Alutecnos gorilla 12c, breakdown, preservice

Post Options Post Options   Likes (0) Likes(0)   Quote thor_hafnor@hotmail.com Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Topic: Alutecnos gorilla 12c, breakdown, preservice
    Posted: 28 Apr 2012 at 5:29am
[email protected] View Drop Down
Silver
Silver
Avatar

Joined: 24 Apr 2012
Status: Offline
Points: 101
I took a look inside the Alutecnos gorilla 12c and Thought I would share my opinions of the reel... The reel has not been tested on fish yet. This is simply a guide to a preservice and a look at the internals.

included in the package is two umbraco keys that pretty much covers everything you want to open in the reel, reel has been modded to a aftermarket JM handle instead of the round ball handle (see thread "alutecnos gorilla 12C line cap.- 360tuna.com")


The right side frame goes off in one piece (four umbraco screws) leaving the spool and left side plate and the spool pinion and pinion gear. As you can see there is a big clicker mechanism which they have used a stainless steel chrome ball that will slide over the engraved clicker bracket attached to the spool. (this clicker is much more stabile and works much better than the plastic clicker that is often used in small reels, the same clicker is used in many international reels)


here you can see the alignement of the handle which attaches to the main gear, you have to use the end screw on the handle side and screw it inside the main gear sleve and then tap it with a semi hard object. I used the plastic handle of a wrench) The main gear will then have to be carefully pulled out of the anti reverse bearing. This way you can access the AR bearing and the right side plate bearing.


The main gear is pretty small compared to the reel's size... size comparrison is with a JM pe4 which is a smaller reel. The main gear is made of stainless steel with a bronze coloured anodizing (marine bronze like the saltiga maybe?)


As the main gear is pulled out you can access the right side plate bearing. (The bearing has a metal spacer inside the cam to fit the housing of the reel) The bearing was pretty good greased up but I will remove it with carb. cleaner and pack it completely with yamaha marine grease. (you have to remove the pressed in metal shield. (see alantani's sticky bearing thread for instructions removing pressed in shields) the Bearing measures: ID:8mm, OD: 16mm and Height: 5mm


Now the shields cannot be replaced so the bearing has to be left open for now. I actually found a shield and a retainer from another bearing which I used to hold the grease inside the bearing. I faced the shielded side of the bearing towards the inside of the drag cam.

Now I tried to get a good picture of the AR bearing but the hole is so tiny so this was the best I could do. The reel has actually three individual Ar bearings alligned inside the housing. Flush this with carb cleaner and let it dry, then add some thin synthetic oil. I used some shimano oil, but you can use reelX too. If you use grease here the AR might slip, so no grease!

The AR bearings are protected by two quadseals on the inside and outside of the AR bearing housing. (the green O rings in the picture)


Now on to the spool it slides easily out of the left side frame. The spool pinion is a one peace that goes into the pinion gear. You can slide the whole thing out easily as seen in the picture. You will then have the spool pinion/pinion gear along with two bellevilles which should be placed like this: () and one of the two spool bearings. both spool bearings have one shield on them facing the frames. The open side is turned against each other inside the spool housing (nice details) both spool bearings are cleaned with carb. cleaner, dryed and dipped in tsi 301 for good freespool. bearing size: ID 8mm, OD: 16mm and Height: 5mm


Here you can see the clicker bracket on the right side of the spool.


On to the left side of the spool is a machined housing which holds the whole drag assembly and works as a shield. This is not watertight though... The drags are enclosed by three screws.


The drags are glued on carbon fibre. The drags are bone dry. I will apply drag grease on on the washers.


As you go deeper into the left side spool housing you will meet a metal washer which is held by a retainer ring and ear-engravings inside the spool. Under the Metal washer is three tiny springs which pulls the drags apart from each other. Once the retainer is removed you can slide the last washer which is also glued to a fitted plate that is in the bottom. There is also a coned shaped spring inside which also works to get soft tranitions when tightening the drag. Once you get that last bracket out you can access the other spool bearing. I also cleaned this and used tsi301. the bearing also measures ID 8mm, OD: 16mm and Height: 5mm


here is how it it should look onced placed on the square cut side of the spool pinion.


on to the left side plate do as you did with the right. remove shields, clean and relube with yamaha marine grease. This would have to be open, without any shields. The bearing can only be removed from the inside, so you cannot just remove the preset and take the bearing out. bearing size is still. ID 8mm, OD: 16mm and Height: 5mm.

