V7iii shocks available now?

[drab]

I want a smoother ride on my v7iii stone.  I also would like to try slightly longer shocks to raise the rear a bit. (Is the stock 360mm ?)

I weigh 180 lbs. but usually have 10-15 lbs of luggage on my 120 mile round trip commute.

My goal is to make the commute less jarring on my spine :)  if I cannot do that the V7iii is staying in the garage more often in favor of my not as fun, but much cushier other bike

I see some options to order, but it seems the all involve waiting months. Is there any way to just get the shocks I need in a few days?  Or is waiting on parts just part of the joys of Moto Guzzi ownership?

Same question for front fork options.  I have the next two weeks off. Wish I had ordered parts back in May...

[faffi]

You can get a smoother fork by using a thinner fork oil. You may need to experiment to find the best compromise for you. The spring rate is good for your weight. For a slightly better ride, you can fit emulators, the best ride require cartridge inserts.

You should be able to find shocks available, but they can be fitted in an hour should you have to wait for them. Hagon, Ikon and YSS are medium priced options, Ohlins is premium but in my experience also best. There is another brand I know many use on their Guzzi, but I do not recall the name.

[mechanicsavant]

As the owner of 2 fairly recent small blocks (16 V7II & 21 V7/850] I’ll kick in my$.02 . First & possibly most important switch to radial tires ! I’ve installed ICON rear shocks on both bikes . On the 850 I went with 1 inch longer units . Off the top of my head I don’t recall the model# . They’re the ones with threaded adjuster & aluminum body . The folks @ ICON USA , Roger I think ,was more than helpful. It took 3 sets of springs to get it right . No additional $$ finally got it like that bowl of porridge, just right ! I’ve no connection to ICON besides being a happy customer.Like I mentioned earlier , loose those price point bias ply tires ,maybe pass them on to a needy soul . Oh , me , 100 kg. 5’6” . When traveling 80lbs camping kit . Solo dampening @ #1 loaded #3 . My only squawk is the spring adjuster is a bit fiddly with H-B saddle bag mounts in the way  .

[kingoffleece]

Here's my .02, and FWIW, I've assisted at a well know shop that does top notch suspension work for some very high profile riders.  Seen and experienced first hand what really goes into a top notch conversion.
Find someone who KNOWS what they are doing.  Swapping springs, rebuilding front ends, all of it-lots of ways to get it wrong if you're unaware of what's involved.  Do you really want to do the job 3 or 4 times?  Some do as they like that stuff.  Most just want it right the first time.

V7's with the 750 motor were over sprung and under-damped.  It's not just Guzzi that pays little attention to this.  It's universally bad across the board on sub 10K bikes and a majority of them over that, too.

I remember a time a guy with a Triumph 1050 Tiger brought his bike in for a front end service.  Had Gold Valves installed by "the best place in Toronto.  Everyone goes there.  I rode up, spent the night, got serviced, spent another nite, and rode home".  We took them off to service them, and they were installed backwards.

[Bulldog9]

Hagons and Ikons are readily available. I would also swap out the fork springs. Can be done relatively easy and cheap.

The V7iii OEM suspension bits were MUCH better than the V7ii. I am not picky with suspensions, and adapt to the bikes capabilities, but the OEM bits on my V7ii Stornello were terrible on anything resembling a normal road especially with any speed. Wanting to increase its off road capabilities, I went with 420mm Hagon Enduro dual spring rears, and K Tech fork springs 7.5lbs. These chages transformed the bike and gave me a 1/2" when seated increase in ride height.

Did the same on Bill Hagen's Stornello, though he used Ikon shocks and Fork springs at standard height.

[Bulldog9]

Here's my .02, and FWIW, I've assisted at a well know shop that does top notch suspension work for some very high profile riders.  Seen and experienced first hand what really goes into a top notch conversion.
Find someone who KNOWS what they are doing.  Swapping springs, rebuilding front ends, all of it-lots of ways to get it wrong if you're unaware of what's involved.  Do you really want to do the job 3 or 4 times?  Some do as they like that stuff.  Most just want it right the first time.

