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i rented one of those large guzzi’s down near Joshua Tree a few years back, for a couple days of touring the park and other areas up north of there. I enjoyed it, preferring it over the Harleys i had way back. that said, they all fall into the same problematic category for me: they are the best type of bikes for cruising down the big highways, which is exactly where i do NOT want to be on a bike, except to connect to other non-highway roads.

I was at the MG dealer yesterday. I sat on the MGX just for kicks. I struggled to get that monster off the side stand. I couldn't believe the force it took. Not the bike for me.

Was gonna sell the BMW GSA, but I hate leaving the dog while touring and then, well

Probably. To be fair to Holger, the thing is road-registered, but he built it for track days, so I reckon he can live with the low-speed heaviness. He also wrote somewhere that he can't sit (lie) on it for more than about 45 minutes at a time. It's a toy, and he likes it.

The thing that amuses me is perfectly demonstrated in Micks images. You take a motorcycle and then put car wheels, tyres and suspension on it to try and make the silly thing half way decent dynamically. Why not just go buy/build a Lotus 7 kit car or something. At least it will go around corners like it was on rails. I can 100% guarantee the outfit shown looks a lot better than it rides esp at low speeds like car parks etc. The steering would be killer heavy at those speeds. I once had a short ride on one of those Spider 3 wheeler things and was shocked at the heavy low speed steering. I mean heavy enough to need power steering. I also remember the sidecar guys at the races in the 70s and 80's banished to the far side of the pits like leapers. One walk through their area looking at water pipe frames and cobbled together everything and you knew why they were there. Modern racing outfits are now some weird 3 wheeler race cars you sit on. Same weirdos still race them. Phil

Sorry fellas, but I'm with Phil on this..... It's either two wheels or the car with four! Cheers

@docc @audiomick I did not specify because I anticipated that you guys remembered that before the Quota, I was actually looking for a Stelvio. That was before the V100 came out. I renounced after I tried one in San Antonio; at that time I did not know the seat had a lower position, and the sales assistant did not either. The Stelvio I am about to get is a 2013 model, in Orange. Yes, I know, not red. This is the add for that bike: I went to see the bike, and the guy selling it is shorter than I am, if younger. He had the seat in the lower position, and he had also filed down the rubber mounts so I can have both my feet almost flat on the ground. The bike looks very good. He has the two additional beams fused, but he has never taken the CARC apart, so the bearings are as they were installed by Antonino. He has a CB/Weather radio, and a Garmin that I offered him to keep, since I do not use anything that can distract me from driving. This guy has a workshop that has absolutely everything an apprentice mechanic could dream about. I offered him the Quota, but he wants a VT85 which is more modern and lighter than the Stelvio. The bike is pretty clean. I don't like the California Scientific windwhild, even if it offers more comfort. I told him that I ride the Quota without much of a front shield without any problem. The bike is very comfortable, but it is really truck heavy. He has an aftermarket exhaust, and the ECU was tuned to it. I did not try the bike as I never drive anything I don't own. I wish the exhaust made less noise, but he said he got it like that. Another issue is the stiffer clutch lever which is going to be a problem for my damaged left hand. Both the V11 and the Quota have softer actuation. I will not be able to actuate the clutch too many times in traffic, so I will only use the Le Mans around town. Unless of course, I install a radial piston pump. I may have to do that anyway. This is why I can't keep the Quota. I had one option when I managed to park the V11 behind the 911, and the Quota at the edge of the small access ramp. Parking the Stelvio side by side would make it a difficult task each time. Unfortunately, Mick, the HOA (Home Owners Association) says nothing should be parked in the street. As long as I am on the ramp, I am good. I am sad to need to part with the Quota.

I can see. There is a Ford in the way. Can't you park that on the street or something? Seriously though, I hope you find a suitable buyer. And I'm as interested as @docc in knowing whether it will be the new Stelvio or the old one, and if the old one, which one?

Ahh. What popped up in my mind was "Verkehr" (traffic) and some kind of abbreviation of that.

