Guest roger Posted March 10, 2003 Share Posted March 10, 2003 Does anyboby have any experience with the Moto Guzzi v65? I have the opportunity to pick up one at a reasonable price. What should I look for? Is it a good bike for a novice rider? My wife wants to start riding. Thanks, Roger. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest russ Posted March 11, 2003 Share Posted March 11, 2003 If you are talking about the one on ebay, buyer beware! That one was sold once and now relisted. Wonder why. As a starter bike it is probably ok but lacking the modern brakes, etc. Parts are hard to find, they are not very reliable electrically. Your wife might learn to hate riding if she were to break down somewhere. I'd encourage her to take the riding course first before she (or you) invest in a bike. Let her try it out on someone elses machine and decide what she likes. I wish I could get my wife to take an interest Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
docc Posted March 11, 2003 Share Posted March 11, 2003 The Rider Course is such good advice! A great place for a new rider to 'get their sea legs'. Will there be Breva's in the US? Maybe an expensive beginner's bike but a nice addition to the shop, yes? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dlaing Posted March 11, 2003 Share Posted March 11, 2003 I had a V65SP. I loved it. Light, nimble, quick, good brakes, a blast to ride, but it was a bit of a headache mechanically. I was too financially challenged at the time to give it the care it needed. The shaft u-joints went twice. The rear bevel drive once. Dropped a valve into a piston. (no over rev, I swear!) Chronic alternator and starter problem usually temporarily fixed by cleaning. Same story with electrical controls and ignition switch. But then again, I rode it really hard and parked it outside in the rain and snow. One cylinder started to lose compression, I pulled it apart and it had irregular cylinder wear and worn out valves, I gave up, left it with friends who gave it away. A shame, I could have parted out the dyna coils, dyna ignition, and Koni shocks. (all three parts recommended if you buy it, esp. the dyna ignition.) I would still consider buying a V65Lario, although they have their own share of headaches, allegedly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Jaap Posted March 11, 2003 Share Posted March 11, 2003 From what I heard, I wouldn't trust an "older" small-engine Guzzi. They are not very reliable, mecanically as well as electrically. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dlaing Posted March 11, 2003 Share Posted March 11, 2003 I have heard that the v35 and v50 are more reliable than the v65. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
profWacko Posted March 12, 2003 Share Posted March 12, 2003 I guess we will find out together if the V50's are more reliable or not. A friend of mine who recently moved away gave me a V50 III he had acquired and could not take with him. It had been sitting for at least 10 years, so it needed a lot of things fixed up. So far, I have managed to get the fuel system pretty well sorted out, as it now starts easily and runs pretty well. The brakes are next. I have only taken one caliper apart so far (the right front) and it was pretty badly stuck. I think I am going to build some brake lines to de-link the brakes and then replace all of the pads. I have ridden it around the block a few times and found it to be a fun little ride, as long as you are not in any kind of a hurry. The acceleration (even in 1st gear) can be described as glacial. Still, it rides really nice and steers very lightly and seems very stable. Fortunately, it is also fun to work on because it looks like I will be getting to do a lot of that. Phlegm at Eleven. Ride well. Ride safe. -Jack Price Glendale, CA 02 V11 Le Mans 01 KTM Duke II 83 V50 III Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Jaap Posted March 12, 2003 Share Posted March 12, 2003 The Dutch Army (yeah, we have one,and we´re proud of it! ) used to ride V50 NATO´s. But they were glad to get rid of them... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Philmac Posted March 12, 2003 Share Posted March 12, 2003 Jack I'm currently rebuilding a V50 Monza and one thing I found that would seriously reduce performance was the advance mechanism in the points was seized onto it's shaft - worth checking if you havn't already. Bust of luck Phil Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichMaund Posted March 12, 2003 Share Posted March 12, 2003 I remember back in the 1980's a Dutch Frigate tied up at the Sub piers at our Navy base. I was on a sub back then. The guys went out into town and picked up girls and brought them back to the ship for a party. Even served alcohol on board and the mess was done up like a disco. I got to see that for myself when we traded unclassified tours of each others ships. Man! You guys really know how to run a fun military organization! Guzzi's, dames, disco's and parties! I'm jealous. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Jaap Posted March 12, 2003 Share Posted March 12, 2003 Yeah! I spent 14 months as a soldier/driver on a dutch built Willy's Jeep. Great fun, especially on manoeuvres. I always slept in a big tent (with gasoline heater) with the NCO's, because I had to be standby when the major, whom I drove, had to pick up cheap booze from the US-Army shops in Germany! We even drank this stuff while on manoeuvres. Also we watched movies, had a fridge with cold beverages and a beer pump. I shit you not! At one time we were all waving at helicopters. They were "attacking" us... I think we were the most laid back outfit in the whole dutch army, damn, the whole Nato... But that was a long time ('86/'87) ago when there still was a draft. Now we only have professional soldiers. (and BMW's) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
profWacko Posted March 15, 2003 Share Posted March 15, 2003 Mr. Philmac, sir! You are the Dude! I was planning on checking into the points sooner or later, but your suggestion made me check it out sooner. I discovered a totally seized advance mechanism, just like you described, which I cleaned up and got moving again. I also discovered that my bike has a full Dyna ignition conversion! After all of this, it runs far better than before. Now, the lack of braking power is becoming a concern because the bike goes a lot faster now. >8] I guess I'll have to get it registered and insured now because it is just too much fun to ride. Thanks again for the benefit of your experience. Ride safe. Ride well. -Jack Price 02 V11 Le Mans (coming up on 37k miles now) 01 KTM Duke II (coming up on 7k miles now) 83 V50 III (just over 2500 miles, still a baby) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dlaing Posted March 15, 2003 Share Posted March 15, 2003 Hey, I wanna be the Dude! See if this helps.... The springs on my advance mechanism went a little slack. If I remember the numbers correctly, the advance was supposed to top out at 5000 rpm. If the spring went slack and your timing was set at idle, you would get less total advance and it would top out too early. With needle nose pliars, I tightened up the springs so that they closed the rotor completely and held the timing steady at idle such that the idle timing was equal to static(engine off) timing. This brought my top out to about 5500rpm, which I thought worked better than stock. If you are interested, I could send you a box of parts for about $60. I would have to check the inventory but I think I have the original Nippon Denso Coils, a rectifier, a couple of oil filters, a pair of K&N air filters (don't know if they would fit a v50), some EBC brake pads still in package, and maybe a pan gasket. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
profWacko Posted March 18, 2003 Share Posted March 18, 2003 dlaing, I did not intend to overlook any major dude-ism on your part. I was just trying to express my thanks for nailing my problem. Now about those oil & air filters and brake pads, if they will indeed fit a V50 I will definitely take them off of your hands. Please contact me off list to persue this further. profwacko@v11lemans.com Does it really take that special tool they show in the service manual to remove the piston from the master cylinder? How do you get it out? ADVthanksANCE Ride well. Ride safe. -Jack Price Glendale, CA 02 V11 Le Mans 01 KTM Duke II 83 V50 III Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dlaing Posted March 18, 2003 Share Posted March 18, 2003 I didn't feel overlooked, just had to shoot for the stars to get the dudism reward. Philmac definately deserved it! The parts are at my mother's garage in Fallbrook. I'll check the inventory next weekend and get back to you. Most of the parts are interchangeable with the V50. The carbs on the V50 are smaller so I don't think the K&Ns will fit. The oil filters and gaskets are the same. I can't remember how I got the master cylinder piston out. I only did the front master cylinder and never the rear(integrated). I seem to remember maybe a c or e clip holding in a return spring. I definitely did not have any tool more special than a c clip pliar. I probably used fluid pressure to force it out. Sorry, I don't deserve a dude award for faulty memory. But it is possible that I may have an old master cylinder piston. I crashed and broke the master cylinder and replaced it. I probably saved the master cylinder in case I needed a piston, o-ring or whatever else. Will check for that too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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