Moto Guzzi Stelvio (merged) threadfest...

Good to know Kirb, thank you!

I'll be at my dealer on Saturday and they're the biggest Klim dealer in the area, so I'll check out their selection and might come home with some new duds!

-SM

Lots of aux lighting setups use H3 bulbs - I had PIAA's that never gave me a lick of trouble.
So far the Hellas have been great, surviving some reasonably rough offroad duty. Guess I'll know in another 11,000 miles if I need to wrap the leads or something.

re: waterproof gear.... All my gear is waterproof without adding layers or shells. I hate pulling over for that.
I've been a Firstgear fan for years. Had a first generation Kilimanjaro, a Kilimanjaro Air.

Currently have a Firstgear Kathmandu and their top line Rainier - both excellent. The Rainier is an amazing jacket.

Nothing wrong with H3 bulbs, it's just how they are attached inside the housing that caused my issues. My lights were both toast in 2,000 miles of paved roads. Given that when they short they blow a fuse that turns out to also take out the generator, I'm taking precautions to ensure they won't do that again.

The pants I have currently are FirstGear HT Overpants with their Sheltex "waterproof" lining. Mine leak.....a lot. I'll check out the Klim gear this weekend while I'm at the dealer. Like you and others, I really don't like pulling rain gear on and off, so I want my jacket and pants to be waterproof. My FirstGear pants are fine in a light rain, but in anything heavier I'm wet within minutes. My jacket is a BMW Rallye 2, and while the shell isn't waterproof, the Goretex liner is, so I stay dry. The stuff in my pockets, however, gets soaked (except for the one waterproof pocket).

-SM

My Hellas have survived thus far, and there's no doubt that they've taken some abuse.

I'm interested in replacing and relocating them for more useful light. I'll probably replace them with a single LED light bar under the headlight.

KLIM is since December owned by Polaris so we might be able to buy the gear at a lower price from a Victory dealer since they won't know what to make of it. Maybe KLIM will venture into dew rags.

James (or Blake), could you do me a favor? Could you pull the rubber cap off the back of one of your lights and take a picture of how the wiring is routed and protected? I'll replicate that on my bike.

It's odd to me that bikes like mine, Toad's, and others have had both lights fail very quickly, but others like yourself and Blake haven't had any issues at all. My theory is the wiring is somehow routed or protected differently. Both you and Blake have had your bikes longer than I have had mine, so maybe they did something different on the early builds. There was so much arcing on my left light that there's a "pit" about the size of a pea taken out of the metal housing, and that vaporized metal has gone everywhere inside the light, including coating the bulb and lens. I'm going to have to completely disassemble it and clean everything before it's usable again.

-SM

Pretty clear pics of the setup and subsequent burnup here.
http://forum.guzzitech.com/forum/190/9924.html

Thanks for the link Toad. That's exactly how my lights were wired, with the excess wire wadded up and stuffed into the metal housing, NOT inside the boot. But......I thought I had outsmarted the gremlins by shortening the wires inside the housing such that they entered the boot and went right into the bulb, with just a slight bend to prevent any strain on the connection. Well, that Murphy guy got into the act and when my left light winked out (why is it always the left one??? vibrates more???), I checked and the wire had come apart right at the bulb. Obviously it just couldn't take the vibes.

Now the question I have is, even if I replace my bulb with a new one (either a standard H3 or a LED equivalent), what's to stop the wire from vibrating apart at the bulb again? Stuffing the excess in the boot won't fix that will it? Maybe it provides just enough "buffer" from the vibes to make it survive?

-SM

Toss em. PeterY has got the right idea. not a big expense and a better setup.

Not sure if this was posted before - an interesting comparison of R1200GS, Super Tenere, Stelvio, Tiger Explorer and KTM Adventure 990 done by Motorcycle.com:

http://www.motorcycle.com/shoot-outs/2012-adventuretouring-shootout-video-91439.html

Since both the video and the article say a lot of positive things about Stelvio, I was surprised by the conclusion. But it's the stuff they said like "the Guzzi is the character bike of the group" and "the Guzzi remains unsurpassed in regards to charisma and charm" that seems to represent what the bike is about. And I am still very interested in trying this bike and really hoping that I will like it enough to buy it. After all, while I was not impressed by R1200GS after three test rides, I ended up loving an old R1100GS I ended buying later because it just has a certain character and hard to explain appeal for me.

