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I've officially ridden my first 1000 kilometers on the Lemans now!

This V11 lives in the northern part of the Netherlands , there’s a lot of Dutch spinies on the forum 💪🏻

In the interest of science, I recruited a friend to go on a short, but twisty, ride with me this afternoon for the purpose of conducting a rigorous scientific experiment. The null hypothesis was: "OP Griso owner should not buy a Moto Guzzi V11 Sport or LeMans." Methodology Our study included suburban traffic, stoplight filtering, 40mph lane splitting, extraordinarily tight and narrow roads cut into steep hillsides, high-speed sweepers with uninterrupted visibility, and steep ascents and descents. We did not test any freeway or long straight sections, because that would have been immoral and would have violated the personal integrity of the test riders. Test riders switched steeds partway through the circuit, but did not liberate any oranges from the orchard. Findings: We were unable to disprove the null hypothesis, and therefore recommend that the OP should buy a V11, preferably one outfitted with Ohlins (or other suitable upgrade) suspension and the factory Titanium Kit Racing exhaust. Statistical significance was determined via the application of Scud's constant: intuition squared = objective reality. V11 LeMans = Sport Bike Griso = Sporty Power Cruiser Additional Findings: Riding the V11 caused rapid growth of chest hair, while no measurable effect on chest hair was noted during Griso riding. However, some light tingling in the wrist was noted on the LeMans, which was remedied by switching to the more relaxed riding position on the Griso. The LeMans exhibited a flagrant disregard for speed warning signs at the entrance of curves, while the Griso was arrogantly dismissive in similar situations. Furthermore, the acquisition of a V11 is projected to improve, rather than risk, marital satisfaction due to a logical syllogism. If buy V11, then ride more by oneself. If absence, then heart grows stronger. Therefore, If buy V11, then heart grows stronger. It follows that investing in motorcycles is the same as investing in a primary relationship. Disclaimers: The Nero Corsa is mechanically stock except for the Kit Racing exhaust. She has not been given a "decent tune up", and therefore suffers markedly in comparison to her Scura stablemate. The Griso is significantly upgraded. She has Matris forks, Wilbers shock, titanium exhaust, Marchesini wheels, Beetle map, upgraded Brembo master and rotors, Corbin seat, and every other bit and bauble that caught the PO's (Kindoy2) discerning, yet wandering and somewhat impulsive, eye. Additional Findings: This research study finds that if @KINDOY2 offers a motorcycle for sale that he has personally modified, it should be purchased immediately for the asking price. Finally, OP does not equal PO. This demonstrates that the commutative property of mathematics is not applicable to initialisms. In fact, in this case, OP = FOV11. Original Poster is a Future Owner of a V11.

Let me refresh this, now that warm weather is upon us.

Lots of maintenance over the winter (wheels off list, tank off list, swingarm bearing re-grease, new breather hose, fork oil, brake fluid, electrics cleanup etc.) The only drama was losing the BB that actuates the front brake switch and both U-joints loose, all sorted and ready for test ride when the old Odyssey battery gave up the ghost. Fortunately the nearby NAPA had a new PC545 on the shelf for $147. Ready to ride just in time for the recent nice weather, 200 mi loop to the coast without a hicccup. Thanks to all the info from the fine folks on this forum!

You're trying to set the clearances on the overlap. Turn it another 360 degrees. Phil

They are. Cheers Tom. Sent fra min SM-S906B via Tapatalk

Did some track racing last Friday. Even with our heavy bike it was really fun And also this Scura rides in The Netherlands. Track was in Venray. Also a Griso attended. Really cool. Would love to have a spine meeting here too! Verzonden vanaf mijn iPhone met Tapatalk

It's been up for 3 hours and no one has posted this yet? Slackers. Dave even gives a shout out to the forum! I'd love to find some of that Olins suspension and put it on the Greenie. In my spare time of course. I can't even find time to adjust the valves.

