'08 Norge

[stevent]

I'm thinking of buying a new '08 Norge, the bikes a demo with 15 miles on it and is being sold as a new. I haven't ridden the bike yet but my impression is that they're excellent bikes and the only real negitive I've heard about is soft suspension....anything else I should be aware of?....

 

[falconati]

I take GS donations, just in case you were wondering  

I'll let the experts speak, but I haven't heard of any major issues with the model.

[stevent]

I take GS donations, just in case you were wondering  

I'll let the experts speak, but I haven't heard of any major issues with the model.

The GS is such a turd I couldn't in good faith dump it off on you.......I'll just have to keep it and suffer....penance for past sins and all,

 

[radlefty]

I have 28,000 miles on my 07 Norge that I  bought new in 08 and so far it is the best all around bike that I have ever owned. The rear spring was changed in 08 and whether you need to change it depends on your riding style. The 07's were very soft and I changed my rear shock to Hyperpro and switched out the front fork oil to 15W and have been very happy with the changes. Other known issues that have affected some but not all Norges are brittle plastic parts, especially the fairing lowers have known to crack,  some people have reinforced the lowers and others like myself have removed the lowers and replaced them with the Breva chin spoiler. There have been reports of warped front brake rotors and some people have had to bleed their rear brakes several times. The stock mirrors are crap and most people replace them.  Bolts on the kickstand & centerstand tend to come loose and it's highly recommended to loctite them. I think I've covered most of the known issues, and if I haven't I'm sure someone more knowledgeable then me will chime in soon. I seem to have  been one of the lucky ones, and haven't had any problems at all with my Norge except for the crap mirrors. I removed the lowers for ease of maintenance not because of any cracking problems.  I absolutely love my Norge and can hardly wait for all this snow to melt here in the frozen midwest so I can get out and ride again.

[sempervee]

 I too have an 07 Norge and find it an amazing bike.   I had an 05 FJR1300 for 20K miles and this is a much more elegant bike that I find more comfortable and fun.  Not nearly as quick but the bike talks to me, resonates with my idea of what a MC should be.
  My other current bike is a 1000 Vstrom which is the best all rounder I have ever owned.
I happen to really like the stock chrome mirrors on the Norge.  The suspension is a little soft but I have had no issues with it since tightening it up.

If I could make the bike " more" perfect I would have a power commander on it and better shocks is all.

[Thunderbox]

I have an 08 I purchased last May.  It has about 9000 miles on it and so far it has been very good.  The suspension is very good and does not really need any modifications.  You may need to remove the centre stand, which is very easy, to prevent scrapping it during sportier types of riding.  I changed my bars, a personal preference and installed a Mistral muffler which I am replacing because I don't care for the sound of it.  A really gret bike tht will go miles on end with out breaking a sweat.  So far I think it is the best bike I have ever owned.  My rotors warped and in the spring they are replacing them under warranty.  I had a small oil leak and repaired it myself because the dealer was ahhhhhh a little lazy or stupid.  But the bike rocks.

[jdgretz]

I'm a big proponent of the suspension upgrade.  I've done the HyperPro rear spring and shock matched to my riding style and weight, progressive front springs with cartridge emulators and could not be happier.  Also, if you are a spirited rider, you'll want to wear out the Metzlers as quick as you can and move to something like the Dunlop RoadSmarts for much improved handling and stability in the corners (not to mention tread in the center of the tire).

I've recently added an O2 Optimizer to set the air fuel mixture to a constant 13.8:1.  That "fixes" the extra lean condition the bike runs in in the lower portion of the RPM range and makes the low RPM throttle response much nicer.  If I was really looking for the "best" performance, I'd also do the PowerCommander+AutoTune+modified ECU bit (probably with the modified air box as well), but currently I'm satisfied with just the addition of the O2 Optimizer.

I'm also happy with the sound of the stock exhaust, but to each his own on that one.

Getting an '08 you won't have the "WTF were they thinking" dipstick problem.

If the chrome mirrors vibrate too much to be useful, the Sport 1200 mirrors run about $51/pr. and fix that issue.

You're gonna love the Norge, and remember that it likes to cruise between 4500 and 5000 RPM.  Getting her below 3K is lugging the engine.

