$4000 for a Tenni.....

[not_scooter_Scura!]

I don'twant to start another Tenni vs. thing again , but , that is cheap!

 

 

n_s_S!

 

 

Tenni on Ebay

[Guest bshpilot]

man he just bought that thing this past SEPTEMBER in

a previous EBAY AUCTION...paid $4462 <LINK>

 

and the bike has a salvage <totaled at some point> title

[docc]

I was watching One Man's Island, a film about Canadian Mark Gardiner riding the TT in 2002.

 

During one shot of bikes staging out of the paddock a Tenni rolls by, the rider in Tricolore leathers!

 

Good film with some great onboard footage made better by a glimpse of a beautiful Guzzi.

[Alex-Corsa]

Ended at $4600 , WOW that"s cheap for a Tenni,as it looks very clean bike.

Haven"t read the description yet,who"s got it??

[rocker59]

With a salvage title it is only worth what it would bring parted out.

 

 

 

[DeBenGuzzi]

With a salvage title it is only worth what it would bring parted out.

True, but if you just plan to ride, not so much concerned with investment numbers its a steal of a ride. I really like the tenni's appears to be fully restored anyway

[richard100t]

Yeah you can get a great deal on a salvage title bike sometimes. The insurance companies will total a bike out most of the time just for liability reasons, even if the bike is not seriously damaged. As always Caveat Emptor!

[Steve G.]

Probably has a loose oil filter!!

Ciao, Steve

[Van]

Ahh, as pearls before swine......

seriously though, like all things on e-bay, as Richard100T said, caveat emptor indeed !!

Welcome to the new V11 owner, here's hoping that they got a good one and that they enjoy the experience.

Cheers

Van

[michael8888]

Here is the true story behind the $4600 Tenni, since I’m the one who's got it now.

 

The original owner (a gentleman in his late 50s) went down at low speed. He says the rear brake locked up on him, but no one can find anything wrong with the brakes. The guy (the September ebay buyer) says when he picked up the bike from the salvage dealer, the bike's original tires were only worn on center 1"and still had mold release on them. I’m guessing, the original owner never felt comfortable on the bike and panicked in a turn and hit the rear brake. Saying the rear brake locked up was a good thing to tell his wife, friends and his ego. His local MG dealer wrote up an estimate saying the bike was beyond repair and claim damage that was not there. This was most likely to help the original owner get back some of his original investment ($14-15,000) and so he could possible get a different bike. The bike had minor damage. A few scrapes and bend fairing bracket, broken directionals and shifter and the exhaust had a dent.

 

Now, the guy I won the bike from is a guzzi head (testaguzzi) and has a few older guzzi and knows how to wrench. He was going to make the bike into a custom naked street bike. When he got the bike from the salvage dealer he was surprised how little damage the bike had and decided to just do the little bit of repairs. And as his ebay ad said, he did a lot of extra work ($) to make it better. (fixed all the broken parts, engine repaint, engine seals, fluids and the dent in the exhaust, etc.) In addition, this bike has many of the factory upgrades like the titanium exhaust system and computer. After putting on 4-500 miles he decided he didn’t like the riding position and chose to resell it after putting time and money into the repairs.

 

Now, I put in a very low bid (4,650) on ebay and never expected to win. But I thought, how could I go wrong at that price if I win? … true or true? … And the bike was already fixed up ready to go and not a project.

 

In NY State, the bike will get re-inspected ($205) and receive a “Rebuilt” vehicle title. Sure it's not as good as a clean title, and maybe the bike is only worth the sum of it’s parts…..but it’s still is a Tenni and it was only $4,600 and about 98% perfect. And who will know looking at the bike now, or will really care in 5 -10 years. If I need to see a perfect Tenni, I’ll go over to my friend loft and look at the one in his living room. But for under $5000 when all things are said and done, I get a very cool rideable modern Guzzi. And it will keep my 1000S from getting lonely during the winter .

 

Michael NYC

[DeBenGuzzi]

Wow, thanks for posting that Michael, very informative, looks like you got a steal of a deal

[guido]

Saying the rear brake locked up was a good thing to tell his wife, friends and his ego.

 

Just on the odd chance he was right, check your box. I might well have had a similar experience. This is what I found when I took the box to pieces.

 

In case you can't see, there is a pick up from 4 of the six flanges on the secondary lower shaft on to the sixth gear. Look carefully at the top of the flange, you can see a blue area where the thing has got awfully hot. That means, as far as I can tell, when driving in sixth, the gear follows the shaft rotation, when I geared down to fifth, sixth and fifth would have been engaged simultaniously because 6th gear (which then should rotate freely against the flanges) welded itself to the flanges for a split second, until the dog (which you see at the bottom of the shaft), which is far more substantial than the fused together parts, would rip the gear free again. Shifting a gear lower is typically what you do when entering a corner or slowing down, to keep the engine on the cam, and sudden unexpected braking in these conditions can be seriously unpleasent.

