Guest John T Posted July 15, 2003 Posted July 15, 2003 I have heard more than once, on this forum and on others, that the 6 speed tranny is a rolling piece of crap that has many issues and explodes on a regular basis. Who started this? Is it the few people who had a bad spring that would cause the tranny to get stuck in gear? Did someone else hear this and start a rumor that they all suck? If I knew nothing about Guzzies and decided to check this forum for some insight, do you think I would buy one? Not with all the whining..... Maybe I'll buy the most reliable bike on the market....a HONDA. No wait a minute, the Goldwings have a bad overheating problem, no fix in site. The other ones are as exciting as the refridgerator in my kitchen. O.K. Maybe a new Harley. They have to be good....everyone has them. No wait. the early ones had bad cam bearings that would DESTROY the entire engine and tranny. O.K. I'll buy a Ducati, they have to be good cause they win all the races! But wait, they ate the chrome off of the camshafts and this ate the engines and adjusting those valves cost more than the bike! O.K. how about a sporty Triumph Daytona. No wait, some bike magazine blew one up at the dragstrip so they all must be grenades. How about a Buell? Didn't they recall the entire bike 'cause it SUCKED? The early V11 sports handled poorly?? Set them up right and enjoy! Even the mighty R1 has a head shake problem. How about a super fast Hyabusa?? No wait the rear frame use to split and fall off and they destroy transmissions every 100 miles! O.K so the Guzzis like to go through Tachs, some little spring breaks in some, and the wrinkle gets a little bubbly. Big deal. The only thing that dissapoints me is the "soft valve" syndrome but maybe it's not that big a deal. How many high mileage bikes do you know that are happily running along? You know what makes it worth it? The time I was in a diner with my riding buddies. In the pack was a new R1, Ducati 748, a heavily modified R1, a Honda 954RR and a Monster S4 with all the goodies....then hearing a stranger say "who rides the Guzzi...nice bike!" The look on the other guys faces made my day! Sorry for the rant folks, but sometimes people need to step back, think a bit and thank God Guzzi is still in business with a bright future. And stop all this silly talk about "class action" suits that will hurt Guzzi more than anything else.....do you want them to go out of business????? Oh yeah, my Rosso is just fine, I'd ride my EV cross country today, the Airone starts first kick and the Honda I have could dissapear today and I would be fine. P.S. wash your bikes!! You look like slobs and you might actually put a wrench to them so things don't fall off eh? P.S.S. I really like you guys, just complain a little less and enjoy thje ride, nothing is perfect. John T
dlaing Posted July 15, 2003 Posted July 15, 2003 Have you actually read what some people have been through? Have a little compassion. Not everyone can afford to fix the bikes when the dealer refuses to. Most people have few problems, that is not what this list is about. This list is about discussing problems, getting them out into the open so that they can be dealt with. So a little whining is expected. You can put your blinders on and tell Moto Guzzi that they are doing a great job and that there is no need to increase quality control, or parts availability, but that is nonsense. If you had been reading this list you would notice how many times it has been mentioned for people to to stick through the problems that plague the bike in the first year, because once sorted few bikes are as reliable as the Moto Guzzi. Read the recent post titled Big Trip ....list of problems.....There were no problems! Many people added similar experiences. "Class Action Suits", good point, people should be content with the Lemon Law if they are so unlucky. (assuming they are protected by a lemon law and do not have to resort through bricks through shop windows and insurance fraud to get rid of their lemon) New Moto Guzzis are great bikes, but I would not recommend one to someone who wants Toyota Camry reliability out of the box. They are better suited for people who know which way to turn a wrench, who don't mind a little oil on their hands, and who have the disposable income to invest a little after market or who have the money to pay a mechanic to work out their problems. On the other hand, I would recommend a "well sorted out" Guzzi to any lilly handed yuppie looking for an easy ride..
