Newbie is here!

[Ali Fra]

Hey guys! 

Very excited to be in this forum! I am simply fascinated by the enthusiasm you have here to help each other and to enjoy the ride flawless! Crazy! 

Huge respect! 

 

I am planning to buy a 2003 Le Mans all black with the rear suspension upgrade to Öhlins. 

New tires, new battery, new upgraded R/R and so on. 

The price is 5500 euros. and supposedly has 11.000 km on it. But we certainly dont know cause no history record. 

When i look at the bike, i can not simply find any, i am repeating this, ANY scratch or a sign of hard use even. 

But I am still hesitating to buy it cause really dont want to spend this summer to fix a spring issue in the gearbox. 

 

Edit: I forgot to mention that the bike has beautiful `titanium` oval Mistral pipes on it. But I dont know if its tuned for it. 

 

So can you give me some advices in advance? 

 

Very happy to be here and I hope we meet in person too! 

I am currently living in Finland. 

 

Peace! 

[po18guy]

Welcome! The gearbox spring may or may not occur. If it does, there may still be some improved springs available. These are rare and, in a sense, quite desirable bikes. I have an extra for my '04, just in case, but so far 18.4 kilos, no problem. These bikes do benefit greatly from owner involvement and maintenance. I do not think you will be disappointed, as on the right day and the right road, these are absolutely the perfect bike. I suspect that there are many such roads in Finland - except you can afford to speed only if you are a poor man!

[audiomick]

On the German market, that would be an absolute bargain. I'd imagine the market in Finnland is fairly similar. I would certainly buy it.

As far as the spring goes, if it breaks it wont take you all summer to fix it, I gather. Get in a replacement as soon as you get the bike, preferably one of the ones that were developed here, and change it at your leisure.

 

As I said, if the bike is really as you describe it, I would buy it for sure, and worry about details later. You're not likely to find another one too quickly that is showing such a low mileage (assuming it is genuine...).

[Ali Fra]

4 hours ago, po18guy said:

Welcome! The gearbox spring may or may not occur. If it does, there may still be some improved springs available. These are rare and, in a sense, quite desirable bikes. I have an extra for my '04, just in case, but so far 18.4 kilos, no problem. These bikes do benefit greatly from owner involvement and maintenance. I do not think you will be disappointed, as on the right day and the right road, these are absolutely the perfect bike. I suspect that there are many such roads in Finland - except you can afford to speed only if you are a poor man!

 

 Great comment! In fact I am a poor man with lots of passion! My background is quite the opposite that this bike offers. I can be counted as hard enduro/Adv rider. My second dream bike is currently a Kove 450 Rally EX. So you can call my taste is a bit nasty. But I simply just simply fall in love with this bike. This state of me being fascinated  and finding myself dreaming about cornering with this bike made me think maybe I can have 2 bikes. Really. I can afford only one for now, but this is the bike that made me wish to have a fully equipped road bike!  First time happening. I have ridden the Fireblade, r1 even Triumph Daytona 675R (Probably the only competitive to Le Mans to my taste). 

So, having a 21 yo bike is still making me nervous, but I guess I will go for it! Cant resist!  

[Ali Fra]

1 hour ago, audiomick said:

On the German market, that would be an absolute bargain. I'd imagine the market in Finnland is fairly similar. I would certainly buy it.

As far as the spring goes, if it breaks it wont take you all summer to fix it, I gather. Get in a replacement as soon as you get the bike, preferably one of the ones that were developed here, and change it at your leisure.

 

As I said, if the bike is really as you describe it, I would buy it for sure, and worry about details later. You're not likely to find another one too quickly that is showing such a low mileage (assuming it is genuine...).

 

 

Thanks for your opinion. I really need this kind of advices/opinions from you guys. I know very little about these bikes and especially in terms of reselling it without any significant loss. The seller is a very honest person. I trust him, and he said he really does not know the history. We assume that it is 11k regarding the speedo. But it can be replaced also. And considering the analog specs of it, there is no possible way to back track it. But the owner showed me the oil change photos, he is a professional motorbike dealer and knows how to deal with Guzzis since his father had 3 Guzzis at the same time. 

He told me that this bike is a trade-in and when he bought it he disassembled the gearbox bottom cover, just search for a metal or aluminium particle to be sure there is no scary scenario. And it was all clear oil. Not a single piece of crap metal. 

So this is the deal. I think i will go for it! 

 

[gstallons]

Welcome to this forum and good luck w/this bike. 

[Ali Fra]

4 minutes ago, gstallons said:

Welcome to this forum and good luck w/this bike. 

