with regrets ,mixed, selling,i think,stranded

[fernando]

here i go again.

last saturday i rode to lime rock conn. and on myy way back ,as i slowed down for a braking car my teni v11 lemans ,etc... shut down.

to make the story short ,AAA said that they did not offer pick up of bikes even thou my contract specifies that they do,but not in conn, so after a while they agreed that i was covered and it took them from 1 pm when i called to almost 7 pm for the truck to arrive to pick me up and take me home.

i stood by the side of the road for 6 hours or so. many stopped to help,mostly harley's and some bmw's but only 1 mg out of 3 that rode by.

 

anyhow ,the problem ,i think , is the fuel pump.

it did not whirrrr when i turned the key on and the fuse and releay have been ruled out by test.

 

so i have called Marsh in hartford and have asked them if they would take the bike on consignment and sell it for me ,and to replace /fix the problem.

 

i cannot have a bike that i cannot trust. this is like owning a jaguar ,great when it runs ,but you never know when it will blow up on you.

 

because i am leaving for my motorcycle trip in europe tomorrow and will be away for 5 weeks i have no choice but to have a truck pick up the bike and take it to Marsh today or tomorrow if they say YES,the will accept it.

 

the bike has 2 revised seats with 1 1/2 inch taller position and a combination of foam/gell and ensolite for comfort and zero vibrations.and less strain on knees .

have gone 14 hour days and no pains anywhere after i modified it.

the thomasville hi risers

gorilla alarm

2 bags plus one set of bag hardware to adapt to say an aluminun bag or attache case etc..

wired for a valentine radar remote .with remote display on top of underside of windshield for a quicker view.the radar rests on the tank bag,inside.

16,000 miles.

 

sorry to see it go,if Marsh says yes.but i cannot trust it.

 

price,have no idea ,the book says $ 9,800. retail plus the bags and the alarm and risers are 450. but what the hell.

[Guest ratchethack]

Fernando, I sympathize. This is frustrating. 6 hours by the side of the road is enough time to come up with LOTS of negative thoughts.......

 

This is just me, but I think you might be indulging in a hasty decision if this single event is what has caused you to reject Guzzi ownership. It'd be one thing if your situation were common, but I think the historical facts are otherwise, statistically speaking. Sure there are many immediate "must do's" to make the Guzzi reliable. But these are all relatively minor and are well understood and mapped-out for you on Forums like this. Nearly ALL other marques, IMHO, have track records of lesser long-term reliability than Guzzi.

 

It sounds to me like you're finally entirely through the break-in period and have very nicely set the bike up just the way you like it. With this last event, it's likely that all the "infant mortality" possibilities have come and gone and y'er "over the hump". It'd be a shame to throw all that effort away as a result of one breakdown.........and evidently an extremely rare kind of breakdown, at that.....

 

May you do whatever pleases you, but I would just encourage you to think twice about throwing the baby out with the bathwater, my friend. It could be a rash decision that you'd regret later.

 

BAA, TJM, & YMMV

[KiloSjon]

May you do whatever pleases you, but I would just encourage you to think twice about throwing the baby out with the bathwater, my friend.  It could be a rash decision that you'd regret later.

 

BAA, TJM, & YMMV

90688[/snapback]

 

Been there, with my VF1000F but same situation. If my wife had let my, I'd run that m*therf*cker in the canal... After a good fix though I still managed to run 30.000kms with it, and we became friends again. But I agree: if you don't feel sure on the bike, you want to get rid of it.

 

Please be aware that a friend of mine had similar problems with his BMW R1150RT and I also had it with my Volvo 850, so don't blame it too much on the Goose, can happen with any vehicle...

 

Just some thoughts...

[MINNESOTALEMANS]

I have the same trouble with my 02 lemans if its hot 95+out it wont run if you stop and start again (for gas or a pop ect) no matter what i do to it i have leard to park it out in the open not next to others to help it cool of so the fuel pump make the (right sound ) if i dont hear the good sound I HAVE TO WAIT there or down the road when it quits so i wait at the gas station ,bar what have you less stressful that way. and not as imbarssing just life the guzzi way iguess you figure ways around it.dont sell it you will miss it .be chosee ride a guzzi !

