So that's what the noise is...

They've just quoted me ?31 per pair (they sell them in halves and only
have two halves in stock) so ?62 for both rods and then ?14 per big end
bolt, that's ?118, plus gaskets.

Arse.

 

Scarey for shell bearings! especially for a SOB

 

I think I've moved out of "Shite Old" territory and into "Classic".

 

This is your justification for the upcoming expenditure on engine parts,
yes?

 

Again.

 

So you're expecting someone to keep a supply of parts for a dinosaur
bike (along with every other dinosaur bike made) and not worry about
the money they've got tied up in said parts then just sell them to
someone for 1980s prices.

Try working out the cost to produce bearings for obsolete engines then
allow for undersize shells to be used after a crank grind and decide
if you'd want to be involved in it. If it makes it any easier to
understand then try asking what the hourly rate is for a contract
project manager (see Bear for a ball park figure) and consider how
many minutes they have to work for to pay for that set of shells.

If it's a rip off and the supplier is making such a good living
fleecing us all then why aren't more people doing it?

 

Back when, there's no way anyone would have paid that - every town had
an engine bits supplier that could supply bearings and pistons parts for
nearly everything ever made. They do still exist and much, much cheaper
than that utter ripoff price.
--
Dave
GS850x2 XS650 SE6a

"It's a moron working with power tools.
How much more suspenseful can you get?"
- House

 

I'm not so sure. All the Guzzi specialists sell them at similar prices
and I don't think Guzzis benefit from pattern parts.

I've reshelled a number of A series and Triumph engines over the years
and I can't recall ever buying OE parts. I don't have the option with a
30 year Italian bike.

 

So can't you buy a sheet of white metal and make your own?

 

pfft, nothing wrong with a bit of big end play, biker boy.

This http://www.flickr.com/photos/58125090@N00/2774856072/ is what
happens when you run low on oil.

This is the balance shaft on my crappy old lawnmower - only about 6mm of
play there. I wondered why it was knocking a bit.

 

Well they seem more than BMW prices! well for the last time I had to
buy such things. I suppose there are a lot more old Beemers than
Guzzi's around though, and quantity talks.
Are there such things as "standard" shells? i.e. could Sweller go to a
good bearing factor.

IIRC I paid that sort of money for racing mains for a R100S engine, big
one piece shells. They are made to run it up to 10k revs with high
compression. A bitch to press fit without damage.

 

Faggot. A bit of Belzona is all it requires.

 

Because that would put the price down.

 

No, it doesn't quite work like that.

KTM used a bearing *size* that was the same as those used
in a Vauxhall steering mechanism; just pure coincidence. Maybe
they picked a bearing from a catalogue, or more likely they
worked out what they'd need then picked the corresponding size
from what they already used on their production lines.

The underlying problem was more likely to be either the
use exceeding the design limits or a mechanical defect
which only showed up once launched - poor lubrication
being a classic.

AFAIAA, a bearing is a bearing is a bearing. That's why
we used a Fiat rear wheel bearing from a Punto (or something)
for the head bearings on my race bike - they just happened
to be the same size and were a lot cheaper than buying oem.

 

snip>

You're right that a bearing is a bearing and the only thing that can
catch the unsuspecting punter out is getting a replacement bearing
that's the same sizes but not the same tolerance/class of bearing.

 

Demand for parts is just as responsible for determining price as
availability.

 

Last time I saw a set of shells like that they were off Cheryls Morris
Minor and were the originals (as far as I know - we have no bills
showing "engine rebuild" and we pretty much have all the rest of them)

They were very very worn - as was the crankshaft[1]. Hooray for the
Internet and Morris Minor suppliers that sell recon crankshafts.

Phil.

[1] Which would explain the loud big-end noise whenever she went above
about 2000 RPM..

 

Yeah, but you still live in the 1950s, and wear a brown warehouse
coat, don't you.

 

My point is, there are probably still enough of those engines around for
it to be worthwhile for more than one company to still be making shells
for it - might even be the maker of the shells that Guzzi (or
Motormecca) are re-packing with their name on. After all, you can still
get shells for many other engines that are long out of production and at
a fraction of the dealers' prices (if the dealers even bother with them
any more).

It might be the Guzzi lumps have passed the point where it simply isn't
worthwhile, but if Motormecca are quoting prices on it, there is still a
demand. Feck knows how many thousands of those engines (rather, cranks)
were made - and by now many of them are in the 'Classic' league and
getting rebuilt instead of broken or scrapped , so the demand will be
there for a while yet.

You well know the disparity between dealers' prices and alternate
sources - all I'm saying is, at that price it certainly doesn't hurt to
phone around a bit.
--
Dave
GS850x2 XS650 SE6a

"It's a moron working with power tools.
How much more suspenseful can you get?"
- House