Bought a stolen V7, fixing it up a bit for as cheap as possible

[adri]

Hey all, hope it's ok I share this here:

Long story short, I bought a stolen (and recovered) 2014 Moto Guzzi V7 with 8,000 miles for $2,000. This video looks at:

1) The aesthetic issues I've tried to overcome
2) The mechanical issues I've had to deal with
3) How much I'm now invested in it & was it worth it?


Over the course of this video I'll deal with the thief's (ruined) spray paint job


Dealing with rust in the tank


Trying to get the thing to @#$%ing run without cutting out (suspects: fuel pump, filter, and screen)


Trying to pull the dent out of the tank (A+ effort, C+ success)


Going over what's still needed, and how much I've spent on this thing so far

If you're interested and have nine minutes to kill, please click the link below to watch the video on youtube

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HNmJ6IjQkHI

[Sprouty115]

I'm in...

[Perazzimx14]

I think this may be the only Moto Guzzi ever stolen 

[Tkelly]

If 2000$ Canadian is around 1500$ US you got a nice deal and you obviously have the skill to turn  it into a great bike.Congratulation s!

[Tom H]

For the cutting out issue. I would think you have already looked at this, but... Were wires messed with for the thief to get it going? Could be as simple botched wiring issues. Damaged key switch not making good contact at all times?

Good luck

Tom

[pehayes]

I think this may be the only Moto Guzzi ever stolen 

Not so.  Last year I had a Spanish visitor.  Loaned him my 87 SPII so that he could commute to the metro station and then San Francisco for a conference.  Repeated daily.  Came home on the metro late one night and the bike was gone!  I had to go down and fetch him and help with the police report.  Before we left we drove the perimeter of the circuitous parking lot.  BINGO!  There's the bike hiding in a remote corner.  Whoever stole it tried to hide it so they could pick it up late at night.  So,........ we stole it back!!!  Stolen TWICE in the same day.  Tada!  My guest was much relieved.  Used it again the next day but parked at a different metro station and used a cable lock.

Patrick Hayes
Fremont CA

[Tom H]

Patrick...WOW

Tom

[Dr. Enzo Toma]

Excellent video. A heat gun or even just a space heater aimed at your work area may help with some of the cold garage issues. Great catch finding the swollen fuel pump while you were working on the tank, best possible opportunity to address it. Normally I would avoid a stolen, crashed, or crack head borrowed bike like the plague but with your budget challenge that Moto Guzzi seems like a fine contender. Will be staying tuned to see how it does in the ranking. A nice thing about cheap imperfect motorcycles is you have a lot of freedom and extra $ to do what you want with them without worry.

[adri]

If 2000$ Canadian is around 1500$ US you got a nice deal and you obviously have the skill to turn  it into a great bike.Congratulation s!

Unfortunately all my prices are in USD. The majority of my audience is in the US. Our population in Canada is like 1/10th that of the US, and the number of riders per capita is even more abysmal. So even though I'm in Toronto, Canada, I do everything online in US dollars and convert everything beautiful and metric to freedom miles and absurd fractions.

I don't mind the currency conversion... but the absurd fractions really leaves me 13/182nds irritated.

[adri]

For the cutting out issue. I would think you have already looked at this, but... Were wires messed with for the thief to get it going? Could be as simple botched wiring issues. Damaged key switch not making good contact at all times?

Good luck

Tom

Turned out to be a fuel pressure issue! My mechanic, Carlo at Moto Moto in Toronto, figured it out by looking at the way the fuel was splashing in the gas tank. That was all he needed to see to know what the problem was. I was impressed.

[adri]

Excellent video. A heat gun or even just a space heater aimed at your work area may help with some of the cold garage issues. Great catch finding the swollen fuel pump while you were working on the tank, best possible opportunity to address it. Normally I would avoid a stolen, crashed, or crack head borrowed bike like the plague but with your budget challenge that Moto Guzzi seems like a fine contender. Will be staying tuned to see how it does in the ranking. A nice thing about cheap imperfect motorcycles is you have a lot of freedom and extra $ to do what you want with them without worry.

As a Canadian, I have many space heaters in my garage lol. Propane, oil, electric, I've got em all lol. Unfortunately when I'm shooting video, only one of them is quiet so I turn off the others and brrrrrr it gets cold.

Totally with you on normally avoiding this kind of thing. As a primary motorcycle I wouldn't have gotten it, but, as you can see, I've got a few toys so, there's always something that does run that I can ride. Until the next thing breaks lol.

[adri]

Hey all, sorry for the six months between posts.... half of that is my fault. The other half is that everything takes three months to arrive from Italy  haha.

Backstory: My Moto Guzzi was stolen, abused, recovered, and neglected. But I'm finally done getting it back up to snuff!

Here's a look at the aesthetic mods, fixes, and upgrades I did, along with how we finally figured out the fueling problem that was plaguing this poor V7.

Video here: https://youtu.be/Tg1AnXvH1j0

Note: I still have the old fender in the video, the new one arrived, has been installed, and looks great. Here it is (kinda) pictured with my custom seat cover:

[Huzo]

I’m surprised it was stolen with the anti theft badge on the tank…!
I always park my Guzzi next to a Chinese bike, it’s safer that way…

[Gliderjohn]

Well, you could have a little fun with that remaining dent by putting something like a Wilie E Coyote decal over it.
GliderJohn

[chuck peterson]

I like the “make it look bigger” approach of Gerry Cheevers, Boston Bruins goalie

Small scratch, maje it bigger with stitches!! War wounds..

[adri]

Another update!

In case anyone was wondering which of the three motorcycles ended up winning the series...

After a full year of owning both the Moto Guzzi V7 750 and Triumph Bonneville 865 (and an Interceptor 650 for half a year), it’s time to review the V7 750 i vs the Bonneville 865 in a head-to-head showdown!

