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My 2c on heavy flywheels
A relic from the steam age, perhaps still pertinent to cars, trucks, sidecars, maybe even those 3 wheel can-ams and such. Modern thought has rejected them for solos, modern bikes (notably Guzzi and BMW-previous advocates) have gone completely away from such madness.
I do still wonder why Carcano fitted them to original V7
Perhaps H-D were on that page and therefore the market to chase ? Whatever, the idea is dead now.
Yes, I have swiss cheese (@guzzisteve) one in my V700 and even lighter (alloy twin plate) in my Le Lans. Even my SB has ring gear holier than Rome.
Why ?
Gear change — flywheel weight slows down the slowing down of motor just like it slows down the speeding up. So gear changes are way easier and quicker.
Engine braking- I ride by the box, see above
Acceleration— sorry, no excuse, I just like it !
Yet I fully understand we are all raised/taught differently, some can ride both and prefer the steamage way, cool.
May even be true that for long distance, steady speed motorway cruising, it’s a no -brainer, just not my thing , I prefer to go the “slow” way, using the box and the go grip , music !
I even kept the original sub 5k miles perfect condition boat anchor.
A/ i case I buy a boat
B/ As door jam in tornado
C/ In the absolute belief that one day it’s value will be huge, someone will want to experience the thrill of steamtrain riding and the loopy he’s bought has completely fkd internal splines.
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« Last post by TN Mark on February 13, 2026, 11:55:35 PM »
B E A U T I F U L
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« Last post by Rons on February 13, 2026, 09:24:13 PM »
Went to the dealer today. Everything came in and was installed on my V7 Sport, with the exception of the heat shield.
Guzzi sent the wrong one. Bike looks brand new again. Dealer service installed the center stand for free and also bolted up a Hepco Becker backrest that I bought. That is stall was also no charge. So I feel they did the right thing. Hopefully the heat shield gets here soon, and they can drop the bike off. Salt should be off the roads in a month or two……..
Bike is so good looking and I love the classic MG green colorway.
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« Last post by malik on February 13, 2026, 08:19:55 PM »
That's a Welch plug behind the cam. None of half dozen or more of the small blocks I've had apart have shown any sign of leaking there, but it's not unheard of with big blocks. Granted, the big blocks are often used harder & longer, but their solution is to smear a little silicone adhesive around the plug. Guys I know who work on these regularly do it as a matter of course, leaking or not. But then they usually replace the main engine seal as well as a matter of course - "if you can see it, replace it".
On the V7, Breva 750 & Nevada 750 the usual culprit for oil in the bellhousing is failure of the clutch push rod seal. This fails around 100,000km, allow gear oil to travel up the push rod onto the clutch cup, the clutch plate & all over the inside of the bell housing. The quick test if suspected is to remove the rubber (plastic) bung on RHS of the block (its a legacy from the days when you needed to access the teeth on the flywheel for timing), put a finger in & waggle it around. If it comes back wet, you have a leak. If it smells of gear oil, it's the clutch shaft seal, if it smells of engine oil, it's the main seal.
On small blocks, I always separate the frame from the engine - mainly because there's no bloody room, so it ends up easier. Rear wheel off, final drive off (it's heavy, & if it's still on & you let the swing arm drop, you risk breaking the gear linkage rod on the corner of the swingarm), swing arm off, then disconnect all the hoses, wires, sensors (usually missing one or two) before separating the lower frame rails from the upper frame & block so you can lift the frame off the the engine & wheel it away. I then remove the lower frame rails from the block & gearbox, which allows the engine plus gearbox to be carted off for degreasing & cleaning - there's usually loads of crud there on the rear of the gearbox - oil & dirt accumulated over the years & reluctant to move.
It's also a help having a clean rear end when getting it back together - gear lever assembly, clutch arm, neutral sensor go on better & do adjust the clutch at the bottom of the gearbox BEFORE replacing the swing arm while access is easy - otherwise there's only half an inch of awkwardness there.
At present, in the early stages of swapping out the engine from an NTX650 & replacing it with a 2014 V7 engine. Still a few hurdles to overcome, but so far, so good.
Hope this helps,
Mal
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« Last post by DoubleGuzzi on February 13, 2026, 08:01:11 PM »
If only it had the asymmetric dash affixed to the faring centrally.  Kinda reminds me of the Corsa edition and the Triumph nose fairing models.
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« Last post by Bulldog9 on February 13, 2026, 07:57:47 PM »
That's going to look perfect on my reformatted Stornello Sport...
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Ho Lee Fuk, is this cool. This would be perfect on my V7 Stone Ten.
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« Last post by jrt on February 13, 2026, 06:40:17 PM »
I don't want to be indiscreet, lol, but how much do you weigh? I have a set of Hagon Nitro shocks on my daughter's V7ii (same bike). The nitros are good shocks, but they are sized for 190-200lbs maybe? They are ok, but on the stiff side for me at 180. She weighs about as much as a bag of leaves, so the bike is a hard-tail frame for her.
Anyhow- I'd be interested in a trade for a decent, but weight-matched set of rear shocks for her.
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« Last post by Tkelly on February 13, 2026, 05:35:36 PM »
We bought travel insurance to cover medical bill including air evacuation back to the US and for refunds if we had to cancel the trip.I think Guzzi covers rider liability and bike damage,read the brochure,The Sicily trip was fantastic,the tour people were super competent and friendly,lodging and food and company were excellent,lots of interesting Europeans who spoke English on the ride.Have a great trip!
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« Last post by Bulldog9 on February 13, 2026, 05:23:03 PM »
Thanks for Posting............ . Not in the cards this year as the new V85 has crunched the budget, but there's always next year! I'd love to try the Greece or Spain/Iberian Peninsula tour....
My problem is I REALLY don't like riding in groups, and though I tend to ride fast, I've grown far more conservative with metal in my spine, hip and knee....
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