engine, Red Line V-Tvinn Full Synthetic gear Oil for the transmission, and Moto Guzzi Final Drive Lube with a Moly additive. The bike rides great, has lots of torque, and everything seems to work as it should. I did noticed that the gear box / transmission noise is pretty loud when I shift from first into second gear, and all other gear shifts are pretty much quiet in comparison. I didn't notice this, but my neighbor told me that this bike was whining pretty loud. I then rode her again, and I did hear her whine every time I let her slow down via the engine by getting off the throttle, instead of slowing her down with the brakes.

I know that the 95 & 96 Spots had some issues with the soft gear metal / transmission, so I paid attention to what the gearbox fluid looked like when I drained it, and it was old and black, but there were no metal shavings in the oil or the drain bolt's magnet. I bought this bike sight unseen, so I asked the seller to drain and check the gearbox oil for metal shavings, which he said they did. The sales guy stated that their service department did not noticed any metal shavings when they serviced the gearbox.

I don't think that I can trust this sales guy, since the bike had damages after it was delivered to my home, which he told me it didn't have. The gearbox oil was old, so I know that they didn't service the gearbox, and if they did, then they may just removed the dirty, and possible metal slivers from the gearbox and oil, and then refilled it with used old oil.

Either way, I own the bike now, and I like to get everything fixed, if it needs fixing!

The gear changing noise doesn't bother me to much, since my other three 97's make gearbox noises too, and so does my 96 BMW R1100RS. But the whining noise concerns me a little more.

I'm going to ride this bike for maybe 500 miles and then change the gearbox oil again to see if I find any metal slivers then. Is there something else that I can do about the whining, or should I just ride this bike and hope that the gearbox won't blow up on me one day, or would it be wise to buy new gears and install those to eliminate any chance of the gearbox blowing up on me? I paid $1,5k for this bike, with brand new Michelin Pilots installed, so I'm ok with spending a couple of $$$ to get her right.

And advice is greatly appreciated!

Andy

 

[john zibell]

As you said, ride the 500 miles and check the gear oil. 5th gear wine is common, but not in the other gears. Your simplest solution may be to source a used gearbox (either earlier or later than 95/96) and have it ready if needed. Since you have several bikes it would fit it could be a good investment. Replacing individual gears can exceed the cost of a gearbox. On the replacement gearbox, or any you have apart I do recommend replacing the input and output bearing with metal cage bearings instead of the plastic cage.

 

[La Borgia]

I've a '95 carby Sport 1100. That whine is the sound of a transverse twin being used by a 5-speed tractor gearbox Just hook up a grader and redo your driveway! Ahahahaha I swapped bikes with an 848 for a run... & left my nappies on the Guz... The duke guy couldn't believe I'm able to (nearly) keep up on such an old girl. Unlike me, he ain't been flogged by an old prick on a mk 2 850!

 

[scott_m]

I tried to understand that post, but Google Translate doesn’t offer Australian as one of the languages it can translate into English.

 

[scott_m]

Those are two great looking bikes!

Ha! Look around. MedicAndy had like 9 of them at one time. There is a photo of them in his yard in every color with doubles of a few.

Found it!

Spine Registry & Pic Thread

The yellow passenger seat was re-leathered in yellow leather. I bought a rear fiberglass section which I am going to modify by removing the passenger seat and having a body shop fill in the open area with fiberglass. I will then paint this section to match one of my red bikes. This modified rear...

www.guzzitech.com

 

[Scott Williams]

I am sorry those are all great looking bikes.

 

[gyrorex]

I serviced and rode my "new to me" 96 Spot with 21k miles on the clock, today. I used Mobil 1 V-Tvinn for my engine, Red Line V-Tvinn Full Synthetic gear Oil for the transmission, and Moto Guzzi Final Drive Lube with a Moly additive. The bike rides great, has lots of torque, and everything seems to work as it should. I did noticed that the gear box / transmission noise is pretty loud when I shift from first into second gear, and all other gear shifts are pretty much quiet in comparison. I didn't notice this, but my neighbor told me that this bike was whining pretty loud. I then rode her again, and I did hear her whine every time I let her slow down via the engine by getting off the throttle, instead of slowing her down with the brakes.

I know that the 95 & 96 Spots had some issues with the soft gear metal / transmission, so I paid attention to what the gearbox fluid looked like when I drained it, and it was old and black, but there were no metal shavings in the oil or the drain bolt's magnet. I bought this bike sight unseen, so I asked the seller to drain and check the gearbox oil for metal shavings, which he said they did. The sales guy stated that their service department did not noticed any metal shavings when they serviced the gearbox.

