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« Last post by Griso8V on January 05, 2026, 02:02:02 PM »
OK, after reading through this thread I must admit that I am in awe  that you guys can fix things at the side of the road. Do you guys carry took kits? The tool kit that comes with the bike barely can be use to change the oil! I guess I am lucky that I have never had a problem that required road side repairs because I would be SOL! And I have a garage at home full of tools having restored two cars...Again my compliments to those that can fix a bike or anything "at the side of the road..."  Tony C
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« Last post by Tkelly on January 05, 2026, 01:34:58 PM »
I ride my bike regularly before I take a trip ,if no problems appear I figure it will be ok on the trip,no point in worrying about possible but unlikely breakdowns,but you just never know.So the question is do I take the trip and risk a breakdown or stay home relieved that no breakdown occurred while I sit on my couch.
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« Last post by faffi on January 05, 2026, 01:27:08 PM »
There is one series of videos on Youtube by a british guy who got ”total engine failure”, as they claim, caused by a broken rocker arm. The bike is a V7 850, but as i understand it had they made some kind of smaller modifications on the efi and exhaust. This shall not cause the engine to break but i do not understand the whole story based on i am not sure if it is the failure itself the report about or the fact that Guzzi denied them warranty. Which is normal for all manufacturers to do if bike have been modified.
Mr. Darcy and the Old man. It was the video I linked to. As to older vs newer, especially when it comes to cars, the picture is not crystal clear. Anybody follow the YouTube channel "I Do Cars"? In general, though, modern stuff is more complex, costlier to repair - and more reliable.
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« Last post by faffi on January 05, 2026, 01:16:12 PM »
I did not start this thread to show that new/old is better or worse. Instead, I think it is often down to (poor) luck, sometimes bad design and/or build quality control - and poor maintenance. The latter is especially common on older vehicles.
Of the 3 brand new cars I've had, the first was a 1988 Chevy G20 van, which was trouble free. The second was a 2011 Volvo S40, which was poorly built, poorly designed and very annoying to own. Very happy to see that go. The third is the car I have now, a 2017 Skoda Octavia, currently with 85k miles and counting. Have had a few annoying issues, like a clogged up heater matrix (known issue with VAG cars built between 2014 and 2018 that they do not own up to), a clutch master cylinder internal leak, plus folding mirrors and a drive shaft making noises from new, both fixed under warranty.
The 3 new bikes were a 1980 Honda CB100, which finish suffered badly after riding through two winters with lots of salt on the roads, but only a broken R/R went wrong after 10,000 miles. A 1983 Yamaha Seca 750 did not have any issues other than me crashing it - and smashing myself literally to bits - in 1200 miles of ownership. Not much time for anything to go wrong. Finally, a 1999 Kawasaki Vulcan 800A, which came with a wire going to one of the coils barely resting on the connector that I spotted when I went over the bike as soon as I got it home. Other than chrome rusting at the mere sight of water, I had no other issues.
Be that as it may, I would not be hesitant to go for multi-day rides in any car or on any bike I knew to be sorted, be that brand new or decades old. My brother has a 1958 BSA 650, a 2003 Harley Electra Glide and a 1977 Harley Sportster, among a lot of other bikes, but these three see the most use. The Sportster is his winter bike and wear studded tires during the cold season. He tours on both the BSA and Glide, often doing 500 mile days. Do these, especially the two oldest, require more maintenance than newish bikes? Absolutely. But if looked after, they have proven utterly reliable. Same with the several Guzzis he has owned, apart from the clutch on his long gone Lario.
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« Last post by Fredrik on January 05, 2026, 01:14:52 PM »
I haven't heard of rocker arms breaking on the 850s and the only electrical gremlins I've really heard of were sticky switches.
14k miles on my '23 V7, no issues
There is one series of videos on Youtube by a british guy who got ”total engine failure”, as they claim, caused by a broken rocker arm. The bike is a V7 850, but as i understand it had they made some kind of smaller modifications on the efi and exhaust. This shall not cause the engine to break but i do not understand the whole story based on i am not sure if it is the failure itself the report about or the fact that Guzzi denied them warranty. Which is normal for all manufacturers to do if bike have been modified.
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« Last post by DoubleGuzzi on January 05, 2026, 01:12:04 PM »
Poor, unloved Breva (albeit one of the early ones).
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« Last post by Bulldog9 on January 05, 2026, 12:48:50 PM »
2004 Breva 750 - I'm the second owner, and from what I understand the bike has not had a single failure, mechanical, electronic or otherwise. 20k+ I've only put about 400 mi on it. Having bought it for my wife. She's not interested so I'll be selling at this spring.
