gasgas
Tuned and Synch'ed
I have just bought a 2018 (I think!) new white V9 Roamer - well it is new in the sense it had 4 miles on the clock when I wheeled it out of the showroom. I got it as a pre-reg deal, at £6000 which I think is about £2700 off list. This is the time of year to buy,I thought - don't wait for the prices to soar in the spring!
My reason for coming and posting before having photos is my experience of test riding this model and a V7 III before I bought it. I had a Breva a few years ago - pic in my avatar - and the foot pegs were too high, I got bad hip pain. A couple of years ago I visited a Guzzi dealer and tried a new model and the dealer told me that the pegs had been lowered by MG because lots of people had complained about this issue. However the prices of the new models put me off - even a couple of years ago a V7 was well over £8000.
So just before Christmas I went to a dealer that was advertising these V7 IIIs and V9s at serious discounts. I got on the V7 demonstrator and rode off for a test and it coughed and spluttered terribly on low throttle settings. It was awful and I wanted to know the reason - surely people wouldn't buy something that behaved like this? It was quite lovely at normal road speeds but I couldn't imagine riding through town traffic on it.
I returned to the dealer and tried the V9 demonstrator. This was totally different, it behaved flawlessly. Moreover it was exactly £1000 less cost than the V7, which I find strange, but there you are. So I bought one, and went to collect it on December 27th.
I got on it in the dealers car park and drove onto the public road. Cough splutter it went. I got to the nearby T junction and turned on to the main road. Then all hell broke loose, it was coughing, spluttering, not running at all well. It started to only fire on one cylinder, and then I was convinced it was going to grind to a halt. I tried all throttle openings and it just wouldn't go. So I thought oh dear (or thoughts to that effect) and pulled over to the side. I turned around and coughed, spluttered and banged my way back towards the dealer. Then all of a sudden it burst into life and worked properly.
I thought to myself that when I get back to the dealer, they will come out, ride it up the road and it will run perfectly and I will look like a stupid idiot. So I turned round once again towards home.
Home is about 65 miles, and before I got out of the dealers town I had to filter a couple of miles through stationary traffic on a dual carriageway. This of course was the exact conditions that would cause the rough running, but it went fine. In first gear I was opening and closing the throttle a touch, slipping the clutch, light pressure on the rear brake, and it went perfectly well. Once I was on the open road, a country road with 60 speed limits it was perfect. I went through villages, slowing appropriately and got home in one piece.
My conclusion is that I don't know why, but it seemed to me that a brand new, never run V9 didn't run properly just because it was new. Seems to me that the dealer could not have run it up the road to test it, they must have just put petrol (that's what we have in the UK) in the tank, a number plate on the back, and sold it to me. They are a big dealer by the way, selling lots of makes, the salesman told me they sell between 21 and 25 bikes a week, steadily throughout the year.
I am hoping the VIN will confirm it is a 2018 bike - I think I heard the salesman mutter 2017 during the purchase process. I think the VIN includes the year somewhere doesn't it? Anyhow it's not very important, it is still a new bike.
I fitted heated grips today and now I am looking for a rear carrier and a fly screen. The OEM prices are a figment of a fairy tale writer's imagination so I'm not going there. Also the dealer's servicing prices are a bit of a surprise - they want £276 for a service. The garage I got my car from does a 2 year service plan for cars over 3 years old, of £237 for two years servicing plus 2 years MOT tests (that's the roadworthiness test we have here). That is what I call value for money, not £276 for one motorbike service where you don't have to remove fairings to get at the plugs and head valves.
Sorry for the ramble - does anyone have a reason for the terrible rough running in the first mile with the engine cold of course? I took it out today, from cold, and it ran just fine.
My reason for coming and posting before having photos is my experience of test riding this model and a V7 III before I bought it. I had a Breva a few years ago - pic in my avatar - and the foot pegs were too high, I got bad hip pain. A couple of years ago I visited a Guzzi dealer and tried a new model and the dealer told me that the pegs had been lowered by MG because lots of people had complained about this issue. However the prices of the new models put me off - even a couple of years ago a V7 was well over £8000.
So just before Christmas I went to a dealer that was advertising these V7 IIIs and V9s at serious discounts. I got on the V7 demonstrator and rode off for a test and it coughed and spluttered terribly on low throttle settings. It was awful and I wanted to know the reason - surely people wouldn't buy something that behaved like this? It was quite lovely at normal road speeds but I couldn't imagine riding through town traffic on it.
I returned to the dealer and tried the V9 demonstrator. This was totally different, it behaved flawlessly. Moreover it was exactly £1000 less cost than the V7, which I find strange, but there you are. So I bought one, and went to collect it on December 27th.
I got on it in the dealers car park and drove onto the public road. Cough splutter it went. I got to the nearby T junction and turned on to the main road. Then all hell broke loose, it was coughing, spluttering, not running at all well. It started to only fire on one cylinder, and then I was convinced it was going to grind to a halt. I tried all throttle openings and it just wouldn't go. So I thought oh dear (or thoughts to that effect) and pulled over to the side. I turned around and coughed, spluttered and banged my way back towards the dealer. Then all of a sudden it burst into life and worked properly.
I thought to myself that when I get back to the dealer, they will come out, ride it up the road and it will run perfectly and I will look like a stupid idiot. So I turned round once again towards home.
Home is about 65 miles, and before I got out of the dealers town I had to filter a couple of miles through stationary traffic on a dual carriageway. This of course was the exact conditions that would cause the rough running, but it went fine. In first gear I was opening and closing the throttle a touch, slipping the clutch, light pressure on the rear brake, and it went perfectly well. Once I was on the open road, a country road with 60 speed limits it was perfect. I went through villages, slowing appropriately and got home in one piece.
My conclusion is that I don't know why, but it seemed to me that a brand new, never run V9 didn't run properly just because it was new. Seems to me that the dealer could not have run it up the road to test it, they must have just put petrol (that's what we have in the UK) in the tank, a number plate on the back, and sold it to me. They are a big dealer by the way, selling lots of makes, the salesman told me they sell between 21 and 25 bikes a week, steadily throughout the year.
I am hoping the VIN will confirm it is a 2018 bike - I think I heard the salesman mutter 2017 during the purchase process. I think the VIN includes the year somewhere doesn't it? Anyhow it's not very important, it is still a new bike.
I fitted heated grips today and now I am looking for a rear carrier and a fly screen. The OEM prices are a figment of a fairy tale writer's imagination so I'm not going there. Also the dealer's servicing prices are a bit of a surprise - they want £276 for a service. The garage I got my car from does a 2 year service plan for cars over 3 years old, of £237 for two years servicing plus 2 years MOT tests (that's the roadworthiness test we have here). That is what I call value for money, not £276 for one motorbike service where you don't have to remove fairings to get at the plugs and head valves.
Sorry for the ramble - does anyone have a reason for the terrible rough running in the first mile with the engine cold of course? I took it out today, from cold, and it ran just fine.