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I own one because I'm into self flagellation. Ciao

Huh? Why? SEX of course! This exact Classic shot initially hooked me… after having been psychologically primed by following events… Recently returned from my older brother’s funeral - he was the good, sensible, clean living one. Dead at fifty - stomach cancer. Dirt bikes busted my teen bones, family urged ‘keep off ‘em - you’re gonna kill yourself’! So after my brother, with a GS mate goading ‘get back in the saddle’ - I couldn’t see the point preserving my skin just for bloody cancer or some-such to do me down. From the (then) new V7 - googled older Guzzi’s, & came across the V11… Damn! Smitten on ‘puter looks alone! Tracked my Scura R down on the Isle of Man - it’s delivery was the first V11 I’d ever seen - in all her voluptuous flesh! Like a well-thumbed Penthouse centrefold vision rolling down the ramp - a slightly breathless moment & I’ve never tired of riding her since! Mae West said it best. “Sex is emotion in motion.” 👍😎

Wonderful responses above. An introspective question for sure. Although I recall admiring the brand from a distance, I didn't know much about Guzzis. They seemed expensive, had a poor dealer network, and had a spotty reputation for reliability as far as I recalled. That all changed in 2010 when I bumbled into AF1 Racing in Austin, TX. The shop was magic. They had Guzzis, Aprilias and a wide range of Vespas. Somehow, there was a leftover, fresh-from-the crate 2007 Griso on the sales floor. Red of course. They also had a Griso demo bike. Jon encouraged me to take the demo bike for a test ride and I was hooked shortly after shifting out of the parking lot. It was the most glorious, visceral, connected bike I had ever ridden. The sound, the vibes, the agricultural shifting - it was all perfect. I even remember how good the bike smelled...Yes, they even have an aroma. Until then, I had owned several Hinckley Triumphs and a handful of UJMs. NOTHING created emotion like that Griso. Upon return to the dealer, I promptly sealed a deal on the leftover 07'. I kept it for a few years, mistakenly sold it to a gentleman in TN, experienced dreadful regret each time I went to my garage, then purchased a 2017 Griso in 2018, and vowed to never again be without a big bore Guzzi. I found my V11 2 years ago and can't imagine selling either bike. It's an ideal stablemate for the Griso. Other bikes come and go routinely in my life but the Guzzis stay. They're special machines that create an emotional bond that I've never experienced with any other vehicle.

It takes a certain amount of experience to "get it" in my experience. The Kid was a Duck guy (I raised him right) and always said he wasn't old enough for Guzzis. I sent him out on the Centauro many years ago now. I was beginning to worry. I'd just given it a full service. Did I forget to tighten something? Is he laying in the ditch somewhere??? It was entirely too long when I heard him roaring back in. "This thing will outrun my Duck!" He's been a Guzzi Guy ever since.. Yeah, he's a gearhead and he "gets it."

I realized that my time with the old girl was over at the Kentucky rally this year. I had Dorcia on the back, and my steadily lessening strength was becoming an issue at low speeds. I even dabbed a time or two.. I never do that.. leaving a stop. (sigh) Time continues on, though, and I'm a realist if nothing else. I asked a couple of guys if they wanted to take over, and my first choice did. It's certainly a sad moment for me. I've had 10 years with the old girl, and she taught me to dance. My favorite bike of all time, but as some wise person once said, "A guy's gotta know his limitations." Colt..good guy, enthusiast, and aircraft mechanic, will be the Mighty Scura's new keeper. Give him a warm welcome when he shows up.

