Checking/setting PIN on clocks

Technical All CARC models
1

I have been warned about the PIN required for 1200 Sport clocks (same for a Breva I guess, and probably other CARC bikes?). Presumably an anti-theft device - if the clocks are disconnected and reconnected, they lock until the right PIN is entered.

I understand it is 0000 when delivered, but can be reset by the owner.

So the question is, how to check when buying if the previous owner has the right PIN?

I guess that the procedure to change it involves first entering the current PIN, then entering the new one? That’s the usual procedure for changing something like a password…

If so, it would be easy to check.

I would be very grateful if someone could tell me what the handbook says about this!

2

No idea as to the answer to your question, but you should be able to download the user manual (and workshop manual) from The Guzzitek
https://www.guzzitek.org/gb/utilisation_gb.htm

3

Thanks. The 1200 Sport (2v) manual describes a “code modification” in the dashboard settings manual. It does not give any indication what the code is for, or when it might be used, but I guess this is the PIN I had been told about.

I will summarise here in case anyone in future searches for this, and comes across this thread.

The manual simply says you need to select “code modification” from the settings menu, and that you must enter the old code to set a new one.

There is also a “code reset” on the settings menu, that lets you set the code if you do not have the old one. This will need two programmed keys to be used.

I guess this makes a secondhand bike a safe buy (as far as the clocks are concerned) if the seller has the code or if they have two programmed keys.

It sounds as if the “code modification” menu option should allow the prospective buyer to check the code.

4

Hope this doesn’t happen to you … I wrote this up in a previous issue of Gambalunga.
In 2017 tried to start the Norge high up on Glenshee but every attempt was met with an ‘Insert Code’ message. What code? The service code (which you use to get rid of the spanner icon after a service)? No. I tried that.

What the bike was looking for was my (well, the previous owner’s) personal security code. I did not know this. Why was this happening? It seems that the keys have a coded chip but do not have a battery, as with some car keys. According to Pete Roper, who knows a great deal about Guzzis: “The ignition switch has an inductive coil in it. When the key is turned on the coil produces a magnetic field sufficient to produce an EMF that will cause the chip in the key to broadcast its code. This is detected by the antenna that surrounds the lock barrel and it sends a message to the dash saying go/no-go.” From what I read later, if you buy a new bike, you’ll be prompted to set the user code every time you try to start the bike. This message only goes away if you set the code. This also means that if you start a Griso, big Breva or Norge, and do not get such a prompt, somebody has set the user code and if you plan to ride the bike, find out the code before you ride off!

It turns out that if you only have one key, or only have one key with you on a ride, you cannot get round this problem, unless you know the User Code. Trust me to discover this on top of a Scottish mountain.

If, for any reason, the chip is not detected, the dash displays ‘Insert Code’. This is not the same as the service code! Reasons behind this might be (after a lot of web searching and discussion): Corroded battery terminals, a dodgy oil pressure switch, a bad connection to the fuel pump relay or a bad connection of the main multiway connector to the ECU. The weirdest reason, offered by Serena Powis, is having the bike parked too close to a radio or mobile phone mast (this apparently happened to a club member and I found a similar reference on a bike forum, in this case not a Guzzi.).

So, how did I get the Norge back down the mountain? Magic … voodoo … serendipity, call it what you will. After moving the bike (see the radio mast comment above) and disconnecting the battery for a few minutes, I was still stuck. In the end, I called Carole Nash and arranged a recovery. Half an hour later, as I waited for the truck, two guys walked up to the bike “Oh, a Guzzi - I just bought a Griso and have a 1000S in the shed”. I explained my problem and turned the key to demonstrate … and the dials swung round and it started! Why? I do not know. Anyway, I cancelled Carole Nash and got home safely. There was a dodgy moment when I realised that I’d locked my gloves in the top box which meant that I had to turn the engine off to unlock it – but it restarted and behaved from then on, all the way home to Dorset and has done, touch wood, since.

Back home, I followed Pete Roper’s info on a forum and reset the user code. This method will only work if you have the original pair of keys. If you don’t, you’ll go though some pain getting new keys and even then you are not home and dry. Here is the procedure (provided you know the code or are not required to enter it):

Insert the first key and turn. Wait for the needle swing. Using the joystick button on the lefthand side, click and hold for a couple of seconds to move past Trip 1 and Trip 2 to ‘Chrono’. Click the joystick to the right until you see ‘Menu’, then go to ’Settings’. I initially went to ‘Diagnosis’ and had to enter the Service Code (28315 for my Norge). This may not have been necessary as I had to return to Settings to find the option I needed. So, in Settings, look for ‘Code Recovery’ and select that. You should be prompted to insert a new code. Use the joystick pressed to the right to increment the first digit of your new code. When happy, press and hold for a short time and you can enter the second digit and so on. Finally, press and hold again to enter the new code. Now, you’ll be prompted to insert the second key. At this point my heart sank as I had to turn everything off to remove the first key! All was well, however, as the second key went in, and the new code was accepted. Forum users seem to go for ‘11111’ or the last five digits of the bike’s VIN, the relevant service code (so the two codes are the same) or some other memorable number. Record it – write it down!

So, the upshot is, if you buy a used Norge, big Breva or Griso (not sure if this applies to every CARC bike), check to see if you get the invitation to set the User Code when you turn the key. If you don’t, ask the seller what the User Code is set to. If they don’t know, and the bike has two keys, you should be OK but reset the code as soon as you can. If the bike has only one key, I’d walk away. It could prove very expensive if the ECU throws an error. I have never, ever, seen this mentioned at all and it took quite a bit of web searching to work out exactly what to do. Caveat Emptor.

1 Like
5

Thanks Roger, that’s a brilliant summary.

I have an outstanding question for the seller of the 1200 Sport I am thinking about: does it have both original keys and/or the code?

Or maybe I should just look for a V11 instead :slight_smile:

6

BTW this is the first time I have heard of the service code.

Is that unique to each individual bike, too?

Does it matter if you buy a used bike and don’t get the service code?

Thanks

7

this link may help with the various codes used by different models from the GuzziTech web site

Service Codes | GuzziTech Forums

I have removed my dash of my Sport and don’t remember having to enter a code, I have removed the battery also so not power to the clocks and don’t remember having to put a code in.

The Key code is different to the above

8

Thanks, that’s a helpful link

9

Thanks for the advice on this thread!

I am now the proud (& slightly nervous) owner of a 15 year old 1200 Sport.

To check I had two original keys (not an original & a clone!) I checked the “code recovery” procedure as described above, and it was fine. I may visit Timsons to get a clone key, and then invest in a bank safe deposit box for the originals :slight_smile:

FWIW, if anyone reads this thread in future, yiu can also verify a security code using the “code reset” from the menu. This doesn’t use the keys, but asks for the old code before setting a new one. It will reject a bad code immediately, so you can check the code you are given without having to set a new one.

10

Timpsons Clone Keys work fine, I have one for my Stelvio, and they also did a H.I.S.S. Key for my 2001 Blade.

However, you can’t use them for finding or resetting the Key Code, you need two ‘Factory’ Keys for that.

It’s also worth getting a non-chipped Key made, and use that for the Fuel Cap and Seat Release, saves wear-and-tear on the Factory Chipped ones, you really don’t want to break one of those!

11

Why wouldn’t a clone work for resetting the code? If they are true clones, it should be fine.

If you have two factory keys (let’s call them A and B) and you clone both, you should have two clones (call them C and D) that are exactly the same as key A and key B.

So you should be able to reset the code by using both A and B, or with both C and D. (Or with A and D, or B and C, if you can remember which is which!)

Won’t obviously won’t work would be if you started with one factory key, and cloned it; trying to reset the code with those would appear to the bike as if you had just inserted the same key twice…