Relatively New Norge Owner

[seb]

Being a relatively new Norge owner but a long time Moto Guzzi owner, I have a few comments about the Norge that could use some other user remarks. Apparently a lot of what I am asking has been covered in this forum previously but appears to be "lost". So excuse the tedium if I bring the subjects to the forefront again.

First, the rear shock and center stand combo has got to be improved. On my 800 mile trip home after purchasing the bike, I became somewhat gun-shy of hard cornering with all that metal dragging down there. Especially when I encountered the turn with the bump in the road. I have cut down the rubber bumper and ordered a HyperPro from Todd. Any other suggestions here?

Second, the front end nose dive whilst front braking is a little alarming as well. I have yet to change the fork oil. The bike has 5500 miles and I will be doing the 6000 mile service very soon so I guess I'll change to a different grade fork oil as well. I am mostly a long distance touring type that lives for "canyon carving". What else should I do to the front end?

Third, the bike I am geting rid of is a 2006 Kawasaki Concours. It is a really comfortable, well handling, and reliable machine. However, it has no soul. Enter the Norge: serious Italian soul. I do not think that I could have put in 800 miles on the Concours in one day. As well, the Concours has an Audiovox cruise control, highway pegs, and bunches of other farkles. I easily made the 800+ miles on the Norge without any farkles and I think I could have done 1000 if I hadn't already arrived at my destination. So, to the point: Today I began the process of trying to see if the Audiovox electronic cruise control will work on the Norge. This is not the vacuum unit. After three hours of disassembling things and sizing the fit up, I have come to the conclusion that this job is just not worth it. Getting into the ECU itself is beyond what any reasonable person could be expected to do. That thing is seriously buried on the front of the bike. I ordered a Throttlemeister from Moto International. I think I'll run for it for a while and see if I really do need a cruise control on the Norge.

Steve from Bellingham, WA.

 

[GrahamNZ]

Assuming the Norge front forks are similar to the Breva's, using heavier oil and a bit more of it helps a lot. I use 450cc of 15W in each leg on my Breva.

Have you set the front and rear spring preloads to raise the ride height? The rear especially helps a Breva and I understand the Norges are considered under-sprung there as stock.

 

[draidt]

What year is the Norge ? Early 07 had the smaller diameter rear spring, My 07 has the heavier rear spring, while I admit to having relatively smallish chicken strips, I find the rear suspension just fine for my 225 lbs. and riding style I have the preload and rebound set at mid way on both, I have installed the smaller center stand bumper that is supposed to be supplied with every USA bike with the pannier kit, I was lucky as my dealer left all the spare parts left over from installing the panniers in a plastic bag in one of the panniers. The stock front end SUCKS, the diving under braking I found very unnerving in certain situations, finally ordered and installed the Hyper Pro spring, PD valve emulators and custom spacers from Todd at Guzzitech, best canyon carving performance enhancer you can buy. I have installed a Throttlemeister and it was one of the first Norge's to get one and therefore had to have Throttlemeister send me some different size bolts and spacers ( very helpful people). I have installed a Staintune exhaust, again one of the first, It eliminates the cat converter that is in the original can, along with a K&N filter the closed loop ECU system after a ride of 20 or so miles adapted to the freer breathing system with no problems, runs better and sounds more like a Guzzi should. I am 6' 3" with a 31-32 inch inseam, what works for me for long rides is the Breva lower seat along with Moto International bar risers. Zoom Zoom (John Henry ) who hangs out here and Wild Guzzi has successfully installed a cruise control on his Norge there is a detailed write up here and on Wild Guzzi.

 

[john zibell]

For quick relief, cut 75-80% of the center stand rubber stop off. It allows the center stand to go higher.

For the rest, look for suspension threads in this forum. For example, do a search on "hyper pro" and see what you get.

 

[zoom zoom]

Steve, I was wondering what was going on with the cruise you asked about on the other post. The simple answer is the Audio Vox vaccum unit for 90 bucks. I know you're aware of my post regarding installation of this unit. It has been on my Norge for a year now working flawlessly. It will get a workout today as I'll be leaving shortly for the SWMO Rally.

