evo
Tuned and Synch'ed
For anyone interested, I'm no bike critic but let me give you my initial thoughts on the 2011 Norge GT 8V.
It’s been an experience I can tell you.
Had the bike sent from Qld to NSW and was told she had not been PD'd. Battery was dry no oil etc. etc. Upon arrival, my mechanic (best mechanic in NSW if I may say, Maxpower) told me that the bike had been PD'd and had 31k's on the clock. Mmm not a good start. Battery was dead flat and unrecoverable. Bugga, I'd planned to pick the bike up after the PD and ride it to Merimbula to see a good mate. I was hoping to get four good days of riding. Ah well, never mind, one more day at home won't hurt and Steve can give her a good looking over. I picked up a new battery dropped it off and then came got the Mrs to drop me off in the morning. Picked the bike up and rode it down to get registered (another interesting experience). It would appear that this was the first Norge registered in NSW, no records on the RTA so I had to wait an hour while they sorted it out. Soon enuf, I have the new plates and the bike back to Maxpower to get her ready for the ride. I planned to do the 1200kms over three days and drop it off for the first service. Steve was really good. We set up the rear suspension and front suspension before we left and he cable tied the front fork to see where it was sitting after three days of good riding.
So, after much adoo, off I go. Leaving Balambi to head for Merimbula for a few days with my mate TonyM who has the 2007 1200 Sport.
My first impressions. By the time I got to Nowra, I was asking myself had I got my value for money after the 2009 FJR1300. I continued on my merry way and by the time I got the Batemans Bay my bum was feeling the ride. Oh no, this was one of the reasons I went for the Guzzi. The 1200 Sport has such a lovely seat. Oh well I press on and decide I'll get fuel in Moruya. Ah the roads get a little better down here, more twists and turns and much more fun. Now all of a sudden I'm loving this bike. It sounds great, it goes great and the seat is no longer hurting my bum. Its winter and I remember I haven't ridden for ages and ages.
Ok I pull into the servo at Moruya and she's still idling rough, so I got some Valve Saver (great stuff) and poured that into the tank. It’s now getting late and I wanted to hit Merimbula before dark. Roads are getting really good now and my ride is just perfect. Let me now give you some thoughts on the bike after reading all the reviews of what everybody else thought about it. I've just come from a ZX14 to an FJR1300 so I've got some good comparisons to go by.
First up, the fairing is awesome, the screen protects me from the wind better than the FJR. I'm 185cm tall so that's no mean feat. I adjust it to full height for me and that's perfect. If I do that on the FJR, the wind tends to really buffet me; it wraps around and belts my back the Norge just deflects the wind away, not buffeting.
The temp is coming down, it’s now +13c and I decide to put the heated grips on. All the reviews told me they were next to useless unless on high, so I select high right off. After 5 minutes I've turned them down to 1. She has three settings, and at 3 my hands were hot. I am wearing summer gauntlets and 3 is just way to hot. As the temp came down to +11 I cranked it up to 2 and it was just lovely. To be honest I didn't find setting three any less hot than the Max setting on the FJR so I have no idea what the reviews where going on about, trust me, the heated grips are just fine and work a treat.
Ok, the riding position. They tell me that for tall people, (hey that must be me) the foot rests are now too high and a little cramped. The jury is out on this for me at the moment. Yes they are high, higher than the FJR BUT I didn't scrape any pegs and that's a HUGE PLUS for me. I rode for 4+ hours in each direction and of all the bikes I’ve been on this one is by far the most comfortable. So pegs, I’ll let you know after a few more good rides.
The engine. What can I say!!! I just love it, there is nothing really I don’t like about it. Oh hang one there are a couple of little things….. Apparently my throttle bodies are out, the valve clearances may be out and it needs a damn good tune, but up and running I just love the sound, the grunt and the feeling.
OK, I arrive at TonyM’s place miss the drive way and go back to the top of the hill to call on the mobile. He’s already called me, he heard me coming for ages, not bad for a stock pipe (and yes I love that too). As I go to flick the side stand down it doesn’t go all the way, sits at the 45 degree mark and the bike coughs splutters and stops. Now I’m getting some mechanical clunking sound. I’m on the phone can’t attend to both, so I just hit the starter, she fires up and I ride down the hill and into TonyM’s garage. South coast Guzzi workshop.
I shut the bike off and we chat, look at the bike and go down to the pub for a beer and a meal. That night is a story in itself, one for an open fireplace and good one. (Oh we met another Guzzi rider).
