pete roper

Nah, I’m fully aware that Piaggio/Guzzi aren’t going to be making bikes for me. I pretty much lost interest, apart from a morbid technical interest, after the CARC series. That’s fine. I’m also a heretic because I think they should bulldoze the shitty, rat infested factory and move to a green-field site. Everyone hates me for that as well. Below there is a picture of the precise number of shits I have to give….

It’s fine until it gets to the swingarm pivot. Everything behind that goes to shit! What ‘Serious’, ‘Non Hipster mobile’ has twin shocks in 2025? Get outa here with that crap!

There are other differences. I don’t think the V7-III and onwards have the semi-dry sump arrangement of the V85 although they all have the ‘Built in’ windage plate. From about 2021 the V7 series have a pressed up crank with one piece rods but they also adopted the roller tappets as used on the V85. From 2024/5 the V7 series also have variable cam timing. I have no idea of the details. Presumably some form of centrifugal advance mechanism. V100 is essentially a ‘Generic’ Piaggio big twin turned sideways with the gearbox on the side rather than underneath.

The original V7 from ‘67 made about 38 at the rear wheel on a very good day at sea level on a cool day with a very high pressure cell hanging around. The 750 Herron head smallblock made much the same but was lighter. If a V85 makes much more than 55-60 I’ll eat my hat!

The only real difference tween the V85 motor and the V7 850 motor is the stupid TI valves isn’t it? I think this *New* Sport uses the big throttlebody as well? Personally I think TI valves are more of a negative than a positive and anyway the 80 HP figure is a drug-addled dream, even at the crank.

All I can do is reiterate what others have said. It’s a seemingly low mileage machine that has likely spent a lot of time parked. This is more likely to be a curse than a blessing. If you do go ahead do not expect it to be a simple, ‘Turnkey’ proposition. On any machine like this I’d be taking the back end apart and checking stuff like the driveshaft alignment and the state of the outrigger bearing in the bevelbox which are notorious for getting water in and rusting out. The timing chest weep will need fixing but that is a simple gasket swap and most of the breather hoses will likely need replacement. Then it will need a full service and tune to make sure it runs correctly. That includes brake and particularly clutch fluid as V11’s, (And the CARC bikes.) are absolute murder on clutch fluid. I haven’t owned a V11 in a long while and never owned one here in Oz but I’ve ridden and worked on many and if I wasn’t ageing out of larger bikes would still dearly like to own one. They are comparatively rare here though and command higher prices than in the US/Canada. Put very simply, if you are just looking for a cheap and cheerful ‘Everyday ride’ that you don’t have to put any effort in to? I’d look elsewhere. If you are really drawn to the V11? Fill yer boots!

Are the injectors firing? If not it’s likely the phase sensor. Chuck another one at it. They’re cheap.

So is the engine turning over? Or is it just dead? if it’s not turning over it may well be a grubby or corroded earth connection. The Sports have the battery/ies in the tail. There is an earth strap that goes to the rear sub frame, then that is bolted to the ‘Pork Chop’ mounting bolt. The earth path is awful! From the front subframe it’s even worse! They are notorious for problems with idiot lights, ndicators and headlights, all because of the awful earthing paths.

Having owned a California ‘Touring’ and ridden lots of other 1400’s I’m afraid my opinion is that they are overweight, woeful handling POS! Look, by all means, if you think you’d like to be ‘Cruiser Curious’ try one, and yes, the small port motor is delightfully torquey, but the whole package is fat and ponderous. Since the ‘Fortress’ is laden up with even more shit than most of them I’m sure it would disappoint me more than the other versions but others may feel differently. I had customers who loved them! I’d rather set fire to my scrotum than own another one. YOMV

To be honest I had to look hard to find it! Having said that I find both the V100 and V85 series eye-wateringly ugly so I’m not the right person to ask!

Basically yes.

You’ll still need to address a few other issues if you want to render it truly bulletproof.

Yup, but without the Spineframe, six speed box and cantilever!

Before you begin to worry unduly unless your bike is a stripped down 8V Norge or a special import as a US model it won’t be an 8V as the 8V Sports we’re never imported to North America. If your bike has angular rocker covers with a black plastic strip down the middle that covers the high tension lead to the outer plug then it is a 2 valve per cylinder model which were imported for one year only, 2008, and do not suffer from the cam and tappet issues that plagued the 2007-2012 8V models.

