The virus got me again! The Breva Strikes Back

[DoubleGuzzi]

Well that's my garage truly filled up, until I manage to sell something. It's a very tight squeeze.
I couldn't resist a great price on a 2011 black-engined, faster red, 750 Breva. Before selling my '08 black/silver one, I always said if I saw a late black-engined one, in decent condition, then I'd buy it. 
Drove it back just over a hundred miles and now it's time to give it a good going over - when I recover.


 (Not my pic.)
 
The most amazing thing,that distracted me, was that the seller had my Street Twin, that had been through two other persons after I had sold it! Weird.

[CoolBreezeBreva]

Guzzis are like potato chips. Congrats on the bike!

[danomar]

Red ones faster.

Black motor smoover.

Vroom.

[SIR REAL ED]

That's a good looking bike!

Congrats.

[DoubleGuzzi]

Cheers, guys.
This is a much better starting point than my previous one, I hope!
Needs some retouching to the swingarm - not gonna strip it down just yet.
Instrument housing has been neglected behind the windscreen - might need to resort to chrome spray (sorry, Dave Swanson).
Headlight rim is in a bad shape and held on with a zip tie. Hmm, might have one in the garage.
Footrest hangars have typical bubbling of the silver paint.
Silencers aren't the best but should polish up pretty well and I might be able to replace the scruffy-ish heatshields, from my stash.
Hagons are shot, which is a tad annoying as springs look in good condition. I'll strip 'em and check spring rate (stamped on) compared to the tatty pair that I have.
Front tyre is borderline to TWI and slightly stepped in profile: feels bloody awful at slower speeds.
Vibration is more than I've experienced before but I'll reserve judgement until I do valves and more likely throttle body synch.
Slight bubbling of tank paintwork and distortion to the right but not as bad as my previous Breva. The uneducated putting in E10 fuel - Grrr.

Generally, the bike has been well kept on an initial inspection but time will tell.
A foam wash and Maguiares polish later..

 

 

[BMCMOTO]

Here's mine before and after the tarting up.








I like the red and the blacked out engine. Might black out the engine on mine in the future.

Brian

[DoubleGuzzi]

Here's mine before and after the tarting up.

Crikey, that's quite some difference in looks!

I like the red and the blacked out engine. Might black out the engine on mine in the future.

With your silver in seemingly good condition, I reckon it looks fine as it is. I just got tainted due to the mess my previous one was in and don't have the wherewithal to pull out the engine for a refurbish. Black is easier to touch-up chips etc.

[BMCMOTO]

Yeah, silver is not in great condition. Something needs to be done, silver again or black, maybe. I like the black with the silver cylinders, so maybe in the future. It certainly is rideable the way it is. I also have another in the metallic red from 2004. By the way, I have replaced the clutch with one from a V9. Lever pull went from 28 lbs at the lever to 11 lbs at the lever. Straight forward swap, easy peasey once in there.

Brian

[DoubleGuzzi]

I have replaced the clutch with one from a V9. Lever pull went from 28 lbs at the lever to 11 lbs at the lever. Straight forward swap, easy peasey once in there.

I would love to do that but totally impracticable unless there was only one or a max. of two bikes in the garage. Even then, I don't know where I'd find the energy.

[DoubleGuzzi]

I managed to get in touch with the guy I sold my black & silver Breva to. He agreed to swap seats, giving me back a factory low one - even kindly drove over with it, to my place. Yay!
I knew he wouldn't accept a wee bit of cash for fuel. I thought it appropriate to give him a set of LED indicators as spares and a new seat pad that I'll likely never use.

[MarinerRime]

Here's mine before and after the tarting up.








I like the red and the blacked out engine. Might black out the engine on mine in the future.

Brian

That looks great! Is that new windscreen stock or?

