Guzzimax

Replaced the Motobatt MBTX12U in my greenie today with a PC545 Odyssey that I had on the shelf that was intended for my LeMans when that goes back on the road. Surprised to see that the Motobatt claims a CCA of 200 amps compared to 150 for the Odyssey. I still need to buy a new battery, still unsure about going away from AGM / gel, so am going to look into Yuasa’s AGM offerings

I bought my first V11, which is a 2002/03 black frame, but with the earlier “short” tank only 4 years ago as an alternative Guzzi to my Griso, I’d always liked the classic look of the V11, and IMHO they were the last “raw big blocks”, as much as I like the Griso, the CARC bikes just feel smoother. Then around a year later I bought a V11 Le Mans, then another year on I decided I’d quite like an early red framed V11, I found a fantastic Silver 5000 miler in great condition, bought that. Then only a month or so after getting the red framed V11, a Ross’s Corsa came up for sale, and it was too good an opportunity to pass, so I bought that. Then earlier this year I was seriously looking at an early carb 1100 Sport, but I couldn’t get on with the riding position, so I passed on that and shortly afterwards spotted this 1999 greenie for sale. For various reasons I felt it would be a great purchase, even though I already have a near mint silver 1999 red frame, and here I am with 2 red frames, 3 black frames and Griso. I do plan to downsize & sell the V11 Le Mans this year, since I bought the Rosso Corsa, so I’ll be back down to 4 V11’s

Never owned a Stelvio as I’m not really into dual sport bikes. I prefer road focussed bikes; I’ve got a 8v Griso that I’ve now had for 7 years, and for me the Griso is different enough to a V11 to make me appreciate the qualities of both bikes. I’ve promised myself I will test ride a V85TT this year as my local dealer now has a demonstrator just to see if there’s anything that moves the Guzzi experience on from the CARC bike era, but I’m not too optimistic; for me the various V11’s and Griso are the last of the sporting big block Guzzi’s

A friend has just fitted a LiPo battery in his BMW F800, was impressed by how light it is, compared to a conventional lead acid battery, but he’s only had it for 2 weeks, and I don’t know of anyone with long term experience of how they last. Also would they be more prone to overcharging damage that seems typical with a V11 ? I have another V11 which has a now 6 year old Odyssey that’s still going strong, whereas another V11 seems to have overcharged its Odyssey in less than 6 months. I honestly don’t know if LiPo’s are worth the high price premium. I’m not too bothered about saving a few kgs in battery weight, I could save a lot more myself if I could eat fewer pies

Just bought this rather nice green V11 Sport, to enhance my Guzzi collection. It’s got a Motobatt battery, only 3 years old but now starting to struggle in turning the engine over from cold. My other Guzzi’s all have Odyssey batteries, but I’ve read mixed reports on these and recently had to change a 6 month old one under warranty as it had started to leak. I realise that asking for advice about batteries is like asking for oil brand advice, but I would value anyone’s opinion about which battery to buy as a replacement?

Hey vtwins4 life. Here in the UK there are only 478 MT01s registered, which makes it quite rare. It was never imported into the US. But to put the numbers into perspective there are only 206 V11 Sports (all years) in the entire UK - even rarer Guzzi’s have only sold in tiny numbers here

Yep, it’s the Roadstar engine in a naked die-cast aluminium frame, upside down forks, R1 brakes, Akrapovic exhaust cans, bit of a unique machine

What can I say about the MT01...a combination of a 1670 cc pushrod air-cooled V Twin with massive torque, something like 2600 rpm at 70 mph, but forks and brakes from an R1, all wrapped up in an aluminium frame, it’s a unique riding experiance. Didn’t sell well at all when launched in the UK as Yamaha were very over optimistic with their pricing, so they are now quite rare over here. Now getting more appreciation and becoming a little collectible.

I think the Ballabio handlebars would be around the same height, but would angle the hands differently. The bars appear similar to those of my Griso, very comfortable when riding gently, but a lot of wind resistance when “making progress” but I suppose the Ballabio’s small (ugly) fairing would help a lot...

My 2003 Sport has the crinkly engine paint, blank faced instruments, and clips ons that are above the triple clamps. It’s fitted with Mistral cans

Opps something went wrong with the pic upload!

My 2003 Sport has the black faced instruments

The V11 LeMans, Griso and MT01

My Rosso Corsa and V11 Sports

Greetings everyone, first post but I’ve been lurking around for some time. I’m a long standing Guzzi owner with maybe too many V11’s and a Griso 8V. The current crew consist of an early red framed 1999 V11 Sport, a black framed 2003 V11 Sport, a recently purchased 2003 Rosso Corsa and a 2004 Le Mans which I’m planning to sell now that I’ve acquired the Rosso Corsa. I’ve seen a Ballabio that’s caught my attention, and I’m interested in your opinions if there is anything the Ballabio does that the “standard” V11 Sport doesn’t? Both my current red and black framed V11 Sports are keepers being very low mileage almost immaculate examples that I wouldn’t want to sell Any thoughts would be most welcome