jwh20

Today was a much better day than Tuesday. I made another trip to Ohio and this time came home with a LeMans. Yes, I've uploaded some pictures below. I see a few issues that I'll need to take care of but I do have one concern. Is it typical for the clutch to make a noise when you pull in the lever? I've never had a dry-clutch motorcycle and am not sure if this might be signs of a throwout bearing problem or if it's just part of the normal Guzzi noise. Other than that and a few scapes and chips and a few cracked rubber hoses and parts, which is not surprising for a 12 year old bike, she rides great. After unloading we went for a short 25 mile ride and I have to admin, these things ride as good as they look.

No, not too late at all. Thanks for the input. It's not a done-deal but hopefully will be. I guess we're still "courting" at this point. Someone else posted an opinion on the Le Mans color scheme. That's certainly one of those "eye of the beholder" things. I really like the look with the red and grey. I'm a male and so like most, I am unable to create color combinations like this that work, but I am able to appreciate something that I like and I do like this combo. To each his own...

Best I can tell the only add-on is the cylinder head guards. It has 18K miles and has all the regular maintenance records. I give it a 8 out of 10. Not museum grade but something I would be comfortable as a daily rider. But that's what I'm looking for anyway.

Just an update. I did see the bike and overall the condition as better than I expected for a 12 year old. The usual and a couple of cracks here and there and the black peeling off the rear drive housing, but nothing that was a deal-breaker. Everything is there, everything I tried worked and the engine started right up and purred like I expect a V-twin. Overall it looked great in my opinion. At the current owners insistence I took her for a ride and it was sweet indeed! I'm smitten! The owner bought her new in 2001 and has "upgraded" to a new Triumph Thruxton. He said getting rid of this was the condition for getting the Triumph. I can relate. We had already agreed on price and I had a pocket full of cash. Ok, the issue. Years ago I bought a used car from a private seller where the VIN on the title didn't match the one on the VIN plate. Here in Indiana, when you try to title an out-of-state vehicle (this one is from over-the-border in Ohio) the VIN # is about the only thing they care about. Well that and the purchase price so they can collect sales tax. But it's a real hassle to get it straightened out as a buyer. So the VIN number on the Le Mans has two numbers transposed from what is on the title. It's clear the BMV made the error as the original paperwork from the dealer has the correct VIN. Anyway, the current owner seems like a great guy. We talked for over an hour about bikes and Moto Guzzi's and life in general. He's going to get the title fixed and the deal should go down.

These bikes have been speaking to me for years! So I've really hoping she'll like me. We're meeting for the first time this afternoon. Should I take a gift? ;-)

Part of the mystery I guess. Thanks!

I'm a long-time motorcyclist and am looking to add a Moto Guzzi to my collection. I've always been fascinated with Guzzi's and have found one not too far away that looks promising. It's an '02 V11 Le Mans with about 22K miles. Current owner says that the "return spring issue" was resolved using a procedure that was documented in a couple of user groups. I've done a bit of research on this issue and it looks like this fix might (or might not) fix the root issue. Anyway, I'm at home tackling just about any mechanical issue that might come up although 100% of my motorcycle experience is with Japanese bikes. So I'm looking for any tips to help evaluate the V11 for a potential buy. Thanks in advance for any help and I'm hoping to join the ranks of V11 owners soon.