Moto Guzzi Stelvio 1200 NTX Electrical Issues

[@matchlessajsbsa2157]

I have one of these - same motorcycle, colour and all. I bought it one owner from new with 10,500 miles. I know about Italian electrical issues and after watching this I changed the fog light tungsten bulbs for LEDs. I'm now doing what you didn't (!) and finding out where all the fuses are and keeping a bag of spares under the seat. I found a hugger on ebay and fitted that this morning so now the rear suspension and adjuster doesn't get covered in road crud. What's wrong with manufacturers these days? They send out machines with bits missing. My brother-in-law has a Triumph 900 and it doesn't have a centrestand - it's optional extra ! Good set of videos - thanks. John

[@walterwinkler6022]

Hello and welcome to the club 😉😊 Dead fuse because using the original foglamps are a known problem. This halogen-lamps develope too much heat in use and cause death of the main fuse. Best you can do is to change to led lamps. My stelvio also has some "special properties ", but I like this bike very much

[@DifferentSpokesTV]

Ha! Thanks.

[@gunthercin100]

I own a Breva 1200 Sport for 8 years now and had same issue as you but no burnt fuses were involved. The solution was to build a bypass from the battery, with a 20 amp fure in the middle, to the start engine and that was all. The bikes are mechanically great, their design goes inclined over the ageless looks but their electronics do not meet the rest of their quality. Your fog lights are ok, your battery conectors are ok too. The relay to the start engine and the conections to it are not ok. So, materials for the fix: 50 cm of battery cable, 1 20 amps fuse. Additionally you can play with the revs to change the factory settings towards more revs per gear and the bike will be not as aggressive but softer in the handling on slow speeds and will have a more relaxed final speed as well. I installed a Power Booster on mine and low end revs driving, without any jerks and steady input is a nice thing to experience. Iridium plugs do also change a bit the behavior. Anything else may not be needed or it will not feel like a Guzzi anymore.

[@TheMickvee]

I was on the motorway, doing 80mph on my way to catch a ferry, on my brand new Guzzi 1200 sport 8v, when it suddenly lost all power. Nothing worked, even the indicators. I pulled in the clutch and rode from the outside lane to the hard shoulder, crossing three lanes of busy traffic. Hair raising stuff!To cut a very long story short, the dealer found that the main earth cable, fixed to the frame, under the fuel tank, had come adrift due to it not being properly crimped at the factory. Not good. I was able to catch another ferry, and go on holiday, on a Stelvio NTX kindly loaned to me by the dealer! My new V85TT is currently faultless. Fingers crossed!

[@Orban_Rides]

My TT did this. all I did was pull the main fuse, wait 15 seconds, plug it back in and it fired up. No issues since

[@RockstarVeganRecipes]

Thank goodness you figured it out and all is okay now! How stressful that must have been.

[@garymiddleton607]

ADV Rider forum is an awesome resource with a wealth of knowledge. I knew about the foglamp and main fuse issue two years before I purchased mine in 2017. All due to my research in the Stelvio threadfest which lead to my love affair with the big Guzzi

[@DifferentSpokesTV]

My mechanic recently informed me that the flaw is due to overly long wires in the lamps shorting out. All fixed now.

[@garymiddleton607]

Different Spokes TV yes, basically the internals of the lamps can not take the vibration of the Stelvio. The root of the problem is the shorting lamp blows the main charging circuit fuse which is a design flaw. The solution are inline fuses for each lamp available as a little kit from AF1 Racing out of Austin TX. That fixes the root cause but the factory halogen lamps still don’t hold up and blow bulbs. Replacing the factory fog lamps with LED is stage 2 of the fix. You likely know all this by now. I went with Rigid industries lamps, and many people like BAJA Designs. A fellow named John Kirby has an Excellent web page called Stelvio blogspot that covers the subject and others in depth and is another excellent resource. Cheers.

[@rad3766]

The ADV Stelvio page is an absolute must to be subscribed to if you own a Stelvio, theres such a huge knowledge base, virtually any issue that comes up with these has been covered, including the notorious fog lamps. I would dare say thats the #1 problem with them.