Day 2
The fun begins. Tonym and I are preparing the days ride. We are looking at the Norge and I’m asking a million questions. Mainly about that bloody menu on the instrument panel. So Tony goes through it for me. All done, set the codes, I know how to reset things and what they mean. Tony hits the start button and……. Bzzzt. Nadda, nothing, zip, dead as a doornail. WTF???
Our day of fun begins. Trust me, I’ll spare you all the details, but we pulled that thing apart. Every electrical switch that we could think of we had out. Cleaned and put back. Ok time to test it out. Hoooraah!!! We have a start. Ok let’s go.
Tony takes me on a great short 20 minute ride where we swap bikes. He’s keen to check out the Norge for a number of reasons. He jumps into the saddle and ….. and….. and….. Nothing. No start. Arghhhhh!!!! Don’t panic, I think it’s the starter motor. I jump on, put it into gear and rock it back and forward. Hit the starter and… ye ha, we have a winner. Off we go down the road. We swap back after about 10 minutes. Tony loves the bike but is uncomfortable riding someone else’s new unit.
We don’t turn of the motors and continue to a lovely pub. Hot beef pie and a light beer for me. Ok, let’s go get some Oysters on the way home for dinner.
I jump on the old girl hit the starter and….. and….. and… nothing, nadda, zip, dead as a doornail. Argghhhh!!! Never mind, I’ll just rock it. I rock it and rock it and….. and ….. and…. Nadda. We try veering thing. Not a sound, not a click. All the lights are there, but no live from the starter.
Only one thing left to do… Tony goes home to pick up a trailer to get the bike home. I go back into the pub, watch TV and have a beer. No way, I’m not going to let this beat me. I go back out side (most of the people in the pub think it’s pretty funny by now, brand new bike broken down). I try all my usual tricks. Under the bike playing with the side stand. Flicking the start switch, rocking the bike…. 10 minutes of this and I’m about to give up. I get off, stand back and look at a beautiful piece of Italian machinery just looking at me. OK, one more go. I jump on turn on the ignition and (I get a really weird noise, same noise I got at the top of the hill yesterday) I hit the starter and….. she bursts into life. Ye ha!! I ring Tony who is 2 minutes away and with me by the time I’m suited up and I ride it home. Tony follows me in the car just in case. As I pull into the garage, I flick the side stand down and the bike stops. Clunk clunk clunk there’s that noise again. Sounds like the starter motor trying to engage. I turn it off, and back on, clunk clunk clunk back again. I turn it off.
Wait five minutes and ….. Nothing
Ok, what shall we do? We have the perfect idea, lets go to the pub and think about it. During and after dinner Tonym is on to the Guzzitech site looking for answers and I’m watching the footy washing down a great meal with a glass of red. I mean really, I came down for a good ride and to relax after all. Tony spends ages on the site and at 11PM I go to bed. I get up in the morning and find my bike in bits. No starter motor, fairings off, electrics disabled… the list goes on.
Ok lets cut a long long story short. We put my starter motor into Tony’s bike. No prob’s she fires up. We put my starter relay into Tony’s bike. No worries. We put Tony’s battery into my bike. Ah she starts up, but then only one start and its dead again. Oh while I was broken down at the pub, a car pulled up and a gentleman got out and said, how’s the Norge lol, you get the picture. He says, Ah I have a 2010 Breva. On my first ride it did exactly what your’s did. We pulled the start switch off the handle bars and found corrosion so we cleaned it put it back and I’ve never had the problem since. Ok I said, thanks for that, we’ve pulled ours off and done the same thing, but it must be something simple.
OK, Tony says, I’m going to pull that switch gear off and give it a bloody good clean. So off it comes, full of grease and hard crusted grease as well. CRC is the go I tell him, all the Aircraft Engineers at work swear by it. So we wipe of the grease and spray a truck load of CRC into the unit. Put the bike back together and guess what??? Starts first time every time. Go figure!!! I ring my mechanic in Belambi and give him the news. He tells me to bring it straight to his work shop (it’s a Sunday, I told you he was good) and I’ll put it inside and well get it sorted.
So on the way home Tonym took me on a great ride. We had lunch at Narooma and I said my good byes and road my girl home.
After all that, I’m sold, what a great bike to ride. I’m looking forward to the next adventure and I’m happy to be a member of the Moto Guzzi club even after all that.
