Stelvio Duecento Tributo purchase.

[Spartan]

Evening fellow forum users.

Ok I'll keep this brief as possible. I keep my posts to the 1300RS section. Basically I raced bikes for a while. Retired from racing. Moved to spain and use my RS for commuting. But cover around 800km per week. In 7 months i've done 19000km. Love the bike. But I need to change it. Riding it "to feel" its too much. Bike is too capable. Want something more fun.

Have a deal lined up on late 2025 brand new stock Duecento Tributo. Getting a good trade price on my RS which if filled spec'd Performance model with panniers. So to test. Today I rented a Stelvio PFF. Base bike.

Positives.-
Its a great bike. Looks stunning. Even without the Tribuno colors.
Sounds fantastic for a standard bike. Airbox and exhaust.
The chassis is brilliant. Suspension feels basic but does the job. Played with rear prelapd and rebound front and rear. Bike is better but still i would like compression and generally better Suspension for the prive of the bike
Whole bike feels better than Africa Twin Adventure Sport in every area.

Power. It feels quite slow but that is what I want. Torque is enough. I like the motor. It had an extra kick of power at 7-9500 rpm. A little bit like a 4 cylinder. I like the motor overall.
Gearbox. Usual Internet waffle there i think. Clunk into 1st is nothing. Gearboc feels as good as my RS but the lever throw is a little longer. The rental bike had no QS.

Chassis is impressive for basic suspension and a 19inch front wheel with Anakee's. Tyres got hot and soft and actually felt good. Can really play with the bike. Pegs touch down quite early but its expected. But chassis felt great. Secure. Neutral. Planted. Feels a bit wandery turning in until its loaded but its a big adventure bike with semi off road tyres an a 19inch wheel. So with that its actually fantastic!
Love the chassis.

Tech is ok. Basic. Roads in spain in villages are slick but awesome as you can play and slide the bike like a big supermoto.
TC on 1 is like off. It goes way too far out of like then cuts hard and snaps. TC on 2 is too intrusive. But again. Thst was playing in 1st and 2nd on slippy roads.

So overall. I love it! Very very impressive bike . The sound. The feel. It just connects with you.
Power is down a bit. It wont wheelie even clutching up in 2nd. Without huge clutch slip- so much it'll kill the clutch. So its not KTM level of playing.

So tomorrow I am ready to pull the trigger and buy. My only worry is reliability. I ride the bike hard but with considerarion. It gets used, but warmed up and basically never sees rsin here. Cleaned every 2-3rd day. So should be ok.

Then the rental broke down . Stopped for fuel. Wouldn't start. Called breakdown. Faulty battery.

From the masses. Please be open and honest. Will the Stelvio take 35-40,000km per year. Daily 180km commutes in the mountains and ridden with considerarion but hard? My RS has taken it all. 4 rear tyres, 3 fronts. 3 services. Zero problems. Just full tank of 98Ron every 3rd start and go.

Will the Guzzi do the same. I cant afford days with bike I dealer etc. I want to buy. But I need it to take 3 years and 100,000km plus.



Broken down waiting on mechanic from rental co

 

[theoneandonly]

buy 2 .
1 in your garage
1 in the dealership.
quite simple really.
1 Guzzi is never enough, they need company .
DO NOT PUT OTHER BRANDS WITH THEM , they will bully other bikes.
i only have 8 .

 

[MartinK]

Had a Stelvio (same colour as your loan bike) for 2 years and 14k miles.
Never had any glitches at all
Compared with my GS that was a nightmare when it was new, needed new camshafts at 12k service, failed throttle bodies....

It does sound like you want more BHP, though.....

 

[Spartan]

Thanks. This is the info I was looking for.

No- for sure i want less bhp. Ride to feel and exit corners on the RS, give it 2 gears and its at 200kph. Every day the bike is at 53 deg lean on the dash because it feels natural. The Stelvio felt much more fun, more enjoyable but same road and was at 150kph max. Less grip. But still great feel. And also less power but motor still feels good and has a character. Thats what I want.

The Africa Twin felt numb. I also owned an NT1100 and it wad the worst bike I ever rode. Bland and slow.

The only concern I have is reliability. But the Internet is hard. People tend to only post when they have issues. All the good reliable bikes, the guys are out there enjoying them and not posting about it. So its hard to tell what's the real situation.

 

[MikeS]

Sounds like you have made your decision. I would like one at some point too. To fix the reliability worry I think a second bike is a good idea, perhaps a cheap older well maintained bike. For me that would be an R1150 or similar.

 

[MILLE_RIDER]

Heavy use is good for any bike. When I bought my GS in 2006 these pages were full of tales of unreliability but many owners only used them for a Sunday breakfast run every two weeks. I was piling on 100 miles a day commuting, didn't have time to pamper it, every morning jump on press the button and go.

 

[littleade]

What about the versys 1000 or the MT09 or one of the Japanese 800s as they could be more reliable?

 

[Spartan]

Great info. The thing is. Is there a reliably issue?

