po18guy

As far back as I can remember, every Guzzi has been an owner involvement relationship. Not for the casual, the weekend warrior, or the urban poseur. In recent years, that has sadly been PeeAhGeeOh's aim.

Here's a vid with some close-up details and some fellow gushing over it. With slightly lower bars, it might be seen as a NewGen Cafe Sport/Coppa Italia with the standard model a Novo Ballabio perhaps.

I was going to say that, the more any future model (or aftermarket body kits) looks like the MGS-01, the better!

Someone here is going to have to take one for the team and buy one. On the upside, the exhaust now appears to replace the old spark plug/head guard.

Basil Fawlty (John Cleese) in Fawlty Towers listening to a portable cassette player. Wife Sybil: "Basil, turn off that racket" Basil: "That's Brahms... ...Brahms 5th racket!!!"

The vid is wrong. It should be this one:

Well, I had a 283 that I built and that much is true. Our ears catch that 270º interval even out of the eight cylinders. There's an engineering fellow who has posted YouTube vids showing why various engines sound differently. It can be the number of cylinders, the firing interval between cylinders, or both. The cross-plane Yamaha R1 is completely unique. By firing interval, it is kind of like two Guzzi engines linked together. But it also has a hint of that V8 sound. And here is Guzzi, Ducati etc. 270º twins. In my youth, I would have thought it sounds like a 289 Studebaker, 327 Rambler, or 352 Packard. Of course, all are cross-plane V8s, so sound alike.

Drifting here, but the pendulum swings. Just too slowly for my taste.

It has traces of the angry chicken 'tard look, which makes me want a naked bike. But, people are lining up to buy 'tards. Motards, that is. Give 'em time and money. They'll at least come up with a sporty look.

Government is human power over other humans. It takes on a life of its own. It is a cancer and grows until something or someone stops it. I have experienced both.

...who are at the mercy of benevolent governments.

Riddle me this one, Batman: if a 1225cc race bike is not believed to make 122 HP, how is this Euro5 bike supposed to make that much?

750 or 900 SS fairing with "touring" screen. NICE front brake upgrade.

Wasn't going to say much for a couple of reasons, mostly because it would be nonsense. BUT, from the side view one can see that the engine/trans has been put on a major diet and paring down. Alt must be driven by a jackshaft? Or tucked in the V. Not a big fan of the "adventure-touring lifestyle". But it does have the frame/suspension for a proper sport-ish bike. I see the cantilevered shock, but have they made the CARC appear even heavier? It looks really slim from the right side. OK, there's the nonsense. It is not only the Japanese who are inscrutable.

Dunno how good they are, but there are made in Italy TPS units for $80 or so. The early V11s are a little fussier than the later versions, but once the "usual suspects" are banished, they are pretty good. Compare adjusting 4 in-the-wind valves with basically all other bikes and the V11 begins to look rather good. https://www.ebay.com/itm/352802908767?hash=item5224b12a5f:g:SjIAAOxy0bRTAhm2

Just as the '55-'57 Chevys had 90º V engines, so also did Moto Guzzi's own '55-'57 GP racer. But, while racing could tolerate liquid cooling and frequent replacement of consumables, the road bike owner would likely not. I see the Ducati Apollo and Ariel Square Four being examples of too many air-cooled cylinders, given the heat dispersion and lubrication abilities of the day. So, why not cut the cylinder count down to a more manageable level, give them fins and rotate the cylinders out in the air stream? There being no O-ring or X-ring chains at the time, and given the bike's intended use, the air cooling and shaft drive made perfect sense. Particularly since a bevel drive would have to be added to use a chain. The design made such sense at the time, that Honda famously copied emulated it (probably claiming Lilac inspiration, but come on) with a new twist of the heads and the liquid cooling that the V8 possessed 20 years earlier. Laverda also gave a tip of their hat to the basic layout in their V6 test mules. By way of truism, as it is with all things that are, the V11 is what it is. Motorcycling history is littered with the carcasses of various men's brilliant ideas - ideas which were doomed for a variety of reasons. We have our idiosyncratic bikes through the persistence of the human will.

But, it's got a HEMI!!! Guzzi v. Chrysler 426.

The 1980 Kawi KZ1000H was the first fuel injected production bike, but AFAIK it had no integrated engine management system. Interesting that it was rated at 98bhp, but 264killos! Ouch! And I thought the V11 was heavy! https://japan.webike.net/KAWASAKI/Z1000H+KZ1000H/12708/m-spec/ "any sporty 600 will trounce it in the twisties, a 900SS is a better handler and an R1150R is a much more sophisticated and refined machine." Proof that some guys just don't get it.

Little be it known that the engine was not intended for something so plebeian as a tractor. It was actually to power Italy's locomotives, adding engines in series as needed for the Alps. It was decided that the power impulses would frighten the rail passengers.

Some guys have all the luck. The traditional Guzzi dealer in Seattle retired and closed shop. Unless his employees are now at the two dealers who opened several years later, the new dealerships are hipster types who place the V11 in the late Pleistocene era.

New Hampshire, you say? Cycle Gear in Manchester can get them, and mount and balance them. Or Pirellis, Dunlops, Michelin, etc.

When my ankle heals (another V11 story), and since the rear Michelin had a nail has a repair, I think I might try the Avons. For my riding, which is moderate twisties and intertstate/motorway, it seems to be appropriate. A three minute vid.

Here is a thread covering one aftermarket centerstand. My V11 has one. It is well made, but poorly engineered. The pivot point needs to be about 2" higher with the stand's legs increased about the same amount. As it is, you are lifting the bike too near vertical in the first part of the lift. The rear tire ends up about 1 1/2" from the ground. Therefore, I roll the rear wheel onto a 2X6 laid flat and the stand is much easier to deploy. Takes a little balancing act, but it works.

If the bike is one owner, then something is amiss, clutch-wise. If the bleeding and cleaning/lubing of the lever and pivot do not help, I cannot imagine what the issue is. I swapped out the OEM levers for shorty CNC units, adjusted the lever plunger screw and lever for reach, and no problems. No arthritis, but I do have neuropathy in both hands. A different diameter master cylinder might help and is not all that costly - cost being very relative here.

All of the above is true, as it comes from rider/owners. Guzzis are an acquired taste. Growing up around radial aircraft engines, certain parallels may be seen. They are, by definition, the road less traveled - and for many of us that is precisely what we seek. Being shafties, they prefer to corner on the gas, or at least neutral throttle. The shaft itself is very well controlled and your rear wheel will be dusty rather than greasy - a more than fair exchange. The suspension runs from very good to excellent. Cruising at 4K or just above, the engine is notably smooth and you make excellent time, provided that where you are going allows (or overlooks) such velocity. You don't always want penne arrabbiata - but when you do , nothing else will satisfy.