Leaderboard

As a general comment on society these days which relates to this topic in a high level kind of way is that we are all now prisoners of loony fringe dwellers. The LFD's have always been out there of course but modern instant communications technology has enabled them to all connect in real time and manufacture "influence" with the political establishment. There's a reason that in the past LFD's were LFD's and not politically or socially influential and that was because letting them have influence would drive society down the "Alice in Wonderland" loony rabbit hole. Now they are all interconnected via modern communications tech and have "influence" that's where we are heading. Strap in for the ride it's going to get worse before it gets better. As a student of 20th century history I was always fascinated how propaganda on a mass scale was used to influence the masses to follow seriously unhinged paths and often imagined the process. Well now I don't need to use my imagination because I'm living it every day more and more. The LFD's, political and social influence and propaganda are all connected by the same thread. Phil

This thread reminds me of a job i did maybe fifteen years ago. Now, i love a Good coffee, have one every morning using a wee Dualit machine with Lavazza espresso beans. Yum. I was on a job plastering this chaps chimney breast and I’m working away, spread spread spread, he’s got a few chums round having a natter, then this smell of coffee wafts through to the room i’m workin in… dear gawd it smells divine, like really really good coffee. So i’m working away there, spread spread spread, and after a while he pops his head in and gives it: “That’s looking really good there Stewart, would you like a brew at all?” “That’d be super, thank you, I’d love a coffee cheers” I says, smackin me lips in anticipation (I can still smell the Good Stuff on the ether). 5 mins later he comes in and hands me a mug of nescafe. Git.

it's weird, and not about cars

Awright! he is excused then.... incidentally, I left the Facebook Moto Guzzi Quota group a few days ago. I don't like the format, the restrictions; I thought I had finally found one possible way to use Facebook, but then navigating the way they want you to post, the contact photos which require the user to flip through them to see them all, the automatically hidden replies chosen arbitrarily, so you have to click to have all the answers, sometimes multiple times. Garbage! I am better off it.

Indeed. I only owned one, a Honda MVX 250. Sad story, actually: I helped my girlfriend at the time in choosing it. She only rode it for a couple of months before she had a really nasty accident. Someone turned across in front of here, and she suffered multiple fractures in the right leg, and a ruptured knee in the left, pretty much all of the ligaments on the knee. Anyway, I got the bike, got a new frame for it, and rode it for a while. Nice, actually. What I would have really like to have had was a Kawasaki KR 250 S, but never could afford one. I also rode an NS 400 R a couple of times, an RD 250 (it made the rounds in my circle of friends, and proved indestructable), a brief ride on a Suzuki RGV 250, and one time a TZ 350 race bike on a track. The TZ was simply amazing. So two-strokes have their charm, but are most likely a thing of the past. As far as four-stroke motors go, obviously I like the Guzzi V-Twins, both the big-block and the small-block versions. Visceral, invigorating maschines. Lovely. But, I still do like inline-four motors. I had a long and in-depth relationship with a 1976 Z 900 whilst I was still in Melbourne, and about 10 years of GTR 1000 here. Before that, 6 or 7 years with a Honda CBX 650 E that someone gave to me as a birthday present. A fundamentally boring motorcycle, actually, but the motor was really quite nice. The Guzzi motors offer something that no-one else does (not even Ducati, despite the similarites...), but a Japanese in-line four can also be good. At least, if it is a Kawasaki. I've ridden some pretty boring Honda and Yamaha in-line fours too.... PS: I once rode a Triumph 750 Triple that a mate in Melbourne had for a while. One of the old ones that were created by adding a third cylinder to the Triumph vertical twin 500 motor. I think it was, essentially, a boat anchor, but it was really good fun to ride for that brief ride. A motor that really let you know it was there, even if it wasn't actually producing a great deal of useful power. I think that has something in common with the Guzzi motors. These days, they are not really anywhere near the ball game as far as power output goes. But the way they do that what they do is entrancing.

