Op here,
Will be turning 78,000 miles on way home from work today.
Still loving this bike !
Still think what I've given up in performance compared to my previous GSXR.
Is more than made up for in ease of maintenance, riding something other than "just another rice-rocket" or cruiser, and the smile it puts on my face every time I through a leg over it.
And everyone; sportbike rider, Harley rider, even non-motorcyclists comment on how good it looks.
Although this past weekend, for a few hours I was double guessing myself.
I finally changed the alternator belt.
And it took me 7 hours !
I had trouble getting off the fuel tank.
First because the vent hose that leads to the tip-over valve and (long since) removed charcoal canister. Was clamped to the bottom of the fuel tank, was zip tied to the main wiring harness, and there was not enough excess hose to fit my hand or tools underneath the tank to disconnect this hose.
Being it was the very first time I had to remove the fuel tank. I did not know what to expect and was being extra cautious.
I ultimately left the hose connected to the fuel tank and instead disconnected it from the tip-over valve.
Second; I think due to the mileage and crud built up under the tank. I never was able to disconnect the fuel line from the bottom.
So instead of fully removing fuel tank; I simply used a block of wood to keep the front of it tilted up.
After raising the fuel tank. I had to remove right side coil, horn, ECU, alternator cover, and two of the three bolts of the alternator.
These consumed much of the time. Because I could not get a full wrench on many of these Allen bolts.
Due to their location; a socket or wrench would be blocked by the frame and/or main wiring harness.
I was regulated to using small Allen/hex key for most of them, doing a 1/4 turn, fumble with key, do another 1/4 turn, etc....
There were 3 different sizes of Allen bolts for the alternator cover alone.
Plus with a couple of the bolts; it was not possible to get a wrench on both the bolt and it's corresponding nut to tighten them
I had to tighten as best as possible by starting by hand and finishing with only the friction of nut-against-mount being the only resistance.
The actual replacing of the alternator belt only took a min or two.
After replacing the belt and putting everything back together. Took just as long as taking apart. Again particially due to my being cautious.
Reinstalling the alternator cover took several attempts. Have you ever tried starting an Allen bolt who's hole you can't see using the short end of a hex key ?
And upon reinstalling the plastic fuel tank; it felt like it grew 1/4 in in length.
The trick was to install all it's bolts in the same order you removed them; NOT the reverse order as you would expect and typically do.
In the end; the old belt still looked rather good and I decided next belt change will be MUCH easier now that I know what will be involved.
And I'll probably have better tools.
Don't get me wrong. The above rant only temporarily diminished my love of this Guzzi.
Griso is still running strong. And I'm still very much happy I made the trade up from GSXR to Griso.
And I've had no issues with it. Just been riding it, changing fluids, tires, and brake pads.
The routine maintenance on this bike is still easy. Change oils regularly and adjust/check valves from time-to-time.
Valve checks are simple AND easy. You sit on a stool and the valves stare you straight in the face.
Although I've added Stucchi-Luigi's new/improved crash bars which add a little annoyance to checking the valves.
Because you have to maneuver the valve covers off the head in a specific pattern to clear the crash bars.
But it's only a slight annoyance.
Almost from the beginning; I've been using Motul 7100 10w60 in the motor, AGIP 85W90 in the gear box, and AGIP 80w90 in the CARC (shaftdrive).
But now that the warranty is over and Motul appears to have lowered the amount of ZDDP in their 10w60.
I've begun switching to Redline's 10w60.
Last oil change was a mixture of Motul and Redline. Next oil change will be completely Redline.
I have no plans for switching away from AGIP for the gearbox and CARC.
I'll try to add photos in the next day or two.
BTW; did I say how much I still love this bike ?
Update:When I got home from work the day of writing the above. I changed the oils on my Griso.
And I discovered the following:
That's the bracket for the mid exhaust pipe that is broken.
It wasn't like that last month when I changed the oils.
So I think it happened this past Tuesday when I was cut off on I-78 in Clinton, NJ.
I-78 in NJ sucks. There are many many long, narrow, deep potholes separating the lanes in many locations.
It's so bad in some areas; that it is unsafe to change lanes.
Anyway; I priced the parts to replace the mid exhaust pipe and the related screws, clamps, and gaskets.
The pipe is over $200, and each gasket and clamp are $30 each.
So replacing it will have to wait until next month. For now; I have safety wired the crap out of it.
Looks horrible; but it will do as a temporary fix.
This reminded me of the only drawback I see with the Griso.
Which is it's stock suspension. It just is not up to par for the weight of this bike.
I think it's typical Italian suspension. Under sprung and over damped ?
I've taken it a couple times to the same shop where I get my race bike's suspension done.
And they would like to see a little more pre-load on the suspension. Especially the rear.
As promised. I attempted to take photos of it.
The battery for my camera is dying. So in addition the the above photos of the broken bracket.
I was only able to get one photo of the bike before the battery died:
Yes I know it's dirty. But as I've said in the past. I'd rather ride it than bathe it.
You may not believe me. But I do wash it every once in a while. Usually around every other tire change.
--ET
