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Carked CARC

Brian

Before measuring the play, I'd have guessed it at about 1mm - 0.040" but it proved to be only 0.016". If you really do have 2mm play I can't see why your dealer and Guzzi won't fix it for you urgently. Maybe it would help to write a letter setting out your complaint and the resposne already received, and warn that if you crash as a result you will sue. With 2mm play I'd park the bike because catastrophic failure could be imminent.

Good luck.
 
Hmmm I agree, but strange thing is Brian that you say the seal is still holding up, that's one good seal you've got to hold up against that much freeplay - I'm amazed.. that's of course assuming you have ridden with it like that.

By way of comparison wobbled my new one yesterday, and there is absolutely none nada nothink free play that can be felt by wobbling the wheel, which was definitely not the case prior to it carking it, at the time I just thought that a little bit was normal!
 
Mike

Even 2mm play at the rim wouldn't amount to much at the seal. In my case the seal was fine, but it was replaced along with the bearings. Not my thing to re-use seals, ever.

The dealer who fitted parts under recall to my V11 Sport's gearbox re-used the output shaft seal. Seepage followed so then he had to replace it. About a two hour job. Silly boy.
 
Hmmmmmm yeah thinking about Pythagoras I now realise that it would only be a poofteenth of movement at the seal - good point!
 
One can probably see a movement of less than half a mm (as in Graham's case) too.

Brian, just check with a regular ruler touching the rim. If you get a repeatable measure in the range you estimate, you probably don't need a dial gauge and play is probably too excessive.
(btw, a slide rule with a nonius would be sufficient too, no??)
 
In the UK we have an annual safety check for all vehicles over three years.
i took it to my local tester for his opinion. He said that though it wasn't bad enough to fail if it were presented for a test, he would issue an official "advisary notice", which means that there is something not right, which could develop into a safety issue, so care should be taken to keep an eye on it. The dealer said it wasn't bad enough to bother about, but persuaded him to take it to his local tester, who then said the same as my tester.
At that point the dealer did start on the warranty claim.

I am only riding the bike short distances, and checking the seal regularly.
I do have a couple of vernier guages, but maybe I will try to get hold of a dial guage and do a proper measurement. It is possible that it seems worse than it actually is. But I can clearly see the movement,and hear a clonk as I lift the wheel. The play is only in the vertical plane, none horizontally, and yes I did remove the calliper first.:)
 
Well, some progress to report.
Managed to contact Guzzi UK direct, and after a reminder email a week later, in which I also mentioned that I was logging these events on various Guzzi internet forums, I got a quick reply.
Had an email from the head of after sales in the UK this morning.
It appears that all customer services for the UK are solely dealt with in Italy, the UK people only get to hear of issues if Italy specifically tell them, or a dealer raises an issue.
So he is trying to get an answer out of Italy, and is hopeful that this will be soon.
Well it's been 4 months so far, so what do a few more weeks matter?

But he did give an undertaking that Guzzi UK will sort the bike out if Guzzi Italy do not.

He was also adamant that my CARC did NOT fall within the recall range. Their serial numbers must run in random order I suppose.
 
Not that your story is funny, but that last remark reminds me of an old joke...

A carpenter is building a fence from wooden boards, hammering away with nails coming from a pouch. Except that there are nails he throws away, after inspection, seemingly at random. A puzzled foreman asks him if they got a bad run of nails, so many he sees being discarded that seem perfectly fine to him.
No, answers the carpenter. It's just they have the head on the wrong end.
Well, counters the foreman, instead of throwing them away, you could use them on the other side, then!
 
reading this topic is starting to make me paraniod about my own CARC failing. Think I'll just pop out and check it again.
 
What, you haven't yet installed some system with mirrors or video surveillance to Watch While You Ride (TM)? :silly:
 
Brian

Progress at last! Keep at em mate.

It could very well be that the version of the recall document that is floating around is not the same as the "official" one I suppose, given that JSG said the same thing about mine.
 
Officially my bike falls outside the recall range and shows no signs of problems (I hope I haven't jinxed myself).

Is worth having a thread here somewhere, where those who have had their problem recognised by MG as within the recall range, listing their VIN numbers (in list form) so that the rest of us will know if we are within, close to, or miles away from the problem carcs?

Then we would have some idea if we were hearing things, or have reason for concern.

I don't know if posting VIN numbers is a security threat to motor vehicle in any way, if it is forget what I said.


just a thought,


Robert
 
Just a reminder here that the bearing which failed on my bike was in a CARC already replaced under recall. The bearings in the original CARC did not fail.

IMHO the only way to have absolute confidence in a (hopefully only older) CARC is to bite the bullet and pay to have quality bearings fitted.

If that's too far to go, then at least check regularly for:
Any sign of oil seepage past the wheel-side oilseal.
Any tangible play in the CARC axleshaft bearings. On a single-sided sided swinging arm bike the axle has to act in cantilever so must be extremely well supported, with no tangible play.
Any drop in CARC oil level. If the level drops with no external evidence then oil could be seeping forward into the swinging arm, which is a dry unit. The way to check the oil level is with the bike on the centrestand (or held upright for those unfortunate enough to lack a centrestand) and after standing overnight. That allows time for oil "in use" to settle and show the real level. Just below the filler hole thread is perfect.

I check those things frequently even though I have had new axleshaft bearings and seal fitted.
 
Well, just heard from Guzzi UK. They now want the dealer to put in a warranty claim to Italy for bearing and seal. This is in addition to the claim put in by the dealer back in March for the same thing, but which was refused. Going full circle perhaps?
Dealer wants bike in so that the CARC can be stripped, as Guzzi require a photo of said dodgy bearing before they will continue with the claim. So what it this photo going to show them I hear you ask? I certainly don't know.

I have heard a few other stories of owners getting the runaround on warranty claims in the UK, all down to Guzzi Italy not understanding the concept of Customer Care.
 
Hi All, have been following the thread with interest....B)

Brian, your right to be suspicious of MG and co. I guess.....they may want a photo specifically showing the make of the bearing as they must be sick of the sight of them....:laugh:

Just a thought.

Eric B)
 
Brian

A photo is a standard requirement here in Oz, so looks like it's the same for you blokes, nothing untoward there - just procedure.

Just quietly sounds to me as though something dodgy went on the 1st bloke and "his" warranty claim, and anyway I am sure that if the dealer makes the right noises on your behalf it makes a difference - it's only human nature. Hopefully the one is making such noises and they do seem to have gotten further down the track for you than anyone else - stick with them I say!
 
Same dealer, same person both times.

The difference being that the head of After Sales, Piaggio UK has also got involved so this might oil the system a little.
 
So, what make is the failed bearing? Please tell me it's the crappy Polish made FEIT ones that are the subject of recall, not the supposedly much better German made SKG (I think) or F.A.G. (I didn't make this up, I swear) ones. In some cases teh FEIT's have gotten in to bikes outside the recall range, & as far as I know eventually replaced under warranty when that happened.
 
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