V11 at the track

[dangerous]

Well Had my 1st chance at the track on the V11 last weekend. now in the past I have had my VTR1000 and MG 1100i Sport out there, and both bikes went rather well, well the VTR would as its Jap right

Now The MG1100i sport was awesome, it loved the track and I never had any probs with it.

 

The V11, well this was interesting, kinda lacks a bit of ground clearance on the left aye

came around a fast kink on the back straight and ground the stand into the deck, this put me into a two wheel drift, the bike seat now has a permament pinch mark in it

This would happen once in a while on the Sport but I modified the stand and it limited the prob, but its way worse on the V11.

 

the power is great on the V11 like the sport not a lot for a 1100 but what it has is usable and is great for rocketing ya out of a corner, and down the straight the V11 winds out well

 

During the day I was racing my two bucket racers, which have race pattern gear boxs... the V11 dosent so as I enterd the main straight at full noise and feed it the fat I changed down NOT up... poor bloody Guzzi, but it took t well.

 

I also had a fang on a R6 Yamy very fast but... no class

Also the Missus Buell XB12R man that was awesom, it would run rings around the MG but even tho it has 20hp more I reckon there was nothing between them on the straight.

 

anyway thats how I found the V11 LeMans on the track, hoped for beter but alas its not a race bike now is it

 

PS: will put up V11 pics when I get them.

[Baldini]

...came around a fast kink on the back straight and ground the stand into the deck, this put me into a two wheel drift, the bike seat now has a permament pinch mark in it

This would happen once in a while on the Sport but I modified the stand and it limited the prob, but its way worse on the V11....hoped for beter but alas it's not a race bike....

 

 

 

it's not a race bike but...can gain a fair bit of clearance by moving things around a little. cans'll move up & in a bit with some playing with the brackets.....&....take the f'n stand off at the track?

 

KB

[Guest ratchethack]

The V11, well this was interesting, kinda lacks a bit of ground clearance on the left aye 

came around a fast kink on the back straight and ground the stand into the deck, this put me into a two wheel drift, the bike seat now has a permament pinch mark in it

This would happen once in a while on the Sport but I modified the stand and it limited the prob, but its way worse on the V11.

Dangerous, I make no insinuations here because I simply don't know your situation, but I've noticed that many complain about this who haven't given attention to proper chassis setup - particularly heavier riders. With a properly uprated match of spring rates and sags correctly dialed-in, a heavier rider in particular can gain tremendous ground clearance and lean angle - not to mention a HUGE handling advantage!

 

As mentioned again here recently, you can even further improve clearance on the left-hand side - and considerably so - by shortening the side-stand rubber stop by half.

[dangerous]

Yeah I have reduced the side stand rubber and after that slid happening I removed the stand, comming to think of it the sport I am sure I removed it on aswell.

 

The V11 has Ohlins and I'm quite happy with the set up, what I think happened is that I had been on my bucket racer the race before were I dont need to hang off so much and I'm thinking I fotrgot to slide of the seat on the V11.

 

The thing I find interesting is the V11 wears the name LeMans, which in times gone have been the sportiest of Guzzie's there race bikes.

Now The 1100i sport I had handled the track real well, but I am a tad disapointed in the V11... but I have to remember these to bikes are set up for differant purposes... the V11 is a sport tourer the 1100 sport is just a sports bike, well as far as MG is concerned.

At the end of the day, I had a blast on all bikes... how have any of you otheres found the V11 on the track

[Baldini]

...I had been on my bucket racer the race before ... how have any of you otheres found the V11 on the track...

 

Scura on track - stock, w/std cans (raised & moved in a bit) but removed stand:

 

It's a big heavy bike, w/too much weight at rear. I suspect the frame/swingarm are not strong enough when really pushed, S/a is v short so harder for suspension to control, but that's all pretty much same on 1100 sport isn't it?.

 

V11 tank shape doesn't let you get forward to get your weight over the front end so you can't plant front in a corner, it feels vague & prone to running wide mid corner on.

 

Ground clearance was a problem in as much as the first part to hit was r/h can & that would hit hard. Hit nothing on left but tracks differ. Would feel much more comfortable if footrests hit first so's you knew where you were, but these are set high.

 

180 tyre is too wide - front turns in then you wait for back to follow.

 

Brakes are OK but it's a big lump to stop & I found handling, weight & grip were limiting factors.

 

Power wise: well, find a track with a short straight!!! But delivery is fantastic , while all the mega hp japs are scared of putting the power down on exits just drive the Guzzi out. Much less time spent concentrating on gear changing too. Gbox worked flawlessly on track, much better feel than on road, & upchanges w/o clutch were v slick.

 

Since then I raised the forks in the clamps which improved front end feel loads. Tried a 170 rear which improved turn in no end. I put higher cans on. It's difficult to sense the limit now & I'm afraid of tyre letting go before anything touches down esp when they get hot. Diablos are great, grippy & v predictable & slow when they do break away but I'm going to try Corsas next. Also put a longer hero blob on the footrests to get a feel from them, but not been on the track since.

 

As Ratchet says, suspension set up makes a lot of difference to handling & clearance.

 

Getting off a race bike onto a V11 roadbike - it's pretty much an irrelevant comparison in so many ways isn't it? & we're talking about track days here aren't we - not racing - that's a different thing again. Set up for a trackday a V11 will go far better than it has any right to!

 

KB