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Latest first ride of the season….

Crappy video of a flight around the pattern right before sunset. Had to turn the sound down because of the wind noise so you can't hear the little Verner run. Pay no attention to the growling of a dragging brake. The weather has been shall we say unconducive for flight testing and learning how to use the cheapie video cam..

The shop manual I have says "Fit flywheel in reverse order to disassembly, using new bolts" with a note "Respect the timing marks". I hope that you were respectful to the timing marks

As a more or less proud owner and rider of the Quota 1100 ES who tried the Quota 1000 of my friends few times - the 1000 is to me the way better and stiffer offroad bike if you are my size or taller. Forget about the Quota if you are below 5`9 - you will have no fun riding it. The bigger you are the better you feel - it was called the Arnold Schwarzenegger Adventure Bike in 1999 here. The magic torque block between 2800-5000 is real, if you use the goofy factory central body EFI with the long intake. But beside goofy me everybody here got rid of this and mounted either some highly sophisticated german injection engineering or switched back to Quota 1000 carbs. And they all claim that their bike became way better than my vanilla petrol-champagne dromedario. To me the factory 1100ES setup is a nice bike to travel 600mls to mediteranean beaches on tarmac roads but it is way too soft for any real offroad. A special problem is the front break (no ABS those days) combined with the soft front fork on gravel - soft break = noooooo breaking (increase break pressure = front dives deep and suddenly without warning you loose the front and feel the amazing heavy bike - time to leave ship. The good thing about the big heavy dromedario - it never breaks. I did real stuntman like things with this bike on my trips to italy or france - including jump from a trailer and frontal crashing into a Fiat Seicento. Only broken parts were the after market panniers and cylinder protectors - frame, exhaust, forks, engine - perfectly fine every time - i had to jump from the back. So Stelvio(ABS) is nice, V100 Stelvio with proactive Öhlins - maybe better - but i am too used to my ES1100 dromedario to switch.

Honda CL 350 (representative pic) ... drove it to high school ... more of s street bike than a dirt bike, suspension didn't do too well in the woods.

Summer 1986 i got posession of my older brother´s former commuter simson moped - he had upgraded to 'real' MZ motorbike. i was 11 years old and had no licence but there was no sheriff ever seen in grandma´s village since the early 1970ies so a wild summer illegally riding my first bike in the fields - is one of the best memories in my life. I kept the bike running on grandma´s farm but without any cosmetics since this summer - pure Nostalgia. Often times people asking me when i would get rid of this useless weak cycle - as i had horded so many "powerful upgrades" in between and needed space. Nostalgic me - instead rescuing crashed simson moppeds from junk yards around grandma´s farm. (spare part donors ) 20 years later - kids started to go crazy for these simson mopeds and over the next decade this grew into serious bike fashion here. - Nostalgia or totally bananas ?

Ok, my "proper" first real motorcycle... 16 years and a few days old, A1 license in my pocket, I now can legally ride a bike up to 125cc on the street. Between the money I had been squirelling away from Christmas, birthdays, a few odd jobs and the proceeds from selling ice cream on the beach for a couple of summers, I was able to buy a brand spanking new Yamaha DTMX 125. It'll be 2 years and a full license until I can "legally" ride any motorcycle on the street with no restrictions, but those 2 years were filled with countless adventures and proved highly formative as a young rider, on the street as on the dirt. I loved every minutes of it.

Ridden both bikes - they feel very different from factory setup: Quota 1100ES has a lowered seat height of 840mm compared to the 870mm of the Quota 1000 and way softer front fork. The double disc breaking system on the ES1100 front was infamous for fading and problems with mismatched brake pads materials. The thin larger front wheel and the thick smaller rear wheel, combined with the torque engine - another goofy detail that can lead to interesting driving experiences with the 1100ES - you can drag the bike slowly forward with the front brake 'locked'- the thin front wheel gets simply pushed over. So my personal rating of the old big block Guzzi adventure bikes - Quota 1000 - biggest enduro made before 2000- for tall guys and hardcore fans - reliable but hard, very good base for tuning Quota ES1100 - the quirky one - you need to invest a lot 'to cure' all it´s flaws - or you accept them and enjoy the feel to sway over the highway with 80-90mph given by the ultrasoft factory setup

First one was this (representative pic, didn't own a Polaroid back then....).

nos·tal·gia| näˈstaljə, nəˈstaljə | noun A sentimental longing or wistful affection for the past, typically for a period or place with happy personal associations. 14 years old, I was finally getting a real taste of freedom when I graduated from a bicycle and was legally allowed to ride a "Cyclomoteur" on the street... without a license. I literally lived on the darn thing and loved it, from taking me to school in the morning to meeting with my friends afterwards at the café and going on adventures on the week-ends. And when summer came, we'd load them up and go on multi-days camping trips in the backcountry... lots of fun memories. The Italians had Vespas, we had Motobécane, Velosolex and Peugeot. The Peugeot 103 was ubiquitous in the streets of France in the 70's and would become the most sold moped in the world. It was the most popular model back then and has retained a cult following to this day. The Peugeot 103 celebrated its 50 years anniversary in 2021. Here is an article in honor of the event - Sorry but it's in French. https://www.mobylette-mag.fr/4890-peugeot-103-le-cyclomoteur-le-plus-vendu-dans-le-monde.html

Yeah, it was a gorgeous evening. The wind had been blowing all day, and calmed down right before sunset. I'm still very early in the flight test stages, but found out "Bullet" was in trim in roll and yaw on this flight. I've always said I'd rather be lucky than good..

Oh, forgot my excuse for not coming. Grandson Max is coming in from Iowa State to visit for a few days and leave his truck here for the summer before flying back to Socal. The planets just didn't align, and no dog could get them lined up.

