Gregory Bender

Ignition switch replacement

Moto Guzzi V700, V7 Special, Ambassador, 850 GT, 850 GT California, Eldorado, and 850 California Police models

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My Ambassador arrived with an after market ignition switch already lovingly installed. Unfortunately, it was in bad shape...it didn't make contact half the time, etc. I took it apart and cleaned it all up, put it back together and it worked great. The only problem was that the key could be removed from the switch in any position. For some reason, I don't cherish the notion of retracing my ride in a useless attempt to locate a tiny key on the road.

I should have saved my time altogether and just purchased the replacement I now have installed (What can I say? I love to tinker!). It's not a Moto Guzzi ignition switch, but it installs easily in the dash with no modifications and works great. I bought it from Dennis Kirk with two keys. On top of all that, I can still use my switch cover to keep out the dew.

Ignition switch with spring loaded starter

Contributed by Rob Prins on the old Yahoo! Loopframe_Guzzi news group (which has now moved to Groups.io).

This switch would be an appropriate replacement for the V700 and early Ambassador models that did not use a separate starter button. NAPA part number ECH KS6180.

Gregory Bender's thoughts:

While the universal replacement switch sold by Dennis Kirk is inexpensive, it lacks a key design feature. Specifically, it's body is not keyed to the notches cast in the original dash. The original dash does not need to be modified to fit the switch (it is very important not to modify the original dash in any way), but the switch will eventually loosen up and want to rotate within the hole. This is annoying and proves, once again, how much forethought Moto Guzzi put into the original design. If you are really on a budget, this switch can get you by. But a much better plan is to source a used original switch and then rebuild it.