Are we really brave?

[mdude]

Well. I owned one of their precious reliable Beemers for a couple of years. Bought brand new but leaked oil all over the garage floor like an old country girl.

It also vibrated in a very special way; high frequency vibes that literally made you dizzy. And of course, no fix available from BMW, cause they built the perfect bike y'know.

Any tinkering meant endless scratching of head and much research on the net.

 

The Gooz is a bike I can understand, it just runs.Its ugly. It makes lot of noise. Its reasonably fast. And it dont leak. Its a tractor: give it oil and adjustments now and then and it feels like it will run forever.

A Suki Gixxer will need a complete internal rebuild after 30' kms.

 

The only thing is what ouiji says; its not really that straightforward to fix. But once I tried to remove the battery from my mates Kawa w650 and I gave up after an hour.

I couldn even get my little finger through the maze of pipes and connectors under the seat. Cramped. (just like my favourite band).

 

Image is a strange thing: people here in Europe buy BMWs and Audis and Mercs cause they are well built and highly sophisticated (and make their @#$$#! look bigger). But in all recent consumer tests they dont even reach the top ten. Riddled with faults and underdevelopment. If those old guys at the Moon had decided that BMW is the most dependable bike in the world, then it is. To them.

[Guest britbiker]

I've had three big Guzzis over the last twenty-five years, and about a dozen Beemers. The first two Guzzis (Tonti-framed LeMans's) were rock-solid reliable, and my current one, a V11S greenie, is showing expensive new problems almost every week, though I hope that when I've got all the gremlins out of it, it will be as good as the other two were. Beemers? Well, most of them were wonderful, but two or three were real horrors, necessitating roadside repairs almost every weekend. It seems from my experience that once they get over ten years old, Beemers age very quickly, whereas Guzzis seem not to. GS's seem worse than the rest, despite their tough looks. The best Beemer I ever had was an early oilhead R1100R - six years' use in all weathers and the only new part needed was a tail-light bulb. I've also had two Harleys, neither of which were trouble-free; one was spectacular in the way it destroyed its crank at 80mph one dark night, and the other grenaded its gearbox. So, at the end of the day, are we really brave to ride Guzzis? No, and more recent stuff is generally better than older stuff - though older stuff will have had its problems ironed out by now, and if not, then at least the owners will be aware of what goes wrong and be prepared for it. In points for reliability, my Beemers probably get a higher score than my Guzzis, certainly than my V11 - but the BMW myth is just that, a myth. As for H-Ds, just have the Snap-on van in close attendance if you go further from home than you can walk.

[macguzzi]

i'VE BEEN RIDING GUZZI'S FOR THIRTY YEARS AND HAVE FOUND THEM TO BE THE MOST RELIABLE BIKES i HAVE OWNED ONCE YOU HAVE SORTED OUT THE LITTLE NIGGLES THAT THE FACTORY HAVE NEVER DEALT WITH THEY ARE AS RELIABLE AS ANY BIKE. MY MATES GS HAS JUST BURNT THROUGH IT'S HT LEAD REPLACEMENT COST £ 60.00 WE ALL KNOW HOW MUCH HT LEAD IS BY THE METRE EVEN THE EXPENSIVE STUFF AINT THAT

[John in Leeds]

Sorry to join the BM knockers but BMW really pissed me off.

 

My new 1150gs only let me down once with a large amount of water in the fuel tank (never properly sorted). However corrosion of the wheels and some cycle parts together with weeping oil when hot, a chronic gearbox, lard arse weight and zero engine braking on any rough downhill put the adventure dream to reallity. The refusal of Bath Road Motorcycles and Allan Jeffries to sort the corrosion on a new bike was the crowning glory.

 

One bright note was the service and replacement I finally recieved from Rainbow of Sheffield, bless 'em.

 

My first Guzzi has never yet let me down

 

[JackBoots]

I have a an 1989 K100RSABS. 77,000 miles. No problems ever.

 

I have a flying brick motor K1200GT 2004 model, picked up in 2005 now with 44,000 miles. 1 problem which was the O-ring seal between the motor and tranny. Replaced along with the clutch under warranty at 36,000 miles.

 

I'm not sure about the new boxers or new K bikes, I've heard that they have issues but I do swear by the old flying brick K series motors.

 

As far as my Guzzi which I picked up a year ago with 6000 miles and I now have 14,500 on her. Tip over valve, odometer failure, corroded clutch sensor connections, neutral switch internals needed to be cleaned up, engine paint of course junk, voltage regulator intermittent, plus rear shock failed gushing oil. I also keep a spare pawl spring under my seat in case.

