100K mi on my Small Block !

[Dave Swanson]

That is quite the tome!!!  Thanks for all that typing!

[greer]

Thank you, thank you, SmithSwede!  This thread goes to favorites, and I'll print myself a copy of your service history and maintenance tips.  Does my '08 model have turds for spark plug boots, too?

Sarah

[slowmover]

Thank you

[MMRanch]

Congratulations. Swede

I agree with the engineering Gods about Air Cooled , it just don't seem right any other way ! 

Mine is a 2016 so maybe the factory had figured out the spark-plug wires by that time.   There is a clutch rattle at idle w/clutch out that is a little worrisome .   I can pull the clutch lever and it stops the rattle , but that might just be "The Nature of the Beast"  ?   

[PJPR01]

Spark Plug caps and wires.   This was my ***biggest single problem*** until me and others more talented finally figured it out.  Vexed me from day one.   I was stranded several times and took the Ride of Shame in a tow truck to home or a dealer. 

I got check engine lights.  Fouled plugs.   Carbon tracks.  Missing under high speed load conditions.  Replaced the ECU under warranty.   Cleaned throttle bodies, tightened all exhaust clamps, cleaned injectors, changed coils and wires, sacrificed goats, etc.  Drove me nuts!  Nearly sold the bike over this issue.   On Dusty’s advice, I did buy a brand new Triumph in desperation as a potential replacement (which turned out to be a mistake in retrospect, but I submit an understandable overreaction and not really something to blame Dusty for).

I’m now convinced the root cause was simply the crappy OEM black rubber spark plug boots.  Turns out the OEM boots are fabricated from fermented turds sourced from the Devil himself with little specs of moldy corn flakes therein. 

I finally replaced the devil crap rubber boots with the phenolic NGK caps (NGK XD05F) and the associated plugs for those caps (NGK CPR 8EA).  And used silicone sealant to waterproof the wire going into the cap, since it’s a direct shot (no rain loop) to the plugs, and thus rain water drains directly into the cap.  No more problems since these mods. 

Nevertheless, I’m still a bit suspicious about the ignition system generally.  I now always carry a small bottle of WD40 because if the bike sits outdoors for days in heavy, windy rain, a plug can drop.  And I always carry at least 4 extra spark plugs due to a bad experience at Woolaroc, Oklahoma that my Guzzi compadres will never let me forget.   And I carry two extra NGK spark plug caps.   At 90K miles I suddenly had a spring break inside a nearly new NGK cap which caused the left cylinder to drop on starting the engine.  No big deal because I had a spare cap in my saddle bag.   

I should have bought an extra set of spark plugs in Bartlesville when this unfortunate event happened at Woolaroc to stash in the Norge cubby for the next time we ride to Cedar Vale!  Turn it downhill, will start better! 

[malik]

Thank you, thank you, SmithSwede!  This thread goes to favorites, and I'll print myself a copy of your service history and maintenance tips.  Does my '08 model have turds for spark plug boots, too?

Sarah

In my experience, not as bad as the 1TB bikes, but '08 is getting long in the tooth, and it would be good to have a spare set on hand. I've replaced mine with prettier maroon ones, and the really pretty red ones are available from NGK Racing. It's worthwhile, too, screwing the caps off the HT leads and checking for corrosion & other such impediments. Easy enough to snip off an end so you get bright copper & screw the caps back on.

[malik]

Congratulations. Swede

I agree with the engineering Gods about Air Cooled , it just don't seem right any other way ! 

Mine is a 2016 so maybe the factory had figured out the spark-plug wires by that time.   There is a clutch rattle at idle w/clutch out that is a little worrisome .   I can pull the clutch lever and it stops the rattle , but that might just be "The Nature of the Beast"  ?   

2016? - I don't believe they did any such thing (that would be way out of character), although I'm prepared to be corrected on this.

The clutch is dry, so that rattle is normal. Apparently, according to some of the reading I've digested, there may come a stage where the rattle is excessive & is a symptom of something wrong. Hasn't happened to my bikes yet, so I'm not worrying.

[SmithSwede]

Agreed--don't worry about the dry clutch rattle on the Guzzi.  That's normal.

Now that I've got a Ducati 900SS, I no longer notice that the Guzzi even has a clutch rattle.   Maybe the Duck clutch has rendered me deaf. 

[ohiorider]

Could someone explain to me why some motorcycle dry clutches are excused for being noisy, simply because they are 'dry,' when cars have used dry plate clutches for years and don't exhibit this characteristic?  I realize some of the Ducati models use multi-plate dry clutches with exposed clutch baskets, so I'll give them a pass.  I don't recall any of my K bikes exhibiting clutch rattling.  The old R100GS does make some noise.  Since day one, my 1200 Sport clutch makes a variety of different noises depending on whether it is cold or hot, engaged or disengaged in neutral.   Just curious.

[JediMasterII]

Congrats Swede,

I only achieved that mileage on one of the bikes - my 88 R100RS.

Hoping to do it on my V7 someday.

Well done!!

Don

[Gliderjohn]

Agreed--don't worry about the dry clutch rattle on the Guzzi.  That's normal.

Now that I've got a Ducati 900SS, I no longer notice that the Guzzi even has a clutch rattle.   Maybe the Duck clutch has rendered me deaf.

All in the universe is relative. 
GliderJohn

[oldbike54]

Could someone explain to me why some motorcycle dry clutches are excused for being noisy, simply because they are 'dry,' when cars have used dry plate clutches for years and don't exhibit this characteristic?  I realize some of the Ducati models use multi-plate dry clutches with exposed clutch baskets, so I'll give them a pass.  I don't recall any of my K bikes exhibiting clutch rattling.  The old R100GS does make some noise.  Since day one, my 1200 Sport clutch makes a variety of different noises depending on whether it is cold or hot, engaged or disengaged in neutral.   Just curious.

