Guaranteed faults

[belfastguzzi]

It is seeming to me there are a number of faults that are prety well guaranteed to be built into these bikes. The ones that I have seen reported here and have experienced myself are:–

• The spring thing

• Today my speedometer has stopped working

• and I have looked closely at the throttle body rubber tubes and sure enough, they are cracked right round.

 

Like so many others, all this on a very low mileage bike (1,350 miles).

 

In the last few days I have noticed that the right side exhaust has a distinct smell, while the left doesn't. Pulling the spark plugs a few times has shown that the right plug is completely black while the left is a more healthy grey. Is this another well-known problem with new bikes? It could be a number of things, but any ideas from experience? (I don't think that the intake tubes are cracked right through yet.)

[Guest jerroldt]

As I stated before, shifter springs broke as far back as the seventies and eighties. there seems to be no factory solution. I also had trouble with the starter relay on my 850 but knew how to use a contact file to dress down the contacts. Other than that, I rode the bike for ten years with only a fork seal gone bad and the replacement of tires. I got better service from it than any of my Harley's. I don't know the answer. The main thing that I worry about now is the shifter spring.

[jrt]

I've only had one shifter spring go bad on me and that was a five speed box in the '80's (knock wood). I haven't actually worried about breaking one since.

My plugs are both good- did you check your TPS settings, belfast?

[belfastguzzi]

Re. the plugs – I haven't delved into the tps setting thing as yet.

 

Re. the other problems – DON'T PANIC, don't panic, should perhaps be engraved on the headstock somewhere. Things aren't so bad after all. Need to go back outside as it's getting dark: will report later. I still think that there are some faults that are 99% guaranteed on particular models. The better news is that it looks like they can be fixed if caught in time or can be addressed with preventitive work. (It's just a pity that the factory doesn't do this before selling the bikes on.)

[Guest bshpilot]

I got better service from it than any of my Harley's.

 

whoa theres a comparison that i never thought id have to make...

and not quite the level of quality i wanna be held down to...

 

sorry and i wish i couldnt say this but nothin' beats the quality of

HONDA...paint/fit finish (many say they have no personality...but

while others are fixing their personality....the honda guys out riding

w/out much worry of break downs or...is the wife home to come and

get me in the truck)

[Guest Bruce]

I'd replace those boots as soon as you can.l

[al_roethlisberger]

I got better service from it than any of my Harley's.

 

whoa theres a comparison that i never thought id have to make...

and not quite the level of quality i wanna be held down to...

 

sorry and i wish i couldnt say this but nothin' beats the quality of

HONDA...paint/fit finish (many say they have no personality...but

while others are fixing their personality....the honda guys out riding

w/out much worry of break downs or...is the wife home to come and

get me in the truck)

 

 

That's true regarding Honda.... although they've hit a few "bumps in the road" this last couple years with the new VFR, ST1300, and VX-thingee.... cracking frames, bad heads, etc...

 

al

[Guest bshpilot]

That's true regarding Honda.... although they've hit a few "bumps in the road" this last couple years with the new VFR, ST1300, and VX-thingee.... cracking frames, bad heads, etc...

 

good points...and well taken...devils advocate that i am ill have to say that honda's problems are something "less than consistant" when it comes to

poor quality year on year.

 

i should say too that bmw burnt my ass bad w/ my k1200lt...'least i

know what im gettin' into w/ my v11....i wish i could say i screwed

up buying a 1st model year (bmw)...but 4 and 5yrs later they STILL

dont have things resolved & wont admit to some of 'em (w/out

involving a district service manager)...considering what the bmw

cost (even compared to other bikes) it should be FLAWLESS

[Steve G.]

Regarding the one side smelling, and black spark plug, the engine really should be given a chance to break in some. 1350 miles or kms, is just not enough to seat things. Run it in to the point in mileage where you can run it hard. I'm not sure why, but both the Moto Guzzi big block and the old air head beemer engine take a long time to set into running shape.

Ciao, Steve G.

[Guest davidb]

I have a bmw now and have had two others, both R bikes. They never left me stranded. I put a shitload of hard miles on them too.The Guzzi is fun to ride but I don't know how reliable it is yet. But I will say, every after-market part I bought so far has not come with all the parts and the rack did not come with bolts. Whats up with the MG suppliers?

[docc]

Like so many 'highly tuned' Italian machines your service interval may be too long to wait to adjust valves and adjust the balance of the throttle bodies.

 

A crack in the intakes will throw the balance off hopelessly. Spray a little carb cleaner on the intake cracks to see if the idle varies. If so the intakes need replacing (or at least a few wraps of electrical tape!).

 

Speedometer failure is often cable related. Or on the early bikes , the bevel drive will press apart on reassembly.

[watanabetakemasa]

My shop gave advise to me that

replace intake rubber boots every 2years.

He said that rubber worn by UV and heat.

How do you think ? I think ofcourse it is more safe

but every 2 years is too much.

My rubber boots bothside cracking surface,

but does not seem leaking/sucking air.

[Baldini]

right plug is completely black while the left is a more healthy grey

Belfastguzzi,

 

How' bike running?

Is FI set up? I don't know nuthin bout FI but took it to a man as did & he made a big improvement. May be worth checkin in somewhere when you're over?

 

Done tappets?

 

Used to get so fed up w/speedo cable breaking on Tontis, eventually just let it go & checked speed by tacho/ mileage in me head...never believe mileage on a used 850 !

 

"...It's good to know that in this world of... progress & corruption, that somethings do not change... like the beaks of eagles..." =- or something like that.

 

KB

[jrt]

Good point about the valve lash. That can really screw up a nicely running machine.

Ditto on the intakes. Watanabetakemasa, I think 2 years is kind of short time to replace intakes too. Depends on a lot of factors, though. Ozone can destroy rubber very, very quickly. On my older G5 which had rubber boots, they would crack and look awful, but they never, ever leaked. Still, it's easy to check out.

J

[belfastguzzi]

As I said: DON"T PANIC

– things weren't as bad as they seemed.

 

The intake tube: showed signs of ripping right round

– presumably because of pressure from metal band plus vibration. It's these tubes that hold the weight of the throttle assemblies.

• The wall is actually quite thick and the cracking is nowhere near penetrating through. Rubbed in sealant and replaced, trying to tighten the bands 'just enough' and not 'too much'.

 

The speedometer. Yes, the gear housing had come apart.

 

• I thoroughly greased everything and reassembled, tieing the case to hopefully hold it together.

 

The same parts are at the speedometer end. While up there, I considered

• the tachometer fogging problem again. The main difference between the two clocks is the BIG hole in the metal speedo case where the shaft for the tripmeter goes through. I still can't see that drilling a hole only in the plastic case can make any difference. Air can get in anyway and the plastic housing is exactly the same on both sides. So I drilled a 6mm hole in the metal tacho case, up beside the bulb location. Maybe it will work.

 

• Re the sooty plug on one side. Don't know about that yet... but while I was doing the work, I took the lid off the airbox just for fun. Who's that making all the noise with the jackhammer when I start the bike?

 

A couple more pictures of speedo gear parts here