GuzziMoto

I personally am a fan of converting to bars. It gives you more adjust-ability in the riding position and feel of the bike. Higher and /or wider bars can make a huge difference in the comfort and feel of the bike. Obviously the Griso came with bars from the factory (I have finally bought some aftermarket bars to adjust the riding position). As mentioned, I have converted my Daytona to bars and it is great. It was a cool bike before, but I am older now and can't ride a bike that uncomfortable for very long. With the bars it is both more comfortable and easier to steer. I have also done the same conversion to the wifes V11, with the same positive results. The issues with the conversion come into play when you have a fairing and it limits how much of a change you can make. When I did the Daytona conversion I really wanted to keep the fairing but it just was not going to be possible to make the size change I wanted and keep the fairing. So the fairing sits in my spare bedroom. Sometimes it comes down to which is more important, form or function. I usually pick function.

I have heard there is an article on it in a Greek magazine, but I do not read Greek. http://www.mybike.gr/topic/40161-

The manual for my wifes V11 Sport lists a "Max allowed load" of 214 kgs, to be divided up 48 kgs on the front and 166 kgs on the rear. How you are supposed to measure that I have no idea.

If you are talking about mounting a trailer hitch like the other person has mounted a tag/tailight, then I would say that would be a lot of unsprung weight. It could be a very bad thing. I am not a motorcycle trailer guy, but I would think giving the trailer the ability to put weight/energy directly into the wheel would be bad. The few trailer hitches I have seen appeared to be mounted to the frame. But again, I have no m/c trailer experience.

Well, it looks better then those Guzzi's PT designed. Of course what do I know. I like hatchbacks.

Sport cycle Pacific used to offer stacks on their website. They are no longer listed (as far as I can tell) but you may want to contact them to see if they are still available. I have a set from them on my Daytona.

I pay a lot more for the same coverage on my '93 Daytona 1000 then I do on the wifes '01 V11. I have no idea why. The Daytona is a little faster, but come on..... I also hate the commercials that say " drivers who switched to insurance company "X" saved an average of $500..." That tells me that you have to be that much cheaper then their current company or they are not going to switch to your company. Do people switch if they are NOT going to save some money? WTF?

The ah rating also tends to reflect how many attempts to start the bike you will get before the battery can't start the bike. A battery with a higher ah rating will tend to give you more attempts at starting the bike than a battery with a lower rating. It also reflects how likely the battery is to start the bike after you have screwed up and left the ignition on while the motor is off. But in both cases, CCA and ah rating, the lightweight batteries have less capacity then the Hawkers. It is a trade off, less weight but less power. And possibly less life. But if that seems like a good idea to you then go for it. I just can't imagine I would be able to feel the difference on a 500 lb motorcycle.

No offense meant. and it was not specifically directed at anyone. I think your Scura R is just as cool as any other V11 sport. No, it does not have the better red frame (just kiddin') but it does (like many other "special" guzzis) have ohlins suspension which is definitely a good thing. Owning a bike, Guzzi or otherwise, that "speaks" to you is awesome. My wife has owned her '01 V11 since new and it is her pride and joy. I was just commenting on the irony of considering any Guzzi rarer then the rest. They are ALL hand built exotics that are rare where I live. They are ALL rare, you do not have to subdivide them based on paint scheme and or suspension types to make it rare. And as I said, where is this mysterious Guzzi that everyone says they used to own????

That is my fear as well.... I deal with laptop batteries and they do not have a long life span. And that life span is made all that much shorter when they are not drained and recharged on a regular basis. Not saying it won't work, just that I would have to see it to believe it. You could by a PC310 for $150 and save about 6 lbs and at least have a 8ah battery rated for more cca then the lightweight one. That is half the weight savings of the trick battery with out the risk. But if saving 10 lbs over a heavy duty battery and 8 lbs over a normal battery is worth the price, I say do it. It is not worth it to me on a 500 lb motorcycle but it is something I would consider on a 300 lb motorcycle. But to each his own. And the 3 grand on rims would likely make a bigger difference as it is unsprung rotating weight.

