'22 V7 850 Wheel Wobble

[davenull]

Hi all, in my last test ride I experienced some front wheel wobble, like Guzzi Gal mentioned in this thread from 2020:
https://wildguzzi.com/forum/index.php?topic=105268.0

Since the 850 is a new model and a lot of stuff was changed on the bike, I thought it made sense to create a new thread instead of necroposting.
The dealer told me it's not actually a "common" / "known" issue and should rather be a problem with the individual bike, but before I buy one of their (new) bikes, I'd like to know how likely / common it is to experience this, or if others in the community had that issue before.

I understand that wheels get out of balance over time, bearings loosen up and such, and that's all fixable by restoring these components to new condition, but it surprised me to experience that on a bike with 100km on the odometer. They're looking into it but didn't get around do doing it yet.

Interested to hear your experiences and maybe even how Guzzi Gal fixed it on her '17 model!

[blu guzz]

I bought one of the first V85TT's in 2019.  Rideable but unstable was the best way to describe the front end.  That year, there was a bad batch of Michelin Anekee tires and I had gotten one.  It was replaced under warranty and the bike was fine ever after.

[Kev m]

Interesting topic.

Short answer - I don't think there is any pattern problem or propensity for the latest V7's to wobble. But any bike CAN wobble under the right conditions which include problems with tires, steering head bearings, weight distribution etc.

Longer answer - Sarah's experience and another V7III owner's experience on ADV Rider (and my own experience on my Carbon Dark) make me suspicious that the various changes made to the chassis made the V7III somewhat more prone to such things than the MkI and MKII versions AND that the changes made to the EU4 and later models was to correct this.

That's just a swag based on those reports and the fact that my V7III slowly developed a wobble as the rear tire wore. But yours is the first report of any sort of wobble on a later one.

I'll be replacing the rear tire soon on my V7III and hope/expect the wobble to go away based on reports on ADV.

[davenull]

That's interesting; definitely, the things you guys mentioned are the typical "contenders" for such behavior. And I know that a lot of issues from previous V7's have been remedied in the latest iteration, even the transmission felt pretty good in my honest opinion.

It's reassuring to know that it's not a typical issue, so I'll definitely get my Guzzi this week, but I'll get the dealer to fix their demo bike, since other customers could be seriously put off by an unstable demo bike. :P
And in case my bike will have such behavior, I'd just have them put on new tires or check the head bearing under warranty.

[mechanicsavant]

On my 21 V7/850 with 18k miles I recently did a physical check on the steering head bearings . And as a number of folks have posted there was the slightest amount of grease in there . V7 Mk II has nice big roller bearings . Ball bearings on newer V7 & 850tt bikes ! I suspect the bean counters got in there ! I lubed & properly set bearings & noe have one less concern too . Now I can go on to worrying about other issues .

[Dr. Enzo Toma]

My 2022 V7 850 had the steering head bearings rust and notch as others have reported, likely from a lack of grease on assembly.
https://wildguzzi.com/forum/index.php?topic=116677.0

Since then I've had front wheel wobble one other time, I had "Plano Kawasaki Suzuki Aprilia Moto Guzzi Vespa Genuine" in Texas mount the second set of tires, Pirelli Sport Demon, while I was on a several thousand mile trip and they did a poor job balancing them. When I arrived home from the trip I took the front wheel off, checked the bearings, confirmed the wheel is true, reseated the bead, and did a static balance of the tire.



Now there is an ever so slight tendency to try to wobble around 45-55 mph, but as long as a hand is on the bars it won't... and I typically don't ride Indian Larry style. I won't be buying Sport Demons again, they were all that were in stock at the dealership. Having ridden them thousands of miles since then, I'd have preferred the stock Dunlops again.

[twowheeladdict]

I recall someone having a tire not fully seated on the rim on a new bike. 

The dealer should remount the tire and balance it.

