Moto Guzzi Norge first impressions

[Scott of the Sahara]

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

[jdgretz]

Originally Posted by vacantstare

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

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.

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

[g®eg]

Originally Posted by jdgretz

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.

[wannaklr]

Originally Posted by jdgretz

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.

What's a ballpark cost on this?

[jdgretz]

Originally Posted by wannaklr

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

[joe cool]

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

[DRONE]

Originally Posted by vacantstare

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.

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. HERE is the solution.

[davevv]

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.

[jdgretz]

Originally Posted by joe cool

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

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

[wannaklr]

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.

[davevv]

Originally Posted by wannaklr

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.

Mine is still completely stock. It has about 11k miles in less than two years and I have no complaints with the way it runs. It takes about a minute to warm up to where it runs right from a cold start, but it's not a big deal for me. It cruises all day at any speed I choose and I've seen as high as 52mpg, though average on the highway is closer to 45mpg. The motor didn't really start to loosen up and run good until it had about 7500 miles on it, and it's just been getting better ever since. Overall it's been a pretty terrific machine and I have no plans for it to leave any time soon.

[jdgretz]

Originally Posted by wannaklr

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.

I think a lot of it has to do with how and where you ride as well as your expectations for the bike. I probably do 80% or more of my riding in the hills where the control of the throttle at the on/off position is pretty important for smoothly entering and exiting curves. I'm sure if I hadn't felt the difference, I'd have been satisfied or would have gotten used to it, but after I felt the difference (my bike was the test Norge for the O2 Optimizer), I knew what I was missing and how the bike could feel. Now, I probably will not do the full upgrade as I don't think it would be beneficial to me and how I ride. Others love the tweak and don't know how they lived without it.

Same thing with the suspension. If I lived in Kansas and only saw four turns a year, I wouldn't care. The bike works fine stock on sweepers like CA 150, and is great on the secondary roads (US 101, 395, etc.) but if you push it on almost any of the canyons around here (Decker, Latigo, Tuna, etc.) you can find the weak spots, and I did. Since that is where I like to spend my time, I opted to allow the bike to mature into it's potential.

One of my riding buddies sent his brand new VFR 1200 to Brazz to be the mule for ECU remapping and tweaking. Did he need to? Probably not. Did the work bring out the best in the bike? Oh hell yes. Does that mean that the VFR is a dog out of the box? No, it just means that he felt the bike could be better, and it is. It makes him smile.

When I got my very short test ride on a Norge (maybe 3 miles and I doubt I got it out of 3rd gear) I was in love. The bike spoke to me in a way that no other bike I had ridden did. I think if I had fallen in with another crowd of riders, I'd have left it stock, but I didn't so I chose to do some tuning to make the bike do what I wanted it to be able to do. At this point, I am definitely the limiting factor in how well the bike performs - it has way more capability than I do.

I guess it all boils down to - you pays you money and you makes your choices. It's all good

jdg

[rocker59]

Originally Posted by wannaklr

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.

It's not a "have to". Trust me. I've ridden an '09 Norge in The Rockies, and it was fine in stock form.

Enthusiasts spend big money on suspension and fueling for just about every sport and sport-touring bike out there...

[vacantstare]

Ok, I read the manual and noted the recommended settings for solo, 2-up and 2-up with luggage. Both settings are specified in clicks from some starting point.

What's the starting point? Do I screw the preload knob and the the rebound screw all the way in, as in clockwise, then back off from there?

[DRONE]

Turn the preload knob all the way out (counterclockwise) then start counting clicks as you turn it clockwise. With the rebound screw you start with it screwed all the way in (clockwise) then start counting clicks as you back it off.