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I've always wanted to love BMW motorcycles, being 1/4 German and having lived in Bavaria as a youth. I recall taking a bright yellow BMW 1100 Sport for a test ride while mySport was hors de combat for a warranty thing. First lesson in German engineering solutions was the "servo" braking popular at the time. I knew about it, but was really shocked rolling the thing out of the dealer's shop down a slope on the concrete apron. The hand lever did so absolutely NOTHING to slow the bike I melted my boot soles using them as brake pads on the concrete. Fine, I thought. I knew about that; just didn't expect it to be that ridiculous. After all, hardly anyone (!) rolls their bike around, unstarted, using the front brakes for control . . . Once underway, I kept (stupidly) flaring a knee out to look down at the "Big Twin" cradled below. Just wanted to get a visual confirmation it was actually there. There was zero motor feel. Not just compared to my(lusty)Sport. I've had Hondas, too. Somewhere in my distant consciousness, I heard a gathering of Bavarian engineers toasting with their steins of Märzen bier, "Vee have saved Doktor Hennz from zee annoyance of zee motor !" Thinking better of my distracted foolishness, I focused on the path of travel. With no "twisties" to engage, lane changing became the test of handling. It seemed just changing lanes required a Morse Code message from the helm to the Steering Control Room where the request was translated to German and transmitted to those same Bavarian engineers who celebrated yet further, "Vee have saved Doktor Hennz from the annoyance of feeling the road feedback and deplorable handling characteristics of such substandard motorcycles as the RedFrame V11 Sport." (Cue more stein clanking and proud celebration. ) I was soooo happy to get back on mySport . . . .

I rigged mine in a vise this morning to try to determine root cause for shifting issues, primarily downshifting fails. It didn't take long to see that the front hook was hanging at the pin and not dropping. It took a little fiddling with very small adjustments on the main eccentric to get the same clearance at both the front and rear hooks. Immediate improvement, at least on the bench. Adjusted the secondary to about .1mm and called it good. Both are a little fiddly trying to keep the setting while holding the shift lever, a screw driver and tightening the lock nut. I debated whether to replace the 2 springs I had purchased last winter along with doing the other straightening and smoothing steps Phil did. I didn't want to muddy the water with multiple changes so I put the bike back together with only the eccentric adjustments done. Just returned from a test ride and could not be more pleased with the result. Every shift up or down was solid, easy and reliable. Transformed the enjoyability of riding the green beast. My bike had been weeping oil at the second adjuster, I suspect someone tried to tighten the nut with the shifter cover on the bike and just turned the whole unit fouling the setting. As always, enormous gratitude to Phil and the forum for guidance on resolving problems.

Yea I'm not a big fan of the CARC drive either or even the V1000, a bit too bulky for mine. Thats one of the reasons why I wanted the different wheels for my bike so I could ditch the bevel box shroud and have a compact and neat final drive in a shaft driven bike. Compact, neat, elegant, mechanically interesting. Still too heavy for a sporting bike but you can't have everything. Phil

Sounds like you need a Moto Guzzi Griso. Almost as much fun as a V11 sport, but lower, more upright seating, and dare I say, marginally less needy. Or if you really need to sit up perfectly straight take a look at a Moto Guzzi adventure bikes, the V85 or Stelvio.

$5,500! You guys were right in the ballpark of value! I did offer to give the new owner $200 back for new tires, so I guess $5,300, but still happy with the result!

Did one of the best upgrades of my Rosso Mandello by fitting Andreani fork damper, very pleased, the bike is more stable and absorbes bumps in a much better way. And I can confirm that it fit the 40mm black forks

Not even the best looking Beemer by half a mile. Not within 10 miles of Spineframe and 100 miles from a Greenie.

I think so for sure 😀

It’s a BMW. It’s as ugly as a hat full of farty arseholes and makes a noise like a parson farting in the bath. The End. Next…………..

I like BMWs and have had a few; mainly airheads, though I have a R1100GS at the moment. So many old airheads have been turned into cafe racers in the UK, and they are the opposite of quick shifting and quick accelerating. Great for cruising, short shifting and riding the torque, but, by nature, chronically unsuited to being cafe racers. BMW could make an attempt at reprising the styling of the R65LS. I've not long since fixed one up.

I've had a few BMWs. I've also had a few refrigerators, and a few microwaves. They all did their jobs. My R100CS was lovely, but TBH I bought that because I needed to slow down (was at risk of losing license due to the intoxicating acceleration of a Yamaha FJ1100). Not long ago, I parked my Griso next to a very nice R9T and talked the owner. Long story short, he wished he had seen a Griso before he bought his R9T. And while the R12T is neat, and has "dual clocks" I would not even consider giving up my 12 year old Griso for it. If BMW want to interest me, they could bring back the K75s or K100RS. The flying bricks were uber-cool. That's a WKF.

