Enzo

Thanks Dlaing - I appreciate the sentiment. I wish good luck, god speed and safe roads for all the Guzzisti.

Mike, the other guys here could tell you much more about maps and crossovers and such. I'm WAY beyond that with this bike. No, it doesn't have any of the usual dips or surges or anything else you would recognize from stock trim. Guzzis really like to be opened up exhaust-wise, and they seem to like the two-into-one idea. The down side is that this will of course be louder. The upside is much better acceleration where you want it.

Actually I still think the master cylinder had a very slight pressure on it from a bad linkage set-up. I think that because I wanted the brake pedal up as high as possible and I even got a different 6mm threaded rod which I cut and fit inside the boot. It is about half an inch longer than the stock one. I believe this was putting some pressure on the master cylinder - just enough to build up that heat. After I loosened it by the side of the road and let the bike cool off, I had no further problems the rest of the day. That is a bad bad feeling when it happens in the fast lane. Antonio: I love Italy; I love Guzzis and I love Valentino Rossi! Viva Italia!

Mike, Thanks. I like the looks of my bike, but sometimes when I see a lime green V11 like yours in stock trim, I feel like I've committed a crime. I had a map made with my last pipe which was not much different. I've made so many pipes and tweaked with the Power Commander so much that I sort of take a stab at it and then check the plugs to see how they look. If the bike seems to be starting well, running strong and leaving no grime on the plugs, I feel that it is good enough. I might have a dyno done again to fine tune it. But, I've recently purchased a Honda RC51, so the Guzz might have to wait it's turn.

The Enzo bike

Man, I love the look of that massive engine on the Buell S1. Nice. For what it is worth, I went riding Saturday with a young guy on a Buell 1200. Nice bike, but he couldn't seem to keep up. It was slippery out and I think he did not feel comfortable following me and an expert Harley Superglide rider. Don't laugh about the Harley. This guy is the president of an old Seattle mc club, used to race and is a hill climb champ. A very hard core dude who is the faster Harley rider I've seen. -Like following Gene Church around. I've put in fresh seals and oil in the Sport, and it really made a difference. I was hitting the corners pretty good with no bounce and wash out. Very stable. I think this is where the Guzzi might be faster than bikes that look good on paper - the very nice, progressive and strong Brembos, great torque and strong engine breaking - stable frame. These all make for fast 'real world' cafe speeds. The Buell kid asked me about lean angles on the V11, and said I was surprising him with some real bad-ass lean-over on some of the corners.

Having owned two Harleys in the past, I was very interested in the Firebolt R. But I didn't like the loud fan which comes on all the time to cool the back piston. I also didn't really care for the character of the vibration - and then, it's a Harley with all the Harley issues. I started it up and sat on it, but didn't go for a ride. I then went down to the Guzzi dealer and started up and sat on a Lemans. That was it. I had owned two Guzzis in the past, and sitting on that Lemans brought back to me the fact that I am addicted to the Guzzi motor. That's all there is to it. I bought a Sport.

Carl, I can't get this link to work. But are you talking about the World Superbike rider? And what does that have to do with Guzzis?????

I love it! That is the first passenger set-up I've seen that I like. Wouldn't it be fun to ride pillion on this thing? I'd love to have that bike.

Yes, my couch is very fast! The Sigma is wonderful and I know a couple of you use it. You can get one at a bicycle shop for about 30 bucks. You attach a small magnet to your front rim and the reader on the front break somewhere - enter in the appropriate number that corresponds to a 17 inch wheel etc. I no longer have a dash at all - no idiot lights, no speedo, no tach etc. The Sigma is strapped on where the ignition switch used to be (don't have one of those either!) They easily twist on and off when you bring it inside the coffee shop and look at all the readings it puts out...... I WILL get another pic of my Cobra pipes - maybe this weekend. I have the FBF pistons, an oil baffle plate designed by Pete Roper and Greg Field, K&Ns, and of course my two-into-one pipe. With this combination it makes much stronger TOP end power - not middle in my case. The track? I should. I showed my wife this reading of 134 and she began to understand what happens with the V11 on the road. She suggested I start going to track days and save myself. I said, "That's expensive, like 200 bucks per day." She said, "A nursing home is like 200 bucks per hour!!!!" good one......

I was on the way to the Seattle VME meeting tonight. First, some of us Crow got together at Greg Field's for some burgers with onion and bacon - and Sweet Baby Ray's blue cheese and foi gras on crackers. Then on over to the Vintage meeting. One my way I crossed over the Viaduct which drops down to a left-hander and then on to a quarter mile flat where cops can't hide very well. Recently, Greg had changed out my fork seals and oil, and we dropped the triple trees down a quarter inch over the forks. Much quicker steering - which was already pretty darn quick......I wanted to see how the stability was at high speed, so I dropped the V11 'Cobra' down into fifth and opened it up. I shifted into sixth as I rushed by cars like they were standing still. Approaching a hill I sat up and coasted....looked down and saw 108 mph posted, so I knew I must have been going pretty good. At the next light I checked my Sigma computer to see what I had done and saw the following. Not bad. Not even close to being spun out yet. Very stable, too. How can you beat a Guzzi?