 

Thank you very much! I hope so!

[Ali Fra]

5 hours ago, po18guy said:

Welcome! The gearbox spring may or may not occur. If it does, there may still be some improved springs available. These are rare and, in a sense, quite desirable bikes. I have an extra for my '04, just in case, but so far 18.4 kilos, no problem. These bikes do benefit greatly from owner involvement and maintenance. I do not think you will be disappointed, as on the right day and the right road, these are absolutely the perfect bike. I suspect that there are many such roads in Finland - except you can afford to speed only if you are a poor man!

 

Btw, How can I find this upgraded spring? to be sure in any case, I will have one

[p6x]

@Ali Fra

I was at Imatra in the 70's, before getting my motorcycle's driver license. I was with a moped, all the way from Paris. Some unknown Finish enthusiasts boarded me during the Grand-Prix. I still remember them. This was fun because at the time, you could invite a stranger to your house without thinking twice.

I have a little philosophy when it comes to purchasing a V11; you just go with it without thinking about what could go wrong, or not. If you experience a small disagreement, turn it into something positive. Riding a V11 will make you a different person. You only get it once it is your possession, not someone else's.

Don't let anything stop you from jumping the gun. Let your passion lead you! all the rest is simply here on this forum, so you will have absolutely no pain or hassle to get everything together.

I wish I was on your side of the earth, as I know my Quota would have loved to frolic in Finland.

Welcome home!

 

[Scud]

Welcome. I have the springs, they are cheap, and you should have one on-hand just in case the one in your new bike fails. I send you a private message.

[Ali Fra]

13 minutes ago, p6x said:

@Ali Fra

I was at Imatra in the 70's, before getting my motorcycle's driver license. I was with a moped, all the way from Paris. Some unknown Finish enthusiasts boarded me during the Grand-Prix. I still remember them. This was fun because at the time, you could invite a stranger to your house without thinking twice.

I have a little philosophy when it comes to purchasing a V11; you just go with it without thinking about what could go wrong, or not. If you experience a small disagreement, turn it into something positive. Riding a V11 will make you a different person. You only get it once it is your possession, not someone else's.

Don't let anything stop you from jumping the gun. Let your passion lead you! all the rest is simply here on this forum, so you will have absolutely no pain or hassle to get everything together.

I wish I was on your side of the earth, as I know my Quota would have loved to frolic in Finland.

Welcome home!

 

 

Hey p6x! 

 

Wow, such a great comment on my concerns and process! Today, I simply decided to go for it! I am a handy man who can actually rebuild any single cyl. top-end. 
I just hesitate because till now I had not this privilege to ride and own a Guzzi for long-term. But especially seeing this forum is such an active one with full of people who are ready to help regardless of being wherever in the world, makes me more confident and excited about V11 ! 

Thanks!

[Ali Fra]

12 minutes ago, Scud said:

Welcome. I have the springs, they are cheap, and you should have one on-hand just in case the one in your new bike fails. I send you a private message.

 

Wow thats great Scud ! I sent you a message! Thanks for welcoming!  

[Scud]

To learn more about the shifting, and how to improve it while you are replacing the spring, go the How-To section of this forum. There are two pinned topics, one where you can see Lucky Phil's methods of polishing some key surfaces, and another where you can see this community in action and how we finally solved (re-engineered) the shift spring issue. Several years on, we have not seen even one spring fail due to fatigue. 

[Ali Fra]

1 hour ago, Scud said:

To learn more about the shifting, and how to improve it while you are replacing the spring, go the How-To section of this forum. There are two pinned topics, one where you can see Lucky Phil's methods of polishing some key surfaces, and another where you can see this community in action and how we finally solved (re-engineered) the shift spring issue. Several years on, we have not seen even one spring fail due to fatigue. 

 

Really impressive! Is the second method includes the spring you made?

[po18guy]

6 hours ago, Ali Fra said:

Hey p6x! 

 

Wow, such a great comment on my concerns and process! Today, I simply decided to go for it! I am a handy man who can actually rebuild any single cyl. top-end. 
I just hesitate because till now I had not this privilege to ride and own a Guzzi for long-term. But especially seeing this forum is such an active one with full of people who are ready to help regardless of being wherever in the world, makes me more confident and excited about V11 ! 

Thanks!

It is a big bike with amazing torque. You must take charge of the bike and ride it like an Italian for it to reward you. Totally different from  other sport or adventure bikes. I recommend that you practice low-speed maneuvering in a car park, just to get a feel for the handling and weight distribution at low speeds. At high speeds, the bike takes care of itself AND you. It is then in its element.