I felt a roughness for a split second before I went down, and I didn't know what hit me. I still don't, but I am starting to believe this could explain a lot. After the accident we tried the box, and it was free, so it was not suspected as having contributed to the accident. I only found the problem because I wanted to change the shift rings (mandatory recall) recently, 2 years after the event. I would never have known, had I not opened the box. I don't know the cure yet, as my dealer has taken the shaft to Italy and MG, but I should know more soon. The bike has 1100km on the clock.

I don't want to alarm you, but you should know.

Apart from that, I have also had a rear brake seize on me, but that came more gradually and felt almost like the bike was running out of petrol, and it happened in a straight line on the highway. That was a test bike (V11) , where the free play on the brake pedal was insufficient, and the brake pads were dragging slightly, not enough to be noticeable at first. As the components got gradually hotter and expanded, the thing fairly rapidly, but, in this case not dangerously so, started to seize. However had it happened in a corner or on gravel, it might well have been worse. Adjusting the freeplay, cured that one quickly.

Lastly, there seem to have been other people with other experiences with both bearings and rear brakes, so I would, - just to feel better-, give them a very careful check.

I have been riding bikes for 32 years. If there is one thing I have learnt over these years, then it is to trust my instincts. If I feel that things sound or feel a little different, experince have tought me to take it seriously and not laugh it off. Thus, if an "old" guy told me he had a problem, I would make damn sure that I checked it.!!

And apart from that, congratulations with your bike, I hope you will enjoy it, they are nice, aren't they!.

[G.POLEGATO]

Aniway, in my opinion 4500$ is a good price. In Italy for this money I don't buy a Tenni.

The lowest price I've seen for a Tenni is 6500$ in a Moto Guzzi dealer shop ( with one year warranty),and the bike don't stay in showroom for long time!!!

 

Cheers

 

Giovanni

[michael8888]

thanks for the info....the bike is at my mechanic in philidelphia... it was easier to drop it off there on my way back to new york city from maryland. First thing is new tires and a full examination. The bike came with the titanium exhaust and ecu... I'd like to put teo lamers center stand on the bike but moto international in oregon (the usa retailer) does not know if it will work with the crossover or a stucci crossover. Do you have any info on this? I'm a pretty good wrench with tonti frames but the v11 is a new learning curve for me.

 

thanks and happy holidays,

michael

Saying the rear brake locked up was a good thing to tell his wife, friends and his ego.

 

Just on the odd chance he was right, check your box. I might well have had a similar experience. This is what I found when I took the box to pieces.

 

In case you can't see, there is a pick up from 4 of the six flanges on the secondary lower shaft on to the sixth gear. Look carefully at the top of the flange, you can see a blue area where the thing has got awfully hot. That means, as far as I can tell, when driving in sixth, the gear follows the shaft rotation, when I geared down to fifth, sixth and fifth would have been engaged simultaniously because 6th gear (which then should rotate freely against the flanges) welded itself to the flanges for a split second, until the dog (which you see at the bottom of the shaft), which is far more substantial than the fused together parts, would rip the gear free again. Shifting a gear lower is typically what you do when entering a corner or slowing down, to keep the engine on the cam, and sudden unexpected braking in these conditions can be seriously unpleasent.

I felt a roughness for a split second before I went down, and I didn't know what hit me. I still don't, but I am starting to believe this could explain a lot. After the accident we tried the box, and it was free, so it was not suspected as having contributed to the accident. I only found the problem because I wanted to change the shift rings (mandatory recall) recently, 2 years after the event. I would never have known, had I not opened the box. I don't know the cure yet, as my dealer has taken the shaft to Italy and MG, but I should know more soon. The bike has 1100km on the clock.

I don't want to alarm you, but you should know.

Apart from that, I have also had a rear brake seize on me, but that came more gradually and felt almost like the bike was running out of petrol, and it happened in a straight line on the highway. That was a test bike (V11) , where the free play on the brake pedal was insufficient, and the brake pads were dragging slightly, not enough to be noticeable at first. As the components got gradually hotter and expanded, the thing fairly rapidly, but, in this case not dangerously so, started to seize. However had it happened in a corner or on gravel, it might well have been worse. Adjusting the freeplay, cured that one quickly.

Lastly, there seem to have been other people with other experiences with both bearings and rear brakes, so I would, - just to feel better-, give them a very careful check.

I have been riding bikes for 32 years. If there is one thing I have learnt over these years, then it is to trust my instincts. If I feel that things sound or feel a little different, experince have tought me to take it seriously and not laugh it off. Thus, if an "old" guy told me he had a problem, I would make damn sure that I checked it.!!

And apart from that, congratulations with your bike, I hope you will enjoy it, they are nice, aren't they!.

[dlaing]

Great deal!

Do check out the rear bearings.

Some bearing spacers are too short causing damage to the bearings.

Also check the rear brake.

If the brake master sticks fluid can heat up and not vent back to the resevoir.

If the rear brake line falls on the crossover it can heat up pretty quick.

The caliber pistons are prone to getting dirty and dragging. If they drag too much they can heat up and or wear out and seize. They do wear quickly even when well maintained.

Chances are the guy just dropped his toe on the brake and accidently locked it up.

But if not, he is not the first one to lock up the rear.

I think it was Brian Robinson who had the rear bearings seize.

Best of luck