Yup, it’s just mayonnaise. Especially in cooler, damper climates as the engine heat cycles between runnng and not as it cools the water in the gas inside the crankcase, of which there will be a fair bit as water is one of the main y-products of combustion and there is always some blow by past the rings, will condense out on the inside of the cases. As the rocker covers always tend to run cool and are at the top of the motor this is where a lot of the water ends up. It combines with the oil droplets as it condenses and voila! The disgusting looking but essentially harmless mayonnaise. The answer to preventing it is getting the oil hotter. Once the oil temperature and internal temperature of the engine gets above about 90*C the the water will sublime out of the oil and off the internals of the engine and will over time be expelled through the breather system and rebreathed through the combustion chambers and expelled in the exhaust. No big block Guzzi begins to get even remotely warm enough to do this in winter unless you are doing motorway speeds for over twenty miles at least. Something I’d think it would be unlikely you’d be doing on the IOM, especially in winter! At least the V11’s have the advantage of having a thermostat in the oil cooler circuit which will help bump up the oil temperature a bit in cool weather. The 8V engines have a separate cooling circuit independent of the lubrication circuit and it directs the oil through the cooler unregulated. This means that any time the ambient temperature is under about 20-23*C it is damn near impossible to get the oil temp above 100*C which is where you want it unless you thrash the bastard mercilessly everywhere in 4th gear @ 6,000+RPM! Some of us owners have fitted external thermostats to our bikes, others, like me, who can’t be arsed, just tape off the cooler in the cooler months! Finding that nasty crap in the rocker covers is disconcerting the first time you see it and it is preferable that it not be there but it is what it is. Some oils are more prone to forming mayonnaise as well. Castrol has always been worse than many others and it’s one of the reasons I try to avoid it, but a damn good thrashing from time to time is the best medicine! Also, if you are riding in the wet at all make sure you put some sort of ‘Spray flap’ in the triangle of the swingarm cantilever or you’ll find your gearbox full of water as the stupid breather is right in line with the rear tyre. Mornin Phil!

Some months ago…a request was made by footgoose for a photo of the three Tenni’s…..now the V11 is assembled…. Regards from tennitragic!

I didn't notice anything behind the bike. Barely even noticed the bike, if it comes to that...

Not to far from Rotterdam, on the bank of the river Lek (that reaches the Northsea in Rotterdam), in the little town of Tienhoven we have an International Guzzi Rally the 3rd weekend of June. I help organizing it and all of you are most welcome. Registration is not required, always enough space to pitch your tent. Relaxed atmosphere, Friday BBQ, live music on Friday and Saturday night. Small band to help us through the Saturday afternoon. Food en drinks availble. Small ride out on Saturday, booth sale/used parts an all. We always lack a good portion of spine frames.

WHAT caused you to do something as absurd as to create a forum for something as laden w/foibles as this ? I do know w/o this , I would not own my V11s and I certainly not appreciate them or have a relationship w/a task force of other addicts .

Compliments, @wavey_davey1, on the informative discourse in the video. Quite a relief to hear so much detail about the V11 (and other Guzzi models) well presented. I would like to thank both @Pressureangle and @p6x posting this video separately to be certain we did not miss it. Thanks, guys! That @swooshdave beat everyone to the punch should be no surprise. The operative term is "swoosh !"

i rented one of those large guzzi’s down near Joshua Tree a few years back, for a couple days of touring the park and other areas up north of there. I enjoyed it, preferring it over the Harleys i had way back. that said, they all fall into the same problematic category for me: they are the best type of bikes for cruising down the big highways, which is exactly where i do NOT want to be on a bike, except to connect to other non-highway roads.

I love the dry clutch sound. There's nothing better than pulling up next to a rider on an HD at a stop light, and they immediately start looking down at their bike in a panic. It's always epic.

Say Grant, isn't that the coolest thing about motorcycles, that they all have their own personalities no matter what it might be.

I was wondering how the RedFrame Trash talk might settle out on a LeMans forum . . .

I don't know for sure that they are still available, but since they are still on the site, it is worth asking. I just looked on kleinanzeigen.de. Perhaps this is what @Tomchri meant. Is it any good to you? It's in Königsbronn in southern Germany. https://www.kleinanzeigen.de/s-anzeige/moto-guzzi-v11-le-mans-baujahr-2001-verkleidung-rechts-/3013469775-306-9058 Königsbronn is here: https://www.openstreetmap.org/relation/2792008#map=7/50.075/9.212 EDIT: I just looked at the advert on Kleinanzeigen again, and noticed that the part is "nur abholung", i.e. "pick-up only", so the seller probably wont send it to the Netherlands. BUT.... as it happens, I am expecting to be going from Leipzig to Altusried and back 3 or 4 times over the next 5 or 6 weeks. That means I will be going past there on the Autobahn A7, and picking it up for you would mean about a 10 km detour. So if you need help, let me know. Posting it on to you is not a problem, and if he wants cash in the hand on pick-up, that can also be done. EDIT again: thinking about it, it might confuse the seller, or make him supicious, if you contact him and tell a story about "someone will pick it up for me". If you want the part, get in touch with me and I will try and buy it. If I can get it, we can take it from there. If you change your mind, it is no big deal. That would mean I have a spare part that I don't really need right now, but one can never have too many spares, even if they are the wrong colour, so no problem.

