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V9 Clunk Noise

John Stephenson

Just got it firing!
Joined
Mar 3, 2017
Messages
15
Location
Cumbria UK
Perhaps you can help me - when i select 1st gear it is silent, no 'click' 'clunk' or 'feel' that a gear is engaged other than the neutral light going out - then when the clutch bites i can hear a click as she moves off. This is the first bike I've had that does not clunk when going into 1st.
I called the dealer out of curiosity and he told me it was shaft drive and works like a car - and said 'you wouldn't expect a car to clunk when you put it in 1st' ??? - all other gears work normally.
i will mention it again to the dealer at the 600 mile service and see if the loaner bike (a V7) does it.

Cheers John
 
bkiser - thanks for that, yes i will post pictures after the weekend - perhaps you can help me - when i select 1st gear it is silent, no 'click' 'clunk' or 'feel' that a gear is engaged other than the neutral light going out - then when the clutch bites i can hear a click as she moves off. This is the first bike I've had that does not clunk when going into 1st.
I called the dealer out of curiosity and he told me it was shaft drive and works like a car - and said 'you wouldn't expect a car to clunk when you put it in 1st' ??? - all other gears work normally.
i will mention it again to the dealer at the 600 mile service and see if the loaner bike (a V7) does it.

Cheers John
FWIW - had a v11 sport and v7r and both clunk.
 
perhaps you can help me - when i select 1st gear it is silent, no 'click' 'clunk' or 'feel' that a gear is engaged other than the neutral light going out - then when the clutch bites i can hear a click as she moves off. This is the first bike I've had that does not clunk when going into 1st.
So Guzzi, finally after almost 100 years, builds a bike to rid of the clunk going into gear... and you think something is wrong?!?!
I'm sure they worked incredibly hard to give you the result you have. Be happy. ;)
 
John- mine is exactly the same way. With increased revs, the clutch seems to make the secondary clunk less. My first gear is the same as yours. I had to adjust my clutch lever up a bit to be able to comfortably get my boot underneath and the more relaxed angle made all shifting much easier.
 
Just adding that my Bobber has the same click/bang when releasing the clutch, no sound from put it into gear though. I have been somewhat worried as none of my previous shaft bikes has been making this noise but the dealer say this is normal sound from the drive shaft..

Well, If I do not care about this sound the bike is great!
 
bkiser - Bob - GT-Rx - s-flow Thank you for your responses - Well that's three V9s with the same 1st gear characteristics so hope all is normal - however, I'm still curious about the secondary 1st gear click when a load is applied (its from the gearbox and not the shaft to the back axle) as my dealer advised and also still curious about the noise from the layshaft/countershaft in neutral with hot engine.
At the 600 mile service i will ask the dealer to record my feedback on the service sheet.

John
 
Just adding that my Bobber has the same click/bang when releasing the clutch, no sound from put it into gear though. I have been somewhat worried as none of my previous shaft bikes has been making this noise but the dealer say this is normal sound from the drive shaft..

Well, If I do not care about this sound the bike is great!

My V9 Roamer will make that noise when when I engage the clutch as low speed, as did my 2006 Griso and my 2014 Cali Custom.
 
bkiser - Bob - GT-Rx - s-flow Thank you for your responses - Well that's three V9s with the same 1st gear characteristics so hope all is normal - however, I'm still curious about the secondary 1st gear click when a load is applied (its from the gearbox and not the shaft to the back axle) as my dealer advised and also still curious about the noise from the layshaft/countershaft in neutral with hot engine.
At the 600 mile service i will ask the dealer to record my feedback on the service sheet.

John
Another here with exactly the same issue. Mines the v9 Roamer and it does feel very odd when going from neutral to first, which makes me click down a few extra times just to be sure it's in first as there is absolutely no feedback!
 
Another here with exactly the same issue. Mines the v9 Roamer and it does feel very odd when going from neutral to first, which makes me click down a few extra times just to be sure it's in first as there is absolutely no feedback!

