Daniel Kalal

You might want to repeat this over at WildGuzzi.com, but here's a general answer for you. The singles were never imported in any great number to the U.S., so even if they're fairly common in Europe, they might be a little to obscure for you. I'd love to have one, though. As for keeping up with traffic, it obviously depends on what your traffic looks like. High speed commuter freeways? No. The twins are more alike than different all the way back to the first V7. But, if you're looking for a sportbike, a Mark3 LeMans would be a good reliable mount to work on (and could be had cheaper than the more desireable Mark 1 LeMans or V7Sport). The old loop frame Eldo would probably be the top choice of the standards. There are lots of them out there, and they are a good handling, very reliable bike. I'd stick with an Eldo before going to an older Ambo. If you want to get more weird, how about a Convert with an automatic transmission? And, I guess you could look for the same bike that I have had since new (The California 2, not the Daytona). It's now 20 years old, but it's about as reliable a motorcycle as Guzzi ever made. They can be found for around $3,000 for one in pretty good shape. Finding parts is not a problem.

Oh man, that's a good looking purpose-built Guzzi. I like the puke bottle. where'd those forks come from?

I'll add what I have of the first year V11's (big files): http://www.dankalal.net/guzzibrochures/V11Sport_Cover.jpg http://www.dankalal.net/guzzibrochures/V11Sport_page_1.jpg http://www.dankalal.net/guzzibrochures/V11Sport_page_2.jpg http://www.dankalal.net/guzzibrochures/V11Sport_page_3.jpg http://www.dankalal.net/guzzibrochures/V11Sport_page_4.jpg http://www.dankalal.net/guzzibrochures/V11Sport_page_5.jpg http://www.dankalal.net/guzzibrochures/V11Sport_page_6.jpg http://www.dankalal.net/guzzibrochures/V11Sport_page_7.jpg I've always like this photograph (taken from the brochure) of the original V7Sport and the V11Sport with the same paint scheme.

Great Job, Jens. I scanned in the USA 1993 full model brochure, which covers the Strada, 1000S, Daytona, California III and SPIII. The scans are unedited, so some will be rotated 180. You can grab them all at: http://www.dankalal.net/guzzibrochures/ After a couple of weeks, I'll delete the files.

Interesting. Back when I became convinced that I had to have a Guzzi, it wasn't hard to find people who felt that the last real Guzzi was the bacon-slicer Falcone. That slow-turning single was a classic design that had seen many international race wins, and was available over many years. The V-twin wasn't entirely accepted as being true to Guzzi's heritage. After the Daytona was introduced, and then the 2-valve version of the same spine-frame motorcycle in the form of the Sport, there were many people who were upset that Guzzi brought back the long-respected name "Lemans" and put it on these new bikes with the weird frame. This wasn't a "real" Lemans. The Lemans name may be out of action for now, but it's certain that the name will be back on a new motorcycle. And, it will still be a real Guzzi.

what makes this a challenge is that--as far as I know--Shell has only major sponsership deal with the Ducati team, and yet, that frame is certainly not from Ducati. The fairing does, however, have the look of the MotoGP Ducati fairing even though the Ducati fairing has induction scoops in the front.

Are they cheaper than a ticket to get me back to Wichita?...

you mean this very Rosso Corsa that you're buying? I think I have, but I couldn't swear that it is the one you're getting. Is there some concern that all is not what it should be? Not to worry, Bob Troxel is as good a dealer as you'll find. He'll treat you right. Daniel (Wichita) Here's the only picture I could find that I took inside the shop (I had forgotten that Mike said I could have that MGS01 banner if I wanted it--I need to take them up on that)

I recently posted this at WildGuzzi and ST.N, so this is a repeat for most of you. The link goes to a summary of my favorite US roads. Some are great riding roads, but, others are nice for other reasons. The coverage is good for the upper-left quadrant, but less so for the other directions. The Motorcycle Roads

Here's the summary for a match-up between the Ducati 888 and the Daytona 1000 from the July 1993 issue of Cycle World. Keep in mind when looking at the numbers that the mods done for the A-kit along with the replacement FI chip (which the ebay motorcycle has) are both very effective performance improvements over the stock machine.

yeah, I know, it's not a LeMans...