Is there any particular problem area with these? As I say, I’m thinking, so might not happen, but, nice to know what to watch out for.
This thread and others linked from it might be of interest:http://www.motoguzziclub.co.uk/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=17430And the COG website and forum of course for all things Centauro:http://www.centauro-owners.com/
guzzijack2013-05-11 10:40:27
Entertaining ( not always in a nice way)
challenging mechanics and handling
Very much a marmite bike
I loved mine Just over 50% of the time!!
Still don’t know if I regret selling it or not
Bike does have a power commander fitted, owner’s e mailed me.
I really want one as well, what puts me off is i need a daily ride and I’m not sure a centauro can cope without the oil pump mods, and that ain’t cheap…the other issue is spares availability for the heads and such…still, the best looking motor in any bike, ever…
Oil pump mods! ? Pray tell me more.Just looked at Gutsibits, they do an upgraded one for £160.http://www.gutsibits.co.uk/pr/TheShop/index.php?f=e&Shnew=&Model=5&ModelName=Daytona+(all)%2C+Centauro%2C+MGS-01&Cat=ENA&CatName=Engines&Sort=PriceDesc1150GS2013-05-11 19:30:53
[QUOTE=1150GS]Just looked at Gutsibits, they do an upgraded one for £160.[/QUOTE]Difficult to see how that ‘upgraded’ oil pump can possibly fit all the models shown against it:"750S, S3, V7 Sport,
850/1000 ALL Models, Centauro, Daytona ALL, V11 Sport ALL, 1100 Sport
ALL, Cali 1100, Cali EV, Cali Stone, Cali Jackal, Quota 1100"Seeing as how the Centauro/Daytona factory oil pump with a tapered shaft and taking a gear drive is unique to those models, it might an error on the part of Gutsibits.Some Centauro/Daytona oil pumps, (or rather the alloy gear drive), can give problems, others don’t. Remedies include fitting a steel gear - I have - or a complete upgrade pump etc. available from Germany, Das Mototec, or Joe Caruso does the pump and a complete gearset.If you do a search on the COG forum under ‘oil pump’ it will throw up some threads on the subject.
guzzijack2013-05-11 20:31:51
Hmm, put me off this bike!. Taken from the Centauro Owners clubThe Caruso gears and Däs oil pump are direct
replacements for the originals, although the labor hours for disassembly
and reassembly make replacement a non-trivial job.
The parts are now installed in my engine. I’ve only ridden a few miles
with them, but so far everything seems great: very quiet in operation
and the bike is running well.
Interestingly, the OEM pump and gears removed from my 18,000 mile engine
looked just fine… Tight clearances in the pump and no visible issues
with the aluminum gears. However, given that the severity of the
problems that these parts can give, I’m very happy to have steel gears
and the upgraded pump in the engine. The aluminum oil pump gears do
seem to break eventually. Some theorize that the gear failures are
caused by the shaft misalignment that comes with a worn pump.
The old cam belts also looked fine - they were last replaced 12 years
ago and looked new when replaced. I have four bikes with belt driven
cams so their calendar life interests me a lot.
PS Edit: further inspection showed wear on the original aluminum timing
gear teeth, so I think it was a good thing to replace both aluminum
gears.
1150GS2013-05-12 09:04:28
As I said before, not all give problems.
Seeds of doubt were sown and harvested. Spending £3,000 and having insecurities from the outset are not good for me.Read the bottom bit of his post.
Yeah, I read that when it was posted and it’s the timing gear he referred to, which AFAIK has not been an issue on the Hi-cam engine.I’ve changed out two ally oil pump gears for steel ones on different bikes myself and inspected the oil pumps for wear at the same time. Both gears were pristine and the pumps exhibited no excessive play in the critical areas.The big plus point in highlighting this kind of issue and believing it is going to happen to every Centauro/Daytona produced, is that it no doubt scares people off from buying a bike with one of Guzzi’s all time great engines - and possibly keeps the prices artificially low as well. All the better for some of us!
guzzijack2013-05-12 16:09:11
Interesting thread this. Guzzijack, I have a 93 Daytona, which I bought without riding, had I done so, I probably wouldnt have bought it !
However, I am glad I did, the motor is as you say, I think its superb. The suspension er, not so.
Its a rewarding bike to ride, in the 12,000 km of my ownership we have replaced the engine oil temperature sensor, 12 quid from potteries diesel, and both uj’s, at 46 quid plus vat each (exposed uj’s gnash gnash !)
+1Steve