Which nuts or bolts need tightening on a V7 USUALLY

[akhileshb@hotmail.com]

HI everyone,
Have owned my 2014 V7 black stone for almost a month now. It was new when I bought it.
It is my first motorcycle and I love it!
I have put about 400 miles on it so far (stop and go traffic), and I noticed that the following needed a bit of tightening today:

1. hex screws that bind the heat shields to the mufflers (both sides)
2. The gear shift lever had a slight bit of left to right play in it and there was a spot of grease around the washer . I tightened the hex nut with the larger allen key provided in the Guzzi tool kit. It did turn a little less than an 8th of a turn. It is now tight. The lateral play in the shift lever has been reduced but is slightly there.
I have had no trouble shifting, after the bike warms up.

I had 2 questions: is it ok to feel the lateral play in the shifter and the dab of grease on the washer?
Second:
Perhaps other V7 owners can chime in with nuts and bolts they have had to tighten or blue loctite?

It would be great to have a comprehensive list that a new guzzi v7 owner like me can go over.

thanks!

[rodekyll]

All of them that don't need finding.



 

[mwrenn]

That shift lever bolt has a habit of working loose.  I put locktite on mine.
I also had an exhaust nut come loose and fall off.  I wound up drilling the nuts and putting safety wire on them.

[jackson]

On each header pipe (as they come out of the engine) are two long round nuts.  When I bought my first V7, two of them fell off because the prior owner never checked them regularly for tightness. 
I'm on my second MG with the V7 engine and I check the tightness of those four nuts every week.  I've only had one of them get just slightly loose since I bought the present V7 (around 7 months ago).  I tighten them with a long allen head socket & ratchet.  I've considered putting blue Locktite on the studs but I check them regularly enough that I'm not worried about any of them getting loose enough to come off.

[Kev m]

The exhaust header nuts are the only ones I've found loose in 10k.

[pyoungbl]

There is a bolt that acts as a stop for the brake lever, mine disappeared.

I'd recommend a good dab of blue Locktite on those threads.

Peter Y.

[sib]

Exhaust header column nuts for sure.  Use a torque wrench (10 Nm cold), but don't use blue Loctite there, it won't do a thing at that temperature.  Other loose things that I've experienced or have been reported on forums:  shift lever bolt, foot brake lever stop bolt, front brake cable guide (bolt under triple tree), side panel fastening bolts, clamps that fasten mufflers to exhaust pipes, bolts for the rubber pucks that engage the front sides of the fuel tank (these can back out and make holes in the tank).  Bottom line, it's a motorcycle, they all tend to vibrate things loose.  Some folks have resorted to systematically working their way through the bike, using Loctite on everything that can be loosened.  On the positive side, the important things, like wheels, engine, brake calipers, and swing arm, seem to stay put.  But, pay attention to the oil filler/dipstick, there are many reports of them loosening and falling out during rides.  Mine sure did, now I use a channel-lock type pliers to make sure it's snug.  Enjoy.

[akhileshb@hotmail.com]

Thanks everyone. What a great forum this is. 

[SmithSwede]

I'd say everything is suspect.  I would recommend a thorough check of the bike periodically until you are satisfied that things are staying put.   I think some of this is just because it's a new bike and the various components haven't bedded in yet, and also the fasteners are new and not semi-corroded into place.   So some of this will go away.  But on the other hand, there's just a fair bit of vibration that works things loose, even after your shake-down period is over. 

My SOP now is that if I remove something for any reason, I'm probably putting a bit of lock-tite on it when I put it back.   

In addition to the above list, I had the brake caliber bolts work after the first few thousand.  Had never seen that before.   They didn't loosen again.

The clamps that secure the cross-over pipe under the engine are notorious for working loose.  The guys at MPH told me those are critical, because when the work loose, you get a slight exhaust leak, which confuses the O2 sensor and thus the fuel injection system. 

And just last month, my engine starting running a little rough, spark plugs were getting fouled, etc.  I tracked it down to the fact that the clamps that hold the intake snorkel from the air box onto the intake manifolds had loosened, creating a leak and a lean condition.   I know for a fact these clamps were tight a about 9 months ago.   I snugged them up, engine went back to running fine.   But this time the have a bit of lock tite on them, and I'll check them again each time I do the valve.   

[pikipiki]

Does anyone know the sizes of the most common nut and bolts?
I'd like to order a few spares.

Things I have found so far that can be needed.

Rubber inserts for cylinder head bolts. They age become loose a fall out.

Top hex bolt for alternator cover. Seems some people leave it out as it's behind the regulator. This bolt is used elsewhere too

Dome nut inside rear fender holding grab rails or rack. As the nut is under fender you won't spot if loose till falls out.

8mm bolts there's a lot of them and they won't be that tight being small and in some cases hard to reach.

Washers for drain plugs. Replaceable item.

10mm head dome nuts look like could easy get lost, nylock nuts handy t have some