Hope this was a fun read for someone.
More to come I’m sure
:lol:
It’s been an experience I can tell you.
Had the bike sent from Qld to NSW and was told she had not been PD'd. Battery was dry no oil etc. etc. Upon arrival, my mechanic (best mechanic in NSW if I may say, Maxpower) told me that the bike had been PD'd and had 31k's on the clock. Mmm not a good start. Battery was dead flat and unrecoverable. Bugga, I'd planned to pick the bike up after the PD and ride it to Merimbula to see a good mate. I was hoping to get four good days of riding. Ah well, never mind, one more day at home won't hurt and Steve can give her a good looking over. I picked up a new battery dropped it off and then came got the Mrs to drop me off in the morning. Picked the bike up and rode it down to get registered (another interesting experience). It would appear that this was the first Norge registered in NSW, no records on the RTA so I had to wait an hour while they sorted it out. Soon enuf, I have the new plates and the bike back to Maxpower to get her ready for the ride. I planned to do the 1200kms over three days and drop it off for the first service. Steve was really good. We set up the rear suspension and front suspension before we left and he cable tied the front fork to see where it was sitting after three days of good riding.
So, after much adoo, off I go. Leaving Balambi to head for Merimbula for a few days with my mate TonyM who has the 2007 1200 Sport.
My first impressions. By the time I got to Nowra, I was asking myself had I got my value for money after the 2009 FJR1300. I continued on my merry way and by the time I got the Batemans Bay my bum was feeling the ride. Oh no, this was one of the reasons I went for the Guzzi. The 1200 Sport has such a lovely seat. Oh well I press on and decide I'll get fuel in Moruya. Ah the roads get a little better down here, more twists and turns and much more fun. Now all of a sudden I'm loving this bike. It sounds great, it goes great and the seat is no longer hurting my bum. Its winter and I remember I haven't ridden for ages and ages.
Ok I pull into the servo at Moruya and she's still idling rough, so I got some Valve Saver (great stuff) and poured that into the tank. It’s now getting late and I wanted to hit Merimbula before dark. Roads are getting really good now and my ride is just perfect. Let me now give you some thoughts on the bike after reading all the reviews of what everybody else thought about it. I've just come from a ZX14 to an FJR1300 so I've got some good comparisons to go by.
First up, the fairing is awesome, the screen protects me from the wind better than the FJR. I'm 185cm tall so that's no mean feat. I adjust it to full height for me and that's perfect. If I do that on the FJR, the wind tends to really buffet me; it wraps around and belts my back the Norge just deflects the wind away, not buffeting.
The temp is coming down, it’s now +13c and I decide to put the heated grips on. All the reviews told me they were next to useless unless on high, so I select high right off. After 5 minutes I've turned them down to 1. She has three settings, and at 3 my hands were hot. I am wearing summer gauntlets and 3 is just way to hot. As the temp came down to +11 I cranked it up to 2 and it was just lovely. To be honest I didn't find setting three any less hot than the Max setting on the FJR so I have no idea what the reviews where going on about, trust me, the heated grips are just fine and work a treat.
Ok, the riding position. They tell me that for tall people, (hey that must be me) the foot rests are now too high and a little cramped. The jury is out on this for me at the moment. Yes they are high, higher than the FJR BUT I didn't scrape any pegs and that's a HUGE PLUS for me. I rode for 4+ hours in each direction and of all the bikes I’ve been on this one is by far the most comfortable. So pegs, I’ll let you know after a few more good rides.
The engine. What can I say!!! I just love it, there is nothing really I don’t like about it. Oh hang one there are a couple of little things….. Apparently my throttle bodies are out, the valve clearances may be out and it needs a damn good tune, but up and running I just love the sound, the grunt and the feeling.
OK, I arrive at TonyM’s place miss the drive way and go back to the top of the hill to call on the mobile. He’s already called me, he heard me coming for ages, not bad for a stock pipe (and yes I love that too). As I go to flick the side stand down it doesn’t go all the way, sits at the 45 degree mark and the bike coughs splutters and stops. Now I’m getting some mechanical clunking sound. I’m on the phone can’t attend to both, so I just hit the starter, she fires up and I ride down the hill and into TonyM’s garage. South coast Guzzi workshop.
I shut the bike off and we chat, look at the bike and go down to the pub for a beer and a meal. That night is a story in itself, one for an open fireplace and good one. (Oh we met another Guzzi rider).