[BMCMOTO]

That is a Givi fairing that is no longer produced. I have had it for about 30 years and finally found it a permanent home. It works OK for what I use the bike for, day trips on two lane back roads, it is not very comfortable at speeds greater than 60-70 mph. I think the Givi number was 630, but memory fades, and I am old now 75 soooo.

PS After looking around on the innerneck, I think it is a Givi A760, but don't hold me to it.

Brian

[DoubleGuzzi]

The wheels are off mine, getting tyres replaced. At the same time, I've removed the side plates, cleaned them up and given them a (slightly rough) respray. A pillion footpeg pin had seized solid and needed a bit of heat and a good whack.
I'm sorely tempted to take the opportunity to remove the bevel drive/swingarm, whilst it's mostly stripped down. Do I have the energy? Hmm, I wanna check/lube the clutch arm pivot pin plus the (throwout?) bearing..
  Have an early lunch and ponder.

[Hugma03]

The wheels are off mine, getting tyres replaced. At the same time, I've removed the side plates, cleaned them up and given them a (slightly rough) respray. A pillion footpeg pin had seized solid and needed a bit of heat and a good whack.
I'm sorely tempted to take the opportunity to remove the bevel drive/swingarm, whilst it's mostly stripped down. Do I have the energy? Hmm, I wanna check/lube the clutch arm pivot pin plus the (throwout?) bearing..
  Have an early lunch and ponder.

I'm on a Breva 750 too (newbie) and want to adjust brake light switch and shift lever position so I need to get the side panels off. Today I tried on the right side. Removed upper 3 bolts and exhaust bolt. Now it's rotating but doesn't come loose. What am I forgetting to do? I can see the point of rotation, but pulling doesn't remove it unless I have to pull really hard? Any tips?

[DoubleGuzzi]

..Removed upper 3 bolts and exhaust bolt. Now it's rotating but doesn't come loose.

There are four bolts, two side by side, one up high, the last (which I suspect that you missed) at the front lower edge of rider footpeg bracket.
P.S. I do hope that you removed the sidepanels before attempting to remove the side plates. 

[Hugma03]

There are four bolts, two side by side, one up high, the last (which I suspect that you missed) at the front lower edge of rider footpeg bracket.
P.S. I do hope that you removed the sidepanels before attempting to remove the side plates. 

I can see a bolt on either side of the footpeg bracket. So in total I need to remove the top, both side by side, the front lowest under the footpeg and the exhaust obviously before the side plate can come off. I thought that the bolts on either side of the footpeg bracket were holding just that bracket. I'll try tomorrow. Oh and I had removed the plastic side panel ;)
Thank you!

[DoubleGuzzi]

I can see a bolt on either side of the footpeg bracket. .. I thought that the bolts on either side of the footpeg bracket were holding just that bracket.

You'll note the RHS bracket has a bolt aft of the footpeg, whereas the LHS doesn't. My head's full of other stuff just now but if I recall, that bolt holds the brake pedal in place, with a nut on the blind side. (I'll find out when I reassemble but likely not tomorrow.)

[Hugma03]

You'll note the RHS bracket has a bolt aft of the footpeg, whereas the LHS doesn't. My head's full of other stuff just now but if I recall, that bolt holds the brake pedal in place, with a nut on the blind side. (I'll find out when I reassemble but likely not tomorrow.)

You're right about that. I just checked my pictures. What I didn't got earlier today was that the RHS panel was rotating on a pivot point somewhat above the footpeg itself if I recall correctly. But there was no way to see behind the panel AND the lower bolt beneath the footpeg was moving with the rotation ... so I'll have to investigate more. Btw, I have downloaded a number of service and workshop manuals of the 2003 (and later) versions, but nowhere were these things to be seen. They implied you had already removed them ...

[BMCMOTO]

I have found the parts manuals for many bikes are more valuable for basic assembly/disassembly information than the service manuals.

Found here
https://www.guzzitek.org/gb/parts_list_gb.htm

Brian

[Hugma03]

I have found the parts manuals for many bikes are more valuable for basic assembly/disassembly information than the service manuals.

