Well the good news is my breva is now running again but it needs a new speed sensor which suffered an escape of smoke which as we know means it will no longer hold electrckery, does anyone know if there is a cheaper alternative that can be used instead of the genuine guzzi piece.
John
Have you got any dimensions or any numbers written on it John?
Haven’t read the whole thread but here may be something here http://www.apriliaforum.com/forums/showthread.php?288809-anyone-know-of-or-got-a-cheap-speed-sensor
Good luck
Steve
Am in italy on my breva 11 mostly good but ooccasionally it will not start on the button, no pattern to it runs great for 100s of miles then stop for fuel and it won’t start bump starts ok with help but I am supposed to be traveling home alone any ideas appreciated as to the problem .
John
Good old “startus interuptus” perhaps?
We appear to have lost all the pictures in the FAQs on this site so here’s the link to Guzziriders
http://www.guzziriders.org/click-no-crank_topic23.html
I did this to my Breva 1100, but it will be tricky to do the full blown fix out on the road
So
a) plug and reseat the relays
b) check the battery connections are clean and tight
c) check the strange little earth connection under the starter cover
d) and trust to luck until you get home??
It’s not like the old bikes where the starter solenoid doesn’t get enough current through the starter switch and wiring? I’ve modified my Spada (and Monza before) but a short piece in wire kept in jacket pocket can be used to bridge from the starter positive to the solenoid.
Glad you got there OK though.
Oh I was much more professional than that. I soldered an insulated female spade on one end and a male bullet on the other.
Bodging is a skill. 
Took the bike to a bike shop to try and sort the starting situation before starting for home. I wanted him to wire me up the wildguzzi solution but he didn’t like the fact that it left a live supply at the starter relay permanently potentially flattening the battery over time. He had a good look at the bike cleaned the sticky starter switch gave me a spare relay and some good advice if it failed to start on the button, this was to connect the neutral side of the battery to the pink wire terminal on the relay plug as the best way to start ghe bike, no rely required , bet I don’t need any of this now I’ve spent 80 euros.
John
John…is it click no start or is it cranking ?
About five times on the way down it went click-no start but i had assistants to bump start me now i haven’t but i think I’ve got the information required to keep myself on the road to get me home without calling carole nash. Are we meeting this wednesday? .
John
Next wednesday at Broughton ?
Yer Breva seems to be doing the same thing as Guys Griso…Ecu detecting slight voltage drop and not allowing the bike to start…the battery would show as down slightly…mind you…twould start one of the old nails easily…
Dave russel had me check the earth on the starter 6 mm thread in alloy so you have to be careful tightening it up but so far it’s started ever time since. Eyti mechanic thought the relay could be the problem so I have a spare. If you search wildguzzi for breva 1100 starting problems it will fill in the details. I spoke to several breva owners here and all have suffered the same problem.
John
had the same problem on my 750 breva so many times I just got used to it
seveeral times the problem has been water ingress causing the brushes to stick
onc eit was the piston assembly sticking due to corrosion
last tiem I got a new heavy duty starter motor fitted in mandello
that also started to get lazy so I stripped it and found water inside
now I seal the connections with silicon grease
I also did the relay mod and included a fuse
no problems since and the crusty heap spins over much faster
Only stopped once on the way home wouldn’t start at the bloody port after I checked in after a 300 yard push it started, annoying in the extreme.
John
John,
Check the positive lead to the starter solenoid. My Breva 1100 exhibited the same symptoms as yours. I found that the tab was poorly fitted and very loose where it connected to the solenoid. I could manipulate it so that there was very little metal-to-metal contact.
Random events, such as moving the bike out of the shed and onto the centre stand or side stand, would allow the tab to move and create a poor contact. Push the bike back into the shed, and she’d start! I snipped off the tab and replaced it.
Will have a look, this is a very common problem on brevas, norges and stelvios and everyone i speak to has a different cure that worked for them, I’ve done 10000 miles out of the 24000 on this bike and this problem only raised it’s head on this trip, it pays to keep an eye on internet forums to see where the next surprise problem is coming from.
John