I spoke with some friends (while waiting on the breakdown assistance ). All of them would buy an Aprilia but not a Moto Guzzi. Which is strange as its all Piaggio. So what I'm trying to clearly see is- what is the actual issue and are there any. Alot of searching has found some reports if early bikes having coolant leaks and the odd oil leak. But of 100% of bikes always there will be some failures. BMW fail also. Its just hard to see what is the reality.

But yeah I agree. I think using the bike daily and using it hard actually helps. My RS feels much better at 20k than it did at 5000. The motor feels like it had more meat in the midrange and the gearbox is slick now. Unheard of for a BMW apparently.

I think I'll go for it. Keep the info coming. Thanks for the info so far. Appreciate it.

 

[Spartan]

What about the versys 1000 or the MT09 or one of the Japanese 800s as they could be more reliable?

I looked at alot of options. But rhey just seem bland to me.

There is something about the Moto Guzzi. All parts combined. It feels great.

The best comparison is. I raced many bikes. 600 yamaha and Kawasaki. 1000cc. But in 2013 I raced a KTM Superduke 990. Took alot of work to get it working well. Carbon wheels. Hours and hours at MCT in England. But beat the Ohlins shod GSXR750's and 675 Triumph Daytonas. Because there was something about the bike. Just connected with it. Hard to explain.
The R1300RS is an amazing bike. But the Stelvio just had me smiling. I collected the rental at 6pm. Remove 1 hour for the breakdown. And returned home at 11.45pm. Didn't want to get off it.

 

[Cortina]

No one will be able to answer your question - they have not been out that long , and no one (I stand to be corrected) has done that sort of mileage on one.
I would (will ?) buy one - would I expect it to be reliable as my 2020 Goldwing 1800 ? - no , but it is more stressed and possibly not as well engineered. Look after it , service it , and look after it properly , and it will probably be grand. Try to do wheelies everywhere (wee dig) .... and it probably won't !

 

[Fluffmeister]

Every bike is different

I love my Stelvio, but there have been issues, the issues have been resolved but Piaggio really area true pain in the arse to deal with and I feel sorry for the dealer having to engage with them.

I'm 18 months into ownership and 12k miles

Problems

Current

Front forks need replacing, awaiting on Piaggio U.K. response to warranty (The response so far is "We are closed for summer so operating at reduced staffing levels"), they have blue ring from heat on both stanchions where it looks like there is a problem with internal bushing. The problem is getting more wide spread so assuming a bad batch of forks at the factory. If you see discolouration of your forks up near the fork seals, you have the issue and it won't get better.

Previous

Oil pressure sensor failure

Clutch Switch failure x 2 (It is a bad design with a stupid metal spring open to the elements)

Head Bearing failure at 9k Miles (Initially denied warranty claim, replaced cheap nasty Vietnamese ball bearings with Japanese NSK Taper Roller Bearings (£40 for the kit) - There was no grease applied from the factory.

Front Brake disks - the shims on the disk bobbins disintegrated and allowed massive amounts of play in the disks

Rear Radar ghost errors - Software update fixed it, but the dealers are not made aware of updates from the factory, so I had to do the chasing and get the info, the dealer followed up and got it resolved.

All that said, I still love the bike, and in many ways it's been no different from some previous BMW's where I've had engines replaced due to corrosion for example. The bike is fantastic, Piaggio are cnuts!!!

My only advice would be, based on my experience (It's my 5th "modern" Guzzi, and I also have a V7 Sport) is make sure you have a fecking good dealer, who will be onside if you ever have to deal with the clusteredcockbadgeringfuckwittery and sheer incompetence that is Piaggio.

This could be my last Guzzi, NOT because of the issues, they are all fairly simple fixes, and I've had worse with BMW in the past, purely because I don't want to deal with Piaggio.

Again though, I need to mention, I still love the bike, every time I park it, I look back at it and smile, and every time I park it, usually it's quite unique on the car park, not another Triple Black (Because that's important innit) GSA with a fucking tree of Temu lights and an Insta 360 pole on there looking like they are about to take part in the charge of the light brigade

 

[Spartan]

Beautiful. Yes I did read about some fork issues.

The dealers here are good. In Málaga region alone we have 4 Guzzi/Aprilia/Vespa. 3 owned by same company (the one I rented from). And one by Nieto group who have alot of car dealerships. I've had a good chat with the salesman. Explaining i know nothing can be guaranteed. But I don't have time for problems. If the bike fails, not great but ok. But I need a courtesy bike and my bike pushed to be repaired ASAP. Not weeks off the road.

My wife just bought a Vespa Primavera from them so we already have a relationship. He knows my history and that I work as a Diagnostic technician so they can hit me with BS. If I need to have the head bearings removed and greased at PDI I'll do it to prevent issues.

With the forks. Lets see. Maybe as you say its a bad batch. But if i have issues I'll just change everything for Matris or something.

So overall it appears ok. But the issue is getting the factory to resolve problems. As long as the dealership will fight. Then it should be ok.

