[Sectorsteve]

Im really a sucker for punishment. It really seemed like a good idea to go on a massive ride on my 50k milage bike.
Country side was awesome . Loads of cool animals. Most of the riding was quite boring though. Not my cuppa. I like more corners...theres a group called freedom riders and a friend and i decided to meet them in sealake victoria. Sealake has 1 pub. Nothing else. We paid 70 bucks online for a concert and 1st not lodging. Will get back to that....
Ive had a few issues. Mostly yesterday riding home. I did 850 km yesterday. Was very focussed on getting home but didnt quite make it. After about 400 kms yesterday my bar end mirror appeared loose. Before i knew it, it snapped off and smashed. Totally mirror less then. After this i continued on for my designated fuel stop. Btw i ran out of fuel just before mirror incident at 240kms. Weird seeibg as i normally get over 350kms. Near the start of the trip the fuel light started getting erratic as well as the actual speedo which is jumping all over the place. Anyway. After the mirror fell off i rode to the next stop and the throttle grip (where mirror was) was vibrating terribly.  So much so that only my determination kept me going. I had to grip it so tight. If not my bones would ache. I attached a piece of foam to the grip. A bit better. Also at the fuel stop id noticed my horn had broken off and was hanging by wires...rode up the road some 150kms then my muffler flew off.luckily the 2 semis behind didn't squash it and i was able to reattach with some fence wire off the road side. Its holding. Somethings rattling things loose. After the mirror and handgrip thing i went over the bike. Everything seems normal. Why did it start to vibrate just on one side? God knows...then i ran out of fuel again. After the last run out id decided to stop every 200 to re fuel. I was 4 kms from petrol station. And odometer said 220kms. The first time i ran out i hitched with ease 30kms. This time i was outside a farmers house and bought fuel from him. Im well rested now. First night in a bed for 4 days. 1st shower in the same. This bike will not be going in another lenghty trip. Really feels like its falling apart!

[REG5]

You may be in the market for a new fuel pump sooner than you think 

[Sectorsteve]

You may be in the mabike for a new fuel pump sooner than you think 

think you might be right. ! Theres still fuel in when she stops...im.in the market for a new bike!

[Ducati Scotty]

Bare seems to speak well of the Guzzi.  Lacks some of the character but also all of the drama.  Might be a good pick for you.

Scott

[REG5]

I'm not ready to give up on mine yet, but I can understand why one would be, especially after 50k. Guzzis are pretty cool looking bikes, the V7 Stone is just beautiful.

[GreenMachine]

But your're back in one piece and that counts for something....Being where your at, a small tank of petro would had been handy..Sounds like u enjoyed some of the adventure...GM

[Sectorsteve]

Just drove 180 kms and only used 6 litres....weird...
first part of the drive there was some surging. It came.right, but then persisted after the fuel stop.
Think if i was gonna get another bike it would be a HD sportster. they seem really well made. My friend has one who i was on the ride with and the harley dealers and service is top notch - apparently the best and consistant all over the country.
ill take the enfield for a full service +. It has done alot of miles.
Im thinking the vibration came about from the new swingarm. The new swing arm was 1cm wider than what it replaced. For it to fit , the plastic bushes needed to come out and be replaced with the steel ones i bought a while back. The steel bushes go right inside and dont stick out past the edge like the plastic ones. This got me thinking while i was riding. Shouldnt there really be something like plastic or rubber between the swingarm and the bike frame? When on the ride the rear end would kind of bounce weird on bumps making me thing id done the rear swing arm up too tight. So on Sunday , i loosened it off a bit so it was tight, but no play. Im thinking it came a bit loose and was vibrating, causing the air filter box ,to loosen and open(this happened right after the bike was new actually and gradually got worse), the mirror bolt to brake off, the horn and muffler to fall off mid ride. Why the swing arm is a different size is beyond me. This is happening with some parts i buy from hitchcocks, causing me to have to either modify or send bits back and forth across the world. These parts are all genuine RE parts , so why is RE making C5 swing arms different sizes?
as for the fuel consumption etc im not sure there. i ended up with a fuel can after the first time running out, but on other rides i took one -with fuel but never needed it.  theres something going on with the fuel pump or something. the paint stripping off in the tank is a worry. that is just soo retarded. This bike is now only to be used for city riding for me. Once she is back from a dealer overhaul im hoping everything will be ok. if not, therell be no choice but to let her go. It seems i get one thing fixed and another 3 things brake lately. Kinda like all the old fords etc i owned except this thing, aint old.
Anyway i just arrived home, limping but home nonetheless. 3500 kms since friday...what a beating!

[pmanaz1973]

Wow! What a adventure. 

Yeah, for long touring I think I would be switching bikes as well.  Love my RE, but not a tourer in my mind.  Love running around town and some nice back country roads, but it just feels like it's being pushed a bit too hard when loaded and needing to run 55 or 60 MPH.

