80CX100

I've personally seen how devastating the forces can be in these torque arm set ups. One of the VRRA racers I got to know, A.J.Simiana sp? was just starting a fresh build/setup on an older Tonti frame Lemans3? race bike. AJ is an experienced racer and a decent builder within his limited budget. He designed and built a torque arm set up similar in appearance,to the Magni Parallel swing arm setup. I'm not sure what aspect of the build caused the problem,but his very first race,he tore the welded front support completely off the swingarm/frame area. It was a complete catastrophic failure,luckily didn't cause a crash. AJ redid some math calculations,angles etc,redesigned it,rewelded the support and solved the problem,but for sure there's some serious forces involved. Iirc I removed and greased or put anti seize on the back bolt,but I'm almost positive I didn't touch the front one. Tks for the warning and discussion,I'll be taking a close look at that.

I welcome any feedback,while this topic is on the burner,because it also happens to be on my "to do" list; there is one other aspect to this that iirc was an issue. I've read a ton of info on the pros/cons replacing the gaskets in the crossovers with solid machined pieces vs just eliminating the crossover completely with new headers. Iirc there were a few/many? owners that replaced the gaskets at the crossover with solid machined metal pieces and experienced cracking in a variety of places around fixed fastening points of the header pipes, because of the loss of flexibility dealing with vibration/engine/pipe movement etc. fwiw idk

Docc makes a good point about sucking in rodent nests,,, I'd also be afraid of hooking a battery up,hitting the starter button and watching all the magic smoke escape from the wires if the rodents have chewed in the wrong spots bring marshmallows just in case,,,

"IF" You're in the market for that type of bike,I'd be on that like a fat kid on a smartie The story & history sounds legit. He's got a major headache on his hands right now, I'd be inclined to offer 3.5-4K,as is,where is, and have a shipper get it to you for $500? It's too bad it's not closer to you. The rodent damage should be relatively easy to solve,it should be very apparent what needs repairing,and the wiring on the CalVins is much easier to work on compared to the V11s once the seat,covers,plastics are removed etc. If the rodents chewed through 1 or 2 wires,not that big a deal,,,if they had their family over for a buffet on the whole harness,,,that may be different I'll share some of the details on my CalVin, it may help you decide yeh or nay. I always kept tabs on local guzzis for sale,my CalVin 15k kms was first listed at $9500 about 6 yrs ago,it was over priced and there's not much market for guzzis here,so it never sold. Every 6 mths the seller would drop his price by $500,and after a while,he finally got down to $6500, about the same time my DL1000 VStrom let me down for the final time. My CalVin had already had the dissolving in tank fuel line replaced,so that headache was taken care of. They usually go within the first few years and are replaced then;it would be nice if that job has been done on the bike you're looking at. I offered my seller 6K,loaded it on the trailer and took the headache off his hands. I thought California Vintage, meant "vintage" wiring,so when I only got one key with the bike,I thought it would be simple to have a copy made. Wrong! Because the engine management system is from the Breva 1100,there is a chip hidden in the plastic part of the key,I was luckily able to get the 2nd key from a previous owner. If you buy the bike,make sure you get 2 keys,if you don't, it's a pita to get a 2nd one married up to the ignition system/ECU. When I bought the CalVin I had read about it being the last of the Tonti Frame bikes, and due to the racing heritage,it was reviewed as being a very good handling cruiser. So I threw it around back roads with that mindset and was extremely disappointed,it's too heavy,it wallowed like a whale. All I changed was my mind set,and learned to ride it like the fine leather Italian couch that it is;over time it's become my favorite,steady dependable ride. I was initially very hesitant,about the heel/toe shifter floor board set up,but grew to like it so much, I picked up a set of floor boards to put on my G5. Everybody's back is different,mine does best with a curve leaning forward helping to absorb road shock,the sitting straight up cruiser position on my CalVin would jar my back every now and then;I added an AirHawk & rolled the bars as far forward as possible,it's very close to perfect for me now. The seat on the bike you're looking at looks like it's been reworked or it's a custom;the foam seems thicker & the vinyl panels & stitching don't match my skunk seat. idk The values on the CalVin were dropping,but it seems like they've bottomed out and are starting to rise,all of the older Tonti cruisers,seem to be holding their value & rising. That bike looks like it's missing the lower leg shield plastics (they're fragile af) it should have new tires,battery,wiring repair,possibly the fuel tank line repair(which is a pita),but it could be a very good bike for you "IF" that's what you're looking for. fwiw ymmv good luck