While the answer has been given thread gauges are very cheap and easy to acquire and always useful to have in the toolbox. https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_trksid=p4432023.m570.l1311&_nkw=metric+thread+pitch+gauge&_sacat=0

I just cover my naked self in baby oil and glitter, tie a brilo pad to my knob and writhe all over the motorbike. It may not clean it up a lot but it guarantees that the space surrounding it is empty and devoid of admirers so as long as the bike works who cares?

Different dyno, different circumstances, (We’re about 800m above sea level.). Most Dyno operators like to stick a finger on the scales because people want bragging rights. I’m not saying that is the case with your experience but I’ve ridden a lot of ‘Hot’ Guzzis and I’m afraid that most of them tell a similar story, despite dyno charts, receipts for work or anything else. I’m not doubting you or your enjoyment of your bike I’m just saying I won’t believe it until I plant my corpulent arse on the seat and pull the go handle. You may note I never make any unusual claims for 8V’s I’ve been involved in making as good as they can be? That’s because they are what they are. The V11 motor is very hard to pull a lot more reliable performance out of. That’s what makes ‘The Mighty Scura’ such an extraordinary bike. But as I said, its peak power is probably not much more than a stocker. But its rideability is extraordinary! I had nothing to do with its build, I just owned it and had a very memorable trip across the USA on it. If your bike is like it you’re a very lucky man.

In my experience a stock V11 will make about 75/6 RWHP if tuned correctly. The hairiest one I ever rode was the Mighty Scura I sold to Chuck. That probably didn’t make a lot more top end but bugger me drunk it was a torque monster! Bottom end and midrange was just phenomenal. Far better than any 2V Guzzi had any right to be.

Interesting to revisit this after so many years. I’ve learnt so much about the 8V since those long gone days and the fact is that opportunities for extracting more power out of it are few and far between. A stock 8V makes, on the Dyno I used for years, which was run by a bloke who liked it calibrated pessimistically in the interest of being honest, made 96RWHP. Screwing around with air filters etc. achieved nothing apart from rapid throttlebody wear and the stock airbox and filter work fine although removing the snorkel from Grisos and Stelvios will give a small lift in bottom end torque. With decent mapping and the right pipe, with a dB killer installed you will be able to keep the delightful flat torque curve and lift the RWHP to about 100 +/- three or so depending on state of engine, atmospheric conditions or whatever. You can increase the maximum hp if you use the right pipe and remove the dB killer and map for it. Not by a lot and the most you are likely to be able to get is 108-110 but in doing so you will sacrifice bottom end and midrange. Those limitations are imposed by the head design and there really isn’t a lot that can be done about that. Yes, there are people claiming much higher numbers than those. The laws of physics though don’t change. The fact is any 8V Guzzi is a big, heavy and ultimately not very powerful, (By contemporary standards.) motorbike. As I’ve said before. Love them for what they are. Not what they’re not. If you want *More*? Buy a Tuono!

Don’t forget to make sure the trunnions are correctly aligned if you separate the shaft or if it hasn’t been removed before during your ownership.

Yeah? Who or what is a Kevin Cameron and what relevance does he have to the discussion? Mind you, it’s an oil thread so best just ignore it…..

It always amuses me how people spend thousands of dollars on GT snake oil and then, despite their bike being so wonderful, want to sell it and get something else. The second one has traction control! Amazing! Very rare ‘One of a kind’ machine there!

Sorry, never saw the replies to this. End of the story is that a bloke from Victoria turned up, with a case of ‘Crankshaft’ and took it all away. He wasn’t the first to ask though. There was a very typical ‘Guzzi Guy’ from NSW who called first. Wanted me to send him an itemised list of what I had, preferably with part numbers! How about ‘No’! I said if he wanted he could look at it and decide. Then the whining started about how I lived so far away, (I was about 170km from him.) and then the ‘Icing on the cake’? ‘Crankshaft was ‘Too Expensive’ and would I take a case of Tooheys, (A shitty mass produced commercial swill I only drink under duress!). At that point I cordially invited him to get a colossal, wooly, black pup up himself and told him I’d be taking it to the tip the next day and if he didn’t like it he could go swivel on something sharp! He told me I was rude and unreasonable and he’d make sure *Everybody* heard about it! “Behold the field in which I grow my f*cks! Cast thine eyes upon it and see that it is barren!”

Yup, cleaning was the third one. Phil gets a golden elephant stamp!

What are the three functions oil performs?