I don't think that I can trust this sales guy, since the bike had damages after it was delivered to my home, which he told me it didn't have. The gearbox oil was old, so I know that they didn't service the gearbox, and if they did, then they may just removed the dirty, and possible metal slivers from the gearbox and oil, and then refilled it with used old oil.

Either way, I own the bike now, and I like to get everything fixed, if it needs fixing!

The gear changing noise doesn't bother me to much, since my other three 97's make gearbox noises too, and so does my 96 BMW R1100RS. But the whining noise concerns me a little more.

I'm going to ride this bike for maybe 500 miles and then change the gearbox oil again to see if I find any metal slivers then. Is there something else that I can do about the whining, or should I just ride this bike and hope that the gearbox won't blow up on me one day, or would it be wise to buy new gears and install those to eliminate any chance of the gearbox blowing up on me? I paid $1,5k for this bike, with brand new Michelin Pilots installed, so I'm ok with spending a couple of $$$ to get her right.

And advice is greatly appreciated!

Andy

View attachment 11508 View attachment 11509

Andy,
I think that the gear whine is normal in any of the gearboxes with the straight cut gears, which I believe the 1100 Sports come with. We ran an 850 LeMans back in the 70's with the factory close ratio, straight cut gears in some endurance races and it would whine in the lower gears under acceleration. The stock gearboxes all had helical gears to try and eliminate that noise. Hope that helps.
Rex

 

[gyrorex]

I serviced and rode my "new to me" 96 Spot with 21k miles on the clock, today. I used Mobil 1 V-Tvinn for my engine, Red Line V-Tvinn Full Synthetic gear Oil for the transmission, and Moto Guzzi Final Drive Lube with a Moly additive. The bike rides great, has lots of torque, and everything seems to work as it should. I did noticed that the gear box / transmission noise is pretty loud when I shift from first into second gear, and all other gear shifts are pretty much quiet in comparison. I didn't notice this, but my neighbor told me that this bike was whining pretty loud. I then rode her again, and I did hear her whine every time I let her slow down via the engine by getting off the throttle, instead of slowing her down with the brakes.

I know that the 95 & 96 Spots had some issues with the soft gear metal / transmission, so I paid attention to what the gearbox fluid looked like when I drained it, and it was old and black, but there were no metal shavings in the oil or the drain bolt's magnet. I bought this bike sight unseen, so I asked the seller to drain and check the gearbox oil for metal shavings, which he said they did. The sales guy stated that their service department did not noticed any metal shavings when they serviced the gearbox.

I don't think that I can trust this sales guy, since the bike had damages after it was delivered to my home, which he told me it didn't have. The gearbox oil was old, so I know that they didn't service the gearbox, and if they did, then they may just removed the dirty, and possible metal slivers from the gearbox and oil, and then refilled it with used old oil.

Either way, I own the bike now, and I like to get everything fixed, if it needs fixing!

The gear changing noise doesn't bother me to much, since my other three 97's make gearbox noises too, and so does my 96 BMW R1100RS. But the whining noise concerns me a little more.

I'm going to ride this bike for maybe 500 miles and then change the gearbox oil again to see if I find any metal slivers then. Is there something else that I can do about the whining, or should I just ride this bike and hope that the gearbox won't blow up on me one day, or would it be wise to buy new gears and install those to eliminate any chance of the gearbox blowing up on me? I paid $1,5k for this bike, with brand new Michelin Pilots installed, so I'm ok with spending a couple of $$$ to get her right.

And advice is greatly appreciated!

Andy

View attachment 11508 View attachment 11509

P.S. I will give you $2500 as is for that bike!! LOL!!

 

[MattyGuzzi]

It is time to service the rear drive and other parts. Check and lube u joints, etc. She has about 28k miles. If anyone can direct me to a good breakdown of this process, I'd appreciate it. Pic for interest.

 

[john zibell]

It is time to service the rear drive and other parts. Check and lube u joints, etc. She has about 28k miles. If anyone can direct me to a good breakdown of this process, I'd appreciate it. Pic for interest.

I'm not aware of any breakdown of this process. The rear drive is simply an oil change. You will need a grease gun for the drive shaft. It is easier to remove the rear drive and drive shaft to lube the two piece drive shaft. Be sure to mark the orientation of the shaft's two pieces as the universal joints need to be in the correct alignment.