Moto Guzzi Norge first impressions

Disco, When you gonna post a pic of that Norge you got?

cool... an oil-filter thread

I use a Bosch 3330..... never looked back.

If I buy one they charge $8.95 for shipping. Little closer to the mark, but still expensive.

Or you can go in the other direction. I understand the PCS4C Flo filter fits our bikes and can be had for under $80. Webbikeworld review here.

Never tried one of those. I know they have been around awhile. Drone have you tried them?

No, but thinking about it. Too bad all that bling would be seen only by me.

OK, I've had the bike a few days now, and I have a couple of questions-

The clutch is pretty noisy when I pull the lever. Dave said this was normal. Are you guys hearing this on your bikes?

For some reason, the heated grips always seem to be on when I start the bike. I turn them off, and they're on again the next time I start up. Anyone else having this happen?

I had a little stumble/hesitation right off idle yesterday that went away when the bike warmed up. Engine mapping issue?

I hear a rattle coming from the dash area when I go over hard bumps or rough pavement. Normal?

I am really loving the bike.

dry clutch, yup, normal

have not seen that

had that issue, got the O2 optimizer from Guzzi Tech (when they offered it by itself) and that cured it. it's mapping: guzzi tech is your friend!

yeah, mine does that too.. I think it's in the windshield mechanism...

they are pretty cool aren't they?

Vacant,

1.The clutch is a little noisy when pulled in, but nothing like a dry Ducati clutch.

2. are you sure you are turning them off completely before turning off the bike.

3.Maybe if the motor is still cold?

4. My dash rattles a little as well.

ps: One of the best mods is to get rid of the charcoal can IMO. Stops the pressure from building up in the tank as well as stopping the erratic idle when at stop lights. Also gives you a little extra space under the seat. Mine fell off within the first 500 miles. Hope this helps and enjoy your new ride.

My clutch makes the noise. I have heard it said "dry clutches save lives"
I warm my bike up for just a few minutes before I ride.
Yesterday I tried to take off immediately after starting it and it died. I was inside a cafe for a couple of hours.

Here is a pic on Steven's pass from last month.

As others have said, with the exception of the heated grips what you are seeing/hearing/feeling is normal. The dash rattle probably is the windshield stuff - that's a bit annoying but it will soon become background noise and fully ignored.

The hesitation off idle is again normal, thanks to the EPA and EURO 3 specs. Since Todd no longer offers the O2 Optimizer as a stand alone produce, you're going to have to do at least a Power Commander V plus O2 Optimizer, or go for the whole ECU re-flash + PC + AutoTune to fix it here in the states. I've heard in Europe someone is doing an ECU re-flash separately but I'm not sure of all the details. However, once you get something that fixes the EPA debacle, you'll be amazed at the difference in how smooth the bike feels. No more snatchiness at the on/off throttle point, no more flat spot around 3500. It really is worth the investment. Of course if you like to play in the twisties, you'll be wanting to upgrade the suspension as well. Again, Todd at Guzzi Tech is the go-to guy for that. He did mine and it transforms the bike into a very capable Sport-Touring machine (as opposed to sport-Touring or Sport-touring) that will give any other Sport-tourer a run for it's money. Oh yes, if you have Metzler Z-6s on the bike, get rid of them as soon as you can. Almost anything else is a big improvement - I'm partial to Road Smarts.

Congrats again on the new girlfriend,

jdg

ah yes... forgot that bit
I prefer the Pilot Road 3's I have on now.. the Metzlers were crap.

What's a ballpark cost on this?

Took me a couple of minutes to find it, but here is the rundown from the GuzziTech web site... Clicky

Basic package to get the O2 Optimizer is about $400. The complete package is $1100.00. Check the details and charts on the GuzziTech site.

jdg

Mine runs good enough not to have to dump another $1100.00.
What do you gain 2%-5%-10%?

Noisy clutch alarmed me too the first time I ran the bike. Normal.

I do not know how to turn off my heated grips and I've had the bike for 2 years. Gotta RTFM I guess. OK--just did that. TFM says "With engine running, press for several seconds to activate handgrips heating. Press briefly to adjust heating. Press again for several seconds to turn heating off." Got no clue why mine won't turn off.

I have a cure for the dashboard rattle. On mine, it sounds like the front of the bike is about to fall to pieces. :eek1 HERE is the solution.

Two things for the rattle in the dash area.

1. A piece of foam tape (weatherstrip type stuff) to fill the gap between the gauge cluster and the fairing helps quiet things down some. It reduces how much the cluster can shake without making it a rigid mount.

2. A big part of the rattle I was hearing was coming from the lower part of the front fairing. The bottom piece is held on with posts that go through the top piece. The posts are secured by those push on washer looking things. All of mine were a little loose, as in not pushed on far enough. The two pieces were not held together tightly enough, so it rattled over most bumps. I just used a small socket over the post to push the "washer" (damn, there's gotta be a name for those things) down as tight as I could squeeze it and that cured most of my rattle.

And yes, the clutch on my Norge is damned noisy. Oddly enough, the clutch on my California Titanium never makes a sound. Love both of those bikes, though.

Never had that problem with my heated grips. If they are on when I turn the ignition off, they will be on when I next start the bike. But if the grips are off when I turn the ignition off, they are still off when I start the bike again.

Edit: Okay, I looked it up. Those things are called "push nuts" in the Grainger catalog.

It's not so much that you gain HP, it's that the bike runs smoother. I'm sure with the full setup you get some HP gain since the bike it running with an optimal A/F mixture through the whole throttle range. For me, I was looking to solve the on/off issue at low throttle openings as that is an issue with low speed turns and smoothly rolling on the power (better low speed control) and the O2 Optimizer solved that. Although I'd like to do the whole PC+AT+ECU thing, I doubt it will make enough of a difference for the way I ride to justify the cost. I'll probably put the money toward an 8v Norge

jdg

Buy a new bike and have to spend $1100.00 to get it to run right seems dumb. I like the Norge, but I sure expect the bike to run right when I pick it up.