Moto Guzzi Stelvio (merged) threadfest...

[Toadride]

Originally Posted by pyoungbl

Although I have taken steps to avoid having the aux lights cause me problems I think I'll try a replacement LED set. These look attractive because they do not use the mounting system that broke on Toad's bike (an others ?) and have so little power draw.
http://mondomotos.com/lighting/led

Once I get these mounted I'll offer an opinion.

Hey Pete,
It looks like those lights will be the way to go when I get around to replacing the crap ones. I am finding it more and more disappointing that the NTX $16000 all inclusive price includes such a list of crap products. Ie: Mirror/signals, aux lights, invisible heated grips, etc. Of course doing all the necessary replacements would still prolly run several thousand dollars short of a fully decked 1200 Beemer.

[boxermoose]

Originally Posted by James Adams

On the subject of lights, does anyone have any crash bar suggestions that don't have the integrated light mounts like the OEM NTX ones?

Ummm, I say from photo's in the other thread - I'd suggest that you keep the guards as they are and carry a set of eye bolts with you. That way you can mount them facing up or down, as your umm circumstances dictate that day for recovery purposes

[boxermoose]

Hey, thinking about getting a Bagster tank cover - anyone reliable in North America handle the line?

Any pics of anyone with one installed?

[Sock Monkey]

Originally Posted by Toadride

Hey Pete,
It looks like those lights will be the way to go when I get around to replacing the crap ones. I am finding it more and more disappointing that the NTX $16000 all inclusive price includes such a list of crap products. Ie: Mirror/signals, aux lights, invisible heated grips, etc. Of course doing all the necessary replacements would still prolly run several thousand dollars short of a fully decked 1200 Beemer.

This is a new one Toad. Can you expand on it a bit? I just installed my Guzzi heated grips on Sunday and they work great! 30 degree weather, and yesterday a nice pissing rain, and my hands were nice and warm (can't say the same for my legs....I REALLY need to get a pair of waterproof overpants... ).

So far I've spent $230 on farkles since purchasing my NTX (by far the least I've spent on any bike in recent memory). $110 to replace the US-spec mirrors/signals with the Euro-spec parts, and now $120 for the heated grips. For the lights, I just spent some time in the garage cleaning up their dodgy wiring (Hella's fault, not Guzzi's....why Hella would attach the hot lead to the bulb housing with a heavy spade connector vs. a reinforced direct connection is just ....the spade connector is so big and bulky it just flops around inside the housing until it wears through it's sheathing and then shorts out on the metal light housing). Like you said, even replacing the Hella's w/ some LEDs won't get me anywhere close to the cost of a BMW GSA (MSRP of $18,350 here in the US, but without aux lights)!

-SM

[boxermoose]

Originally Posted by Sock Monkey

This is a new one Toad. -SM

Not to speak for the Toad but I believe he is refering to the FACT that as advertised the 2012 Stelvios were inclusive of heated grips and like the rest of us were disapointed that they were deleted at the last moment from the bike

[Toadride]

Originally Posted by Sock Monkey

This is a new one Toad. Can you expand on it a bit? I just installed my Guzzi heated grips on Sunday and they work great! 30 degree weather, and yesterday a nice pissing rain, and my hands were nice and warm (can't say the same for my legs....I REALLY need to get a pair of waterproof overpants... ).

So far I've spent $230 on farkles since purchasing my NTX (by far the least I've spent on any bike in recent memory). $110 to replace the US-spec mirrors/signals with the Euro-spec parts, and now $120 for the heated grips. For the lights, I just spent some time in the garage cleaning up their dodgy wiring (Hella's fault, not Guzzi's....why Hella would attach the hot lead to the bulb housing with a heavy spade connector vs. a reinforced direct connection is just ....the spade connector is so big and bulky it just flops around inside the housing until it wears through it's sheathing and then shorts out on the metal light housing). Like you said, even replacing the Hella's w/ some LEDs won't get me anywhere close to the cost of a BMW GSA (MSRP of $18,350 here in the US, but without aux lights)!

-SM

SM. That reference was basically a joke. When I purchased there was a whole world out there reading into the ads as having stock heated grips. Hell, my original service guy even tested them, seeing that the icons all showed up and assuming that they were working. I actually pointed out the missing HGs to him. As for why they left them off in the first place? Well, there's still no one out there who has answered that question.
Kinda like when I bought my F800GS and the great query of the day was why Beemer was calling the other 800cc twin a 650.

