PeteTW Posted June 20, 2011 Posted June 20, 2011 Hey All, Having had endless plastic covered bikes, although the last few have been italian V twins...I decided to get a little more back to basics. I saw the press for the V7 cafe calssic and thought it looked great so took one for a ride. Having just stepped off an RSV mille I was pretty shocked by the lack of power but enjoyed the bike none the less. On returning the bike I said to Mark at Twiggers Moto Guzzi in Loughborough UK (brilliant dealership and oustanding spanner work) that it's a shame it doesn't have 30-40 more bhp. Instead of trying to sell me the V7 or force a brand new griso/ 1200 sport on me he said 'you need to get yourself a V11, but don't ask me for one as they hardly ever come in part-exchange' An interesting and refreshingly honest approach to sales! After a great deal of searching and almost giving up and buying a 1200 sport I at last found a 2003 V11 sport in the dark red/ claret colour (does anybody know what the colour is called?) in showroom condition with 4,630 miles and full, coincidentally Twiggers service history - Mark even remembered selling the bike originally. Of course I bought it, took it to Mark for some Pirellis, plugs, pads, fluids and full service simply because it had been so rarely ridden. She's now mine and I have been blown away by how small, light and nimble it rides (yes that's whjat I said and I'm not a big guy). I'd been lead to beleive this was some prehistoric pile of iron. This is complete nonsense of course. I've been a state of the art sportsbike rider for over 20 years and I think the V11, whislt not an RSV4 is plenty good enough for fast road riding...better in fact as most tools these days are for the track and are too focussed for the road. The sound is infectious and the looks sublime...in my part of the world we call this a 'proper bike'...I'm glad I've grown up to appreciate this wonderful piece of engineering art. You're all very lucky and enlightened people fellow V11 riders. I feel a collection coming on...Coppa Italia, Tenni, Scura R, Le Mans and definately a red framed verde legnano...these things beg to be collected I'm happy to have joined in the fun. Best wishes Pete PS I nearly bought a Triumph Thruxton until I found the V11...I'm sooooooooooo sorry please forgive my laspe of judgement!
me2grouchy Posted June 20, 2011 Posted June 20, 2011 Welcome!Pete, You made a good decision and you have an almost new bike.Not even broken in yet. I was also surprised how nimble these bikes seem compared to their weight and size. Hope you enjoy riding yours and getting acclimated.Nice looking bike!
Dan M Posted June 20, 2011 Posted June 20, 2011 Welcome Pete. The Thruxton is a nice bike but doesn't have the character of the V11. You made the right choice. Enjoy.
PeteTW Posted June 21, 2011 Author Posted June 21, 2011 Thanks Guys... The Thruxton doesn't have the power or build quality either...I really wanted to be patriotic, I even lived near Hinckley for 8 years and still couldn't bring myself to buy a new Triumph. Ho hum. Thank God for the Guzzi!
Baldini Posted June 21, 2011 Posted June 21, 2011 Welcome PeteTW - interesting views! I guess, for a prehistoric pile of iron they are pretty nimble! They are a real relaxing fast road bike & a joy to ride, if you prefer smooth, flowing style over point & squirt. V11 is one of the last genuine, old-school bikes rather than a pastiche of same. Nice looking bike. Twiggers are good people & know Guzzi. KB
Chet in MI Posted June 21, 2011 Posted June 21, 2011 Welcome aboard, Pete! I've had my 2003 V11 LeMans for 7 years now and I still find myself grinning when I throw my leg over it! Although in the U.S. I still have to tolerate questions like, "Moto Guzzi? Who makes those?" Chet
galaxiid Posted June 23, 2011 Posted June 23, 2011 Hey All, Having had endless plastic covered bikes, although the last few have been italian V twins...I decided to get a little more back to basics. I saw the press for the V7 cafe calssic and thought it looked great so took one for a ride. Having just stepped off an RSV mille I was pretty shocked by the lack of power but enjoyed the bike none the less. On returning the bike I said to Mark at Twiggers Moto Guzzi in Loughborough UK (brilliant dealership and oustanding spanner work) that it's a shame it doesn't have 30-40 more bhp. Instead of trying to sell me the V7 or force a brand new griso/ 1200 sport on me he said 'you need to get yourself a V11, but don't ask me for one as they hardly ever come in part-exchange' An interesting and refreshingly honest approach to sales! After a great deal of searching and almost giving up and buying a 1200 sport I at last found a 2003 V11 sport in the dark red/ claret colour (does anybody know what the colour is called?) in showroom condition with 4,630 miles and full, coincidentally Twiggers service history - Mark even remembered selling the bike originally. Of course I bought it, took it to Mark for some Pirellis, plugs, pads, fluids and full service simply because it had been so rarely ridden. She's now mine and I have been blown away by how small, light and nimble it rides (yes that's whjat I said and I'm not a big guy). I'd been lead to beleive this was some prehistoric pile of iron. This is complete nonsense of course. I've been a state of the art sportsbike rider for over 20 years and I think the V11, whislt not an RSV4 is plenty good enough for fast road riding...better in fact as most tools these days are for the track and are too focussed for the road. The sound is infectious and the looks sublime...in my part of the world we call this a 'proper bike'...I'm glad I've grown up to appreciate this wonderful piece of engineering art. You're all very lucky and enlightened people fellow V11 riders. I feel a collection coming on...Coppa Italia, Tenni, Scura R, Le Mans and definately a red framed verde legnano...these things beg to be collected I'm happy to have joined in the fun. Best wishes Pete PS I nearly bought a Triumph Thruxton until I found the V11...I'm sooooooooooo sorry please forgive my laspe of judgement! Good choice, good colour. I call that colour "port" but whatever tipple takes your fancy. Chris
Guzzirider Posted June 23, 2011 Posted June 23, 2011 Congratulations on your new bike Pete! Same colour as Helen's V11 not sure what its officially called- I call it burgundy myself. Cheers Guy
PeteTW Posted June 23, 2011 Author Posted June 23, 2011 Damn, Peter, why not just have both....like me OK both is good love the verde legnano Port, burgundy, claret...all have good associations as a colour
Jamess Posted June 23, 2011 Posted June 23, 2011 Low mileage V11 eh ? Coming quite close to the top ten laws of V11 ownership is that speedos are made of toffee and don't last much more than 10k miles. So which clock is it now on? Doesn't really matter anyway as it's a real bike. When the penny drops, there's nothing much out their that compares.
PeteTW Posted June 23, 2011 Author Posted June 23, 2011 Low mileage V11 eh ? Coming quite close to the top ten laws of V11 ownership is that speedos are made of toffee and don't last much more than 10k miles. So which clock is it now on? Doesn't really matter anyway as it's a real bike. When the penny drops, there's nothing much out their that compares. Thanks for the word of caution...this one's got a watertight and full history from Twiggers Moto Guzzi and excellent ownership pedigree as the first owner was the late John Maris, a fact which makes ownership of this particular bike even more special.
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