ALLAN

You are correct; the 'Daytona' M-G is different. I am working on posting some photos.

Last week at Daytona, prior to the AMA guys getting on the track, I was watching a “Battle of the Twins Formula 1” race. I was mesmerized by the speed of the leading motorbike because the announcer was calling it a 2007 Moto Guzzi. Following the race I headed for the garage area to search out the bike and rider. The rider, Gianfranco Guarecchi, won the same event in 2006 on a MGS01. The bike he showed up at Daytona with this year was no MGS01. The engine castings, from the cylinders on down, look like any production V11. The bike is void of the neat machined gear box found on the MGS01. But this bike sported a big radiator out front; it’s water cooled. It’s 2-valves per side. It is 1,350 cc and makes 167 hp at the crank. That last number I had confirmed by two different sources. The bike the Guzzi beat was a beautiful, and very trick, 1,200cc NCR Ducati 2-valver weighing 286 lbs. The Guzzi is 396 lbs. The rider of the Ducati, Valter Bartolini, is the European “Twins “ champion. The Ducati had a noticeable advantage in handling, especially braking, and would also pull the Guzzi out of the corners. The M-G had a ‘marked’ advantage on top speed, so much so that on the last lap the Ducati had at least a 10-bike length lead over the M-G coming out of the chicane (last corner) and the Guzzi closed the gap and won at the line. Guarecchi told me the bike was a “lot faster then his MGS01.” Gianfranco was turning 1:45 lap times. The very quickest ‘Supersport’ 600’s and ‘Formula Extreme’ bikes ran high 1:41’s. Larry Pegram, on a factory supported NCR 748 Ducati turned 1:43’s. The Moto Guzzi showed, to my eye, an amazing amount of speed. It flew by a couple of Buell XBRR’s – I mean there was no comparison. FYI – my Italian is poor and the guys running the Moto Guzzi effort spoke little English but two ‘independent’ sources told me that the ‘factory’ was involved. Speculate anyway you wish. I will post photos if someone can tell me how to do it.

I am moving to western North Carolina; about half-way between Asheville, NC and Greenville, South Carolina. Can someone recommend a good/great Moto Guzzi dealer in the area?

I am moving to western North Carolina; can someone vouch for or recommend a good/great Moto Guzzi dealer in the Asheville area? Actually anywhere from Asheville to Greenville, South Carolina.

Well, I sold the Multistrada over the weekend. It went quick. I had a bit of 'sellers remorse' but the next day I rode a friends brand new Triumph Daytona 675 over 300 miles and the bright rays of affirmation came over the gloom of doubt. What a fantastic motorbike. If I was a 'sportbike' kind of guy it would be my first choice, my only choice. I'm not so I plan to wait for the MG 1200 Sport to land on these shores. If you're listening Moto Guzzi please hurry.

I did sell the G-B to a guy in northern Calfornia. I put a lot of time, and dollars, into getting the Ghezzi-Brian just right but I wasn't riding it enough to justify keeping it.

I sold a my '04 Lemans [red/black] and bought an '07 Ducati 1100S Multistrada [red] - and now I am regretting it. I'm just not developing a 'warm and fuzzy' feeling with the Mutlistrada. I loved most everything about my Lemans but I wanted hard bags and a bit more performance. The 'someday-might-be-released' MG 1200S looked to be the ticket but I wasn't going to wait two years or more. The asthetics of the Multistrada are certainly an acquired taste but I do like the look. What I don't like are the ergonomics, mirrors that shake so much they'll give you a headache after an hour of freeway droning, performance that is only a slight improvement over my V11, less wind protection and terrible 'carburetion' at low speeds. I retrofitted some Cyclecat adjustable bars to help the ergos; I am going to have a PCIII and custom map done that will improve the drivability - but the bike just doesn't have character compared to my Lemans. The V11 always put a smile on my face. I've have had a number of Ducatis, BMW's, a Triumph, an Aprilia and a few big displacement Japanese 4-cyclinder motorbikes; I never missed any of them when they were sold. I miss my Lemans. Anyone looking for a new, low-milage 1100S Mutlisrada? Allan

Telephone Mickey @ Mickey Cohen Motorsports in Placentia, about an hour north of San Diego, (714) 993-5000. He has the very latest Dyojet dyno and software and a lot of experience with V11's. Allan

THE HEADLAMP APPEARS IDENTICLE. LET ME KNOW WHAT YOU WANT FOR IT. THANKS.