Finally got to watch the guy's video today before taking mySport out on a beautiful autumn day here. I enjoyed reflecting on his philosophical take on motorcycling while slipping along the creeks and over the ridges.

When Jaguar was part of the Land Rover/Aston Martin/Jaguar Trident, it was a good time for the marques and the Ford developed V8 engines put in the LR's were exceptional...MUCH much better than the BMW engines which while smooth enough were oil leakers extraordinaires. Aston Martin was carved off the group, went off on its own, leaving LR/Jaguar to operate for a bit until being bought by Tata, irony of ironies that a superb Indian company would buy out the crown jewel of British Automotive Industry. How humiliating for the UK, how sweet for India to get revenge on the British empire after waiting 80 years since independence...in automotive terms of course. Politics aside, the Rovers have been exceptional since 2006 onwards. LR has been doing very well, Jaguar unfortunately is floundering. I did think the F-type was a beautiful design, but it doesn't appear that they sold enough volume. The ad above for Jag, or maybe we should call it Hag, is further evidence of how far off the mark this brand has gone...what did someone call it...a dumpster fire or something to that effect?

yep, and you could take the piss out of jag owners back in the day- heyy nice jag, oo it has ford switches etc etc haha

Reminds of the Brit character from the TV show "Mad Men". The guy's wife purchased him a new XK-E. Later that day he got his ex-pat tax bill from the British govt. He knew he was broke and couldn't pay it. (Warning: ironic and very dark)

Skip to 37:13 for the abridged version . . .

Coincidentally, this appeared today. https://www.facebook.com/share/p/12Bk2czNN7T/

It is apparently with some refinements. Phil

I recently went to look at a V11 Sport I am interested in. I have seen it in the classifieds off and on for 2 years now, so it seems like it doesn't have many people interested in it. I would like your input on its condition if you would be so kind. I cut and pasted this post from another forum, so my apologies if you have seen it already. The guys there said this was the place to be for V11 knowledge. Thanks in advance. Beautiful color. Plastic tank. Any worries there? Motor has general oil sweats over it. I couldn't find the leak, If the mileage is to be believed, this is somewhat disappointing. What's up with the shaft tube? Is this normal? It seems a little, agricultural in fit and finish. That doesn't really turn me off if eveything is mechanically as it should be. Again, general oil sweating over the tube. No experience here. Lol, that brake light is the same Emgo unit I put on my XS650. It's a sign! Again with the sticky film on the final drive. I'm not sure if Guzzis have an incontinence issue, or the owner wasn't handy enough to fix the issue. Has some minor blemishes. To be expected after 20+ years. Must have been a stateside bike. Mileage is super low, if the speedo gears haven't already packed it in. Seems a bit fishy for the age of the bike.The forks have a sticker on them stating that the bike was modded to meet Transport Canada regs in 2013. The bike has some 4" bar risers installed. Ergos seemed really good. It started ok, after a few tries. Starter spins up a bit slowly. Nature of the beast? Sounds lovely, with the characteristic sideways tug when the throttle is blipped. No noises except the dry clutch rustle. Clutch action seemed quite light compared to my old XS with the heavy duty EBC springs, which did nothing to stop the slipping! If this is in decent shape, it would probably fulfill my desire for s simple, torquey, sporty/standardish twin, with a dollop of Italian flair to boot. It looks better in the ad than in person, but bikes usually do.At $4000 CAN, it's not a huge financial risk, but a time bomb bike is no good no matter what the price. That price has dropped $1k in the last week or so, as the seller would like to clear it out before winter (towing company). I was given a list of recent repairs carried out on the bike, which included new tires, a new fuel pump, new turn signals and 2 new solenoids. I'm wanting to love it, but a few red flags has me wondering. What does your Guzzi spidey senses tell you all?

WelL I'm probably being overly cautious, but I'm not feeling it for this particular bike. I'll wait and see what comes up. I passed on a mint Anniversario while trying to decide on this one, but something will turn up. Thanks for the advice.

