Leaderboard

So, some guy I know (he's my good friend, really, I'm not hating him for poking me with a hot stick) sends me some listing of a rather compromised, modified, and otherwise unfortunate V11 Sport on eBay. I reply something like, "Yeah, that's been bouncing around for a while. Pretty ridiculous price for something so bruised up." Then, he says (and we really are still friends), "Hmmm. So, what would it take to buy yours? Not the "market" price. What would it take?" Honestly, I had the most unsettling dream that night that mySport just fell out from under me while riding it. Then, while my phone fell apart trying to call my wife and insurance company, gentle people pitched in and worked at putting all the parts in a neat array. I mean, down to the individual clutch parts, cogs from the gear box, like a full exploded view. I even got a look at the journals on my crankshaft. ("Not bad !", we all said.) My phone still wouldn't stop falling apart and I finally woke up in a cold sweat. [You just can't make up crazy stories like this. But, gonna hafta have a talk with my bud . . . ] "What would it take?" "HOW MUCH FOR THE V11? THE GUZZI !!! HOW MUCH FOR THE GUZZI ?!? [what??] SELL IT TO ME! SELL ME THE SPORT! [Jaap !! Jaaaaap !!! . . .]

@dangerous probably had a moment like that in 2015. When I first began to look at Guzzis, DD offered me some advice. Mostly beer drinking, but there was some gems of wisdom. I asked if he would sell his Nero Corsa to me. He made a choking noise, then a lot of profanity. I took that as a "NO".

Emotional attachment to a machine? Surely you are not the only member of this site to suffer such an affliction. But if somebody wanted my Scura, I'd tell them $20,000. They'd say "I'd have to be crazy to pay that much." And I'd say, "That's right. Are you crazy?"

Guzzis are quite idiosyncratic. It's just that they idioSYNCH perfectly with a select few humanoids.

Some things aren't rational. For proof of that, I can look in the garage.

To be watched in a dark room, with a loud sound.

Well shoot, a lot of good my "Want to buy - V11 rear rack" post does in the Wanted section...

Story? I was going to the Ohio rally, when I was passed by two Break My Wallets with all kinds of anti detection stuff like I was sitting still. I thought "oh boy, rabbits," and stayed behind them just far enough to barely keep them in sight. We flew across Indiana and well into Ohio at go straight to jail speeds, when I came to a corner and didn't see them. "Uh oh." Got off the throttle and was only doing 70 when I saw the trooper. Naturally, he lit me up, and I was stopping before he even made the highway. It was the most enjoyable traffic stop I'd ever had, though. He was friendly and we literally shot the shit for a half hour. Didn't make me unpack the bike to show proof if insurance. Nice guy that got a grin that he was giving a speeding ticket to an old guy on an Italian motorcycle. I asked him to take the picture. The reason for the shit eating grin?? He didn't get me about 30 seconds before.. I didn't mention that, though.

A "certified brake technician" I've never met one of those. I've met technicians that are certified in breaking things though. Ciao

I have posed the same question to myself on occasion. The Tenni means too much to me to put a number on her. I know the value of her without the attachment but it's irrelevant. To such a query I would say... make me an offer. If it was silly money, I would accept it. I'd be silly not to. Pretty much what Scud said. I'd be interested in anybody's GB

Hey Goofman. How much for the GB500?

Full disclosure: the good friend would not actually attempt to buy such a storied, enduring machine. Just wanted to see if your humble Moderator would even put a dollar figure on something that has been an amazing part of his life.😎

California may have some problems these days, but we can get cool black plates for our motorbikes.

my comeback to the to the next reference to my advancing age

3 x V11 Sports. 2 red frames, one black. All in hibernation in the garage, I hate winter 🥶

Not sure if owners/mods are cool with this or not, but my new book, The Leaders We Need and What Makes Us Follow, Second Edition, is available for pre-order on Amazon. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/193262712X/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 I thought some of you might be interested, and if you decide to buy a copy, I'd appreciate it if you could leave a review. Warning, there is absolutely nothing in the book about motorcycles. And if this shameless plug for my own book is against the rules, feel free to delete this topic.

