belfastguzzi

Exactly. That's what's controlling my motorbike. I don't need to post any more photos now.

It's very interesting to see those figures Roy, thanks. I've now done a direct (fused) wire modification on my Griso and the first time I started the motor afterwards, I thought that it started quicker. (Of course it's just fractions... but that's how it seemed.) In a way the latest non-start incident on my bike has been a good thing. I certainly know the wiring a lot better now and am understanding the ECU (the mighty Piaggio Aprilia Moto Guzzi super brain) better. This mighty Piaggio Aprilia Moto Guzzi super brain could just be more clever than I thought– and I'm coming to see that it has sensitive and demanding sides to its nature. I've discovered a couple of unsuspected, minor electro-mechanical faults that I think have been contributing to my long-term woes, partly because they've been upsetting to the ECU super brain. It looks like the modern ECU likes everything to be very close to perfect. OK, that's rather cryptic and I will explain a bit more when I get some photos posted.

Hi Trev ust wondering if you've had any progress with this? I was going to ask have you tried the simple things yet, i.e. checked the fuse? However I see that Roy has added more detail and posted very interesting/useful diagrams and notes. When posting earlier I should have said, 'if your V11 is wired like the modern bikes and the older ones that gave the same problems.... then it would be beneficial to put in the direct wire to the relay'. I assumed that as the current 8V motor is started (or sometimes not started) by a wire that runs all over the place and through the handlebar switch, that Guzzi is just continuing an unbroken tradition. However I see that they did actually wire the V11 differently. I didn't have a no-start problem with the V11 so it's not something that I ever looked into. Roy, are all the V11s wired with a direct feed to the relay and do you know if Guzzi's wiring layouts have changed back and forwards over the years, through various models, or is it just the V11 that was treated 'normally'? If they did the V11 like that, it seems odd that the design has moved 'backwards' again for the current models. David

G, If you mean the look of the rod in my photo, it's not goo, that's the metal surface: it's corrosion. That's an old part that I replaced. If you also mean the top picture: that is a black finish on the part - it's not silver. Ben, I'll measure how my lever works, for comparison. It used to operate at one extreme, either when the lever was almost out or only when it was almost right in. Don't remember which: itwas probably when right out. After adjustment it's now operates in a better range and is better for feel and comfort.

Yes, good notes Gene. It needs proper setting, which is why I put a bit of a warning that the operation could be made worse. As Ben indicates that the lever operation doesn't seem to be right, I was just wondering if the whole adjustment was off due to something that happened in previous ownership. It could be worth setting it all up correctly, from scratch (as you describe). I think that I did mine after it was damaged in a fall. In the normal course of events, it's not meant to be used as a casual adjuster.

I've been tempted by the other levers too, but haven't got any yet. The much cheaper Chinese versions also get good reports. Pete Roper put a pair on his Griso, as I remember, and he also thought that they were good.

Paul you were right: the !SERVICE ECU error alert disappeared when I got the bike on the road again. Hooray! Also no error codes are showing now. The 56 ECU error has gone and and a (less important) dash error is not reappearing. I now have my problems sorted (apart from the neutral sensor) I hope, though as the non-start problem was intermittent I will need some time to be sure. Interesting findings and I know what was causing that 56 code and the blowing fuses. I'll report back in a while. Thanks for the advice.

Yep, that was the same with me. The air temperature would not have been so high but was after a very long stretch, many miles, of unusually slow and packed traffic. There wasn't airflow to cool the bike. It might not be relevant, but I said, it's the only common factor that we could pinpoint at the time.

It looks fairly irrelevant to me. Yes, ensure that your ground connection is good, but replacing the cable is not the primary means of addressing the issue. Same with the live cable to the starter. It's not the problem. The best thing is to put in a direct wire to the start relay. For that you need a 20 amp fuse and a short piece of 15 amp cable or something similar as takes your fancy.

Above, you can see the pushrod screw end. Below are pictures of the parts. Take care: the rod may be set in with some form of thread-lock and/or the head may be hidden behind sealant that needs to be removed. The more critical thing is the grub screw that must be screwed back before you adjust the pushrod. You may or may not have this grub screw. The Aprilia lever parts and the Moto Guzzi parts are slightly different. My current lever does not have the grub screw. I adjusted this rod to give better lever travel, but as I say, take care as you could also mess up the lever operation.