My first bike was a Guzzi and I have a feeling that my last bike will be a Guzzi. I bought a second-hand ‘75 850-T when I was a senior in high school. I knew about Guzzis from seeing pictures of them in the motorcycle books that I used to drool over in the library. I had some money, I wanted a bike, and the 850-T was local and cheap. It had Dunstall mufflers and was very loud. As I was taking it away at the sellers apartment building his neighbors were on their balcony applauding to see it leave. I had the bike for about three years while I lived between Palo Alto and San Francisco. It was my first bike and I was pretty rough with it. I low-sided that bike more than once, and it spent much of its time with me parked on the streets of San Francisco, rain or shine. In spite of my terrible stewardship, that bike always started and never failed. A friend and myself pulled the heads and barrels to change the rings as the compression tested low, and we were blown away to see chrome lined barrels. They looked pristine! Eventually I got into Triumphs and sold the bike to a friend’s dad who was going to use it for a Morgan kit car. I went from various Triumphs to Japanese sport bikes to Harleys, then to a wife and kids and stopped riding for ridiculously long time. I don’t know what happened to my old 850-T, but it left such a great impression on me and I had such great times bombing around on it as a young fool that when I got the bug to start riding again I decided it would be on a Guzzi. I knew a guy who had inherited a V11 that a tenant of his had abandoned. He wanted to sell it but it was pretty rough, but I was intrigued. Seeing that bike was what led me to find THIS PLACE, where you good people educated me on the V11. I began looking and found my own Greenie not too long after. This bike has affirmed everything I knew somewhere down in my bones from long ago about how great Guzzis are. After living with this bike for a few years I can say how great the spine frame bikes are. From The Daytona and Dr. John, to the Ghezzi-Brian Folgore I have been able to look at, the spine frame shines and rules. Recently I had the opportunity to sort of go full-circle when I was able to acquire Guzzi Bob Dickman’s old 850-T3. Bob was the real deal and put close to 180k miles on that bike, plus lots more miles on his other Guzzis! The dude was always riding! Well, Bob’s 180k+ mile Guzzi runs fine and is a blast to ride. A testimony to how well these bikes are made, and how a good owner/rider can keep them going. I had the chance to ride an 8 valve Griso, and I want one of these pretty bad, it’s a very fast bike and really fun to ride. As great as an old Tonti frame is and a more modern Griso, my spine frame V11 is pure motorcycle joy to ride.

When I first saw a Guzzi, I liked it's design. Two cylinders angled out into the airstream. Equal cooling on the hot side of each cylinder head. No shared cyl wall like many twins, no rear cyl running hotter like HD & Ducati. Like a BMW twin, but cooler looking, with more ground clearance. Shaft drive. Less mess and less maintenance (or so I thought then). Dry clutch. Oil on a friction surface just seems wrong to me, and oil for engines and gearboxes should be different. Those features are no longer so important in modern bikes, but I still love the character and soul of the bike. It feels alive. I took a Triumph Bonneville for a blast, and nearly died of boredom (unlike the Thruxton R). I don't feel that way on a V11. Also I like how there are not many on the road.

Psychology of a moto-enthusiast is a daring subject. As a life long rider I will say that I had ZERO interest in Guzzi until 2002 when I saw the Tenni in the flesh. At that moment I knew that all other mfg's had abandoned me. But they say love is a convergence of chemistry and timing, and the door of Zen opened wide for me. kensho - seeing into ones true nature. So yeah, ... I'm odd.

Moto Guzzi had long been on the periphery for me. Something I knew a little about, but never really thought about owning one. So one day I was thinking about getting something a little more sporty and street oriented (I had a KTM 950 Adventure and a Husqvarna TE510 at the time). This happened to coincide with the launch of the first retro-styled Ducati Scramblers. I popped into GP Motorcycles to have a look at there was this Scura with only a couple hundred miles on it. The clouds parted. A ray of golden California sun illuminated the Ohlins forks, angels starting singing and I started signing. I got bit hard... and a few V11s have passed through the garage. This site is actually a big part of why I enjoy the V11s so much. Of course I still love the bike itself, but I also value this community. Back in the 1990s, I was going way too fast on my Yamaha FJ1100. I bought a BMW R100CS to slow myself down. If I could have a "redo" I would have gotten into Moto Guzzis at that time instead of BMWs. I've talked to a few older riders who say "I wish I had gotten into Guzzis earlier."

'Guzzi released the LeMans 1 when I was 15. I fell in love with the cans, as all 15 year olds do. My family owns Dyna/Reno motorcycles, and I visited when I was 18; my Uncle's friend left the shop on his souped-up Eldorado with Continental mufflers, winding it out pretty hard. It only took me another 22 years to come up with both an opportunity and enough money to own one, the '85 LM1000. I'd been lusting after the 1100 Sport since the introduction of the Daytona, and was friends with Ron McGill who rode Dr. John's development bikes on track. It was inevitable.

