Hello all.
Just done a plastigauge check on mains . They are well out of tolerance 0.050mm should be in the region of 0.016 mm. Max allowed 0.044 mm The crank journals are fine. However I have just priced up a set of 4 half shells from Guzzi bits. Please remember these are just nicely manufactured plain shells made by Federal Mogul. No they do not cross reference to any other vehicle. Here is the bummer. TOTAL PRICE-wait for it £412.80p! 
Currently I am doing nut and bolt rebuild nothing fancy just to make clean and mechanically sound. After fitting new timing chain, valve guides, valves seat re cutting and other odds and sods just for the engine parts alone,the bill could be £900+. It looks like this will not be an economic proposition 
unless anybody has other ideas.Â
Wow, how many miles has this motor done? do you have any service history? I’m expecting to do 100k miles on the original bottom end before throwing mine away.
Approx 47000 miles. Think about it one half shell cost over £100. By the way not even looked at the big ends yet!
I’m a bit bemused I’ve just looked up V50 II shells there, front £33 rear £48, I agree the others are stupid money!
Put the old ones back and use thicker oil?
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Your’e right,
The front ones for the pair are £66 however the rear are no longer avaliableÂ
Sorry didn’t notice. Bum
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i scrapped my v35 mk1 engine that needed bearings as they were no longer availableÂ
What does Nigel at NBS use, if indeed he rebuilds the smaller engines? Might be worth giving him a call.
To all V50.V35 owners,
 OK after hours of fruitless searching and telephone calls I can confirm you cannot get rear main bearings any more.So I took my engine to SEP (service Exchange Parts) at Kegworth. I showed the engineer there the problem. Reply was “No problem I will machine out housing fit a sleeve so that it can take a Japanese bike bearing-straight forward really. Give us a couple of weeks” I am asking him to take photos of the process so an article can be put in Gambalunga on how it was done. The wife’s V50 will live again.
All the best
JulianÂ
Wow!!
Sounds good, be well worth him making a few kits as I’m sure others will have similar issues. You can get new white metal applied bearings, I know the classic car boys do this.
Hello,
White metal bearing replacement is associated with much older vehicles. The bearings are cast in place and lined bored. The bearings in Guzzi’s follow car practice and are steel back shells bonded to a bearing material, usually to a tin based alloy often referred to as Babbitt metal but this can be a range of bearing alloys.These cannot be refaced with a bearing material. SEP are simply going to replace the Guzzi bearings with Japanese shell bearings of the correct bore size. Guzzi bearings are very slightly  thicker than typical Jap bearings hence the need to create a sleeve which reduces the crankcase bore down to the  outside diameter of the Jap bearing. The sleeve will be split just like the bearing and located in the case.
All the best
JulianÂ
That sounds excellent. Good work - and thanks. Hoping mine will roll on for a whiles yet as is, maybe see me out.
Sounds good, I may be interested in a kit if he’s doing some just in case
I always kind of figured I’d just swap out to a low mileage V65 or 75 motor as and when the time came.