Which LeMans years to avoid

[daveco2]

I'm looking for a late model LeMans and would like to know which years I should avoid. I've read about the engine case paint peeling on the 02s and maybe

some 03s and I've also read that the Guzzi quality control is getting better after the Aprilia takeover. Taking all that into consideration, which model

years would be recommended, pre-02 and 04, for example?

 

Thanks for any comments,

 

Dave

[Paul Minnaert]

The paint on the 01 and 02 modelyears is wrinkle finish. But it's not said that they all get problems. The 03 and newer have flat black paint. No known problems with that paint. I talk about buildyears, not the years they come out of a shop. That could have been later:-)

[jrt]

I don't think you ought to worry about year models so much as individual cycles. Sure, every year has it's own 'problem area', but the problem bikes are few and far between. I've got an '01 sport- no problems to speak of.

 

Cheers,

Jason

[al_roethlisberger]

There are no pre-02 V11 LeMans as 2002 was the first year.

 

00 and 01 bikes are unfaired and are simply V11 Sports(except for the limited edition 2001 Rosso Mandello which has a fly-screen) and other than colors was the only model offered for those years.

 

After 2002, non faired V11 LeMans were referred to/renamed as the V11 Naked, and of course there were a variety of special/limited edition Naked and LeMans models, primarily including a varying combination of special paint schemes, raised bars, and premium suspension.

 

To your question though, the 2002 seems to be the most "problematic" of the LeMans/Sport years but only in regard to some relays(easy fix), the bubbling paint, and the historical(00->02 models) sporadic "vapor lock" issue some people rarely experience.

 

But most specifically, the only standout issue is probably the engine case paint on the '02, and considering that Guzzi is actually covering this under warantee, the deal one can now get on a discounted new 2002 might be enough to offset those concerns.

 

Most 02 owners are perfectly happy with their bikes

 

al

[Paul Minnaert]

Al, in the states you get your bikes a year later then produced? The le mans I took my gearbox from was a champagne, that was on the road in 2001.

v11 sports were produced in 1999/2000 , sold long after that.

[al_roethlisberger]

That is true Paul, we often see various models showing up in Europe a few months before in North America, and sometimes noted as the previous year.

 

For example the LeMans in Europe may have been called a 2001 here and there, and I know for sure that the "2003 with front crossover" definitely showed up in Europe in several places as a late 2002

 

But as of 2001/2002 there was no "V11 Sport" any longer officially, instead being called the "V11 Naked" (at least here in the USA) as soon as the LeMans was released.

 

al

[Guest IanJ]

Al, you forgot the transmission spring problem, which has been mentioned a lot, but isn't actually a very common problem from what I can tell.

 

To the original question, I have a 2002 Le Mans, and I love it. I've got my bike in at the dealership right now for the engine case swap, so I have conclusive proof that they're really doing the warranty work. I haven't had any other real problems, just a few bolts that needed to be tightened.

[al_roethlisberger]

Ahh thanks Ian, but I didn't forget the spring issue. I omitted it as it has since showed up on some post 2002 bikes ...so that's not a failure we can nail-down to one model year unfortunately.

 

al