Opinions of the reel:

The reel has one of the best machining I have ever seen. The house is made of an aluminum called 6082, instead of the usual flight aluminum called 6061... the aluminum is supposed to be better in some way....

clicker: clicker is solid as described and is much more durable than the plastic clicker used in other reels.

main gear: shows no sign of wear after winding and is made of stainless steel. The main gear is pretty small, like most penn reels.

pinion gear: is also stainless steel, show no sign of wear and meshes very good and tight with the main gear. The pinion gear is cut slightly sideways.

Bearings: all four bearings are made by EZO japan which is top of the line stainless steel bearings. It is annoying that the non spool bearings aren't shielded with retainers... The reel will output approx. 1,5 min of freespool after using tsi 301. The freespool time would increased if the spool pinion had a sleeve, so I would have to get that. (read more about accusleeves at alantani.com) 

The anti reverse is supported by three AR bearings. Accurate reels only have one and has had problems with that. Three ar bearings should be safe but I am disappointed that they didn't put a reserve dog in the reel for extra safety. The AR bearings can fail and is fragile against dirt etc. Also in colder weather the anti reverse can slip due to metal shrinking in cold weather.

Drags: The drag is very impressive and is a dual drag. The drag has pretty much the same setup as the avet raptors but placed on the left side instead of the right like the raptors. This keeps the drag away from the main gear and makes the reel more balanced due to the weight. 

The preset and Lever drag: is super smooth. The preset is the easiest I have ever used and is far superior to most high end reels out there. Very easy to turn and very gradual. As for the lever drag this is also very smooth and gives easy leverage. There is a stainless steel pin which pops down once you are out of freespool. The red button pushes the steel pin uses to get into the "max drag" and into the "free position".

The handle: is bad IMO with the round ball knob. too big and to narrow. The t bar from alutecnos is much better I've heard. The handle arm is 8,5 cm which is fair... could be a tiny bit longer, but still gives a lot of cranking power.

Spool: spool is narrow and is 3cm wide, and approx. 6,5 cm tall, giving it a capacity of approx. 400yd of JB 65#solid

main body: is as tall as it is wide measuring 7,5 cm.

If you do plan to go through your 12c reel, use these schematics: 

http://www.alutecnos.it/linea58/download/manuale%20gorilla12c.pdf

Grease all moving parts, and static plates with thick consitency grease (ex. yamha marine grease) The same goes for all non spool bearings. which are opened and cleaned for old greased then packed fully with marine grease (yamaha marine grease)

Spool bearings are cleaned and dipped in tsi301, let them dry!

AR bearings is cleaned using carb. cleaner and then add a few drop of thi synthetic oil. Be careful here since there may be plastic inside the AR bearings. Some oils destoy plastic (tsi301)

drags: are cleaned for old debrees and(use a soft rag) then add a thin film of DRAG GREASE (shimano drag grease, fisherman drag grease, MO drag grease grease(daiwa) Cals drag grease or the studio ocean mark drag grease) you should use the hard type as long as you don't fish in cold weather then you go for the soft or thin type. Studio ocean mark, fisherman and cals have these options. Leave a thin layer on the CF drag washers and carefully wipe off all excess. otherwise the grease might stick and effect you freespool.

Now for the real test I have to fish it!
Back to Top
Post Options Post Options   Likes (0) Likes(0)   Quote mokomoa Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 28 Apr 2012 at 8:54am
mokomoa View Drop Down
Silver
Silver


Joined: 29 Oct 2009
Location: far north
Status: Offline
Points: 154
Excellent write up mate! Where do you get reelx from?
Back to Top
Post Options Post Options   Likes (0) Likes(0)   Quote thor_hafnor@hotmail.com Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 28 Apr 2012 at 9:13am
[email protected] View Drop Down
Silver
Silver
Avatar

Joined: 24 Apr 2012
Status: Offline
Points: 101
Thank you mokomoa, I actually got the reelX from some accumulated accurates over the years(came with the box)... Otherwise there is a lot of retailers carrying them, among them is charkbait.com. On this reel I used Shimano oil (from the stella box) to use in the anti reverse bearing.... If you fish in colder weather use should think about thinning out the marine grease with some reelX or corrosionX... That way you will have a lighter grease working better inside the bearings when it is cold.
Back to Top
Post Options Post Options   Likes (0) Likes(0)   Quote Red Hunter Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 28 Apr 2012 at 10:16am
Red Hunter View Drop Down
Silver
Silver


