What ever happened to the Breva/Norge instrument failure issue?

[Travlr]

There was alot of talk about this a year or so ago.  Then it disappeared.

Did Guzzi fix the problem?

Did all the instruments that were going to fail do so?

Mike

[ken farr]

There was alot of talk about this a year or so ago.  Then it disappeared.

Did Guzzi fix the problem?

Did all the instruments that were going to fail do so?

Mike

Man, I hope so......knocking on wood.


kjf

[Bisbonian]

Since I had mine repaired I've had no more problems.

Every once in a while I've seen it pop up, if not here then over on Guzzitech.

[gsf12man]

I only ever had one "trouble mode" with mine: the speedo would get wonky (needle would stop randomly somewhere in the speed range, such that 40 mph would become "zero", and so forth), IF the speedo got good and heat-soaked in the Arizona or even North Dakota sun. That usually happened during self-check although once it even happened on the move. John Zibell over on GuzziTech advised covering the instrument pack up when it sat in the sun. I use a macho, biker-type shower cap or my gloves when parked and that cured that problem.

So, no further concerns until Wife and self were riding back from the Wisconsin rally this summer; the LCD went blank approaching New Ulm, MN, our usual half-way stop, on the way home. Restarting the bike sorted that. Then, twice on the long last day ride back home, the LCD froze. Again, restarting put it back to normal and the clock back to correct time. I dimly recalled that someone had advised disconnecting the battery overnight, on, I think, a Griso with a similar issue. I did that, and whether or not it had an effect, it went the rest of summer and into November without a problem. Too cold to ride now. So, I suppose mine is now a ticking time bomb, but so far it's chugging along. 55,000 miles.

[bad Chad]

Nine years in and mine works just as it did when new.

[Kev m]

If I remember correctly failure was many times more likely on a Breva (specifically an 1100) than a Norge or B12 (some have guessed that was due to the additional protection.

What happened to the failures? MY GUESS, they didn't build that many to begin with.

And honestly, I think anyone that hasn't failed yet, more than likely will OR there was something different about it from the factory (got lucky).

I initially thought I was one of the lucky ones too, but after 4-5 years (and shortly after I sold it) the thing started to eat dashes.

[bad Chad]

I have always had either a smallish Givi fairing, or latter the one from a 1200 sport, might have something to do with why mine is still ticking.

[Waltr]

There was alot of talk about this a year or so ago.  Then it disappeared.

Did Guzzi fix the problem?

Did all the instruments that were going to fail do so?

Mike

  It only get talked about at this time of year when too cold to ride.

[Kev m]

  It only get talked about at this time of year when too cold to ride.

Ask Jay about it next time you see him.

[jas67]

So, no further concerns until Wife and self were riding back from the Wisconsin rally this summer; the LCD went blank approaching New Ulm, MN, our usual half-way stop, on the way home. Restarting the bike sorted that. Then, twice on the long last day ride back home, the LCD froze. Again, restarting put it back to normal and the clock back to correct time. .....

That's how mine started too.    But, after a while, it would go blank or garbled within seconds of switching the key on.   I had to replace mine TWICE!    I permanently fixed the problem by selling the bike, and making it someone else's problem.

[jas67]

  It only get talked about at this time of year when too cold to ride.

The first one failed in June, 2012.   The second one failed in Sept. 2014, shortly after I had the clutch replaced and got it back on the road after an 11 month layup.

Too cold to ride?     Nah!    It's not too cold to ride until it gets into the teens (F).

[egschade]

I have always had either a smallish Givi fairing, or latter the one from a 1200 sport, might have something to do with why mine is still ticking.

Ditto on my B1100 - was the 'touring' model that came with the useless windshield and bags. I guess if the shield kept the instrument panel alive it wasn't useless after all. What's some severe head buffeting if it protects things?

[Zoom Zoom]

I had some weird things going on with the Stelvio a couple years ago. That thread mentioned Carmo electronics, http://www.carmo.nl/ . Over the winter a couple years ago, I sent them the dash and they checked it out. It cane back no tbl found but I have not had one issue since. Price was reasonable and turn around was about a month. (Bear in mind it went to the Netherlands.) Sorry I don't recall what they charged me, but it was much less than sourcing a new dash, and less than a used one as well.

