Bogwopit

I wonder if anyone has any info. on fitting shorter forks to a v11? I've just got hold of a set of ohlins, unfortunately no no's on them, the same as the ones fitted to the v11, except these are 40mm shorter.Does anyone have any suggestions as to how the fitting of them would affect the handling of the bike, and if it was O.K.to use them, would it be possible or desirable to lower the rear of the bike to suit. Look forward to your comments, Andy.

Thanks, Jaap.

Can anyone tell me if the only front fender/mudguard fitted to the bikes equipped with Ohlin forks is the carbon fibre type or is there an alternative type.If not, has anyone any idea if the ones of none ohlin equipped bikes will fit with the ohlins. I,ve tried to order one from Guzzi but no luck so far. If anyone has one for sale let me know. Andy.

I'll be taking the overnight ferry from Liverpool to Belfast on the thursday evening-cabin inclusive of charge.Booked it weeks ago so don't know of current availalability Andy

it's a twin pipe system, but both pipes are quite high on the left side. Typically quirky.

yes, basically that, plus a couple of trumpets and oil traps or something.

Hi everyone, I wonder if anyone has or has heard of anyone fitting a stage 1 performance kit to an 8valve 1200sport? Andy.

shame on you, Belfast; and I bet you've never tried one. Actually it's a lovely bike to ride.You just relax and cruise about feeling superior to every other bike you come across, especially H.D.Tractors. I'll let you have a go when we meet up at the end of the month.You can experiance life in the slow lane. Andy.

Mine has had the spark plug boots upgraded and hopefully the hole in the exhaust will have been repaired while it was in for it's first service.The dealer is delivering it to me tomorrow along with my new(1400 mile )1200sport8v that they've just fitted a stage 1 performance kit to.I'am looking forward to comparing the sport(1100 Breva)with the Griso. Andy.

Hello Everyone, I need your help/derision/scorn. I've been toying for several months with the idea of getting my first tattoo - obviously of my first and only love, Moto Guzzi. My wife berates me every time I bring up the the subject and puts it down to a mid-life crisis. I did point out to her that as I have a life expectancy of 70 to 75 years I should have experienced this 'crisis' well over 10 years ago but didn't therefore it,s something based on sound judgement not impending death. Well, should I get one or not? I'am intending to only have one and that being on my upper arm def. not anywhere else. Your views will be listened to and valued, of course, then I,ll just do what the wife says. By the way has anyone got a good line drawing of the M.G logo (the oval one) as this is what I hope to get done. many thanks in anticipation of your considered wisdom, Andy.

It's a lot more complicated than I first thought. Perhaps I should now deny having one and not make any posts about it.

Many thanks for the info.it's been a great help.I certainly understand far more now than I did before.I'll just have to put into practice now. I haven't had my forks set up by anyone yet as I bought a set of Ohlins from a dealer and am still deciding which bike to fit them to.I was intending to put them on the LeMan as thats the one I'm messing about with the engine tuning on, but then got to thinking that I'm sure if correctly set up the Marzo. forks would be equally as good as the ohlins. I came to this conclusion by ogling the new MV Agusta's at my local dealer when I noticed them all fitted with Marzo's. I can then put the ohlins on the Rosso Mandello- I thought the gold colour would best suit the R.M's paint scheme{as well as adding to the handling of course} Anyone got any thoughts vis Marzo against Ohlin? Andy.

I've been told of two coming into the country, and have the number of a chap from London who has one of them - he doesn't want to sell unfortunately. I've noticed several for sale in Germany and Austria but was unsure as to how to go about purchasing/importing one. I might go down this avenue eventually. Andy.

Thanks Belfast, as you say I was probably a bit heavy handed on the throttle. Purely coincidentally there is a hole in the exhaust, in the join near to the lambda sensor where someone got bored welding and didn't finish the last 6mm of weld. many thanks Andy.

The Viking and Street Tracker look v.interesting bikes, but I have to admit to never having heard of them before. I lead a sheltered life. Andy.

Hi, out for a ride today on the Griso I noticed under hard ish acceleration the little red warning light,top right on dash, flickered on. Is this potentially serious?: should I accelerate harder, not so hard or just ignore it? Also, once warm I noticed an occasional misfire.It,s in for the first 600 mile service on Friday, so hopefully any probs. should show up then,or not! Andy.

I've an ,07 Cali. Vintage. and was wondering if it would go in the older than or newer than V11 section- obviously manufactured more recently than the V11 but production started before the V11. Any 'helpful' thoughts on the subject? Andy.