Joined: 01 Apr 2011
Location: Cape York Auss
Status: Offline
Points: 298
Great post Thor . I saw it on 360 , can't wait for your report after you have fished it , I have been intrested in one for a while now .
Back to Top
Post Options Post Options   Likes (0) Likes(0)   Quote thor_hafnor@hotmail.com Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 28 Apr 2012 at 10:59am
[email protected] View Drop Down
Silver
Silver
Avatar

Joined: 24 Apr 2012
Status: Offline
Points: 101
Yes, I posted it on a couple of forums! It is a true beauty! The machining is next to nothing I tell you. It cannot be compared to any other reel, it puts the accurate metal work to shame and that takes some skill! Another thing to bear in mind is that it is the easiest reel I have ever worked on. The fit is tight but not overly tight (like the accurates) The checking bearings after each trip takes 10mins. that is all you have to do after a preservice really. That is a cheap investement for the long run! I reccomend you guys to buy the reel from guigo marine which is a high end tackle store in france. They run a bit cheaper there and they can lower the value for tax purposes!
Back to Top
Post Options Post Options   Likes (0) Likes(0)   Quote smelli Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 28 Apr 2012 at 11:16am
smelli View Drop Down
Forum Sponsor
Forum Sponsor
Avatar

Joined: 21 May 2007
Location: Havelock North
Status: Offline
Points: 4178
i have seen a store demo one for sale in the states and have been thinking about it...
what is the max drag on these reels etc ??
Back to Top
Post Options Post Options   Likes (0) Likes(0)   Quote thor_hafnor@hotmail.com Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 28 Apr 2012 at 10:26pm
[email protected] View Drop Down
Silver
Silver
Avatar

Joined: 24 Apr 2012
Status: Offline
Points: 101
40 pounds max drag with freespool.
Back to Top
Post Options Post Options   Likes (0) Likes(0)   Quote green guy Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 29 Apr 2012 at 11:11pm
green guy View Drop Down
Titanium
Titanium
Avatar

Joined: 10 Apr 2008
Location: halfmoon bay,nz
Status: Offline
Points: 7353
yeehaa have reel x instock

http://www.facebook.com/hauraki.hillbillys
Back to Top
Post Options Post Options   Likes (0) Likes(0)   Quote thor_hafnor@hotmail.com Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 30 Apr 2012 at 12:37am
[email protected] View Drop Down
Silver
Silver
Avatar

Joined: 24 Apr 2012
Status: Offline
Points: 101
Regarding TSi 301 I do not know the availability down in NZ but up here in Norway there is non! I got mine through Alantani site. This stuff will make wonders to your freespool and last for upto a year before relubricating.
Back to Top
Post Options Post Options   Likes (0) Likes(0)   Quote swordfishsteve Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 02 Jun 2012 at 6:04pm
swordfishsteve View Drop Down
Forum Sponsor
Forum Sponsor
Avatar

Joined: 24 Mar 2003
Location: New Zealand
Status: Offline
Points: 1674
Hi All , Swordfish Marine Ltd, in Epsom, Auckland are the NZ service & sales agent , see more info : www.swordfishmarine.co.nz, we have stock of the Alutecnos 12C & the NEw model 8V Gorilla reels, if you require any parts or service please call Steve 021 975 471, cheers Steve
REEL REPAIR GUY - Swordfishsteve, That Is Who I Am and That is What I Do : See More At :www.reelrepairguy.co.nz
Back to Top
Forum Jump
Forum Permissions View Drop Down


This page was generated in 0.563 seconds.

Fishing Reports Visit Reports

Saltwater Fishing Reports
Top of the South Fishing Report - 22/03/24

Tasman and Golden Bay snapper still running hot We are not far away from daylight... Read More >

22 Mar 2024
Saltwater Fishing Reports
Bay of Islands Fishing Report - 22/03/24

Variety is the spice of life On one recent trip, the plan was to spend a... Read More >

22 Mar 2024
Saltwater Fishing Reports
Hauraki Gulf Fishing Report - 22/03/24

Fish where the fish are! Catching fish or just going fishing? I tackle this issue... Read More >

22 Mar 2024
Saltwater Fishing Reports
Inner Hauraki Gulf Fishing Report - 22/03/24

Thoughtful tactics required for better fish Over the course of each year the fishing varies,... Read More >

22 Mar 2024
Fishing bite times Fishing bite times

Major Bites

Minor Bites

Major Bites

Minor Bites