V11 Ownership, what a pleasure

[O2 V11]

A little over 12 months have passed since I have had my V11 Sport Naked on the road. In this time I have covered 3184 miles and have found the whole experience very enjoyable. Following at least 15 years of not owning anything with 2 wheels bigger than 49cc and having found this forum, I knew it was time again to own another Moto Guzzi. Having bought a V65 new in 1985, there was never going to be anything else but another Guzzi for me. Initially riding the bike I lacked confidence not only because of the long time since riding a bike but also the additional top heavy feeling the V11 has compared to the smaller Guzzi and the '79 Bonneville I had before that. Now that I have covered a few more miles on my V11 I like the handling. I am accustomed to the seat now, I have gone 6 hours with only 1 gas stop. Regarding the bar vibes they are getting better, no extra weights here, just ride and enjoy thanks. In standard trim it does everything I expect of it. The suspension works well for me. When riding 2 up and at speeds above legal limits it will still wobble a bit round bumpy corners. For all that I could not justify a suspension upgrade. My rear tyre needs replacing now, I already have a pair of Continental Contiforce to be fitted. Let's hope they are not inclined to move about at 90 plus mph as some owners have found. I will be fitting Pirelli Diablo Strada's after these. Fuel mileage since new has averaged 39.68 UK mpg / 33.05 US mpg. I find this not to bad as I do a lot of 2 up riding in excess of 85 mph. Fitting a Power Commander after 1000 miles lifted the gas mileage by about 3 mpg. Pipes and air-cleaner are stock. The only thing I don't really like about the bike is the seating position for passengers the rear pegs are too high and need to move forward a bit as well.

I have had no issues of any importance in this time, my low fuel light has never worked from day one, that's what my tripmeter is for. The engine weeps a little around the bellhousing on top of the engine under the seat release. It's not getting any worse and you probably wouldn't notice it until it was pointed out to you.

My tank rubbed on the sidecovers but not any more thanks to a couple of washers. My speedo needle wobbles but if it didn't it would be broken.

I still get a few false neutrals every now and then but so far nothing seriously wrong in the gearbox. My engine cases haven't peeled either yet but I guess it is still early days.

Planned modifications include the exhaust, a change to the air box and making my passengers more comfortable. I might even get some lower clip on's. I really like naked bikes.

 

I do not like to read about the negatives of Guzzi ownership as much as what I do. This excellent forum, thanks Jaap, works well for swapping tips and tricks for all manner of things relating to Guzzi ownership. It is fair for me to say if I hadn't found this forum I would probably still be without a motorcycle. In the last year I have learned a lot about my bike and hopefully shared this knowledge with other members in some way as well. Thanks everyone.

Rob

[Steve G.]

Nothing improves fuel mileage on these engines as much as a long breakin, which these engines need. Your 3200 miles has not loosened the engine up, it will take 10,000 miles till this engine is 'happy'. Same goes for the gearbox. In fact everything gets better with mileage. When my bike was brand new, the clutch would slip, now it does not. There were wet areas where gaskets and seals were showing incontinence, but regular use often gets rid of these.

Ciao, Steve G.

[Baldini]

Rob - good to hear! Interesting re the PC111 on std bike. Downloaded map or did you dyno it?

 

14,500miles on Scura now. First 7k saw a few niggly faults - these next 7k just been a pleasure, no problems. As Steve says really smoothed out after around 10k. Engine/tranny paint still fine, as is rest of finish.

 

Jaap's forum is great, but by it's nature is gonna be occupied by faults & fixes. If things are going well then we just get on with it. The only time you hear from a lot of posters is when they got a problem to fix. But I guess that's why it's here.

 

KB

[richard100t]

I've had my Goose for 6 months & have almost 7000 miles on it now. I musst say its getting smoother & I'm getting used to its quirks. I even love the clutch rattle. Other than my mishap with the pinion gear its been trouble free & appears as though its just getting better. I think leaving it very close to stock may keep the bike running well but thats just a guess. The only thing I've done to mine is put k&n pod filters on the throttle bodies. I think its an awesome bike around town & for short trips its ok.

