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This took some doing, but I found this pic of @guzzler's GreenQueen . . .

I, too, have a wonderful wife who indulges my Mandello Syndrome. Don't want to mess that up by using the word "lust" here, but that sure fits my (continuing) yearning for a Rosso Corsa. I happened to be in an Atlanta dealer c. 2004 looking at one in their showroom window. As I drooled, a truck pulled up. loaded it, and took it to https://www.barbermuseum.org where, at least, I and others can look longingly at it. About the only "cheesecake" in my Moto Grappa is this ... I do, however, disagree, Andy, with your assessment about Moto Guzzi "soul" vis a' vis the V85. Aside from having, as do you, a saintly wife, I, too, own an "Oreo Guard." My V11, a Ballabio ... ... left my Moto Grappa, actually, even earlier, the Moto Grappa's beloved Atlanta predecessor, the GarageMahalo ... It makes me smile to think of it. With those Mistral cans, it made riding along water courses on backroads, inside tight, palisaded valley walls an absolute aural, and near-spiritual delight. It's why we ride motorcycles and Moto Guzzis, in particular. But, ah, the Guardia. When I first saw a V85, I found its "beak" and other Jurassic Park looks off-putting. I still am not at complete peace with that. Yet, overall -- after owning seven new Guzzis and ridden at least a dozen more from several Loops, two Nuovo Falcones, lots of Tontis, a Centauro, my own and others' Spines, and (ditto) Carcs, including several Spine LeMans variants, I think the V85 has 100% Mandello DNA, and ever bit as much of that elusive "soul" -- but, as did the SCOTUS justice, Potter Stewart, with pornography, we know when we see it. It is -- again, IMO, i.e., YMMV -- quirky beyond its gawky looks. Power? No, not the raw grunt of my Griso, or visceral joy of my Ballabio. Still, way enough for me; youngsters in years and personality may disagree. Comfort for long multi-day rides? Best of any motorcycle I've ever ridden. Better than my Norge -- minus weather protection. OK, wait; I did ride a 2003 Goldwing for some miles once. It wins. Go anywhere, even off-pavement? Except with my spunky little "Let's go!" Stornello, I am rarely on gravel, and never (Intentionally) with my EV or V85, on dirt, dual-track, or worse, but I get there more often than I want by following my GPS instead of tempering that with common sense. Handling? I find the V85 composed, willing, and certainly more capable than I am to take on the tight stuff at speed. I rode two V85's -- a '22 & a '25 -- in Corsica and Sardinia last fall. The pace was way faster than I like to ride on technical and unforgiving roads, but the V85's just said "Hang on!" and I did. Overall, it's Best in (My) Show ... [For C&W connoisseurs, in the second pic, that's Patsy Cline's first home on Back Creek Road near Gore, Virginia. ] Enough, with apologies for droning on, but I needed to help Andy understand that he was wrong. Seriously, how blessed we all are to ride this remarkable marque. Whichever Guzzi I am riding at the moment is my favorite. That is a great reminder that I need to get the V85 off of the lift ... ...and road ready for a jaunt to see the grands and then house- (and dog, cat, & gerbil!) sit in N.C. next month, followed by the Mutton Run to Kentucky and Catfish Crawl in the Ozarks. Retirement: best job I've ever had. Ciao! Bill

I'll never forget the day I went to look at the Green one... As I've said before I actually called them ( the shop ) to enquire about it and remember asking about the colour.....It' not that lurid green one is it? My heart sank when they said yes as I really wanted a silver one! Anyway during the next week, the boys at work convinced me I could always paint it, and I should go and take a look at it...and so I did. You know even in a sea of exotica...MV Agusta's, Ducati's (modern and even a green frame replica! ) the odd Aprillia and the owners Vincent collection, you get the picture....The V11 STOOD OUT from the crowd! I was smitten completely the moment she fired up and bought her on the spot. The shop told me afterwards that the colour would grow on me and even though it was some time before I actually got my hands on her they were right and I can't imagine now how I didn't like the green at first! I love the bloody thing even more now! Cheers Ps I think the V11 LeMans looks much better in reality than some photos too. Pps Sorry but ole greenie is just a supermodel.....

Ahm, no.

Replies/posts combined with those from another thread to create this topic:

OK, so here are pics of my vast tool! Well, actually three tools. I’ll endeavour to get the pics up and then if anyone needs further explanation I can add some. The largest one is for the clutch boss nut, the intermediate one is I think the driven shaft nut and the two smaller, three gear shafts use the smallest one. The dimensions are nut OD and tooth size for the peg slots. Many thanks to Rolf for making them for me and sending me a set. They’ve served me very well over the last probably quarter of a century!

A quick check with an armful of gear on the bathroom scales confirms that this is about right. So about 165 pounds with all the gear.

Pinning it will keep you going for a while, but I reckon, looking at the photos, that the levers are just knackered and need replacing. Patch it up, and start looking for a replacement.

The Griso is a more acquired taste riding wise. Styling wise, it's a beauty, but it took me a while to "bond" with the bike, after doing the right ergonomic modifications, it became a wonderful fit. The Scura, straight out of the gate, both stylistically and ergonomically was perfect.