The notion that someone views their V11 special and somehow more rare because Mother Guzzi chose to give it a different paint scheme and sometimes even a plaque with a number on it is lost on me. I don't get it. Guzzi's entire production is a fraction of what Honda would settle for with one model. They are ALL rare. The newer ones are slightly more common but it is hard to say if that is because they are making more of them of if it is attrition reducing the numbers of older models. I run into people all the time who say they USED to own a Guzzi years ago, but I never see the Guzzi all these people used to own. My wife and I joke that it is one Guzzi with thousands of ex-owners. Where is that Guzzi now? Sorry for the rant.

Sorry, my bad...

Since there are almost 100 in the registry at this very site, I am guessing there are more then 18 made. They might be a little rarer then another version of the V11, but I don't think it it enough to make it collectible on that merit alone. All Guzzi's are rare, My '93 Daytona is as rare or rarer then a Scura in the US. And I have seen Scura's around, I have never seen one of the Tri-Color Coppa Italia's however.

But the carbon cans look cool, sound cool, and will last for a very long time (as long as you don't break them they should last the life of the bike). It is not a bad idea (the light weight battery) in my opinion, but it is a trade off. You get a battery that weighs less but it is only 4.6 ah. They claim a lot of starting power, but until I see it I won't believe it. And in my experience batteries like that lose more power over their life span then conventional batteries. So while it may have plenty of power when new, after a year or so it may not have as much. Think about a laptop battery.... Those batteries should be okay but I would think they trade off life span and power for lightweight. I actually went the other way with the battery in my supermoto. I had too many issues with the small stock battery so I replaced it with a larger battery. A lighter battery doesn't help much when you are pushing the bike. Okay, maybe it helps a little, but not much. But if I was to buy a battery to save weight that is the one I would buy. I think it is one of the best out there. If you buy one let me know what you think. If I get one (more likely for the supermoto) I'll let you know. I gotta admit, though. It makes me nervous when they sell special chargers for the batteries. If it really needs a special charger then what chance does it have of surviving the Guzzi's charging system? I think total loss systems may be better suited to this technology. Or atleast until motorcycles have charging systems designed for LiFePo batteries.

I have done right side up forks like that, using things like lengths of PVC pipe. But upside down forks I find are much easier to do with a seal driver. The Race Tech one should work fine.

Todd @ GuzziTech asked if anyone was interested in that. Here is a link to the thread. http://forum.guzzitech.com/forum/199/4218.html I don't see why you would do it, but if you do I would think it would require a different master cylinder to get the leverage ratio right. The lever travel with the stock master cylinder might be too long and/or not able to build enough pressure.

Race Tech lists a 40-41mm driver. Have not used it but would think it works.

What HAS been selling well? Guzzi's do not sell in large numbers to begin with. They have limited dealer networks and they do not appeal to mainstream riders. They are often plagued with detail issues that need to be sorted out after purchase but are often overly reliable once sorted. If your friend wants an appliance that just runs when he turns the key then a Guzzi may not be the best choice. If he does not mind putting in a little effort and would like something that is outside the norm a Guzzi can be a fantastic ride. My wife and I have three and we thoroughly enjoy them. But they take a little more effort to make the relationship succeed then say a typical Japanese bike. And you can find many leftovers of them too last I checked.

My wifes V11 has a PCIII, lightly ported heads, free flowing air filter, and Guzzi branded Mistral slip ons. It runs well (faster then my Griso) but the Daytona is at least a full step faster. The Daytona has a chip, indiv. filters and full Staintune sys. The Daytona has a long legged feel a builds speed deceptively fast. Suddenly you are going over 100. The V11 can keep up as long as the road is twisty, but on faster stretches the Daytona walks away. 85 rwhp vs. 100 or so for the Daytona. The Daytona feels like a hot rod tractor. The oil pump is still stock.