Orson Posted July 15, 2003 Posted July 15, 2003 Nice rant! I don't think it's so much complaining as it is "airing out" frustrations. Like Jason's punching bag in his garage. Most guys here work on their own bikes & we all know how things can sometimes "boil over" As we're all Guzzi owners here, I think we can see where we're all coming from
RichMaund Posted July 15, 2003 Posted July 15, 2003 There are a number of documented cases of early 6 speeds having catastrophic failure. The cause seems to be improperly heat treated parts. They wear quickly. An early sign of it is the bike sticking in gear or requiring way too much effort to shift. Especially when hot. I have a friend who has these problems right now at 15k miles. His was one of the first V11S's the Dealer sold. The Dealer refuses to ride it more than two miles to test it (Doesn't get it good and hot.) and says it's fine. He is now selling all his Guzzi's as he's fed up. No, I won't say the Dealer's name here since I am not a direct participant in this drama. He is a twenty year Guzzi owner and is walking away from the marque. I wouldn't take that lightly. So far at over 11K miles, mine shifts sweet and effortless as ever. I pray it stays that way as rebuilding it would break my bank account! I can appreciate your rant. I have been on both sides of the fence of this issue myself. But Guzzi does still have serious quality issues to deal with. Ever since old Mr. Honda passed away his companies level or quality has been going down. Superhawks with exploding cam chains at 10k miles. Gold Wings that overheat and have no range on the CB's. VTX's with serious ignition nightmares... etc. Looks like I need to build my own bike to do it right!
jrt Posted July 15, 2003 Posted July 15, 2003 Welcome to the information age, guys and gals. More than you ever wanted to know, about more than you knew about John, I suspect you're venting some steam, just like others with problematic bikes have vented. Does anyone remember the thread on the wildguzzi or mgnoc discussion list about the guy with the quota that had all sorts of problems? He wanted to set it afire in the middle of some national bike rally. There's more to that saga, but that fellow was doing some venting. It helps sometimes- but remember this is a public place- with ladies and children present. Guzzi is a great bike- I have no hesitation about jumping on any of mine and riding anyplace on the continent. I have been for more than 20 years. But they do require some attention- there's no doubt. I think of it as an eccentric person's motorbike. You have to be willing to invest either money or blood for it. Or maybe its an initiation period- there's some initial settling-in with Guzzi. If you're willing to live with this- it's a great bike. If not- find a bike you are willing to put up with. Everythings a trade-off in one way or another. John's lucky- he's got a great bike, and after all the work he put into it, it should be. I'm lucky (knock wood), my bike has very few problems. But others aren't so lucky. Guzzi is responsible for some problems- the bikes come with a warranty. But after that runs out, its time to take responsibility for a machine that ultimately wears out. There's a lot at stake when you ride your bikes, so keep a little preventative maintanence in mind. Guess I'm venting now. Should this thread be renamed to the ventilator? Jason
TX REDNECK (R.I.P.) Posted July 15, 2003 Posted July 15, 2003 Coming from a mostly Brit bike background and really knowing what it was like to reliabilty problems the Guzzi's problems seem like nitpicking. As I get older I dont have as much time to have that much of a relation with my bike. I've had BMW,H D and just about every Jap bike made,they all had the soul of a refrigerator. The bikes I remember most fondly are the bikes I had a relation ship with and with any good relation it takes commitment. I come from a era when we walked 5 miles to school ,uphill both ways. I'm not saying that some of you youngsters are wrong I'm just saying thats what attracts me to Guzzi's And believe me tinkering with your bike is some of the best therapy you can have. So suck it up slow down and work on your bike make those small improvements and take satisfaction that you made the decision to work on your relation with your Guzzi. Or just say to Hell with it get a divorce lawyer and go buy a Honda.