A good friend who rides daily in all sorts of weather just raves about his 2015 BMW RNineT.  He also has a older GS1200 that he has over 60K miles on it and has never let him down.  He rode it from Arizona to Alaska on all sorts of crap roads and no drama.  Hell, my older 72 BMW R75/5 was a much better tourer than my RE.

[Sectorsteve]

Wow! What a adventure. 

Yeah, for long touring I think I would be switching bikes as well.  Love my RE, but not a tourer in my mind.  Love running around town and some nice back country roads, but it just feels like it's being pushed a bit too hard when loaded and needing to run 55 or 60 MPH.

A good friend who rides daily in all sorts of weather just raves about his 2015 BMW RNineT.  He also has a older GS1200 that he has over 60K miles on it and has never let him down.  He rode it from Arizona to Alaska on all sorts of crap roads and no drama.  Hell, my older 72 BMW R75/5 was a much better tourer than my RE.

i totally agree. Coming back into the city, she was right at home. my RE's touring days are over!!! some day trips here and there within 200km from home - thats it from now on!

[wildbill]

only problem with the guzzi here in oz .........is the $17K price tag.
i reackon it read well. you had one great adventure and something to write about.....ooops! done that already. i think the bike handled it pretty well considering the klm you have put on it. plus you had the opportunity to handle the real outback of oz....you should be pretty happy with yourself! give yourself a good earnt rest and get yourself ready for the next big run.
we all say thats it but the urge takes over and we forget about the bad experiences.
actually my right hand mirror came loose today on the run. pulled over to get the tools out to tighten it up. got that done pretty easy. placed the tools back inside the oval box and tried to turn the key to lock it and it was stuck solid.
in the end had to use a shifter to undo the large nut to loosen the tension and got the locking bar to move and out came the key.
once home i checked the box again and unfortunately had lost one of the o ring which help hold it in place...always a new adventure every day....lol

[High On Octane]

Bare seems to speak well of the Guzzi.  Lacks some of the character but also all of the drama.  Might be a good pick for you.

Scott

Actually, I remember Bare mentioning quite recently about how his Guzzi has spent more time down than his G5.

[Ducati Scotty]

Missed that one.  I know Piaggio is sometimes tough to get parts from. 

Scott

[ace.cafe]

Let me ask a strange question.
When you feel vibrations in this bike, do they feel/seem like they are up/down or front/back?

[barenekd]

The worst vibrations I ever got out of my Bullet was when the gas tank bolts came loose. It took me a couple of rides to figure out what was going on as it was somewhat intermittent. But the last ride I did with it loose, the nut had completely fallen off and dropped into those little square boxes on top of the gear box. So, at least, I didn't lose it! the other problem that arose from the shaking was the tank developed a tiny leak at the back of the rear mounting plate. It didn't leak much sitting still, but who knows how much while it was shaking!
Check those tank bolts! Is your engine clanking any more with the vibration? If it still sounds the same as usual, then it sounds like something big is loose. While on the rear tank mounting bolt, the head brace that is attached to it has been known to break, too. Check your motor mount bolts, too. I don't see how the swing arm could be causing any vibration, but make sure the bolt is tight.
As for my running problems with the Guzzi, that all came from a remap I had done by one of the Guzzi Gurus. This was not a factory remap. I finally got tired of trying to straighten it out myself after jacking around with it for about 3000 miles and finally took it back to the shop and had them put the stock map back on. The bike has only spent a week in the shop waiting for an O₂ sensor to be replaced. I don't know why one expired as they had been unplugged since the first remap It's been running great since then. The only real problem I ever had with it, discounting all the mapping hassles, was a broken spark spark plug cap. Parts that I've needed haven't really taken any time, except for the sensor.
As for soul and character, the bike has plenty. I get almost as much attention on it as I did on the Enfield, people wanting to know what it is and what year as with all the fancy crap removed, it looks very much like the '74. Since It will cruise at 75 or so with reasonable mileage, and it will cruise much faster at the cost of mileage, it has taken the challenge out of freeway riding that the RE offered. I've seen 115 on the speedo,which is more like 105, but it's still breaking the ton! Overall I like the bike very much and it would be a little difficult to go back to the RE with all its little foibles, and lack of power, sometimes. I've got 16,000 miles on it since May, 2013, and it's never left me stranded.
Bare
Bare

[Sectorsteve]

Let me ask a strange question.
When you feel vibrations in this bike, do they feel/seem like they are up/down or front/back?

the vibes are on my right hand grip. not on the left at all...

[Sectorsteve]

i should also add that i was pushing the bike doing about 120kph for 2 hours prior to it happening.

