Tips on buying a Norge please

To give my Breva 750 some company, I’m looking at getting a Norge, although a bit more power for long distance touring is the main reason. There are a couple of GT8Vs near me in two dealers, one with 24,000 miles, the other with 12,000 miles, and an earlier 2V bike also with 12,000 miles not too far away either. From what I’ve read, the 8V is an altogether better bike than the earlier model, though the pay-off is it’s heavier. I believe the panniers are not supposed to leak, the seat is more comfy, clocks are easier to read and it comes with all the previous options now as standard. However, I have also read there are issues with the 8V motor. Like all these things, I suppose it’s pot luck that you either get a good one or a bad one and if you read forums on all the problems certain bikes/cars have you’d never buy anything! So, assuming the bikes look OK and perform as they should, any tips please on what I should look for on the test rides? Also, what is the specific issue that I need to ensure has been done on the 8V motor – is it that the cam followers need to have been replaced?
Cheers

I just bought a secondhand Norge 1200 2V from a dealer. It had 31,000 miles on and I have added a couple of thousand more.

The issues I have had are:
Starting issue owing to loose wire on the back of the solenoid (could happen to any bike),
Intermittent neutral switch which has caused me some starting problems although I can get round it now (If the light is off you can still start it providing you pull the clutch lever right back to the bar and make sure the side stand is up). Neutral switch issues are common I believe.
Major oil leak cause by a hole in one of the oil lines feeding the oil cooler at the front. It has progressively rubbed on the belly pan and worn through. This last is well worth a check if you are looking at a bike. The replacement hose is not readily available in the UK and has to be ordered from Italy.
The other major issue with all of these bikes is that some (many) were fitted with a plastic bodied fuel filter that sits inside the fuel tank. These can swell and burst, stranding you. Therefore check that the bike has had a metal bodied one fitted and firmly swaged on, or plan to have this done. Plenty of information on the forum about this.

Apart from these, the 2V Norge is pretty solid I think and I am certainly enjoying mine.

The 8V GT version has more sporty handling and is obviously significantly quicker. They are also newer so there are more low mileage ones about. I understand the seat footpeg relationship is tighter so leg comfort might not be as good as the 2V but I haven’t ridden one to compare. I was initially after one of these, but in the end I decided to avoid, owing to the cam follower issue. Depending on who you talk to, having cam issues is virtually inevitable unless you have the roller cams fitted. Generally this seems to be after around 12,000 miles. Very late bikes might have the roller cams fitted, but there seemed to be very few around on the market and you would have to check any bike sold from say late 2014 or so genuinely did have the roller cams. Many bikes stick around in showrooms or the supply chain for ages so a newly registered bike can easily have been built 2 years before.
Some bikes could have had the cams retro fitted under warranty, or you could arrange to do it yourself, but it is expensive. If the original cams fail and the bike has a full dealer service history you will get the parts from Piaggio , but otherwise you might have to fork out yourself.
I could not find any bikes that had the later roller cams so decided not to risk the 8V. I am happy with my choice, the bike is plenty quick enough for me and is so comfortable and practical. I also get over 50 mpg and nearly 55 on a run so 270 miles from a tank is possible.

Other than that, just check all the usual stuff, and especially check everything electrical is working and no warning lights stay on or anything.