I've had it. Seriously considering throwing in the towel.

[ITSec]

I'd like a local source for 12x35 bolts.  I need some to replace the long bolts holding the lower crash bar to the frame.  It looks like they'll be a special order from someplace.

I buy most of the metric pieces I need at McFadden-Dale Hardware very good source for all but the oddest stuff. Many pieces are available in stainless steel as well as more common materials and strengths. If you can't find a source let me know and I'll check the next time I stop by their store here in Las Vegas.

[rodekyll]

I appreciate that.  :)  JoeW is sending me a pair.  Thanks to both of you for offering!

[kirb]

When I worked at a Triumph/Ducati/Moto Guzzi shop years ago, I had a Ducati customer insist I order some "Ducati bolts" for his bike instead of sourcing them at the local bolt supply house.  Some cad-plated M5 or M6 bolts!
Total head scratcher !!!
(true story)

True cad (cadmium) plated bolts can be a bitch to find these days... Lucky the indian parts guys stock them as just about every fastener on classic indians are true cad plated (an odd sizes).
Metric? I suspect aeronautics supply would be the only source?

[Rich M]

Hang in there....

When I purchased my brand new 2003 California Titanium...had to contend with getting the three (3) recalls done by dealers outside my immediate area...

After purchasing Guzziology..getting past the learning curve and beginning to wrench myself..I could honestly state that the Moto Guzzi is one of the most enjoyable motorcycle that I've owned...

[bobbyfromnc]

Hang in there....

When I purchased my brand new 2003 California Titanium...had to contend with getting the three (3) recalls done by dealers outside my immediate area...

After purchasing Guzziology..getting past the learning curve and beginning to wrench myself..I could honestly state that the Moto Guzzi is one of the most enjoyable motorcycle that I've owned...

Thanks for your advice. BK

[Tom]

Throwing this into the fracas.  Nearest dealer sucks.  They're in Honolulu.  They're actually bike sellers.  They don't service them.  I go to the dealers on the mainland for parts.  The only MG I bought new is still with me.  All the rest are used after being sorted out by the PO's.  I feel your pain.

[canuguzzi]

Seems like we use the term "sorting it out" to go around what it really is, fixing it. When something comes from somewhere else we tend to be blunt and say it like it is. When it comes to this, we say it needs sorting out.

Much of the problem is of our own creation. Don't make a lot of noise to the manufacturer,  just deal with it and sort it out. We're still making or buying kits to "sort out" the starter wiring design defect even though it is common knowledge. That isn't being lazy or not paying attention, it is called contempt for your customers.

The reason such things continue is because someone has figured out the path of least resistance, that would be us. If everyone told Mg about the problems they experience they might actually do something about quality control and remedy things that go on for years. Then they wouldn't be able to say thing s like " we've  never heard about that".

[rocker59]

Yeah.  Well, I will not go out of my way to prove a point about something that doesn't really matter.

I will not take my motorcycle to a dealer who knows less about it than I do, just because it's under "warranty", and let it suffer the incompetence most of the "dealers" exhibit.  And the ridiculous down time, on top of that!
 
Keep preaching from on-high, if you want, but I'd rather fix the simple issues and keep riding my machine.

If I lived closer to a good dealer, maybe I would.  But my past experience with warranty items being addressed (from other makers.  Not just Guzzi)  tells me that if I can fix it, I should.

[bpreynolds]

Seems like we use the term "sorting it out" to go around what it really is, fixing it. When something comes from somewhere else we tend to be blunt and say it like it is. When it comes to this, we say it needs sorting out.

Much of the problem is of our own creation. Don't make a lot of noise to the manufacturer,  just deal with it and sort it out. We're still making or buying kits to "sort out" the starter wiring design defect even though it is common knowledge. That isn't being lazy or not paying attention, it is called contempt for your customers.

The reason such things continue is because someone has figured out the path of least resistance, that would be us. If everyone told Mg about the problems they experience they might actually do something about quality control and remedy things that go on for years. Then they wouldn't be able to say thing s like " we've  never heard about that".

I dunno.  I guess I think of it differently.  I've never owned a problem free motorcycle in my life.  For me it comes down to things like which ones have been more trouble over time, which ones have left me on the side of the road, which ones have I not been able to get remedied at the dealer.  And when I ask myself these questions, Guzzi comes back time and time again as the best among all the brands I've owned.  And yeah, I've had to trailer mine 300 miles just to get that good service cause the local guy sucked, and yeah, I've had to wait months on parts, and yeah, I've spent six months with a Guzzi waiting to get it "sorted" before it was good for the road.  Would I rather have done these things, or would I rather have a bike that breaks down unexpectedly every six months with something different (no names here just the word Ducati)?  I'll take the former, please. 

