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Top speed 35 MPH!

Interesting. I will do that in more depth but I did inspect in general terms the abovementioned and didn't see anything amiss. The sound I'm getting when attempting to gain speed is identical to the one I've heard on YouTube in a clip depicting a slipping clutch.
At any rate I'll check everything as much as I can.
Before getting this V7 I should've done some homework regarding MGs. They look great..sound great (Mistrals on mine) ride well WHEN working. Key word " when". Yes, they are easy to work on, however it seems that one needs to work on them constantly. So I rather have a bike that is difficult to work on but doesn't need babysitting 24/7.
 
I have had six Guzzis, sold one (and regret it every day) and some have had more "character" than others.

Moreover, my own actions have brought on some of that, so blaming the machine has been, at least in my case, frequently wrong.

The best example is one that sounds a bit like your present annoyance, tho it involved the Griso, not my V7's.

One day, I noticed an inexplicable "bogging" at c.3K rpm when underway. It would do fine to that, but stop everytime just short of 3000. I pulled over, ran up the throttle, and it went to redline like a champ.

Whiskey Tango Foxtrot?

I limped to a nearby Guzzista friend's garage where we imagined all sorts of ills and cursed our fate for being smitten by Mandello maidens.

I removed the saddle so my friend could hook up his electronic wizardry.

"Uhm, mebbe we don't need that, John."

I had removed the extension of the air intake under the saddle to make room for a tire-plugging kit. Snugged it down with mini-bungees, and happily ridden off. 80 miles down a few frost-heaved roads, the bungees failed and the tire kit moved forward and blocked the intake!

At lower speeds and loads, no issues, but as soon as that load slipped, it bogged as described.

So, consider that somehow -- despite your inspection -- the intake is blocked.

Best wishes on finding whatever is causing that maddening issue for you.

Bill
 
Before getting this V7 I should've done some homework regarding MGs. They look great..sound great (Mistrals on mine) ride well WHEN working. Key word " when". Yes, they are easy to work on, however it seems that one needs to work on them constantly. So I rather have a bike that is difficult to work on but doesn't need babysitting 24/7.[/QUOTE]

Yes, you should have done some homework. Sounds like you should have bought a Ducati. I have a V7 III, which I rode 15,000 miles in the first 14 months, with no babysitting, other than oil changes. Maybe that $145/hr labor rate is cheap compared to all the misery you are experiencing.
 
It is very possible that "something" is restricting the air flow because the bike runs fine up to 3k RPM or so but then boggs down north of that. However the sound it makes resemble the one of a slipping clutch. Hopefully the culprit is the former and not the later.
So I'll check for anything that could be blocking the air flow...
Oh! I just realized that I had stored a rubber phone holder under the seat and one day it was missing but attributed that to the wind that took it away when I removed the seat. Could it be IT? Was it been sucked somehow in there and now is resting on the air filter restricting the flow of air? Man... Not much space in there allowing for things to slip by the air filter's top housing but it's a possibility since this is made of soft rubber and it's v. thin. Can't wait to go check! And of course also check the free play of the clutch lever and actuator.
Thanks for the helpful hints/suggestions. For now my trip to the hardware store has been cancelled :)
 
A Ducati? Hmmm.. Isn't it Italian as well ?:)
But true $145/hr sometime is worth it. For instance changing the oils. You can do it yourself and the parts/ ENI oils etc. would cost about $100 plus one's labor. What is your time worth? Do you have the place to do the job? Living in the suburbia...countryside etc. allows one to tackle the job thus offering $ savings + satisfaction.
But in NYC changing the oils in the street with cars wheezing by and curios ppl. and neighbors pestering you with questions every few minutes it makes no sense so a $400+ oil change job @ the dealer makes a lot of sense.
 
However the sound it makes resemble the one of a slipping clutch.

Do you know what a slipping clutch sounds like? Because where you say, "the bike runs fine up to 3k RPM or so but then boggs down north of that" contradicts the symptoms of a slipping clutch.
 
It sounds like two things are going wrong here.
One is a possible slipping clutch. If you are in 5th gear and the motor is turning 4,000 rpm you should be going a lot faster than 35 - 45 mph. Unless the speedo is wrong, that is typically caused by a slipping clutch.
The other question is will the motor rev past 4,000 rpms. If it will not there may be another problem. But sitting there in neutral and reving the motor is not how you test that. Going down the road in gear, any gear should do but using a lower gear would be safer, and seeing how high it will rev would be a better way.
But I would first address the clutch if it is slipping. First, check the clutch lever adjustment and the adjuster at the back of the trans (on the other end of the clutch cable).
How many miles are on it? I ask because it is odd for a slipping clutch unless it either has high mileage or has been abused.
 
I just can't read between the lines here. cover that damn tach up with duct tape, forget it exists and go out and ride the bike. Does it run up through all the gears with good power right to the rev limiter or not. if not does it do it in the first few gears then all of a sudden fall flat on its face?
Back in 1969 while being a somewhat serious drag racer, C/A 32 ford with a Hillborn injected small block running 10:80's when the national record was 10:26 I watched a friend I competed against put a new highly built Chevy small block engine in his Fiat. lots of money and time spent. he keep swearing it wouldn't turn past 4000 RPM. engine was torn down and checked, then cam switched for another, Three different rear end ratios were tried. then after a month of his driving himself nuts I told him for the second time (again a competitor who didn't want to listen) that while I was standing downtrack I could tell he was at at least 8000 2/3 td of the way down.
turned out the custom tach he had specially built was set up wrong and showing 1/2 RPM.
 
Funny story, Steve, tho the Chevy transfusion into a Fiat — which model, BTW? ;) — made me tear a little.:(

Hoping the OP returns soon with the story of a found cell-phone cover or a confirmed clutch issue. Or something else, for that matter!

