Fun V11 read!

[daviscr5]

A good friend just sent me this recently re-posted article from motorcycle.com.  Very enjoyable read best paired with a glass of red wine or Peroni.  Enjoy!:

https://www.motorcycle.com/manufacturer/moto-guzzi/church-of-mo-2002-moto-guzzi-v11-scura.html

 

 

[Lucky Phil]

13 minutes ago, daviscr5 said:

A good friend just sent me this recently re-posted article from motorcycle.com.  Very enjoyable read best paired with a glass of red wine or Peroni.  Enjoy!:

https://www.motorcycle.com/manufacturer/moto-guzzi/church-of-mo-2002-moto-guzzi-v11-scura.html

 

 

For a professed "Guzzista" his detailed knowledge is a bit lacking. "engine derived from a failed car project?", err, no, "using EFI long before anyone else" err, no again. Ducati beat Guzzi to EFI by about 5 years from memory. Journalists 

Ciao

[docc]

5 minutes ago, Lucky Phil said:

For a professed "Guzzista" his detailed knowledge is a bit lacking. "engine derived from a failed car project?", err, no, "using EFI long before anyone else" err, no again. Ducati beat Guzzi to EFI by about 5 years from memory. Journalists 

Ciao

Well, the "failed car project" is closer to the truth than the blasphemous "Tractor engine" crap.   While true that Fiat passed on adopting the Carcano (and Todero) designed V-twin for their car project, Carcano had actually developed it for his personal, sleeper "Topolino" Fiat.  I only recently learned that car has the engine mounted ahead of the front axle like a Morgan trike. A big block Guzzi makes perfect sense there!

I'm guessing the earliest EFI on a Moto Guzzi was the original Daytona 1000?

 

[p6x]

5 minutes ago, docc said:

Well, the "failed car project" is closer to the truth than the blasphemous "Tractor engine" crap.   While true that Fiat passed on adopting the Carcano (and Todero) designed V-twin for their car project, Carcano had actually developed it for his personal, sleeper "Topolino" Fiat.  I only recently learned that car has the engine mounted ahead of the front axle like a Morgan trike. A big block Guzzi makes perfect sense there!

I'm guessing the earliest EFI on a Moto Guzzi was the original Daytona 1000?

 

They only passed on adopting the V-twin because Mandello del Lario was not able to supply the required number of engines. Guzzi did not have the output capacity.

And that's a shame.... had they been able to have Fiat as a customer, who knows what Guzzi would have been able to achieve....

[Rox Lemans]

I've been saying that about the V11 for years. 🤣 It's what to love about them. By the way. Some did actually come around and fix their Fiats right....

[Lucky Phil]

31 minutes ago, docc said:

Well, the "failed car project" is closer to the truth than the blasphemous "Tractor engine" crap.   While true that Fiat passed on adopting the Carcano (and Todero) designed V-twin for their car project, Carcano had actually developed it for his personal, sleeper "Topolino" Fiat.  I only recently learned that car has the engine mounted ahead of the front axle like a Morgan trike. A big block Guzzi makes perfect sense there!

I'm guessing the earliest EFI on a Moto Guzzi was the original Daytona 1000?

 

That's what I'm thinking docc. I know for sure Ducati beat them by a long way. Maybe I was getting "car" and "tractor" confused.

 

Ciao

[Scud]

That was a fun read. And the concluding sentence was prescient:  "Before the dynamic new management of Aprilia turns the 80-year-old factory into a fashionable and marketable "brand", we can still enjoy a cycle that's really built in the old way, and acts it."

 

[docc]

39 minutes ago, Lucky Phil said:

That's what I'm thinking docc. I know for sure Ducati beat them by a long way. Maybe I was getting "car" and "tractor" confused.

 

Ciao

For those with the time, inclination, and good supply of libations to carry them through:

And also, regarding the motorcycle.com article originally posted above, written on 2002, no one really understood why the V11 was styled like this until the 2002 Anima Guzzista interview with the designer, Luciano Marabese, came to light. Then the design makes complete and cohesive sense :

 

[po18guy]

Little be it known that the engine was not intended for something so plebeian as a tractor. It was actually to power Italy's locomotives, adding engines in series as needed for the Alps. It was decided that the power impulses would frighten the rail passengers. 

[ScuRoo]

“full digital engine management (injection and ignition) was a Guzzi trademark long before being adopted by other makers.”

Well, I for one didn’t take this as an absolute literal claim of being the first in “using EFI long before anyone else” - but more in making the point it was a feature, that was commonly adopted as a “trademark” feature before most other manufacturers had switched over to adopting EFI.

In fact, is that “anyone else” quote actually accurate or has it been somewhat paraphrased?

Anyhow, the article got far more right than wrong in capturing the V11’s qualities, in this case the Scura, and my absolute favourite line was one of the photos captions...

Bravo!
Give that man a cigar!   

[footgoose]

That was a cool read. I detected a bit of pandering to the crowd of readers who would call him out (cancel) for saying anything at all positive about it. I'm happy to see it acknowledged. I think he got more than a push down the alley on a racer regarding the "bribery!"

 

"any sporty 600 will trounce it in the twisties, a 900SS is a better handler and an R1150R is a much more sophisticated and refined machine."

-cross reference any of these points with what I love about women, and I'll still take the small town Italian girl.

[po18guy]

The 1980 Kawi KZ1000H was the first fuel injected production bike, but AFAIK it had no integrated engine management system. Interesting that it was rated at 98bhp, but 264killos! Ouch! And I thought the V11 was heavy!

https://japan.webike.net/KAWASAKI/Z1000H+KZ1000H/12708/m-spec/

"any sporty 600 will trounce it in the twisties, a 900SS is a better handler and an R1150R is a much more sophisticated and refined machine."

Proof that some guys just don't get it.