Besides, the cruise, it appears that you and I share the same riding style. Highways are a necessary evil to get you to the roads worth riding.

I have done the following to my Norge:

1. Skidmarx windscreen.
2. Electronic cruise.
3. Vista cruise. (throttle lock for quick moments)
4. Better mirrors
5. Russell Day-Long saddle, raised 1.5 inches.
6. Mike Bui's bar risers. (raises the bars 1.5 inches)
7. Hyperpro suspension front and rear. (I ordered the progressive rate springs fron Todd. This was a significant improvement!)
8. Stucchi engine guard.
9. Highway pegs on said bars. (Yep, I know I'll get slammed for this one but it's my bike!)
10. I have added a bolt and bracket to help retain the trunk. (Which has been known to eject itself for no apparent reason.)

I tried the lower pegs, but they interfeared with the sidestand and that bugged me so I put the originals back on.

The stock windshield works well, as long as I kept both hands on the bars. The moment I removed one hand or the other, the airflow became disrupted and beat me up.
The cruise is fantastic.
The Vista cruise is for when I need to reach down and pull up a pant leg, scratch, etc. I took it off after the Audio Vox and then put it back discovering I used it for "quickies".
The Russell saddle is nothing short of fantastic in every way. It even looks good on the Norge. I can't sat that about its looks on my EV.
The bar risers were to go along with the raised seat. All part of the plan. It's working out well!
The Hyperpro rear shock and front springs are probably the most significant improvement to the bike in terms or ride and handling. Prior to that, I had the rear preload cranked up to keep the center stand from rubbing, which made the ride harsh. Now I have a nice ride and no dragging, and I haven't yet trimmed the stop.
The engine guards were also part of the plan to figure out an additional foot position. The pegs turned into quite a project in order to keep them tucked in. The result is acceptable and no holes were made on the bike. I can undo everything and you would never know anything was there. Over the years, I have spent way too much time trying to undo things on bikes and old cars that someone else hacked up. I have this thing about not doing things I cannot undo.

I'll be doing 600 miles today. This will be the first time I have been able to use ALL of these improvements together. After I return, I'll report on things. I would also add that the cruise has helped fuel economy on the highway.

I'm really looking forward to riding this baby to Missouri today!

Zoom Zoom,
John Henry

Oh yeah, I replaced the fuel filter to save a roadside repair.

 

[guzzibob]

john zibell wrote:

For quick relief, cut 75-80% of the center stand rubber stop off. It allows the center stand to go higher.

For the rest, look for suspension threads in this forum. For example, do a search on "hyper pro" and see what you get.

Yeah, what John said. Lots of informative threads out there. I searched for "Norge Suspension", found a thread entitled "Norge Center Stand" 6 months old with lots of info. I found that jacking up the stock rear (I have the new spring, not the useless old one) preload & damping plus cutting the rubber stop to almost nothing, & a bit of filing on the centerstand where it scraped on the left side was enough to eliminate scraping for me, at 175 lb & no passenger-but that exposed the over soft front end even more. Some have been satisfied with going to heavier, 10 or 15 weight oil there. I installed the Hyperpro progressive fork springs & PD valve emulators, helped a lot. Just came back from a trip over "Devil's Highway" (formerly #666, now 191) in Arizona, no passenger but lots of luggage, never scraped once-& I assure you I was not just cruising along. When home for a while & playing in the many LA area canyons & passes, or on shorter trips not requiring as much luggage, I'll usually remove the bags, raise up the pipes for even more clearance-but mostly "just because" at this point, doesn't really seem necessary. So now I have a still quite comfortable, but much more controlled ride than stock. With the Hyperpro rear you just bought, if you add on the front end treatment you'll be even more sport capable. Just depends on where you want to be on that sliding scale from full plush to full sport. Oh, and there are a couple of different Hyperpro front springs you can get, depending on your weight & needs, & the valve emulators feature adjustable damping-though not without pulling the forks apart again to do so.