What warranty work have you needed?

[roadventure]

12,000 miles, no problems.

Not even leaky saddlebags?

 

[dennisj]

2014 California Toruing: VIN: ZGULVC007EM200130

Has anyone had a crushed oil cooler braided tube crushed by the assembly line folks back at the factory? I just did my 600 mile first service and inspection. I found the following:
- Front calipers are incorrectly shimmed to align the disc pads with the rotor. Four 2mm stainless washers fixed it. Others on this site have noted this.
- Paniers leak, but only just a little bit, a few drops but steady while raining. It comes in at the panier lid junction back at the latch. It won't be hard to fix.
- Rear swing-arm brace is anchored to the main frame with many attachments. The four Allen Key bolts at the bottom next to the exhaust pipe flex joint is not fully tightened. The bolt is not fully screwed in to shoulder its head against the brace, but its threads are tight. Sounds like it may have been cross threaded at the factory and left to continue down the assembly line.
- All four spark plugs were torqued to about 1 to 2 ft. lbs. of torque. I retorqued them to 10 ft. lbs. upon re-installation.
- I looked for loose fasteners but didn't really find any. I did note that the exhaust heat shields use Red Locktitie on my bike.
- Oil cooler horizontal braided hose, located just above the horns, was crushed by aluminium block on frame. See picture.
- Both Tires over inflated to 42 psi. But this may have been done at the dealer.

Den.

View attachment 9638Rear most Allen Key bolt on swing-arm bottom anchor to frame location is tight but not home, Cross Threaded?
View attachment 9639My California 1400 was delivered to me like this. The line man had to see it, the bolt he tightened was only an inch away!
I don't know what to say. Seems like not even a modicum of Quality Control present on the Piaggio Assembly Line.

 

[dennisj]

Claton, MJPTexas and James,

None of the issues I noted above (other than the leaking pannier) were evident to me while riding the bike. I went looking for them as part of my First Service inspection. Hopefully you each have looked your vehicle over closely to verify that, even though you haven't had any problems (yet) with thousands of miles on the clock, that you don't have an, as yet, undiscovered issue.

Good Luck Gentlemen, face the wind and enjoy. I love riding my Cali, but I'm also keeping my eyes wide open.

Den.

PS: Darn, it looks like I accidentally reposted my original comment making this reply. Sorry.

 

[Clayton Sietsema]

I have been all over and through my bike and all I have to report is the usual leaking saddle bags.

 

[roadventure]

2014 California Toruing: VIN: ZGULVC007EM200130

Has anyone had a crushed oil cooler braided tube crushed by the assembly line folks back at the factory? I just did my 600 mile first service and inspection. I found the following:
- Front calipers are incorrectly shimmed to align the disc pads with the rotor. Four 2mm stainless washers fixed it. Others on this site have noted this.
- Paniers leak, but only just a little bit, a few drops but steady while raining. It comes in at the panier lid junction back at the latch. It won't be hard to fix.
- Rear swing-arm brace is anchored to the main frame with many attachments. The four Allen Key bolts at the bottom next to the exhaust pipe flex joint is not fully tightened. The bolt is not fully screwed in to shoulder its head against the brace, but its threads are tight. Sounds like it may have been cross threaded at the factory and left to continue down the assembly line.
- All four spark plugs were torqued to about 1 to 2 ft. lbs. of torque. I retorqued them to 10 ft. lbs. upon re-installation.
- I looked for loose fasteners but didn't really find any. I did note that the exhaust heat shields use Red Locktitie on my bike.
- Oil cooler horizontal braided hose, located just above the horns, was crushed by aluminium block on frame. See picture.
- Both Tires over inflated to 42 psi. But this may have been done at the dealer.

Den.

Your dealer shares in the poor quality control. They REALLY should have found the things you found before delivery.

 

[dennisj]

Dave,

I agree that my dealer missed some obvious problems, especially that crushed braided hose, it is only inches above the horn and wide open to view once you lower your head a little. However, I'd call this "Customer Care", or maybe "Business Preservation", at the dealership, rather than Quality Control which must be implemented on the assembly floor.

Suppose this (unobservant, sleepy, drunk, disgruntled or simply a looser of an) assembly line employee did the same thing all day, to a dozen different bikes? Bad for business and a real bruise to the Moto Guzzi/Piaggio name/reputation. That is one employee you don't want to keep on the line. However if it was a one time slip up, then QC staff would catch the problem and fix it then and there. This is the main point of my post, I'm not seeing evidence that Moto Guzzi has (effective) QC!

I'm still sussing out my dealer, they have not truly let me down yet, but they haven't impressed me either. Questionable shop fees and obviously short on observations. I'm keeping my eyes open. I'll see how they treat the cross threaded bolt later this spring.

 

[George_S]

I sure wish I knew how to get these pictures posted in the Moto Guzzi factory break room so every day when Luigi sets down to enjoy is spaghetti he's reminded that someone in the U.S. knows he's a dumb ass! Thanks for posting those Dennis.