V7's with the 750 motor were over sprung and under-damped.  It's not just Guzzi that pays little attention to this.  It's universally bad across the board on sub 10K bikes and a majority of them over that, too.

I remember a time a guy with a Triumph 1050 Tiger brought his bike in for a front end service.  Had Gold Valves installed by "the best place in Toronto.  Everyone goes there.  I rode up, spent the night, got serviced, spent another nite, and rode home".  We took them off to service them, and they were installed backwards.

I think I am going to take my new Norge to the shop you speak of this fall to get the suspension right. I want to keep the bike for a long time, and know he is THE man for this.

[kingoffleece]

I know you know your way around a wrench.  You'll come away with a real appreciation for how the guys who make a living at it approach the task.  And, as a bonus, your front end will STICK like never before.

[kingoffleece]

I agree that the V7III was the best of the lot-but still, it was a very low bar.  The V7-850 was much improved and the V85 was also acceptable out of the box.  That said, if you ever rode one of his modded V85's you'll never be satisfied with OEM.

[Kev m]

Op, be VERY careful playing with lengths.

I've found that as the rear tire wears on our Carbon Dark the front end has gotten less and less stable.

I'm hoping a replacement tire will address it as I've heard others chase down the same thing with that as a result.

But now it will wobble slightly even with one hand lightly on the bar. Since I've heard of enough others with this condition I'm starting to think it was a design issue with the changes they made to the V7III chassis (and they made additional changes to the 850 which I think was specifically to correct it).

Anyway if my swag is correct lifting the rear might make it worse.

[Vagrant]

Kev, I've never had a stability problem with the 2017 V7III after 29000 miles. But, it has the forks raised 15MM and good rear (Shock factory) shocks and my weight fork springs. I always use radials since the first stock tires were gone at 3500 miles. Bridgestone A41 F & R or T32 in front since Conti quit us.

[drab]

Thanks for the input so far.
I have ridden a bit over 28,000 miles on the bike so far. Current tires are continental road attack 3.
But have had metzler tourence and others I cannot remember. All had same issue where going over certain expansion cracks or potholes is just jarring.

I have no idea, living in southern Illinois, where or how to find a shop that knows what they are doing.

I imagine the truth is I am going to have to buy parts and pray.

I am not looking for performance. I do not drive very fast, nor push the bike etc. I just do not want to get a jolt up my spine several times a day.

[Kev m]

Kev, I've never had a stability problem with the 2017 V7III after 29000 miles. But, it has the forks raised 15MM and good rear (Shock factory) shocks and my weight fork springs. I always use radials since the first stock tires were gone at 3500 miles. Bridgestone A41 F & R or T32 in front since Conti quit us.

Raised forks and/or different tires would potentially address those concerns no?

[faffi]

Raised forks usually means lowered front end.

[Kev m]

Raised forks usually means lowered front end.

Oh yeah, oops.... Right, that would make it worse.

Ok, so I'll concentrate on tire wear type.

[Bulldog9]

Oh yeah, oops.... Right, that would make it worse.

Ok, so I'll concentrate on tire wear type.

Actually, if you are saying the rear tire wear lowered the back of the bike, raising the fork tubes in the TT's would lower the front end and balance it out. I did this on the Breva 750 when I went with a lower profile rear tire. It was 7mm shorter than the stock tire, so I dropped the front end/raised the forks 7mm to match. IIRC, lowering the front end (raising forks) quickens the steering?

[faffi]

Yes, pulling the fork tubes up through the yokes will quicken the steering by making the rake steeper and reducing trail. One inch drop (or raise) of one end only will roughly change rake by 1 degree.

[elrealistico]

How's the A41 so far? It says it's an ADV or DS tyre, but the tread looks more road-bikey to me.
Do you have it mounted with a tube? I am looking to replace the rear on my V7III Special soon-ish, but will keep the front RA3 unless there's some real reason to do both.---or Conti comes up with a street radial RA5 or something.

Kev, I've never had a stability problem with the 2017 V7III after 29000 miles. But, it has the forks raised 15MM and good rear (Shock factory) shocks and my weight fork springs. I always use radials since the first stock tires were gone at 3500 miles. Bridgestone A41 F & R or T32 in front since Conti quit us.

