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Dropping the Guzzi

Laborant

Just got it firing!
Joined
Apr 21, 2019
Messages
2
Location
Latvia
Hi!

I'm sure somewhere on the forum is the answer I'm looking for... but couldn't find it. Guzzis have protruding engine parts... so my question - if U drop Guzzi it automatically means - tow truck?
 
What "they" said. ^^^^^

I have visited the pavement more times than I care to remember. In all cases -- from mere "drops" to more serious "Oh Shix ... I'm going to die!" :eek: events, I was -- despite ATGATT -- usually in more of a hurt than my Guzzis.

In other words, I have ridden motorcycles home when I should have called an ambulance, i.e., with broken bones, etc. :cry:

Machismo is a powerful force, often overriding common sense and good judgment. ;)

Seriously -- tho all of the above was -- there are accidents that mean tow truck. There are also ways to avoid some damage.

Some surprisingly minor events mean your machine may be unrideable. See, e.g., this for that: https://gtmotocycles.com/products/gt-eccentric-folding-toe-peg

And, depending on model, crash bars can help; see, e.g., these: https://gtmotocycles.com/search?type=product&q=crash*

Best wishes for your question remaining rhetorical. :clap:

Bill
 
The wife and I have had a few differences of opinion with our respective Guzzi's (i.e., we thought we should be going one direction and our Guzzi though we should be going a different direction). We have never had to get it towed home. We have always managed to ride them home. I do recommend cylinder head guards that bolt to the head in some form or other. Some Guzzi's come with them stock, like my Griso. But having them is a good idea. One issue I have seen is the spark plug and spark plug boot getting mangled. We carry spares whenever we are going for more than a day ride.
 
I dropped my 1200 sport and followed it 20 meters down the road on my arse untill it stopped against a traffic island ,it had quite a bit of cosmetic dammage but i was still able to ride it home. As you can see the standard head protectors work well
 

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Worthy of note to those reading this (and despite the many that will want to debate me on it)... I have been involved with several major engine failures over the last 10 years (mostly on 1100-2V motors), where piston/rings/cylinder destroy themselves due to cylinder studs being bent from everything from parking lot tip-overs to moving falls. This drops tons of metal into the bottom end and trashes the motor. Yes it can be rebuilt, but easier to replace the motor in this instance.
I'm not posting this to scare anyone, but it is worth the time to inspect everything from even the most minor falls; Pull and check the studs as a minimum, and on the 8V motors, valve gear since the valve covers are bolted to them. Most of the time you will likely be OK, but it has shown to be prohibitively costly if things go south.
I have a 2015 Griso 1200-8V right now that likely fell victim to this. I will post info as it comes apart.
Crash-bars are cheap insurance IMO, and I run them on all of my bikes that can easily accept them.
All said, my first Guzzi had been down a few times (minimal impact to the valve covers only), and it made it 265k miles. The motor was still running great when I pulled it out to build it into GTM-01.5.
 
I dropped the bike early 2011 with about 25-30,000klms on it and it has now done just over 80,000klms with no problems.
 
Results of a low speed tip over with a 2015 Griso below, taken apart in my shop today. Visual valve cover impact was minimal. Cylinder studs bent and caused excessive wear on the piston... took out the rod/crank bearings and crank journal. Put crash-bars on folks.

D9AE99C4 4A92 42DA 890B 8063BB540C8E
B232A15F 6D76 413B A63D 09AB24482F12
EF2E47E4 9281 4FBC B0C2 B25992879FCC
B64956A1 07A3 494B 9C8B DB8F0F464D46
868D1B3F 146B 4339 9E0B C921BF5D6552
 
I low sided mine a couple of months back. I couldn't believe it, no damage to the motor or the tank. I have a Breva 750 so maybe the twin exhaust saved the important bits? I did break the mirror, signal, scratched the wind screen and exhaust guard. But i picked it up and rode it home.
 
Results of a low speed tip over with a 2015 Griso below, taken apart in my shop today. Visual valve cover impact was minimal. Cylinder studs bent and caused excessive wear on the piston... took out the rod/crank bearings and crank journal. Put crash-bars on folks.

View attachment 16967
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View attachment 16965
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Hi Todd. Do you think it possible to install the under piston spray jets from an 4 valve engine into a 2 valve block ??
 
Hi Todd. Do you think it possible to install the under piston spray jets from an 4 valve engine into a 2 valve block ??
Ghezzi did it with internal plumbing (which led to the factory finally doing it rumor has it), so with a handful of work, answer is yes.
 
Worthy of note to those reading this (and despite the many that will want to debate me on it)... I have been involved with several major engine failures over the last 10 years (mostly on 1100-2V motors), where piston/rings/cylinder destroy themselves due to cylinder studs being bent from everything from parking lot tip-overs to moving falls. This drops tons of metal into the bottom end and trashes the motor. Yes it can be rebuilt, but easier to replace the motor in this instance.
I'm not posting this to scare anyone, but it is worth the time to inspect everything from even the most minor falls; Pull and check the studs as a minimum, and on the 8V motors, valve gear since the valve covers are bolted to them. Most of the time you will likely be OK, but it has shown to be prohibitively costly if things go south.
I have a 2015 Griso 1200-8V right now that likely fell victim to this. I will post info as it comes apart.
Crash-bars are cheap insurance IMO, and I run them on all of my bikes that can easily accept them.
All said, my first Guzzi had been down a few times (minimal impact to the valve covers only), and it made it 265k miles. The motor was still running great when I pulled it out to build it into GTM-01.5.
265,000 miles? Damn that's amazing....and still going in the 01.5. Unreal, gotta love the 8V.
 
265,000 miles? Damn that's amazing....and still going in the 01.5. Unreal, gotta love the 8V.
Me thinks that's Todds old Jackal, no? Should be a story in itself.
Yes, the 265k was on the 1100-2V motor(s), ~165k on the stock engine, which was still running strong when I replaced it with a modded V11 Sport motor; Which had ~100k on it when I converted it to GTM-01.5, now powered by the 1200-2V motor.
History of my Jackal here; https://archive.guzzitech.com/thebikes/ToddsJackal.html

GT-MMJ-7-07-2.jpg
 
For too many years custom builders have placed form over function. If it looked weird, and was impossibly hard to build, you would win the big price, weather it was rideable or not.
Here is a clean custom where everything is improved; wheels, brakes, comfort, performance, ergos and suspension. Even cosmetics.
Back in the '90s, long before the café racer craze, I built a couple of customs that ended up featured in our national mag up here.
I look at my Jackal, and the hacksaw hanging on the wall with un-pure thoughts going through my head!
However, I'm retired, so there is no time for this kind of indulgence anymore......
 
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