Stelvio Behaving Strange when Cold

[MadMike]

Hello all,

I purchased a new 2013 Stelvio NTX last week with a mile showing on the ODO. Currently I have 100 miles on her. The bike is awesome. Thing is though, when I am just starting out and the bike is cold, I hear and feel a dragging sound and sensation (clutch?) while I am getting under way. If I don't compensate by giving her throttle, the bike wants to stall.

Does anyone have any experience similar to this? I don't mind if its just the bike breaking in....just plain breaking would be bad though.

It only does this upon initial startup and cold.

Thanks,

Mike

[Wayne Orwig]

My 2009 Stelvio, and others have told me theirs also do, sometimes makes a 'rumbling' noise when it is cold and you slip the clutch. It goes away after about two minutes. No clutch issues yet in 36,000 miles or such.
Not sure about the bike wanting to stall part.

[guzzisteve]

I know of 1 Stelvio that has a slight squeak at the same time, goes away after the first or second release and only w/cold start. The rest of the day it's fine.
I haven't seen any failures of an 8V clutch, yet.

[Vasco DG]

The 'Stelvio Groan'. The factory suggested sticking another thrust bearing in. I have absolutely no idea what this was hoping to achieve as the loading on the bearing is still the same no matter how many there are. There was no suggestion of altering pushrod length either? What's that all about?

At the end of the day I have yet to see any issues with the 8V clutch. If you insist on sitting at stop lights with the clutch in and revving the clacker off it? Well, you deserve everything you get! ;D

Pete

[BravoBravo]

Hello all,

 If I don't compensate by giving her throttle, the bike wants to stall.

Does anyone have any experience similar to this?

It only does this upon initial startup and cold.

Thanks,

Mike

Mike, when the Stelvio is cold, you really need to give it lots of gas to minimize the groaning sound you are hearing. This is just a characteristic of the breed. Mine has been doing that since new (2009.) I now have 38,000 km. on it, and it runs like a champ.

Bruce

[NoVector]

Mike, when the Stelvio is cold, you really need to give it lots of gas to minimize the groaning sound you are hearing. This is just a characteristic of the breed. Mine has been doing that since new (2009.) I now have 38,000 km. on it, and it runs like a champ.

Bruce

 :+1

More gas = less groan.  Dunno why, just the way the beast is.  Let's call it "character".....  ;D

And Pete, this doesn't happen with too much throttle, but rather too little (which can also cause a pretty horrid knocking if you are REALLY light on the gas....big no no  :o ).

And congrats Mike on the new NTX!   :PICS!:

-NV

[MotoG5]

Mine too! New in October with 900 miles on. Let her warm up a bit on colder mornings. ;-T

[ChuckH]

.... If I don't compensate by giving her throttle, the bike wants to stall....It only does this upon initial startup and cold...Mike..

Mike,

The noise from the clutch has been explained -- mine does it also -- I try and feather the clutch during engagement.  As far as wanting to stall after startup -- mine did that also until the charcoal canister (up under the instrument cluster) was disconnected and capped off from the engine. 

From my understanding, that's for the CA emissions regulations and there may be some gases or something in it and the lines that need to be burned off before the engine runs normally.  Someone else may have a more technical way of describing what's happening.  Regardless, disconnecting helped a lot. 

Also, just getting some miles on the bike has helped a lot.  I'm up around 5K now and the bike is really running very well.

[pyoungbl]

Mike,   
     Congratulations on the new NTX.  You don't mention what you rode prior but I'll confirm that my NTX made that same 'groan' sound from the clutch when I rode her on Saturday...47 F temp.  The sound went away after a few shifts.  More to the point, you will find that the shifting improves a great deal as you put some miles on and shifting at between 4K and 5K is an absolute joy.  The higher revs do away with any lurching and the tranny is smooth as silk.

Peter Y.

[MadMike]

Mike here, Many thanks for the replys. I am now confident that the noise/drag/groan is normal and that is that.
Nothing wrong with a little charachter. Didn't want to hurt the big girl by ignoring a potential problem but it seems
all is well.
Taller windshield, Givi Topcase, GPS mount, Tankbag all on order...let the modifications begin!

[NoVector]

Mike,

The noise from the clutch has been explained -- mine does it also -- I try and feather the clutch during engagement.  As far as wanting to stall after startup -- mine did that also until the charcoal canister (up under the instrument cluster) was disconnected and capped off from the engine. 

From my understanding, that's for the CA emissions regulations and there may be some gases or something in it and the lines that need to be burned off before the engine runs normally.  Someone else may have a more technical way of describing what's happening.  Regardless, disconnecting helped a lot. 

Also, just getting some miles on the bike has helped a lot.  I'm up around 5K now and the bike is really running very well.