It appears to be. I didn't step in to phone anyone having no quid in hand to pay the call (I am, honestly, quite vague on what a "quid" is, but it is fun to say. ) A terrific gathering place in the unlikely place that is the town square of Gainesboro, Tennessee . . . https://www.bullandthistle.com/

Agree with the others here...Theres going to be a lot of work to get that bike into good condition (although we all have different standards so your expectations may be more accommodating). Interesting that the brake and clutch fluids look new too,... and so with the tires and the other maintenance items you say were done, it seems someone has taken a "little" bit of care with it. Was it the towing company that did this? If it were me I would want to get this for less than $4K Canadian because I figure I'll have some expenses in addition to the obvious; new battery, complete service, new relays and voltage regulator, plus what could be quite a few days of fiddling and messing around with stuff. As previously stated the seat cowl is missing. The rear needs a repaint as well. Have you heard it running after it is hot and does it stumble or hesitate? Didn't see whether you have ridden it... (but don't ride it if the tires are more than 5 - 6 years old) I'd pull both spark plugs and check them out. Run the VIN number through every data base you can...does it have ownership paperwork? Either way, the guys here are a fantastic resource and super helpful so you do now have access to a lot of knowledge. Good luck.

Mac , IDK what you have / have not done about this VII . I want you to understand you are buying (first) a project with many things to do to get this roadworthy . After you get this running , you will own a Italian motorcycle w/all it's personality . Mak a good decision and get this bike as cheap as possible . You don't want to buy a $5k motorcycle for $5k and put $1500 in to it. Good luck on your choice .

Yet, you have an Aermacchi (and an 1100 Sport-i), already? A.L.F.A. syndrome . . . "Always Looking For Another" . . .

"It Takes a Lot of Medicine to Go This Fast " . . . . So, @MacMcMacmac, can you get the Sport out for a ride? That Tango might just seal the deal . . . [edit: oh, yes, yes, we are a "technical" forum. Once we get past the passion and unbridled enthusiasm. "Let's ask the other inmates on the ward if I should bring this orphan V11 Sport home " . . . ]

Anybody who rode a SX650 for more than a couple seasons is probably the right guy to own a V11. For a lot of reasons...no wait, for *all* the reasons.

The V11 is a very different animal compared to the vertical twins "a la Briton". If you are looking for an easy going motorcycle, a 20+ years Guzzi that has not been run for an undisclosed amount of time will take some effort to restore to that careless status. I am saying this because the two Guzzi I purchased had most likely been ignored for some time. My V11 took some looking after before it became reliable. But once I ironed out the typical issues every V11 are known to have, it just works like clockworks. I went from 8k miles to 40k miles. I purchased the bike in December 2020, but only took possession of it in April 2021. The major part of 2021 was used to fix the odometer, the starter motor circuit. Thereafter, it is now a Swiss army knife.

All I can do is reiterate what others have said. It’s a seemingly low mileage machine that has likely spent a lot of time parked. This is more likely to be a curse than a blessing. If you do go ahead do not expect it to be a simple, ‘Turnkey’ proposition. On any machine like this I’d be taking the back end apart and checking stuff like the driveshaft alignment and the state of the outrigger bearing in the bevelbox which are notorious for getting water in and rusting out. The timing chest weep will need fixing but that is a simple gasket swap and most of the breather hoses will likely need replacement. Then it will need a full service and tune to make sure it runs correctly. That includes brake and particularly clutch fluid as V11’s, (And the CARC bikes.) are absolute murder on clutch fluid. I haven’t owned a V11 in a long while and never owned one here in Oz but I’ve ridden and worked on many and if I wasn’t ageing out of larger bikes would still dearly like to own one. They are comparatively rare here though and command higher prices than in the US/Canada. Put very simply, if you are just looking for a cheap and cheerful ‘Everyday ride’ that you don’t have to put any effort in to? I’d look elsewhere. If you are really drawn to the V11? Fill yer boots!