[Sectorsteve]

The worst vibrations I ever got out of my Bullet was when the gas tank bolts came loose. It took me a couple of rides to figure out what was going on as it was somewhat intermittent. But the last ride I did with it loose, the nut had completely fallen off and dropped into those little square boxes on top of the gear box. So, at least, I didn't lose it! the other problem that arose from the shaking was the tank developed a tiny leak at the back of the rear mounting plate. It didn't leak much sitting still, but who knows how much while it was shaking!
Check those tank bolts! Is your engine clanking any more with the vibration? If it still sounds the same as usual, then it sounds like something big is loose. While on the rear tank mounting bolt, the head brace that is attached to it has been known to break, too. Check your motor mount bolts, too. I don't see how the swing arm could be causing any vibration, but make sure the bolt is tight.
As for my running problems with the Guzzi, that all came from a remap I had done by one of the Guzzi Gurus. This was not a factory remap. I finally got tired of trying to straighten it out myself after jacking around with it for about 3000 miles and finally took it back to the shop and had them put the stock map back on. The bike has only spent a week in the shop waiting for an O₂ sensor to be replaced. I don't know why one expired as they had been unplugged since the first remap It's been running great since then. The only real problem I ever had with it, discounting all the mapping hassles, was a broken spark spark plug cap. Parts that I've needed haven't really taken any time, except for the sensor.
As for soul and character, the bike has plenty. I get almost as much attention on it as I did on the Enfield, people wanting to know what it is and what year as with all the fancy crap removed, it looks very much like the '74. Since It will cruise at 75 or so with reasonable mileage, and it will cruise much faster at the cost of mileage, it has taken the challenge out of freeway riding that the RE offered. I've seen 115 on the speedo,which is more like 105, but it's still breaking the ton! Overall I like the bike very much and it would be a little difficult to go back to the RE with all its little foibles, and lack of power, sometimes. I've got 16,000 miles on it since May, 2013, and it's never left me stranded.
Bare
Bare

THanks Bare, ill check all that. It would explain alot!
The guzzi V7 was on the cards from the same dealer, but i liked the style of the enfield more.

[Sectorsteve]

only problem with the guzzi here in oz .........is the $17K price tag.
i reackon it read well. you had one great adventure and something to write about.....ooops! done that already. i think the bike handled it pretty well considering the klm you have put on it. plus you had the opportunity to handle the real outback of oz....you should be pretty happy with yourself! give yourself a good earnt rest and get yourself ready for the next big run.
we all say thats it but the urge takes over and we forget about the bad experiences.
actually my right hand mirror came loose today on the run. pulled over to get the tools out to tighten it up. got that done pretty easy. placed the tools back inside the oval box and tried to turn the key to lock it and it was stuck solid.
in the end had to use a shifter to undo the large nut to loosen the tension and got the locking bar to move and out came the key.
once home i checked the box again and unfortunately had lost one of the o ring which help hold it in place...always a new adventure every day....lol

im hell bent now on trying to secure,minimise things moving, shaking, heaviness, replacing dodgy latches(on the air filter box for EG)
also im going to lighten this bike down anyway i can. theres just too many things moving, creaking like the mudguards for Eg. the seat will go, replaced with a nice simple leather seat.
The other problem with the guzzi here is the dealers. ive had issues with both of them - non guzzi related. the guy in randwick tried to charge me $50 to swap a tube out, was really rude,  got me to fill out a work form etc.  the times before,  his workshop did it for 20. he went on to say it wasnt worth it to do it for less. its a 5 min job...anyway. he sells guzzis. the other dealer is in st peters and and do the same sort of thing. lifes too short.

[barenekd]

Hanks Bare, ill check all that. It would explain alot!
The guzzi V7 was on the cards from the same dealer, but i liked the style of the enfield more.

If the Continental GT had be available when I needed a bike, I would have bought with no hesitation.
Bare

[Sectorsteve]

the V7 is better though no?

[Sectorsteve]

would the loss of the mirror cause vibration? see the left side has a bar end weight, the right side had no weight but a mirror.  once that mirror was gone , the vibration started

[Ducati Scotty]

Yes!  Bar end mirrors act just like bar end weights to reduce vibration.  Even more so since they are effectively on a lever arm.  Unless you had a really cheap mirror, it probably had a certain amount of weight to it, and removing it removes the damping effect.

If you want to test the theory, just remove the bar end weight and/or mirror from the other side.

Scott

[Sectorsteve]

Yes!  Bar end mirrors act just like bar end weights to reduce vibration.  Even more so since they are effectively on a lever arm.  Unless you had a really cheap mirror, it probably had a certain amount of weight to it, and removing it removes the damping effect.

If you want to test the theory, just remove the bar end weight and/or mirror from the other side.