If the thread title is "multiple choice" . . . c. I'm odd.

I had a bad experience with chain drive. I had a bad experience with radiators. I found inline fours expensive to service. The BT1100 bulldog didn't have the ground clearance. The BMW boxers had moved away from oil based paint and mine was desolving beneath me. I saw a year old low mileage V11 at a good price and decided to give it a try. That was May 2004. I am still testing it.

Ok I will give it a go. Always loved Italian motorcycles but was put off Moto Guzzi's based on an experience I had quite a few years ago. It was a bit of nothing really. I was playing golf by a state highway and heard a bike coming up the road. Cannot remember the model but it was a Guzzi. I watched it pass as it revved out and accelerated through the gears.............but seemed to not be going anywhere fast. That put the thought in my head that other "motorcycle officiandos" echo that they are underpowered and heavy. So I dismissed them as a possible purchase. Mind you I was into track days back then and owned a few sport bikes. 999s Ducati, Aprilia RSV Factory. My focus was more on power and speed then. 3 years ago I needed to buy another bike as the Aprilia was written off due to a car pulling out in front of me. Well two in a row actually. I managed to avoid the first one but not the idiot behind him who blindly followed. So here I was, a little bit older and slowing down somewhat. Looking at bikes the Cafe Sport came up for sale. Took me a couple of test rides to be convinced. It coughed and spluttered at 3k revs. Didn't seem to handle that well. Having never ridden one before, the character still got to me and I purchased with the flaws. I added the TI kit with ECU and adjusted the suspension which was so far out it wasn't funny. Went through the bike top to bottom and replaced or tweaked everything including the decent tune up found here on this site. I love the bike now and looking for another MG. They just get you in a way no other bike has. Don't listen to opinions, you have to try things for yourself. Lesson learnt!

So we are here, all around the bonding V11 fire; we talk MGV11, we walk MGV11, we breath MGV11, we dream MGV11... how's that? I understand why I have one. Not by chance, an educated decision, even if it took a long time. I wanted a V11 Le Mans and it had to be red. I wanted a Moto Guzzi since 1972, it only took me 51 years to fulfill my quest. Ok, I will give you that my initial love was the V7 Sport, the green one from 1974. I am intrigued by those of you who elected a Moto Guzzi as a high prize. What bugged you then?

Hey, hello all. Thanks Chuck for the introduction. Yes, the Mighty Scura has a new pair of hands caring for her. Still keeping it local in Indiana. A bit about me. As Chuck mentioned I'm a 20+year aircraft mechanic and life long tinkerer of all things mechanical. The Mighty Scura being the fifth Guzzi I've owned. She'll be joining my current Guzzi stable of a '13 GRiSO and a '67 V700. I'll be adding a '74 Police Eldorado in a week or two. I'm going to need a bigger shop now for sure. Also a current member of the Indiana Chapter of the Moto Guzzi Owners Club. I've enjoyed meeting the my fellow enthusiast and being able to assist when I can. Really, it was my wife's idea for me to join up. She said since I had the new GRiSO I had to join the club and make friends. So I'm out there making friends. I've been to a couple of the rallies here in the Mid West and had a good time every time. I am looking forward to participating and meeting fellow riders. On parting with Chuck this afternoon I might have detected a tear in the corner of his eye. Not quite sure since it was raining. Finally, nice of Chuck to post up a cheesey photo of me. Now I don't have to.

Gentlemen, we can rebuild him. We have the technology.

I believe there is a masochistic streak to own one. But I got into it innocently. I wanted a two up bike with bags on it, I noticed that I could get an EV for about $4k (2007 dollars) vs $6k for a used Japanese cruiser or $10k for a Harley. The local mechanic said they were pretty "sporty" and he could work on it. Bought that bike and really enjoyed the ride and handling despite that it only has 60HP (69K miles on it now). Then I went to the Guzzi National Salida CO and saw a Greenie and wanted one until I got one. Again, I like the feel and handling and the power curve makes up for any HP deficit (48k miles now). Then I got a Ducati (22k miles now). Same deal, I like the feel and handling, there's something about Italian bikes that fit me. Unlike my Guzzis, so far the Duc has been totally reliable although major service at 18k wasn't cheap and I've been through a boat load of tires. Of course the Duc is much newer and doesn't have near the mileage.