After installing MPH risers on my 01 Rosso Mandello, I was able to buy a hydraulic clutch line for a 1997 MG Centauro, which is longer than my original stock line, It works great.

Geez @Tomchri, I think your place is listed as a place to see in the Norway travel brochure. There's the fjords, and then there's your shop.

OK, wow! Over a year and I’m just getting to update on my PC545 battery. So, it was 12 years old. Just about as much as you can expect. I replaced with a NOCO Lithium of approximately the same physical size. I’ve had no issues at all with the NOCO. Starts right now! Even after sitting all winter. I would recommend this battery as a good option, not inexpensive though.

This goose is a prime example of why I’m so very glad I’m not in the trade any more. Yes, the tune and the change in exhaust didn’t cause a casting to fail. How could they? But, at the same time he proves himself to know absolutely nothing about engines, tuning, or modern engine management systems and then is upset when the manufacturer of the machine denies warranty! Did he not consider such a possibility before embarking on any changes? Does he believe that he should be able to do anything, unsuitable or otherwise, to his machine and if it all falls in a screaming heap somebody else should pick up the pieces? What a bloody Galah! And the pouty, spoilt little boy reaction after it’s fixed! “I don’t like it any more. I’m going to get another toy, I don’t even want to ride it again! Wah! Wah!” F*ck these people! They are one of the main reasons we can’t have nice things! Look, if I’d sold it and it snapped a casting like that it would obviously be a casting fault. I can’t see how it could be anything else. I would have explained it was just bad luck, (It’s not like they can x-ray every casting for faults!) and slapped a warranty claim in for the rocker carrier, gaskets and anything else needed, perhaps a pushrod? There would have been no need for Piaggio to know about any changes because they would be irrelevant to a failure like this. If I was a dealer and had another model on the floor I probably would have cannibalised the entire rocker assembly off it and got old mate back on the road in an afternoon. Swapping the rocker gear off a smallblock is scarcely brain surgery, you could do it in 3/4’s of an hour max. You don’t even have to take the bloody petrol tank off FFS! Perhaps the reason it all became such a drama was because he’s a pathetic, snivelling, self important ignoramus and cut up rough at the shop? I dunno? It all seemed like a full-on whine-a-thon to me….. But what would I know……..

My V11 was my first ever owned bike. I looked at 3, rode on one. After 5 min of test driving, the shop owner looked confused and a bit disappointed. Don't you need more time? I said: no, what I need is a cup of coffee to discuss your asking price over. 10 years ago, still my best bike (own 3 and have owned 2 more, rode 10+).

500km on a V11 feels like 200km right? @Admin Jaap this year may be too soon, but I would happily help you organize something for next year? Would be great to get some faces to the names of the forum I roam around on for 10 years next year!

Gene I agree 100%

500m . . . 500km . . . It's just the difference of one silly letter!

Had my v11 about 5 years, never missed a beat, now I want another one 12 X bigger. Also have a disreputable 850T3. Full size. Live Sydney Australia. Active in the NSW Guzzi owners club.

Interesting topic and love the idea. About twenty years ago, I organised two V11 meetings: 2004 in Varsseveld (hometown) and 2007 in Sibbe (South Limburg NL). Great fun! And lots of international guests from allover Europe. I've kept in touch with a few of the attendees; beginning of June I'm meeting some Brits that attended in 2007. I've been playing with the idea of a 25year Anniversary rally in 2027. But, at the moment I'm still way to busy with my small business, being a city councillor and my lovely girlfriend (randomly ordered), so this year is not going to happen. BTW, that hotel is about 500 meters from my home! Docc, sorry to correct you but Leipzig > Varsseveld is about 550 kms.

