I took the time today to pull the ignition switch off my V7 Special, There was nothing wrong with it but I'm sure this is an item that will need visiting as the miles get high.
Why, for one thing the wires are very short, constant bending will cause the copper conductors to snap eventually. If you are for-warned it won't be too dramatic because you can easily bypass the switch to get you home.
These switches have been used on Guzzis for at least 20 years that I know of, over the years the wires breaking has been a problem on older bikes.
Click on any picture to zoom in It would be pretty difficult to remove the switch c/w the lock because its held on with security bolts, you can see one of these broken off in the picture.
luckily the switch part is just held on with two Philips screws around back, use the screwdriver that came with the bike to remove these.
You can best remove these with the bike on full left lock, access the screws from the RH side.
I removed the headlight to give you a better picture, The forth picture is just the screws.
Three views of the switch, Note the "T" shaped coupling that matches the lock.
The third picture shows how really short the wires are, they run under a restraint on the LH side of the headstock.
Prise the back off by pushing down on one of the 3 catches then tilt the back out, Luigi even put dots of yellow paint on the two wires. Quite often you will find one of the wires has been bending right at the solder joint and broken.
(The solder joint is the weak spot, the wires really should be captive where they exit the back of the switch)
Remove the switch plate by releasing the odd one of the 3 clips.
Only one of the copper contacts is used, the other could be regarded as a spare.
Showing the spring loaded balls that define the switch positions.
You can clean out the old grease and replace it with fresh Vaseline
The switch will only go back together in one way, just line up the two ribs inside the barrel with the cutout in the parts, then you can test the switch using your Guzzi screwdriver.
If the switch won't fit back on the lock part you may need to rotate the contact plate by 180 degrees then it will slip right on.