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Think I'll stick with my old one....V11 that is. Although, maybe with a seat hump, clip ons and a wee fairing oh and some decent pipes if the current greenie gets too much as the years march on! I won't give her up easily though.... Cheers

Hi folks. Adding a custom seat upgrade example in 2024. I bought my 2001 Greenie, and it came with a custom seat, but the leather was very dried out, and importantly, I thought the seat was at the wrong angle. As I rode the bike I was constantly being pushed up against the tank (insert your jokes here). I'll just go with - it wasn't comfortable. I live in Portland, Oregon, and looked up the maker of the seat. Turns out, 22 years after building the first one, he's still in business making custom motorcycle seats, now located in Kingston, Washington, USA, just outside of Seattle. Rich's Custom Motorcycle Seats https://www.richscustomseats.com He said he'd be able to re-do the seat. Either I could take photos and measurements and ship the seat to him and he would do his best to modify per my request, or I could come to his shop with my bike for a custom fitting. The shop is about a 3-hour van drive from my house, so I loaded it (the cold/rainy season has begun here) and took it to him. He had me sit on the bike and discuss, then pulled off the leather cover and modified the foam contours. I sat on it again and took it for a short ride, then another minor contour change, and a new gel pad, another tweak and...what a GREAT transformation. I was then given a wide variety of choices regarding leather, vinyl, color, stitching and so on. And while tempted by red flames or a waving Italian flag, I went with very simple and classic. Green bike and red frame are, IMO, already speaking loudly enough . I chose a black pebble-texture leather for the seating area (which I was told hides creases and wear over time), and black smooth leather for the pillion and lower sides of the seat, with double stitching. The contour they typically recommend (though they'll do anything you want) is a bit of a cupped shape with a gel pad under that. I went the cupped direction since the V11 is more of a back roads cruiser. I'll take my r6 to the track. From arrival at their shop to departure took a total of 5 hours. Which is pretty incredible considering they sculpted a custom foam shape, made a custom leather pattern, stitched and adhered it, and I took a test ride mid-way in the process. One person worked on seat disassembly and assembly, and another did the stitching. I hung out in the shop, chatted, and tossed the ball for the shop dog. Really, the experience and result couldn't have been better. They guarantee the work for a year, saying I could come back for adjustments or repairs if I wish. Their main business is, I think, cruiser seats for Harleys and the like. And they say the busy season is April-September, so plan on waiting a little longer those months. That said, they do offer the in-person fitting, same day service, all year round. Cost wasn't cheap, around $700, but the personal attention, truly custom result, high quality materials, made in USA workmanship, and so on...to me, it was a fair price in 2024 $$. Here are a couple photos. You'll see I went conservative/classic. The feel of the seat is really high quality - when felt with my hand, and with my backside. I think it'll look and ride nice for years with just occasional leather treatment.

I felt similarly, Pete, about the V85 line for several years. The Jurassic Park beak and more were first-class "No Fornicating Way" warstoppers for me. I feel very differently now that I own one. It's not that I especially like its looks -- tho I have become fond enough of it to overlook its "defects" of that sort -- but it is, for me, at least, a joy to ride. It does almost nothing (that I have found) better than any other motorcycle, but it does everything in a singularly compliant and pleasant way. Bill

You know docc you forget how overrated horsepower is until you get on something like the RE. I'm sure your GB500 with slightly less hp/lb compared to my RE650 with the same engine is fun to ride is it not. Phil

I just saw these the other day and agree they do look good, especially in the teal colour! Often thought if I could ever have a second bike a 500 bullet in teal would be great for the back roads round here as they are very like rural England in many spots, but these are no more. This 650 could be good too! Hoi lottery gods....I'm getting tired o waiting for my numbers to come up!! Cheers

Of everything shown this year, I found myself liking the Royal Enfield Classic 650, especially the teal. Looks "just so." Yet, weighing in like a V11 with half the horsepower drains my enthusiasm.

That's great! I think there's a similar shop in Oregon, I'd have to look at my notes. (I don't actually have notes but it sounds better when I say that).

To be honest I had to look hard to find it! Having said that I find both the V100 and V85 series eye-wateringly ugly so I’m not the right person to ask!

