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Goodbye to Guzzi

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Not positive how Guzzi's arrive at the dealer but Hondas arrived and as a dealer you would never look at the gearbox or master cylinders because those were filled "correctly" at the factory.

I'm not assuming either happened at set up, but considering his mileage and his statement that he let the dealer touch it I presume the overfilled gearbox occurred at the break-in service.

The master cylinder I'm assuming the gasket wasn't seated properly. But if so, how much time did it take to show up? Were there other factors (screws loosening in service, not checked during break-in service or happened before that, was running 90 mph a lot part of the equation, etc.).

Life isn't black and white...
 
Not a fair comparison. Guzzi hand-builds ~9000 units/year globally. There are TONS of small blocks running around since 1977 with no issues as to your complaints. That is all.

An absolutely fair comparison. If Moto Guzzi plays in the world market, they do compete against all in the world market which includes Honda, Yamaha, Triumph, BMW, etc.
 
I'm happy with the Triumph Bonneville. 37,000 miles without any issues.

The V7 holds the distinction after owning 36 motorcycles as the worse one of all. YYIKES!!!

The valve adjustment easy and then beyond that a nightmare from Elm Street on steroids.

I'm not the only one with that experience. It's wide spread and spreading.
 
I'm happy with the Triumph Bonneville. 37,000 miles without any issues.

The V7 holds the distinction after owning 36 motorcycles as the worse one of all. YYIKES!!!

The valve adjustment easy and then beyond that a nightmare from Elm Street on steroids.

I'm not the only one with that experience. It's wide spread and spreading.

Not doubting your experience, but maybe I'm questioning how wide spread it is.

Just here in the PA/NJ area we've got:

Me (1)
Jay (3)
Cam (1)
Sincolita (1)
RRalph (1)

That's 7 V7s which have been essentially trouble free with whom we interact, and we see a bunch more post on WG.

NOW we've seen a couple with the occasional problem, but that's always going to be true.

And considering how more people post about troubles than triumphs (pun intended) my perception is the troubles are greatly outnumbered.

<shrugs>
 
PS, was there a comment in this thread about wheel removal?

Granted, I had the rear wheel off my Harley the other night in minutes wth nothing more than the axle nut to remove, but a few weeks ago Jay and I installed a rear wheel with new tire on his V7 Special that took about 5 minutes longer since we also had to install one shock bolt and one rear caliper carrier bolt. Hardly exhausting.
 
Wow, this is fun....
The wife and I have a variety of Guzzi's, a Ducati, an Aprilia, and most recently a Honda. The Honda works, but it has fairly low build quality, the parts used to make it all seem to fit well enough but the quality of those parts is pathetic. It has already had one recall, for a possibly faulty relay (that seems familiar). And it is easily the most boring motorcycle I have ever owned, so it is almost certainly going away soon. Being turn key reliable is nice, but if it is not fun to ride I really don't see the point. I ride motorcycles for fun, the Honda doesn't deliver so well on that.
I do have a small block Guzzi, an '87 Lario. It does not have any handling issues, and I do sometimes exceed prudent speeds on it. I can't say just how fast I am going as the speedo stops at 80 mph. But it is pretty fast. If any motorcycle has handling issues SOMETHING IS WRONG and needs to be fixed. Whether that is the bike or the rider, I don't know. But I do know it should not do that.
Guzzi does not compete with Honda and other main stream brands, anyone who thinks they do is confused. Honda builds more of one model than Guzzi builds period. Guzzi is one of the smallest niche brands out there, they build a small number of bikes for a small number of riders. They are not a niche brand because their bikes are so expensive, they are a niche brand because they build so few of them. Building so few bikes has some baggage that goes with it, your dealer network is not as good as the bigger brands and you are more at the mercy of your suppliers as far as what they supply to Guzzi. If you bought a Guzzi expecting it to be like a Honda you had poor expectations. They will never be like that. But in the end, a Guzzi either speaks to you or is doesn't. I do own other brands, and I still want to buy other brand bikes, but Guzzi offers a unique riding experience for me that no other bike can match. But then my Guzzi's don't wobble at speed or have reliability issues.
 
