Guest Le Man Posted May 27, 2003 Posted May 27, 2003 I went to take my wife for a ride tonight..the first time two up on this bike..and when I went into the tool kit to get the hex wrench to remove the passanger seat cover I found I have three hex wrenchs..all the same size! I am glad I found this out now..I am taking a trip through the Blue Ridge Mountains 2 weeks from now and assumed I had a good tool kit. After looking the whole thing over I think I may buy a new kit from Fringe. If you have a new bike or an unexamined tool kit..heads up! Another thing..went to leave the bar tonight and noticed I don't have any brake lights..actually it looks as if the brake lights are stuck on. Any thoughts??
Mike Stewart Posted May 27, 2003 Posted May 27, 2003 Le man, Check the rear brake lever for binding. It should return to the adjustable stop. My 03 Rosso rear brake lever was tight at the pivot bolt. I had to remove the brake lever and file down the bushing that is pressed into the brake lever. Works smooth now, however I believe it has warped the rear brake rotor from having the brake partially on. I now get the dreaded rear brake moan when the bike is rolled forward or back. I am still fighting the no crank condition. Seems the problem is either the clutch switch or the starter button. When the problem happens, a turn lock to lock with let the bike crank and start up. I am off the the garage to check on my tool bag to see if there are any suprises. I did notice that they give you a 14 mm. hex to remove the front and rear axle bolts. Mike
Guest Le Man Posted May 27, 2003 Posted May 27, 2003 Thanks Mike! I'll check the rear brake lever today. I am going to upgrade the tool kit. Either by buying one from fringe ideas or building one up from scratch using Snap-on stuff. I was traveling last week and missed your no crank issue. That is a pisser. Italian bikes...always something.. Mike
twhitaker Posted May 27, 2003 Posted May 27, 2003 Snap-on makes a set of metric allen wrenches with ball drives on one end of each wrench. When I buy a new bike I buy another set of these wrenches and swap with the cheap soft ones Guzzi sells. The tool kit comes with only 3 but you'll likely want to carry 8.
RichMaund Posted May 27, 2003 Posted May 27, 2003 If you're interested, I build tool pouches to fit these bikes that are double the size of a stock Guzzi tool envelope. I have thick black leather in stock and can build you one on a day's notice if you like. $30 plus shipping. Here is a pic of my own in red leather (Can't get that anymore, sorry.) Contact me at rmaund@pinn.net if you're interested.
jrt Posted May 27, 2003 Posted May 27, 2003 I've found that the Guzzi toolset is made of only the softest, most pliable aluminum. Perhaps so as not to bruise the bolts as they are gently guided out of their respective resting places? Toss the stock toolkit and make up a decent one. Maybe some of the tools are worth keeping, but most will just bring grief when you need them. Sorry for the rant....calm....calm... The other place to check for a stuck brake-switch is the front brake lever- there's a tiny little ball in there that may be catywhumpus (that's the technical term). You can loosen up the switch (two brass screws/nuts- use a jewelers screwdriver) and jiggle it around to get the ball to seat. Or you can remove the brake-lever to do the same thing (it's easier, but don't loose the ball). Oh yeah, the quick and dirty way to check to see which switch is just unplug it. They're both easy to unplug- whichever turns the brakelight off is the culprit. Cheers, Jason
Guest Le Man Posted May 28, 2003 Posted May 28, 2003 Thanks for all the feedback guys! I am in total agreement to toss the tools and get real ones. The pliers that Guzzi includes are a joke and a half. The brake light problem turned out to be the bulb socket. It has almost no spring pressure on the bayonet base so the bulb can turn and move around at will. I've done a quick fix but I depend on my brake light so I am about to search out a new unit. It seems I have seen a trick LED rig that flashes bright and changes intensity relating to the duration of the brake application. The one I saw is a bar that mounts above your rear plate with about 10 LED's on it. Any ideas? Mike
al_roethlisberger Posted May 28, 2003 Posted May 28, 2003 This is what I've got: Kisan Tail-Blazer Modulating Halogen Bulb ...you just plug it in. Although if you check my review in the "old forum" there is a bit of modification to the socket to get it to seat all the way. Just a bit of plastic trimming. It's worked great for me so far al
Guest Le Man Posted May 28, 2003 Posted May 28, 2003 Al! You da man buddy!! These products look great. Which bulb number did you get? What do you think about the Vectra Lights? I was looking at frog eyes but these may be more in line for me. (These forums are great) Mike
al_roethlisberger Posted May 28, 2003 Posted May 28, 2003 Hrmm, I don't remember the part number off-hand, but here is the link to my review in the "old forum": Old Forum Tailblazer Review ...hrmm, I don't know anything about their "Vectra" lights though. Although I do have their Headlight Modulator. You have to get an external unit though, as there is no room in the bucket for their piggy-back unit. I had to get their Goldwing model, but that was a plus as it's got a much more durable MOSFET in it. At least that's what the Kisan folks told me. If you go this route, you'll have to call Kisan to figure out which wires go where, as their instructions are Goldwing specific, and so are the connectors. I also have their Signal Minder, and like it a lot, although I'm going to rewire their connector with an AMP weather-resistant one when I get the chance. al
Guest russ Posted May 28, 2003 Posted May 28, 2003 We sell the Top of the Line Cruz kit for $115.99 (under MSRP) and members of this Forum get an additional 10%. Check it out at FringeIdeas.com
al_roethlisberger Posted May 28, 2003 Posted May 28, 2003 ...and for those that wonder, Russ just confirmed for me that the kit is 9" long by 6" wide. That makes it about an inch and a half too wide for the stock tool-tray(and Rich's leather bag if you have one) and similarly about an inch too long. I think this also makes the Cruz kit a bit too wide to fit easily into the cove in the tail as well. So unless one took the tools out of the Cruz kit and put the loose tools into the OEM bag or something like Rich's, I don't know where it could easily fit under the seat. That's too bad as it seems like a really nice kit Maybe I'm wrong though. If someone has the kit and is able to squish the cordura bag around, and it does indeed fit somewhere, that would be good to know al
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