With the challenges of bringing our Chief Whip to a South'n SpineRaid in Tennessee, USA (we've tried! ), I shamelessly propose we take the party to him. Varsseveld is "relatively" centrally located in The Netherlands and yet striking distance for much of our European brothers, and those in the UK. (Listen to me, talking a big game from across the pond . . . ). Quoting MojoFuzzi in the Post a Picture thread, "there’s a lot of Dutch spinies on the forum 💪🏻. " (To name just a few) . . . @Tinus89 . . . @MojoFuzzi . . . @Jaide . . . @motortouring . . . @Admin Jaap . . . @Paul Minnaert . . . @sport1100 . . . David Konings . . . @Dadparent . . . @Walterg . . . Best wishes, gentlemen! I noticed this cozy place that looks just right for a SpineRaid . . . https://www.hoteldeploeg.nl/

I've been known to dabble...

Because it's modern engineering. Very few engines these days use gaskets because sealants do a better job. Metal to metal with sealants means no gasket compression over time, no gasket failures and less parts to assemble and manufacturers save money. The Guzzi engine is a transition engine between gasket and no gasket engines. Ducati twins haven't used crankcase half gaskets for over 30 years. Removing the gearbox cover is no problem as there is a built in leverage point to pry it off. It's an engineering evolution. BTW the original Guzzi BB rocker cover gasket is a PITA and fails regularly. Use a later metal core gasket. Same for the front cover gasket.

I assumed there would be a post about it. Now I get to have @wavey_davey1 be mad at me for posting the LDG video before he did.

Got one! Ebay.

Both wheels off at the same time? Best practice is to tie it off ("chain fall ") from the joists, above, in addition to your jacking method. Belt AND suspenders? Definitely. It's worth for that ONE time that one fails without a backup. Don't ask me how I know . . .

I am always amazed at the wealth of info to be found here. The amount of detail that is written about some little part or connection on a Sport is impressive. I'm on it now, time to order parts. Thank you all!

Oh it rains. Generally though the Canberra region is one of the driest areas on the driest inhabited continent on earth! Most of our rain comes in spring and autumn, although this autumn has so far been very dry. Both summer and winter tend to get dominated by large high pressure systems that sit over the continent and winter especially is characterised by incredibly clear, still, days with bright sunshine and few clouds. As soon as the sun drops below the horizon temperatures plummet and overnight temps of -5*C are common, we can get down to -8 occasionally! As soon as the sun comes up again though temperatures climb rapidly and by 10.00AM it will be well above freezing and by early afternoon it can be in the mid to high teens. Sure, when we do get winter storms from the south west it can be utterly miserable but really it’s quite a pleasant climate and we have year round riding and no salt on the roads. What’s not to like? Some of the best riding roads in the country are also only an hour or two away.

Finished with the paint treatment, Car Pro. Put the tank on and wanted to hear her running. No fuel pump, WHAT. Usual round, direct juice to the pump= working, but no juice in the connector, ended up with, no juice in fuse 2. 2 red feeding wires underneath, have juice. All 4 male connectors underneath are actually move able? So thought bad conection. Probably possible to take apart with some dynamite. Suddenly a miracle in top floor, SIDESTAND. Back together and runs Very good. Ha ha [emoji23] Cheers Tom. Sent fra min SM-S906B via Tapatalk

I know that YT is full of these talented kids, one better than the next. I relate to that, because I tried to teach guitar to my son when he was 5 years old, and I could never get him interested, even if he did pretty well, as I was trying to get him to like it. I was in awe watching the little guy playing the drums in that humpteenth cover of the Deep Purple highway star...

