New V11 Sport owner

[Guest Martin Coogan]

Hi. I'm Martin from Chelmsford in the UK, 49 going on 18...

 

Worked behind various desks in motor insurance for 30 odd years. Got "re-structured" from the last hell-hole in January 2004 with some cash. Was going to take a year off, but haven't found a reason to go back to work yet. Too busy riding. Yay! The mortgage is paid off, I'm single and the money hasn't run out (yet..). I'm good to the end of the summer anyway.

 

I bought my Guzzi at the beginning of July and I love it! I've always fancied owning a Guzzi, but wasn't keen on the cruiser models. I wasn't really aware of the modern Guzzis, until I saw a Scura this April. Nice.

 

My main bike is a BMW R1150RS, and I had a '99 Fireblade. After two months I found the Blade wasn't "me" though (too revvy), and was looking to sell it when I noticed the 2001 (registered 2002) V11 in a local dealers for £3,000, which seemed a good price. They took the Blade in part exchange, which was nice. I am useless at selling bikes.

 

It has Mistral pipes and a Power Commander III USB. It was on the stock map, so I downloaded the American map for a bike with Mistrals fitted. There isn't a European map listed, but this one seems to work OK. Needless to say, if anyone has a European map for Mistrals with a stock airbox and crossover, I wouldn't mind trying it... Presumably the American bikes (or is it just California) have CATs fitted where the European ones don't? I dunno, if so, whether that makes a difference.

 

I downloaded the PCIII software Accelerator Pump - gives it a bit of a kick if you twist the throttle quickly. I have to say I love the sound of the Mistrals.

 

The V11 is silver with a headlamp fairing and aluminium rack. I think it looks better without the fairing. It had a few chips on the pork chops, which I've touched up with Ford Performance Red - seems a close match. The rear frame is flaking somewhat, so I'll touch that in as I go. I don't feel up to dismantling it yet. Local Guzzi dealer (Newcombe Bros) is good, nice bunch. Parts supply not as bad as rumoured, although delivery takes up to two weeks. Went up to Corsa Italiana in London on Monday - they seem to stock everything. The previous owner allowed several parts to drop off, like the trip reset knob (a fiver) and some (thankfully non-mission-critical) bolts. Fortunately prices seem reasonable, compared to Honda and BMW at least. Just got a problem with the warning lights at the moment, but hey, that's half the fun isn't it?

 

A couple of weeks ago I went to the Great Offley bike show in Hertfordshire, and found myself parked in the middle of the Herts and Beds Guzzi club - a really friendly crew. A superb bike show by the way, not too big, live bands, good food and a pub. It's in the diary for next year. On Tuesday in Colchester a member of the East Anglia branch pulled up next to me and had a chat, and helpfully pointed me in the direction of a local paint supplier. They couldn't match the engine / drivetrain colour, but Color Rite list a "Moto Guzzi Drivetrain Gray" - Hmmm. I'll see if Halfords can mix me a pot.

 

My biking history started with a BSA Bantam at 17 (1975), then a 1957 Matchless G3LS 350 single, then a 1972 BSA Lightning. Loved that bike. Did a tour of Europe (1977) going as far as Monte Carlo, then back through Italy, Switzerland and Germany. But, as the then girlfriend preferred cars, cars it was from 1978 on! In 1992 I had a hankering to get another bike, but no money (mortgage!). I swapped some recording gear and a synthesiser for a 1972 Honda 500/4 (quick), traded that for a CX500 (not as bad as you'd think, no really!), then an FJ1200 which I kept for the next eight years. Excellent bike.

 

Then a Honda Blackbird for four years. Very quick, but a bit boring to be honest. It didn't even use oil! Then last year I bought a 2003 R1150RS, and did 9,500 miles on it (taking it to 32k...). You head out, and it just wants to keep going. I found I was doing 200-300 mile day trips bimbling around the country, whereas on the Honda it tended to be mostly motorway blasts. I replaced it with another 2003 RS (lower mileage - 8K!) in June. That's silver as well. As is my car. It just happened that way.

 

Hopefully this wet weather will push off and we'll have a good summer from now on. Tomorrow looks good so I'll be up early and heading in the general direction of "out". It's a hard life! Maybe a trip to Belgium next week if we get a clear spell.

 

So that's me, currently a backsliding workshy man of leisure.

 

All the best,

Martin.

[Tom M]

Welcome to the Guzzi madness Martin. Just don't bring up global warming and you'll fit right in. A man of leisure? You're trying to make us working stiffs jealous, aren't you?

 

FYI American bikes don't have cats. I believe the '03 and later Euro bikes do. I don't know if there are any other ECU differences between American and Euro bikes that would prevent American maps from working well for your non-cat'ed bike. If not you may want to consider opening up your exhaust a little more with an aftermarket crossover, opening up the intake, and downloading one of the appropriate maps from this site. Most V11 owners who have done this have been happy with the results, although best results can usually be had by getting a custom map done.

 

Best of luck to you with your new Sport!

[Ballabio Bertie]

Welcome to the forum Martin. Since you're a man of leisure why not join the throng in Holland this September?

[Guest Martin Coogan]

Welcome to the Guzzi madness Martin. Just don't bring up global warming and you'll fit right in. A man of leisure? You're trying to make us working stiffs jealous, aren't you?

 

FYI American bikes don't have cats. I believe the '03 and later Euro bikes do. I don't know if there are any other ECU differences between American and Euro bikes that would prevent American maps from working well for your non-cat'ed bike. If not you may want to consider opening up your exhaust a little more with an aftermarket crossover, opening up the intake, and downloading one of the appropriate maps from this site. Most V11 owners who have done this have been happy with the results, although best results can usually be had by getting a custom map done.

 

Best of luck to you with your new Sport!

 

Thanks Tom.

 

I've been a working stiff, and despite my best efforts I will have to rejoin the ranks at some stage soon. Perhaps you will derive some comfort from this...

 

The US map seems to work fine - I was just fishing to see if anyone knew what difference there is between US and Euro bikes, as the powercommander.com download page has maps specifically for Euro bikes.

 

So, global warming; get used to it, is my comment...

 

Cheers,

Martin.

 

Welcome to the forum Martin. Since you're a man of leisure why not join the throng in Holland this September?

 

Thanks Bertie, I might just do that. Bit of a journey from Orkney, innit?

 

Cheers,

Martin.

[Ballabio Bertie]

Everywhere is a bloody long way from here Martin-but every trip is an adventure!