I’m becoming jaded with Moto Guzzi

[bobrebos]

Suffered a broken shifter lever while in Tellico Plains Tn three weeks ago while on a trip and now an engine miss, running on one cylinder on this trip to Suches.

Bikes need to be dependable.  My 20-0 Honda Goldwing is DEPENDABLE.  I’m losing my patience with Moto Guzzi real quickly!  I’m blowing off steam because I’m pissed off!!!!

[blu guzz]

2013 model is not that old.  should be running well for you as long as you keep up on the maintenance.  i would not be in the MG world if not for having Cadre close at hand.  i hope you solve your problems soon.

[Ncdan]

Hi Bob.
I’ve realized that Moto guzzi in itself had been sent to me as a means of furthering my patience level. As well, it has enhanced my mechanical skills as well as my ability to learn from others without being in direct contact with them. In other words over the phone, texting, email, ETC.
try to be patient, your answers will come with time I’m sure.

Dan

[Mayor_of_BBQ]

I deff feel you bob, I have been there myself. And as a non mechanic I often wish I just had a 2020 Kawasaki with a warranty and 4 dealers within 50miles...

BUT then I ride one any one of my Guzzi's and remember what made me fall in love to begin with.

I posted a thread like this a little over 18mos ago "Fighting frustration with the brand" after I came out of work on a normal day and hopping on my 'newest, most reliable' Guzzi and finding it wouldnt shift out of/beyond 1st gear.  I was madder than a wet hen..

But in the end I got tons of support from the amazing people here and after 2-3 dms with Roper I was able to fix the issue in under 15mins. The bike hasn't missed a beat since!

Give it some time and attention, I bet the folks here can help get you sorted shortly. Maybe start a thread with your specific issue, this is that orange Stelvio, right?

[Bpreynolds2]

Bob, been there myself with other brands/bikes.  If this opinion is being formed with regard to one Guzzi you’ve owned I’d caution that for sure.  If you’ve had bad luck with more than one MG, not sure what to say.  As I always say everywhere on this board I’ve owned over 35 bikes and scoots in the last 19 years including Triumphs, KTMs, Ducatis, Kawasaki, Honda, Yamaha.  Eleven or more of those were Guzzis from nearly all the ranges since 2001.  I estimate I’ve covered over 100k miles on all those Guzzis combined and probably 120k or more on the other brands combined.  The ONLY brand that has never even once left me stranded is/was the Guzzis. 

[bobrebos]

I deff feel you bob, I have been there myself. And as a non mechanic I often wish I just had a 2020 Kawasaki with a warranty and 4 dealers within 50miles...

BUT then I ride one any one of my Guzzi's and remember what made me fall in love to begin with.

I posted a thread like this a little over 18mos ago "Fighting frustration with the brand" after I came out of work on a normal day and hopping on my 'newest, most reliable' Guzzi and finding it wouldnt shift out of/beyond 1st gear.  I was madder than a wet hen..

But in the end I got tons of support from the amazing people here and after 2-3 dms with Roper I was able to fix the issue in under 15mins. The bike hasn't missed a beat since!

Give it some time and attention, I bet the folks here can help get you sorted shortly. Maybe start a thread with your specific issue, this is that orange Stelvio, right?

Yes the 2013 orange Stelvio.  I think/hope it was a fuel vapor lock problem.  Going to take it for a short ride out of camp today to see how it’s running.  Don’t trust it on a long ride this weekend other than a 90 mile ride to get home on Sunday.  It did not get wet prior to the missing after a full tank and parked for 45 minutes.  Just started it up after the 80 mile ride, after it was turned off/parked with full tank of fuel in hot sun for 45 minutes.  Started it up to move it 300 yards and it was only firing on one cylinder.  200 yards later it was firing correctly.  Firing correctly this morning too so far. 

Can’t turn the key on this thing without wondering what’s going to fail next!  I’m pissed

[usedtobefast]

Hondas are hard to beat for dead on reliability.  (well, also Suzuki, Yamaha, and Kawasaki) 

But KTMs?  My brand new KTM died at 70 miles ... would not start .. had to retrieve with trailer.  Then at 1300 miles the clutch slave internal seals gave up and while it would still run, pretty scary trying to ride a bike with no clutch, so that got trailered to dealer too.  And 2-3 weeks at the dealer each time.  Now the gas tank is leaking at the fuel cap seal. 

So my KTM is now a "no more than 100 miles from home" bike!  1.5 years old with 2300 miles on it.  Fun bike, but really can't trust it.

Good luck sorting out the Stelvio ... certainly a pain it needs work when you want to ride. 

[Mayor_of_BBQ]

I will never understand the fascination with KTM... an ugly bike that costs top-of-the-market price, with insane short service intervals, pointless technological complexity, and crap reliability...  But their fans sure do love them

[Beowulf]

I feel I can sympathize. My first Guzzi never left me stranded. This new v7 850 had me banging my head with a dealer locally who couldn’t fix it. When I took it to Af1 they got right on the issue diagnosed it correctly and I sat waiting for several months for the part. After having the kickstand sensor and fuel relay replaced. Had three separate occasions where it refused to run.

It was frustrating to say the least. But I’m glad it’s back nothing rides like it and I think the platform is reliable. I had my most disappointing bike end up being a Honda. It let me down pretty bad after being gone through by a mechanic and I realized if it has moving parts it will fail so might as well ride what I really like. I have a friend with a shadow and I hate that bike always helping him fix it. I don’t touch Honda as there is bad blood between us.

I had a Kawasaki which also failed badly even with low miles. More electrical issues than I thought possible( to be fair it has sat fit a minute). I walked in after that bought a Harley and had a minor issue with it. Fixed it kept running till I walked into a Moto Guzzi dealer. I came back the next day traded the Harley. Been hooked on Guzzi.

I have a friend with an older Ducati. Yet to have a single problem. I’ve had other friends with Hondas that had massive transmission problems. I bought a royal Enfield for my wife not expecting much and it hands down has been forgive the pun bulletproof…..

I wish you the best. I think Guzzi if you love it is worth the time. Whatever keeps you on two wheels is cool I’d say even if it’s Honda lol

[pressureangle]

I've only ever bought 2 new bikes, '87 and '88 Suzuki 750s specifically as track bikes.

Therefore, I'm never disappointed in reliability or warranty service because I can always blame failures on time, decades-old quality, and previous owners.
I put near 15k miles on my Sport-i without concern, then had multiple failures at the same time last year at the Spine Raid and rode 1.5 miles altogether. Those failures are on me and my deferred maintenance.
Given that Guzzi is minuscule compared to the big brands, and surely a lot of components are made in China, I'd expect more warranty on new bikes than I actually see. Talk to any new car owner and see how their Mercedes, BMW, or Ford compare and you'll have some perspective.
All that said, it's always maddening to have a failure, particularly in the warranty period.

For the missing cylinder- I'd check the condition of the fuel injector connections, and coil to the affected cylinder. It could be as simple as a connector that wasn't secured properly.

[80CX100]

     A broken shift lever out of the blue without a tip over, sounds bizarre, was it a bad casting or defective linkage?

     The complicated wiring on the newer bikes, scares me with my limited skills. I passed up a deal on Stelvio identical to yours, and later read that the guy that bought it had similar issues riding it home to Toronto; I "think" he chased it down to a loose connector on a relay or junction block connectors.

      I've read that some of the CARC's were known for crappy plug wires/boot connections that were problematic and should be replaced, is yours one of those models?

      I shouldn't say it out loud and tempt fate, but other than a few issues that I caused myself, I've tackled known issues and my guzzis have been stone axe reliable.

      I know a change of pace is as good as a holiday, maybe take that simple chopper of yours for a good dose of wind therapy and come back to look at the Stelvio with a fresh set of eyes.

      Good luck with it

[Guzzistajohn]

I've "dabbled" in what I consider newer Guzzi's, I had a V11 Scura and later a Cal Vin. I never had the confidence in them I have in my '80 CX100 or the '83 LMIII. Better off in someone else's garage.

[Wayne Orwig]

I got a 1983 Honda. Two years later, just out of warranty, the cam failed due to a factory defect and Honda was more than happy to sell me all of the parts needed to fix it. Even though they admitted that they had a serious problem with the process that hardened the cams.

Fast forward a few decades. I get a 2009 Stelvio. Years later out of warranty, the flat cams fail. Guzzi provided me with a kit of over $1000 worth of parts to upgrade it to rollers.

Years ago my friend Bob came to one of my Moto Guzzi tech days. Instead of riding his Goldwing, he drove the SUV. As we all sat around and talked about how to do valve adjustments and other maintenance, Bob suddenly stands up and said 'I don't know why you guys all ride these Guzzis that you have to work on all of the time'. Mind you, we were doing maintenance. And the reason Bob did not ride the Goldwing that day? Broken throttle cable.   


The grass is not always greener over there.

[bobrebos]

I’m done whining.  Il deal with the issue and pack some extra spark plugs.  I have one used extra spark plug in my tool kit that should bail me out if needed. Life is good!

[guzziart]

Suffered a broken shifter lever while in Tellico Plains Tn three weeks ago while on a trip and now an engine miss, running on one cylinder on this trip to Suches.

Bikes need to be dependable.  My 20-0 Honda Goldwing is DEPENDABLE.  I’m losing my patience with Moto Guzzi real quickly!  I’m blowing off steam because I’m pissed off!!!!

I know the feeling...My V11 Lemans is on the rack waiting on some relays.  I just replaced stator, reg/rect, added high current starter relay & headlight relay harnesses and now I'm replacing all the relays as a preventive measure.  In the meantime I've been riding my other junk...wee strom and old eldo.

I took my dependable '08 Wing w/74K miles on it for a 7k trip last July, ran great no issues, as it always has since new.  So, yesterday I go out to the garage and figure I'll take it for a spin since it hasn't been ridden in almost 8 monthes.  I checked the air, oil & coolant levels, all ok. Of course, it started right up and while I let it idle for a few minutes, I figured I'd check the lights.  OK, i've got one burned out tail light...I guess I can't expect more than 14 years out of a bulb these days.  Well, I guess I'll take a run over to the Honda dealer for another Stanley tail light bulb since I have nothing better to do.  Now that I have all my gear on, I hop on the old Wing, pull in the clutch and there is zero clutch lever pull resistance!  Pull & release several times...nothing.  There is fluid in the sightglass so I guess I have a master cyl or slave cyl internal leak, so much for being anal and changing fluid every couple years.  Anyway, where I was going with all my babble is that I'm glad your Wing is still depandable. mine just dropped a notch on the old dependability chart.  And, now I'm reasearching master cyl & slave cyl rebuild/seal kits.

Art

PS - You're right "Life is good".  And, is it really whinning or bragging?  Hey guys, look what I'm up to!

[kingoffleece]

Maybe a bit far fetched but Cleveland is a nice ride to Hamlin's in CT.  When you leave Jim's it'll be perfect and you'll have learned a TON about your bike.  You'll have the confidence to ride it anywhere.  In the great scheme of things, what's a few days and lovely ride thru southern NY and CT on a Guzzi?

[guzziart]

Who ya  talkin' to?  Bob or me? We're both in Cleveland....him in Tn., me in Oh!

[blackcat]

Never really had much trouble with modern Guzzi's. The 07 Norge has never stranded me except for a battery issue that was my fault. The Daytona has a funky fuel injection system but it runs perfectly fine when warmed up with an occasional hiccup when accelerating out of first gear, but it's nothing terrible and the 03 Rosso never gave me any problems.  The three carburetor bikes have various levels of good looking spark plugs. The CX plugs are almost always perfect looking but the LeMans and 1000S have some minor richness issues but they run just fine. 

But, if you're going to own a Guzzi it's good to have some basic knowledge of tuning, etc. especially if a dealer is more than an hour away from home.

[guzzisteve]

I’m done whining.  Il deal with the issue and pack some extra spark plugs.  Life is good!

You might check the plug wires where they ho into the coils, make sure they haven't unplugged. The air wiggles the wire going through there. I have tied them to the fairing frame on some.
Just think if you had to take all the tuperware off your Honda, OMG.

[Bpreynolds2]

I will never understand the fascination with KTM... an ugly bike that costs top-of-the-market price, with insane short service intervals, pointless technological complexity, and crap reliability...  But their fans sure do love them

 
And that’s why they got chocolate and vanilla    They remain my favorite brand. 

[Dilliw]

You might check the plug wires where they ho into the coils, make sure they haven't unplugged. The air wiggles the wire going through there. I have tied them to the fairing frame on some.
Just think if you had to take all the tuperware off your Honda, OMG.

Have you done the NGK plug cap swap to your Stelvio?

[Dave Swanson]

Have you done the NGK plug cap swap to your Stelvio?

+1 Bob!?

[bobrebos]

You might check the plug wires where they ho into the coils, make sure they haven't unplugged. The air wiggles the wire going through there. I have tied them to the fairing frame on some.
Just think if you had to take all the tuperware off your Honda, OMG.

Steve.  I have to take the whole front fairing etc off of the goldwing just to replace the air filter.  Pain in the butt.  Horrible design!!!

[bobrebos]

+1 Bob!?

Yes I did that putting on the new Ngk caps etc 6 years ago!

[rocker59]

Suffered a broken shifter lever while in Tellico Plains Tn three weeks ago while on a trip and now an engine miss, running on one cylinder on this trip to Suches.

Bikes need to be dependable.  My 20-0 Honda Goldwing is DEPENDABLE.  I’m losing my patience with Moto Guzzi real quickly!  I’m blowing off steam because I’m pissed off!!!!

And I'm sure it doesn't return enough MPGs, either....     

[rocker59]

 
after it was turned off/parked with full tank of fuel in hot sun for 45 minutes. 

Started it up to move it 300 yards and it was only firing on one cylinder. 

200 yards later it was firing correctly.  Firing correctly this morning too so far. 
 

I really don't think you have a problem here.  Well, other than filling the tank then leaving it to sit in the sun.

Good rule of thumb when it's hot is to fuel at the end of your rest stop or lunch break, rather than at the beginning.

[bobrebos]

The flag is posted!  And the bike of a thousand breakdowns is running…for now!  Life is good! 

[bobrebos]

And I'm sure it doesn't return enough MPGs, either....     

Ok, I guess I deserved that.  The MPG is fine….WHEN it’s running!!   

[Moparnut72]

I really don't think you have a problem here.  Well, other than filling the tank then leaving it to sit in the sun.

Good rule of thumb when it's hot is to fuel at the end of your rest stop or lunch break, rather than at the beginning.

I agree with this. I had two Harleys that would cut out a half mile down the road after filling the tanks to the brim. Only seemed to do it on hot days. Quit putting every last drop in and never had afterwards. My Audace had a new engine installed at 500 miles before I bought it. I removed the tank shortly after I got it for an accessory addition. I found that the service tech vented the tank to the atmosphere. Maybe he was preventing a future problem, like yours?
kk

[MadPainter]

I must admit I have my moments with my Moto Guzzi affair ( lol)
 We have are differences, but we make it three the tough times .

For me it’s the good times that get me threw the bad,
 I am just a few more miles to have been 50,000 miles that I have put on her.
I certain there are many more to come .

I must also admit I have been looking a. A younger model, I’m sure re she will understand

Lol…

Enjoy the good times brother. Be safe out there.