Bill
 
After some checking on YouTube and based on the feedbacks here I've arrived at the conclusion that the clutch is slipping. Tomorrow I will check the lever and actuator play and adjust accordingly. I should've paid attention to this but I didn't because my previous ride from many years ago (Yamaha FJ 1200...an amazing machine) never gave me any problems of any sorts over the years.
Hopefully the clutch plates are not toast. But if they are I'm going to tackle the fix myself.
...

FJ1200s need maintenance too. :)

Anyway, replacing a clutch is one of the biggest jobs on a Moto Guzzi. It's not particularly hard work, but it does mean dismantling most of the bike and then reassembling it. If I was having difficulty diagnosing whether the problem is an airflow restriction vs a slipping clutch, I would question seriously whether I had the skills (and tools, and space, etc) to tackle that project. (I've done this job myself in the past, but I no longer have the space or the tools, so I know that for me that I would have it done by a qualified shop instead.)

Sometimes it's best to just seek the aid of a qualified service shop and pay the price, IMO. I'm way past the age where it was a personal mission to do all my motorcycle maintenance myself. I have my motorcycle to ride and enjoy nowadays, and I have a good shop that I'm pleased to pay for the work that needs doing. I tinker with small things, and leave the big jobs, and the boring jobs, to them. They need to make a living too... :D
 
I have seen restricted exhaust do this.
In a later post he stated that he had complained about poor gas mileage.
Any possibility that enuff raw fuel was dumped to clog the cat converter?
 
FJ1200s need maintenance too. :)

Anyway, replacing a clutch is one of the biggest jobs on a Moto Guzzi. It's not particularly hard work, but it does mean dismantling most of the bike and then reassembling it. If I was having difficulty diagnosing whether the problem is an airflow restriction vs a slipping clutch, I would question seriously whether I had the skills (and tools, and space, etc) to tackle that project. (I've done this job myself in the past, but I no longer have the space or the tools, so I know that for me that I would have it done by a qualified shop instead.)

Sometimes it's best to just seek the aid of a qualified service shop and pay the price, IMO. I'm way past the age where it was a personal mission to do all my motorcycle maintenance myself. I have my motorcycle to ride and enjoy nowadays, and I have a good shop that I'm pleased to pay for the work that needs doing. I tinker with small things, and leave the big jobs, and the boring jobs, to them. They need to make a living too... :D

Can't disagree with the challenge of swapping out the clutch -- BTDT, and do not wish to repeat :swear: -- but diagnosing whether the issue is one of blocked air-flow or slipping clutch seems easy enough without even one's hands dirty.

All "big jobs" go to a dealer or knowledgeable moto-mechanic, but those are rare.

And, as for maintenance generally, I am finally at a point where my own wrenching experience has just passed my ineptness. :giggle:

Moreover, I enjoy it, so I don't mind spending (cold &/or rainy) days in the shop. As a veteran husband, too, there are many advantages to retiring to the Moto Grappa for a few hours. :rofl:

So, Don, Sir Quixote, have you figured out the problem?

Bill
 
YES! Problem all figured out.
I bit the bullet and went to a professional. That would be Gino's Ristorante & Pizzeria.
Tony there suggested the veal parmigiana which was excellent and so was the Chianti. Without wasting any time after my lunch I went across the street to the neighborhood hardware store where I purchased a 10 lbs. Chinese made sledgehammer.
15 min. later the Stone received the proper service, which for some reason, the service manual omitted. A few good whacks on the handlebars followed by a few ones administered to the final drive did the trick! Now the clutch is perfect and shifts like a dream.
Bike goes much faster, I believe that at some point it even reached 38 or 39 MPH. Granted it was on a downhill with a strong wind hitting my back.
Ok...ok...on a serious note now.
Problem was with the cable not having enough slack. I adjusted it at the handlebars only, since Piaggio advises not to fool around with the adjustor at the back. And so does Todd.
I can only blame myself for not looking under the rubber boot and check the space or lack thereof at the lever. The idiot that sold me the bike had said that he did not long ago all the adjustments/maintenance on the bike and I believed him.
So I suppose I'm the bigger idiot? Lesson learned. At this point I'm planning to do all the oils change, valve clearance check and install new spark plugs. I purchased the bike several months ago and only rode it locally for 10...20 minutes at the time on shitty...err city streets so I wasn't aware of the slipping clutch until last week when I got on the highway and... I almost died of embarrassment and held up the traffic behind me. Just wondering what the ones behind me were thinking...
So thank you all for the input.
Oh! One other thing was solved in the process: No more popping on downshifts! Ever!
And I've tried v. hard but no cigar :)
 
Of course. But priorities are priorities. At present time my main concern is budgeting for a nice contribution to our southern wall :)
This is a 2013 with 24+k miles on it. No sense in spending $ on a new clutch. When the time comes and hopefully not too soon, I'll sell it for parts. I only paid less than 3 grand for it and I find no good reason to spend another $1,500 or so for a clutch replacement when I can pick up a leftover V7 for (asking) $5,999.
Or I can put it up for sale now for $3,500 (it has Mistral pipes, crash bars, LED headlight and last but not least some nice artfully indentations from the Chinese 10 lbs. sledgehammer that helped in addressing the slipping clutch).
Anyone interested? ;)
 
Funny story, Steve, tho the Chevy transfusion into a Fiat — which model, BTW? ;) — made me tear a little.:(

Hoping the OP returns soon with the story of a found cell-phone cover or a confirmed clutch issue. Or something else, for that matter!


although this isn't his it is as close as you can get to it. BUT! Bright yellow and called the chicken that went. FYI I whipped his ass both times we ran that year.

Bill
48058951-10156979413347990-3265418099905527808-n.jpg
 
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