Well...as we all know...looking good vs. feeling good can be two separate and mutually exclusive items. Luckily for us, taste is very individual...otherwise we'd all be married to the same woman and that would be a problem! I don't see the BMW rear drive as any more "bulky" than the CARC...but I'd still like to see how it rides. Having had a BMW K1100 LT for several years before I bought my Norge, I can clearly see the advantages of the Guzzi vs. the BMW in many ways (handling, weight, motor response and a few other intangibles), but this Orange Retro version looks good enough to take for a test ride at the very least!

That's soft going from you Pete! Are you trying to say you kinda like it? 😆

I’ve never understood the attraction of bar ends? The ones big enough to see anything look daggy and the small ones, even if you like the look and I’m not a fan, you can’t see anything in. I have used them in the past but only when I couldn’t find anything cheap to fit conventionally, (This was years ago. Long before eBay and the like.) On my Grisos and Manas I’ve got the stock Aprilia ‘Trapezoid’ ones. Clear as a bell, no blurring, great field of vision. What’s not to like?

"The Most Beautiful Café Racer, yet?" Image courtesy of @Guzzijens https://www.v11lemans.com/forums/gallery/image/3461-20250323_105143jpg/?context=new

I haven't been on this forum for years, just thought i would drop by I have had many Guzzi's since the VII Sport California II, 98 EV, Lario, Griso, 72 Eldorado I'm currently down to just two a 2014 V7III Special and a 76 Convert Cheers Roy

Congrats on the sale @Steve54296! Looks like BaT did you solid. Your Dad would be proud of having it go to someone that really wanted it. Good for you and your Mom!

I reckon my V35 Imola is one of the most beautiful "cafe racers". I don't have a picture of mine to hand, but this one isn't bad No power worth mentioning, but for my taste really one of the prettiest motorcycles ever built, and the seating position is pretty much perfect for me. If you want a bit more stick, get a Le Mans III. The same styling direction, but more power. And bigger and heavier.

The calm before the storm...

I will certainly check them out! The only thing that makes me a little hesitant about Guzzi, the brand, is they do tend to be a little needy, from what I gather. Which, that’s the nature of the beast, and the Italian way! Like with cars, sometimes they just require a little more time investment, with the payoff being an unmatched character! Similar to cars, if you just want to start it up and go, get a Corolla. If you want something a helluva lot more fun, with some character, but is going to require a little more attention, get a C8, Porsche, Ferrari, 1969 Boss 302, etc. It is what it is.

That is an extremely good picture .

I really like the styling and yet to come across a negative review of the R12S. If looking for retro/hipster/cafe machine with nods to an earlier era but updated then surely it would be worth consdering (if you could afford the hefty price tag) Only criticisms were price and the throttle could be snatchy in Dynamic mode Owning an older sibling to the R12S, an R9T Racer, perhaps the boy's from Bavaria listened to all the comments about the Racer. The biggest flaw was the bars set into the triple clamp coupled to a long tank. I'm 5' 7" and it's a huge stretch, arms locked out most of the time. Many owners installed Helibars, I eventually opted for raised clip ons, but even with these the position is still pretty extreme.

R100CS = A perfect airhead FJ1100= not for me R9T= No Griso = righteous K75S= ok ( I assume that is what is in the picture) K100RS= I had one , LOVED it & will never understand why I sold it. A (personalized) BMW cafe racer = NO. BMW has to be stock.

Oh, yes. There remains the matter of "The Most Beautiful Café Racer, Yet" . . .

Yes Docc I own “one of the prettiest cafe racers yet” Rosso Mandello The R12 S is a style exercise RnineT with every Farkle on it from the 719 parts catalog. But the paint over exposed brushed aluminum tank & tubeless spoke rims are trick, that are supposed to harken back to the R90S paint scheme days, It’s the cat’s meow. But it’s not an Italian Guzzi for sure. its been said many times to the point of being cliche on this forum, why doesn’t Guzzi reproduce a new sport, based off the V100. Blacked out motor, trick wheels, carbon fiber bits with a traditional “cafe racers” look, aka one round headlight, and a new motorcycle warranty. Sign me 🆙

The later gearboxes had 2 eccentrics The main one adjacent to the input shaft that should only be adjusted on the bench and the second one which is just an adjustable limit stop for the selector pawl lever, it also should only be adjusted on the bench. The second one was originally a roll pin which was just fine if the clearance was ok. You can use the large eccentric next to the input shaft to adjust the pawl arm position with regards to the shift wheel pins. Phil

Good chance @Steve54296 can make that happen.

Yea Pete. Here is my only foray into bar end mirrors my Hailwood Mille. The original stock mirrors were totally horrid as those type of add ons were back in 1985 for Italian bikes. The Italians only added them for legality and didn't expect anyone would actually leave them on. The bar end mirrors was totally shite as well but only fractionally less shite than the OEM ones. I was never happy with it there. The image reminds me of my totally inane obsession with modifying motorcycles goes back well over 40 years like a disease. The Bimota has Campag race wheels with a 5.5 inch rear and a hand cut Michelin rear slick and home made calliper hanger and race disk, bespoke mufflers made for me by Sandy at Staintune, 4 piston Brembos and home made calliper carriers and 320mm rotors at the front and also a bespoke aluminium fuel tank to replace the plastic original. The Mille has pretty much the same wheel and brake mods as well as engine and gearbox and close ratio transmission. God I've wasted a lot of effort on bikes over the years. Like I said a disease.