The best way to avoid headshake is to lose 40 pounds! What Al says is true - these hand-built Guzzis all differ. I have had my short wheel base and steep rake 2000 V11 up to 130 mph actual with NO problems and no shakes. Never. But, I weigh 170 and always say that this bike is not made for anyone heavier than that unless you change out the suspension. If you get a good Guzzi, you will NEVER want to sell it. But, if you are determined to sell it cheap, I offer you three grand and will ride up tomorrow to pick it up. Let me know.

That IS Texas Redneck, and that picture has been around now for a couple years.

What's this about sampling grass? Did I miss something?

Yes, SPEED CHANNEL. I've got the Dish, too, and see the MotoGp on Sundays. Not only that, but for a few bucks you can see it live on the internet on a streamlink like Good-Dog does every Saturday night at 3:00 a.m. (smoking his bong).

Well, I still say Edwards should have moved over and let his teammate go by. And, I don't think of Valentino as arrogant. Arrogance is ugly and he is never ugly. He IS flamboyant and there is a difference. A child is flamboyant. It is fun to watch.

And why didn't Edwards let teammate Valentino pass when Edwards was helping Sete get past both of them? I don't get this. Don't team tactics come into play here?

I'm happy. Sete looks like a perpetual hot-head and bad sport. Valentino, on the other hand, seems like a happy-go-lucky character who has a good time all the time. How can you not like Valentino! Anything that pisses Sete off makes me happy. There's a German word for that..... Great racing - I never miss the GP.

I'm seriously thinking about a Suzuki SV1000 in my future. I love twin power, and it would be sort of nice to try out a lighter, water-cooled version. Not that I would EVER get rid of the Guzz. Also, I have to admit, they sound pretty nice. I don't think I'd like an in-line four coming out of corners. With a twin, there is little chance the rear end will ever break loose.

I've always wanted to know, but never found out. What IS the wheel base on the '00 V11, and what IS the wheelbase on the '02 or whenever they lengthened it? I think the difference is like an inch (English please). Also, what IS the rake and trail of the '00 as compared to the later models? I think the newer Lemans bikes are 25 degrees which is typical with a lot of sport bikes like the Suzuki SV1000 etc. The '00 is a little steeper than this. 24? Does anyone know the real poop?

V50, I love the "none more black" look! Great. How did you paint the forks and rims? Is that powder coat? or a spray job at a shop? Did you do it yourself? It looks great. If it is paint, I wonder how it holds up on the rims. I heard powder coating the rims might damage the structure to some extent.

Hey Todd, Congratulations!!!! I was just thumbing through that mag yesterday at the grocery store. I had no idea you had contributed. Did you write the section on the Coppa Italia? I noticed right off that it had a very positive tone as 'the most surprising of the group' and so on. Also, is this the magazine (the one you posted) that has the top speed listed at 139 mp that you were talking about? It looks like a great magazine with well-written articles. It even had a nice section on Moto GP and the riders to watch. Cool. Ok, now I'll go back and pick it up.

I wonder why Seattle is such a Guzzi heaven. You see them everywhere, and they are considered THE COOLEST - not only the new models, but especially the old Eldos. If you have lots of tats and are a slick artistic dude, there is nothing better to be seen on. Harleys really take a back seat and nobody gives them any special notice - but a sweet, funky old Guzzi.....everybody loves it. I wonder why? It could be that Seattle is a funky, artistic, independent sort of place where people like the unusual. It could be that Seattle has a large, active and aggressive Guzzi dealership run by the author of Guzziology. It could be because of people like Greg Field (author of 'Big Guzzi Twins) who seems to know everybody and has kept people on their Guzzis (often without pay). Hard to say. But there is nothing better than pulling into the 'Buckaroo Tavern' on a Saturday night and seeing eight Guzzis out front, one Harley, and one Honda. Very nice. If you're on a Sport or Lemans around here, people look at you like you are on a Maserati.

What happened to the Seattle idea? If you'll excuse me, I have not lived in these two areas, but please allow me to comment on my somewhat paranoid view of the future. Think huge increases in the cost of energy. Think about LOCAL ability to produce food, get water, and the viability of small businesses and healthy diversity. I think things are about to get very LOCAL, and you want a place that is set up to thrive on that level. I know, paranoid, but it's how I see it. I sure as hell would not be caught living now in a desert area like Phoenix or Vegas. Huge, hot population traps like L.A. will be bad. Good rainfall, local farming, moderate temperatures, small business, cool people.....will all be very important in about three years. JMHO.

Hey Ben, Thanks for that awesome display of 'camel toe.' Wow. That's like walking around with your zipper down. Wonder if anybody told her......or.......if that is the effect she was looking for!