I love the sentiment, but have to say for my part that despite now being solidly in the “smitten for life” category, the V11 was an acquired taste for me. I’m that way with a lot of things…. a character flaw. I’ve related here elsewhere on the forum that I literally scoffed at my riding buddy who originally bought one of the LeMans I now own, telling him who would buy such a ridiculous machine, as I compared it to my ST4, in a friendly competition type way, but in my mind the ST4 beat it in every category. I do still have a soft spot for the ST4, but it’s long gone, while it’s unthinkable to imagine selling the LeMans. And not that such detail is important, but since we’re musing, i’ll add that the first V11 for me, the one I had scoffed at earlier, was the one that I became smitten with, but it wasn’t true love till I got Red. Not really for the difference in paint, but I got Red completely sorted and purring like a kitten, in a way I could never quite do on Goldie. Same process, mods, etc., and Goldie now runs excellent, but there’s some kind of buzz/vibration and different “power band” that just isn’t quite right… or i’ll at least say its just different in a way i don’t prefer, while Red is "perfect" in my estimation (and Reds suspension is better dialed-in, which of course makes an important difference…i gave up on Goldies suspension when Red came along). Personality! part of what is endearing about these bikes.

South'n SpineRaid Special!

What am I not? Bought locally for a steal, been sitting 6-8-10 years with the transmission out, depending on who's right. At least reassembling and verifying everything. At most, budget off... anything can happen

FWIW the first picture is how it rolled off the trailer. I hadn't touched anything yet.

I guess there are worse things than a Largemouth Bass coming off the hook just about the time you go to pull it out of the water and into the boat ! Also if you say M@*%&#%&*^$r and nobody hears you , did you make a sound ?

Day 1

We had the Ducati preamption of the championship; now we need to add the Marquez brothers festival. I have no doubt Marc Marquez will be the lead guy in both the short and long races. Will Alex be second again? I would love for Zarco to make it to the podium, but he often has difficulty at the race launch.

Beggars can't be choosers, but black is the color. I have the hardware. I wonder if a place has a carbon fiber available? I'll check ebay.

Somethinig to take into consideration; I brought the bike from Arizona, and used it extensively. This gear lever issue happened right after I decided to change the gear shifter position. This morning, I was going to long distance test the latest assembly, but yesterday I caught a nail in the rear tire, and I now need to take off the rear wheel to replace the tube. I have ordered a replacement gear lever from Harper's Moto Guzzi; Incidentally, without the gear lever problem, I would have been in the Panhandle yesterday, where they had high winds, still today.... so, fate!

Yeah, I get the impression they're deliberately making it harder to get into motorcycling..... Maybe this does weed out the non- committed but ultimately can't be good for the activity / sport in the long run! Cheers

Delivered today, seven days from the order placed last Friday after business hours.

Hmm. I guess I must have registered the bike with AMA at some point in the last 9yrs. I think signed up with AMA for first time when riding the new-to-me red v11 from Oklahoma to Oregon some years ago, not knowing whether it was truly ready for the journey (seller said “no problem”, but of course that’s taken at my own peril). Docc and good folks on this forum supported that excellent journey, with some hot tips when Red decided to just stop running in the middle of nowheresville north Texas…. But all ended well, with no tow.

V11 6 speed gearbox . . . From Pete Roper's post, above, with the dimensioned images of the special sockets: The largest one is for the clutch boss nut, the intermediate one is I think the driven shaft nut and the two smaller, three gear shafts use the smallest one.

Yes. Without getting into "sag" and "over 60 years old", I reckon I can get my garage "flat-mate" to help me have a look at how much the suspension on the bike sags when I sit on it.

These are the types of retaining nuts that require the special tools:

Right, so, about 13 or 14 stone. In proper units. Back in the day, rumor had that the wiry, Italian test riders weighed just that. Yet, I also know an industry insider that told me the manufacturers set bikes up soft for "showroom feel." Except Ducati. The only way to assess your spring rate applicability is to check your "sags." Sags too far? Spring's too soft. Generally speaking (very generally), 35% of the suspension travel is soft (some riders like it that comfy), while 25% sag is considered "sporty." 30% is a common compromise.

That is why I waited to advise about doing anything until now .

Lol - I was hoping you'd take the hint and supply your weight and save me the awkward task of asking 😅. Thanks for all the info, docc!

So about 86 kg in proper units. I'm around 65 kg without the gear, so maybe 75 kg all kitted up. Do you reckon I'd be right with the standard springs, assuming they are still ok? I'm inclined to think I would be. The front end felt alright the last time I rode it. I had put the pre-load back to the "default" settings from the user's manual.

I also discovered that AMA requires you to declare a destination before they will dispatch the recovery operator.

I had owned my V11 Sport sixteen (16!) years before the styling was revealed to me in an interview with the designer, Luciano Marabese, referencing the Gambalunghino as the design reference. This brought the whole design together for me after being frustrated looking for (absent) V7 Sport cues which period journalists, erroneously, reported the V11 Sport was an homage to.

