Concern with '04 Nero Corsa... (?)

[Guest Aughtsix]

I might have a lead on a '04 Nero Corsa, very low miles and possibly at a very good price (owner's not really sure yet if he wants to sell).

 

And all's well other than my concern with the soft valve stem issue. I've done the search and rehashed everyone's comments but I still can't really put my finger on an answer -- could this be a problem on an '04? Mike Rich reportedly said that all of the big valves after, what, '95 have soft stems. Other members have reported no problems, even on relatively high-mileage engines.

 

One school of thought is to buy it and cross that bridge if and when I come to it. Another school of thought is to be prepared for what may come. With this issue, I'd rather be in the second school...

 

TIA

[jrt]

"Bikeless at the moment"???

You need to fix that situation, post haste!

 

OK- here's my 2c. I think the soft valve issue is rare- there are some out there and there are some ok valves. Carl may disagree with me, but I haven't heard enough people complain to convince me that it's a common problem.

What's the best that can happen? Nothing. Bike runs fine for a long time.

What's the worst that can happen? Bike runs good for a couple 5-10K miles, then performance drops. You measure leakdown, determine there's a problem, and do a valve job. Couple of hundred bucks later, bike runs fine for a long time.

I have ~18K on mine now and it runs better than the day I bought it. Again, I'm not saying this problem doesn't exist, but I do question how common it is. And don't you think if Guzzi was making soft valves in ~95 or so, they'd have fixed it 10 years later. Uh, wait...never mind that last part.

 

Get a bike Aughtsix! You NEED one!

[Keith Foster]

I agree with JRT, it doesn't seem to be a widespread issue. Far less than the tranny spring issue. But soft guides won't leave one stranded either. My '04 Nero is at 12K miles, and she's rock'in down the road sweeter every day. What neck of the woods is the bike? What price are you looking to pick it up? My - jump on it!!

[richard100t]

My is you gotta have a If you need to find someone to tell you not to buy a Guzzi you may be on the wrong site Most of the bikes are pretty trouble free, we usually only post about the problems here. Personally my Goose has been Honda type reliable after 7500 miles. Theyre easy to work on anyway if you do have a problem. Plus the cool factor is way high on the Nero's JMO of course.

[Steve G.]

Soft valve guides is not one of the things that come up when talking about the "character foibles" of a late 1100cc Guzzi engine. I have 30,000 on mine, and it actually is running better now than when it had 50-15,000 on it. Silly old things really.

Ciao, Steve G.