Hello Tom, my Greenie has a small plate & a tail tidy. The previous owner fitted it, and TBH I quite like smaller plates as the standard regulation size UK motorcycle plate seems huge, basically the same size that is fitted to a bus! and many folk over here do fit smaller (non conforming) small plates to many bikes. The police usually turn a “blind eye” to small plates unless they are crazily small. My Griso and MT01 also have small plates that aren’t strictly absolutely street legal. My silver & grape ape V11’s have standard plates that seem huge for bikes and are basically bus sized !

Now that is some funny shit.

Heh, well, I do see that after mySport turned over 200,000 km, three months ago, I've only ridden it four times. No wonder the unsettling dream. A motorcyclist cannot live by battery charging alone . . . . . .

I always grow attached to stuff, whatever it is, and can never let go of it. Be it a book or a car. The more I have it, the less likely I am going to let go of it. There is only one reason I am going to part way from some of the things I have accumulated along the road; death! I have seen now enough around me, to understand that all those souvenirs that we could not live without are probably not going to matter to those you leave behind. For the most part. I have a large collection of guitars, and I have seen what happens with those lot purchasers. So I am going to set my affairs in order. As long as I can stay topside of my Le Mans, it will stay with me. But if my health decays to the point where I can only look at it from afar, I will find someone to perpetuate its desire of motion.

For me horsepower isn't the limiting factor regarding how fast I might ride on the Skyway or other fast and treacherous roads. Excluding the human factor, stability, braking, feel and handling are prime. But yeah, my skill set and courage are the human factors.

Simple, really once it's pointed out. The engine has a crankshaft angle at which peak cylinder pressure has the greatest effect (about 20* ATC iirc) so it's not the ignition that matters, but how quickly peak cylinder pressure is reached. Ignition timing is moved to accommodate the rate of burn to get the peak where it does the most work.

Jessus Docc You all good bro? Full disclosure I have maybe partaken in similar actions in my pursuit of a pristine Tennie.............. my bad? Ciao

https://www.bikebandit.com/aftermarket-parts/control-brakes/mirrors/napoleon-ap-bar-end-mirrors/p/62776 on backorder... but you've got all winter

Friends don't let friends have Guzzi-less dreams. Guzzi-loss?

Scura black magic. The nappies come with rubber bushings. I just shaved them down till they were a tight fit in the threaded bar ends. (bar weights removed). Then used the included hardware to compress the bushing. I've done it twice... first time I shaved down with a knife - second time I used the wire wheel on a bench grinder. Wire wheel was faster. I think it might be possible to machine something to attach to the bar weights in lieu of the bar-ends, but I have not tried that.

Are those Napoleon bar end mirrors? How do you get them to stay put? Gorgeous!

You can usually just carefully rotate the fitting to the angle you want. I've made tons of brake lines in the past and it's not an issue. Ciao

Well, truth be told, funky unsettling dreams aside, I could not have better friends. Or a finer community than thee of V11LeMans.com.

Get a better friend.

And mine, too.

Is there a smaller license plate on the Greenie ? I do like a proper sized L plate if possible, wondering where the guys decieding the size where when agreeing on it. 30 year old bikes up here can have a decent size plate. Some countrys must have mixed up the busses and bikes plates or worse. US size ++ looks correct on a bike. Am I complaining on your plates Guzzimax, NO, just saying a proper sized plate is the icing on a great looking V11, and other bikes, JMOO. And hibernation is at least going in the right direction . Cheers Tom.

Hi Docc, There are already numerous threads on this site about this but they all say to retard the ignition point when adding a second plug but surely you would advance it because the flame path is shorter and now symmetrical? No expert on where to advance but to me it has to be mapped preserving idle and keeping watch on pre-ignition. Got the feeling that I am going to learn something here! Chris.

