V 11 2004/5 Bike Choices

[Guest whart]

New here, with a few basic questions. Only started riding 4 or so years ago, after years of exotic cars, beginning on a Ducati Monster 750 at age 46. Fun, easy to ride, quite a beating on higher speed, long hauls. Bought me a tricked-out V-Rod, thing is totally pimpin on the highway, but a big ol' dog on twisties, and quite a bundle of iron at low speed.

 

Need the next bike: something lithe, like a sporting bike, but substantial, with torque and comfort for distance. I have enormous respect for BMW bikes, but, like german cars, they don't make my heart sing as the Italian products do.

 

So, the Nero Corsa version of the V11, produced in 2004 looked like a nice bike with good bits, ohlins/brembos, etc. Pretty scarce in the States as old/new inventory. (prefer a brand new bike, but not adamant if it's history is good). Dealer in a neighboring state has offered the Cafe Sport which does not have the body faring, but which- he claims, has a better handle bar set up for a non-squid rider like me.

Could i get some general impressions of the various iterations of the bike, and any differences between the last couple years production that might make one model more appealing than another for my purposes?

Here are a couple pics of the existing bikes (cars change constantly) TIA!

[antonio carroccio]

Héy, what a kind of car is that ( the grey one)??? Is it a trabant?

[joe camarda]

Hi Whart... I think that you'll find a lot (well some anyway) V11 Sport and Lemans owners opting to switch to the tubular type bars found on the later model V11 Sports. So from the perspective of comfort the neighboring state dealer may be on the mark. BUT (IMHO) the Lemans models are much nicer looking than the newer model Sports with the forward mounted mini-fairings and tubular bars, and you may be able to modify the Lemans clip-ons (as others have done..see the forums) to best suit your body type and comfort level.

 

Whichever model you buy, "welcome aboard!"

 

BTW Antonio, I say the grey car is a Porsch, and I'm willing to bet one of Carl Allison's 5 Guzzis that I'm correct!

 

Joe in Modesto CA USA

[Martin Barrett]

BTW Antonio, I say the grey car is a Porsch

e be right

 

a sports beetle

[Guest whart]

Agreed about the aesthetics. Is this Nero Corsa really that rare? I've seen a few "new old stock" on cycletrader for several thousand below sticker, but i don't consider that any more reliable a source of information or product than e-bay.

The grey car is a P-car; a 2003 GT-2 set up as a faux club sport, with rollbar, GT-3 seats, 5 point harness and free-flow exhaust.

Sorry for the bad picture, you really cannot see the V-Rod, which was chromed by Brown's of Kentucky (by the original owner). I'll try to find a better pic of it. Guy spent like 40 grand on it- air suspension, various muffler systems, etc. I stripped about 50 lbs off it, put some brembos on the front, and changed the foot controls to "mid" position. It's still a load, though.

[antonio carroccio]

BTW Antonio,  the grey car is a Porsch,

Gnaaaa, it is a trabant! Maybe also diesel!!!

[DeBenGuzzi]

Try to get the Copa Italia it was a little more rare than the cafe or nero and it has one heck of a nice itialian flag paintjob.

judging from your assortment of extremly expensive cars I'd say you could afford anything.

[Baldini]

...Gnaaaa, it is a trabant! Maybe also diesel!!!...

 

Antonio, I don't think you know much about cars do you! Do you drive yourself? What sort of car do you have? I have a Nissan Primera GT which I am very fond of. It is silver also, but I am afraid it is not a diesel. It has alloy wheels. Would you like to see a picture?

 

KB

[bento]

seems like any guzzi sport type is a rare bike nowadays.

 

my 01 was the last year they used one color on all the plastic if my dealer isn't totaly full of crap.

[Guest whart]

Thanks for the input so far. I'm going to see if the local dealer can buy one of the nero corsa bikes from another dealer that claims to have one; that way, i have somebody to deal with near me, if there are issues. What pipes do you guys prefer? I'm not looking for superloud, but something that will make it sing at speed....

Baldini, if you aren't nice, no ride in the Lambo for you

[antonio carroccio]

What sort of car do you have? I have a Nissan Primera GT

Do you have what? ?

Prime......who?

Is this a kind of taste os some Japanese ice?

[al_roethlisberger]

As mentioned in the thread earlier, pretty much any MG motorcycle is pretty rare.

 

I think the last figure I heard was something like 300-ish MG motorcycles were sold nationwide(North America) last year(unconfirmed).

 

 

And with regard to any V11 Sport model, Le Mans, Ballabio, etc... they are even more scarce simply because MG sells more of the cruisers, as is evident on sites like the Wildguzzi.com discussion list.

 

 

So I wouldn't worry about exclusivity, or scarcity too much, as any model of V11 Sport is going to be pretty unique. Unless you are just lucky, or go to some MG event, you're not likely to run into another bike like yours for quite some time, if ever.

 

For example, other than the other "champagne" 2002 demo Le Mans at Moto Italiano that they had for a year or two, I've never seen another one on the road(although I know a few are running around these parts).... and that is in California, where I bet MG has sold the most of any V11 Sport models in NA

 

 

But with the "limited edition" models like the Rosso Corsa, Nero Corsa, Copa, etc... they are indeed "even rarer", but it's all relative. I don't think anyone knows for certain, other than MGNA, how many of any of these models came to North America, but I've heard in the 20-30 unit range at most, maybe less. It just depends on how they've sold. In fact, Moto Italiano here in San Jose has had a Copa on the floor for quite some time now. I personally dislike the "candy wrapper" paint scheme(and later model "forward" bikini fairings), so I can see why

 

 

 

But in the end, these bikes are easily "made your own", and even if you get a bone stock Le Mans, Sport, etc... you can easily add any features any of the special models have, and then some. Based on your current stable of vehicles, I wouldn't think it would be much of a problem for you to create a "Whart Corsa" model

 

 

....that's pretty much what I did with my 2002

 

al

[TX REDNECK (R.I.P.)]

I'm going to see if the local dealer can buy one of the nero corsa bikes from another dealer that claims to have one

 

Not sure what dealer you're talking about, MPH has a Nero Corsa in stock.

 

http://www.mphcycles.com/

[Guest whart]

Al, thanks for the insights; i'm not concerned about "rarity" for its own sake, but just how gettable some of these bikes are; after having checked with several dealers who claim that the bike is not available from the distributor in the US, i was wondering how hard it would be to track one down. I like the fact that the Nero Corsa already has some pretty trick parts, and, since i agree with joe's comment about the look of the Le Mans, the Nero Corsa looked like the "one", all other things being equal.( It seems like less trouble to change the handlebars than to upgrade the suspension and add the faring).

 

As of this moment, the dilemma is now resolved.

 

My dealer has located a few of these bikes at other dealers and we are now working out the details, including price. Hopefully, I'll be riding one in the next week or two.

[Paul Minnaert]

Hi Wart, welcome here.

Regarding the bikes, they are almost the same, only fearing aand color differ. And I think the corsa nero doesn't have an Ohlins steering damper. Because the one from the Naked doesn't fit there. Which one fit's you best depends also on how tall you are. I'm 1.90meter, and are comfortable on the le mans position. Best thing is to drive on both setups.

 

Regarding the P-car: the setup isn't for shopping, do you drive it on the track?