SierraTango

I apologize if I was unclear in my reply. I was suggesting that the OP take the closeup picture of the valve cover in post #1 to a experienced powder coating shop to see how close they could match it. I was not suggesting he take the picture of my bike to do so. I live in a smallish town and there are two excellent shops that do this type of work close by. I don't know why you found this funny? Please explain.

I'm not near my bike right now, so no close ups, however the P.O. powder coated the valve covers and side plates on my 02 Le Mans. It's a darker red and really makes the bike pop IMHO. I think if you took the photo to a good powder coating shop they could copy it.

What happened to the Moto Guzzi America group in Lillington and Angier NC? Did it dissolve after the Aprilla take over? I lost track of the group when I moved back to LA from NC. Since I was a long time customer of Pro Italia (since it started in the 80's) I went back there. I purchased a beautiful Jackal from them. It was done for a magazine article. Mostly it was improved with a dual front brake system, a lightened flywheel and a custom paint job. It was a fabulous bike.

The MM 3 1/2 was one of my favorite bikes ever! Not many in the US. There was a guy that had a earlier Spoke Wheel/Drum Brake around LA I wanted one for a long time. There was one place in the US called Herndon Motors, I called for any bikes for sale, the owner gave me the number for a guy in Ohio that had one, but a later disc/alloy wheel model. We struck a deal, he mentioned he had some spares he would include. When the bike arrived by transporter, the driver pulled it out and it was near mint. He also complained he wasn't a moving company and proceeded to off load big boxes, including a full factory faring and 2 into 1 exhaust system. When I went to title the bike in NC, they didn't have MM in their system. Took a while but got it titled. I rode it in the stock trim you see in the picture, then sourced a tank and side panels from North Leicester Motors in the UK. My painter painted the new tank, panels and fairing and I installed the 2into1 exhaust. That way I could bring it back to original configuration in about 2 hours. Wish I had kept photos it was beautiful!

Fran Contaldi was the "Sales Guy" I was referring to in my original post. I met Donna a couple of times, and IIRC it was her Mille that I got to demo. I never did meet Dr. John, however the image of the Daytona on the showroom floor is burned in my brain. Fun times-I wonder where they are now. I bought a CX100 from a private party and Midway serviced it, I later sold it to fund a 1979 Moto Morini 3 1/2 Sport that I had shipped from Ohio. After that I sold the Morini to fund the purchase of a new 1999 Laverda 750S full faring. I hit a deer on that bike. Enough about me. Thanks again for refreshing my memories!

Thank you so much for this! It's all coming back to me now. I remember wanting to go to some of the events, but couldn't get away on weekends due to being in the boat business. Eric was very helpful on my Bevel and since I lived out on the coast, I would wait for the bike while he was working on it. The great thing was they were very happy to demo bikes and I got to ride a lot of cool bikes while I waited.

Around the early 1980's I came off the road back to LA as a pro guitarist and had some money. I went to Woods in Pasadena and bought a bevel Ducati. In 89 my then wife and I became partners in a Marina near Oriental, NC. I brought the Ducati with me and was looking for a Ducati shop for some work on it. We didn't have the magic internet yet, but some newsletter listed a shop in Lillington, NC. I just can't remember the name of the shop. I rode up there, the shop was in a old Ford dealership building. I can't remember the owner/mechanic's name however he did good work on my Bevel and I became a customer. However, besides new and used Ducati's, they were also Guzzi dealers and the sales guy was connected to the USA distributor in Maryland-I just can't remember his name. They had some period Guzzi's Le Mans, 1000S, MIlle and he gave me the keys to all the demos. Some time passed and I decided to trade in my Bevel for a new belt drive 900SS. When I went to pick up the new Ducati, there was a Guzzi Daytona in the showroom. I briefly questioned my decision to stay Ducati, however I did. I think eventually the Sales guy who's name I can't remember, took over as US distributor. There were crates of new Guzzi's in the shop. I believe they outgrew the shop in Lillington and moved the operation to Angier, NC. Thanks for any help filling in my failing memory.

WOW! 10,000 miles! That must have been an epic journey.

Today on the Mighty 190. This time of the year it's better to get a early start up to Ponderosa. Not many cars, pretty much have the whole road to myself-except the occasional very large Kenworth grill out of a blind corner hauling dead trees. Used to it. Where my Ducati 999S was in her happy place in the tight twistes, the LM seems happier in the long sweepers. No worries we have plenty of both around here-and I knew that going in.

Brings back some fond memories! I loved that Ballabio and it was tough to let it go after all the adventures we had on it. When I decided to get back in the V11 fold I searched for a Ballabio, however since I had already had one and always wanted a LeMans that's what I went for. Loving it!

Why was the Ballabio unloved? I had a new one around 2004 and it was a great bike. The only reason I sold it was to help with a down payment on a house. I'm in CA and IIRC a gentlemen in MA bought it off Cycle Trader and had it shipped back there. It was Christmas gift from my Dad RIP, so maybe I have some rose colored glasses on. I enjoyed the bars on the top yokes, bikini fairing and it was beautiful in red. My then wife RIP and I rode it to the Grand Canyon and into Southern Utah and it never missed a beat, so again I might be a bit sentimental.

Agreed. The 190 is right out of my driveway, so it's my backyard ride. The 190 has had some challenges in the last few years, specifically in March of 2023. We had a severe fire that previous Summer, and when a warm rain came in March, mudslides took out huge sections. 190 was closed for a year or so. Then, on top of that one of my favorite spots, Ponderosa Lodge, burned to the ground that Winter. The owners couldn't get insurance and now only a slab remains. I'm happy to report that CalTrans did a excellent job on the repairs, and many sections have been repaved. Don't know if it's allowed, however here is a photo of my 999S on the Western Divide Hwy on a stellar day (I haven't had the Guzzi up there yet). Also a photos of the 190 between Camp Nelson and Ponderosa after the storm and Ponderosa Lodge on fire. P.S. The 245 out of Woodlake is great too!

I'm in Springville, so the 190, Western Divide, Parker Pass and Greenhorn Pass/155 are home turf. I've also done Sherman, Tioga,Sonora etc but not for a while since the 999S wasn't much of a distance bike. There are some fantastic under the radar rides around here!

I'm reintroducing myself to this forum. I was on it around 2004 or so when I owned a V11 Ballabio. I sold that bike to help with the down payment on a house. Since then I've had several bikes mostly Ducatis including a black 2005 999S. At 69 y.o. that bike, although I loved it dearly, was just not working for me at this time of my life. I sold the 999S and had always wanted a V11 Le Mans. I searched around for a really nice example and located this stunning 14,000 mile 2002. Rode it home from Sonora via hwy 49, one of my favorites. Looking forward to re-joining the group.