There probably won't be too much dithering once you get a ride on one. You'll either love it or hate it. There won't be much middle ground.

My rides home from work yesterday and today are great examples of what I like about the bike. Yesterday it was pissing down rain (where'd THAT come from? dang weather forecast.....) and with the Guzzi's great low-end grunt, I just kept the revs down and chugged home. No dramas. Tonight, I was headin' for the barn after a particularly sucky week at work and kept it above 5k RPM as I ripped through traffic and zipped around bozos doing 35 in 50mph zones. It's happy to chug chug chug at 3k RPM or get frisky with a nice mid-range punch above 5k RPM. Just a nice, wide, usable powerband, with nothing scary to put you on your arse if you're not careful. Good stuff.

-SM

This.

Interesting. In all the miles of ridden my Stelvio (as well as the rented one I rode the Stelvio Pass on) even with a passenger, I've never dragged the center stand. Ground clearance has never been an issue for me even off road.

I also thought it was funny how much they loved the panniers on the KTM but never mention the Stelvio's even though they're exactly the same.

Oh well. Even before the end I think I could have predicted the outcome. It makes me wonder if the newest version is that much more different than my 09.

Guess I'll have to take one for a ride to find out. Damn. :)

I really hope I end up loving it, I have a feeling I will. It has so many things I am looking for - totally love the looks, long distance comfort, long range (hate to fill up several times a day on 700+ mile days), I like that the bike is unusual and will likely generate a lot of curiosity on the road, also reliability and simplicity, price, many accessories included, etc... I didn't mention anything related to riding, handling, power or any other ride impressions, that stuff will have to be evaluated on a test ride.

The range really stands out for me though. I can go on for 4 hours easily without needing to stop. When it comes to gas, I like to error on the side of caution and in unknown areas I will often refill while still having two gallons left just so I don't have to worry about running out of gas or having to stop soon again. Bigger tank eliminates some of these "conservative" fill ups and makes it easier to sync your food breaks with gas fill-ups.

QUOTE FROM PYOUNGBL
Yep, it depends on where you intend to ride and how you manage your fuel. If you don't get far from civilization, don't travel 'out west', avoid parts of Canada and all of Alaska...a range of 180 - 200 miles is OK. At least with your NTX you have the option to go to those places with less stress. Don't forget that we get more than just a big fuel tank with that NTX; crash bars, aux lights, hard bags, hand guards, bash plate, 150 size rear tire, and wiring for heated grips.


My 09 came with all the above except the bash plate aux lights and 150 tires. (By the way i did purchase it from MI and had it shipped across country.)
Ive added:
*Ram GPS mount and hardwired from additional fuse panel.
*Adjustable aluminum deck shelf behind my windshield for radar detector
*two (2) usb power ports attached to my handlebars for phone, etc.
* One powerlet port mounted to internal tupperwear in front of handlebar.
* Tool and fuel tube addition behind the right pannier above the swing arm. Took 1 piece of 4" muffler pipe and 1 piece of 3.25" muffler pipe each approximately 14" long and welded them together. Welded thin plate to the bottom of the tubes and the top has ginormous rubber stoppers held on with a black stick and zip ties. All the above painted black which blends in with the bike quite well. The tubes give me almost 3 additional liters of fuel.
* Added Givi hardcase with pillion rest to rear carrier. Nice, can carry two full size helmets.
*Sport Mirrors Forgot I had done these upgrades
*Euro Turn Signal Forgot I had done these upgrades
*Carc venting Forgot I had done these upgrades
One more thing I will probably do when my tires start looking worn is look into a bit more off-road capable variant. Im running the Scorpion road tire which are OEM and while most of my riding is road, I would like a more capable tire for dirt/off road. Nothing hairy just a wee bit more capable.

Cliff