Hi Carl Thanks for the info . I'll try to do something on this bike if I can find the necessary parts to raise or lower the respective concerns but as mentioned it only runs on 160 rear tires and yet feels lazy as compared to V11 . Maybe to convert to a riased handle bar might solve all this . What do you think? Know of anyone who has done it here on the forum? My Daytona, as mentioned, has been converted to standard full handlebars. It also has forks from a GSXR that are shorter by a good bit (I forget the number) but also have a different offset to complement the increased rake. Also, the front wheel is much lighter (also from a GSXR) and the fairing is removed. It is still a little long but it handles pretty close to the wifes V11. Since it is longer it will never be the same, but it is currently pretty close. None of my bikes has a steering damper, I find that most Guzzi's don't need a damper and all it does is slow down the steering. Some people do not agree and some think V11's need a damper or they would not have come with one. I have a V11, a Daytona, and a Griso. The V11 and Daytona came with steering dampers. They both went bad and caused issues so they were removed. They both handles better in my opinion without them. The Griso did not come with one from the Factory. It works fine with out it. To each their own.....

There are a few things that are different between the two. The weight I don't believe is that different but I am not sure. The length, the V11 is shorter so for the same amount of lean angle it will turn more. The rake, on later V11's there was not a big difference but earlier V11's had a steeper rake which causes the bike to steer more/quicker for a given amount of steering input. Trail is also factors in here, less trail makes a bike lighter steering but too little trail can cause instability and tank slappers can result. The width of the bars, wider bars make a considerable difference in reducing the effort required to steer. Switching my Daytona from clip ons to wider full handle bars made a big difference in steering. Lighter wheels, my Daytona's wheels are considerably heavier then the wheels on the wifes V11 and that makes a big difference in steering effort (especially on the front). Newer Guzzi's have even lighter wheels. I am not aware of a "linkage" you can buy to raise the rear ride height. But reducing the amount the rear sags when you sit on the bike by increasing preload will raise the effective ride height of the rear. Replacing the shock with a longer shock or an adjustable shock will allow you to take that further. You can also drop the front by sliding the fork tubes up through the triple clamps a little. That has the same effect on steering as raising the rear but does slightly reduce ground clearance. Keep in mind that steepening the rake by raising the rear or dropping the front also reduces trail. So there is a limit on how far you can go before bad things happen. (edit) Oh, and as Skeeve points out air pressure and tires have a big effect on how a bike handles. More air pressure = lighter steering. Forgot to mention that.

Actually, I believe it is "Hold my beer, watch this".

god damn pete that is funny, You remind me of knurl sometimes too, I swear your brothers but he is the aprilia knowitall. Yeah, that is funny. It would be funnier if the Buell I sold (with a Sportster engine) to buy my Griso wouldn't eat my Griso for lunch in every category related to "Sport". Wish I had kept that bike. At least my Daytona is an improvement over the Griso (???? that doesn't make sense....)

Come on, what do you expect?! It's a 1420cc engine! I wouldn't be too surprised in case a hot pimped S&S/HD engine of this capacity would show a similar performance. If you tend to define "Sports" this way you might find *this* also quite sporty. Hubert I thought he was defining "sports" as being faster around a race track. The Bentley is not likely to be faster around a race track. Was the Guzzi running a bigger motor then the Ducatis, yeah. But if you ran a Ducati that big it would likely blow up. And in the end, on the race track, it is very easy to tell who won and who lost. And in that case the Guzzi won. Sundance has built some nice H-D powered racers, but nothing as fast as the BigBore MGS01.

Are you looking at the MotoScope Mini or the MotoScope Tiny? I have not tried them, honestly they don't appeal to me. Electrosport was selling some really cool all in one gauges, and I plan on buying one but they seem to have run into some issues and are currently on hold. I hope they are able to resolve the issues and continue selling them again. I liked the clean look of one gauge that would replace both and then some.