Why a Moto Guzzi? moreover, why a V11 anyway? curious? nostalgic? are you odd? just an opportunity? no? what then?

[NicoNZ]

On 2/18/2022 at 6:42 AM, Kane said:

Yeah, the "Desmo service" will put a hurt on the pocketbook!

Ahh that would be why I have always serviced my Ducati's. The ST4s is 15 years in my ownership. Reliable as anything out there. Given it takes a looong time to take the fairings off, I save a few dollars labor there.

[p6x]

On 2/21/2022 at 6:15 PM, billgreenman1 said:

I've still not "grown up"!...

I don't think we should grow up, and it is a shame that we do.

I would give anything to be able to rediscover the small emotions and joy of life again. I am tired of feeling that it is a repeat of something I have done before.

My motto always was:

Experience helps you recognize a mistake... when you make it again!

[Kane]

On 3/1/2022 at 5:27 AM, p6x said:

I don't think we should grow up, and it is a shame that we do.

I would give anything to be able to rediscover the small emotions and joy of life again. I am tired of feeling that it is a repeat of something I have done before.

My motto always was:

Experience helps you recognize a mistake... when you make it again!

“Good and bad, I define these terms

Quite clear, no doubt, somehow 

Ah, but I was so much older then

I’m younger than that now”

[billgreenman1]

11 hours ago, Kane said:

“Good and bad, I define these terms

Quite clear, no doubt, somehow 

Ah, but I was so much older then

I’m younger than that now”

Yeah, but it took me a couple of decades to remember how to take s!&t less seriously...🙃

[rosso corsa]

I bought my V11 LM Rosso Corsa in spring 2003 as I was getting bored with my then motorcycle (a too perfect BMW K1200RS) and wanted something totally different. When I saw the Rosso Corsa, I immediately fell in love with its (or should I say "her"?) looks. During the following months, I test rode a number of very diffferent bikes (BMW R1100S and R; Aprilia Falco and Futura; etc). When I rode the V11, however, she immediately gave me a big smile, which lasted the entire day until I had to hand her back to the dealer and return home withe the BMW.

The V11 is a truly living machine with its imperfections (aka "character") that makes every ride an emotional experience. Also, on my Guzzi, I have the impression to go fast even when I am only doing 80 Km/Hr, which is a key advantage in Belgian traffic conditions marked by speed cameras and increasingly repressive controls. 

Still, when midlife crisis hit, I added a Tuono V4 1100 RF to the stable, as my Nordschleife toy. Even with such tough competition, the V11 is still my favorite.

[Kane]

I know what you mean by having the sensation of going fast. I was thinking about that yesterday when I was on a familiar moderately curvy road with my Greenie. It was quite exhilarating at 50 mph — controlled and planted, but fun as hell! — whereas my Duc Hypermotard (a fun as hell bike, too!) on the same road and at the same speed the feeling is, for lack of a better word, tamer, or maybe it’s being more upright that has less speed impressed. Totally different rides, power-to-weight ratios, riding position, etc. 

I guess that’s a compliment to both of those bikes, but the V11 is a more visceral ride. The weight and mass of the bike seems to want more body English and weight shifting. On the V11 one feels more “in” the bike, and with the Hyper one feels more “on” the bike.

Tuono V4 is a a whole other beast! That’s a nice stablemate for the V11, for sure!

[Bruce Stewart]

What a great thread!!  It is so important to recognize the visceral nature and emotional impact of the bikes. I was immediately attracted to the V7 Sport, but did not own a Guzzi until 1977, when I purchased a T-3.  I rode that for a year and then traded it on a 1978 Lemans 850. That may have been the best motorcycle I have ever ridden, but sadly I crashed in 1979 and then took a wrong turn toward BMW ownership. 5 bikes and 20 years later I returned to my true love when I purchased a V11 Sport in 2000. I put 60,000 blissful miles on that bike until a women yacking on her cell phone ran a stop sign and totaled her out. I spent the next 10 years searching for a replacement and luckily last year I found her in Missouri. I am once again experiencing motorcycle bliss and I intend to ride this incredible machine into the sunset!!

[FreyZI]

In honor of St. Patrick's Day, I took out the Green Goose today! 

Rode into Amish country, avoiding horse puckey on the road, took a mountain (well, what passes for a mountain in central PA) pass (lots of gravel and salt -- I almost walked around the 10mph hairpin switchbacks), and got back into town following a magnificent sunset.  Stupidly, I didn't think to get a pic until too late, but I snapped this image after before it was lost completely:

Look at that!!!  Where is the "jaw on the floor" emoji?  What a beautiful piece of machine art.  You can walk around these V11 for hours trying to find the best angle to look at them from.

And riding it is just as special.  I can't make claim to being a great rider, I don't have any idea how to dial-in suspension settings, and I've haven't ridden scores of bikes for comparison purposes.  What I do know is that the grin on the face sets in just after rolling out of the driveway.  Literally.  One moment it's a hooligan; another (around the ton) it's stirring milk tea.