[@rad3766]

I just put Ridgid LED's on a few months back in place of LED's from MondoMoto (now defunct), wow, are those suckers bright. John Kirby makes the fuse kits that AF1 carries. :)

[@chrishall4342]

I have heard of this issue down here in nz too most guys replace the standard spot lights with leds low watts and it seems to cure the problem. Hope you get it sorted 👍

[@Turco949]

As I browse the forums and did my research on the bike prior to buying it, I was aware of the auxiliary light issue so, I had swapped mine within like 5-6 weeks of buying it with a 3" LED set. I have not yet installed the fused line but I think just doing the swap and making sure the wires are properly soldered and sealed is good enough. The lead acid sealed battery the bike came with when I bought it back in Jan 2019, died on me within 10 months (2500 miles) even though I kept it on Battery Minder whenever it was parked. Oddly enough, I experienced the same exact thing you did, all the lights would turn on which made me think the battery was actually good, etc. That was not the case, the culprit was the battery in my case. Luckily, I like to change the old school style battery on every bike to an AGM type as soon as possible, and I had actually bought a new Motobatt MBTX16U AGM battery like 10 days prior to the stock battery dying on me. Glad you got your issue sorted out. I recommend doing research on any bike you buy, beforehand if possible, to find out known/common issues, manufacturer recalls and also preferred upgrades, etc. Ride safely!

[@DifferentSpokesTV]

Thanks. I'd heard about the Guzzi electrical issues but I haven't had that problem in a while now.

[@raymondeldridge6068]

A dealership that doesn’t stock brake parts that unacceptable

[@adairjames5843]

I have a 2014 Silvio I also had the same problem . I had a driveway tip over and damaged the very poor fog lights and blew the fuze. It as under warranty so I took it back to moto internal which sadly is now gone . the mechanic there expanded to me Guzzie had wired the alternator to share the fuze with the fog light's they put in a separate fuze for the alternator and did so for the rest of the Silvio's in there care. It back s a easy fix as the alternator wire and the fog light wire's are together at that point just separate them and fuze the one you take of that fuze. Then go buy a nice set of LED running lights . I am over 30 thousand on that bike and many tip over's and not one fuze issue

[@ShawnKitchen]

All of this can be solved by using a dedicated power distribution module on the bike, triggered by a switched-on circuit. Plug ALL accessories into the PDM. Each circuit in the PDM will have its own fuse, and the entire module itself will be fused. Virtually every bike I've ever seen with accessory issues is because the owners don't isolate the accessories from the bike's main wiring harness. You should NEVER wire accessories directly to the bike's electrical wiring, even if it came from the factory that way. ALWAYS isolate accessories.

[@theodoremarakas9899]

Garbage lights. They probably have a crappy wiring harness or leaky housing sorting the fuse. Take them out, replace the wiring, install a nice set of Denali lights with independent fuse connected directly to the battery and happy travels.

[@kellyjohna]

Any Hills around ? Could have done the old bump start trick from a good roll. That's what we old timers down South do. Was that the shiftier on the right side ? or is it the rear brake ? Looks like a shifter ?

[@dougritchie4625]

Everyone has known about the aux light problem forever (since 2008). It's a problem with the Hella lights, not Guzzi's wiring. Most dealers are fusing them before delivery. Crap dealer. If you had checked the voltage on the menu screen, you would have seen that your battery was flat. You could have gotten a rotor from AF1 in a week or less. Why would you use a dealer to do a rotor? AF1 has the fuse kit for your aux lights too. A better move is to get rid of the crap Hella's and replace them with something better.

[@DifferentSpokesTV]

Thanks. Got the bike from a BMW dealer. A Guzzi shop is fixing the short so should have no more issues.

[@TonVerkleijT3]

It is widely known that Italian automotive and electricity do not go together. I have had electrical problems with two Ducati's, up to the point that a brand new 916 tried to burn itself to a crisp after replacing a blown fuse with an original spare. Later I learned it was the rectifier causing problems world wide.

[@johnhauber6458]

Hmmm... stupid question, but couldn't you have done a "running start"? Hold the clutch, put it in second gear, run along with it for a few meters, jump on and release the clutch? Believe it or not, we used to start cars that way far away and long ago... :-)

[@DifferentSpokesTV]

Done it before and works great on a 600cc four cylinder but with this big 1200 there is just too much friction. The bike just stopped dead when I let out the clutch even when rolling down a hill.

[@johnhauber6458]

@@DifferentSpokesTV Of course! I forgot just how big an engine 1200 CC actually is.

[@paololavita7920]

The fog lights need to be fused. It's a known issue with the Hella Fog Lights on the NTX. They short because of vibration and fraying and this takes out the main 40 amp fuse (the one behind the right panel and not the one under the seat). Mine lasted 3 seasons and 34,000 Kms but it wore through and blew the fuse. Best to fuse each light individually.

[@DifferentSpokesTV]

Thanks. Will do that by the end of the season.