Yep, the "hairline" cracks on the intake rubbers are commonly superficial. Until they are not . . . (Still hoping my months-old Harper backorder will, one day, come through . . . )

94NM of torque from our old school, air cooled, 2V heads V11s 108NM from my old school air cooled, 4v heads Griso 1200 I’m confident that my old school Guzzi’s will have no issue in keeping up with a V100, however as I fast approach my 7th decade I’m not sure I’m up to it and I’m a mere sprog (youngster) compared to most in my Guzzi club. Most of us are north of 60. Heck I was riding a CX500 over 40 years ago and my then girlfriend had a V50 I’m not yet ready to downsize from a V11 to a Honda cub, but the years are passing by too fast

When it comes to shocking pubs, the Dutch are the best!

posted by @80CX100 . . .

I get it...

Making some progress: Disassembled and cleaned ignition and starter switches, and various other electrical connections Got a bunch of powercoated parts installed, including the top triple clamp (steering bearing had almost no grease) Noticed rear brake disc is badly worn (thanks to the sintered pads...) Plastic T lamp holder is barely holding itself together (fortunately I had a new one already tucked away) Cleaned injector and throttle bodies (god I hate those tiny screws that hold the injectors in) UFI oil filter characteristically left the O-ring stuck in the engine. There's a Wix in there now. Still waiting on some goodies... but the Speedhut gauges have shipped. Looking forward to getting those in place. Thinking about gloss black powdercoat for the wheels. Building a list of little bits needed from Harpers.

Love watching the start drill that starts at 10:55. Funny on the narration, in the past I just thought that narrator's syncopation was odd and hard to listen to. I recall a software developer telling me to always play computer generated voice in another accent as it is less distracting. That is the nicest Guzzi custom I've ever seen on a lot of levels. Capped off by the onboard ride at about 8:20!

It seems to me that the whole world needs advice on this subject.

Bought the bike new at Lexington Motorsports and rode it the first 12.5K miles then sold it to Kale who lives in Nicholasville, KY where it has resided ever since. The bike came with the carbon front fender and fly screen. I added the chin spoiler, side carbon, along with Fast By Ferracci pipes and eventually the FBF high compression piston kit. Since then, Kale added the Mivv exhausts. The motor had a bolt loose in the oil pick up and spun a bearing, leaving the bike idle for over 6 years. In the last couple of weeks Kale bought a low mileage EV motor painted and installed it. The bike is back on the road now running more reliable than ever, this pic on Saturday around Shaker Village at Pleasant Hill, was on his "sea trials" shaking out the bikes lasts glitches. Which were a new voltage regulator and some of the wiring to the turn signals. As she stands right now, the bike is good to go.

https://drivetribe.com/p/jay-leno-meets-the-vee-two-ducati-NwKBZOBESQW3lCNQ9PuL9g I have yet to meet a rider who doesn't want to try this. Chris.

I just picked up a 1989 LeMans 1000. It's a well-loved rider with extensive upgrades... full Zard exhaust, Caruso timing gears, electronic ignition, seriously upgraded suspension, etc. It was previously owned by a local guy who is an excellent rider. I've chased this bike on my Scura and had a hard time keeping him in sight. Just took my first short ride and loved it. Though I must say... there is a big difference between 1989s LeMans 5 speed tranny with manual clutch and 2000's 6 speed with hydraulic.

Haha - well, I am down to three functioning bikes now. But there are always interesting options out there.

The price now would be an amount equal to getting another one, a new helmet, tires and other kit......maybe not.....

Small rant... so dumb that Brembo won't sell rebuild kits. They should at least offer a core exchange service. I mean the castings never go bad, why not make every buyer just waive liability? Dumb. Continuing my rant... I got two special orders delivered and they are both going back for a redo. Speedhut and Speigler are good companies and I'm confident they will make it right, but damn... Speedhut changed the surface of their gauges and the fine-line eagle logo didn't print right (which would piss me off every time I looked at it). And Spiegler angled the brake line fittings the wrong way (and I mean 90 degrees rotated wrong, not a simple bend). And I sent them a set of lines to duplicate (not just measurements). End of rant.