Rossa Corsa

[Guest Ed Vanaman]

I have a friend who wants a Rossa Corsa. He has ridden my Scura and want something similar. Does anyone know of a dealer with one still available?

[dlaing]

If nobody knows, you could phone around. I imagine the big dealers are the best bet, like Harper's, Teo Lamers, Stein-Dinse, Wilson's, Moto International, Motos Caparros, guzzino, agostini, etc. Finding a dealer close to where he lives is important.

[al_roethlisberger]

...indeed, they don't seem to be all that rare judging by the number I've seen at shops, and the number of folks on the forum that have picked them up recently

 

 

I haven't seen any sitting on a dealer's floor in the last month or so, but Just call around

 

al

[Guest gavin]

There's a very low millage one for sale at £5,000 on e-bay at the moment, obviously no use if you're not in the UK.

[al_roethlisberger]

I think that's the Rosso Mandello you are referring to, not a Corsa??

 

 

"Very Rare" Rosson Mandello

 

...and just as an aside, not to knock this bike or the owner's best intentions... but once again I find the ad for this bike humorous on two accounts:

 

There was only 300 ever made.

 

....is untrue. So beware and fore-warned to all buyers of the Rosso *Mandellos*... MG did indeed only *badge* 300 of these as limited editions, but to the ire of many owners, just kept right on building them after #300 because they were selling so well. Guesstimates put the number of actual units sold to be around double the original 300 unit run. This figure puts it right in the ballpark of other production runs for other V11 varieties. It is not rare. Buy the bike because you like it aesthetically, not for scarcity.

 

Please Note: This is totally different to the Standard V11 Model.

 

...also untrue, unless one considers another paint-scheme "totally different", but then again that's true of any of the various color options on the 00-present V11 Sports. Other than a few cosmetics, I don't believe there are any significant mechanical differences with the Rosso *Mandello* that I am aware of. Maybe it had the single-plate clutch?? But if so, that's probably about it.

 

 

Again, I don't mean to disparage any owners of Rosso Mandellos, or impugne the reputation of this seller... but I continue to find the misinformation on the Rosso Mandello a little humorous, and somewhat deceptive when I've seen several ads in the past for the bikes playing to the "rarity" factor that new buyers may be susceptible to.

 

Other than that, it's a really nice bike

 

...but if this is the bike to which you are referring, it's not a Rosso Corsa, which is sounds like your friend is looking for

 

al

[Guest ckknives]

Actually Al

 

There are several differences, but not what I would call significant enough to warrant totally different. The main differences I can tell include introduction of a new single plate sintered-bronze-faced clutch, a very light aluminum flywheel, upgraded Brembo front disks and different, heavier handlebar ends.

[callison]

If you want "rarity" factor, how about the "rare", USA only V11 Sport TT. A black tank and seat cowling on an otherwise silver sport. It looks nice, and there were only 15 of them made, but come on... rare? Well, unusual, but no rarity factor inasmuch as all it is is a paint scheme that anyone can duplicate with ease, there's no special numbering to go with it and no certification or name tags. Yet MGNA passed it off as special. I like it, I've got one, and I don't think of it as anything other than an alternative paint scheme that they should have offered in the same quantities as the green or red Sports or whatever. The truly rare is any Moto Guzzi Sport bike with a factory blue paint job. Because there never was an official factory blue color on any MG sport bike, but about 30 of them WERE made and somehow, about 15 or 16 of them make it to the USA in 1995. They're purty bikes too.

[callison]

Hey, I just checked out the MGNA web site. EVERY disk is a Brembo gold series or ORO disk. They're stainless and not the better cast iron and I always thought oro meant gold (in Spanish) but maybe in Italian it means "warp". Doesn't look like the Corsa has upgraded disks though, not in sense that the Daytonas did.

[al_roethlisberger]

Well, as of 2001-ish, all the disks changed from the "circular hole" style to the newer "spider" style carrier and disk. These are supposedly better disks. I haven't heard of any of these warping in large numbers like the original Brembo disks pre-2001.

 

So I think really the only significant mechanical thing on the Rosso Mandello is the single-plate clutch, and if indeed it has a lightened flywheel as mentioned above. Given my idling problems, I'm not sure though that I'd want a lightened flywheel and clutch assembly though

 

Again, nice bike, but just letting prospective buyers be fully informed so that they aren't disappointed or otherwise surprised.

 

al