Orson

I rode all day in the rain in my aerostich one piece suit and I was comfy the whole time. It wasn't until I took the suit off at the end of the day that I realized I was wet in the crotch area. I guess that's kind of a plus...that I was getting wet but didn't realize it. I'm no garment expert but, I would wager that a perfectly dry rain suit doesn't exist. If it did, those around the world sailboat racers would have them!

while I have no qualms with the looks, I'm a firm believer in getting what you pay for. If you go for the cheapest product, something inevitably seems to happen whether it be poor quality, poor workmanship or poor service.

Squashie, I'm amazed that you wear out your front tire (tyre) before the rear. In all my years of riding, I've usually averaged about 2 rear tires for every front tire. You must be a demon late braker As for the difference in your wear rates than everyone elses...maybe the Labor (Labour) government inflates the mileage rates so that they can collect more road taxes Speaking of tire brands...I tried lots of different brands on my old FJ and I seem to remember Metzler ME-33s felt very planted and confidence inspiring. Of course that was many years ago and tire technology has evolved a lot since then...

at 11,000 KM or +/- 7000 miles, my OEM BT020s are ready to be replaced as, I had a few "moments" in tree shrouded, damp corners. Then there was that decreasing radius, inside a blackened tunnel, hairpin turn somewhere in northern Italy. Whew! No complaints though, as virtually all 11,000 KM were touring miles and up until the last bit, I never experienced any loosness or vagueness. BTW...I've been running 32 PSI front and rear.

11,000 KM with no problems other than a weeping oil leak from the timing chain cover. The foggy tach and the stutter in city traffic don't count If they refined this bike to the limit...it would be a Honda VFR...and I don't think that's what anyone here was looking for. It seems the more a bike is refined, the more charm & character you sacrifice. I love the way the bike lurches to the right when you blip the throttle...character by the bucketful

City traffic...that's my theory...Guzzis HATE city traffic (nod nod nod) I suspect Guzzis prefer open stretches of pavement...kinda like those pave the earth newsgroup guys who favor paving the earth into a perfect asphalt sphere then, circumnavigating the globe in high horsepowered vehicles.

Speaking of Texas backroads, if y'all ever get a chance, you should make the trek to Big Bend National Park. Awesome desert mountain terrain. Then there's the climb up to Chisos Basin. It's something like a 2500' elevation change in 7 miles. You can feel the temperature change as well as the vegetation, from desert shrubs to pine trees. On the way back to civilization you can stop at Balmoreah Springs. The 60 degree water is breathtaking on a blistering summer's day.

Forgive me...I gotta say it, re: GPS Wherever you go...there you are. There...I feel better

I was provided 2 seats with my Tenni by Moto Guareschi. The brown suede one and the regular black one. I don't know if 2 seats come with all Tennis or they were being extra nice to me. I opted for the black one because I didn't want rain to ruin the suede saddle. I must admit, I kinda like the look of the suede one. It goes well with the Guzzi racing green. Then again, I could just be weird I saw a color photo of one of Guzzi's race bikes from the 50's and it had a suede saddle so, I guess the Tenni's suede saddle was dictated by tradition.

Hiya, I bought Tenni #61 from Moto Guareschi in Parma, Italy. I work in Saudi Arabia but, I left the bike in Europe so that I can enjoy riding the Alps every chance I get. The Saudi drivers are just too crazy to ride down here and, the roads aren't very scenic. Moto Guareschi is a real Mom & Pop operation. The mom runs the office and the pop is the chief mechanic. Their two sons also help service the bikes. The name didn't ring a bell at first but, the eldest son turned out to be Vitto Guareschi, former Yamaha WSB team mate to Scott Russell and current Ducati Moto GP test pilot. All of them were great help during my purchase and even offered to store my bike free of charge while I toil away in Saudi Arabia. They also threw in Tekno soft luggage free of charge. I'm including a photo of my Tenni. This was taken last July on the Isle of Skye off the west coast of Scotland. See ya, Orson

I've had occassional hiccups...usually at stop lights. I think Guzzis just hate city traffic cuz, out on the open road it's great. I keep hearing Guzzis get stronger with age...maybe it's just going through the process of "loosening up"...nod nod...ya, that must be it (positive thinking)

I'm guessing the Ohlins are probably only meant for the Rosso Corsa model and not the standard Le Mans.

Woo hoo!! (Homer Simpson Mode) Nice bike!! Congrats! I've put in 8 to 10 hour days on my stock Tenni with no major aches or pains. Just like bicycle racers developing a butt callous...just get on and ride..the miles will take care of them selves I'm gonna try to attach a pic of my Tenni on the Isle of Skye off the west coast of Scotland in mid July.

