Introduction Thread

[charlie b]

I have been lurking around for a bit. Am shopping for a Guzzi and a V11 is on my list. So have been looking at the problems people have had with these models. About the only ones I am 'turned off' from are the Centaruos because of reported difficult handling. I'll be using it as a daily driver (mixed city and country roads) and short weekend drives.

 

Returning to bikes after a 15 year 'layoff'. Commuted on a Honda CB500-4 for almost 20 years. Don't like the 'new' jap bikes and always wanted a Guzzi, so, here I am.

 

charlie

[silver1100]

Hey, what's up Guys.

A week ago I saw an want-ad for a V11 sport that "needs a little TLC".

I went and looked at it and it turned out it was a 2000 model with 7500 miles.

needed brake pedal, brake lever, speedo cable and battery ( and a good scubbing ) ....I scooped it up

It's equipped with Ti mufflers and a Carbon fiber accessory kit.

It's a pretty cool looking bike.

One of the things the guy said was, it spent a year outdoors, but you'd never know it by looking at it, it just looks a couple years old.....a couple little nicks & scratches.

I'm looking forward to getting it running well...currently it starts up, but runs really rich & rough.

I'm going to browse the tech threads and see what I can find...If I come up dry, I'll post a tech question.

 

Ride safe,

Steve

 

2002 V11 Sport.

[johnno]

Hi all ,Johnno from Brisvegas,

just bought a 2000 v11 sport ,after riding jap bikes all my life ,loving it so far ,a couple of small problems with the bike but I'll have a look at fixing them when I can stop riding it....all the best to all

johnno

[raoulpetit]

Hello,

 

I'm Raoulpetit from Lyon in France. I'm 37 old and i ride a 2003 V11 Le Mans.

As I like to repair my bike myself, I use to read your posts : Today I think to register to

acced your search section.

 

Please, Excuse my approximative English langage : I'm just a Frensh people !!

 

My other bikes were 250 ATM, BMW R75/6 "cafe racer" and 900 Ducati Monster.

 

Nice to talk you !!

[gstallons]

welcome to the show. It looks like you have an amalgam of of bikes. Don't be afraid to say what you think as long as it's not political or climate related.

Gene

[Bazyl]

Hello,

 

My name Is Lukas, I live in Poland and I have 2004 V11 Le mans. I bought it with just 2366km on clock So it's still in "running in" process.

I'm glad that this forum exist in web...It's huge resource of as I call it "black magic". Knowledge that is forbidden for common people Admin should take all pinned faq's and write a book "LeMansology"

 

Thannks again for sharing your knowledge with others - huge respect to all of you.

 

Regards

Lukas

 

[gstallons]

It's good to have you . Enjoy yourself.................

[luhbo]

Hello,

 

My name Is Lukas, I live in Poland and I have 2004 V11 Le mans. ...

 

Are you a pylon racer, Lukas?

 

Hubert

[Bazyl]

No, I'm not

[luhbo]

Then what's your affinity to this special avatar?

 

Hubert

[Guest Cantaloop]

Back again.

 

V11 LeMans in Black.

 

[Scottie]

I recently joined the forum and am in the midst of a bit of a personal crisis. I have the overwhelming desire for a V11, I have test rode a Rosso Corsa locally that is beautiful, and am curious about the Scura as well. I have read a few articles citing ride height differences and to sum it all up, my question is this... I absolutely do not expect a hypersports bike, but what is the best handling V11 in terms of geometry? I am a long-time racer and track day junkie, so I would love nothing more than to show some 600 mounted folks a thing or two on a big, bad Guzzi... but as I have not ridden nearly enough of them... I was hoping to discern what is the best *handling* V11? Are there significant differences between the LeMans and the Sport in terms of geometry? For whatever reason this seems somewhat hard to find info... Cheers, and I hope to be joining the fray very soon

[Tom M]

Welcome Scottie (and welcome back Cantaloop)!

 

The 03/04 Ohlins equipped bikes including the Rosso had the best suspension that Guzzi ever offered on the V11s, but the '99-'01 red frame V11s are the quickest handling of the bunch. The red frames didn't have some of the chassis bracing that the later bikes have or the Ohlins suspension option. The Scura is an '02 only model that has the same frame as the Rosso, but the many feel the 04 bikes had better sorted Ohlins. Dropping the forks a bit and going to a 170 rear tire instead of the stock 180 will speed up the turning on the Rosso a bit.

 

See the FAQ for a breakdown of the model year changes here:

http://www.v11lemans.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=5691

[Scottie]

I don't mind the long wheelbase, I guess what I'd like to know is more on the rake and rear ride heights, and whether these are adjustable. I rarely leave the chassis alone on any bike I own, typically doing triple clamps on most to get the feel I want out of the front end. That being said I doubt I'll do that much to any Guzzi I might own, but I'm currently debating between a Red Frame V11 Sport (silver) for $4k with 2000 miles, and a Rosso Corsa for double that with 4,000 miles. Both are all stock, and I'm sort of debating what direction I would want to take. The full Ohlins in my mind, is worth every penny of the higher asking price.

 

Sadly, a clean Nero Corsa is also available locally, but the seller is asking $11,000....

 

Thanks for the info!

 

Welcome Scottie (and welcome back Cantaloop)!

 

The 03/04 Ohlins equipped bikes including the Rosso had the best suspension that Guzzi ever offered on the V11s, but the '99-'01 red frame V11s are the quickest handling of the bunch. The red frames didn't have some of the chassis bracing that the later bikes have or the Ohlins suspension option. The Scura is an '02 only model that has the same frame as the Rosso, but the many feel the 04 bikes had better sorted Ohlins. Dropping the forks a bit and going to a 170 rear tire instead of the stock 180 will speed up the turning on the Rosso a bit.

 

See the FAQ for a breakdown of the model year changes here:

http://www.v11lemans.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=5691

[Tom M]

I don't mind the long wheelbase, I guess what I'd like to know is more on the rake and rear ride heights, and whether these are adjustable. I rarely leave the chassis alone on any bike I own, typically doing triple clamps on most to get the feel I want out of the front end. That being said I doubt I'll do that much to any Guzzi I might own, but I'm currently debating between a Red Frame V11 Sport (silver) for $4k with 2000 miles, and a Rosso Corsa for double that with 4,000 miles. Both are all stock, and I'm sort of debating what direction I would want to take. The full Ohlins in my mind, is worth every penny of the higher asking price.

 

The '02 and later bikes are 25deg rake. I think (could be wrong) that the red frames are .5 degree steeper. Rear ride height is not adjustable from the factory. If you go after that red frame be sure to check the VIN against the transmission recall notice posted in the fileshare section of this site. Good luck with your search!