This is a timely topic. With the low euro exchange rate, I ordered a crossover & muffler from Mistral last year,it worked out very well;regrettably I wasn't aware of the floppy crossover issue or I would've ordered a set of their non crossover header pipes at the same time. I've been preoccupied with other matters so I haven't done it yet,but I was intending on picking up a set of Mistral Header pipes,but then you end up going down the rabbit hole requiring new exhaust collars from MGCycle,or cutting the oem pipes because the oem collars are captured on the headers,gaskets,etc. My front header crossover & gaskets are fine,sealed well, working perfect,but I'm sure that's only because the bike has never had serious miles put on it,only 6K. From researching it,I'm certain that I'll have the floppy crossovers sooner rather than later;Murphy tells me it will be right in the middle of riding season,I'd love to take preemptive action or have a solution in hand to address the problem. Tks Al for posting that link,first I've heard of it,has anyone used the MPH solution,yeh or nay on it?

I can't remember who posted about them here; but picking up a pair of the Odyssey L bracket terminal extensions for my battery terminals were definitely one of the best additions to my bike. I find it extremely crowded around the battery area on my V11,just trying to reattach the cables to the battery was a major pita,the terminal extensions solved a lot of grief. Ps edited to add that the recommendations to relocate the battery tray mounting to underneath the frame brackets,is well worth doing. Each bike is different,my battery tray required a little bit of filing on the mounting tabs for clearance. With the battery tray mounted underneath,it only adds a small amount of extra clearance around the battery,but that area is crowded,every little bit helps.fwiw ymmv

I got my MRA extended touring screen from Twisted Throttle,I "think" they may be the only authorized dealer in NA, but I could be wrong on that. Iirc it had to be ordered in before they shipped it to me, 3-4 wks total to my door and it qualified for free shipping due to the price,which I notice due to the exchange rate has actually gone down $5,lol. I went with the "Smoke Grey" there's a picture of it in my gallery photos if you want to take a look at it. https://twistedthrottle.com/shop/body-and-fairing/windshields-accessories/windshields/mra-touringscreen-windshield-for-moto-guzzi-v11-lemans-02-06-5/

Historically,most of the police bikes in Canada are HD's,iirc I think that the QPF Quebec Surete ride BMWs. I've posted before about the misguided notion of giving the beat cops in Ottawa,Honda CB200s to rip around on;there were many impromptu mini GP races set up and the occasional ski hill climbing and jumping competitions Sadly,we had a fleet of Kawis for a few years;with all the heavy police equipment,the front end tended to be overwhelmed easily and go squirrely if pushed hard. In 1983,Cst.Russell O'Connor, a traffic cop on my platoon,was on route to a call traveling on the Queensway 417 Hwy,which was under construction being widened from 4 lanes to 6. As he crossed a bad seam in the old/new pavement transition,his Kawi went into a major head shake and threw him down hard. The helmets the traffic guys wore at that time,were cheap little half buckets,he died instantly. After Russ's death,Ottawa Police took all motorcycles off the road, but after a few years,fielded a fleet of HD's which they still have.