Maybe start here... there's at least one fax and two email addresses.
If 20 of us forward the photos via email and also print out the photos and fax them, somebody might see them and reply?


CONTACT MOTO GUZZI


PIAGGIO GROUP AMERICAS, INC.
257 Park Ave South, 4th Floor
New York, NY 10010
Phone: 212.380.4400
Fax: 212.380.4459


General Inquiries: info@piaggiogroupamericas.com
Piaggio & C.s.p.a. http://www.piaggio.com
Moto Guzzi International http://www.motoguzzi.it
Moto Guzzi USA www.motoguzzi-us.com
Moto Guzzi Canada www.motoguzzi-canada.ca

Unsolicited materials sent to us will not be returned.

CUSTOMER CARE
Customer Care: CustomerCare@piaggiogroupamericas.com
Toll-Free Number: 1.877.696.6864

Recall Information:
Check for campaigns and recalls HERE.

 

[dennisj]

George_S,

Thanks for these very helpful contacts. I have enough material to make a concise and focused address of the Quality Control issue. I only need to write it up in a succinct and convincing way. I'll then send it off, with attached images illustrating the matter, to each of the provided contacts.

Bergen County huh? Now that is the land where you really do have to watch the other guy. May you live long and retire to a nice rural town in the Carolina's.

 

[George_S]

George_S,

Thanks for these very helpful contacts. I have enough material to make a concise and focused address of the Quality Control issue. I only need to write it up in a succinct and convincing way. I'll then send it off, with attached images illustrating the matter, to each of the provided contacts.

Bergen County huh? Now that is the land where you really do have to watch the other guy. May you live long and retire to a nice rural town in the Carolina's.

You're welcome, Dennis!
I also have a small place in Wildwood Crest. I hope to be able to bring the bike down this season a little, but have no garage so can't leave it there. Maybe see you "down south!"

 

[MJPTexas]

Not even leaky saddlebags?

I have Hepco Becker bags

 

[dennisj]

Roadventure,

Have you posted any pictures of your ride, other than the small one on your guzzitech member contact page? If so please leave some directions. I'd be interested in seeing those Hepco Beckers. I see you're sporting a windshield and passenger floorboards too.

The leak that I have is really minor. I'd say 98% of the OEM side cases on my individual bike are water tight. I even tested them using the jet spray from a garden hose. Fixing mine should be very easy, I'll post my results once I get there.

And to everyone following,

Regarding the "complaints" I have with the assembly of my specific bike, I've put together a .pdf document (I'll attach it below) chronicling my inspection results, as well as a suggestion or two plus what I feel are design flaws on this bike. Most of its contents I've posted above.

I'd like to thank Clayton for suggesting raising the matter with Piaggio, and George_S with providing the contact details. Though, the email address "info@piaggiogroupamericas.com" bounced back when I sent to it. Their CustomerCare@piaggiogroupamericas.com address worked. So somebody has it in their inbox. We'll see if anything comes of it.

Den.

 

[abbienormal]

Roadventure,

Have you posted any pictures of your ride, other than the small one on your guzzitech member contact page? If so please leave some directions. I'd be interested in seeing those Hepco Beckers. I see you're sporting a windshield and passenger floorboards too.

The leak that I have is really minor. I'd say 98% of the OEM side cases on my individual bike are water tight. I even tested them using the jet spray from a garden hose. Fixing mine should be very easy, I'll post my results once I get there.

And to everyone following,

Regarding the "complaints" I have with the assembly of my specific bike, I've put together a .pdf document (I'll attach it below) chronicling my inspection results, as well as a suggestion or two plus what I feel are design flaws on this bike. Most of its contents I've posted above.

I'd like to thank Clayton for suggesting raising the matter with Piaggio, and George_S with providing the contact details. Though, the email address "info@piaggiogroupamericas.com" bounced back when I sent to it. Their CustomerCare@piaggiogroupamericas.com address worked. So somebody has it in their inbox. We'll see if anything comes of it.

Den.

I was reading your letter and from past experience they will maybe acknowledge your complaints but not much will happen. One mistak I saw was on the oil filter torque. In the shop manual on char 32 (sez: tightening torques) the oil filter is listed at 15Nm (11.06 lb ft)
I am not sure where I found it, maybe NGK website or on the box, but I notice in my maintenance notes I torque my plugs to 104 lb in.
You are lucky to have minor saddlebag leakage. Just washing my bike put water in my bags and riding in the rain was a guarantee. You say it is the top seal around the hinge. I have yet to verify the last leakage point on mine but I know the majority was through the seam of the bags, THere is a thread on here about saddlebag leakage and what I did.
If you haven't pulled your rear wheel yet you may want to so you can lube the splines for the final drive as they seem to apply exactly zero at the factory. Mine was rusted on making removal the first time great fun.