I AM IN DESPERATE NEED OF A COMPLETE HEADLAMP ASSEMBLY, P/N 32740510, FOR MY 2004 LEMANS. HELP!! Allan

I recently installed a brace a Mike Rich pistons on my '04 Lemans. Of note, the wrist pins had to be machined a few thousands to clear the cir-clips. Dyno numbers are 83.7 hp and 64.7 ft-lbs with a slight dip at 3,800. This with Stuchhi x-over, M4 cans and the pistons + PCIII. Allan

Orange County Motorsports in Santa Ana, CA (714-429-9200) finially received their MGS01. From what I was told, only seven will be/have been brought into the US. There are 20 worldwide. I plan to check out the bike Saturday and I will let the forum know more info following.

I don't have any facts concerning a Guzzi gathering at Mandello. You could contact (e-mail) Agostini's which is the local dealer. I am certain they will know. I have been to the Moto Guzzi museum a couple of times. if you have never been, go. Also, Ghezzi-Brian is only about a half hour drive from Mandello. I would suggest staying in the town of Varenna, 10 kilometers up the road from Mandello. The drive from Malpensa airport in Milan is under an hour. I travel to Italy every year and the Lake Como area is one of my favorites. There is good mortorcycling in the hills surrounding the Lake, and if you travel a couple hours northeast, just east of Bolzano, you get into the Tyrolean Dolomites - absolutetly some of the best motorbike roads on the planet.

I've had the Mistral cans. I like the look of the round carbon can but they are loud. The M4's have the nicest carbon; sort of a glossy look. The end caps have a brillant luster, they have a nice sound without being obnoxious. The only problem is that M4 will not make any more cans for Moto Guzzi. Orange County Motorsport 714-429-9200 has four sets left - I think. They can also tell you horsepower numbers with everyone's cans, and x-pipes, as they have compared them all on their dyno. For sure the Stucci x-over is the best of the bunch and a well mapped PCIII does wonders.

I am assuming you have purchased either a Triumph or Moto Guzzi from OC, or you have spoken to others that have. I can only relay my personal experience and what others have told me who have purchased motorbikes from them. What I hear over and over is that they take care of their customers; their service department has a reputation of being second to none, I haven't heard of any issues concerning customers waiting on parts or warrenty issues. Besides selling more Moto Guzzi's then any dealer, they stock and buy more parts and accessories. What's not to like.

Lindeman did a nice job revalving the forks. I chose them because they had previous experience with V11 forks. That said, I feel the standard forks on the '04 Lemans are as well dampened as those that I had tweaked by Lindeman. I can give the settings I ended up with on my '02 Lemans prior to having them sent off to Lindeman if you like. I weigh 175 lbs.

I recently traded my '02 Lemans for an 2004, Red & Black. The newer bike looks nearly identical but there are differencces. Most noticable are the forks. The old forks could be tuned for compression and rebound dampening while the forks on the '04 Lemans have rebound and preload options. The new forks work a whole lot better than those off my 2002 Lemans. It took me some time to get the front end sorted on the '02, finially sending the forks to the folks at Lindeman Engineering. The front end on my new ride is sweet right out of the box. I made a few preload adjustments to set the sag and raised the forks 20mm in the triple clamps - it's all working great. I'd be curious to know if the dampening rates were changed on the rear because the newer shock is an improvement. I have had plenty of bikes with Ohlin's but, for me, they aren't worth the extra money for the V11 models that have them. I mounted a brace of M4 carbon cans, stucci X-over and PCIII. The bike is working so well already and I only have a thousand miles on the clock. I live in Southern California and my dealer is Orange Country Motorsports - the best dealer I have had an association with in the past twenty years. Why can't all dealers be like these guys?

