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Welcome to the board. Both my brother in laws had 850T's back in the 1980's while I was riding Japanese bikes. One had an 850T and the other a T3. A friend I rode with in the early 90's had a T5. As for the highlighted point,well dismiss it from your mind. My 2000 model is stable as a locomotive on our Aussie roads and I know what a full blooded tank slapper is like on a GSXR1000 on the straight at Phillip Island at 200kph with the triple clamp hitting the stops in both directions. There are plenty of people here on this forum with many.many miles on red framed bikes that will tell you they have never experienced an issue. Why Guzzi did what the did with the later bikes is a mystery. I suspect they moved the flywheel guy to the frame department around that time. Buy the 2001 bike and have some fun. Ciao

I say, spend some time riding it. Either it will impress you to where you need to buy it or it won't and you won't need to buy it. Guzzi's are special, they don't feel like anything else. There is a small price to pay for that "specialness", but if they speak to you it is a price worth paying. The issues with Guzzi's are mainly with parts availability and finding someone who knows how to work on them. They way most of us get past that second obstacle is to learn to work on them ourselves. They are pretty stone axe simple. It doesn't take a genius to work on a Guzzi. But they have a few oddities, like having to split the engine and trans to work on the clutch.

Hello folks! I am new here, this is my first post. I hope this is an active place for Guzzi people, as I am very close to acquiring a new Guzzi and I need a little advice. I have had a Guzzi in the past, a ‘75 850T, my first real motorbike back when I was still a lad, When my friend and I pulled the barrels to change the rings and I saw the chrome lined barrels I fell in love with Guzzi. Went to a Triumph, Yamaha, H-D, and then stopped riding for awhile. Now I have an opportunity to buy a 2001 V11 Sport from a friend who inherited it and has no interested in riding it. He took it to a local non-Guzzi motorcycle shop and got it running with a new main seal and went to the DMV and got a clean title. He wants to be rid of it and will sell it to me for what he’s got into it: $2300. I rode it for a short local ride and the engine felt great, but I have yet to get it on the highway. One thing that concerns me is that I have read that the steering geometry on the 2001 V11’s, I guess a short head angle and fork rake, makes the bike a chore to ride; whereas the later models from later in the 2000’s had a better geometry and are nicer to ride. I think getting a Guzzi V11 in good running condition for a good price is a thing to go for, but I am concerned after reading that after 2001 the ride and handling is much better. Should I hold out for a later Guzzi than the 2001 V11? I have also read that the later 2000’s bikes were more reliable than circa 2001. Although my ‘75 850 was rock solid. I would be using this bike for local excursions, but also longer day cruising from Los Angeles to San Francisco. I look forward to your sage wisdom! Thank you Kane

If you want to really improve the bike and save a massive amount of weight and dont mind spending money commission an elegant chain drive conversion and rid the bike of the heavy leaky inefficient POS shaft drive system altogether. Ciao

You need to make a commitment to owning a Guzzi. As long as the bike is fundamentally sound and the price is as good as others here have indicated then you cant afford to sweat the small stuff. The valve cover may have a porosity spot in it which would be the first I have heard of and would be an easy fix internally. More likely its been damaged at some point and repaired without sealing 100%. Also forget about a test ride to see if you "like" the bike because chances you wont be in love with it on a test ride. The joy of Guzzi ownership grows on you as you commit yourself to adapting to what the bike requires from the rider/owner.The test ride is just to make sure everything works. Ciao

While I agree with you on the Buell thing, you do realize that Indian is Polaris and Polaris screwed over Victory. https://www.forbes.com/sites/jasonfogelson/2017/01/11/polaris-industries-kills-off-victory-motorcycles/#70416f932175

Thank you all for your encouraging words. I’m going to take it for another ride, sometime when traffic is light and I can open it up. L.A. traffic is stifling, but I can get to the coast without much trouble from where the bike is located. For what he’s asking I’m going to take it unless I discover something bad with my next test ride. I will send pics. It’s pretty clean, 16K miles, black paint, red frame, black anodized valve covers, missing the round seat cover thing, so it’s a longer flat seat with a little luggage rack on the back, the bars are not cafe style clip-ons but rather have a slight rise. The only thing that has me wondering is that the shop that got the bike up and running for him (again, a non-Guzzi shop. A place called Al’s Cycles, in Glendale, CA, in case any of you are familiar) replaced the main seal. This was the bulk of the expenses he incurred on this bike. I guess there was an oil leak, but it seems unusual that a bike with 16K miles would need a new main seal. Other than that everything seems ok. The time I rode it, even though I couldnn’t get out of third gear because of where I was riding, it pulled like a mo-fo and sounded great. As I mentioned in my first post, my first decent bike years ago was an 850T. After that I got into Brit bikes, and had a nice Harley, but I always missed the 850T and have had a strong attachment to Guzzi’s. This is a fortuitous situation as the owner is a work friend who only wants to recoup his expenses, hence the good price. When I heard it was a Guzzi I couldn’t believe it. It’s like the fates have looked out for me on this as Guzzis are few and far between down here. Will keep you posted! Cheers, Kane

The short verses long frame thing is just something for people to ponder on the internet. In real life the early frames are docile. For that price you can go wrong.

The basis is the SKF pipes for the KLM's (nuts) No. 3, 4 and 5. But they do not fit very well and are costly when you buy only 1. I have redesigned these + added the No: 2 which is maybe the most important together with No. 1. My special peg nuts pipe tools comes in 4 variations: 1 - (KM5) - For the crank peg nut on the 5-speed models + gearbox drive hub nut on the late 6-speed gearboxes from around 2006. 2 - For the 5-speed gearbox drive hub nut + the same nut on the first edition 6-speed gearboxes from around 1999-2005 3 - (KM3) - For one peg nut inside the first edition 6-speed gearboxes around 1999-2005. 4 - (KM4) - For another peg nut inside the first edition 6-speed gearboxes around 1999-2005. I have bought from the factory batches of 30-50 units, to get the unit price down. And I have 120 customers all over the world. (Yes I have still their names) But all things must end - so also for me. That is why I have decided to stop buying/selling these tools. I would be happy if someone would consider to take this further. I have no knowledge of similar tools from other producers. Rolf (In Norway with a special interest for V7 Sport)

I agree with Phil. I have a 2001, but am unsure whether it is the "short" or the "long" frame. It is black (so should be long) but also lacked the brace between engine and transmission (which makes it a red frame again). Guzzi has done some strange things. Once I dared to ride it like it should be ridden, it indeed runs like a train. If it is in good condition (can we have a picture please?) and you like Guzzi's, buy it for that price. Go through the main issues/upgrades and have loads of fun on it. I have three bikes, had some before, but this one is never ever leaving again Edit: Oh, and welcome to the forum!

Sorry not seeing this. Ones an adventure bike and ones a pseudo flat tracker for the suburbs. Ciao

Rolf, we knew what you meant. (At least those of us who can read tabloid headlines without our lips moving?🤪). 👍

so I got home, poured some Scotch, got my last Cuban cigar from my trip last year and turned on Mile's Bitches Brew. Put some tuna steaks on the grill. No pain today.