Day 2
The fun begins. Tonym and I are preparing the days ride. We are looking at the Norge and I’m asking a million questions. Mainly about that bloody menu on the instrument panel. So Tony goes through it for me. All done, set the codes, I know how to reset things and what they mean. Tony hits the start button and……. Bzzzt. Nadda, nothing, zip, dead as a doornail. WTF???
Our day of fun begins. Trust me, I’ll spare you all the details, but we pulled that thing apart. Every electrical switch that we could think of we had out. Cleaned and put back. Ok time to test it out. Hoooraah!!! We have a start. Ok let’s go.
Tony takes me on a great short 20 minute ride where we swap bikes. He’s keen to check out the Norge for a number of reasons. He jumps into the saddle and ….. and….. and….. Nothing. No start. Arghhhhh!!!! Don’t panic, I think it’s the starter motor. I jump on, put it into gear and rock it back and forward. Hit the starter and… ye ha, we have a winner. Off we go down the road. We swap back after about 10 minutes. Tony loves the bike but is uncomfortable riding someone else’s new unit.
We don’t turn of the motors and continue to a lovely pub. Hot beef pie and a light beer for me. Ok, let’s go get some Oysters on the way home for dinner.
I jump on the old girl hit the starter and….. and….. and… nothing, nadda, zip, dead as a doornail. Argghhhh!!! Never mind, I’ll just rock it. I rock it and rock it and….. and ….. and…. Nadda. We try veering thing. Not a sound, not a click. All the lights are there, but no live from the starter.
Only one thing left to do… Tony goes home to pick up a trailer to get the bike home. I go back into the pub, watch TV and have a beer. No way, I’m not going to let this beat me. I go back out side (most of the people in the pub think it’s pretty funny by now, brand new bike broken down). I try all my usual tricks. Under the bike playing with the side stand. Flicking the start switch, rocking the bike…. 10 minutes of this and I’m about to give up. I get off, stand back and look at a beautiful piece of Italian machinery just looking at me. OK, one more go. I jump on turn on the ignition and (I get a really weird noise, same noise I got at the top of the hill yesterday) I hit the starter and….. she bursts into life. Ye ha!! I ring Tony who is 2 minutes away and with me by the time I’m suited up and I ride it home. Tony follows me in the car just in case. As I pull into the garage, I flick the side stand down and the bike stops. Clunk clunk clunk there’s that noise again. Sounds like the starter motor trying to engage. I turn it off, and back on, clunk clunk clunk back again. I turn it off.
Wait five minutes and ….. Nothing
Ok, what shall we do? We have the perfect idea, lets go to the pub and think about it. During and after dinner Tonym is on to the Guzzitech site looking for answers and I’m watching the footy washing down a great meal with a glass of red. I mean really, I came down for a good ride and to relax after all. Tony spends ages on the site and at 11PM I go to bed. I get up in the morning and find my bike in bits. No starter motor, fairings off, electrics disabled… the list goes on.
Ok lets cut a long long story short. We put my starter motor into Tony’s bike. No prob’s she fires up. We put my starter relay into Tony’s bike. No worries. We put Tony’s battery into my bike. Ah she starts up, but then only one start and its dead again. Oh while I was broken down at the pub, a car pulled up and a gentleman got out and said, how’s the Norge lol, you get the picture. He says, Ah I have a 2010 Breva. On my first ride it did exactly what your’s did. We pulled the start switch off the handle bars and found corrosion so we cleaned it put it back and I’ve never had the problem since. Ok I said, thanks for that, we’ve pulled ours off and done the same thing, but it must be something simple.
OK, Tony says, I’m going to pull that switch gear off and give it a bloody good clean. So off it comes, full of grease and hard crusted grease as well. CRC is the go I tell him, all the Aircraft Engineers at work swear by it. So we wipe of the grease and spray a truck load of CRC into the unit. Put the bike back together and guess what??? Starts first time every time. Go figure!!! I ring my mechanic in Belambi and give him the news. He tells me to bring it straight to his work shop (it’s a Sunday, I told you he was good) and I’ll put it inside and well get it sorted.
So on the way home Tonym took me on a great ride. We had lunch at Narooma and I said my good byes and road my girl home.
After all that, I’m sold, what a great bike to ride. I’m looking forward to the next adventure and I’m happy to be a member of the Moto Guzzi club even after all that.
Hope this was a fun read for someone.
More to come I’m sure
:lol:
