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let me chime in. I've known Todd for many years, and he's always been straight up with me.. honest and fair. I also know Pete has an axe to grind with him frome getting shafted by one of Todd's "friends" back in the day. Todd also got shafted by that guy. Enough said about that.Now, on to the 4V heads. They are a collaborative effort by Todd and Mike Wrenn, who posted his first 4V conversion here. They are utsing top notch components. Will they be reliable in the long run? I certainly don't know.I used Iceblue's Chinese valves, and thought they weren't manufactured very well at the time. Tried them anyway and got 5000 miles before wiping a cam lobe. I *think* that was caused by the unequal lengths of the valves.. but don't know. I would have continued to experiment with the 4V heads.. they are not heron heads, but pent roof, and breathe very well indeed. The engine is a hoot. By that time, though, I had found the Aero engine, and the rest is history.IMHO, it would be a *very* fun motorcycle. Todd knows his way around suspension, too. The downside is the unkown reliability.
Just throwing this out there, but how hard was it for Todd to put the V7 tank on the V9?That really might be the answer for a whole lot less work than a 4V 820 V7 kit, assuming you're happy with the rest of the V9 ergos and looks.
So the things I personally didn't like on the V9 is the styling of the 4-gallon fuel tank, mid controls, hard seat and flat bars (though I haven't seen the revised controls on the newest V9), all now replaced on mine below (which I can offer as a turn key V7 retro-fit kit if interested, but know it ain't cheap!). And despite how much I don't like the wheel & tire combos on either the B or R, the 16" Bobber wheels get the nod from me as to confidence/feel.The motor is a nice step up from the current V7 II. However, I had @Gruzzer ride my V9/7 against his GT-Rx[emoji768] V7-820/2V and he said his had more punch than my modded V9. Everyone is welcome to come sample my V9/7, click pic below or RentAGuzzi banner ad above.Depending on how much you like your V7R, you might consider my engine mod. See; http://www.guzzitech.com/forums/threads/gt-rx[emoji768]-v7r-820-quattrovalvole-info.15435/page-2#post-123379 -- Or ride the V9 and see if it speaks to you. If it does, go for it.The new T's are very good (I own the new Thrux-R for rental duties) but they've become so refined they've lost my interest. Guzzi will largely always have me for the power delivery, sound and simplicity to work on, despite their chronic small issues.
....While I've heard great things about the Griso, it's a far too big and heavy bike for me. At 5'8", 130ish lbs, and doing primarily city riding, it just doesn't suit my needs in a bike.....
You will find a few weeks worth of reading here.http://wildguzzi.com/forum/index.php?PHPSESSID=46f9ab96195407354561e5933b47a6b4&topic=65696.0Thanks to Chuck's magnanimity one time at the Ohio rally I have briefly ridden the Aero Lario. It's a hoot!Howard
Darn Photobucket shut down the links for all of the photos!
I've gone down the Quixotic path of attempting to make a silk purse out of a sows ear.My advice would be to purchase a nice low mile 90's CBR600 or equivalent.
Thanks for all of the input, guys. It's got me leaning towards giving the R9T a more thorough test. It seems like not many people have gone with Todd's kit, making the reliability of it a pretty big unknown.
^^^^^ I understand what you're saying..but what happens when the warranty runs out? Most of the peoplethat Iknow trade them in on a new one before that happens. That alone keeps me from even going into a dealership..Gimme a Grease O instead..
The tendency towards selling BMWs when the warranty expires has accelerated as BMWs have become more and more expensive to repair, so there is plenty of reason why a buyer would choose to sell one. As a result, resale values for used non-warranteed BMWs have in parallel dropped to the level once associated with throw away Japanese bikes of prior eras.
I switched from BMW to Guzzi smallblocks because BMW became dealer-only bikes for repairs.Alas, now it takes specialized dealer tools just to do routine maintenance. Fortunately the Guzzi smallblock (at least the pre-2013 "old" engine) were dinosaurs from the 1970's and easy to work on.
What things can't we work on with current smallblocks?
I didn't mean to exclude current smallblocks, it's just that I'm more familiar with the pre-13 models. The "old" ones definitely have simpler ECU systems.
This is like arguing carbs vs fuel injection. The things you mention are easy, just an afternoon with a few beers.The new models have separate ECUs for each oxy sensor and cylinder. Who needs that complication for a few nths cleaner running.
You guys crack me up! [emoji23]