@mikev, the 2000 Sport has a rather soft spring (springs, if you also consider the forks). The original Sachs spring is probably good for a 165 pound rider (in gear) with no luggage or racks. Have you "checked your sags?" If the sag is excessive, it cannot be properly corrected by simply cranking up the preload or increasing the damping.

"De gustibus et coloribus etc", but I found this 2025 color combination for the V100S (and, most importantly, non-black-colored wheels!) most impressive

You can still see the Rubbermaid logo. That's awesome! Also CAD actually stands for Cardboard Aided Design...

I was lucky and the documentation for the recall was included when I bought the bike. Mine was done at the original dealer, Moto International.

A modern day Greenie!

This is my 3rd season on the v11 and my second season on the road 5 tires. I put around 2k miles per season. I didn't notice what I interpret as the rear suspension bottoming out till this year. It's a pretty shitty section of road. I have not checked the sags. Will look for that thread. I am more than 165 lbs, haven't weighed that since high school probably.

That is quite possibly the first music of that general genre that I have listened to in 50 years. Quite likely, given my remaining time on the planet, that I won’t hear any of it again. But I do appreciate the sentiment of “whatever you want.” Bill

Sooo... from the city of lights, on my third day, and after watching all the videos on YT; As I thought, there were no real reveal for 2025 in Guzzi. The V7 Sport has inverted forks and a second rotor; however, they missed the mark with proposing what was for a very short while the fastest motorcycle when it was first introduced. They should have made it with the clip-ons. I felt like watching an Apple presentation, with new colors and slightly different screen sizes. Or maybe I am disappointed because I was expecting a mid-capacity new engine. Ducati introduced their new V2, non desmo.

How fing ugly is that active cruise control radar box on the front! Like an after thought, Seriously. Phil

Nice write up there...So it's more of an homage to the mountains rather than an Africa Twin livery copy. Coincidence on the styling, but nice back story to be sure.

I understand it is a limited edition model being released specifically to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the opening of the Stelvio Pass. https://www.cycleworld.com/bikes/moto-guzzi-stelvio-duecento-tributo-first-look/ Rob

Yes, the blue is great. With some of my stash of various Carabinieri decals on it, it would look even better ... 112! Oh, and @audiomick, there is something fetching about "slightly bored looking" girls ... or, at least for me, that one. Bill

Oh I'm in trouble now...look at the blue V100! Just lovely! Have to say that the V85 gets better looking each year...nicely kitted out for adventures and still very stylish.

All that corrosion around the slave could simply be from the bleeder. Or from some prior attempt to bleed it. Might consider cleaning it up and using Teflon tape on the bleeder. After decades (literally now) of discussion over the front U-joint, best access looks to be from the front, coming across the U-joint guard through the shaft tunnel in the swingarm, and downward onto the Zerk (Zerk pointing upward, with the swingarm lowered) using an adjustable angle tip at 90º-ish . . . Otherwise, "You know. Snake Farm " . . .

Did a little research on Boz Scaggs and he was talking about Steve Miller being an influence for (hmm.. Steve Miller that's someone I haven't thought about in awhile).

Hi folks, and thanks for sharing the how-to on this subject. Just sharing that this morning (November 2024) I called the Piaggio USA Customer Service phone number, 212-380-4400, and inquired about my V11 VIN number. The nice guy who answered the phone (the aforementioned Willie) was able to look it up immediately. He then said "Hmmm, what I see here is a Flex Hose recall". To which I was able to say, "That's it, the transmission recall". To which he was able to say, "OK...yea...well that work was completed on 4/11/2004". He had no more information, but really, that's all I needed. The whole call took maybe 2 minutes. I was pleased/impressed that they had the info at their fingertips once given the VIN and an accurate translation of Flexible Hose.

I don't know which part of Japan you are living, you should maybe put the name of the city in your profile card, but I don't know if you ever saw 46works YouTube videos, this guy is some kind of wizard for preparing Guzzis and BMWs. I don't think he would be interested in working on your bike, he is more like a custom prep, but giving him a call may be worth your while. https://46works.net/