Chuck,

Not to get too far off Mike's topic, but I did a partial "cannisterectomy" on my Stelvio thinking that it would improve the stalling issue, but it didn't change mine at all.  I have since reconnected everything because I don't like the smell of fuel in the garage on hot days.  I now have a bit over 3,000 miles on my bike, and when cold, it will stall at every stop until it warms up (about a mile).  Once warm, there's never a problem.  I had the TB's sync'd and the TPS reset at the first service (oddly that's not part of the "standard" service but shops will do it as a warranty item if you complain of rough low-throttle running, hesitation, and stalling....at least my shop covered it as a warranty repair), and it cured the hesitation, but not the stalling.  Now I just let the big girl warm up for a minute or two as I get my gear on. 

The clutch groan seems to go away after 3-4 take-offs from stops, and applying more throttle helps a lot (maybe it heats the clutch faster?).  No amount of warm-up time fixes this, at least for me, and it seems like the clutch needs to get hot from use before this goes away.

-NV

[Vasco DG]

  I had the TB's sync'd and the TPS reset at the first service (oddly that's not part of the "standard" service but shops will do it as a warranty item if you complain of rough low-throttle running, hesitation, and stalling....at least my shop covered it as a warranty repair), and it cured the hesitation, but not the stalling.  Now I just let the big girl warm up for a minute or two as I get my gear on. 

Really? Its a vital part of any service/tune. Its a very simple and easy procedure and if it hasn't been done or has been done wrongly its no wonder the thing is misbehaving. Rough running and stalling when cold are usually signs that both air bleeds are open or someone has buggered about with the throttle stop screw or both. You should be able to just touch the button and it should fire up and idle. With some machines you need to give it a small amount of throttle to get it through the super rich start up cycle, (The first 1000-1500 revolutions it seems judging by the time frame of engine behaviour.) and I have no idea why some machines are different to others but it definitely shouldn't repeatedly stall, cough and splutter until warm.

Pete

[NoVector]

Really? Its a vital part of any service/tune. Its a very simple and easy procedure and if it hasn't been done or has been done wrongly its no wonder the thing is misbehaving. Rough running and stalling when cold are usually signs that both air bleeds are open or someone has buggered about with the throttle stop screw or both. You should be able to just touch the button and it should fire up and idle. With some machines you need to give it a small amount of throttle to get it through the super rich start up cycle, (The first 1000-1500 revolutions it seems judging by the time frame of engine behaviour.) and I have no idea why some machines are different to others but it definitely shouldn't repeatedly stall, cough and splutter until warm.

Pete

You're preaching to the choir Pete.  I agree 1000% with you, but the service manager at the shop showed me the first service worksheet right from MG, and there was not TB sync or TPS reset listed.  No clue why, because again, as you state, it's VITAL to get this right.  Knowledgeable techs like yourself will do it because you know it's the right way to go, but techs that get handed a work list and don't know about the brand just go through the items, tick them off, and move on to the next bike.  Thankfully the shop I'm going to now has a Guzzi Master Mech and he took care of me, both in terms of recommending the work and making sure it got done right, and "working" their system so it was done at no cost to me.....but MG or PGA should change their run-in service list to include these things IMO.

Good points on the stalling.  Again I agree with you and it should just start and run, but for the first mile mine will stall at every stop if I don't increase the RPM to about 2k with the clutch in.  I'll have a look at the items you mention and see what might be amiss.  Thanks!   ;-T

-NV

[Boulder Ed]

BMW K1200GT, K1200S, K1200R  models had an identical clutch feel/sound, and when I first encountered it I was annoyed to the point I wanted a new clutch installed in the bike before I would sell it (I became a BMW/Triumph salesman, after years of engineering and quality management).  I would not be happy with a bike that does this so I could not sell it to anyone else.   It was a design flaw and the newer K1300's don't do it. 

So having switched to owning a beautiful Stelvio, I  guess it's a common feature and adds character?   For how many years of Stelvio production?   In the engineering and quality world we call it RCCA (determining root cause and then corrective action) when features like this appear on a product. 

[kirb]

My 2013 does the same groan when cold at starts. It goes away after the bike warms up. Pretty common, it seems. There was one gent on ADVrider who was able to get the clutch replaced under warranty as it bothered him quite a bit.

For a new NTX, read through my blog for some highlights and mods. DO THE FUSES!
http://stelviontx.blogspot.com/

[radguzzi]

I am not familiar with the Groan that you all are speaking of but it sounds as if it is a known condition.  I rode the Stelvio this morning so I will pay closer attention when I leave this afternoon... 

Mine has just 20K miles on it and an aftermarket canister and mid pipe.

Best,
Rob