[@thereseryan819]

Could you send me the link for where i can purchase the non stock wind shield, i have a 2016 Stelvio NTX with the stock wind shield and its too low......too much wind, thanks

[@fatcole1152]

Seems like a loose battery connection to me. Had this problem on a lot of bikes over the years.

[@DifferentSpokesTV]

Turned out to be the fuse for the fog lights.

[@Jodyrides]

excuse me but have you ever heard of catching your bike in gear? 2nd gear,maybe 3rd gear...fuses? do you have the key on , Not just in the accessory position?Handlebar kill switch in the on position? These are the normal things you check first. non-starting, that is not fuse related - If it’s not the battery,GUZZI has a history of buying their relays and electrical components from the same supplier decade after decade. I have had four guzzis,three of them I have had to replace the starter relay.. another fix is , cut the feed to the start relay, the control wire, out of the wire harness, and feed the relay directly from the battery. As wired from the factory, the start relay is at the end of a daisy chain of other components with parasitic draw on that single wire. Put a dedicated circuit to the start relay will help greatly.. that’s one of those annoying quirks these bikes are known for.. I watched one of your other videos, the one you said five things you hate about the stelvio. I commented that your front end is tweaked. I found out in this video that you crashed your bike. That explains why your front end is tweaked a few degrees.. if I had damaged a disc rotor. And I had trouble getting the replacement parts.I would have eliminated that one rotor and caliper and plumbing. since the machine has dual discs.. with a single disc, you can still lock that wheel up with two fingers. Who needs 450 hp front brakes,, That’s more than some cars have. Not only that, you will be eliminating a Gyro which will help in the handling, Did you ever hold a toy Gyro as a kid and try to turn it. That disc is a Gyro that does not like to change direction. Also,it will be eliminating a fly wheel, which will help in acceleration, remember the little toy cars we had when we were kids that you had to roll them across the floor by hand to spin up the fly wheel? That takes energy. Also.you will be eliminating unsprung weight, which will greatly improve the ride, and suspension compliance and reaction time. Unsprung weight is so critical, that Porsche uses titanium Lugnuts to save a few ounces. It really does make a huge difference.. I just put a new set of tires on my gold wing. The rear tire that was standard weighed 25 1/2 pounds. The replacement Dunlop tire made for the gold wing that I bought, only weighed 20 pounds. What an improvement in the overall ride and suspension compliance that was. eliminating that 20% of the weight is massive...and you will be eliminating some brake drag..Dual disks on most motorcycles is extreme overkill. The positives of having a single disc far outweigh the negatives..They don’t put two discs on each front wheel of your car..

[@gisepy]

Hi There! I'm 193cm (6.3ft) tall. How do you think, would this bike fits for my size? Thanks!

[@tobyjackson8474]

You need to check out Wildguzzi - a damn good forum.

[@DifferentSpokesTV]

Thanks, will do.

[@horatio8764]

Oh no!! The dreaded fog lamps. Takes out the main fuse. Actually I love the look of the original lamps so once fuses are installed and fit a set of decent PIAA bulbs still ok after 20,000 klms. Did you sort your clutch issue/queries

[@DifferentSpokesTV]

Yeah thanks. I adjusted the clutch inwards. Still engages late but it seems to work fine so I’m leaving it alone for now.

[@BlackdogADV]

What about using a heated jacket and gloves? GPS, and charging cell phone, camera? Will that blow a fuse?

[@northof-62]

I have heated grips (Oxford) & charge my phone in the tank bag. Only fuse I've changed is one that the original side lights blew . Pulled the bulbs on those and replaced the fuse under the tiny triangular side panel (Same as in the video - hex key in toolkit) and rode on. Since then I've replaced the aux/fog lights with some small LEDs. Never had an electrical problem since. So those extra fog lights were rubbish and not up to par in quality with the rest of the bike.

[@jeffreymangaudis2858]

accesory floodlamps must have their own fuse line directly to the battery not connect to stock wiring at all period.

[@theodoremarakas9899]

Correct !!!!

[@juliocarrilho2057]

Guzzi are good lookink bikes ... but the question is: you buy a bike to ride and forget upset things, not to get new ones. You must choose the one where you will spend your money and which gives you the most guarantees that you will get what you want.

[@susanlarson308]

That breakdown was quite the hassle/adventure (?)

[@DifferentSpokesTV]

Yep :)

[@ZERODOSI]

An Italian Guzzista helps you. ;) Check the contacts with the fog lights. The problem may be in the contacts where the lamps are.

[@sportglidejim9001]

I had a 02 Sportster that did the same thing when you started the bike it tripped the fuse had a jackleg who must have work on it we had to put a new wiring harness on it

[@DifferentSpokesTV]

Yep. I had the dealership fix the problem.