John Henry

[menzies]

The dash went out on my 2010 Stelvio with only a couple of thousand miles, this was with the original owner. He lost confidence in the bike and I picked up a good deal and 18,000 miles later no issues so far.

My 2006 Breva 1100 I bought last January from the original owners widow has the original dash, keeping my fingers crossed. I know a couple of other folks in my area with 06/07 Brevas with 35K/45K and no dash failures.

[jas67]

I had some weird things going on with the Stelvio a couple years ago. That thread mentioned Carmo electronics, http://www.carmo.nl/ . Over the winter a couple years ago, I sent them the dash and they checked it out. It cane back no tbl found but I have not had one issue since. Price was reasonable and turn around was about a month. (Bear in mind it went to the Netherlands.) Sorry I don't recall what they charged me, but it was much less than sourcing a new dash, and less than a used one as well.

John Henry

I'm not going to take the time right now to give details, but, don't waste your time or money with these people.
If your dash does have a problem with the LCD (most common problem), they can't do anything about it.

See my previous Breva 1100 dash thread for details.

[bedevil]

I have a 2006 B1100 with no issues to date. From previous threads I seem to remember that the problem was caused by moisture getting into the dash. There was lots of discussion about whether riding in the rain was a factor. The post from Zoom Zoom got me thinking again about preventative measures. I wonder if Carmo could do anything with a currently functional dash to prevent future problems. It may be worth an email to them. Or, for that matter, is there anything an owner could do to seal the dash better to prevent moisture intrusion.

[Waltr]

Ask Jay about it next time you see him.

I guess I have to be serious ALL the time!  One Problem working at a Guzzi dealer I can't just be a snot head any time I want to.

[Kev m]

I guess I have to be serious ALL the time!  One Problem working at a Guzzi dealer I can't just be a snot head any time I want to.

Nah, you can go ahead and be a snot head to Jay anytime. Tell him his big bro said you could. 

[Waltr]

That can happen.

[jas67]

I guess I have to be serious ALL the time!  One Problem working at a Guzzi dealer I can't just be a snot head any time I want to.

Nah, you can go ahead and be a snot head to Jay anytime. Tell him his big bro said you could. 

 

Walt -- I'll be in with my V7 Special before too long.    I'm having the same problem as this guy:
http://wildguzzi.com/forum/index.php?topic=72688.0

[ohiorider]

If you guys jinx me and my bike by encouraging me to post, well, I'll not be happy. 

OK - my 1200 Sport recently turned 62,000 miles, and I must say, all good miles with few issues.  Sure, I was convinced to pull the rear swing arm and lube the bearings, the rear running light required me to tap into another switched electrical source so it would illuminate, and, out of fear of brake rotor warping, I immediately switched to EBC pads.  But after 6 riding seasons and a bunch of miles, the old gal continues to roll on.  Love this bike!  Big Block 2 valve by the way.

Having said the above, I've always waited for the dash to go belly up.  2-3 years ago, the LCD display totally died one afternoon.  I rode home, thinking, this is the end, it's off to the Netherlands repair shop.  But amazingly, she only failed that one time, and has been working flawlessly since then.  May this continue. 

All I do to encourage this is to let the dash cycle thru its gyrations before hitting the starter.  No sense confusing it with changes in voltage!  Just my opinion.

[Doppelgaenger]

I'm currently in the process of winterizing mine. I have it off the bike and I'm going to use clear silicone to seal all around the top edges where the grey edge part meets the chrome cover. While I had it off, i discovered that there are cracks all around the edges along the backside, so I'm going to seal all that up too.

Once I'm done with that I'm hooking up some 3/16 clear hoses to the rear vents and routing them to a small valve that I can shut off from the outside air, or hook up to a silica gel container, or to the air pump to my aquarium so I can run air thru it to dry it out if it does begin to get condensation again.

With no garage to put the bike in, it lives under a cover in the seattle weather so I figure a few hours of preventative maintenance will save me a buttload of money in the future. All I have to do is remember to open the valve to the outside air when I ride it...