 

[dennisj]

Hey Abbienormal,

Good find. I'm glad the information is in there. I would have organized it differently, such as putting the information in with the tune-up chapter, but heck, at least they gave us the spec. I may just have to begin changing my approach when reading their documentation.

Spark Plugs should certainly be more than 1 to 2 lbs of torque, My previous ride is a BMW Airhead and I normally use about 12 ft. lbs. on them, so my 10 ft. lbs was a best guess. Looks like I was real close. Thanks for reporting that spec for us.

I tried to make my report on the saddle bags clear but the subject is a little difficult. My bags did leak at the seam too, but its location was way up top where the lower case halves come together to form the sealing surface for the lid to close onto. So it was not the gasket that is adhered to the lid, but the lower case halves which seal together but at the location where the lid seals with the lower case. I'm attaching a picture to illustrate this location. You'll see a few droplets of water still resting on the horizontal surface of the cases. This area is actually a little bit of a swale where water can rest. The resting water leaks through the seam here.

I haven't gotten to it yet but I plan to use a really nice product, designed to seal seams on tents and repair shoes with the soles delaminating from the shoe body. It is called "Seam Grip" and is sold by McNett, in Bellingham, WA. They have engineered it well and sell a separate accelerator "Cotol-240" which also aids in getting the product to stick to these surfaces. The products are short lived so if you consider them, buy the small tubes unless you have a big job. Warning: These products contain Toluene and the suggested clean up solvent is Acetone. Therefore I'd only suggest using it on the INSIDE of the case!

I did read your article about splitting the cases and resealing them with a silicone product I think. Thanks for sharing your experiences. I'll try the Seam and report back later.

Den.

 

[roadventure]

Roadventure,

Have you posted any pictures of your ride, other than the small one on your guzzitech member contact page? If so please leave some directions. I'd be interested in seeing those Hepco Beckers. I see you're sporting a windshield and passenger floorboards too.

The leak that I have is really minor. I'd say 98% of the OEM side cases on my individual bike are water tight. I even tested them using the jet spray from a garden hose. Fixing mine should be very easy, I'll post my results once I get there.

Den.

Dennis,

Here are some pictures of my Custom. This is just about a month ago as it was being put to bed for the winter. I don't have any Hepco-Becker products on my bike, so there you may have me confused with someone else. It is an easy thing to do as our bikes all look alike.

I added:

• highway pegs
• hand guards
• MG Touring lights
• Garmin GPS

Everything else was added by the previous owner.

I did, at one time, have the MG passenger floorboards, but sold them. In my experience they would get in my way and I ride solo, so I didn't really have any use for them. I have the OEM Touring winshield with the OEM lower deflectors and a Laminar Lip on the top of the windshield. This is how it was when I bought it. I have smooth air when riding, so I am not going to make any changes in that regard. I did add the hand guards though and they have worked very well for keeping my hands warm in cold air and dryer when it rains.

I discovered that my saddlebags leaked when washing the bike. I had about 8-10 ounces of water in each rinsing off the bike. I am going to be taking them apart soon and using some RTV (or similar) material in the seam when reassembling.

 

[roadventure]

I have Hepco Becker bags

Well, that would certainly solve the problem!

 

[Wendell]

I just bought ZGULVC004EM200067 California Touring with 11,500 miles on it. Luckily it came with the service records so I can report that the only warranty work it has had has been the fog light (driving light) switch replaced and the clutch switch replaced. By clutch switch I'm guessing they mean the switch that prevents the engine from starting with the clutch engaged.
Other than that, It looks like the valve cover gaskets and the right-hand cylinder head gasket have been replaced more than once (??) and that's it. I haven't seen any oil weeping so maybe they finally got it right.
I've put 300 miles on it so far with no problems other than the "moaning whale," which thanks to this forum I discovered is no big deal.
Cheers
Wendell

 

[dennisj]

Got a call from the dealer today, RPM Cycle in Dallas, with a resolution on the leaky diff. Note: I had the rear tire replaced and the diff oil changed just before adding Todd's reflash kit.
RPM's service manager David, put Kevin, the tech who did the oil change and looked at the diff on the phone.
Kevin said that he didnt follow the correct procedure for re-filling the diff when he changed the oil. Apparently, the diff has to sit in a position that mimics the position that it would be in IF the bike was on the road, when it is re filled. Kevin stated that he had the rear of the bike jacked up and the swing arm hanging on the fully extended shocks. This downward position caused the diff to accept more oil than it should have before coming out the fill hole. Once the, now overfilled, diff got out on the road and ran for a while the excess oil burped out of the vent tube and ran out of the diff onto the rear wheel.
This is either an incredibly forthright dealer, willing to admit their mistake and not charge to make it right...OR it is the biggest steaming shovel full of BS, I have ever heard.
I'm picking up the bike on Saturday...time will tell which.

I have changed my differential fluid three times and each time, after fully drained, I filled it with 200 cc of fluid. No leaks or issues. I think it best to use a measured amount of lube rather than relying on overflow port to measure it.