I think it's extremely bad business & counter productive. Manufacturers spend a lot of money on advertising,endorsements,movie placements etc,trying to develop brand recognition and hype & buzz about their products. As Docc mentions above, enthusiasts,forums,custom shops create a lot of good free promotion AND excited paying customers. I never did read Dave Richardson's books as Lucky Phil recommended,to get an understanding of the difficulties working with the guzzi factory/owners;but from the outside looking in,they seem to take pleasure & excel at pissing in the wrong people's corn flakes,jmho

I've never ridden a Stelvio,but lusted for one for quite a while;I actually made a decent offer on a NOS 2014,but thankfully the dealer turned my offer down. With all the taxes,prep,freight charges etc,the price would've been 3 X what I paid for my V11 and at this point,that tall & heavy a bike really isn't what I need. From all the reading I did,the Stelvio owners,describe it as a tall heavy bike,that handles far better than you would think it should. Many describe it as the most comfortable touring rig they've ever ridden;IF that's what you're looking for in a motorcycle. fwiw

I take it by that comment that it's a bucket & shim setup,,, mea culpa,,,I'd be in the wailing and gnashing of teeth group I realize it's a more precise and long term stable adjustment once done,but for a home mechanic living far away from a shop with a supply of shims;that was a job I grew to detest. Major pita

My bike had apparently spent it's whole life? 6K kms with the tank vent line T'd off to the vacuum ports on the TBS,for whatever reason,when I changed the baseline tune up settings,it didn't like it. I cleaned out the 2 gas tank vent holes by the cap iirc 6 & 7 o'clock with small wire & eliminated that T and the hoses connecting the TB's,capped the ports off with vacuum caps,eliminating that wildcard completely. I'm not sure indexing is the proper term,but the first balance set up I had was perfect, but when I replaced the throttle linkage rod,in order to get it to snap into place smoothly with no right or left movement,the plastic cup on the end of the threaded rod at the right TB had only a couple of threads into that cup,I wasn't comfortable with that. I disconnected the whole rod (circlip on left side don't lose it btdt lol) buried the threaded rod completely into the plastic cup on the right side,readjusted the white knob on the left,so when I reattached the threaded rod linkage,I now had lots of threaded rod buried into the plastic cup when it was adjusted to snap into place with no movement on the throttle linkages.

I just went through this, my bike ran fine, but the air screws had been completely closed & my trim was at -26, I redid the decent basic tuneup with air screws opened one turn,that changed my baseline tune a lot. I redid it a few times,because I had to re index the throttle linkage to give me more space on the threaded rod part when I dropped it down into position. I changed my trim to +26 When I finished the tuneup & balance I reattached the existing tank vent T connection to the vacuum ports on the TBs. It ran great,but developed horrible tank suck issues. Cured my tank suck rough running issues by removing the T tank vent line,changing it to a straight atmosphere vent, & capped off the vacuum ports on each TB. Was your throttle linkage indexed,so it dropped down smooth with no movement? What is your trim? Are your vacuum ports capped? Did you start off by adjusting the valves as a baseline?

Spine frames are a bit of a challenge lining up mechanics, not old enough for the vintage guys,,not new enough for the modern guys. I'll throw 2 names out,they probably wouldn't want to do the work,but they're both highly respected and might know of someone close to you that's capable. Charlie at ACC Antietam Classic Cycle in Maryland does excellent tranny work, but I've only ever seen him touching Loop & Tonti frame bikes (301)432-2275. Jim Hamlin at Hamlin Cycles in CT is highly respected as well,but to my knowledge modern stuff is his main business 203-942-2232 I'm not an Ebay guy so I don't know how to search it properly;but I know within the last year, while searching for other parts,I've stumbled across salvage dealers down in the US who were parting out a V11 on Ebay,you might get lucky. fwiw idk fyi. Good luck

I'm interested in your KD 1" lowering pegs, but I tend to ride with my boot in tight to the frame sometimes almost on top of the base of the peg mounting swivel pin/frame. From looking at them http://www.knightdesignllc.com/Products/Motorcycle/Moto-Guzzi/V11-Cafe/Moto-Guzzi-V11-Cafe-1-Front-Foot-Pegs.html And Having read some of the comments do they also push your boot out 1"-2" as well as down? so you end up having to pigeon toe your foot back into the brake & gear lever? Did you find that and was it an issue for you or was it something that was easy to get used to? Sending you a pm Tks