rossoandy

YIP mine failed at around 13000miles, I replaced the joint with a sealed for life one and that did up to 24000miles so lasted nearly as long as the grease nippled original.....however this time I noticed a crack in the casting that the uj is pressed into so opted for a new shaft at £350...ouch! a repl u/j was £12!! an an hours work to change. So far I have replaced rear wheel brgs,bevel box bearings, steering head brgs,prop u/j,four engine valves(bent),a failed timing cover gasket,relays,the hardening has just failed on the crownwheel in the bevel box so its a new one of those too,bikes now done around 26000miles....I so lucky I didnt buy a Honda..I woulda been so bored.

I have experienced this myself en route to Mandello some yrs ago.....my money is on the spacer,,,just a fraction too short will cause the brgs to pre load when U tighten the wheel spindle...There is also a thin washer asc with the rear spindle and bevel box,is it in place? Not asc with the rear wheel bearings but prudent to check the bearing where the drive shaft enters the bevel box, these can fail too. Grasp the drive shaft near the rear u/j, has it got lift in it? Should be next to zero here.If there is play your bevel box will wear and fail,take it apart and replace the bearing first! Another check on the prop u/js themselves is prudent, these do wear out too! Guzzi do not do separate u/js but they are available cheaply from a motor parts supplier (you will have to remove one and use as pattern).

Well my Rosso uses this clutch and its rattled like a cement mixer with a brick in it since new...got no worse. It still works just as well as ever and has a slightly fierce action,like the friction plate is made of a really hard material,its not a soft take up. I be pissed off if mine fails.....its done 25000 miles now...esp if gearbox goes with it!

Perhaps the time has come to sell my Rosso... I have owned it since new and it now has 25000m on it. It has been a great bike, not without its faults but is a joy to ride. It has been maintained well by myself and has seen little rain and kept in a dry garage and is so in very very good condition. I fancy a new Guzzi Calli or perhaps a Stelvio and I am selling two or three of my bikes to fund. The Rd400 has already gone... The bike wants for nothing, good tyres and recent oil changes done. All paperwork and keys present. It is suffering from a slight missfire/stumble at very light throttle openings which I believe to be a mixture issue. The forum talks of TPS issues or air leaks...The bike is rideable as the issue is only at certain precise throttle opening, a whif of gas and its gone.. I think its a TPS issue myself and if Ive time I will replace it before sale. If not, well its not a major issue to get sorted yourself! As you are going to be aware these bikes are rare and only 30 came to the UK. You may see another at the V twin but that will be it. The bike goes extremely well and there is no damage or faults other than the one mentioned. The bike is in Kent Uk . I am looking for best offers over £3200.... Contact me on 01233 623642 soon! or I will keep it!

U say bike back together...did U have the rear wheel out? Wondering if you have a washer/spacer in wrong? May be nothing to do with brake caliper...

My 2000 sport is sitting on 76,202 miles (122,635 Austrian kilometers) just passed 16000 on my commute today ye but its like 'triggers broom'!!! ten new heads and four handles!!!

Guzzimeister's V11 has 80k miles on it . Anyone know of 100k miles on a V11? or more? Mines on 25k. Be interested to know how they are at big mileages. UJ's replaced? Gearboxes still working well? KB Mines on 24kmiles now, its been fine apart from,# rear wheel bearings failed at about 10k original battery failed after 2years,replaced with odeysey battery which has just failed after a further 6years. Gearbox recall by Moto Guzzi... engine oil leak from timing cover at about7k brake light switch failed at 8k Cam nut fell off causing four bent valves at about 14k Relay connections failed needing a repair to the terminals and a new relay. sidepanels cracked at fixing holes.. driveshaft uj failed at 12 k and again recently at 23k,new shaft fitted, Intermitant starter fault traced to sidestand swith, replaced switch. bevel box bearing failed at about 9k,rebuilt the box with new bearings,ok since. torque arm bush failed,fitted new bushes at 24k Latest issue is a swollen fuel tank that now interferes with the steering and is chafing badly on the sidepanels and seat. oh,paint finish on engine bubbled up too....at about 3k.I sorted that myself as didnt want new cases that would prob go same way and disturb engine internals..... I soo luck it wasnt a Honda I had purchased,, I been soo bored....