Pretty great combination, that.

Cheers,

Frey

[Scud]

Great photo. 

Suspension - don't worry about playing with compression and rebound until you do the most important suspension setting - getting the springs right. You can check sag with the help of a friend. There are a few posts on this site about how to do it. You can get the sag right for you and the bike by adjusting the spring pre-load. (if you can't get sag in range with current springs, you would need different rate springs). The first time I did that on my Scura I swore it was a totally different suspension, or the roads had just been re-paved overnight. After that, play with the compression and rebound if you want to fine-tune. The small effort to learn about suspension settings will pay you back every single mile you ride.

Mountains - I was once on a battlefield tour at Gettysburg (which is in the Southern part of Central Pennsylvania) with a group who were all from the Western US (mostly Washington and California). The guide explains how the Confederate army came in from the mountains. We all start looking around in different directions, and finally somebody asks "where are the mountains?" The guide points at some rolling hills... we weren't trying to be snarky, just had a different idea about the definition of mountain... like the base elevation of mountain is higher than the highest point in the whole state of PA.

...and why a Moto Guzzi? nothing beats the feel of the Guzzi engine under full load climbing a mountain. For example, this is a mountain. Feels like summer at the base, but winter at the summit.

• Highest point in Pennsylvania = 3,200 Feet
• Lowest point in Great Basin National Park (Nevada) > 6,000 feet
• Mountain Peaks in background > 13,000 feet.

[Chuck]

Mr. Scudder sez:

Quote

The first time I did that on my Scura I swore it was a totally different suspension,

Quote

The guide points at some rolling hills...

Quote

.and why a Moto Guzzi? nothing beats the feel of the Guzzi engine under full load climbing a mountain.

+1 to all 3.

[80CX100]

35 minutes ago, Scud said:

 

.and why a Moto Guzzi? nothing beats the feel of the Guzzi engine under full load climbing a mountain. For example, this is a mountain. Feels like summer at the base, but winter at the summit.

Thanks for the suspension tips, I need reminding of taking care of some of the basics.

I have to agree with your impressions of climbing a mountain with a guzzi at full boil.

The first time I really experienced it, was a few years ago early in the spring on my CalVin. The snow had been melted around my house for quite a while and for the first time ever in my life, I started riding up the Opeongo Rd at Dacre,with no snow on the ground. The Opeongo Rd winds it's way up the mountain, cutting through deep isolated bush to the highest civilized point in Ontario at Foymount. The pipes echoing off the wilderness were nirvana, but I went into full panic mode 2/3s of the way up, when I couldn't hear the pipes or the glorious mechanical cacophony any longer, the bike sounded like it was dying, I thought I had a major mechanical failure, screwed, stuck deep in the wilderness; took me a long while to realize my ears had popped from the change in altitude & air pressure,lol.

 At the top of the mountain, the snowbanks in the shade were still at least 6-7 ft tall, the drops in temp had to be 15-20 degrees.

That climb up the Opeongo Rd, with my thundering guzzis at full throttle, even with the poor, chip tar seal road surface is probably my favorite road to ride.

I've ridden down the mountain a few times, but you're right, it's just not the same as the climb.

[billgreenman1]

I started out with BMW motorcycles and was already comfortable with the "lateral torque twist". What really sold me on the V11 was the visceral feedback without any crazy sport bike skittishness. 

[p6x]

On 2/19/2022 at 3:31 PM, FreyZI said:

Oh, I forgot to mention the other V11.  I haven't actually ridden "it", yet (currently sans rear wheel, drive, and swingarm), so it probably doesn't deserve a name.  But, I've taken to calling it "Bubbles".  I suppose that could be a lady's name , but that wasn't the inspiration.

 

I never thought about giving a name to an object.

Does it not feel strange to tell around:

-" I am going for a ride with "Bubbles", be back soon.... or not!

[p6x]

On 3/6/2022 at 10:46 AM, Kane said:

“Good and bad, I define these terms

Quite clear, no doubt, somehow 

Ah, but I was so much older then

I’m younger than that now”

They say you end life the way you started:

-Not making much sense

-wearing nappies...

[p6x]

On 3/11/2022 at 6:07 PM, Bruce Stewart said:

What a great thread!!  It is so important to recognize the visceral nature and emotional impact of the bikes. I was immediately attracted to the V7 Sport, but did not own a Guzzi until 1977, when I purchased a T-3.  I rode that for a year and then traded it on a 1978 Lemans 850. That may have been the best motorcycle I have ever ridden, but sadly I crashed in 1979 and then took a wrong turn toward BMW ownership. 5 bikes and 20 years later I returned to my true love when I purchased a V11 Sport in 2000. I put 60,000 blissful miles on that bike until a women yacking on her cell phone ran a stop sign and totaled her out. I spent the next 10 years searching for a replacement and luckily last year I found her in Missouri. I am once again experiencing motorcycle bliss and I intend to ride this incredible machine into the sunset!!

Do not forget to bring Louise with you!