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I've heard a few kids tell me they were taught to leave the bike in gear, so they could watch the mirrors and plan an escape if it looked like they were about to get rear ended.
And here I was thinking of getting a V7 or V9... I will have to rethink that. Does this same problem exist with the 1400 engine?
Ian, do you have any proof that the failures you are citing are the RESULT of clutch mal-adjustment or something other than a deficient design in the crankcase? We've got people that post around here with 100,000 km on relatively late-model B7 or V7 smallblocks.They didn't get that mileage because there is a grenade-like failure waiting to happen in all smallblock crankshafts in the form of the thrust bearings.Now obviously there appears to be a recent string of VERY early failures that suggest something more than just a weak spot in design, but that's not the same as scaring everyone into believing there's an inherent defect in all of them.
These very early failures are NOT a design defect; they are an assembly defect. The part pointed out in Reply #15 was left out in an unknown number of engine. If you have an engine that the part was left out of you will know it in the first 600 miles, and probably by 300 miles. The way you will know is that the clutch is grossly out of adjustment, probably to the point where there is not enough adjustment available at the lever. You will notice that the clutch is not fully disengaging when you pull in the lever. Fortunately Moto Guzzi is not only aware of the problem but is promptly providing new engines and installation under warranty. Two weeks from my dealer knowing about my bike's problem to being back on the road again.
The problem will show up before it is time for first service at 600 miles. By 300 miles my clutch was dragging and I adjusted the cable at the lever. Another 100 miles and it needed adjustment again - but there wasn't enough adjustment at the lever so I did it at the engine end. I thought it was new cable stretch. When I took it in for first service I mention this to the service manager. He said "Oh, there are a few things we need to check." He called the next day and said "I have good news and bad news. The bad news is that we drained the oil and there was a lot of metal in it. The good news is that you are getting a new engine, under warranty."
I do hear minor clutch noise, idling in neutral, which goes away when I pull in the clutch.
I agree completely.... luckily they are an easy engine to swap :-)however its not a great design and has been a niggle since the first v50'sinteresting reading :-
Yup, that's normal.
The engine service manual is extremely vague about these washers, and after reading the relevant passages several times, I'm not sure it even mentions them at all.
So I was hoping to purchase a new V7iii later this year, and figured that the missing thrust washers would be a thing of the past on the new models. But here is info from 1989 (28 years ago) that this has been an ongoing issue for a very long time. <snip>That was a big appeal to me regarding Moto Guzzis, that the development did not move so fast that new problems were constantly arising, and that old problems would be solved. Is that not the case?
If this was a non-pattern of random "stuff happens" I'd agree. But I think it is just another manifestation of the same problem that has plagued MG for a long time, and has resulted in these smallblock problems as well as (to name a few) the hydro debacle, single-plate clutch failure and the more recent rollerization issue -- quality control and attention to detail. We laugh about partially-assembled bikes falling apart on the way home from purchasing, the lack of grease in bearings, plastic tail lights that aren't suitable for the heat of their bulbs, etc, but these are not unaviodable byproducts of the bikes' quirky personalities. They are failures of people to do their jobs. All of these are preventable, and the company has been unable to do so. If these bikes were made in China, they'd be the poster children for everything that's wrong with offshore manufacturing. $0.02
So I have not been poking around here long, but not sure there seem to be more problems with MG than say BMW or Ducati.
Wow, starkly pessimistic viewpoints from a couple of guys with way more than the merely decade and a half I've been riding these things.I can't say I fully disagree. I.E. that the company has had some stellar misses in my time.But man these bikes make my heart sing. I seem to have gotten a good one this time, but you guys are just confirming my plans to buy another Harley next time I add to the fleet and not play the Guzzi quality lottery.
When you work in the back and all you see is the bad stuff, it affects your view.What gets me is they are trying to market the Smallblock as a reliable BigBlock.