Guzzimeister's V11 has 80k miles on it . Anyone know of 100k miles on a V11? or more? Mines on 25k. Be interested to know how they are at big mileages. UJ's replaced? Gearboxes still working well? KB Mines on 24kmiles now, its been fine apart from,# rear wheel bearings failed at about 10k original battery failed after 2years,replaced with odeysey battery which has just failed after a further 6years. Gearbox recall by Moto Guzzi... engine oil leak from timing cover at about7k brake light switch failed at 8k Cam nut fell off causing four bent valves at about 14k Relay connections failed needing a repair to the terminals and a new relay. sidepanels cracked at fixing holes.. driveshaft uj failed at 12 k and again recently at 23k,new shaft fitted, Intermitant starter fault traced to sidestand swith, replaced switch. bevel box bearing failed at about 9k,rebuilt the box with new bearings,ok since. torque arm bush failed,fitted new bushes at 24k Latest issue is a swollen fuel tank that now interferes with the steering and is chafing badly on the sidepanels and seat. I soo luck it wasnt a Honda I had purchased,, I been soo bored....

Hi all. My Roso tank is now so swollen it is chafing badly at the rear and fouling the fork tubes on full lock at the front. I had cause to remove the tank last week and now I find it will not remount to the bolt holes! It has swollen around 4mm in size. I am considering moving the top front rubber mountings forward a few mm to allow the rear mounting to be bolted up and to clear the chafing around the sidecover to tank area. This is pretty bad and the tank looks thin where its chafed. I am unhappy at the situation, a fuel tank should outlast the bike.....ok its 8yrs old but if it had been made of A SUITABLE MATERIAL it would still be fine. If I had the time and money I would take Guzzi to Court,it was never 'fit for purpose'.I wonder if it would stand up in Court this arguement. A fuel tank is not a wearing item and should last the life of the bike. Andy C

This sounds like a poor solenoid internal connect to me.... However I'd like to add that on a few occasions my Rosso has done just the same but I found waggling the handlebars lock to lock bought the starter into life! I must have a poor connection in the loom somewhere I guess,trouble is the fault is never there when I at home and can do some proper diagnosis! Finally,is not the FIAT 126 starter the same? If so it may be possible to source one more cheaply? Andy

I found the Vauxhall Astra filter works a treat,its slightly smaller in diameter so I used a peice of inner tube to pack it a little so the clamp was secure,otherwise it works fine and cost me about £6. Big advantage is you will get one at any motor factors or Halfords.

Hi all. The uj first failed at around 10k, I found the play starting to develop during a routine check over and managed to find an automotive distributor who located a matching u/j. The old joint was held in by the traditional circlips and fairly easily removed and replaced. The new joint however had no grease nipple. The same joint has failed again (rear) and has covered around the same mileage despite no grease nipple. This time I failed to pick it up before the rollers had failed completly and unfortunately the housing is damaged,so its a new shaft this time! It is repairable by my machine shop but they very busy at moment so I will repair it at a later date as a spare unit. I felt no unusual vibrations or other signs of failure. Corsa Italiana in London said they never have changed one, yet they kept the shaft assembly in stock so I guess they have sold them before.... I would add the bevel box has now developed a little play on the input shaft bearing, despite a rebuild around 6k ago..I am going ot keep a close eye on that. Andy I guess this is where the story about shaft alignment and importance of mid/shaft grease nipple comes in... Just wait till Pete spots it! ;-) Any thougts on relevance of the torque arm bush condition on the RWB life expectancy? Found the pinion nut although still locked in place tightened another 1/8turn easily which has removed the play on the pinion. I will reassemble and give the bike a run then recheck for play. The torque arm and bush all fitted and seems good. Just need to get to bottom of fuel pump inoperative....going to try a spare relay tmrw...although I pretty sure its not that....but at least it will eliminate it from investigation.