al_roethlisberger Posted July 15, 2003 Posted July 15, 2003 And stop all this silly talk about "class action" suits that will hurt Guzzi more than anything else.....do you want them to go out of business????? Who was seriously suggesting a "class action" lawsuit? Other than a brief retort during a few past rants(several times sarcastically by those playing devil's advocate BTW), I don't think anyone was advocating this Anyway, since I am a fairly vocal critic of problems when I do find them, I'd just like to say again that I love my Guzzi.... I really do And although there are a LOT of little nits I fix on a weekly basis that I never mention, the ones I do address are either important enough to my "Guzzi experience" or it's an endemic problem across the model-range that I think MG should address. Believe me, I a lot of my own problems to resolution, but if I can make MG aware of an issue that later relieves future owners of some fault, I think that feedback is worth it, even if it's a little painful when MG won't initially recognize the problem. I agree whole-heartedly about the "character" and "soul" of our bikes... and that's why I bought mine But there's a balance, and for some of us, we'd rather work on the new "fun stuff" and not have to revisit work done incorrectly the first time by the factory. That can be a bummer.... especially if it happens repeatedly. I don't think it's unreasonable to expect the factory to get the basics(paint, electrics, engine) right with stone-age technology in the year 2003 I think that's why it is often frustrating for even seasoned Guzzi-philes. However, that being said... al
Mike Stewart Posted July 16, 2003 Posted July 16, 2003 I have heard more than once, on this forum and on others, that the 6 speed tranny is a rolling piece of crap that has many issues and explodes on a regular basis. Who started this? Humm, While my bike was at the shop for the second time for the transmission leak, the transmission did let go. Yep, 3rd. gear came apart and wiped out the rest of the transmission gears. The shop wanted to replace the whole transmission but Guzzi wanted it repaired. Let me see, the parts came out to $2500. US dollars and the new trans was $2500. So the shop rebuilt the transmission and I was without a bike for 3.5 months. I should of charged them for a bike rental... So I just got a call today that my bike is ready after being in the shop for another two months, again for a transmission leak, neutral safty switch and speedo issue. My bitch is that I have talked to the Guzzi Rep, about the time my bike has been in the shop (over 6 months in 2 years) waiting for parts and asked if they could extend my warrantee to compansate for the down time the bike was not on the street. I never received a call back. I think Guzzi of North America is dropping the ball and needs to wake up! I love the bikes but customer service sucks! Mike
TX REDNECK (R.I.P.) Posted July 16, 2003 Posted July 16, 2003 There was something I should have mentioned , having a good dealer who stands by by the marque whether he sold it or not . I just can't say enough good things about M.P.H in Houston. I didn't even buy my bike there,but you would never know it. What few problems I have had have been rectified in record time.You can guess where my next Guzzi will be purchased. Now that I've done all that ass kissing I sure hope Mike will give me a discount on some parts I ordered last week.
Guest vkerrigan Posted July 16, 2003 Posted July 16, 2003 Mike S., Just curious if your transmission problems were with your older V11 Sport or the newer V11 bike? Whichever one it was, hopefully your problems are rectified and you can enjoy the bike.............vkerrigan
emry Posted July 16, 2003 Posted July 16, 2003 Well this seems to boil down to this. All manufacters have had some serious build quility issues with almost all of the new models they release. But the important part is how well the company or dealer (remember, dealers are independantly owned) choose to deal with your selected problem. Guzzi may be hesisitant to issue a recall or even a warrenty authurization but a good dealer will get the problem resolved. A bad dealer may just compound the problem by simply not wishing to deal with you or MG. Most people consider the Japanese brands to be very reliable. This is because the dealers and the factory have worked together to create systems that provide a high level of service with good dealers or an alternate for consumers to deal with for bad dealers. i.e. another dealership. MG while being a OLD marque is just becoming the new kid on the block thanks to the capitol provide by the Aprilia financers (can't remember the guys name) Many dealers seemed to grab MG outlets thinking it was was going to be the next sliced bread, along with Aprilia and Triumph. Unfortunatly after a year or two the novelty wears off and the dealer is stuck dealing with a company that is very different in how it operates from the Japanese or American manufacters. This situation was the same for the Japanese coming in the 70's. Over time the good dealers worked with the factory and have created some very "sucessful" brands. Guzzi will hopefully do the same. I am sure that Guzzi's new management is willing. Unfortately it will not happen overnight. So support the good dealers, (can be hard due to distance )) and enjoy a unique brand. Since the bike itself is neither any better or worse than any off the others.
Mike Stewart Posted July 16, 2003 Posted July 16, 2003 Mike S., Just curious if your transmission problems were with your older V11 Sport or the newer V11 bike? Whichever one it was, hopefully your problems are rectified and you can enjoy the bike.............vkerrigan The trans problem was on my 00 V11 Sport with 16K on the clock. My 03 Rosso does shift better, only one missed shift to date and I blame that one on me! Mike
dlaing Posted July 16, 2003 Posted July 16, 2003 In defense of 2000 models, mine now shifts flawlessly. It took about 12000miles to break in, I have not found a false neutrals in the past 8000 miles. I used to find the every few rides. I am not sure if it is a factor, but I keep the idle low enough, 1000 veglia rpms, so that it does not clunk when shifting from neutral to first. "Your mileage may vary" Also, I use synthetic, which some have claimed should not be used with our transmissions. knock on wood, the tranny will not blow now nor the next 1,000,000 intended miles. I better get riding...
Guest russ Posted July 16, 2003 Posted July 16, 2003 Also, I use synthetic, which some have claimed should not be used with our transmissions. Who said we shouldn't use Synthetic?
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