Get a copy of Guzziology.

Have fun, and we'll see you on the road.

jdg

[blackbuell]

stevent,

I bought a new '09 last October. Unlike the last few Japanese bikes that I have purchased new, the Norge had a few minor issues from the outset. It seems like the majority of Guzzis come with pesky problems that take some time to sort out. At times these problems have made me question the purchase. However, I bought this bike for less than 10K dollars, which is a lot of bike for the $. More important though is that I absolute love riding the thing; it is comfortable and pleasurable in a way that is hard to describe. It is certainly not fast--my VFR's are much faster and they handle much better--but the simple motor produces very controllable power.

My wife and I recently did a 500 mile day on it with no complaints from her; it's a great 2-up tourer.

Moto Guzzi must have physiologists/psychologists on their payroll--the motor produces vibrations that stimulate the release of endorphins. Riding the Norge is addictive. My wonderful viffers are collecting dust.

Jon

[Thunderbox]

I'm a big proponent of the suspension upgrade.  I've done the HyperPro rear spring and shock matched to my riding style and weight, progressive front springs with cartridge emulators and could not be happier.  Also, if you are a spirited rider, you'll want to wear out the Metzlers as quick as you can and move to something like the Dunlop RoadSmarts for much improved handling and stability in the corners (not to mention tread in the center of the tire).

I've recently added an O2 Optimizer to set the air fuel mixture to a constant 13.8:1.  That "fixes" the extra lean condition the bike runs in in the lower portion of the RPM range and makes the low RPM throttle response much nicer.  If I was really looking for the "best" performance, I'd also do the PowerCommander+AutoTune+modified ECU bit (probably with the modified air box as well), but currently I'm satisfied with just the addition of the O2 Optimizer.

I'm also happy with the sound of the stock exhaust, but to each his own on that one.

Getting an '08 you won't have the "WTF were they thinking" dipstick problem.

If the chrome mirrors vibrate too much to be useful, the Sport 1200 mirrors run about $51/pr. and fix that issue.

You're gonna love the Norge, and remember that it likes to cruise between 4500 and 5000 RPM.  Getting her below 3K is lugging the engine.

Get a copy of Guzziology.

Have fun, and we'll see you on the road.

jdg

What year was your Norge?

[Roadscum]

I've got an '08 1200 Sport, a naked Norge. It came with a few flaws but it's all sorted now. I'm thinking maybe tha same guys in Italy have been building these bikes since 1921!!  

I've got 20K miles on in in 18 months and it's 1 of 4 bikes that I own. It's my "go to" bike because it puts the bigest grin on my face. With a map, PC and autotune from Guzzitech it has become a torgue monster and pulls strong all the way to red line. So much so that I'm constantly bumping the rev limiter.        

Regards, Paul

[jdgretz]

What year was your Norge?

I have an early '07 - turns out it was part of the Piaggio press fleet.

The actual issues I've had in the last two years (the bike will be two years old mid-April) were warped rotors (replaced under warranty), one dead low beam, and uh, uh, uh, oh yes, it seems to have gone through about 135 tanks of gas (about one every 200 miles) and several tires  

jdg

[Thunderbox]

I have an early '07 - turns out it was part of the Piaggio press fleet.

The actual issues I've had in the last two years (the bike will be two years old mid-April) were warped rotors (replaced under warranty), one dead low beam, and uh, uh, uh, oh yes, it seems to have gone through about 135 tanks of gas (about one every 200 miles) and several tires  

jdg

I was just wondering because the suspension on the 07s was vastly different than the 08s and up.  I love mine and can hardly wait for this snow to leave for good.  It's snowing here as I write.

[jdgretz]

I was just wondering because the suspension on the 07s was vastly different than the 08s and up.  I love mine and can hardly wait for this snow to leave for good.  It's snowing here as I write.

