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V7 III Special..quirks, advice, trip odometer?

lucydad

Cruisin' Guzzisti
GT Famiglia
Joined
Aug 27, 2012
Messages
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Location
Downingtown, PA
All,

So, I pick up the new Special tomorrow! Any quirks to be aware of? Any advice? Seems every bike I have ever owned has something.

I can't find anything online or in brochure on the new instrument cluster. Special has twin dials. I only demoed a Stone.

May I ask a V7 Special or Anniversario owner to chime in please? How does rider control the instrument displays? I assume there is a trip odometer to track miles...so as to not run out of petrol.

Much thanks!
 
Congratulations.

My brother just bought one yesterday ( from Scoot Richmond). I'll be with him when he picks it up, and before and after he'll have questions I am counting on you to ask first and get answers ... so I can look smart. ;)

Will say that the owners manual does a credible job in explaining the "double cluster" on my Stornello, which I suspect is pretty similar to the III. Not sure if the III's manual has already been downloaded here, but the II's is.

My brother is most interested in bags and w/s.

Ciao!

Bill
 
Bill,

Lol on me and answers...but likely by the weekend I will have everything figured out. Just donated to this forum--partly because it is a great place packed with information and quality products and people...partly because I want to download the manuals.
 
I have 975 miles on mine, love it. And oddly enough, I have found nothing to concern me, no quirks, and I haven't been on an Italian motorcycle since the 1980's! It shifts smoothly and quietly, it is comfortable for my 150 lbs at 5'7". Vibration is fine, (MUCH better than my 2017 Kawasaki Z650), doesn't bother my bad wrists and arthritis. Fueling has been fine, no issues, haven't killed it at any stoplights. Suspension is just OK, even with the new Kayaba rears. Just like the 1980's, you'd think they have had time to improve since then. Seat is firm, but fine so far for 4 hour rides. Rear brake is barely OK, but it does have sintered pads on it, which surprised me when I looked, maybe just a different brand might fix them. Getting 60-65 mpg on break-in style riding.
 
JACoH,

Thanks! Got the bike home, dealer made a smooth trade and delivery. These always take some time. Recall done, great! Have 22 miles on the bike. First impressions very favorable. Transmission is VERY tight, finding neutral difficult. But, I figure some miles will help that, not surprised. New engine performance definitely impressive, wow is it smooth! Brand new brakes and tires mean easy on them for a while. Clutch feathers quickly, will take some getting used to.

Dang pretty thing! It is a head turner in blue no doubt.

Check engine light came on about 3 miles from home: engine seemed ok. Cycled on/off couple times: warning light still on. Talked to dealer, and I will ride it in tomorrow--they will do a check. Hopefully a minor niggle.

Filled tank, capacity definitely bigger than my 2012 Racer, longer range will be nice!

Noticed high beam not working? Or, do they only work when bike running?

Need to read the manual. Seemed the gear shift indicator initially worked, then did not? Cycled button, and have it set on trip, but need to figure out how to set to zero to track mileage in a tank.

Glad to have the deal done. I think I am going to love this bike.
 
JACoH,

May I inquire how miles you get on the bike from fill-up to having "get gas" light comes on please? Interested in the range.

Read most of the spaniel manual...will post some key notes later. Up 6 AM for early ride out 8 AM--put on maybe 100 miles and then to dealer to let them diagnose check engine light. It's been a day.
 
I've got about 1100 miles on my Aniversario.

One item of note, after getting my initial service done, I finally decided to see where the rev limiter is. Even though the red line on the tach starts at 6,400, the rev limiter does not kick in until 7,000.

You asked about the gauges. I still learning. Page through various displays with the mode toggle. Some show gear selection some do not. Gear selection only shows when the bike is moving - I bet the computer calculates the gear from RPMs & speed.

Bike really likes to run between 4 & 5 thousand RPMs, which is a pain for break in as the red shift light comes on at 4,500 during break in.

Neutral does get easier to find, or I'm just getting better at it.

And finally, I just really love this bike. Maybe favorite bike I have ever owned. It is just sublime riding up Angeles Crest Highway. Can't wait to redo the suspension and smooth out the ride a bit. Brakes are getting better, but I still plan to upgrade them.
 
Regarding gas light, it does come on early. I need to figure out what the real range is. I think I went 50 miles after the light came on once and still only but in a bit over 4 gallons.

The gauges show I am getting about 54 MPG.
 
All,

Thanks for comments. Got bike to dealer this AM for diagnostic on check engine light. Result: no mechanical problems, might be a brand new map issue (programming bug?). Mechanic reset and light was off for about 20 miles, rode home and on it comes again. Told dealer and we will see. They seemed a bit mystified too.

Yes gear indicator is calculated, not like my Triumph triple that shows gear no matter what on cluster. No big deal. Figured out the mode button by cycling thru options. Easy, main trip odometer is second after total mileage odometer. Long press sets to zero.
I personally checked the bike out, and will keep checking oil level.

Oh, and get this: Luigi redesigned the side stand tab. Now it is much more effective and easy to use! Still wrapped it in friction tape for more grip. Bottle of Chianti Reserve for Luigi!