[rossoandy]

Hi folks, love me V1100 rosso mandello and consider it to be a great alternative to the masses of competant but mainly sterile bikes out there.

Yes, it does/had/ have its faults...engine paint,neutral light,occasional glitch on starter,engine oil leak,failed rear wheel bearing,rear brake lamp switch,battery failure after only two years,sidepanels cracking,.........

but...I ride it hard..very hard at times (not many V1100s u see wheelie up the road)! and it comes back for more,the engine is still as sweet as when new and its done around 14000miles now. It sounds great with renagade aftermarket pipes and goes well enough for me to kill myself if I dont watch out! It stays with my mates unless they have a longish straight piece of road and looks the dogs danglies!

It feels like a real motorbike it rattles and shakes on idle..

Whenever its parked up people stop and admire..

It handles as well as I can corner..

In short it has CHARACTER.

Its only drawback is the lack of support or interest from Guzzi!

It is actually a nicely engineered motorcycle despite all its niggles.

I would hate to part with it...ever.

[Guest ratchethack]

The engine weeps a little around the bellhousing on top of the engine under the seat release. It's not getting any worse and you probably wouldn't notice it until it was pointed out to you.

Nice post, Rob. Never been there, but from what I understand, you live in what has to be one of the most inspirational corners of the universe for riding a V11. Your consideration of lower clip-ons puts you in rare company, my friend, as it seems many (at least on this forum) prefer bar risers. But I'm right with you here, I'm assuming because like me, your riding is generally far away from traffic lights, out into higher speed terrain in the wide open back country, which as far as I can tell is exactly what the stock ergo's of these bikes were designed for, and are SO PERFECT for! I too have considered lower clipons, but the stockers suit me just fine.

 

Re: the oil weeping, as a temporary fix, may I suggest tightening the engine breather hose clamp at the rear/top of the engine just in front of the clutch housing, also the clamp at the front of the same hose up under the steering head. I had the same symptoms at one point and this fixed it. Down the road my symptoms came back when the inferior grade stock hose began to show evidence of decomposition. This is inevitable and has been addressed on this forum. The latest long-term solution is to replace the hose with a higher-grade 1-piece Ford heater hose that has a near-exact molded contour (see link below). This would be the preferred long-term fix IMHO to the route I took, which was to use higher-grade bulk hose with 90-degree and 45-degree "ell" fittings, though my fix has about 12K miles on it now with no weeping.

 

With thanks to Dave Laing from his June 26, '05 (post #22) in the thread at this link:

 

http://www.v11lemans.com/forums/index.php?...topic=1301&st=0

 

Goodyear Ford hose #63318

Here is the NAPAonline part number and description:

Item#: NBH10912

Price: $ 26.79

[antonio carroccio]

Jaap, thank you.....

[wambiker]

Hi I've done about 2500 miles in the last 6-7 weeks on my new 2000 V11 and enjoy riding it every time I go out . I have been riding 31/2 morins for the last 12 years so the biggest factor for me was the size & weight. But I'm getting used to it. No major problems and the injection has been spot on after sorting to run with Mistrals by Jason at Moto Strada. The only real problem has been the clip ons, I only have short arms and the stretch and weight on my arms was causing major shoulder pain. But I've now drilled the top yoke and fitted risers and a set of norton straight bars, after 220 miles this afternoon, a lot more comfortable, but still not quite right. Will try a set of bars during the week with another couple of inches rise and width to see if this is better still, also may allow me to see more than my elbows in the mirrors! No major problems and all the hoses/cables/wiring fitted without much work.

Cheers Gary

[Ballacraine]

Gary.

 

You might consider trying UK Spec Meriden Bonneville bars. They are usually very good quality and a decent price. They may not be as wide as you may want but you might find the angle more comfortable.

 

Nige.

[wambiker]

Thanks for that I'll have alook at those and see if they are what I want.

Cheers Gary