[canuguzzi]

I dunno.  I guess I think of it differently.  I've never owned a problem free motorcycle in my life.  For me it comes down to things like which ones have been more trouble over time, which ones have left me on the side of the road, which ones have I not been able to get remedied at the dealer.  And when I ask myself these questions, Guzzi comes back time and time again as the best among all the brands I've owned.  And yeah, I've had to trailer mine 300 miles just to get that good service cause the local guy sucked, and yeah, I've had to wait months on parts, and yeah, I've spent six months with a Guzzi waiting to get it "sorted" before it was good for the road.  Would I rather have done these things, or would I rather have a bike that breaks down unexpectedly every six months with something different (no names here just the word Ducati)?  I'll take the former, please.

Agreed but I wasn't referring to maintenance. Everyone expects to perform maintenance, some do it, some not. Defects that are known and continue and which will stop the show is a completely different thing.

It isn't whether MG is better than Ducati, that is like comparing two brothers from the same mother.

The idea that you'd rather spend 6 months out of a year waiting for parts or getting something sorted rather than something worse is a strange way to look at things. Just how long will MG wire their starter through the ignition switch, knowing the inherent problems it causes? That is just one example but if everyone who experienced the problem made noise, it might get fixed.

As for Ducati, at least they "sorted" out their deforming fuel tanks and the answer wasn't to replace them with another exactly the same and then have the customer trying to figure out how to coat it so it doesn't happen again.

Every brand and model has some issues. We tend to overlook almost all of them and call it sorting. If it came from any number of other countries, we'd call it something else.

[Nick]

I will not take my motorcycle to a dealer who knows less about it than I do, just because it's under "warranty", and let it suffer the incompetence most of the "dealers" exhibit.  And the ridiculous down time, on top of that!
 
..............I'd rather fix the simple issues and keep riding my machine.

If I lived closer to a good dealer, maybe I would.  But my past experience with warranty items being addressed (from other makers.  Not just Guzzi)  tells me that if I can fix it, I should.

Yep!    :1:

[Bisbonian]

When I bought my 1200 Sport new in 2009 I did it with eyes wide open and the knowledge that there was not a dealership within a reasonable distance from me.

This was to be my first motorcycle not from one of the big 4 Japanese manufacturers, and the first without a local dealership presence.

I made a conscious decision, acknowledging the fact that I would most likely be on my own with any maintenance items or other problems that may pop up on my new motorcycle.

By accepting the fact that having someone else work on my motorcycle was probably not going to be an option I also accepted the fact that I was going to have to be comfortable doing most work myself. To this day, my 1200 Sport has never been in a dealership since the day it came home to me.

Have I had problems? Yes, I've had a few. But for every problem that came up I used the tools available to me to figure out the fix and then...fix it.

Nothing has been too complicated:
Oil leaks, look for the leak and then fix it.
Rear shock blew up, replace rear shock.
Dash took a dump, get a new dash. Get another used dash. Get the used dash fixed. Okay the dash thing was a pain.
On and on with other things.

If I wasn't comfortable with working on and fixing my own motorcycle then I probably would not have purchased a Moto Guzzi. But the fact of the matter is that if I wasn't comfortable working on and fixing my own motorcycle then I probably would not purchase a motorcycle period.

It is not a closely held secret that there are few Moto Guzzi dealerships in the United States. It's not even a secret that your "local" dealership may not be all that great. It would be different if this, and the other Moto Guzzi forums played this fact down and gave people a false sense of security with regard to the quality of their local dealership but that is not the case.

I probably live in a dream world in that I expect the typical Moto Guzzi owner is something of a do-it-yourself kind of person who does many things outside of what is considered the norm and does not let the things that really don't matter bother them.

I've gotten through every single issue I've had with my bike by doing a bit of staring and posting up questions here and on other forums. There has almost always been a good response to any bike question I've posted, I've made the appropriate fix and been back riding quickly.

[canuguzzi]

No disagreement with the above but lets be honest about it, it shouldn't be that way. We make a lot of excuses, most because of necessity; because there is no other choice. I say we because I own a MG and will deal with what comes with it, the good, bad and ugly.

But that isn't what this thread is all about, someone bought a new bike and has one problem after another, as others too have experienced.

There is nothing wrong with being independent, fixing things yourself and so on and to a degree there is some smug satisfaction of riding something not everyone else has. But not everyone is a mechanic or wants to be nor do they want to fix things that should not need fixing. There is satisfaction in fixing something that has broken or worn out because things happen, little in fixing something that by all rights should not have broken or came FU right from the factory.

All I'm saying is that it doesn't have to be that way but it is mostly because we're the past of least resistance. My Norge runs very well and I have no problem with going on a 2500+ ride and not even taking more tools than what came with it. Well, okay, I take some silicone tape.

Most people would rather ride their motorcycles than fix them. Some would rather tinker and fix and the riding part is just part of that. When a bike sits in a shop or at home, not running or running well, the message on the receiving end is loud a clear, keep doing what you're doing, we'll suck it up.

And that is why people like the OP finally get frustrated enough to want to shove the thing into a compacter. Most people probably never bother, they just sell the thing for whatever they can get and move on.

Me? I'd rather have more people riding Moto Guzzi's then fewer.