Me too, actually. Not the motor, I knew I'd love that. A flatmate had a Le Mans III in the late '80's, and I really liked it, and I was convinced that a more modern version of the motor must be good. It is, perhaps even more than I expected. But the styling... I still can't really come at a V11 without the Le Mans fairing. And even the Le Mans took a couple of months to grow on me. Riding it helped convince me, of course.

Now this is something I like to share with you. Some pages ago, I mentioned Iris Dement in a reaction and clearly did not know John Prine. Shame on me but even more a pity. When knowing the name, I all of a sudden saw it popping up everywhere. What a great guy he must have been, great texts, a true poet, mocking himself and enjoying every bit of it. And so much welcome by his fellow musicians. I really like to thank you guys on the forum to point my attention to John Prine.

I learned (from this forum), early on, that lighter oil performs better in our forks, so I chose 5 "wt." Then, I learned (from this forum) that 5 "weight" can vary widely between manufacturers and even between one manufacturer's different products. After taking in Peter Verdone's discourse, and published tables, I chose BelRay 5W High Performance fork oil based upon its rating in centiStokes. This measure is vastly more accurate than "weight." http://www.peterverdone.com/archive/lowspeed.htm http://www.peterverdone.com/archive/images/content/motorcycle/PVD-ISO-Viscosity-Data.gif Perhaps, most important (and biggest gain) with forks is to be certain your springs and preload reflect your rider weight and riding style. Factory springs are notoriously soft. Springs are also fairly inexpensive and super-easy to change during the oil service. I used Traxxion Dynamics to spec my springs and preload spacers and they are spot-on.

I haven't checked it for any brand names but just looking at the design compared to a ledperf, it looks identical. And it seems to fit very nicely in there.

Yes, some dreams never die. So ... there is the Moto Grappa, home of my Guzzi moto-harem. Fewer now than in this pic four years ago, parading on the occasion of Moto Guzzi's 100th. I mentioned my (quite possibly loony) plan over on Griso Ghetto, and "Street" worked up this mockup. Yee ha! Looking into options to execute now, e.g., @p6x's mural approach. Obviously, if this happens, there will be a party. Last time I had such an event -- in Atlanta, for the christening of the GarageMahalo 20 years ago (gasp) -- the local Peroni distributor helped wet down the festivities. If the "Moto-Duomo Doors" happens, count on a similar event at the top of Virginia. This post constitutes your invitation. Bill

West Coast Batteries, Corona, California, USA https://odysseybatteries.com/ https://odysseybatteries.com/odyssey/pc545.html

Mine was a "mail order" bike. I knew I was gonna love it. I can't even remember how I located it ?

Exactly. The Tenni was the first V11 I'd ever seen. I didn't even have to ride it. That said, any temptation regarding a motorcycle should be acted on.

Silly question here. We're all "converted". The V11 Models have various issues, mostly minor. You can find very extensive information on all of them here. It is possible to iron them all out. Go for a ride on it. You'll either love it immediately, or not. If you don't love it, don't buy it. If you do, buy it. It is really as simple as that. My V11 Le Mans has a number of problems, all solvable. My problem is finding the time to get onto them. Even so, every time I ride it, I come home with a smile on my face.

Docs = The Silver Cyborg

Your (emotion) expression will be the same as Jaap's

I spotted this one too and also had to sit on it. What do you think of this bike in general? I'm tempted to go for a test ride.

Still amazed by this bike, after 20 + years. Here picking it up in New Orleans in 2004 on my 50th birthday, an incredible gift from my wonderful wife. The next year Hurricane Katrina would wash this shop away! The Rosso still runs strong....I compare it to my other Guzzi, a 2022 V85 Guardia d Onore, and it has about 100% more Guzzi soul. Yes, both the bike and the wife are keepers for life. Andy

Took me a while, but I did find this nice shot of @Admin Jaap's V11 G&B . . . .

Bart! Look at the date of the ad! It’s seventeen years ago! And what are you doing chucking it on its side you dork!? Words will be spoken next time we meet!

The “Greenie” sketch looked great from the start.

Yes. The V11 Sport, in black, was shown at EICMA November 1997 with first production late 1999 while Moto Guzzi was still under ownership of the Trident Rowan Group (reportedly 1996-1999, yet some sources say Finprogetti took over ownership from DeTomaso as early as 1994). Very interesting to note the original V11 Sport was "drawn in one night" by one designer, Luciano Marabese, who had a close relationship with Ivano Beggio. It is conjecture, only, that Beggio may have influenced the adoption of the V11 Sport original design (1999-2001) before taking ownership in ~2000. EICMA 1997

Now that the V11 is 25 years old, I would love to know where it stands in the transverse V-twin Guzzi model ranking of post 1965. I realize there is no scientific way to determine this, but even with all the lovely models since 2000, none of them have tempted me to part with mine. After selling my first V11 Scura, I bought a V11 Le Mans a few years later, and still love it. But by all means - those of you with a good knowledge of post '65 Guzzi road bikes, what is your top 5 ranking? (because this is the type of shite we do to pass the cold off-riding season days).

Yeah, I reckon the LeMans looks great in green!