Would you believe I've gone out to start Rosso after several months idle....its exactly as the above post! Just checked the test points all ok so I guess I now have to take off the tank to access the pump itself to check volts there (and give it a sharp crack too)! Maybe its just stuck after winter lay up.. I've also noticed I now have the expanding tank syndrome too......fork tubes now touch tank on full lock....bah. wat next...... Took the tank off,that was a battle! I had to release the rear bodywork to get clearance at rear of tank to lift tank clear,all seems very tight there. Upon lifting tank clear I was glad I had, the tank had been chafing badly on the side panel top edges and would surely have rubbed right through in the next few thousand miles. I will have to carefully pack the tank mountings to releive this when I reassemble. I am going to start looking for the fault tomorrow, but | can say ts intermittant as the pump did run long enough when I had lifted the rear of the tank to run the motor for a a few seconds before cutting out. I have had relay issues before but I think this is asc with the wiring somewhere around the bikes headstock as I have had the starter fail to work on several occasions but it has always rectified itself by waggling the bars lock to lock. I wondering if there a connnector loose somewhere or a chafed loom perhaps.Maybe the two faults asc with each other? So to summarise, the engine was spinning over but the pump didnt prime on turning on ignition. Have to laugh though,bike meant to be a quality product..and yet the underside of tank has the early V11 lime green paint showing where the tank was held to repaint it Rosso Red! I can just imagine at the factory sales meeting...oh we need some more Rosso's as they actually been selling....hmmmm we got no more special Rosso Red tanks..we got plenty of old lime green ones, get someone to take a few to the paintshop and spray emm red!!!

Would you believe I've gone out to start Rosso after several months idle....its exactly as the above post! Just checked the test points all ok so I guess I now have to take off the tank to access the pump itself to check volts there (and give it a sharp crack too)! Maybe its just stuck after winter lay up.. I've also noticed I now have the expanding tank syndrome too......fork tubes now touch tank on full lock....bah. wat next......

This vacancy is the proverbal poison chalice! Great job if you were to get the back up required from the UK or indeed the Italian end. Guzzi/Aprilia always seem to suffer from poor or even non existant factory back up in my opinion. Having had first hand experience of both marques and recently spoken to a prominant UK Guzzi dealership and recently heard ongoing tales of woe about aftersales support from Guzzi UK and the factory, It seems the UK market is not worth caring about? A great shame as the product range is modern,good looking and pretty reliable now. Guzzi owners are often loyal to the brand for many years if not forever! With a better attitude towards them the factory could improve customer/brand loyalty and thus ultimately sell far more bikes. Many specialists offer a good service to owners despite poor performance from the factory on spares and warranty. Maybe it can never change....maybe its just the Italian way....tommorow will do.....! Despite all this..I luv my Guzzi!!!!! rossoandy

I look foward to that, the pic's I took are rubbish. Did the 'rossoamandello' logos ever happen? The tailpiece wil need repainting very soon on mine as the grey matt finish has got some marks from carrying the camping stuff and also seems to have what I can only describe as water marks on it! The finish is also very faded generally. I am considering if I could get it all covered in carbon fibre rather than doing an oe repaint...would then match other carbon on bike...with red rosso decal then applied.......woo hooooooo !!! Maybe then get the wheels painted red with polished edges?

Hi Jon, John William's phone number is on his website The Tank Shop. He does not communicate via e-mail and prefers phone calls. The price I paid was also posted on his site and when I bought it was 450 British Pouinds. Based on the costs of replacing with a "new" plastic one, even if you could get one, this was a bargain IMHO. He told me he had done one previously and why he said he was quicker than his stated 20 weeks. I was tempted to change the shape/style but where I was keeping the stck tail (at least for now) I thought a replica would be the best option for me. Bob Very nice ally tank.......at around £450 compares well with the new guzzi ones currently on e bay for around same money, however they are factory painted. Wonder if anyone could repaint an alloy tank Rosso Mandello red?....hmmmm

Rossopuro sells them...don't remember the price. I remeber seeing the rossopuro ones some years back whilst visiting GMG...nice kit but around a £100......various colours too..