2007 Griso - again, second owner and not a single mechanical or reliability issue other than needing the oil pressure sensor changed out about 5 years ago. I bought it with around 4,000 mi and it's now sitting at 13k I think
2008 1200 Sport - 70k+ miles. again, I'm the second owner. I bought it from forum member, Ohio Rider, and he had several small issues with it over the years to include startis interruptus and a dash failure. When I bought it, it had a failing oil pressure sensor which I changed. But other than that it's Rock solid and I would take it anywhere anytime. It looks sounds rides and feels like a brand new motorcycle.
2012 Norge - 50k+ miles. I'm the third owner, and it has had several of the normal failures. First. Was it needed to be rollerized, second, was the lower sump gasket failed causing a loss of oil pressure, And a few other things. Surprisingly, it still has the original spark plug leads as they were carefully removed during valve adjustments, etc. I purchased a spare set from a F1 racing last fall and plan to install them sometime at the next valve adjustment keeping the originals as backups.
2016 Stornello 16k+ (I think) I bought it new in 2017 and have not had a single issue. The bike has been completely flawless.
Every motor vehicle has issues especially as the age, but I'm extremely impressed with how how my Moto Guzzi's have fared and how little they have required beyond routine maintenance and some sorting out.
As mentioned in the other thread, my xs1100 always had something small going wrong with it. Usually electrical or fuse related. I had to replace the stator at least once several voltage rectifiers, the wires on the vacuum advance would go out, and the fuse panel degraded and had to be patched repeatedly as well as the ignition switch leads, getting overheated and already too close together would melt and touch leaving and always on condition.
But my 2005 FJR 1300 was the absolute worst. In addition to being a ticker where the valve guides on the exhaust valves were defective, I also had a water pump fail, the thermostat stick, a radiator blow up (All separate and unrelated incidents). I had the gear shift lever break three times, centerstand failure, two TPS replacements, worn out steering head bearings, constant cam chain tensioner issues, and it ATE batteries like a fat kid at a dessert buffet. It also absolutely roasted my lower legs and feet, even causing me to have Burns and blisters on my shins. Suffered with that bike until 2015 and 60k miles when I discovered the mighty and unparalleled GRiSO....
I don't have a single worry about throwing a leg over any of my Guzzi's and riding for as long and far as I want.
YMMV
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« Last post by Bulldog9 on January 05, 2026, 12:26:02 PM »
I understand you point, and to be honest the only thing that worries me are the electrical issues that might occur. No matter what brand……most are rare yes, but we all know Murphys law, at the worst possible location……but these days most bikes have efi.
In my not so humble and not so limited experience, modern bikes, wiring looms, electrical connections, including ECU and fuel injection are worlds more reliable than my old carbureted motorcycles. When I used to tour the country on my now ancient 1979 Yamaha xs1100, it was NOT uncommon to have something crap out on the ride. Believe it or not, of all the motorcycles I've owned, my 2005 Yamaha fjr 1300 was the most problematic and left me stranded two or three times. None of it was due to fuel injection. It was other systems on the bike. For the most part, going back to your original question, the small blocks be it a V7, a v9, or v85 have all been extremely reliable and the only time someone is at a problem with the very simple ECU and fuel injection is when they boogered it up themselves.
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« Last post by Stevex on January 05, 2026, 12:19:38 PM »
Even though my pumps werent pumping I wouldnt say I noticed it during normal riding, but Ive no idea how long theyve not worked for and what felt normal isnt necessarily so. The pumps squirt neat fuel to overcome any lag when the throttles are opened enthusiasically, which on the Guzzi, I dont do that much.
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It's old now, but I think this is the most cited survey of motorcycle brand reliability: https://www.consumerreports.org/cro/news/2015/04/who-makes-the-most-reliable-motorcycle/index.htmTheir methodology isn't explained very directly, but it seems they surveyed owners for failures within 4 years of ownership and the mileage. I agree there are different measures of reliability, with being stranded being the worst impact other than causing an accident. I consider any OEM part failure, other than the consumables outlined in the maintenance schedule, as being reliability issues. The only failure I've had that prevented me from getting one of my motorcycles home or to a shop under its own power was the coolant reservoir bursting on my 1992 Ducati Paso 907ie. I've ridden bikes into the shop that probably shouldn't have been though, like a 2015 Ducati Scramber 803 with seized timing belt tensioners.
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