What's Wrong With This LeMans? Where's Waldo?

[Lucky Phil]

10 minutes ago, Mike Stewart said:

Looks like an early 97ish Sport chassis, exhaust, transmission and most likely the engine with 2002 Lemans body work and forks. 

Found Waldo!

Not sure about that. They didn't have the grey painted gearbox and bevel box, thats a Centauro/Datona RS thing. 

Ciao

[docc]

So this thing is screwed together from, what three or four different bikes?

[Lucky Phil]

14 minutes ago, docc said:

So this thing is screwed together from, what three or four different bikes?

I've tried to imagine what was the objective here and origins of say 2 wrecked/failed bikes combined to make 1 rideable one and I'm at a loss. A blown up Centy with a 2 valve engine makes sense if you had a 2 valve engine but if you had a wrecked Lemans then everything damaged in a wreck would be needed to make this bike. Maybe a V11 Lemans with a blown up gearbox transposed to a Centy with a blown up engine, but why bother changing the forks and front end as there no real upgrade there.  

Maybe a blown Centy engine replaced by a cheap and available 2 valver and the rest is just a collection of ebay bits. It's wrong to advertise it as a Le Mans though.

Ciao

[Scud]

I suppose if anyone is curious enough, they could get the frame number and input it Moto Guzzi's website. That would tell what year and model the frame started in. But I am not that curious. 

I scrolled through the pics, and almost every one has evidence of something not right. Even the tach was replaced with something that doesn't quite match.

[po18guy]

Can't find it on eBay, Craigslist or Offerup. Can anyone copy and paste the FB info?

[po18guy]

No FB account so no access. Where is it for sale and how much? Almost willing to bet it has a salvage title.

[Pressureangle]

On 10/11/2021 at 6:34 PM, Mike Stewart said:

Looks like an early 97ish Sport chassis, exhaust, transmission and most likely the engine with 2002 Lemans body work and forks. 

Found Waldo!

Not a Sport airbox. Couldn't find a picture of an uncovered Centauro airbox.

[Lucky Phil]

On 10/12/2021 at 9:34 AM, Mike Stewart said:

Looks like an early 97ish Sport chassis, exhaust, transmission and most likely the engine with 2002 Lemans body work and forks. 

Found Waldo!

It's a Centy airbox. The V11 and Centy airboxes are very close to identical. The offset is a little different due to the differing engine location and the height of the holes for the inlet trumpet. The Centy holes are about 12mm higher. My V11 Daytona thread explains the differences with images.

Ciao  

[docc]

21 minutes ago, Lucky Phil said:

It's a Centy airbox. The V11 and Centy airboxes are very close to identical. The offset is a little different due to the differing engine location and the height of the holes for the inlet trumpet. The Centy holes are about 12mm higher. My V11 Daytona thread explains the differences with images.

Ciao  

Probably impossible to say it's not a V11 airbox without those careful measurements.  Yet, since it mounts behind a V11 motor, rather than a V10, more likely a V11 airbox?

Certainly not an early Sport airbox.

If these bikes could talk . . . (Good thing they don't. My Sport would never shut up!)

[Lucky Phil]

5 minutes ago, docc said:

Probably impossible to say it's not a V11 airbox without those careful measurements.  Yet, since it mounts behind a V11 motor, rather than a V10, more likely a V11 airbox?

Certainly not an early Sport airbox.

If these bikes could talk . . . (Good thing they don't. My Sport would never shut up!)

Not sure docc, looking at the trumpet holes in the airbox it looks like they are a little too high for the inlet rubbers which would be Centy. It also has a side cover mount hole point above the inlet hole and I've seen Centy airboxes with and without this. 

Ciao 

[docc]

I wondered if the mount holes would be definitive. All the V11 have that mount hole, but I have also seen Centy with it.

Somebody went to a lot trouble to put this bike together.

Hand built V11 Le Mans replica!

[po18guy]

In any event, I pity the buyer who joins here.

[docc]

44 minutes ago, po18guy said:

In any event, I pity the buyer who joins here.

We could then get a juicy look at the frame tags!

[Lucky Phil]

45 minutes ago, po18guy said:

In any event, I pity the buyer who joins here.

Well it may be a good bike as long as they're aware it's a Bitza.

Ciao

[docc]

 The motor does appear to be a stripped LongFrame motor. The vestigial oil cooler mounting holes on the sump spacer (left over from the pre-V11 Sports) are not drilled and tapped and the mounting hole at the rear of the engine case for the LongFrame subframe brace is plugged.