Love the bike! BUT I just cannot find neutral !!! Got it in once this morning. Long lights, many lights, small hands, and extreme heat and humidity are giving me real issues. Not enjoying the neutral tight transmission game (second round for me). Total mileage 55 on the bike, not much. If neutral still impossible at about 200-300 miles I am going to ask dealer to check clutch free-play. About at point of turning bike off at long lights, it is that bad.

Tried all my tricks to find neutral: roll bike a bit, try to go 2 down to N while still moving, clutch out a bit, everything: no joy. Ugh.

Any advice on the neutral issue is welcome please.

Plan more miles tomorrow morning. Still have not had it out of the city. LOVE the engine and six speed. Brake pads are sinking in, and tires slowly scrubbing. I want to try some curves.

Nap time. Oh, and my Houston dealer is just fantastic: Kudos to Brian and crew at Italian Superbikes.

Ciao
 
Lighter tap on the shifter maybe?

Might just leave it in first & hold clutch at lights for awhile.

Toe/heel shifter?
 
Trout,

Thanks, my bet is the bike just needs miles. Clutch free play might be a little loose? Not sure, garage too hot to really check.
Might just start turning bike off at the long lights, and restart when green. My 2012 Racer was awfully tight too until about 200-300 miles, then slowly got better. That's Italian "character" for you!
 
Will give the engine rev tip a try shortly.

Tip for removing ugly safety stickers from beautiful blue tank without damage: hot weather/tank is your friend, gently use finger nail to get key edges up a bit, then find a clean wooden clothes pin (not plastic), spray label with WD 40, soak, use narrow tip end of clothespin to gradually, slowly peel/rip away diagonal sections on label. Do it in several places, idea is to criss-cross the label with narrow removed places. Re-spray, be patient, be slow, use fairly firm pressure and back and forth strokes. Once label is "cut" in several places, use flat end clothespin to gradually remove rest of label. Patience is your friend. Periodically wipe away with soft cloth the little plastic label bits.
Voila! No ugly label.
 
Will give the engine rev tip a try shortly.

Tip for removing ugly safety stickers from beautiful blue tank without damage: hot weather/tank is your friend, gently use finger nail to get key edges up a bit, then find a clean wooden clothes pin (not plastic), spray label with WD 40, soak, use narrow tip end of clothespin to gradually, slowly peel/rip away diagonal sections on label. Do it in several places, idea is to criss-cross the label with narrow removed places. Re-spray, be patient, be slow, use fairly firm pressure and back and forth strokes. Once label is "cut" in several places, use flat end clothespin to gradually remove rest of label. Patience is your friend. Periodically wipe away with soft cloth the little plastic label bits.
Voila! No ugly label.

Also a hair drier will do the trick. Just warm up the sticker and you can lift the entire ugly think with a finger nail only.
 
Will give the engine rev tip a try shortly.

Tip for removing ugly safety stickers from beautiful blue tank without damage: hot weather/tank is your friend, gently use finger nail to get key edges up a bit, then find a clean wooden clothes pin (not plastic), spray label with WD 40, soak, use narrow tip end of clothespin to gradually, slowly peel/rip away diagonal sections on label. Do it in several places, idea is to criss-cross the label with narrow removed places. Re-spray, be patient, be slow, use fairly firm pressure and back and forth strokes. Once label is "cut" in several places, use flat end clothespin to gradually remove rest of label. Patience is your friend. Periodically wipe away with soft cloth the little plastic label bits.
Voila! No ugly label.
Credit card has worked well for me in the past. Of course with the Anniversario I had a bit less chance of screwing it up,
 
All, another tip: Dart is now making their flys-creens for the V7 III series, the older screens do not fit. Ordered the manta in medium tint.
Put about 120 miles on the bike Saturday: started finding that elusive neutral, but not consistently. Check engine light still on, but bike running fantastic. Likely many more miles this coming week: early morning before blowtorch heat.
 
So, just turned 1375 miles on my new V7 III Special. The service wrench icon never did appear! I was hoping it would so that I could try the previous steps to reset it to see if I could do it rather than it be dealer-only reset. Got to the dealer for first service at 1225, never came on.
I have had no issues with it, shifts quietly into 1st, and snicks through all the rest, never an issue with finding neutral, either. The seat is pretty hard for my 160 lbs, added a sheepskin which helps comfort, but still feel the hardness after about 80 miles. Low fuel warning comes on about 180 miles, and can go another 50 after it starts counting the miles, when I start to worry, then fill up with only 4.4 gallons! Fork boots and H & B center stand on it and I have added Tracker handlebars which bring grips back another 2 inches for my comfort. Added a Dart Marlin screen which is perfect, keeps wind and bugs off chest, and is quiet on the helmet. Raised the instruments up 1/2" to ease Marlin install. Adding K-tech Razor lite shocks tomorrow to reduce slam into my back from lack of rebound damping. Also, put a small neoprene lined cupholder to right of tachometer on the bars to hold the gas cap whilst filling up. Also, another oddity, traction control setting #1 wasn't showing to select as a choice, only OFF and #2, until I told the tech at the first service, he turned it on there it was, off, 1 and 2! OH yeah, I thought the rear brake was worthless, so put new EBC pads on, and they now are worthy of being called brakes.
 
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