I work for Lamborghini. I understand the Italian mentality

 

[Fluffmeister]

Beautiful. Yes I did read about some fork issues.

The dealers here are good. In Málaga region alone we have 4 Guzzi/Aprilia/Vespa. 3 owned by same company (the one I rented from). And one by Nieto group who have alot of car dealerships. I've had a good chat with the salesman. Explaining i know nothing can be guaranteed. But I don't have time for problems. If the bike fails, not great but ok. But I need a courtesy bike and my bike pushed to be repaired ASAP. Not weeks off the road.

My wife just bought a Vespa Primavera from them so we already have a relationship. He knows my history and that I work as a Diagnostic technician so they can hit me with BS. If I need to have the head bearings removed and greased at PDI I'll do it to prevent issues.

With the forks. Lets see. Maybe as you say its a bad batch. But if i have issues I'll just change everything for Matris or something.

So overall it appears ok. But the issue is getting the factory to resolve problems. As long as the dealership will fight. Then it should be ok.

I work for Lamborghini. I understand the Italian mentality

If you do that at PDI mate, swap them out for taper rollers

All modern Guzzi's use the same head bearings, and they swapped to a Vietnamese manufacturer who appears to use stale cheese instead of steel

These are using NSK's in the kit and only £40.

Moto Guzzi Stelvio Steering Head Taper Bearings and Seals Kit

Fits the following Moto Guzzi models:- 1200 Sport (all models) Breva 850 (all models) Breva 1100 (all models) Breva 1200 (all models) Griso (all models) MGS-01 Norge (all models) Stelvio California 1400 V7 III (All models) V7 850 (All models) V9 (All models) V85 TT OEM Replacement: 2B011121 Kit...

pyramid-parts.com

It's a great bike, apart from my glitches, it's gotten better the more miles it's done, I did 3.5k miles around Europe a couple of weeks ago and it's nice to park it up and be the only Guzzi there, apart from here, on the Timmelsjoch

 

[Spartan]

Are the graphics on the front mudguard and above the headlights an option. They're not on the press photos. And I can't see them as an add on option. I like it, enhances the look

 

[Fluffmeister]

I got them here mate, the colour match in the flesh is perfect. I'm anally retentive on cleaning and they have withstood that to

Stelvio Stickers | LabelBike

Labelbike.it is the official shop for Labelbike 3D resin decals for motorbikes and scooters. Buy your decals directly from the manufacturer!

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[Fluffmeister]

And just to follow on, had a call from my dealer, the rather wonderful A&D Motorcycles in Denbigh, and after the owner, the just as wonderful Sally gave a senior Piaggio UK individual a call and spoke to them, new forks now authorised under warranty, and should be about a week or so to get them replaced.

Symptoms by the way if anyone wants to check their Stelvio, discolouration of the fork stanchions, where something internally is causing the forks to overheat and it breaks down the chrome plating. It is really hard to see on a picture, but easy on the naked eye. On a spirited ride down the San Rocco, with luggage on to I have to add, my forks went almost rigid, like someone had wound the preload on, and then gone and wound it on some more. Hard to see on the pic, but this is the indicator you have a problem.

 

[Spartan]

Done.

Returned rental bike.
1min on the RS and I knew I needed to change. Its powerful. Well engineered. But just no fun to play with.

I left work on the rental Stelvio in Off Road mode, foot out, sideways motocross style. So much fun to play with. Especially in the deserted little slick village roads. Can snake the bike up the road.

Deal is fantastic. Over €2500 discount (Guzzi currently have €1500 off) and the machined cylinder head protection added for free.
Happy with that.
And they will take the RS so basically a straight swap. I just pay for the official panniers.

 

[Spartan]

If its ok. I'll keep this thread going through ownership. I think it will be a good read and log. I'm probably not the typical Guzzi owner. And this bike will clock up alot of km so it'll be interesting to see it unfold.

Bike number 406

 

[Davey B]

Yes, please do. Most of us don't do anywhere near those sorts of mileages so it'll be interested to see how the bike holds up and hpw you gel with it.

 

[Spartan]

I asked AI to make a comparison of the competition. I left out the Triumph 1200 as although its a shaft drive i dont like the look.

But lining the bikes up. Its interesting to see the specifications all lined up. Its the 2nd cheapest bike but highest spec. And that's not adding the extra details such as Brembo master cylinders.

Lets see how ownership goes. But what I find bizarre is every YouTube video I watch is positive. What's more incredible is every comment to those videos is positive. Thats virtually impossible in this time of online negativity and hateful people. So its a beautiful bike. Sound is fantastic. Chassis is great. Specification is great. All positive. But nobody buys them and they all buy GS and Africa Twin.

So whats stopping sales is the manufacturer reputation? Piaggio being poor. Its crazy to see as surely the manufacturer can see this info as easily is i can with my Chat GBT and google and a few hours ar 1am . The lead test rider from 100PS has one! I like that guy. Frank is believe his name is.

Makes me want to prove the world wrong. Its good to be different. And if I gel with it like I did with the KTM in the past. And also the rental.