[kirb]

Originally Posted by Sock Monkey

I REALLY need to get a pair of waterproof overpants... ).
-SM

I highly suggest looking into Klim gear...Traverse is what I had. Kept you dry and had vented zips. Wear them alone or with pants.

[Sock Monkey]

Originally Posted by Toadride

SM. That reference was basically a joke. When I purchased there was a whole world out there reading into the ads as having stock heated grips. Hell, my original service guy even tested them, seeing that the icons all showed up and assuming that they were working. I actually pointed out the missing HGs to him. As for why they left them off in the first place? Well, there's still no one out there who has answered that question.
Kinda like when I bought my F800GS and the great query of the day was why Beemer was calling the other 800cc twin a 650.

Ah.....got it. I was hoping it wasn't something wrong with the grips (other than them being missing that is ). Yep, I got caught in that as well. Dealer showed me the "heated" grips by holding the button in and sure enough, the icon showed up. But in the end, as we now know, no heated grips were installed. And I agree with you 1000%, the heated grips should have been included.

-SM

[Sock Monkey]

Originally Posted by kirb

I highly suggest looking into Klim gear...Traverse is what I had. Kept you dry and had vented zips. Wear them alone or with pants.

Thanks Kirb. Do you have any feedback on how well they work in the rain? I've been keeping my eye on the Klim gear, but recently I've seen mixed reports on exactly how waterproof it is. Walter (aka Colebatch) and his crew went some 20k km across the Stans, Mongolia, and Russia, and all had Klim gear, and it all leaked in hard rain storms. I already have a $100 pair of "waterproof" pants that leak, I don't need a $300+ pair that also leak.

-SM

[kirb]

Originally Posted by Sock Monkey

Thanks Kirb. Do you have any feedback on how well they work in the rain? I've been keeping my eye on the Klim gear, but recently I've seen mixed reports on exactly how waterproof it is. Walter (aka Colebatch) and his crew went some 20k km across the Stans, Mongolia, and Russia, and all had Klim gear, and it all leaked in hard rain storms. I already have a $100 pair of "waterproof" pants that leak, I don't need a $300+ pair that also leak.

-SM

I was tired of frogg toggs and having to stop and gear up. The traverse stuff I had was leak proof. Cjracer over in the OC did a long WI/AK/mexico trip the klim stuff was flawless. They will replace it under their motto. I messed around with a lot of gear over the years and really like the Klim stuff....if only I could replace the ones cut off of me on site...backordered.

[Sock Monkey]

Originally Posted by Sock Monkey

For the lights, I just spent some time in the garage cleaning up their dodgy wiring (Hella's fault, not Guzzi's....why Hella would attach the hot lead to the bulb housing with a heavy spade connector vs. a reinforced direct connection is just ....the spade connector is so big and bulky it just flops around inside the housing until it wears through it's sheathing and then shorts out on the metal light housing).
-SM

OK, maybe this will save someone else some headaches. The bulbs used in the aux lights are H3's. For those not familiar with H3's, they come with a pigtail and spade connector. That's why they're connected like they are inside the light housing. So, we can't get away from having that big spade connector in there. The only option is to insulate the hell out of it and stuff enough padding inside the housing to ensure the spade connectors won't vibrate against the inside of the housing, or vibrate itself apart, like mine just did (pigtail separated from the bulb lead and it won't take resin-core solder, so I'm punting and will get a new H3....might even get a pair of those H3 -> LED conversions for $35).

Anyway, insulate your aux light internals and wrap wrap wrap those leads!

-SM

[Sock Monkey]

Originally Posted by kirb

I was tired of frogg toggs and having to stop and gear up. The traverse stuff I had was leak proof. Cjracer over in the OC did a long WI/AK/mexico trip the klim stuff was flawless. They will replace it under their motto. I messed around with a lot of gear over the years and really like the Klim stuff....if only I could replace the ones cut off of me on site...backordered.

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

[Blakebird]

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.

[Sock Monkey]

Originally Posted by Blakebird

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

[James Adams]

Originally Posted by Blakebird

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.

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.