I'd go in with a lowball offer, maybe $3k Canadian. What can they say but no? After 2 years, and it's a towing company so they got it for nothing beyond the paperwork to recover the title- they're not invested. Cash is King. At $3k, I'd jump on it quick. At $4k, it's probably a pretty good price, if it doesn't need every single rubber bit replaced and every electrical connection made secure. Which it does, certainly. Pretty.

Leave the tire and oil threads to the amateurs. Here at V11LM.com, we take The Valve Adjustment from a maintenance task to the level of Philosophical Ritual.

Something important; why do you want to purchase a V11 from the early 2000? One thing we all have in common here, is that we do appreciate the Guzzi, especially the V11. We are willing to be forgiving to the little issues we all have experienced at one point or another. If you are in that category, and you are not simply curious, depending on how much you are willing to roll up your sleeves, those V11 are extremely reliable once you look past the little quirks here and there. You are not listing any other motorcycle in your profile. Is this a "getting back in the saddle"? There is not much you could do wrong in purchasing a V11 anyway. If you jump the gun, people here will help you all the way. Spares are reasonably available by mail order, and flowing supplies are no problem. As an aside, I recently changed the timing chest cover gasket, replaced it with a metallic one. But I ran the bike with the oil seepage for a long time. For the instruments, as Docc pointed out, there are many solutions. I have had my gauges fixed by a fellow in Tennessee who specializes in fixing and making reliable those Veglia Instruments. I also have Veglia on a Guzzi Quota and I got my tachometer fixed in Germany. But you can purchase modern replacements. After, it is a question of what you want to do, for what price. For the rest, I crisscross Texas with my V11 each year without a worry in the world...

I'll dive in! First, welcome to this V11 SpineFrame community! Yes, indeed, you are in the right place! All our V11 have the "Nylon" tank. Best not store ethanol fuel in it for long periods. Use non-ethanol for storage. If you are running the fuel through it regularly, a high octane premium with ethanol is probably fine, while not "ideal"." All of the oily haze looks like she could use a good cleaning. Yes, there could be a weep here or there (especially at the timing chest at the front of the engine). The "crinkle black paint" is a known issue with 2002 V11 and 2003 "Carryover" Sport that featured that beautiful burgundy tank and grey accents. There is a passenger seat cover missing, BTW. What year is this Sport being sold as? The rear fender has been removed in favor of a "tail tidy" mount for the license plate and closer signal brackets. Lots of folks like the cleaner look, but expect more road spray from wet roads. The white face Veglia speedometer/odometer are rather notorious for failure, usually because of the angle drive at the right side of the gearbox driving (or not driving) the cable. Numerous approaches to remedy are known, yet the mileage could be suspiciously low and hard to know if the speedometer has been changed. Or replaced more than once. (I'm on speedo #4 ). Honestly, looking closely at the typical road-wear places, she looks really clean, more like she's been sitting up quite a lot. Did you ride it to see how the speedometer needle (and odometer drum) act? I get $4000CAN as ~$2870US. Pretty easy money for an awesome bike if you can accept the foibles and "a certain amount of some owner involvement" . . . Best to you on this journey, @MacMcMacmac !

Another epic failure of my humor.

I am trying to understand what the marketing group that came up with this idea used to support that engagement. When I think of Jaguar, it is like Rolls Royce, or Aston Martin. A non nonsense company. Where did they got the feeling this orientation was going to be a hit? I think Jaguar was one of the brand caught in the let's move to only EVs. The lastest sales statistics showed that company was not doing very well. I got they needed to shake up the spider webs from the "old" Jaguar. Yet, I think they went too far into turning the company upside down. I think the latest events in the world are demonstrating that a large majority of the population wants to remain with the values that were the mainstay in the past. I recently logged on an administrative government website, and under the usual gender questions, there was a third choice. (I am talking about France). There is also the inclusive writting introduced in France. I must admit I am getting lost...