Hi all. The uj first failed at around 10k, I found the play starting to develop during a routine check over and managed to find an automotive distributor who located a matching u/j. The old joint was held in by the traditional circlips and fairly easily removed and replaced. The new joint however had no grease nipple. The same joint has failed again (rear) and has covered around the same mileage despite no grease nipple. This time I failed to pick it up before the rollers had failed completly and unfortunately the housing is damaged,so its a new shaft this time! It is repairable by my machine shop but they very busy at moment so I will repair it at a later date as a spare unit. I felt no unusual vibrations or other signs of failure. Corsa Italiana in London said they never have changed one, yet they kept the shaft assembly in stock so I guess they have sold them before.... I would add the bevel box has now developed a little play on the input shaft bearing, despite a rebuild around 6k ago..I am going ot keep a close eye on that. Andy

Hi all, my Rosso recently suffered a failure of the driveshaft u/j and in removing the shaft I found the bevel box torque arm top bush had failed. Surprise surprise it is not available from Moto Guzzi as a replacement but as a complete arm at around £100. I was not impressed and so pressed out the metal cased rubber bush in my vice (easy) and measured it up. Half an hour later I had found a supplier of a bush which will do the job! £19 for two....#Powerflex.co.uk part no PF99-103 It is a 'top hat' design and may need the top hat sawn off just leaving the 30mm sleeve I need.I dnt see any problem with that. Given more time there may be a supplier of an identical bush on the internet but I was happy with my findings. The bush I have ordered is of the type used in competion suspension joints on cars and so is a harder compound than the soft Guzzi bush but I doubt that I will feel the difference. I wil let you know when its fitted and road tested! Are you also aware there is as replacement driveshaft u/j available for around £8 each from a motor factors? Much cheaper than a new driveshaft but you will need access to a good sized vice and a big hammer! I am dissapointed Guzzi cant supply these sort of individual components directly, not everyone has bottomless pockets! Probobaly a lot of Guzzi owners would enjoy the work and satisfaction of repairing rather than replacing parts. Guzzi list a driveshaft at nearly £400 in the UK and a torque shaft at £100, £500 total for new parts. Repairing them would total around £38!! Thats a lot of petrol for actually riding the bike!!!!! Roll on summer, anyone in Kent or on way to Channel Ports welcome to pop in for a cuppa, Andy Ashford Kent UK

Gday Richard, Thanks for your prompt reply. I reckon it would be interesting to know how many are out there as well hence my call. I thought any and all RM owners could get in touch if they so chose - numbered or not - as they are all RM's are they not? It would be a shame to bin one, but to have one burn would surely break your heart. Imagine the call to your insurer..."Yeah mate - it was one of 600 in the world, can you replace it?" Cheers, mud Hi all, rossoandy here in UK, that was my first Rosso that caught alight! Had only been insured 24hrs too! Assesor very sympathetic and commented 'you are meant to take emm to a country lane to burn emm' lol. He made sure I was hardly out of pocket after my claim too.I rushed straight to my local dealer who had the last unsold Rosso in the UK and bought another! Reboot ended up with the salvage...and I was seeing parts of it several years later on his stand for sale!

rossoandys..ZGUKR 00001M114630 OVER 300 bikes later!!!

Guy on e bay has rosso 'touch in paint' ! I bought some!

It was mine that burnt in the fire.........leaking fuel line under the tank...300 miles from new! ouch! still have the replacement rosso,lrve it, done 22k now.

I going too, if the Guzzi starts! Had an ongoing gremlin in the starting circuit for years...on odd occasion will not crank when button pressed, checked all the usual things to no avail, even disconected the alarm at one point just to eliminate it. Tonite it failed again but this time a clue has been given to the cause, waggle the 'bars an it will then start! Pointing to a possible broken wire in the loom around the steeering head area....just gotta trace it now! If I cant sort it b4 the rally have to resort to the Guzzi stroker.....not a v twin but still a Guzzi! (of sorts).Long way on a 250 though! see you all there huh.