I have to double or triple check that first did engage when going down to first from neutral. It works better and makes the clunk going from second to neutral.
 
Bkiser, I assume you meant that you had to adjust the gear lever, not the clutch lever.
The gear lever comes from the factory adjusted well down and the only way I found to change gears was with the side of my boot.
Adjustment of the gear lever is by the vertical connection rod at the back of the gearbox (left hand side).
Requires a 10mm open end spanned to loosen off the nuts before adjusting the barrel to raise the gear lever.
The lower locknut is right hand thread. The upper locknut is left hand thread. Don't forget to lock the nuts up after adjustment.
I wouldn't go too far with the adjustment since I don't know how much thread is left inside the barrel.
Cheers
Brian :)
 
I had the same issue on my V9 Roamer when it was new... It's not in gear unless you hear the "clunk". When it happens, depress the clutch lever and than tap (not push) it into gear. I don't think there is anything wrong with the bike it takes a little while to get use to - I think Moto Guzzi's are a little unforgiving in respect to this. Hard soles shoes work best...
 
Perhaps you can help me - when i select 1st gear it is silent, no 'click' 'clunk' or 'feel' that a gear is engaged other than the neutral light going out - then when the clutch bites i can hear a click as she moves off. This is the first bike I've had that does not clunk when going into 1st.
I called the dealer out of curiosity and he told me it was shaft drive and works like a car - and said 'you wouldn't expect a car to clunk when you put it in 1st' ??? - all other gears work normally.
i will mention it again to the dealer at the 600 mile service and see if the loaner bike (a V7) does it.

Cheers John

The 'clunk' you hear on most motorcycles comes from the fact that even with the clutch pulled in, there is a load on the transmission gears because the plates of the clutch drag a little bit. The difference is that the Moto Guzzi dry clutch actually disengages fully when released. If the oil is cold, the gears are not turning in the transmission when the clutch is released so they just slide on their shafts into position.

This is also why it is sometimes a little tricky to find first from neutral: even though the gears have slid into position, the engagement dogs on the gear faces haven't seated into their proper position yet, they're blocking each other. Gently engaging the clutch a little bit allows the engine to turn the transmission shafts until the spring pressure of the gearshift mechanism slides the gear the rest of the way home with a little "snick" sound.

It's all perfectly normal for it to work this way.

The Moto Guzzi clutch and transmission feel, for me, is the best of any in the motorcycle world. It's very precise and I can feel exactly what's happening with the gearshift and clutch controls. None of my Hortons, Triumphs, Ducatis, Hondas, BMWs, or Kawasakis were as precise or had the same feel.
 
I get a clunk with each gearchange while underway on the V9. When stopped and idling there's usually no noise going into first.
 
Soft and silent into 1st , and after that some days I get it right and some days I don't and when I don't the clunks freak me out but now having owned this V9 machine for a year I have learned to live with it and I love it dearly. Its all about individuality and character and its got loads of it ..
 
Soft and silent into 1st , and after that some days I get it right and some days I don't and when I don't the clunks freak me out but now having owned this V9 machine for a year I have learned to live with it and I love it dearly. Its all about individuality and character and its got loads of it ..

You can eliminate it on all upshifts completely by preloading the shifter lever.

Apply tension to the shifter with your toes, (enough to provide constant tension but not enough to force it into the next gear).

With this tension applied, when you roll off the throttle and squeeze the clutch, the gearbox will immediately slide into the next gear smooth as silk.

Try it. You’ll see! 😀
 
You can eliminate it on all upshifts completely by preloading the shifter lever.

Apply tension to the shifter with your toes, (enough to provide constant tension but not enough to force it into the next gear).

With this tension applied, when you roll off the throttle and squeeze the clutch, the gearbox will immediately slide into the next gear smooth as silk.

Try it. You’ll see! 😀


I've been preaching and using that technique for both upshifts and downshifts for years. Works great on Guzzis and BMW airheads.
 
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