This is the second or third time I’ve heard of camchain/tensioner related failures on an MGX 21. First one I heard about belonged to the bloke who runs Wildguzzi. It I believe actually snapped a camchain somehow trashing one side of the motor. It was rebuilt and from memory did something very similar again shortly after. The story really frustrated me because ALL of the second generation Hi-Cam motors are essentiallt identical as far as the bits that spin and go up and down are concerned. The cooling system is plumbed very differently in the small port 1400 motors but the lubrication system, which includes both the cam chain tensioner feeds, the under piston cooling sprays and the cam, tappet and cam bearing feeds is all identical to the 1200’s and the MGS is the same, identical, to the other 1400’s which are all much of a muchness. Once the flat tappet fiasco was sorted out the motor was pretty much bulletproof. I’ve seen a few dropped valves but that is usually due to the valve timing being incorrect after rollerisation or lack of oil changes but other than that most problems are oil leaks and oil pressure and phase sensor failures. What made these MGX’s fail really frustrates me because nobody seemed willing to dig into it! Shops just seemed to shrug and either replace the motor or just push the bike into a corner and forget about it. Something like that would have driven me batty! Fixing it is the least of the problem if you don’t know why it failed in the first place! There is no point in just rebuilding something after it has blown up like that unless you work out why because, oddly enough, if you don’t, the chances are it will just do it again! I’d have had at it like a dog at a bone but alas I never had the chance. My best guess, and it really is a guess, is that there is some fault in the machining of the oil galleries in the crankcase in the rear wall of the timing chest. Unlike earlier motors the front main is a pressed in steel sleeve with a tri metal coating, it’s not designed to be replaced. I’m sure this system was adopted for cheapness of manufacture but the upshot is that oil delivery around that bearing to supply both it and the under piston sprays, the cam chain tensioner feeds and the front cam bearings and rocker/cambox feeds is done through a fairly complex system of drillings and machinings in the crankcase itself. The ‘Guess’ I’m making is that somehow or by something that main delivery gallery is somehow blocked or partially occluded preventing the tensioner plunger from priming properly and maybe starving the front cam bearing of oil and causing a potential cam seizure in the cambox. Sadly I’ll never get the chance to follow up on this hypothesis and nobody else is likely to want to so it will, no doubt, remain as one of those eternal mysteries that blacken the company’s name from time to time. As it is I was never a fan of the ‘Small Port’ motor anyway. Too smooth and it seemed to have moved away from the bare bones ‘Engineering Purity’ I see in the Big Port 1200’s. That’s just my own bias though. That and the fact I think the 1400’s are huge, under suspended, overweight, tubs of shite of course!

Was gonna sell the BMW GSA, but I hate leaving the dog while touring and then, well

Having owned a Pacific Coast, I would venture that rode and handled well, made decent power, and hid its V-twin like a drug habit. The trunk made it a great grocery-getter. One of the biggest differences with the V11 Sport is getting groceries on it takes me four hours.

Back in the day I had a '71 Duke 450 Desmo single (297 lbs. dry weight - glitter silver). My buddy had a '72 Duke Sport. On the 750 the suspension was overly hard for the bumps to the point that a fiberglass fender split in half after hitting a pot hole. The Conti exhausts could have a rake handle shoved down them and hit nothing. The 900ss's(Desmo) that were glitter silver around that era were pieces of art to look at (from a distance). The sound was deep BOOMPH, BOOMPH,BOOMPH. Where I worked in the '80's there was a 900 I listened to most mornings. I have to say it was impressive. The main guy to get Duke parts from was in Grimsby, Ontario but he also had MV Augusta which was his personal favorite. Keith Hart used to talk about doing the ton by the end of the short street he lived on with his MV. I don't ignore Dukes. I don't want to own and support one though. Grant.

Today I picked up the Nero Corsa from Moto Forza, a local shop that I highly value (having bought 3 bikes there, and many parts). It had been sitting idle for too long with failure to start issues. The mechanic found that I was only getting 5 volts through to the starter, so he wired in an extra relay. Now it actually starts. Gonna go for a short rip this afternoon and give her a proper flogging over the weekend. My Scura has been having the same problem, so I dropped that off when I picked up the Nero. Just in time for spring riding.

The ohlins seals are single lipped to reduce stiction, but means they are short lived (especially when the dust seals have disintegrated!). Anyway, a standard mod is to replace them with generic Japanese seals of the same dimensions (without looking it up, mine are for a GSXR1000 from 2000 ish?) but these have double lips which greatly extends their life at the cost of a tiny bit more stiction. In any case the ride over bumps is waaay better than my original greenie with Marzocchis, and better than I was expecting to be honest, after being spoilt with my Ducati Sport Classic. As standard these were apparently awful but the previous owner fitted Ohlins shocks and very good fully adjustable Showa forks off a Monster S4R. The Coppa can't compete in ultimate terms due to weight, but suspension compliance isn't far off. Sorry for long reply to short question!😁

My little tart-of-a-roadster has been at my specialist shop for ten weeks. With these beautiful spring days, I miss her spritely ways she cheers me up on the lovely backroads and winding country lanes. The wife said, "Why don't you just sell it ?" It's okay, I still love her. The wife? Yeah, keeping her, too.

Had my first ride of year on 2004 Ballabio after completing my 20 year (approx 25,000 km ) maintenance visit. With all the work done, new tires, all callipers & master cylinders rebuilt, new brake pads, all new engine sensors, complete “Decent Tune Up”, including plugs, air filter, etc., Roper Plate installed, drive shaft removed and greased, etc. it is just like it came out of the showroom in 2004. Good for another 20 yrs/ 25,000 km. Not sure I am! What a pleasure to ride.