Talked with Joe last night -- who was having his own 4-wheel travel adventure at the time. As I told him, my planned conflicting trip to the PNW has been cancelled/postponed as a result of my riding bud deciding that he should break his arm! So selfish. Anyway, as the old saw goes, "it's an ill wind ..., etc." So, I am back to attending. Joe said that my readmission will only cost me this: After this event, I'll ride back home on Sunday/Monday, and head back to Kentucky's Daviess County on Thursday for the Mutton Run! On the bright side, too, I'll get to see ailing Aunt Wilma again ... probably for last the time, at least on this planet. But, as Kathi will be in Italy , I can play. Have to figure out some way to keep the hummingbirds fed, and the grass will grow to the point I'll need a herd of goats to keep it mowable, but I don't want to miss the fun. Thinking that I'll ride the V7 III for Act I at Dale Hollow, then the Griso for mutton's Act II of My Old Kentucky Home on a Guzzi. Bill

I have a cafe sport with 69k km on the clock now. I know the previous owner has had trouble with a broken pawl spring. I bought the bike with 60k km on the clock. Thanks to the Italian motorcycle owners club here in NZ, our president ordered a bunch of these springs to distribute to V11 owners here. I am going to change it out after my mate with a 2001 model V11 sport was caught with a broken spring in the middle of the countryside with a broken spring about a month ago. Cheap insurance I say. While you are at it I would add the gear shift extender bracket that makes the shift travel shorter than standard.

Still watching and waiting for the > connected < success . . . Gettin' kinda low on popcorn . . .

As a kid in the 80’s my dad bought this Italian made two stroke 50cc Indian for my 1st bike. At age 19 I bought a 1993 Suzuki GS500E, pic was after basic training in 1995.

I learned to ride on other bikes, but the first one I owned was a Suzuki GSX 250 E. One of these, mine was silver. The one in the picture has side covers from a 400, but the caption in Wikipedia, where the picture came from, says it is a 250. At the time, the japanese 250 models were commonly a downsized 400. Japanese laws were such that "up to 400" was a class, our laws made 250's a class, and the japanese manufacturers catered for the market by sleeving down their 400 models. Otherwise, the 400 and 250 models were identical. As a learner and probabtionary license holder in the state of Victoria, Australia, one was allowed to ride a bike with up to a 250 cc motor. The 2-stroke wave started just after I bought my first bike, so I got a 4-stroke. There was much discussion about what was the best 250. I think the GSX that I had was one of the better ones. I really liked the bike, rode it for a couple of years, and then sold it on to a mate to buy a car. About a year after buying the car, I got a 1976 Kawasaki Z900. After riding that for a while, I had a ride on "my" GSX 250 E, which the mate was still riding. The dominating thought was "did I really used to ride around on this tiny thing?". How quickly one's perspective changes.

Another solution https://www.v11lemans.com/forums/topic/19319-what-did-you-do-to-your-v11-today/?do=findComment&comment=270297

Yes they are so you can fit flywheel in any of 6 positions

The english, of course. Who else?

Sounds like the Stelvio 1200 NTX remains the front runner. The one that I checked in San Antonio Texas sold for 7190 USD from about 8k posted in January. Gives me an indication of where the market value those. 30k miles and 2014.

It can. Only one is right, though.

Thanks for your thoughts.... 1000 or 1100ES, at this point any would be fine; but silence is all I got from those who posted their bikes for sale. I am 6.0, but what really is important is the inseam. The Stelvio I tried was with the seat in the high position, and only the front of my feet touched the ground while sitting. I was not aware of the low seat position at the time. I am used to ride without ABS, and with drum brakes. Not saying that ABS is superfluous, but I have done emergency braking with the Le Mans including one that should have required a fresh set of underwear. I am riding on Road 5, so maybe this as something to do with it. Not sure I would like the QUOTA, but I am intrigued.

So far, did not get a single reply from the sellers of QUOTA. The one Facebook Marketplace is in Sherman Texas. Not only the QUOTA are rare, but they also play hard to get. I mean, at 3000 USD, there is no way curiosity can kill the cat!

Great plan! For best outcome, combine the Lucky Phil Shift Improvement(s) . . .

Yeah..540 lbs dry, 32.5 seat height...That'll do it...

I will always remember this version of the Quota at my dealer when I bought my Sport. It has always captivated me, yet the height/weight seems unwieldy for me. While I have not ridden one, I recall a pair of them struggling on switchbacks in the West Virginia hills/"mountains". One of them had grounded a "pannier"/ hard side case, that had pitched him off. "Dr. John's DirtBike" . . .

"Could you please put it in my pannier."

"I'm here for the pain."

An Australian and an American walk into a French bakery. The Australian says....

From the Wiki article that I linked to: Docc apparently really does know everything.

I feel you mon Ami, that's a panier:

It's time to refresh this thread....

What a great thread. I'll contribute when I get the time. See you in '24. Bill

For what you’re describing p6x - the big dually Quota is better suited & tougher than the 19” front Carc rear Stelvio 💯% rawer it’s a longhorn bike that can do more hardcore than the softer adventour Stelvio

My very first would have to be some lawnmower powered minibike. Not sure if it even had a brand name on it. I just ripped up and down a long gravel driveway in upstate NY when I visited my father (that's all I was allowed to do). But my first street-legal transportation motorcycle was a 1972 Honda CB350-Four. Candy-apple red. Not sure if I have a photo of it. But I did buy a 1973 version a few years ago and putted around on it for a while. Re-owning the first bike did not re-capture the magic. It was just tragically slow, but it was fun for a spell. Rode that for a year and some change then got my first new motorcycle, a 1986 Yamaha Radian (also red). That was such a great little bike, and I have not seen one in a long time.