I have enjoyed reading about everyones feelings regarding dealers. The issue seems to be as passionate as those about the motorbike itself. I like my dealer; always has time for me, goes out of his way to take care all customers, present and potential, and the service work is above any dealer I have been involved with in the past 20 years. I asked the owner/manager about some of the claims on this site. He tells me he has never had a problem with warrenty issues from MGNA. They have never turned down a claim - that they pay warrenty claims every 60-90 days (Japanese brand dealers get paid 4 times yearly). The problem is that some dealers don't have the cash to pay up front to fix a bike and wait three months for the checks to come in. You go to him for a warrenty issue and he takes care of it immediately, the same day if he's able. He recently had to warrenty a set of Ferracci carbon cans. Ferracci wouldn't warrenty them because they are sold as a "race items." Orange County Motorsports warrentied them anyway. This is the price of doing and keeping business. One guy claimed that dealers had to use a shipper authorized by MGNA. Not true. OCMS ships MG's all over the country and they ship with whoever they want. Another gentleman says that those purchasing bikes over the phone from OCMS are taking a chance because the bikes were not given a PDI. Not even close to being true. When OCMS ships a bike the paperwork arrives before the bike, the key is zip-ties to the mirror, the bike is completely serviced - you uncrate it and ride away. I went to the Ramona MG meeting last year and the guy I registered with asked me where I got my bike. I told him and he proceeded to bad-mouth the dealer; he had never met the owner and never even been to the shop. I am totally perplexed by some of the comments of individuals on this forum. You would think they would be elated about a dealer selling a lot of Guzzi's especially a dealer with the outstanding reputation that OCMS had maintained for so many years. Stop by the shop; talk to Micky Cohen, the owner/manager, go back into the service area -they welcome it, and then judge.

Go to the "first" page - bottom of page. Black bike w/ red frame

The Supertwin shown is a limited edition model called a Folgore. It is fully registered & licenced in California. It is also for sale. Since these photos were taken the Folgore has had a number of aesthetic and performance changes. These include, among other things, billet aluminum halogen (super bright) turn indicators from Germany, custom fabricated machined aluminum licence bracket, hiugher compression pistons, bigger valves, Mark Rich Stage III flowed heads, Power Commander w/ custom map, Dunlop 208 GP's and more. The bike has less than 4,000 on the clock, is stone reliable, and with a weight of 410 lbs. wet, feels a lot stronger then 85 rear wheel horses would suggest. Allan

I read with interest the comments on OC Motorsports in Santa Ana, CA. They became a Guzzi dealer two years ago; I bought the first V11 LeMans. I also purchased a Triumph, a 2003 Ghezzi-Brian & 2004 V11 LeMans from them. Yes, they are honest. Yes, they sell a lot of Moto Guzzi's; 120 already this year. In two years of selling Guzzi's they now sell more than any dealer in the history of Moto Guzzi. The guy who claims OC gets a special deal from MGNA is incorrect. Every dealer in the country was/is offered the same deal. I am perplexed that the dealership is condemed because they are putting a lot of Guzzi's on the road. They also have purchased more accessories for Guzzi's then any dealer in the country. OC have the latest Dynotech dynometer and have made hundreds of maps for Guzzi's. They have converted a number of riders of Japanese brands over to Guzzi's. Unlike some dealers they will work on Kawasaki's, Suzuki's, BMW's, anything. On a personal lever, I will continue to take my motorcycling business to them because of who they are and how I am treated.

The Ghezzi-Brian in the photo belongs to myself - it is for sale and a number of things have been done to it since these photos were taken.