I'm not sure I'd say vastly - they changed the rear spring toward the end of the model year, but the shock and front fork springs are the same IIRC, and the minimal adjustment on the front forks has not changed (maybe for 2011?).  They still built the bike for 170lb riding weight riders.  If that's you, then you're in great shape.  Me?  I haven't see 170lbs in a number of years, so the whole setup is a bit under powered for me.  If I was in the flat lands, I'd have a different opinion, but hitting the canyons fairly hard shows up the deficiencies in the standard suspension.  I've had a couple of folks with late '07s with the better spring and '08s ride my bike and say that there is a noticeable difference between stock and mine.

jdg

[Thunderbox]

I'm not sure I'd say vastly - they changed the rear spring toward the end of the model year, but the shock and front fork springs are the same IIRC, and the minimal adjustment on the front forks has not changed (maybe for 2011?).  They still built the bike for 170lb riding weight riders.  If that's you, then you're in great shape.  Me?  I haven't see 170lbs in a number of years, so the whole setup is a bit under powered for me.  If I was in the flat lands, I'd have a different opinion, but hitting the canyons fairly hard shows up the deficiencies in the standard suspension.  I've had a couple of folks with late '07s with the better spring and '08s ride my bike and say that there is a noticeable difference between stock and mine.

jdg

I have done some pretty hard riding and with the centre stand removed and the suspension set up for my wieght (225) I have yet to scrap anything even in the hardest riding conditions.  Another 07 owner says he couldn't understand why this was until he road an 08.  He said there was a world of difference.  I could not understand how he was scrapping and I wasn't, so the suspensions are definately different or mine is set up different.  All I have to go on is what others have said.  I won't be changing any parts on my suspension in the near or distant future.  MG has made many changes during the middle of model years.  I wonder if my bike may have different springs than other 08s.

[jdgretz]

I have done some pretty hard riding and with the centre stand removed and the suspension set up for my wieght (225) I have yet to scrap anything even in the hardest riding conditions.  Another 07 owner says he couldn't understand why this was until he road an 08.  He said there was a world of difference.  I could not understand how he was scrapping and I wasn't, so the suspensions are definately different or mine is set up different.  All I have to go on is what others have said.  I won't be changing any parts on my suspension in the near or distant future.  MG has made many changes during the middle of model years.  I wonder if my bike may have different springs than other 08s.

Ahh, scraping is another issue.  The center stand stop on the '07s was way too thick - virtually everyone cuts it in half or more to get more clearance.  Removing the center stand is also done to get even more ground clearance.  I still run with mine as I prefer to park her on the center stand at night, although she does have a greatly reduced stop and has not done any scraping since shortening the stop and modifying the syspension.

The thing I noticed most with the stock suspension was a wallowing or sense of vagueness in the corners, and if the surface was not pretty smooth it didn't track as well as I wanted.  The back was not much of an issue from that stand point, but when I saw videos of the bike taken by a following rider I could see where that needed something different - too much compression early on, coming way too quick.  When I changed tires, the handling was much improved due to (to my mind) better grip and more consistency from the Dunlops.  Once I got the new springs and cartridge emulators in the front it made so much difference as to be almost a different motorcycle.  The front end "dive" was virtually eliminated and handling in the corners became confidence inspiring.  No more wallowing and imperfect surfaces in the corners are much less of a concern until they get to be pot holes.  The rear suspension is also much more solid and feels "better" or more planted - I really don't know how else to describe it.  It's almost like being able to tell the bike how to settle in to the corner and stay planted through out the turn.  It wasn't like that before.  

I'm now the limiting factor so far as handling goes.  The bike has way more capability than I'm interested in exploring.

I know this is pretty subjective, but that's the best I can do.  You're certainly welcome to give her a test run when we end up at the same place at the same time one of these days to see what you think.

jdg

[stevent]

Well thanks for confirming my opinion of the Norge, I'm going to be laid up and off the bike for a few weeks so I'll see what's happening when I'm back on my feet

[dhunter]

 I too have an 07 Norge and find it an amazing bike.   I had an 05 FJR1300 for 20K miles and this is a much more elegant bike that I find more comfortable and fun.  Not nearly as quick but the bike talks to me, resonates with my idea of what a MC should be.
  My other current bike is a 1000 Vstrom which is the best all rounder I have ever owned.
I happen to really like the stock chrome mirrors on the Norge.  The suspension is a little soft but I have had no issues with it since tightening it up.

If I could make the bike " more" perfect I would have a power commander on it and better shocks is all.

You do any two-up on your Norge?  How would you compare its room and comfort with the Vee?