Thanks Paul.The serious error (ECU) warning that is permanently displayed. Before seeing your reply I was going to post:– 'I'm now wondering if this may not necessarily mean that there is still a fault: perhaps this message can only be cleared via the official service diagnostics equipment (Axone, Navigator)?' However I see you say the message will go away by itself, after some time. That is good news as it gives hope that when I put the bike back together and ride it, the display may clear (if there is no longer a fault). I like the sound of Ducatidiag: I will have to look into that. Does it need Windows to run?I don't believe that there is any problem with the speed sensor. I think that the ECU code 56 (vehicle speed) is logged from some older incident. The sensor wiring looks ok and continuity is ok, plus the display was showing the speed ok. I haven't had a problem with the speed readout at any time and I did seal the sensor a couple of years ago. I think that these particular error logs do not clear and diagnostics equipment is needed to reset them? I could not understand about there being a second control unit, in addition to the ECU. I thought that I read about it somewhere (in the Service Manual) but now I don't know where. I am glad you confirm it does not exist!

From memory there are two adjustments to clutch operation at the lever. There is the obvious span adjuster and also the pushrod screw. I have adjusted the pushrod to reset the clutch operation. It's midnight now and I need to put the bike and bits away, so I'll post photos of the lever screw tomorrow.

I edited this reply, but must not have posted it. I will edit again now: From memory there are two adjustments to clutch operation at the lever. There is the obvious span adjuster and also the screw-in pushrod that works the fluid piston. I have adjusted this rod to reset the clutch operation. It's midnight now and I need to put the bike and bits away, so I'll post photos of the lever screws tomorrow. Oh, what's going on? Now I see that the previously edited post appears as a new post below!

Hi Jaap. That's great, please thank people there for giving replys so far. It's much appreciated. I'm not sure if I can post on there directly. D

Hi Pete, great to hear from you: I thought you'd disappeared, but then I haven't been posting much either, nor checking other places where you might be active. As you can see I'm in a further period of disenchantment. This bike has been off the road more than on it and I don't know where to turn for help. Ive done everything i can to look after it and fix the 'official' bodges and failures. I'll strip the thing down if needs be, but the problem of dealing with the computerised electronics creates a brick wall. The error code points to the speedo sensor, but the speedo has been working fine, including all the way back home from my break-down on Friday (I'll leave it to your interpretation as to whether that means my breakdown or the bike's, or both). I wonder if the logged error code is from a past incident. As I understand it, the ECU errors remain logged, they aren't cleared in the way that the dash display errors are cleared? So that 56 code may not be connected with the serious error alert that is permanently appearing at the bottom of the dash display. However there is no other error code showing in the on-board readout, just the 56. If the ECU was damaged, would you expect there to be a subsequent error code showing? In addition to the ECU, mounted out front, where is the separate control unit located? Is it by the alternator? I don't see it, so far. Sorry to bombard, but... another question: what is involved in changing or adjusting the neutral sensor/switch? I think that you did change the neutral switch on a 1200 Griso? I can't get at it without removing the air box and that means disconnecting and removing various other things as well. Is the switch height adjustable? All I can see is a white terminal post, I can't see whether there is a nut or any form of screw adjustment. D

Hi Dave, this problem could be the same one as was discussed a number of times maybe 5 or 6 years ago, but unfortunately no reason or solution was ever found. From time to time I and some others had severe problems with the shift lever sticking in low gear and not budging. It was horrendous on a trip down through Ireland where I couldn't get out of second gear. So bad that I stopped on motorway and opened transmission to check if the shift spring had broken. It had not. This problem is not to do with badly adjusted linkage or dirty oil. Both those things were and always had been regularly checked and kept 'perfect' by me and others who experienced the problem. The best that we could come up with at the time was that it might have been connected to heat. That's very tenuous. When this happened to you was there any unusual circumstance, such as being stuck in slow traffic for a long time? There are a lot of small variations in the V11 gearboxes over the years. I can't quite remember now, but I thing that on the forum here we have seen something like 5 different versions in small details. I think that there has clearly been something not quite right with these boxes and Guzzi tried various small mods to make it better. But dear knows what they were up to. Mine is from the infamous 2002 year when just about everything that could be wrong, was wrong. Please report back if you discover what is wrong. Maybe it is just a simple thing that you have overlooked. Hopefully it's something that can be diagnosed and fixed. David