 

All that said, The bike I prefer to ride is still the Guzzi. The BMW may be better on paper, but I love the way the Guzzi looks and it is just a really really fun bike to ride. It's the bike that I always want to take on trips. If my regulator light hadn't started flashing it would have gone to Montreal with me.

 

When I was looking at new ones a few years back. The Ducati/Guzzi dealer asked what kind of riding I do. When I told him weekend touring, he told me that I didn't want one of his Ducati's, I wanted a Guzzi. He said the Ducati's were too fragile and costly to maintain. He then proceeded to show me a huge main bearing from a Guzzi crankshaft. He said "see this? This is something you'd see in a farm tractor. These motors are made to last."

 

As far as people. Well, I really like the Guzzi people. They're well rounded. They like to ride and they like to have fun. The BMW people are kind of uptight, and spend too much time debating the proper viscosity oil for a 60 degree overcast day ( I stole that line from someone here I think) but it is true. The Harley people just spend too much time talking about what chrome piece they just bolted on and what a long ride it was from their house to the pub. ( I also have a Harley BTW, 250,000 miles plus and every piece but the frame, tranny case, and oil bag have needed to be replaced along the way).

 

Don't get me wrong. Until proven otherwise, I take each person as they come, but after a while there are certain stereotypes that you just can't avoid.

[John in Leeds]

Don't get me wrong. Until proven otherwise, I take each person as they come, but after a while there are certain stereotypes that you just can't avoid.

 

 

[gstallons]

"A person who tells an ethnic joke about his own kind is a wit and a person who tells an ethnic joke about someone else is a bigot". *

There are good and bad in every crowd and certain types tend to congregate together

I am a BMWMOA member,own a K-bike and I have lots of friends that own them and are "down to earth" men and women. Then there are the "others"...

I read this joke in an automobile publication... What is the difference between a BMW and a porcupine? .... the pricks are on the outside of a porcupine.

 

* MAD magazine, from a looong time ago.

[Fred C. Dobbs]

A few weeks ago, without any plans, I hopped on the bike and decided to ride to Craters of the Moon. I hadn't been there before; it's about 200 miles from where I live, so really not that far. With all the detours, the whole trip was about 450 mi that day. Mostly two lane highways. Anyway, I got there. It's kind of like a national park in a huge area of dried lava, with paved roads and some parking areas from which you can explore the paths on foot.

 

Well, in one of the parking areas, a couple of older/retired guys who'd arrived in a van or SUV walked over to look at my bike. One of them told me that his buddy had owned an Ambassador many years before, and he wanted to show him a newer Guzzi. He asked me a lot of questions and he seemed to like the bike, at least judging from his comments. Then he told me he'd had some bikes, all Beemers--some Ks, some airheads, and an oilhead. So as they were about to leave, he said, 'You're really brave to have ridden here'. So I asked him why? 'Well, you know, Guzzis don't have a good reputation of reliability'. Of course I told him that some took this bike to Alaska, for example. In the end, he told me that he was thinking of getting a Ducati.

 

WTF? Are we brave or nuts? Are Guzzis that much less reliable than the Beems or Ducks? It's true that BMW people have those big mileage contests (Paralever failures notwithstanding), long-way-round, Iron Butt blah, blah, but really is riding a Guzzi these days such a risky proposition? Maybe somebody needs to do a RTW tour on a V11

[v50man]

Actually -- as I see it -- we are an extraordinarily brave breed of men...

[DeBenGuzzi]

ouiji, I was aware that monsters and many of the older Ducs are easy to wrench on and pretty reliable but the 916+ bikes are notorious nightmares, 749's 999's 916's even the new 1098's have been having a lot of problems, if I were to get a Duc I would probably want the 1000DS or one of the throwbacks but then they are too close to the Guzzi and half as comfy, a 900ss would be sweet, I fear their superbikes tho, ppl have stories of a bike being so broken almost right out of the crate that ducati bought it back and gave them a new one. I think overall Guzzi edges out BMW for reliability but BMW has the name and marketing for it. I have a story I was looking at a white oil filter the guy said it was $18 I picked up a second oil filter and the guy said it was $8 I said whats the difference? he said one has the BMW logo on it.

[Richard Z]

Let 'em think what they want.... When I see a rider broke down on the road, It doesn't matter what they are riding, I'll help if I can. Well, most of the time.

 

And you need one of these....

 

 

Richard Z.

[Fred C. Dobbs]

Are we really brave to travel distances on our V11s? Well.....maybe, though as a new Guzzi owner it is too soon to tell. I bought a showroom condition, low milage Ballabio last winter, specifically with long trips in mind. Had a few minor problems this summer, all solved on warrenty, no big deal. Two weeks ago, on the night before a long awaited 2,500 mile trip, the bike refused to cooperate. I was on a tight schedule--riding with others who I did not want to delay--and after checking "all the usual suspects" with no success, I hopped on my Kawasaki at first light and did the trip.

