I was thinking about buying a second hand 1200 sport and I read on this forum that there was an issue with the cam followers on 1200 4v engines and that this has been resolved by upgrading to roller cam followers. It also said that the new 4v engines had this upgrade fitted and that they were trying to obtain the engine numbers from which this upgrade was done. I would like a bit further info re this problem. If anyone can explain it in more detail that would be really helpful. Also did Moto Guzzi supply the engine number from which the upgrade started?
Any more information would be useful in helping me decide what to buy.
Hi Simon, If the bike you are looking at has a service history. Moto Guzzi have agreed to warranty 4 \ 8 valve top ends (for life!!). Having said that, My 2011 Stelvio had the cams replaced at 12,000 miles it has now done 61,000 That’s 48000 miles on a set of flat tappets. Stelvio Petes also has a flat tappet high mileage 2011 Stelvio. Buy it, ride it, enjoy it, Good oil like Morris fully synthetic and correct setting up by some one that know the finer pints seems to be the answer.
Talk to the established dealers. Attend a meeting or rally get to talk to other riders.
All Moto Guzzi are doing is providing the Parts ,it will still cost you in excess of £500 to have them fitted. I am currently taking them to court over this. having had 2 sets of cams fail in 22000 miles. I will let you know how I get on
Regards Keith
Firstly  the the 1200 is great bike
options i would consider:
Find an old 2v one…no problems with those at all, or buy brand new and get the dealer to put it in writing that the bike has new roller cams
For life?? Er, I’m afraid not !! Â I specifically asked Guzzi (ie Piaggio UK) how long they would continue to repair these engines and they refused to give me any reassurance on either time scale or mileage. All they would say was they would assess each engine failure on a “case by case basis”. This was after my Griso had failed (admittedly at 30k miles). It had also had upgraded parts fitted when it was brand new with zero miles on the clock. I may be wrong but as far as I know the A8 and later engines can be upgraded to roller cam followers and Guzzi will contribute to the cost of that conversion but will not pay 100%. Unfortunately mine was an earlier A5 engine which I was told could not be upgraded. Personally if I was looking for another Griso, Sport etc I would play safe and either buy one with the roller cam followers or an older 2 valve version. No matter how helpful the dealers might be, in my opinion the bottom line is I just don’t trust Piaggio & their “case by case” assessment.
We tried to find out from which engine number Roller cam followers were fitted .The Best Moto Guzzi could come up with was from the middle of 2013 all 8 valve motors being built had the Roller followers. I also believe that all series of motors including A5 can be retro fitted with the roller conversion as there are 3 different kits to suit which motor you have however in true Guzzi fashion until they start to take the top end apart they don’t know which kit your engine will require as they never kept track on what went into what motor. Don’t you just love the Italians
Thanks for the further information and your thoughts. I think I must either get a 2v or go for a late 2013 or newer to save any possibility of having to haggle with Piaggio.
I have a 4v head 1200 Sport (the 8v). For me the top end is power is more than I ever need or want and I’d be happy with something with less top-end power.
That said, I bought a 4v head model because I do a lot of riding in Europe and wanted a new bike and a warrantied bike. Plus I love the Corsa paint job which was a major factor, I could have saved money buying an earlier new-old pre-Corsa Rosso 4v
Thanks to everyone who posted a reply. Â I have just bought a 2007 2v with full luggage. Â First ride home was great and I am looking forward to many more miles.
Similar issue to the original post - I’m tempted to get something a little more ‘modern’ to go alongside my 1994 California. Had a Suzuki v-strom when I lived in Aus (in fact still own it - it’s in my mate’s garage) and it’s a fantastic bike. Was thinking of a Tiger 800 and had originally discounted the Stelvio because of the weight, but suddenly find myself severely tempted by a second-hand 2012 NTX - a lot of bike for the money and it’s the same seat height as my v-strom (2011 version). Have read the discussion (and the excellent article in Gamba which doesn’t fill me with confidence about support from the manufacturer) and am still not clear what bikes are affected and how widespread the problem is. So … what questions should I be asking the dealer about the cam issue? Is there a preferred fix (e.g. roller cams)? Or should I look elsewhere? Oddly enough I only started looking at the Stelvio when I heard how many Tigers are written off after a minor impact due to rear foot rest hangers sticking out so much. Which kind of pushes me back towards another v-strom - but it doesn’t stir the soul like the Stelvio. Thanks for any advice in advance - much appreciated.
Lots of Stelvio’s have been retro fitted with the roller assembly’s so if buying secondhand ask to see the receipt for the work being carried out. If the work has not been done or they can not provide proof then I would either knock off some money to cover the labour costs for the future or find one which has had the conversion done. if buying from a dealer if they say the bike has the roller cam assembly’s get them to write it on the receipt when buying . All stelvios built after mid 2013 should have roller cam assembly’s fitted at the factory so if buying a bit newer check the date of manufacture on the head stock, any bike built from 2014 you should be safe. A lot more people are reporting camshaft failure on the flat tappet engine but by no means all have a look on the guzzitech forum I think its under rollerisation , but in my opinion having had two sets of flat tappets fail why take the risk in buying a bike which has not had the conversion carried out. I also found that the conversion kit along with the new software made the bike a lot nicer to ride and gave me better fuel consumption figures.
hope this helps Keith