‘When I looked inside the Guzzi’s clutch it was total carnage’
Mike Russell de Clifford saw one of his customers learn the hard way that bargains can be too good to be true
‘It had jammed the flywheel. Bits fell on to the bench’
The owner of this 1993 Moto Guzzi California 1100 thought he’d got a bargain and wasn’t too worried about a bit of a clutchslipping issue.
A week later when he could barely get the bike to move forwards, he was slightly more concerned. Mike Russell de Clifford, at specialist dealer Moto Corsa, had already met the chap when he’d visited to look at a California 1400 that he wanted to use on a big trip but he decided to go for an 1100 he’d seen for sale privately so he could save a few bob. When Mike took the gearbox off to get at the clutch it was ‘just carnage inside’. It looked like the clutch had finally fallen apart on Moto Corsa’s forecourt as it had jammed the flywheel and bits fell on to the bench as the housing came off. As well as the clutch itself, the intermediate plate was wrecked along with the clutch lifting cup. It had overheated so much that the hardened end of the clutch pushrod had burnt off.
Mike said: “The bike would have shown symptoms for hundreds of miles, over-revving more and more when it was put under any strain, like pulling away or going for an overtake. Whoever had ridden it like that must have developed a very sensitive throttle hand, shutting the throttle to get it to cool down until it gripped, then feeding the power in so, so gently.
“The job cost £600 to fix and could have had a more serious outcome if that clutch had disintegrated at speed. He thought he had bought a bargain, but it was more a case of ‘too good to be true’. At least he had a good holiday.” WHAT IT SHOULD LOOK LIKE