Sport or Le Mans...Sport or Le Mans...hmmm...if only all life's decisions were so enjoyable. The LM's fairing provides surprisingly good protection in spite of its retro 80's look. At least as much protection as my old FJ. Then, the sport has that gnarly hooligan look about it...guess it comes down to whether you wanna be a tourist or a hooligan

I test rode a Truimph Sprint back in 2000 and came away impressed with the ride and the power delivery of the inline triple. I was leaning towards either an 1150-RT or the Sprint to replace my aging but beloved FJ. Then came the V11 and all reasoning went out the window. I'm no expert on the matter but, I think it comes down to European bikes having a soul. There was absolutely nothing wrong with my old FJ. It was a great bike and I had many wonderful trips on it. The same goes with the Honda VF-800. All the bike mags rate it as one of the best examples of two wheeled engineering...except, I feel as if it has no soul. The Guzzi has it in spades. The way the instrument panel jiggles when you start her up. The heavy agricultural thunk of the transmission as you put her in gear. The way the shaft drive torque slews the bike sideways when you blip the throttle at a standstill. The way you can wring the throttle without worrying about ending up in a ditch, as you would if you were on an R1....i wanna go ride

Thanks for the tire review. I'm due to replace my original Bridgestones. Sooo many good quality tires out there to choose from. I had Metzler M33's on my old FJ-1100 and they were quite good...and Michelins have a good rep...and I certainly could find no fault with the OE Bridgestones. Then there's Pirellis. Gotta have Italian tires on an Italian bike, some say Decisions, decisions... Get well soon Jaap!

Tim, I just reached 10,000 KM on my Tenni, all of them long distance touring KMs (surprisingly comfortable seat). It's taken me from Northern Italy to Scotland and back ( not all in one trip). The only troubles to report are a minor oil leak from the timing chain cover and, an occassional stutter in city traffic. She much rather prefers the open road. If most of my miles were going to be in the city, I might consider something water cooled and Japanese But, whose to say what it is inside us that makes us want a bike so badly? In all my years as a bike nut, Guzzis never did attract my attention as anything other than quirky or funny looking ( though I did admire the old Le Mans' Italian flare)...that is until this new Le Mans came out. Oh...one more small problem...the Guzzi seems to have this propensity for attracting elderly males everywhere it goes when, it's supposed to be attracting comely young females although I must be fair...it has garnered some approving looks from the farer sex but, mostly it attracts older males like bees to honey

9500 km / 6100 mi. All of them touring miles. I went from the dealer's showroom floor in Parma,Italy, across the Alps, to the UK & Scotland. Never failed me. Only a minor oil leak from the timing chain cover. From what I hear, Guzzis keep getting stronger & stronger as the miles pass.

9500 km / 6100 mi on the stock BT020s. They look to have another 1 or 2 thousand miles left in them. No complaints. No "moments". Though there was an intersection where, I applied the brakes right at the same moment the front tire went over an unseen paint can lid I slid forward as if on ice. When I released the brake, the paint can lid slid away. It made for one of those seat puckering moments. Not the tire's fault though.

A previous thread here made mention of hard to read dip sticks. One writer said he roughed up the tip of his dip stick with some emory cloth or sandpaper and said that it made it easier to read the oil level.

okokok... so, I may have stretched the definitions of "biker". Out of about 75 bikes in the employee's lot, I think maybe one or two were Guzzis. The rest were a rag tag collection of clapped out enduro bikes and small displacement Euro "commuter" type bikes and a whole army of mopeds but, hey! A bike is a bike A side note : I got sent to school by these moped riders while in Italy, most of them with the grim WW I flying ace expressions on their faces much like Snoopy has when he dreams he's flying his Sopwith Camel. As I was dutifully trolling behind a city bus, waiting for a place to pass, I got zapped by a teenage GIRL on her moped, who then proceeded to zap the bus....oh...so that's how it's done. Then I got behind a guy who was cutting a pretty good swath thru traffic on his moped and seemed to know the ropes. We were zooming along splitting lanes and such when, we were BOTH passed by an elderly matron in a DRESS (probably on her way to a hair dressing appointment). Oh, the humiliation...and me, on a 1000cc Tenni. It's every man (and woman) for himself. If you can fit your handlebars thru the gap, you go for it, oncoming traffic be damned. ( I loved Italy). Ooops. Sorry for wandering off the thread

I have empathy for those fellow Guzzistas who are suffering from tales of woe but, I thought I might instill a ray of hope into the Forum by saying I rode my Tenni from Northern Italy, across the Alps, to the UK, some 7000 km, with nary a hiccup but for a slight leak in the timing cover seal. I also take comfort in what I have read from more experienced Guzzi owners that, the engines only get better with age. Maybe these troublesome bikes were the ones that were built on Friday afternoons (weak attempt at humor). As a footnote, I might add that, when I visited the Guzzi factory, the employee's parking lot was filled with bikes of every ilk, far outnumbering the cars so, maybe there is some comfort to be taken by knowing the bikes are being built by fellow enthusiasts (is a Motobecane rider considered a fellow enthusiast?)(more weak humor).

Thanks everyone for your responses. I guess that's where my confusion began...the bike shop telling me 10,000 km and the warranty book saying 7500 km. Kinda reminds me of the funny English translations you used to get in Japanese owner's manuals Now, if I only knew if they meant 7500 km period...or 7500 km from the 1500 km initial servicing. That would be 1500 + 7500 = 9000 km? I think I'm getting dizzy P.S. I think the Guzzi dealer in Mandello (Agostinos?) may have Le Mans owner's manuals.

Stoopid question: I'm confuzzled as to what the correct interval is for having my Guzzi serviced. The manual says 7500 km. The dealer told me 10,000 km. I think I read in Cycle World that it needs to be serviced every 3000 miles(or was that 6000 miles?), whick is about 5000 km. Note: I'm in Saudi Arabia. I bought the bike from a shop in Italy. The bike(and the owner's manual) is at a friend's house in England, hence I'm trying to recall all this from memory.

I apologize if anyone was offended by my post. I realize this is a Technical Forum and people are interested in their bike's performance. I just spouted off with a meaningless opinion. Again, I apologize if anyone took offense.