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Here's what I used to bleed the front brakes from completely dry. It will get you 90% there from that point and the rest is the usual process. It will do 100% bleed for fluid changes etc. Cheap as chips and worth every penny. With my home made reservoir adaptor. Phil

I don't recall the specific chemical or compound in the brake cleaner that became so toxic when heated,,,,, possibly ends with "ene" idk. I had been researching the dangers associated with heating galvanized metal(zinc iirc) and stumbled across a discussion on a forum comprised of welders & blacksmiths. There were quite a few posters who knew welders personally who had died or gotten very sick from the fumes. One of the apparently accepted methods for cleaning off the brake cleaner and making it safer to weld was wiping it off with acetone first,,, I've worked with acetone, I know it's nasty stuff,,,, scary to think that professional welders considered it safer to work with than brake cleaner. fwiw

@audiomick @p6x Re the poisonous gas created by welding & heat; Guzzimoto has it right it was Phosgene gas;it's probably a typo, but it's created by heating certain types of brake cleaner not fluid. There's a lot of info out there on it's history,toxicity & people who have accidently succumbed to it.

It is, as I recall, the chemical that the lack of makes some brake fluid "non-chlorinated". You can use non-chlorinated brake fluid when welding. But do not use the non non-chlorinated brake fluid for welding applications. I assume it is some form of chlorine that is in standard brake fluid. They refer to it as chlorinated solvents. Whatever that is. But the chlorinated solvents can breakdown and become phosgene gas under the heat of welding. Phosgene gas is super poisonous. Can be very bad.

80F with 89% humidity can make it feel much hotter.

If I was serious buyer I'd just message him on ebay with my mobile number and get him to give you a call or visa versa. Phil

Others have mentioned this but it's better in real life and if I was an expert in photo shopping so I could see what the variations would be I might consider it. The green is such a vivid and stand out colour though that it's easy to have too much of it I think. Anyone that knows how to photoshop really well I would welcome showing me versions with the fairing/and front guard in green and combinations of both. Maybe just the front guard green. Phil

The V11 has braided lines as standard Mick. Phil

I don't think it's widely known, but heating or burning brake cleaner fluid/spray in any form can be extremely toxic. I've read of welders, that have died in poorly ventilated areas;from working on metal that had been prepped & cleaned with brake fluid. I think a safer option might be "ether" we call it quick start here. I "think" it will work and it's safe. fwiw idk

You may want to specify if the rear seat cowl is missing or simply not shown in the picture. A small video of starting the bike cold and letting it idle makes wonder. You may want to correct the eBay narrative stating 4600 miles, the odometer reads 4300, and you are stating that it is possibly 14,000; it makes it confusing. Sorry, not trying to patronize, but I have been looking for another Guzzi (not a V11) and sifting through FB marketplace and other Craig's list, and there is never too much information you can provide. You did mention that you had the bike for a year and a half, which is very good. Adding how many miles you did with it is important too. Scrupulous maintenance is something that makes people trust you. if you know anything about the bike from the previous owner, throw it in. I am telling you, because in June, I flew all the way to Boise idaho, and back. A one day trip to check out a Quota 1100ES. I know that even if you write a full comprehensive description, people are still going to call you to ask you questions because they did not read. But to buyers like myself, this is important.

With the bike idling,spray something like WD40 all around the intake boots;if they're leaking you should hear the engine increase in speed. I'm only a recent convert to Docc's magical rubber restorer aka as Honda's Shin-Etsu grease; I'm now putting a light coating rubbed in with a tooth brush on all rubber pieces I hope to preserve rather than replace in the future;seems good so far,time will tell. If you do the WD40 spray/idle test and there's no increase in engine speed & no visible cracks or damage; I'd apply some Shin-Etsu & verify fit & tightness & call it good. A lot of poor running/coughing issues have been cured by doing a decent tune up & making sure all of the vents & plumbing are clear & working properly. fwiw ymmv

Now that I have put some miles on the Le Mans since the left cylinder boot slipped from the left admission pipe, creating an air gap and ultimately causing the V11 to limp on one side, there is solace. The V11 runs a lot better through to the 3000 rpm mark. Long runs at 55 mph (3000 rpm) no longer indispose the Guzzi. This is a considerable improvement from as long as I can remember. I am not going to say the V11 is perfect. But the strong coughing I was invariably experiencing around the 3k mark is no longer there. What I get now, are small burps mainly when I am in the city, and while changing gears at low revs; below 3k. It does seem to indicate I had an air leak for a while. The evidence being the pipe is blackened in front of the rubber boot. The right hand side is not. You remember that we did have a conversation about rubber boots: Nitrile, Viton, Kalrez... I don't know what material is used to make those admission boots, but they are exposed to UVs. It is obvious they need to be replaced on a 19 years old motorcycle.

Yesterday I read through two very long threads here. What I noticed is that practically no-one stipulates whether they had or have the bike on the side-stand or on some kind of lift. For the record: my V11 Le Mans, built in 2002, long tank, wrinkle paint on the motor, black gauges, was on a Becker lifter when I was looking at the front grease nipple situation. So the back wheel was off the ground, and the angle of the front uni-joint was as "open" as it can get without undoing screws. I had the feeling that I maybe could have got onto the front nipple. Grease gun has a straight connector, but a flexible hose. In the end, I decided not to pursue it. Taking out the wheel is a good idea anyway, as there are a couple of other things that would benefit from being looked at. @docc, the collar in your photo doesn't seem to have any holes in the sides of it. Mine does, such that I could probably undo the pinch bolts without removing the collar. I'll be in the garage later, and will try and measure the collar in situ, but don't really expect to see numbers different from what has already been quoted here. A thought came to me: maybe the collar is the same, but Guzzi used a different nipple on earlier models compared to the later ones. I.e. they figured out it was a bastard to get to, and changed to a different nipple.