[Guest ratchethack]

From the symptoms Fernando described, it may be something as simple as what has happened to many (including me) and easily and premanently fixed as mentioned recently here:

 

http://www.v11lemans.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=8098

 

[badmotogoozer]

I might be right behind you Fernando. Seems like some get a good one, most get average ones, and some of us get machines posessed by the devil. I'm up to a miniscule 12K on my gremlin posessed beast, low only because of her propensity for down time. She's been parked since mid last summer. I don't even have the heart to think about working on it anymore.

 

If there was anything on the market I found appealing I'd be trading her in fast.

 

I bought a bike with soul. Unfortunately it was an evil soul.

 

Last night I discovered why my trans was leaking again. A bolt was left out when she had her warranty work done. That or it worked itself out and is now bashing around somewhere in the trans.

 

I've right nearly had it.

 

I'll poke around at it this summer while I flog the old beasts around. Haven't had an "old bike" summer in a while.

 

Rj

[orangeokie]

I always throw this out there from experience . . . KNOW THE RULES

[mountainrider]

I can understand your feelings.

I'm in the throws of sorting out an intermittant electrical problem,that has been lurking since new.

I'm down to either the fuel pump or a little connector near the relay block.

Does anyone know what this is?Does it have a fuse link of some sort or just a fuel pump connector?

I've got 20,000 miles on my '02,but glad I'm I bought the 96 BMWRT,its been bone reliable,if lacking charisma.

Does any one have a wiring schematic for these bikes?I'm really wanting to get this sorted out,I love the bike when it runs,but it's not reliable anymore.

[richard100t]

Trade it in on a new Breva 1100 :!: I was at my local dealer this weekend & they are really cool. I'm currently weighing my penny jar to see if I can afford a new Griso The Breva looks like an awesome touring bike.

[jrt]

Check Guzzitech for a schematic. Carl Allison has dedicated his life to transcribing the arcane Guzzi wiring schematics . He's like a rosetta stone. I'm not trying to say he's a blockhead (grin). Guzzitech and Greg Bender (loopframe guy) generously host these files now.

[supertwin1]

What....you mean you don't carry an extra FI relay(updated)with you? It's old news you can't trust the Siemans relays. Get a Bosch or go to Radio Shack and get a couple for the other circuits that will soon fail. I read this post and am glad I got a Ghezzi-Brian....no bitchin' for 25K miles. Sorry to hear of your misfortune, minor as it may be. Don't sell...one day they'll all be H20 cooled and you'll yearn for the twin.

[Orson]

i cannot have a bike that i cannot trust. this is like owning a jaguar ,great when it runs ,but you never know when it will blow up on you.

90677[/snapback]

Sorry to hear this

 

I have 27,000 miles on my Tenni, travelling all over Europe. The only glitch being 2 rear wheel bearings.

 

I have a feeling that having it set up by a good dealer may have something to do with it.

[DeBenGuzzi]

Sorry to hear this

 

I have 27,000 miles on my Tenni, travelling all over Europe. The only glitch being 2 rear wheel bearings.

 

I have a feeling that having it set up by a good dealer may have something to do with it.

90764[/snapback]

That is very true they should add to the rule, Change out the wheel bearings and if its o2 and before wrap those fuel lines. unless those are on there then my apologies.

[felix42o]

These kinds of things are frustrating- I was down for quite awhile chasing electrical problems, culminating in the replacement of one very expensive alternator, three rectifiers (I fried two before finding the short in the alternator) most of the major connectors, and a lot of fuses. If you can hang on through the bugs, these things seem to end up being pretty indestructible. FWIW, I don't think I've heard of anyone else with fuel pump problems, so maybe it's a fluke (like I hope my alternator problem was)

[dlaing]

but only 1 mg out of 3 that rode by.

90677[/snapback]

What a shame.

That is almost depressing enough to make me want to give up on the marque.

But other brands aren't any better.

Last time I was stranded many bikes passed by with me obviously in distress.