Well, Guzzi may have been doing a styling exercise, trying to better tie in the new LeMans w/ the original, which had a hard-welded front x-over [that was a source of complaint due to the tedium of removing the one-piece header system]?
I postulated on Guzzitech once that the front x-over would have had some f/x on the 4k rpm dip, & Todd's reply was that with a better collector & a PCIII it was unnecessary & more reliable to go w/ no front x-over. Not exactly my point [mine being a path of frugality], but the better solution, no doubt.
I assume the PC and simple aftermarket headers work very well, though it's a more pricy solution than fixing the crossover.
Curious if anybody went back to the OEM crossover gaskets.