^^^^ Guzzi Bob was my riding buddy for years. We have been all over southern and central California on some epic rides. The first thing I'd do when we went out to SoCal is prep the bike, give him a call, and we'd meet up. Going to Redondo Beach just isn't the same any more.. Ride on, brother..

How could any true Motor head NOT want to own an Motorcycle called a "Guzzi"?

Yes.

Source a full set of "Best Relays", either OMORON G8HE or (more available): CIT

I’m not so sure the original V7 Legnano green was the same formulation as the V11. It doesn’t seem to have quite the luster and brilliance from photos I’ve seen…. Seems there is a modern (small block) V7 with this sort of green? Neither does it seem to *pop* like the V11.

From Pete, several years ago.. One thing that rarely gets mentioned is the bearing in the right hand outer part of the bevelbox. It's there to allow for movement in the reactive drive so the box can rock slightly on the wheel spindle. Thing is Guzzi thoughtfully didn't put in a seal to keep the water out and even more bizarrely use a bearing with a hole in the inner race that would seem to almost be designed to allow the ingress of water! Throw in the famous 'Mandello Grease Phobia' and you have a recipe for failure! Now it's not an immediate, life threatening, problem but if the bearing wears or collapses it can lead to problems with other, more important, bearings in the box. The main trick is preventative maintenance. First, next time it needs a tyre check the bearing while the spindle is out. Remove the washer outboard of it and pull out the inner race. If the bearing needs replacing, (And if it's been neglected it may well do so.) it needs an expanding puller to get it out of the box. Best idea is to just unhook the box from the reactive rod and take it to the bench. Incidentally one of the gearbox bearing pullers for the old five speed gearbox fits this bearing too. The bearing itself is a 'Free Grandfather Clock With Every Half Dozen' one available from any bearing factor. Get one without the water ingress hole! file:///tmp/lu826549re2kxs.tmp/lu826549re2ky9_tmp_71e6c1a972543bfd.gif Press it in and grease it well before reinstalling it on the reaction arm. DON'T FORGET TO ALIGN THE DRIVESHAFT WHEN YOU RECONNECT IT! THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT! Once the bearing is well greased, (I use a 'Waterproof' marine grease.) it can simply be re-greased thoroughly at every tyre change and it'll last pretty much forever. Pete

May the chook treat him well..

Something to soothe our Kentucky brother. Nothing says, "Don't take life too seriously" like a kazoo in the band . . .

Seems apropo no?

We have a "Hearings Aids" thread right next to our "What do you listen to" thread . . .

Kroil is the spray of sprays ! A heat gun to heat up the throttle body before you try to move the screw . Purchase a NEW tool before trying to move this screw . SnapOn , Allen , Bondhus or other name brand . I have a 1/4'' drive socket for my purpose .

The GREATEST thing about the stones is , how crummy they sound !

Here she is, Chuck:

All the adhesives come with the kit that you purchase when you elect to participate; this is why you also see SIMA (Royal Enfield distributor in France) Ipone, Continental.. The 21 adhesive was most likely included. In any case, the individual number does not mean much any longer. All the classification is done via the transponders. The number is just there so the public has a chance to understand who went into the gravel trap. The last time I was at a racing track, I could not even read the number because of the speed.

Just listed on FB "Moto Guzzi's For Sale" page: 7700 miles, $7000 2002 V11 Lemans Tenni. Pretty sweet ride and it gets alot of looks It was upgraded to titanium mufflers at original purchase. Has a few other extras, but it comes already upgraded from the factory. It is number 130 of 170 made world wide. 30 sold in the usa. It gets looks wherever I ride. Runs and drives great! Would trade for the right Stelvio. I gave Twin AH a heads up, think he had been looking for a pristine Tenni.

Well you could try a 7/64 allan key which is a fraction smaller than a 3m or you could apply some corse water based valve grinding paste to the 2.5 key tip to give it some grip. Note water based not oil based grinding paste. Available at any auto spares store. Ciao

I love how she GLOWS in certain light eh! Really is a special colour scheme.... Cheers Guzzler

And the paint code formula. My boys used Spies Hecker, but it can be easily translated to Dupont or others.