In this video, I look at how these two used retro motorcycles compare:
- in the city
- on the highway / touring
- with reliability and maintenance
- with dealer support and parts availability

And obviously at the end I'll make a decision on which one to keep, which one to sell, and why.

Video here: https://youtu.be/hUj8GxB29O4

[Kev m]

BS spam from someone who isn't an actual member of the community.

No thanks.

[adri]

It's neither.

It's a 26 minute video that goes in intensive details comparing two motorcycles.

The level of detail is to the point where I look up and detail the top five most commonly replaced parts for the two motorcycle brands (Guzzi and Triumph), what each one charges cost, and what the wait time is for both, so as to give an accurate average reflection of what an owner of either motorcycle can reasonably expect.

If my videos were just me posting up some pictures and talking about the bikes I rode once, sure. But these are motorcycles I've personally owned for over a year. My content goes really, really deep, to give an owner's perspective... and maybe most importantly a review from an owner who isn't biased towards the vehicle that he purchased... because I own both motorcycles in the comparison.

Please find me another reviewer who goes through the effort of looking up commonly replaced motorcycle part numbers, calling up dealers, and breaking down all of the information so that people can have the best overall sense of the ownership experience they can get online.

I'll wait.

[Kev m]

I'll wait.

8 posts in 3+ years = not an actual member of the community.

Get your hits from people who care.

[adri]

Well, you could have a little fun with that remaining dent by putting something like a Wilie E Coyote decal over it.
GliderJohn

  Honestly, I have a sticker that says "Can we fix it? No it's @#$%'ed!" I was thinking of putting over it haha.

Then I found a small business out in Georgia called Dent Pullers. Family owned. Good people. I talked to them a while back about the V7's tank dent. They're confident they can fix it. They even offered to do the work for free in exchange for showing before and after footage on my channel. I would just have to pay for shipping.

I'll be going down south for a few weeks in the winter time, so I think I'll send it then since I wouldn't be able to ride the bike anyway.

This is their channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCDjSNBAbmcV7z7hFU-VpZkw
And their website is here: https://dentrepairgeorgia.com/dent-hogs/

You can see some examples of their work on both. Looks really good!

[adri]

8 posts in 3+ years = not an actual member of the community.

Get your hits from people who care.

The video got 6,000 views in 6 days before I even posted it here today lol. You think I'm concerned with a handful of more views from a small forum? Bartender, I'll take some of whatever he's drinking! 

I'm not worried about more views. I'm finishing what I started and sharing my progress for the people who are interested.

Kind reminder - just because you aren't interested, doesn't mean you speak for everyone, and just because someone posts something, doesn't mean they're asking you to watch it.

If you get upset every time someone posts something on the internet that has nothing to do with you, you're going to keep on being upset while the rest of us will keep on having fun sharing the things we're passionate about.

[Kev m]

If you get upset every time someone posts something on the internet that has nothing to do with you, you're going to keep on being upset while the rest of us will keep on having fun sharing the things we're passionate about.

I'm not upset, I'm just not interested in spam.

[faffi]

I do not want to stir the fire, just quote my late mother: If you cannot say anything nice, it is often better to remain silent.

[Kev m]

I do not want to stir the fire, just quote my late mother: If you cannot say anything nice, it is often better to remain silent.

So, avoid all conflicts and don't express contrary opinions. Great etiquette for a birthday party, but fails in many other areas, even campfire discussions.

[adri]

I do not want to stir the fire, just quote my late mother: If you cannot say anything nice, it is often better to remain silent.

Agreed.

Back on topic, I noticed that all the V7 rear tire change videos just show you how to remove the rear wheel, but not replace and balance the tire, so showing people how to do that will probably be my next V7 video.

[wirespokes]

Fun videos. I enjoyed them.

You know, there are a lot of us who lurk for years without posting. Who cares if someone posts only a few times in as many years?

[twowheeladdict]

I'm not upset, I'm just not interested in spam.

Did you click on the video and then decide it was spam?  Because if not I'm thinking your wife now sleeps in a separate bedroom and you are taking out your frustration on this guy.   

[Kev m]

Did you click on the video and then decide it was spam?  Because if not I'm thinking your wife now sleeps in a separate bedroom and you are taking out your frustration on this guy.   

1. I read his descriptions and I'm not interested in his videos.

2. YouBoober's are monetarily rewarded by clicks. So I'm weighing that motivation for his posting against his altruism to help people with his videos.

3. By most definitions it's spam on a discussion board. I E. An account with little or no use other than to self promote. I called a spade something you dig with and that was it. (Also remember this board has a rather stringent no advertising policy in this section which I would argue this could fall under since the link itself is the revenue generator).

And past my initial objection, I wasn't going to comment anymore. I made my position clear and I would happily move on

But if others want to discuss or debate the position or challenge it, that's fine I'm happy to participate, though I think it's useless.

Most importantly, I don't begrudge anyone who enjoys this type of content, carry on and have fun.

[guzzisteve]

#1  I've known how to change a tire since I was 8yrs old. Nothing has changed.
The rest I agree w/Kev. & you don't have to care about what I think.

[adri]

Fun videos. I enjoyed them.

You know, there are a lot of us who lurk for years without posting. Who cares if someone posts only a few times in as many years?

Thanks very much! It was a labor of love making them so I'm glad people are enjoying them!

On one hand, it was so much work that I'm so happy the series was done.

On the hand I'm super happy because it was a huge learning experience. I was doing/learning a lot of stuff for the first time. I spent a lot of time reading forum threads from 10+ years ago to try to gain insights on these older bikes.

But also, the series got 1,100+ comments! Owners from all parts of the world left me insights into their motorcycles and taught me a ton in the process. That was a really cool experience for me.