I had a second look at those test reports. I assumed that it was two different bikes, but it seems it was two tests of the same bike. That makes it very interesting, because the numbers are different. So what had changed? The wheel diameters (Durchmesser) are different. Going by the dates on the report, I could imagine that the bike had got a new front tyre, but was still on the same rear. That would explain the front being a couple of mm bigger, but the rear a few smaller. The trail in the second report is marginally shorter, the wheelbase about 5 mm shorter. Maybe the forks got pushed a bit higher through the triple-clamps? I can't really imagine what might have caused the changes in the numbers in the last section, unless through pushing the forks up a bit they got a little out of line (one slightly higher than the other...), causing a bit of a twist between the front and rear wheel. And an interesting question is why the bike was tested twice within less than a year? That sort of test generally is not for free, and would not normally be made without a reason.

GERMAN. Cheers Tom.

A first generation Stelvio or V100 Stelvio, I wonder . . .

Nice Guzzi wagon. No dog onboard, always a 30kg mangan bag in the sidecar. Quite a few G's possible in left corners . Don't let of the gas coming in to fast right corners, brakes have to be used correctly. Cheers Tom.

I thought it would be close enough to "werke", because we are limited to 5 characters if you want your own plate...

I am only testing the waters, as this site is for hard core V11 lovers, but just in case someone wanted to get into the odd stuff. I am going to purchase a Stelvio, and unfortunately, I do not have the space to keep three motorcycles. If anyone is interested here, I will provide all the details necessary, including videos. I am about to take it out this week-end to do some of the stops of the Motorcycle Grand Tour of Texas. I have registered it with a year correct number plate, which I will keep if you are not from Texas. It is registered until 2029. It has been fully conditionned by MPH after I brought it from Peoria AZ. Tires are Dunlop Trailmax in good condition. All the history I got from the bike is in a binder, including what the previous owner had done.

Sorry, don't get that. As far as the photos go, yes, not enough light. Most of them are in focus (more or less) somewhere in the picture, but not for the whole bike. Too little light = small f-stop number/ large iris opening = poor depth of field. Taking "art" photos matches the light-hearted text, but yeah, he could have done better.

Special treatment for some Girls. Not to bad for a 20year old Guzzi. And forgot to mention how happy l am figuring out handling problems with the german hot rod Greenie. She has a bit more punch, and realy enjoy 5k+. Cheers Tom. Sent fra min SM-S906B via Tapatalk

Quite a few members of the German forum keep a sidecar for the winter. Favourite choice seems to be a Ural, with which the concerns about the frame not holding up to it are a non-issue because they are built as a sidecar. On a completely different note, one that I haven't seen other than on photos but would like to, and would like to ride: It was built by the bloke in the second picture, a fellow administrator of the German forum that I am active in. To put it into perspective, Holger is about 5'4" tall. The motor is from an 1100 California, with a Doc Jensen cam and a bit of tweaking. The really impressive bit: at first glance, or on the photos, you don't notice any lights apart from the headlight, but the thing is road-legal and registered. That, in Germany, is quite an acheivment.

This one is dedicated to you, see the tag?: "VERKS".

Some of the pics are a little bit soft (out of focus). The seller should have taken photos in better light conditions; he seems to have wanted to give it an artistic touch, but when you want to sell a motorcycle, you need to give as much details as you can to your audience.

Another easy explanation, the krokodilla (crocodile) mention, I have to be more home taking care of Daffy the rottweiler when there is nice weather. Why not a side car next thought. Me think close to26000 km with the dog in the sidecar And a very happy and proud dog. K1100RS, with a german made sidecar, made by doctor professor ingeniør. Good experience, but no dog no sidecar. Cheers Tom.

@4corsa thanks for that. What a brilliant text. And it appears to have the rather nice Magni fairing on it. If it wasn't in the wrong country, I could well be seriously tempted. http://www.magni.it/v11_fairing.htm

That's actually why I don't like Honda much. I've had two, they both worked very well, and were both a bit sterile. For the big luggage factor, I had a GTR 1000 Kawasaki for quite a while, and liked it rather a lot. It also worked well, was very reliable, and wasn't nearly as sterile as a Honda. My Guzzis arguably don't work as well as any Japanese bike, but they are anything other than sterile. I like that about them.

Sure - here is the description:

Any chance you could copy and paste that to here? It sounds like it might be fun to read, but one apparently needs a facebook account to see the ad, and I don't have one.