[Kev m]

Actually, if you are saying the rear tire wear lowered the back of the bike, raising the fork tubes in the TT's would lower the front end and balance it out. I did this on the Breva 750 when I went with a lower profile rear tire. It was 7mm shorter than the stock tire, so I dropped the front end/raised the forks 7mm to match. IIRC, lowering the front end (raising forks) quickens the steering?

No I'm not saying that. I think it may have more to do with traction differences front vs rear.

Honestly I wouldn't have thought just tire wear would effect it but:

* I read some reports here or adv of a dude who was trying everything to fix a off-load front end wobble and the very last thing he thought to try was a new tire and it fixed it l.

* I didn't have this problem new and it's gradually come on in a linear fashion since the rear was largely worn and got worse as I pushed it on the worn tire. And meanwhile I can't find any other issues with the front end or steering head.

* I few others chase this with MkIII models including Sarah Greer and her husband. Which makes me think it's a potential pattern. But may vary with other factors.

[Moparnut72]

My V7lll rides pretty rough as well. I don't ride it as much after I got my Mandello. Actually the V7 handles very differently than the V100 and I believe part of it is due to tire wear. The rear is almost down to the wear bars and the front isn't far behind. I would like to go to radials but the ones I have been able to find are Contis, although I haven't looked lately. Anyone aware of any other options?
kk

[elrealistico]

With the OEM Pirellis, the V7 had noticeably worse handling as the rear wear became more pronounced, handling got way sloppier. To the point the TC kicked on when rounding a sharp LH  offcamber turn on one of my regular rides. The RA3 so far great, but the rear wear ins more visible now, after 6K miles, hope to get ~10k

[drab]

10,000 miles on a rear tire?  Wow.

I wonder if the oil and chipped country roads I ride all summer chew up tires faster. Or if I am just hard on them for some other reason?  I am lucky to get half that

[Kev m]

10k is sorta my goal for rear tires on my bikes.

On my smallblocks I've had great success with Michelin bias ply tires like Pilot Activs and, more recently, Road Smarts.

Enough traction for a track day, but enough wear to make them worth my $$$.

[elrealistico]

As close as I can get to it, yeah.

10,000 miles on a rear tire?  Wow.

I wonder if the oil and chipped country roads I ride all summer chew up tires faster. Or if I am just hard on them for some other reason?  I am lucky to get half that

[Moparnut72]

I might get 6,000 miles out of the Sport Demons on the V7 which is ridden mainly around town doing errands and stuff so ridden very easily. If it had been ridden a lot on the highway, who knows what I would have gotten out of them, 3,000 miles?
kk

[faffi]

In my experience, tarmac cause much more wear than asphalt. On a winding coarse tarmac road, I wore off 2 mm of thread of a Pirelli Supercomp 28+ rear tire in just 200 miles back in the late 80s. That would have worn it out in less than 1000 miles, but I got 1500 miles from it due to less wear on asphalt.

I got about 4000 miles out of the stock Pirelli rear on my V9, and about 7000 from the front.

[Kev m]

I might get 6,000 miles out of the Sport Demons on the V7 which is ridden mainly around town doing errands and stuff so ridden very easily. If it had been ridden a lot on the highway, who knows what I would have gotten out of them, 3,000 miles?
kk

I managed 7k on the rear of both OEM Sport Demons....I probably could have gotten a little more on Carbon Dark but I was tired of checking after each ride to see if there were cords showing.

No problem getting 10k+ on the Michelin's under the same conditions and replacing before they are completely flat spotted down the center.

[Vagrant]

I've probably worn out 12+ A41 90/10 tires on various bikes. They are very good compared to anything else out there. The only exception was the Conti RA3 now discontinued. They are stiffer than most, and I prefer the T32 for the front if for no reason than they are easier to mount.
FWIW, I get 3500 on a rear v7 stock tire here in the North Georgia mountains and 1000-15000 more from the fronts. The A41 gets 5500 +- 500.