So I wanted to see if I could take a different approved on the side stand thing. While I had made a temp solution like 4 years ago () it's time to make another temp solution. The first step was to make sure it would mount. I just made some sort of shape and printed it out. The next prototype will be a little more usable. But the concept is there, something less obtrusive but still useful. Stay tuned.

Anybody we know?

Since the original question was "the most beautiful cafe racer yet"? I'm going to assume we are comparing to the modern-retro offerings of other manufacturers. And while this BMW is "semi-good-looking" (queue Ain't Talkin' 'Bout Love by Van Halen), the first Ducati Sport Classic (monoposto) was better looking, and so is the end-of the line Triumph Thruxton RS. And obviously, the V11 is way better looking. As for classic BMWs - a stock K75S is a surprisingly capable and versatile machine. I could imagine bringing home a stock, low-mile example one day. But have not had a K100RS. I really like the blue and white Special Edition. Agree with gstallons - the R100CS was the best of the modern airheads. And FWIW, the FJ1100 was a great bike, but it attracted unwanted attention. (queue Bright Lights by Gary Clark Jr.)

Only a few hours to go for the Ballabio and the Schwinn. Right now the bike with the chain is outbidding the Guzzi. I read all the comments on the Schwinn. That bike has stirred up some memories for a lot of people our age. I found it an interesting read. I never had one, I had a proper bike with rear baskets because I had a paper route. That bike sure was lusted over by many a youth in the day. It was mentioned by someone in the comments that their Dad paid $40 for his.

Frikkin' unbelievable V11 (V10?) Sport . . .

I appreciate it! After just dipping my toes in the V11 and Guzzi community, I almost regret selling it! Lots of friendly help and support, for a very cool and sweet looking bike! Like I mentioned, I’d have to do so much screwing around with it, just for it to be compatible with my poor back, I might as well just start looking for cruisers, at that point. It’s too bad, because I love the bike!

Wow, @Steve54296, I saw one of the comments on BaT suggesting you should be commended as the most engaging and patient seller there, ever (I paraphrase, but must agree). Glad to see the bidding progressing and narrowing the commentary to those committed to the purchase. Best of luck with the sale and thanks for keeping us in the loop. No one cares more about the V11 SpineFrame than this community!

Welcome back Roy! Your contribution to the MG community, here and elsewhere, is legendary! I am certain there has been many a time when any of us Guzzi owner, faced with an electrical situation, said to themselves: "What would Kiwi Roy Do?" Glad to hear you you're still around and riding!

Today's labors was parcel tidbits. Roller berrin for shift detent- niiiice Pawl alignment- niiice Pivot pin nuts... uh... very, very nice says the price. Shame about the background at the moment. Don't forget, kids, do your pawl adjustment in the vice or do it twice. Now waiting for seals and pawl adjuster locknuts.

It might look "interesting" but it's light years from "beautiful" A BM twin is just too mechanically quirky to be considered beautiful. Sticky out cylinders and massive final drive assembly is just not elegant enough to ever be beautiful. Phil

Add clip-ons and that bike will be irresistible. Love the retro orange color...would like to see and ride one in person. I always that the progression of V11 Scura to Triumph Thruxton and now to this BMW would make a nice progression of Cafe racers.

A "cafe racer" must have clip-ons. To use a term that @Lucky Phil recently reminded me of, that is a Well Known Fact. Apart from that, they need to do something about those saggy tits.

Here is the topic in "How To . . ." with the link to @Weegie's DropBox with @Kiwi_Roy's invaluable diagrams:

Dude, you are legend around here. You are easily one of the key members, like Phil, docc, and Pete. Happy to hear from you. I hope you stick around.

Good to hear from you. Your assistance on changing my starter circuit was much appreciated. I think I'd have struggled without your guidance. 👍

Just reading through this old thread I started. I still maintain the pulse input speedometer is better than GPS, the gearbox has a speedo drive coupled to the rear wheel turning without much friction so why not use it? I do understand wanting to use modern GPS but what will happen when your fearless leader decides to turn the navigation satellites off, he's crazy enough to do that. He won't be able to turn my Speedo off. Once it's calibrated you're done all you need is a measured distance, they used to have them on the highway but I used a runners GPS for that. Cheers Roy

No problem John, I was just glad to see you guys still remember me Test Point Layout Aug 2011-2.ezdraw

Great to hear from you Roy Hope you stick around a bit more and all is well I took the liberty of hosting some of your electrical sketches on Dropbox for other members to copy as they need. I hope that's Ok with the diagrams are a fantastic resource, let me know. All the Best John

Why don't I hear this good stuff on XM radio? I'll be doing the Grand Tour of Texas, probably September, ending here;

Nobody's sneakin' up on my sorry @$$ again. Not even those spooky Scuras . . .

Oh, my . . .