Hi folks. After much thought I bought a Guzzi 1200 Sport last year from a friends widow as I figured he would rather see me using it than it stuck with his widow or fleeced from a dealer. The bike is a 10 plate and had 600 miles on it when I picked it up. Last year I had virtually no time to ride it so it was mainly short trips although I did manage a couple of around 50 - 100miles.
Over winter it was kept on an optimate snuggled in the garage and I would start it every few weeks to keep it turned over. Last month when the weather was better I took it out for the first ride of the year which was about a 50 mile round trip. I noticed it would misfire on the right cylinder at low revs but above approx 2000 revs it would go to 2 cyclinders again. After about a mile all the misfiring had cleared so I thought it maybe some old fuel or a little dirt in an injector or similar but thought nothing more.
Last week I went out for a spin again and as before it was only firing on the left cylinder however a quick blast failed to get it running on the right. I tried for approx 2 miles and stopped to check for loose wiring etc AS I got off the bike I could smell something and then looked at the exhaust which was smoking alot and the coating was bubbling I looked again and the inside of the silencer was bright cherry red like a furnace. I was worried the whole lot was going to catch fire and let it cool down. I had no other means of getting home so limped the 2 miles home by which time it was cherry red again
I think this is due to unburned fuel in the catalytic convertor but i’m not 100%. Anyway I got it home and checked the plugs and the right side was not sparking sio I suspect a coil or similar.
Can anyone recomend me a dealer to take the Guzzzi to for some TLC as the warranty is just up even though just 1k on the clock. I live near Aberdeen but Shirlaws have dropped Guzzis. I know of Jim Allan but is there anywhere closer to Aberdeen as I will need to trailer it down there…
Many thanks in advance
Andy
Even though the dealer Shirlaw may have stopped selling Guzzis, wouldn’t it be worth a call to them, as I doubt they’ve changed staff ?
I did speak to the guy in Shirlaws regarding servicing the bike before I had the problem and he was very cagey about it and basically tried his best to put me off although I’m not sure if it was because I was after a free first service or something but you are right I should give them a call to see if they will have a look.
I may try and get to the coil and test it myself, order one up and fit it and ride down to Jim Allans if its not a real pain to get to the coils as it seems a tank off job - Maybe someone knows otherwise!!
AndyT
Even taking the tank off can be a real pain, be careful if you are doing this. I could recommend a few places but they are all a lot further south than you want to be.
As Russell says the tanks can be a pain to remove, the fuel quick disconnect can be tricky. The plastic fitting attached to the bottom of the pump can break if you are not careful and expensive to replace. Here is a link to how to remove (done on my v11 but the fittings are the same)
http://youtu.be/4SYAS5xsUlo
Swap the coils leads and plugs from each side to see if the fault swaps cylinders and you can identify faulty component. Give the connections to the coils and ecu a squirt of electrical contact cleaner.
If you plan on keeping and servicing the bike yourself it may be worth setting up with computer diagnostic kit leads from ebay and not expensive, software is free but well worth a donation:
Leads
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/OBD2-Diagnostic-Cable-Adapter-f-Fiat-Alfa-Romeo-Lanica-/380320514802?pt=UK_Diagnostic_Tools_Equipment&hash=item588cde82f2#ht_3655wt_989
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/VAG-COM-USB-ODB2-DIAGNOSTIC-CABLE-409-1-OBD2-II-LEAD-/140541643123?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT#ht_3366wt_905
Software here:
http://www.von-der-salierburg.de/download/GuzziDiag/
Links of interest from v11 forum:
http://www.v11lemans.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=16676&page=1&#entry179005
http://www.v11lemans.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=17865
The diagnostic software will list logged faults and can run tests on certain functions including the coils.
Shirlaws still have the axone and software for the bikes, so i would see the service guy and ask him to plug it in and see what error codes or whatever comes up. Is there a error code on the dash!!
Thanks for that. I will look into purchasing something like this as I plan on keeping the bike. I am however getting posted to Houston and South Korea in 8 weeks for 4 years so will have to lay up the bike for some time. I was thinking of selling it and getting another when I returned but the history of the bike is a bit special to me so will keep it in storage I just want it sorted before I go.
Thanks for the links, very useful
If you do ignore Shirlaws (and I most absol-effin-utly would - I’ll PM you with my personal reasons - but not for posting on here) and you don’t want to consider / use Jim Allan (I was there today and had my V7 Stones first service done - competent but slow) think about Mel Robinson. It’s a tad far from the Granite City but probably what you seriously need to do.
Houston AND South Korea , and you think a guzzi dealer is to far ? lol.
I did three years in Houston, on an exchange, I’m guessing but may be wrong that you’re military, if so, it was bloody fantastic, although this was back in the early 80’s
Not military but in the Oil Industry… they won’t ship my bike over but I believe its a nightmare to use a foriegn registered bike longer than 3 months in the U.S. anyway so I’ll pick up an off roader for the trails over there instead.
Just for info guys I went down to Shirlaws for a chat with them and he no longer has the software or leads for the Moto Guzzis but I did have a good chat with him. He didn’t thinkk it was a coil breaking down as it would bring up an engine management light or a code and I had neither of these. He advised to change the plugs and even though we had a chat about the bike having covered only approx 1k miles from new he said that is what he ould do. So with nothing to lose except £30 for 2 plugs (shock horror) I went home and put them in and its running so sweet again… Must admit I was very surprised as the plug I took out looked perfect but was obviously a duffer… So i fulfilled my obligation and took it for a blast :-)Thanks for all the help from you guys.Andy