Scott

i think thats what it was. once that mirror fell off the right side vibrated like crazy. theres a weight on the left, but the right weight was removed for the bar end mirror,which was a great quality mirror. ive put the stocks on. they are terrible mirrors, warped views.(surprise surprise)

[ace.cafe]

Yes!  Bar end mirrors act just like bar end weights to reduce vibration.  Even more so since they are effectively on a lever arm.  Unless you had a really cheap mirror, it probably had a certain amount of weight to it, and removing it removes the damping effect.

If you want to test the theory, just remove the bar end weight and/or mirror from the other side.

Scott

Agree completely.

[gizzo]

Wow, that's quite an adventure, and a long way to go to get to Sea Lake. Though I'd happily ride that far to get away from there  . It's about 1/2 way between my place and somewhere much better.

[Sectorsteve]

Wow, that's quite an adventure, and a long way to go to get to Sea Lake. Though I'd happily ride that far to get away from there  . It's about 1/2 way between my place and somewhere much better.

youre right. it was an absolute dissapointment of a shithole town, however the journey there was pretty good.

[1 Thump]

i should also add that i was pushing the bike doing about 120kph for 2 hours prior to it happening.

That is 75 mph for 2 hours. Too much ?

[ace.cafe]

That is 75 mph for 2 hours. Too much ?

Considering that the bike is flat out at just over 80mph, holding the throttle basically full open for 2 hours might be considered too much, IMO.

[barenekd]

the V7 is better though no?

Is it really better? I guess that's what you mean by better. It's better in the fact that you don't have to play QC on it for the first few hundred miles, and you don't have to replace chains, tires, suspension, lights and batteries in short order because of inferior stuff that came on the Enfield. Parts don't leave a trail to your garage. Once the Enfield ws updated for parts and custom stuff, nothing to do with the original bike, I just wanted a cafe racer, it was a very nice reliable bike. I really loved it. I could live with its remaining shortcomings, mainly a lack of power that really made it an adventure every time I rode it. But that was gave it its character and made it fun! I did cruise up the freeway 120 miles at 70 mph to get to a BSA Club ride, that ended up being about a 350 miles total ride one day. It handles the freeway quite nicely at that speed, but it dropped the fuel consumption to 63-65 mpg. Still beats the hell out of the Goose.
There is less vibration on the Goose, if that's an issue. It really wasn't for me. When I first test rode the bike it was really quite shaky, the salesman asked my about the smoothness of it and I told him it wasn't any smoother than my Enfield. And it wasn't. It got a lot smoother as it broke in. The gas mileage averages about 53mpg. That's a lot worse than the Enfield, but then it's got 50% more displacement and 100% more power! The shifting isn't much better than the Enfield, it's kind of a long throw and I probably miss as many shifts on it as I did the Enfield. Neither one are unacceptable.
The Enfield was more comfortable. The only real advantage is it will cruise at up to 90 with no problems except excessive fuel consumption, but at 75 I can still squeeze the 53 out of it. It will do the ton. I do have to work pretty hard to keep up with my liter class riding buddies, but I can do it. The Enfield calls for more stringent choices in riding partners. The only changes that were really gottas were the Zard Silencers ,and I put a Dart flyscreen on it to replace the stock number plate/screen. The stock mufflers actually sound pretty good, but they are restrictive. The original tires are Pirelli Sport Demons which are perfect for the bike. No Skidmasters on this one! The biek isn't quite as comfortable as my Enfield, but it's livable.
Anyway, now the the V7R is almost double the price of a new Enfield, is it that much better? Eye of the beholder, my friend.
I'm not sorry I bought it. Would I change it for an Enfield? Only if it got totaled then I'd think very hard about it. I do like the Continental.
Would I recommend it? Yes, without reservation. You already have a price, so get the one that grabs you!
Bare

[Norm]

I had a mirror fatigue and fall off on my previous 500 thumper.  That's one of the features of good vibrations. 
If you spot a used Guzzi 750 Breva, take a good look at it.  They are usually cheap to buy and continue to smooth out past 10k miles.  The Breva's have a more comfortable seat than the newer V7's.  The V7's have a new and improved motor, but there's nothing wrong with the previous gen.  Either is way more comfortable for long miles than a Sportster (I used to ride one). 

[barenekd]

I have no inclinations to get a Sportster. The late models are tanks. I sued to ride one in the early 60s and I kinda liked them back then. I almost bought one in '65, but  wanted something to scramble with and just opted for a 200 pound lighter Bultaco.
Bare

[Sectorsteve]

yeah to be honest im not a hd fan. just something about them doesnt appeal to me. a friend is tryna talk me into one, but im not sold. I had the choice to get any bike and chose the enfield because i loved its style. the test ride sold me instantly. i will get my bike ship shape soon and she'll be great. alot of bolts need replacing as they are corroding and braking off. simplicity to work on is handy seeing as im always working on it, but in some perverse way i enjoy the pain. when its going well, its heaps of fun and gets alot of attention.