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From the horse's mouth: 1) Worldwide Manufacturer's identification code: Moto Guzzi = ZGU 2) Vehicle type 3) variation in the type 4) version 5) Manufacturing year: Y=2000, 1=2001... 6) Manufacturing plant: M=Mandello del Lario 7) Chassis number (111111 refers to the first ever vehicle manufactured)

Well, I perused the site, did a search and failed to see any thread about it. But I know you guys are aware of the Moto Guzzi 100 years celebration. I suggest that you get yourselves one of these, as it looks like an incredible piece of work... I have ordered mine from Amazon.IT; if you do a search on Amazon.com, it does not appear. note: Amazon.it and Amazon.com are separate entities. I have ordered from Amazon.it in the past, and had to use Amazon.com to meddle. Here's what is said in Italian: -Book dedicated to the 100 years of Moto Guzzi. In a large format volume (30 by 23 cm) with hard covers, 160 pages printed on high quality paper. I paid 68.24 EUR (20.69 shipping charges). The book is not yet available, although released on October 1st, 2020. I also give another site's URL: mandellofactory.com; there is an option for English language.

I am becoming a rider again, after so many years of being inactive... I need to equip myself properly, and I am only familiar with a lot of oldies brands, the ones that everyone can name from memory. However, this is 2020, and there maybe other brands that are just as good. First of all, where do you shop for rider's gear? is Cycle Gear a good start? Do any of you ride with an "air bag" jacket? as in Dainese Smart Jacket? Is "BILT" a good brand? never heard about it before. I do not compromise with safety. I always ride with all the necessary PPE, and with risk, my motto is ALARP/A (As low as reasonably possible/achievable). That being said, Texas is hot and humid most of the year. I would be great to get advice and recommendation for those of you who don't ride in shorts, T shirts and flip flops... Thanks for chiming in...

Check out Santa Claus driving a multiple Moto-Guzzi sleigh for Christmas!!!

This is why I love Texas so much! you can be anywhere in the world when you are in Texas...

Bellissima! Dovrei avere la mia al inizio di Gennaio. Non il modello Rosso Corsa, pero sempre "Le Mans".

From Fredericksburg Texas...

I did not ask anything yet... I am still a freshman here, and I am slowly making my way through all the posts.... I have not seen the bike other than the brief video that I asked the seller to send to me. I just went on Cycle Trader, typed Moto Guzzi V11 Le Mans, and it came up... I fell in love immediately and after a little bit of email exchange with the seller, I went ahead an purchased it. I initially wanted to make the 8 hours trip from Houston to Pensacola, to check it out myself, however Christmas got in the way. This is a consignment bike. The owner, is 60 years old, and can't ride it anymore because too painful for his back. Or at least, this is what I was told. I will be able to tell you more about the bike once I get it. But this is not going to happen before early next year. I am going to fly to Pensacola and drive back to Houston with it. That's the proper way to christen any bike....

Well, it is all relative... This is only my fourth two wheels, and third motorcycle. My first was a moped when I was 14 but that does not count My second was a Suzuki T350 when I was 16. Back then, you could get your biker's driver license at 16. No longer the case obviously.... Of course, there are more twists to tell about.... At 14, I belonged to a Moto-club; among us we had guys racing Suzuki's prepared by Crooks in UK. Guess who was in charge of warming up and doing a few laps to check out the vitals? I more or less rode on any bike from the club, that includes Ariel. Then I chose an international company and became an expatriate. In my early days, I got stationed in Italy. Based out of Siracusa, I mail ordered a Harley from the only Italian dealer in Italy at the time. The Italian will remember him: Carlo Talamo owner of Numero Uno in Milano. I was almost certain to be the sole HD owner in Sicily. I think I have a video that I should maybe share. When I parked in Houston, I immediately wanted to purchase a Ducati. However, my spouse took quickly stock of how dangerous distracted driving was here. I kept an eye out for Motorbikes, and after I found this Guzzi Le Mans, I managed to get an authorization from the general to purchase. I had to promise not to ride on the highways though... The video below is a presentation of Numero Uno.

I was trying to picture myself searching to acquire each and every color of the same model, and I could not. To me, they incarnate some kind of constellation of their own.

Apparently yes.... no question he is a collector! Having lived 10 years in Italy myself, I have met people who worshiped Moto Guzzi and even got the opportunity to visit a very special barn close to Bergamo, where one guy kept a good selection of early Guzzis... the guy was so passionate that we ended spending several hours redoing all his life.. Finding the same level of interest in the USA is mesmerizing... I wish I could talk to the guy!