[@pavelmullo2326]

Hi man! Thanks for sharing the info! I have the same bike in my mind mainly for the same reason you have ended up to get one, I am living in Finland and GS1200 costs like hell high here, but now there is one Stelvio 2008 model at Honda dealership with 35000km on it and it is like 3000EUR cheaper compared with the equal GS 1200. How you like the mirrors and does the bike feel top heavy at all? Is there any vibrations and if there are on which rpms? I haven't test ridden it yet, just sat on it, but fits size wise better me than GS because I am short. Some test rides criticizes that Stelvio does not have enough mid range power and brakes are not that great compared with the other bikes in this class, how you feel about it? Thanks in advance!

[@DifferentSpokesTV]

I have a whole playlist on the bike on my channel including videos about things I like and don't like about it. Check them out. I'm Actually trading it in soon for a Yamaha Tenere 700. Cheers.

[@halinabiegalski9509]

WOW ! Nice experience...

[@Happyfacehotwheels]

A pocket of fuses is not the answer. Find out why the fuse is blowing and fix the problem. It may be a bad wire or not the right size fuse. Did you check to see if it actually takes a 30 amp fuse? Since it is a used bike you should go through it and make sure everything is correct including the fuses. Did you ever find the problem? BTW I love the bike!

[@DifferentSpokesTV]

Thanks! Yes the problem is fixed. Excess wiring in the light was causing shorts. Apparently it's a well known problem on the Stelvio.

[@rad3766]

The fog lights are tied in with the charging circuit; when they short out, (they ALL do eventually) it blows the 30 amp fuse, so now you are riding along on a slowly dying battery. Very well known issue with these bikes, the best cure is to add a separate fuse to each lamp (AF1 sells a kit if youre lazy) and or replace the original Hella lamps, theyre just not suited for the job, they turn to dust inside.

[@rad3766]

@@DifferentSpokesTV Did you have additional fuses fitted for the Hella lamps? If not, expect a repeat failure.

[@DifferentSpokesTV]

At this point I’ve run the lamps and there’s no problem. I’m probably trading the bike in this week or next so I’m confident that the next owner will have no problems.

[@rad3766]

@@DifferentSpokesTV Sorry to hear your letting her go. :(

[@numbone2945]

Sounds like a pretty nice life. A Wife who's into bikes, a Moto Guzzi and a cottage? Be thankful my man, be thankful.

[@theodoremarakas9899]

Damn right on that. How can you beat a beautiful Moto Guzzi ride and upon arrival a nice and well executed....blooper....by the loving wife. He does have the life...doesn't he? LOL

[@dasboototto]

The dealer isn't in control of when the rotor arrives.

[@theodoremarakas9899]

Correct but at this point, knowing that the rotor will take forever, he could have suggested an Aprilia rotor or a new set from aftermarket or even a used one. They are available. It is stupid to hold the man's bike for so long for such an issue.

[@albrown9609]

The smart thing to do is put the lights on a separate fuse

[@Me-yh4uc]

No breakers? Fuses?

[@DifferentSpokesTV]

Yep. Pretty old school.

[@Guybrush1816351]

Also the lights are shit, replacing them with led is a good idea :)

[@Guybrush1816351]

I had the starter moto disconnect on me at some point, it happens :). The lights need their own fuses. AF1 has a kit for you to fix that :) www.af1racing.com/store/Scripts/prodView.asp?idproduct=75471&sku=KBFUSEKIT&description=Auxiliary+Fog+Lamp+Fuse+Wiring+Kit+For+Stelvio

[@mujahed1969]

You probably have lithium ion battery .. The voltage is good the Amp is low .. Fix it by changing the battery

[@Happyfacehotwheels]

I don't understand how a lithium battery can blow a fuse. I never heard of that before. Typically a fuse blows when you have a short or your drawing too many amps.

[@theodoremarakas9899]

No, I don't think that it is his battery. Lithium ion batteries don't behave this way. In fact, no battery behaves this way. If you have voltage and amps.....the bike will start.

[@dougweeks9288]

You could have bump started it and rode away

[@Me-yh4uc]

What? Put the rotor on yourself.

[@maucort_col]

Quiero comprarme una moto guzzi, saludos desde bogota colombia

[@Me-yh4uc]

BUY HONDA. HOW ABOUT A VFR1200X?

[@sjoerder]

Is that all you got?

[@erwinmotorbike]

You could face done a 2minute video explaining the same thing

[@kiprondorf135]

Get to the point. I open this tube to get information only to get bored because you ramble on and don't get to the point. So i left without getting the info i needed.