 

Am I pissed? Not really. Although if the Guzzi had crapped out on some lonely Utah two-laner, I might have been. Prior to buying my Moto Guzzi, I reserched the Sport V11 series bikes carefully, and chose the '04 model, as by then most of the few niggling problems of the early examples had been sorted out. And while I am no mechanic, I educated myself on those few issues that sometimes cause problems, and how to rectify them when on the road.

 

The truth of the matter is, I don't expect my Guzzi to be as trouble free as the typical Japanese motorcycle. Many of the reasons "why" have been discussed on this forum. Still, I think my Ballabio is fundamentally a very solid bike, and there was not one moment during the eight days on the road that I would not have rather been aboard my Guzzi. My Kawasaki is get-the-job-done-two-wheel-transportation, covering ground on the Guzzi, however, is sheer bliss. I've owned a variety of bikes--from a trail 90 to a bevel drive Ducati--and hands down, my Ballabio is the most satisfying motorcycle I have ever owned. Honda could not build a bike like my Guzzi, no matter how hard they tried.

 

I've narrowed the problem with the bike down to erratic fuel delivery--something amiss in the fuel injection system. Fortunately I am close to Moto International, and if I can't sort out the problem with Micha's help over the phone, I can always haul the bike to him to put right. I can't say enough good about these folks.

 

But back to the question: is the V11 a serious traveling rig? I'd say yes--with reservations. Purchase wisely, learn to do your own basic maintenance, carry a complete tool kit and shop manual with appropriate spares, and establish a working relationship with a Guzzi dealer who is knowledgeable, enthusiastic and eager to please. Should the worst happen, remember that many of the problems that stop these bikes are pretty straightforward in nature, and can be solved (or worked around) with a little patience and professional guidence.

 

And it doesn't hurt to have a ready-to-go Rice Burner in the garage as back up. I hesitate to speak for God (take your pick), but I suspect that even He has a Plan "B".

[luhbo]

Bought my first motorcycle ever in 1982, a well used '74 Guzzi 750S, without absolutely any history besides it had stood around for 3 years already. It had a silly ticker right from the first day I had it, and about 3000km later the left piston "disintegrated" while idling at 7000 min-1: I just had to know what this tickering was, well, now I knew. I repaired it myself, made this and that mistake, learned a lot, also how and where to source spare parts and still own this bike today. In company with a LMIII (70.000km) and my V11 Greeny (90.000km).

 

These Guzzis never have left me stranded away from home in all these years. I had one bigger problem once with a dead ECU, but this was a pimped one with a replaced and badly soldered chip.

 

Tell you what: these bikes (Beemers also ? ) are bikes of character, and as such strongly react to the character who ownes them. If you're a whiner you won't get happy with them, they'll kick you as soon as you turn around. The more if you don't ride them properly! I really strongly believe in this.

 

Hubert

[Greg Field]

Tell you what: these bikes (Beemers also ? ) are bikes of character, and as such strongly react to the character who ownes them. If you're a whiner you won't get happy with them, they'll kick you as soon as you turn around. The more if you don't ride them properly! I really strongly believe in this.

 

Hubert

 

 

Well said.

[Steve G.]

I have 5 different makes of bike, including BMW and Moto Guzzi, so my views can be considered about as unbiased as to be found. Honestly, I trust my Guzzi to go anywhere where there is pavement. The only issues I've ever had have been silly little matters which should have been R&D'd out of the bike at the factory. The only issues I deal with now is the annual "burping" of the fuel delivery system during hot day ride stops. The base components of the engine, gearbox and shaft system do not take a back seat to anyone, but it is done based on overbuilding the base components rather than brilliant exacting engineering and machining. The Moto Guzzi engine, excepting the Honda Cub, is probably the only bike engine being used today that was not designed on a computer. If you know anything about the track record and bulletproof reliability of the Honda cub engine series, you realize that there is nothing wrong about it's design origin.

The best days of BMW reliabilty are clearly in the past. Modern BMW's are quite simply burdened with too much electrical components. I just came back from riding the Alps on an '08 GS1200. Fantastic bike, really, brilliant in comfort, and untouchable in the tight twisties, but upon picking it up, the optional ESA [Electronic suspension adjust] was not functioning, so they had to give me a new GSA ofrf the showroom floor for the first days ride. They ended up changing both shock units and the operating computer. Overcomplication, plain & simple. I would definitely consider buying one of these, if the price was not insane, but it would not be equipped with any of the electrical based options, ESA, ABS, etc.

Steve