Found here
https://www.guzzitek.org/gb/parts_list_gb.htm

Brian

Very much so. I had discovered that too.

Marcel

[Hugma03]

You'll note the RHS bracket has a bolt aft of the footpeg, whereas the LHS doesn't. My head's full of other stuff just now but if I recall, that bolt holds the brake pedal in place, with a nut on the blind side. (I'll find out when I reassemble but likely not tomorrow.)

Thanks for the tip! That bottom bolt did the job, and I got it adjusted.

When I moved to the left side to lower the shift lever—which the previous owner had set ridiculously high 😉—I ran into another snag. Unlike my Kawasaki's external shift rod, this one is tucked inside and nearly impossible to reach.

I tried slipping the lever off to rotate it one spline counterclockwise, but it wouldn't slide off the shaft even with the clamp bolt fully removed. Since I don't own a puller, I'm halted for now (also didn't have my WD-40 at hand). It’s still rideable, so I’ll leave it alone for now and maybe ask the Guzzi dealer to tackle it next time I'm in.

[BMCMOTO]

On some Brevas the shift lever hits a bracket on the frame if lowered very much. One of mine has a significant amount of its width removed by grinding to make it fit properly.

Brian

[DoubleGuzzi]

I'm glad that I took the time/effort to remove & refit the swingarm today.
The rear of the swingarm, where it attaches to the bevel drive, had the inner coated in surface rust. I assume that this was flung off the steel sliding components of the drive shaft, as these were also coated. A light coating of rust was also on the adjoining bevel drive. The sliding parts and drive shaft splines have some wear but nothing too drastic and it all cleaned up easily. Molybdenum EP grease looks better as a coating. :smile: Surprisingly given the mentioned discovery, the drive shaft itself is very clean, along with the transmission tunnel and output shaft. I even managed to not lose the wee spring this time - hurrah!

As with my past three Guzzis, the clutch arm pivot pin was stuck - the P.O.s liberal splattering of grease all over the rear of the transmission hadn't helped that much. Fortunately, I seem to have caught the issue just in time and didn't need the cutting wheels of a Dremel - phew! Some WD-40 plus the heat of a hot air gun and it punched out well enough. Thank goodness: saves buying a used gearbox, just to get a replacement clutch arm. The "original" (refer to another thread of mine) arm is now reinstalled, greased up and an R-clip replacing the split pin.
Whilst the clutch arm was off, I did of course, check the clutch release bearing and gave it a good bill of health.

The swingarm is back on, along with bevel drive (that had more paint flake off the underside) and the back wheel back in place. Retaining the wheel with a bungee through a spoke onto the right shock, sure helps when refitting the spacer and caliper plate, on the opposite side. 
Even the cush drive rubbers behaved themselves much better than the usual frustration. A good day.

Hope that I have enough energy tomorrow, to complete the reassembly.. I'm keen to try out the new pair of cheapy tyres.

[DoubleGuzzi]

Unlike my Kawasaki's external shift rod, this one is tucked inside and nearly impossible to reach.
..
I tried slipping the lever off to rotate it one spline counterclockwise, but it wouldn't slide off the shaft even with the clamp bolt fully removed.

It is awkward, lying down, you should be able to adjust with open-ended 10mm (IIRC) spanners. otherwise it's plate off time..
With the plate off and bolt out, a gentle prise with a screwdriver into the slot, should free the top link from the shaft. That's what I've just done, to gain better access for punching out the clutch arm pivot pin.




(Not a Breva but same style/principle.)

[DoubleGuzzi]

All back together but now the RHS rear indicator ain't working!  Why, oh why do they use those poxy BAX15s bulbs? The bulb's not blown however, so time to check connections. Might end up adding a combined reflector/tail/stop lamp whilst there.
Jeez, I just wanna go for a wee spin.