You look younger than I remember from previous photos. Obviously the ash is doing you the world of good.

Same here. Lovely looking and very comfortable to ride.Once I get on mine I just relax and chill out.If I did n't have to wear a helmet and had some hair I'd ride and let the wind blow thru, it. I looked at customizing mine in some way, but when I looked hard at it the only thing I was willing to do was to chrome the tank, which I,ve now had done[it looks ace]. I've just got to repaint some of it,when I can decide which bits, then it will be ready for the run to N.Ireland. I wouldn't mind a chrome rear light holder, as per the original brochure bike, but ubfortunately not available. Does anyone know anything about chrome finishing for plastic parts? Andy.

Crazy Scandinavians! Is nothing sacred? I feel I should use some of those crazi icons now, but I still don't know how to get them to move over; I'll have to enlist the help of my 10year old. He's more computer literate than me ! Andy.

Forgive my ignorance, but should sag be measured stationary [i.e. just sitting on the bike] or the maximum slider travel during a road trip? Andy.

Hi, I bought one from my local Guzzi dealer about 6 weeks ago.I'am sure it's still a good number as is the carbon fibre fairing.I've one on order, should be here within a week or so. I'll give you the part no's if you want. Andy.

I,am jealous as hell. I've tried for the last 18months to find a Coppa for sale in the U.K. but with no joy. Still, I reckon the Rosso Mandello is just as good looking [doh] Andy.

Hi all, just thought I'd put down a few lines about the new Griso 8v.I must admit that after 500 miles of use I was n't very impressed.I have to say from the start that I,am not a very sporty rider, having had a break from riding for 15 years and seeing lots of friends and aquaintances go off on the long ride and not come home again if you see what I mean. Also, marriage and kids give you a whole new perspective on things;I now like to ride slower, enjoy the thrill of the bikes and hopefully live a lot longer! I digress- coming back into biking I bought an old BMW R100RT 5 or 6 years ago and although it is slow and steady it's still nice to get back on the road again. After a few years I plucked up the courage to buy a new bike{Cali. Vintage}trying to forget all the horror stories associated with Guzzi's over the years, and what do you know, it was fantastic. A truly modern classic,well made ,reliable[so far]and a joy to ride and own. It also looked like a bike should do. I now turned my thoughts to another Guzzi and found the V11- another 'old fashioned' style of bike but with bags of character and a lot more get up and go than the Cali.[but not too much, given my lack of riding skills and general wimpy demeanor] I loved the Le Mans so much I got a Rosso Mandello- even if you don't ride them, you can still just sit and look at the beauties and get as much pleasure. That brings me to the Griso. I felt I wanted a more modern styled Guzzi, and while I was attracted to certain aspects of the bike there were others that I did not like. But eventually I bought a new one and I have to admit that my first impression were not good.It still felt undeniably like a Guzzi-it couldn't be anything else, but it didn't feel right and I was not enjoying going out on it. The problem however was mine-I was trying to ride it like a Cali. or to a certain extent like a V11, and the bike didn't like it.I was not using enough revs,trying to 'cruise' along in too high a gear etc. But then last Friday I had a revelation-I was on the bike following a queue of cars lorries and 2 tractors,struggling to find the right gear to ride slowly in then it started to pour with rain when I thought why am I sitting here? I started to use the throttle and boy what a difference it made. I ended up going for a 125 mile ride in the rain and absolutely loved it. The bike loved to be revved, and it became a different bike. I,ve been out on it every day since and have loved every minute of it.I still find the suspension a bit hard (even for my not inconsiderable bulk) but I will have to wait a bit longer to figure out how to alter it. A couple of months ago I bought a 1400mile '09 1200 sport 8v from my local dealer and have been waiting for a race exhaust kit to come from the factory before taking delivery. The kit arrived last week and because they had never fitted one before the dealer offered to fit it for free so they could have the experience. It should be ready for me to collect this Friday and while before I wasn't particularly looking forward to the experience I now can't wait to climb aboard.I'll let you know my impressions. I wonder, has anyone fitted a modern 8V in a LeMan? That would be a marriage made in heaven. BFN Andy Roo.

Who knows? I don't think you'll get any credible answers on any forum, as nobody at Mandello seems to know or more to the point, really gives a damn. I gave up bothering ages ago and just ride mine now. Oh, and keep looking behind to see what's fallen off recently. Go out and have lots of fun. Mine also has the Union flag on the sidepanel but I don,t have any certification. Andy Roo.