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Norge 1200 exhaust valve issues

mrv

Just got it firing!
Joined
Sep 15, 2018
Messages
16
Location
Arkansas
I have had my 2012 Norge 1200 for two and a half weeks now. I bought it with 26000 miles on it and everything seemed fine with it until I rode it a couple of days and the valve noise on the left cylinder kept getting louder. After that first week of riding I checked the valves and found the exhaust was way out of tolerance. I checked and adjusted both cylinders (only the left was out, and the engine was cold) It has been a week and I had to adjust the exhaust on the left cylinder again last night. I checked all of the bolts and everything is at proper torque. So I am at a loss as to why the exhaust would get loose again after only a week. I really hope it is not something deeper in the engine that might be causing this issue so I am reaching out to those who have more experience with Guzzi's.
 
2012 may have flat tappets instead of the roller's.

Stop riding the bike.
Drain the oil & look for metal shavings.

Do a search on this forum & you will find pics of how you can identify if you have flat or roller tappets.
If you have the flat tappets you may be able to get some warranty help from Guzzi/Piaggio.
 
I have heard that maybe try hard enough that I mihmibe able to claim the repair kit from Piaggio if I am persistent. Is there a part numberfor the kit in case they won't comply?
 
Unfortunately I have ridden it for the last two weeks and have to ride home tonight before parking my new art display.
I thank everyone who has responded.
 
I have tried several times to contact Piaggio via their web page with no luck. I contacted the closest Guzzi dealer to me for their help. Hopefully they can help acquire the replacement kit without me being out of pocket the $1000-1200.
 
You may already know this, but to get the "free" kit you have to have a dealer put in the claim ... which means they have to inspect the tappets, take pictures, etc ... and the dealer has to do the work and you pay the labor.

As I looked into this ... one place wanted $350 to do the inspection ... then $800 to do the rollerisation (if needed). Ouchie!

Another quote combined the inspection with the work ... so they'd pull it apart, if not bad I'd be out some amount, if it was bad they'd put in the claim and do the work, a total of $800 in labor. (I didn't get the inspection only number, but that is ~2 hours)

At the start of all this the DLC coating wears off. If you catch it early then some of this coating has floated around the oil inside your engine, might be bad, might not be. Once the coating is gone then things get ugly with metal bits going into your oil. At this point you can notice your valves not keeping clearance (because of the metal tappets wearing down).

Hope this isn't your issue and it is something more simple and easy to correct.
 
The nearest dealer to me is 1 3/4 hours away so I don't know what is going to transpire with this. The Piaggio rep in California that replied to me said the dealer needs to hear it running to make a determination. So it looks like I am between a rock and a hard place. If it comes down to me having to spend a bunch of money I don't know what I will end up doing. The work I can perform myself so if I am allowed to perform the repair that would make a difference. I thought i had researched the Norge 1200 pretty good before I made my purchase. If the previous owner made a valve adjustment before trading it just to quieten it down for the deal I hope karma comes back and bites him bad.
 
The Piaggio Rep in California as well as the dealer that I bought the bike from said my vin# is not in the technical service bulletin regarding the lifters. So I guess I will need to tear bike apart and see for myself if the tappets are bad and if so order the kit myself and just cough up the money.
 
"I feel your pain," at least in the sense of BTDT with my beloved Griso. Just back last night from a 1500-miler to western Kentucky, and I woke up still grinning.

But, as for your present problem, I remain a bit confused.

Maybe I missed it in your posts here, but are you even sure you have flat tappets?

Given the year -- tho Guzzi are famous for crossing those pesky date things -- you might have rollers and all this angst is for naught despite the original issue. Yes, that needs to be addressed, but you might wish to confirm before getting hoarse barking up the tappet tree.

It's a challenge to see damage, but confirming flat v. rollers is much easier.

Again, if you know, well, good luck ... and a pox on the seller.

Bill
 
I have had my 2012 Norge 1200 for two and a half weeks now. I bought it with 26000 miles on it and everything seemed fine with it until I rode it a couple of days and the valve noise on the left cylinder kept getting louder. After that first week of riding I checked the valves and found the exhaust was way out of tolerance. I checked and adjusted both cylinders (only the left was out, and the engine was cold) It has been a week and I had to adjust the exhaust on the left cylinder again last night. I checked all of the bolts and everything is at proper torque. So I am at a loss as to why the exhaust would get loose again after only a week. I really hope it is not something deeper in the engine that might be causing this issue so I am reaching out to those who have more experience with Guzzi's.

May or may not be the issue. I have seen the threads damaged on the rocker adjusting screws. Previous owner may have damaged that adjuster. Unfortunately the only cure is the replace the rocker. Since you will be pulling the cover to check for roller lifters it isn't much further to replace a rocker. Be sure to loosen the small bolt in the head so you don't cause an issue when you loosen the head studs. See the rollerization procedure done by Pete Roper.
 
The Piaggio Rep in California as well as the dealer that I bought the bike from said my vin# is not in the technical service bulletin regarding the lifters. So I guess I will need to tear bike apart and see for myself if the tappets are bad and if so order the kit myself and just cough up the money.
Take pics of the flat tappets in your engine and send it to them. Then there is no doubt that your engine is a flat tappet model. They are liable for the fix even if their paperwork doesn't match your bike. Their motor numbers have been known to be sketchy on the 8V, exactly when the roller was introduced on what block.

If it looks like this it's rollers.
Roller tappet7

If it looks like this it's flatties
Flat tappet1
 
Mine is definitely flat tappet.
IMG_20181009_092131455.jpg
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Looks pretty worn. Besides doing the roller conversion I recommend doing an engine flush to get any metal particles out of the oil passageways.
 
I ordered a oil pan gasket as well so I can clean it out. Just have to see if anybody in my area carries 10w-60 oil.
 
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