Yeh, non-starting Guzzis,eh? As above, check connectors and fuse. Perhaps it could also be voltage drop due to the odd wiring system that Guzzi persist with. These bikes need a big kick to get them started and slightly low electic supply results in no start. The starter solenoid itself requires a good supply, but this can be diminished by the odd wiring. Even the most modern models are suffering from this. People thought I was talking rubbish when I first reported this on the Griso, but for the past couple of years it's been reported world wide. It's a fact. the old Guzzis suffered from this - and as MG has not changed the start wiring route, the issue carrys on even to the current 'higher tech' models. You say battery is good. Check all connectors as others say, not just for disconnection but also dirt, corrosion... The ultimate solution is to bypass the stock wiring that is routed through connectors and a starting switch that wouldn't normally carry a starting current. This means taking a feed from battery direct to the starter relay. For some reason these bikes are susceptible to sticky starters/solenoids, more so than other 'normal' vehicles. The sticky solenoid is made worse by the poor electric supply and in turn its partial operation makes the demand on electric supply worse. Take the starter off to clean and lubricate both the starter shaft and the solenoid. This makes a big difference in ease of operation. While doing this, look out for any corrosion, metal tangs or other little bits of mechanical obstruction and clean them off. For reliable starting on these bikes, it seems clear that the electric supply must be close to fully perfect and all aspects of mechanical contact and operation must be good and smooth. Good luck with this. Just be glad you haven't got the added complexity, interference and non-diagnosibility non-fixibility (without any form of dealer service or Piaggio support available) of the current ECU and controls! I don't know what I'm going to do with my expensive heap of unreliability.

Thanks Jaap

Any experience of this serious error (ECU) message and any ideas on getting rid of it? Or have I got expensive trouble? 1200 8V (Griso) I don't need to go into details of the intermittent non-start issue as it's been much reported: but could it have a connection to the serious error (ECU) warning appearing at bottom of dash display? The dash is displaying the '! SERVICE' warning, which means a serious fault and I think an ECU related problem. The diagnostics code shows an ECU 56 fault, which is a 'Vehicle Speed' error, whatever that means. The appearance of this error may be coincidental or could it be related to the non-start problem? Anyone got any experience, ideas? I have disconnected power to ECU, but the fault message keeps showing when powered up again. Apart from connecting to Axone or any other mythical diagnostic device, what can I do about this error? I have spent all day stripping, checking all sorts of things. Bike is now starting and not blowing fuse (yesterday it was not starting) but the serious error display persists.

The neutral indicator light on my Griso 1200 8V has only worked half time. Dealers here haven't helped with it. Though a new switch was meant to have been ordered under warranty, like other warranty parts, it never arrived. Piaggio UK turn a deaf ear. This is a major hassle, having to find neutral in traffic without an indicator, not being able to run engine with side stand down... and I have often wondered if it might have any connection with the intermittent non-start issue. It is impossible to get at the neutral switch on top of gearbox without disconnecting electrical items, taking out complete air box and so on. It's not a casual job. I don't know what is causing the problem, but one possibility could be that the switch is not making full contact. As I can't see much of it, I don't know if this switch can be adjusted for height/contact. Does anyone know if it is adjustable? Has anyone replaced a switch unit? What's involved? I had heard a few years ago that there were problems with these units and that they were replaced under warranty. Anyone know about that?

Well so much for that. The most unreliable, cursed Griso does its useless thing again. At first toll booth a third of the way down Ireland, push starter button to restart – and nothing. Kept trying for a couple of hours, bike sitting at side of the motorway. Usually this intermittent factory in-built problem is entirely whimsical and after a period the bike will decide to start. This time, not a flicker of life. Eventually scavenged some wire from the bike plus a bit of tying wire that I had and bypassed the Griso's own scummy wiring to turn the starter with a direct feed from the battery. Headed home, intent to not stop: luckily just about within a full tank range and I had refilled a few miles back. Sat at home last night with packed bags and non-starting Guzzi gloating outside. Shame. Have been talking about this trip to meet up with Southern Guzzis for the past 2 years and looking forward to this weekend as my main holiday break this year.

Where's that non-moderator? He's not doing his non-job and he's doing it very well, I don't have to say.

Quizzical? Points means prizes stumps mean a stumper. All was not / is not as it seemed. Gongs inevitably lead to corruption, yes even in the halls and chambers of the V11 Forum. There came a day when points became as valuable as a Greek Euro. I cashed mine in.

There's the seed of a great idea there JR. Let's have a forum for non-posts. It would be MaSsIvE, in a non-massive way. You could be the non-Moderator. I can't see what I'm typing these days anyway, so this new forum would save a great deal of spectacle related hassle.

Well, congratulations Ben, I think! Congratulations especially for, uniquely amongst these people here, following in my footsteps: though in a backwards kinda way. I'm sure the leak will be easily fixed and should not be a big concern. I've had a couple of oil leaks from my Griso, though it's not the same engine as yours. One leak was caused by an idiot official service agent (don't make the mistake of having an idiot official service agent work on your bike) and the other was caused by me smashing the right side head into a large concrete road kerb. Obviously no idiocy was involved there. I fixed both with large amounts of skill and some bits of glue, hammers and stuff. So there you go: keep following in my footsteps and all will be well. Probably best not to follow in my tyre (tire) tracks though. D PS with all this talk of Google Analytics, I was inspired to google 'JRT'. This is what I got: