I did my first few miles on my new V7 Sport yesterday and whilst I LOVE this bike, I’ve noticed a build issue in that the handlebar is slightly forward at the left end a slightly back at the right end. The top yoke looks lined up tangentially with the bike with the problem appearing to be that the handlebar clamp is slightly out of alignment with the top yoke:
Check the above pic and note the gap between the top of the clamp and the diagonal creases in the top of the yoke is bigger on the right…. So slackening the bottom yokes and securing the front wheel between ones knees and wrestling the handlebar into the correct position would to my mind actually be throwing the forks slightly out to make the handlebar look right…. Thoughts?? Anyone else here noticed similarly with their Guzzi V7 Sport or other Guzzi/s?
On my v85 the clamps are in rubber mounts and a strong tug on one bar will twist the mounts letting the handlebar look twisted - i just tug the other bar and it straightens
Oh no, I daren’t go to check my new Sport. I have terminal OCD and have been receiving therapy over the off-centre instrument cluster. Another asymmetrical anomaly might move me to DefCon 1. The bike is so good looking though, I may even be able to forgive that.
I just loosened off the 2 main 15mm bolts/nuts under the top yoke that bolt up through into the handlebar clamps, pulled the bars to the left and retightened. Looks better but waiting for dry roads to check fully.
OK but please bear in mind this is me messing with my own bike - I’m no mechanic and am not recommending others to try similarly! That said, I couldn’t see what harm I could do doing as I did and I did torque the bolts back up correctly at the end
I’m OK with the offset clock. Kind of…. I’m sure I saw a vid on YT about a kit that’s available including revised bracket which puts the clock dead centre. I’ll see if I can dig it out again. Bit of a palava as I recall but would deffo look better central. why didn’t they put it central??!
Thanks for this. A good illustrative video. Doesn’t look too difficult. Although I do wonder if doing this would have any adverse warranty implications however minor. Not a priority for me at the moment, but definitely on the back burner if the stock set-up starts to do my head in! Can’t say it did during my 6 month ownership of my 24 V7 Stone though…. Anyway thanks again for digging out and posting.
I’m going to live with it I think. Given I do have distinct OCD traits, I am pleasantly surprised that I haven’t felt bothered by the cluster in it’s original position during the few miles I’ve ridden the bike. If something is going to be a trigger it’s normally from the outset, so fingers crossed. Someone on another forum said it was done to allow a space where a satnav, phone or whatever could be handlebar mounted and not obstruct the clock, who knows???
Didn’t work. Handlebars still wonky. Dealer says they can adjust them like they often do on V85. But problem is…. Handlebar clamp on V7 Sport is not rubber mounted…
I think you’d have noticed it by now - it only took me a couple of miles to notice it on mine.
Thing is that they obviously tool up to make the top yoke and HB clamp - it’s not as if they hand-make them one at a time…. is it ?! Assuming they tool up once for all V7 Sport top yokes and clamps, then all V7 Sports would have this issue. Maybe mine can still be rectified by the dealer - and I don’t mean by twisting the forks to match the HBs!
I’ve only ridden my V7 back from the dealership. It was below freezing . Avoiding pools of salty water and potholes likely took a lot of my attention. I didn’t feel the aura from incorrectly aligned parts. What you say about tooling is absolutely correct. High degree of likelihood that if one has the trait, all do. I’m resigned that my bike will look the same before even checking being honest. I’ll advise if not, don’t hold your breath!
Go on….go out to your garage and take a look! (You don’t particularly need to ride the bike - just compare your top yoke to HB clamp alignment with the pic of mine in my original post.) The suspense is killing me! Only joking. I’m almost certain that your bike will be fine. If all V7 Sports were like mine we’d have known about this potential issue by now. As we’ve discussed, they’ll have set the tooling up to make all top yokes and HB clamps for the V7 Sport. Mine must have had the clamp wrenched out of alignment during shipping or delivery by van to me.
Hey Beachcomber! Scuse me butting in here but I have a question? I can clearly see the misalignment on your pic and I have not physically seen the V7 in the flesh. Bear that in mind?
Looking at the pic, that plate that has the ignition barrel fixed to it looks to me like a pressed steel part? i.e. not a forged aluminium bracket that every top yoke I have ever seen looks like. What I am asking is whether that part is a separate plate fixed to the top of the actual top yoke?
Sorry if that is a dumb question but if indeed it is then your yokes may be perfectly fine? The simple problem could then be that the mounting holes in that plate are misaligned.. Thus removing that plate or replacing it with one that has the bolt holes properly aligned the problem visually disappears?
Looking through the top clamp the handlebars in relation to it look symmetrical far as I can see?
I think I’m sorted anyway as my dealer has categorically assured me (he has checked another V7 Sport in the showroom AND seen an exploded diagram showing the rubbers) that there ARE rubber sleeves around the two bolts beneath the top yoke that fix up into the underside of the HB clamps. This means there is scope a) for the clamp to get a bit misaligned relative to the top yoke during shipping and b) for the assembly to be loosened, silicone greased and retightened to square everything up. I’ll leave this to the dealer to sort at the bike’s first 600-900 mile service.
Yeah I’m a bit the same.
. Avoiding pools of salty water and potholes likely took a lot of my attention. I didn’t feel the aura from incorrectly aligned parts. What you say about tooling is absolutely correct. High degree of likelihood that if one has the trait, all do. I’m resigned that my bike will look the same before even checking being honest. I’ll advise if not, don’t hold your breath!