My experience with the 2013 V7 stone that I have has had a bit of a learning curve to go with it. I bought the bike in northern Ohio and yes they were a crappy dealer. It was a replacement for a SV650 because I wanted something a little more friendly to service and more along with the Cafe Racer looks. My intent was to put the same amount of miles a year that my SV did (10-12k a year). While the SV was a dead reliable bike for almost 48k miles it did not have a heart. My stone is different in that it requires more from the rider and I am willing to live with that but some aren't. That doesn't make it a bad bike nor does it make them a bad rider it only means that we are different. That is why there are so many different bikes out there. As for the instability problems yes I have felt them at somewhat faster than the sign says to go but if I slow down to a more relaxed pace the bike handles flawlessly. Part of that I believe is the Italian mentality of living at a relaxed pace. I've since added to my stable a Stelvio which I can ride at a more frenetic pace. (My friends gave my bike the nickname "worlds fastest bagger" at a local track) I easily keep up with the sport bikes on may of the rides and push them on occasion. The Stelvio has over 6 k miles on it since it fell off the truck from California just this year alone and it is my go to bike for riding long distances. The only complaint I have with the Stelvio is that it has a part of the speedometer that saves the max speed that the bike went and yes my wife checks it frequently after the one time she found it registered a speed of 138 mph.
Sorry about the long winded post but I love both my Guzzis for different reasons. By the way if you are near Cincinnati Cadre Cycle is the only place in southern Ohio/Northern Kentucky to get your Guzzi serviced. If I hadn't found them this might be a different post!
 
im with Mr Pootle ,second thoughts ever since i sold out my Triumph BSA bikes and bought a Stone
I'm on the opposite side of this. About 2-1/2 years ago I sold off/traded the last of my Guzzi's for a Victory.
Don't get me wrong I really like that Vic BUT I have bought 3 more Guzzi's in the past two years.

There is just no other bike that has ever appealed to me as much as the Guzzi's.
I have ridden many other brands & many were "nice bikes" but there was always something lacking.
Really want to try a Motus.......
 
PS, was there a comment in this thread about wheel removal?

Granted, I had the rear wheel off my Harley the other night in minutes wth nothing more than the axle nut to remove, but a few weeks ago Jay and I installed a rear wheel with new tire on his V7 Special that took about 5 minutes longer since we also had to install one shock bolt and one rear caliper carrier bolt. Hardly exhausting.
Just commenting on a thread written by another Guzzi owner who commented on how tricky the Racer rear wheel was to remove and refit. If you want to contradict him, as you seem to like to do, then have a look at his thread. Oh, and there's also the issue of recalibrating the ABS and TC units after changing a tyre on the V7 ii. If you want to contradict that one, best to look in the Guzzi owner manual.
 
And now it really is time to say Goodbye to Guzzi, and goodbye to the forum. It's been a pleasure posting with most of you, but life's too short to waste on computers.
Ride safe, or just be lucky!
 
And Kev, in your little world, everyone else is always wrong huh?

Nope, I never suggested such, nor should my limited interaction with you suggest such a thing.

I live in a great big world full of shades of gray not simplistic black and white tones.

I wish you all the best happiness with the excellent Triumph or other motorbike of your choice.

Ride safe,

Kev
 
Well, that might be your problem. Race track speeds are meant for the race track with a properly prepared bike. Running any stock motorcycle at those speeds on public roads is just stupid.
I've been riding around on stock bikes at 90mph for 35 years and around a million miles. Never had a tank slapper yet. And if I ever did I'd stop right there, get the bike trailered home and sell it.

Really, no competently designed bike should tank slap under any normal circumstances.

I'm just looking at a Guzzi, this thread caught my eye. Not saying they are unstable, I've never ridden one.
 
Back in the day bikes generally turned up at the dealer's with the front end removed.

If the dealer fitted the front end with the bearings too tight, there is your tank slapper.
 
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