[Moparnut72]

The Sport Demons on my V7lll are terrible. I mainly ride in town so I will replace them when they are worn out which will be soon. The front tire loves to follow any groove or ridge it can find.
kk

[mechanicsavant]

OEM tires are built to a price point . As many folks have said on this forum “Radials” . Personally I almost always prefer radials with a ZR speed rating . Nope I’m never going to go “that fast”. But ya get a much better built tire , usually need less if any weight to balance . I also balance the wheel without a tire on it first. You’ll be surprised how far out the wheel is ! Then mount tire & rebalance . Just my $.02 .

[guzziart]

I bought one of the first V85TT's in 2019.  Rideable but unstable was the best way to describe the front end.  That year, there was a bad batch of Michelin Anekee tires and I had gotten one.  It was replaced under warranty and the bike was fine ever after.

Interesting!  I put a pair of Anakees on my vstrom back then and initially hated them because of a "wobble", 1k miles  the wobble had disappeared and I ran those tires out another 13k.

On another note, I always had a front wobble (40-45mph) on my '87 LMIVSE.  I replaced the Dunlop Aeromax GT501's that came on the bike from the PO with another set of 501's, still had a wobble.  So, I serviced the head bearing, swing arm bearing, fork bushings, replaced the steering damper, checked over alignment of wheels, played with differnt tire pressure combinations and basically came up with nothing.  A year or so ago it was time for another set of tires and ended up with BT46's....the wobble is now gone.  So, I guess my is that 501's were the instigator of my wobble I suspect.

My son in law has a CBR1000rr, it has a front end wobble at 40-50mph.  I rode the bike a few times and didn't encounter it,  I'm almost 5'8', 175lbs, SIL is 6'5, 255lbs.   My belief is that our differences in weight and size have something to do with "his" wobble issue.  Yeah, he rolls on the throttle and continues down the road on the back wheel...definitely not my cup of tea.

Oh well, for youse with wobble issues, good luck, I wish you success in resolving them.

[twowheeladdict]

OEM tires are built to a price point . As many folks have said on this forum “Radials” . Personally I almost always prefer radials with a ZR speed rating . Nope I’m never going to go “that fast”. But ya get a much better built tire , usually need less if any weight to balance . I also balance the wheel without a tire on it first. You’ll be surprised how far out the wheel is ! Then mount tire & rebalance . Just my $.02 .

I thought the purpose of doing a static balance on the wheel only was to find the heavy point (if it varies from the valves stem) so you know where to put the light part of the tire so you use minimal weights to balance the combination.

I had no problem with the sport demons other than wearing out too fast.

[davenull]

Hi everyone, I got my bike last week, a used one from 2023 (1 year old, under 3000km) and already put about 700km it over one week. It doesn't have this problem and I'm loving it!

I'll definitely keep your troubleshooting & maintenance tips in mind in case the problem appears or whenever I'll need to do the first bits of maintenance. Thanks to every one who responded!

[blu guzz]

Congrats.  If you have any problems, come back here.  Those bikes have earned a pretty good reputation for not having problems, hope you got one of those good ones.

[davenull]

Congrats.  If you have any problems, come back here.  Those bikes have earned a pretty good reputation for not having problems, hope you got one of those good ones.

Thanks! That's very good to know; one of the first comments I got on my bike, after someone asked about its mileage, was that it's barely run in at under 3k km.
According to the manual, after the first service interval it's actually good to go & they remove the rev limit at 4.5k RPM, but I think he just meant that it's reliable as you said.

I'm now looking for a bag system, although I might do my first trip with just a big bag strapped to the luggage rack to save some money and keep the aesthetics. I like the MG bags, but SW motech offers a quite a lot cheaper option. Still thinking about what to get.

Since I also have engine guards, I want to check whether I could mount highway pegs to them or if it doesn't work with the wide engine; nobody wants crispy calves.

[Huzo]

I also balance the wheel without a tire on it first. You’ll be surprised how far out the wheel is ! Then mount tire & rebalance .

Why would you do that ?

[Vagrant]

Then you almost never have to add weights on the outside in the future.