I wish the best to all of the V11 forum participants, and am hopeful that we will meet on the site and outside for many more years to come! Have a wonderful Christmas, wherever you are....

Here's the bike I am purchasing tomorrow, December 24th, 2020.

Gone already! How about these?

I thought UK was part of the EU? well at least until December 31st 2020.... In terms of wide open roads, I picture Australia as this....

Well, I would say not exclusively Parisians. In the 70's, in France, being a biker meant to belong to a very special fraternity. What is depicted in the Joe Bar Team cartoons was based on real events, of course amplified to make it like look like a meme. It was called the "biker' spirit". During these golden days, each passing biker would salute you. If you would break down, the first passing biker would stop to help you. This was completely out of this world. I went to rallies and races all over Europe. The 2 stroke versus 4 stroke was real, and the two cylinders versus four too. I have ridden on most of the bikes shown on the first Album of the Joe Bar Team. I read the book from Anne France d'Hauteville: Une demoiselle sur une moto. She did the Orion raid Paris to Isfaban Iran) on a Moto Guzzi California. I don't think the book was ever translated into English. However, I can tell you that the Guzzi she rode went all the way from Paris to Pakistan and back. Her major mechanical problem was to replace the axle on the front wheel. She dropped the bike so many times, but a Guzzi is so reliable... Can you imagine doing Europe to Iran nowadays? this was possible in the 70's...

Read up about the Joe Bar Team if you never heard about it; It is a cartoon about bikers in the 70's; this is hilarious and it talks to most of us from the "old days" because we have been in these situations depicted in the cartoons. Here are a few examples below; you can purchase the cartoons in English, and some of the stories don't even require translation. There are some Moto Guzzi in the stories, but I could not find any available from the web. I used to have all these cartoons, but they were lost.... If any of you have read or heard about the Joe Bar Team, please let me know. They also have a complete line of biker's wear.

Nevada and Arizona are two of the states where you can worry to be lost for ever... some of the gas stations are those that you still see in the old movies, just like a general grocery store with gas pumps up front. As in "No country for old men"; of course, you don't have to ask the owner to flip the coin...

@LowRyter Thanks for the tip. I think I had the Gas Buddy installed on my phone back then. When I travel, my phone is always out of sight. Agreed that my most likely solution would be to add the way points. I am not riding anything yet, but I know that I only want to take in the panorama, and enjoy the dizziness of being out there, surrounded by nothing, stumping away and vibrating in harmony with a V11 underneath my bottom. 180 miles tank range is not adapted to Big Bend National Park... Or even Monument Valley... although I think I remember they had a gas station just at the entrance of the park...

Hey there, Cabernet; Before I get to what I want to say, I would like to tell you a little about who I am, so you understand where I am coming from. Thanks for your detailed written review. I find that written reviews are more informative than these "talking heads" videos. I am European, and live and reside in H'town Texas since 2008. I have been a "motard" since the 70's, however I am currently not owning a bike, but hoping to change my status in the near future. I like the Beeline. I am probably going to purchase one, if and when I become a Guzzisto. (Male, singular), Guzzista (Female singular), Guzzisti (Male plural), Guzziste (Female plural). Now, one feature that I deem essential, is the mileage to destination count down displayed, together with the ETA. See, here in Texas, once you start getting away from the large cities, refueling may become an issue. With newer motorcycles, autonomy is less of a problem as you most likely have a reliable fuel tank gauge and an onboard computer that gives you the remaining autonomy in real time. As I am planning on having a 2004 Le Mans, I will always need to know where to get gas ahead of time. I went to Marfa Texas in November this year. It is about a 9 hours drive from H'town. Once you leave the I-10, things get wild for the better and the worse. As a work around, I could possibly input hops to destination. But it would be nice to have the remaining distance shown, to work out how long before I deplete my fuel. When I lived in Europe, I never really cared, because you are never far from a town. In the US, there are some states and roads that you can travel and not see anybody, where cell phone access can also be scarce. The photo below is taken on route 505, proceeding towards route 166 to 118; you can find Gas in the main cities only. Nothing in between. And this is the Chihuahua desert. Below is a screen capture of the "zone" around Marfa. There is nothing between the "cities". If you read this post, when the moderator means "direct", it means you simply paste the URL of the pic you want to embed. The web page decodes it automatically unlike before, when you had to have the proper code e.g. "BB" to define it.