Hi all! Picked up a 2004 Breva 750 at the end of June and glad to be part of the forum. First Guzzi!
Its already been immensely helpful in getting the bike back in tip top shape browsing through threads and picking up info here and there.
Here she is when we picked her up with 23,800 miles on her. Had a larger touring screen, but opted to swap it out for the fly screen until I take some longer trips. Also had crash bars installed, which have a couple scrapes from what looks like tip overs in a parking lot/gas station/garage on both sides. An extra new clutch cable and new set of BT45s were included as well.
I ran into a few issues up front: shifting was pretty clunky, especially first and second gears, liked to skip through neutral both up from first and down from second unless the trans wasn't under power with the engine off, the engine had some trouble starting occasionally with the starter either not engaging or sometimes the starter motor catching but grinding, it would take a few presses of the button and some patient rocking back and forth to get it to start, the license plate light was out, and the valves seemed to be making more noise on the right than the left side. Overall I didn't think much was an issue after reading different advice here and started getting to work, after the obligatory wash and wax to get some dirt off of her.
The previous owner bought her at an auction in early spring of 2015, not having history before that. When I had asked what maintenance he had done in the next 10-12,000 miles he put own while owning he told me not much besides changing the engine oil (with 20w50... but we're not going to get into that argument here
). So I came up with a short list of things to take care of:
- New oils - engine with 10w60, gearbox, and final drive (figured that would help with the shifting/neutral problem) - all replaced with ENI/AGIP factory recommended oil
- New oil filter - was changed last at the start of this season, but was changing oil weight
- New air filter - slightly a pain but used the in through the front method to avoid taking the tank off
- New plugs
- Check and adjust valves with new gaskets
- Mount and balance new BT45s
- Fix plate light
- Install battery tender
- Fix starting issue
First step was to find the necessary parts which is nice living in Chicago (though the bike stays in the burbs) since we have 3 local sources. I've had luck stopping by the dealer in St. Charles, but most of my parts and oils have admittedly been purchased from AF1Racing down in Austin. Their stock has always had everything I need and gets delivered here in 2 days, saving a few hours driving to the dealer.
Everything is as easy as I've read from you folks! Well, besides the air filter, which is decently hard to get to but now I hopefully won't have to do that again for a bit. The valves were simple to adjust but definitely needed replacement plugs. She's running great now, much smoother after valves adjusted back to 0.15in and 0.20ex. Both sides had seated themselves in a bit and combined with the thicker green (assuming factory?) gaskets makes me think not much servicing wasn't done on her from new. Plate light turned out to be unplugged going to the main harness, but has a new bulb now anyway.
Since starting was difficult and a little bit of a dance, other threads here led me to believe it was a ground issue. The battery is new and was charged, the solenoid would click, fuel pump would cycle through, and sometimes you would get just a click from the relay, but sometimes it would grind the starter motor, and eventually the bike would start normally after messing with it for a bit. First thing I did was check the grounds on the right side of the engine block and sure enough there was a bit of corrosion, a little clean up and now the bike fires right up when you push the button!
The clunky shifting and skipping neutral unless the engine was off was made better with new gearbox and final drive oil, but it didn't solve the problem completely. Instead, the clutch needed to also be adjusted as it was engaging way too far in. Now that that's done the shifting is smooth and she shifts nicely into neutral from both first and second (with the engine running!) though it is fun getting used to the shift lever still going through the range even when in first and kicking down.
I've only had a chance to put a couple hundred miles on so far, but its been a blast. Love how it rides, the sounds it makes with the stock exhaust, and the torquey quirks for the first time Guzzi rider. Looking forward to having her for a while and already have another few things to add/do: panniers, center stand, new fork seals and oil, and replace brake fluid.