Got the freshly painted tank and fly screen back this afternoon. I’m happy, both to have it done and with the results. As known, the paint is tricky to match, not being a basic color, so i was only cautiously optimistic about how it would turn out, and I’d say it met or slightly exceeded my expectations, and is a “win” overall. When turning the newly painted tank, or the old side covers, at different angles in different light you get a real different look to the paint, part of what makes it neat, and hard to match. As noted earlier, the side covers i bought used and have some UV aging, the pilion cover and fenders are stock on my bike but were exposed to more UV and other bad things than they should have been, and now the tank and fly screen are new paint. They all match nicely, especially when considering all that. I’ll post the paint code for anyone interested. But first some pics (apparently i still haven’t figured out the proper way to post pics… but here we go:) Notice how even the pics look different, in the same place with same light but taken at different angles.

Powder coater is going to love me: Remote clutch hose and bleeder valves arrived today. Unfortunately, much (job) work ahead. Probably two weeks of shite ahead before I can devote much attention to Bubbles.

For those of you who don't understand the difference between Illy and Lavazza; This is Illy:

sorry. As you can see it's slotted a fair way to relieve the stress. Best image I have.

I try to flush all the hydraulics (brakes and clutch) annually, which means sometimes they go up to two years between flushes. This is often overlooked, so it's one of the first things I do when I get a pre-owned vehicle. With the wheel on, flushing the fluid is a time-sucking annoyance and very difficult for one person unless you have long arms. You can also install a speed-bleeder there. But it will still be a PITA to get the hose on the bleeder and another PITA to get a tool on it. FWIW, I like the Motul 5.1 fluid for its high boiling point - not that I always need it, but I can use the brakes all I want on long descents without worrying about fade.

I think it's a good idea to spacer up the rear tank mount to stop the tank rubbing the paint off the side covers. The covers are very prone to cracking around the mount holes and it's a material thats very hard to repair even with plastic welding. The solution is to elongate the holes nicely esp the top one which allows the cover to fit without stressing the thing. I can supply an image if you want to do it. Ciao

Any thread that includes a reference to Malbec and motorcycles is worthy of a gold star! Quite creative way to setup an indoor workshop!

So first. I LOVE that this is happening in the laundry room. Answers and observations: Side panels usually fit well, but some can be a bit fiddly. They do tuck under the tank, so even if all the screws rattle out, they will not blow away while riding. The back of the tranny and subframe are quite a mess... have fun with that. And while you're at it, check that lower shock mount carefully. It looks like the original Sachs, which is prone to crack the lower mount. That hugger damage is common. My Nero Corsa came with a rear rack that used extra-long bolts and mangled the rear wheel hugger. This would be a good time to install one of those remote clutch bleeder hoses if you feel like spending $70. Otherwise, this is a good time to flush the clutch fluid while you can easily reach the bleeder.

Digging a little deeper into the champagne . With some Malbec. First, needed to find a little space to work. The garage is well above freezing, but not a lovely place to be, and not a lot of space in there with 4 motorcycles and my son's old dirt bike, and a snowblower. Thought to myself ... the laundry room. There's a space that gets used maybe a few minutes a week. It's small, but it's brighter and warmer. No bike lift and nothing to tie down to, so I put some eye hooks in the ceiling and ran a few cam straps for protection against a tip over. Raised and blocked, and the digging began. At first, I thought maybe I had some frame damage because of 1) gashes in the hugger, 2) considerable wear on the side cover from the tank and the rear subframe surround, and 3) that rear bolt for the passenger peg bracket was inaccessible because it was slightly overlapped by that surround. However, I wasn't able to find any frame damage, the damage to the hugger was probably caused by some of the tolerance being taken up by the Hepco & Becker rack mounting, looking at the Tenni, that rear passenger peg bracket couldn't come out, either, without removing the surround (seems a bit daft), and the side panels are not a great fit over the air chambers and some overlap and rubbing are probably to be expected. What is your experience the fit of the side panels?

Ah, yes, an aware owner and a "talisman spring." The Real-Deal SuperSpring (accept no substitutes):

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

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.

Rosso Mandello black cases are not prone to the failure of the 2002 V11, AFAIK.