 Normally a single plate clutch will be fairly quiet , dual plate clutches are noisy .

 Dusty

[ohiorider]

Normally a single plate clutch will be fairly quiet , dual plate clutches are noisy .

 Dusty

Yeah, Dusty.  The single plate in my R100GS is relatively quiet compared to the 1200 Sport.  However, I 'think' I recall that the single plate clutch in my Griso was also rattley, just not as much as the Sport. Hey, I hardly remember what I had for breakfast, so if I'm wrong about the Griso clutch, please correct me.  I'm thinking all the clatter may be more of a situation caused by the uneven firing cadence of twin cylinder engines that causes a 'speed up/slow down' to the crankshaft at idle that causes much of the noise, by accelerating/decelerating the rotating clutch parts.  Just hypothetical ..... (??)

[alanp]

2016? - I don't believe they did any such thing (that would be way out of character), although I'm prepared to be corrected on this.

I don't really know about the spark plug caps on the 2016's, but I can say this.

I asked my dealer (who I considered trustworthy, though now closed) if I should replace them when I bought the bike, having read about the issues others had.  They said there was not an issue on the 2016s.  After 12,000 miles, I haven't had any issues.  The bike always runs great.  So, MAYBE Guzzi did address this issue. 

[malik]

I changed mine principally because the original plugs had a solid post, with the cap to fit, and I could never be sure that they mated properly. With the change, the plugs have the threaded post that makes a noise when it goes on, just like I'm used to. Just happier about that. (Signed: old fart).

[Muzz]

Could someone explain to me why some motorcycle dry clutches are excused for being noisy, simply because they are 'dry,'

Pete Roper said that most of the noise is from the input shaft.  Because of the uneven firing order it makes the teeth rattle together; pull the clutch in and it goes quiet because the power strokes are not being transmitted to the shaft.

[greer]

In my experience, not as bad as the 1TB bikes, but '08 is getting long in the tooth, and it would be good to have a spare set on hand. I've replaced mine with prettier maroon ones, and the really pretty red ones are available from NGK Racing. It's worthwhile, too, screwing the caps off the HT leads and checking for corrosion & other such impediments. Easy enough to snip off an end so you get bright copper & screw the caps back on.

Thanks, Malik!  Now you've got me wondering about the various colors I might consider, hmmm.

Sarah

[Kiwi_Roy]

Congratulations, you are exploring uncharted territory 
https://i.ibb.co/d6f007X/D991-F415-8-C56-4660-8-A77-23-AAE68-C0169.jpg
Thats interesting, I thought it would start again at 0 like my California II did, will it go to 199,999 do you think, I assume by now the least significant figures are filling up.
After that 200,0XX or 000,0XX

[Guzzistajohn]

How many Texas bugs gave were sacrificed to make this milestone?

[malik]

Congratulations, you are exploring uncharted territory 
https://i.ibb.co/d6f007X/D991-F415-8-C56-4660-8-A77-23-AAE68-C0169.jpg
Thats interesting, I thought it would start again at 0 like my California II did, will it go to 199,999 do you think, I assume by now the least significant figures are filling up.
After that 200,0XX or 000,0XX

[SmithSwede]

Well that just pisses me off every way from Tuesday.  Somebody should be shot for that.

Can anyone conceive of any rational reason to create a digital odometer like this?  199,999 is already permitted.  Why not let it roll to 300,000?   Or what's wrong with 999,999?  It's digital.  And it already has six positions. 

I could maybe see this with a old fashioned mechanical odometer---you might want to limit it to 5 gears, and 99,999 miles, to avoid using a sixth gear. 

Heck, it gets even worse when you think about it.   With a 5 gear mechanical odometer, you could still track mileage accurately regardless of the 5 gear limit.  Just remember how many times you have "rolled" the odometer around, and each mile is still accurately counted regardless.

With this asinine system, the odometer just completely fails to function after 199,999.    It doesn't go back to zero and start counting again.   It just stops working completely.

[SED]

Smith - I love the fact that you've driven a small block the equivalent of 4 times around the Earth.  Congrats!

[malik]

Agreed. Signs of serious incompetence at work. At least the trip meter still works, and the MAINT legend still appears every 7,500 km. Small mercies.

[malik]

Just checked the V7 III Owners Manual - which says the speedo comes in either Miles OR Kilometers, and the odometer goes as far as 999,999 before it stop working. It cannot be re-set.

So, that's something. Although I doubt that this could be retrofitted .

[guzzi771]

Thanks for the info thats great news I have a friend who just hit 100,000 on is 2015 1400 I hope my V7-3 and 8V Norge can make to 100,000

[LowRyter]

good going Prescot.   Ride and maintain it, they'll go forever.

I'm also one of those guys that starts the bike to let it warm up. 

Perhaps for a different reason.  I like to start it and get my gear on.  I hate to get overheated in my helmet when the bike wont start.   

[twowheeladdict]

Bob.  I’m a sick man.  Ask Dusty.   I only averaged 16K on the Guzzi because of all the other bikes I was riding.

 

That is quite an accomplishment.   The most I have put on one bike is 60,000 miles.  30,000 tends to be my limit before looking for something else finds its way into the stable. 

What handlebars are you running on that bike?  They look more turned down than stock. 

[sign216]

Swede,

I give you credit!  I don't post here as often as I used to, because work stopped allowing social media on work computers, but that accomplishment is too good to go unnoticed.

Joe

[inditx]

Hats off! 
Well done!
Carry on!
inditx

[Scott of the Sahara]

I warm up the Norge for a couple of minutes because it will die on me if I don't.
That IS alot of miles (it averages 16,666.66 every year). Good for you.