How I Restored a Theft Recovery Moto Guzzi V7

I bought a 2013 Moto Guzzi V7 for just $2000 because it was stolen, vandalized, neglected, and no matter what I tried I couldn’t quite get it running properly… but now it runs great, and, it doesn’t look too bad either!

In this video I’ll show you:

1. What I did to make my Guzzi look good again and
2. What finally got my V7 running properly again

I’m Adrian from YouMotorcycle, and this is the eighth episode in my best mid-size retro motorcycle (for me) series comparing my Moto Guzzi V7 750, vs. my Royal-Enfield Interceptor 650, vs. my Triumph Bonneville 865.

Today I’m going to show you how I made a beat up V7 great again!

The V7 aesthetic improvements

In previous episodes I shared what kind of shape the V7 was in when I got it. It had been entirely spray painted, poorly, and around the gas tank the paint had bubbled, and it was just a mess.

In Episode 4 I showed how I sanded down the tank to bare metal, used a dent puller to pull the dent out as much as I could, got an almost free front fender from Studio Cycle, the Toronto Moto Guzzi dealer. And I even tried to repaint the side covers and fenders.

My painting skills suck, so while some parts came out okay, others were terrible. In the end I decided to just pay $110 for a set of used side covers, and $100 for a used rear fender. The side covers were almost perfect, except for a scratch I’m hiding with the Moto Guzzi eagle logo. The rear fender comes in a few more days and should be good as new.

I also threw on this Iron & Resin bag that I had lying around because it not only breaks up all of the black a little bit, but it’s just super practical on a day to day basis.

Which reminds me: My next video will be reviewing how my V7 is as a daily rider/commuter, and comparing it to my Triumph Bonneville, so subscribe to YouMotorcycle if you want to see that.

As for the fuel tank, it’s pretty much how you last saw it, with the exception of me putting the Moto Guzzi badges back on. I didn’t put the badges in the original spots because I just like the way they look down here and it makes mine a little different from every other V7 out there.

Next, I had these weird knubs from the original mirrors just sticking out. They looked so unfinished and ugly. I spent about $7 on a little M10 hole cover, and a little M10 ball mount. This was both for form and for function because now I can easily mount my cell phone, my camera, whatever, and when I take it off, my V7 doesn’t look unfinished anymore.

Upgrading the seat

The last aesthetic problem I had to deal with was a big tear in my seat. I tried spray painting the yellow foam black, but it still looked bad. I tried fake “leather” tape. That still looked bad.

And this is where loving a Moto Guzzi V7 gets hard. It’s when you need spare parts. Right now I could buy one of a few used Harley-Davidson Sportster seats, within a short drive from my house, for under $100.

Moto Guzzi V7 stock seats are rare in comparison. I’m not getting a replacement V7 seat for less than $200 to $240, and it would need to be delivered. That’s a lot of time and money, just to end up with a used factory seat.

So I found a company called MotoK. They make V7 seat covers as well as full comfort seats for other motorcycles. Their stuff is handmade in Greece, and they’ve been around for over 20 years.

The seat cover that I liked best for this bike, is about $102 US. Literally half the price of buying a whole new used seat.

Full transparency: I reached out to Moto.K and they sent me a free sample to try out and report to you guys about. I got the seat cover for free, I’m not being paid to promote it, I don’t have any affiliate codes or get any commissions if you buy one, so I don’t care if you do or don’t buy the product. I’m sharing this for people who might be genuinely curious about the procedure and the quality of something like this.

So first, the install process was pretty easy.  You need to remove all the original staples from the seat cover and drill out the rivets that hold the seat strap in place.

Second, you line up the cover and the seat at center front and the center back, get that perfect and then staple at each end.

Third, you do the same on the sides, and from there you can staple all around.

Sounds really easy right? Honestly, I did 90% of this on my own because I wanted to be able to report to you guys whether or not it’s do-able. It is, but I’m not gonna lie, having a second set of hands for that last 10% made my life so much easier.

Also, Moto.K recommend using #6 staples. I just used whatever was in my staple gun from ten years ago though, but, sometimes my staples wouldn’t hold, so my suggestion is to use the right staples and do this with a friend. It’ll take you between 1 and 2 hours.

So, I got this for free, but if I had spent $102 of my own money for it, would I do it?

Yeah absolutely. Considering it’s my first time doing something like this, I’m pretty happy with how the custom seat cover turned out. Moto.K have all kinds of customizable options for picking different materials and different stitching colors that I could have explored. They’ll even put your logo or your name on your seat if you want them to.

Basically you get a lot of options for exactly how you want your V7 seat to look, at half the price of a used one, so for me this is a no-brainer.

So now that we got the V7 looking right, we gotta finally get it running right.

What finally got my Moto Guzzi running right

So quick recap. Bought my V7 for $2,000, in rough shape, rust in the tank, missing a gas tank seal, and running terribly.

You can check out my previous videos in this series to see how between me, Carlo at Moto Motori, and Studio Cycle, we overcame a bunch of that, but I just still could not get this V7 to run right.

So I brought it to Carlo at Moto Motori in Toronto. Somehow, just from seeing the way the fuel was splashing in the gas tank, Carlo knew what was wrong. I’ll let him explain it in his own words in the video.

TPS Reset

We also did a TPS reset. I’m not super technical, so here’s my best attempt at paraphrasing it:

Basically the TPS or throttle position sensor, looks at how open your throttle is to decide how much gas to give your motor. The thing is, over time, miles, and maybe some drops, things aren’t always 100% lined up how they were when they left the factory. They might be off by a few degrees. Or more.

A TPS reset allows the motorcycle to learn what it’s “new normal” position is, so that your sensor can continue to work how it should even though things may have shifted around a bit over the years since the bike left the Moto Guzzi factory.

Speaking of the factory, my next series will be on my 25 day motorcycle ride across all of Italy, including visiting the Moto Guzzi factory in Mandello del Lario and the Ducati factory in Bologna. Subscribe to YouMotorcycle if you want to see that!

Anyway, I’ve been riding for almost twenty years, and never new that this part Carlo replaced even existed. On the Guzzi Tech forum people were really surprised and jealous that I had a guy close to me who couldn’t just figure this stuff out by looking at gas splashes, but could disappear for a minute and reappear with a tiny part, that isn’t even sold on it’s own, that could fix everything. So, if you’re in the Toronto area and have a Moto Guzzi problem you can’t solve. Take it to Moto Motori.

Next video I’ll tell you how my V7 does as a daily driver, especially compared to my Triumph Bonneville, and in the 10^th and final episode of the series we’ll pick a winner to crown as the best mid-size retro motorcycle (for me) series. So subscribe to YouMotorcycle if you want to see that.

Thanks for watching, ride safe, but have fun. Peace!