Greetings! Glad to have found you! And I have a question.....

[Kane]

Hello folks!

I am new here, this is my first post. I hope this is an active place for Guzzi people, as I am very close to acquiring a new Guzzi and I need a little advice. I have had a Guzzi in the past, a ‘75 850T, my first real motorbike back when I was still a lad, When my friend and I pulled the barrels to change the rings and I saw the chrome lined barrels I fell in love with Guzzi. Went to a Triumph, Yamaha, H-D, and then stopped riding for awhile. Now I have an opportunity to buy a 2001 V11 Sport from a friend who inherited it and has no interested in riding it. He took it to a local non-Guzzi motorcycle shop and got it running with a new main seal and went to the DMV and got a clean title. He wants to be rid of it and will sell it to me for what he’s got into it: $2300. I rode it for a short local ride and the engine felt great, but I have yet to get it on the highway. 

One thing that concerns me is that I have read that the steering geometry on the 2001 V11’s, I guess a short head angle and fork rake, makes the bike a chore to ride; whereas the later models from later in the 2000’s had a better geometry and are nicer to ride.

I think getting a Guzzi V11 in good running condition for a good price is a thing to go for, but I am concerned after reading that after 2001 the ride and handling is much better. Should I hold out for a later Guzzi than the 2001 V11?

I have also read that the later 2000’s bikes were more reliable than circa 2001. Although my ‘75 850 was rock solid.

I would be using this bike for local excursions, but also longer day cruising from Los Angeles to San Francisco.

I look forward to your sage wisdom!

Thank you

Kane

[Lucky Phil]

17 minutes ago, Kane said:

Hello folks!

I am new here, this is my first post. I hope this is an active place for Guzzi people, as I am very close to acquiring a new Guzzi and need a little advice. I have had a Guzzi in the past:, a ‘75 850T, my first real motorbike back when I was still a lad, When my friend and I pulled the barrels to change the rings and I saw the chrome lined barrels I fell in love with Guzzi. Went to a Triumph, Yamaha, H-D, and then stopped riding for awhile. Now I have an opportunity to buy a 2001 V11 Sport from a friend who inherited it and has no interested in riding it. He took it to a local non-Guzzi motorcycle shop and got it running with a new main seal and went to the DMV and got a clean title. He wants to be rid of it and will sell it to me for what he’s got I’m it: $2300. I rode it for a short local ride and the engine felt great, but I have yet to get it on the highway. 

One thing that concerns me is that I have read that the steering geometry on the 2001 V11’s, I guess a short head angle and fork rake, makes the bike a chore to ride; whereas the later models from later in the 2000’s and on had a better rake and are nicer to ride.

I think getting a Guzzi V11 in good running condition for a good price is a thing to go for, but I am concerned after reading that after 2001 the ride and handling is much better. Should I hold out for a later Guzzi than the 2001 V11? I would be using this bike for local excursions, but also longer day cruising from Los Angeles to San Francisco.

I look forward to your sage wisdom!

Thank you

Kane

Welcome to the board. Both my brother in laws had 850T's back in the 1980's while I was riding  Japanese bikes. One had an 850T and the other a T3. A friend I rode with in the early 90's had a T5.

As for the highlighted point,well dismiss it from your mind. My 2000 model is stable as a locomotive on our Aussie roads and I know what a full blooded tank slapper is like on a GSXR1000 on the straight at Phillip Island at 200kph with the triple clamp hitting the stops in both directions.

There are plenty of people here on this forum with many.many miles on red framed bikes that will tell you they have never experienced an issue. Why Guzzi did what the did with the later bikes is a mystery. I suspect they moved the flywheel guy to the frame department around that time.

Buy the 2001 bike and have some fun.

Ciao 

  

 

[Tinus89]

I agree with Phil. I have a 2001, but am unsure whether it is the "short" or the "long" frame. It is black (so should be long) but also lacked the brace between engine and transmission (which makes it a red frame again). Guzzi has done some strange things.

Once I dared to ride it like it should be ridden, it indeed runs like a train. If it is in good condition (can we have a picture please?) and you like Guzzi's, buy it for that price. Go through the main issues/upgrades and have loads of fun on it. I have three bikes, had some before, but this one is never ever leaving again

 

Edit: Oh, and welcome to the forum!

[docc]

Hi, Kane! You've come to right place to talk up, and learn about, your V11!

For sure, you should expect some "owner involvement" to get her > just so. <  A little effort toward tires and suspension set-up and I wager the handling will suit you.

@Tinus89, for sure your Rosso Mandello is a "ShortFrame" even though it is painted black.

[swooshdave]

The short verses long frame thing is just something for people to ponder on the internet. In real life the early frames are docile.

For that price you can go wrong. 

[Kane]

Thank you all for your encouraging words. I’m going to take it for another ride, sometime when traffic is light and I can open it up. L.A. traffic is stifling, but I can get to the coast without much trouble from where the bike is located. For what he’s asking I’m going to take it unless I discover something bad with my next test ride. I will send pics. It’s pretty clean, 16K miles,  black paint, red frame, black anodized valve covers, missing the round seat cover thing, so it’s a longer flat seat with a little luggage rack on the back, the bars are not cafe style clip-ons but rather have a slight rise.

The only thing that has me wondering is that the shop that got the bike up and running for him (again, a non-Guzzi shop. A place called Al’s Cycles, in Glendale, CA, in case any of you are familiar) replaced the main seal. This was the bulk of the expenses he incurred on this bike. I guess there was an oil leak, but it seems unusual that a bike with 16K miles would need a new main seal. Other than that everything seems ok. The time I rode it, even though I couldnn’t get out of third gear because of where I was riding, it pulled like a mo-fo and sounded great.

As I mentioned in my first post, my first decent bike years ago was an 850T. After that I got into Brit bikes, and had a nice Harley, but I always missed the 850T and have had a strong attachment to Guzzi’s. This is a fortuitous situation as the owner is a work friend who only wants to recoup his expenses, hence the good price. When I heard it was a Guzzi I couldn’t believe it. It’s like the fates have looked out for me on this as Guzzis are few and far between down here.

Will keep you posted!

Cheers,

Kane

[swooshdave]

I thought the rear main seal was tricky on these bikes? Also I don't think it should have failed so early. Interesting.

[docc]

2 hours ago, swooshdave said:

I thought the rear main seal was tricky on these bikes? Also I don't think it should have failed so early. Interesting.

I don't suppose the rear main seal is tricky, per se. It's that there are other, more likely, leak points in there that should be seen to while it's apart. Otherwise, you might think it's leaking again when it is actually the other faults.

[Kane]

2 hours ago, swooshdave said:

I thought the rear main seal was tricky on these bikes? Also I don't think it should have failed so early. Interesting.

That’s the one thing that’s unclear for me. The owner knows nothing about the bike’s history. He sort of inherited it. It had been siting for about a year. It has an Oregon plate (bike is in Los Angeles), so it’s been around. What would cause the main seal to fail?

The other thing that is curious and is perhaps just a benign oddity, is there seems to be a very small pinhole leak in the middle of one of the valve covers. After the bike’s been running a patch of oil will appear in the middle of the valve cover, like it’s sweating oil. This spot has been touched up with black Sharpie, and also touched up on the other valve cover. The valve covers are a black powder coat. Because of the Sharpie touch up, and the weird oil sweat, I am assuming that somewhere along the line something hit the valve covers. I don’t see any other signs of the bike being dropped or hit. 

[vtwins4life]

As a guy who bought a bargain 2000 V11 Sport, only to sink $5k in over 2 years (shop rates, I don't wrench), I'd want to make sure it's all there. With LA traffic being what it is, I'd be sure the clutch is still strong as that alone was the better part of $2k for me.  And you're going to want to make sure it has the transmission brace before the cases crack (I got that issue too). 

 

It's a great bike and I'd probably do it all over again. Everyone I let ride it, gets off with a huge smile and offers to take it home. They are special for sure. 

 

VT4L

[GuzziMoto]

I say, spend some time riding it. Either it will impress you to where you need to buy it or it won't and you won't need to buy it. Guzzi's are special, they don't feel like anything else. There is a small price to pay for that "specialness", but if they speak to you it is a price worth paying. The issues with Guzzi's are mainly with parts availability and finding someone who knows how to work on them. They way most of us get past that second obstacle is to learn to work on them ourselves. They are pretty stone axe simple. It doesn't take a genius to work on a Guzzi. But they have a few oddities, like having to split the engine and trans to work on the clutch.

[docc]

Regarding the main seal, I'm sorry to say that the other leak sources are the more likely culprits, it may rear its head again, but not be the main seal.

 

[Lucky Phil]

2 hours ago, Kane said:

That’s the one thing that’s unclear for me. The owner knows nothing about the bike’s history. He sort of inherited it. It had been siting for about a year. It has an Oregon plate (bike is in Los Angeles), so it’s been around. What would cause the main seal to fail?

The other thing that is curious and is perhaps just a benign oddity, is there seems to be a very small pinhole leak in the middle of one of the valve covers. After the bike’s been running a patch of oil will appear in the middle of the valve cover, like it’s sweating oil. This spot has been touched up with black Sharpie, and also touched up on the other valve cover. The valve covers are a black powder coat. Because of the Sharpie touch up, and the weird oil sweat, I am assuming that somewhere along the line something hit the valve covers. I don’t see any other signs of the bike being dropped or hit. 

You need to make a commitment to owning a Guzzi. As long as the bike is fundamentally sound and the price is as good as others here have indicated then you cant afford to sweat the small stuff. The valve cover may have a porosity spot in it which would be the first I have heard of and would be an easy fix internally. More likely its been damaged at some point and repaired without sealing 100%.

Also forget about a test ride to see if you "like" the bike because chances you wont be in love with it on a test ride. The joy of Guzzi ownership grows on you as you commit yourself to adapting to what the bike requires from the rider/owner.The test ride is just to make sure everything works. 

Ciao

[docc]

Kane, trust me on this, buddy .  .  . get this Sport, ship it to me and I'll test ride for you.

Probably won't take more than 113,000 miles for me to make a decision . . .     

[Kane]

1 hour ago, docc said:

Regarding the main seal, I'm sorry to say that the other leak sources are the more likely culprits, it may rear its head again, but not be the main seal.

 

 

Thanks for linking to that. Much appreciated! That is very informative.