nobleswood

The 2002 V11 LeMans with 183 & 3 miles, went for $4000 & $2750 respectively

The Greenie went for $3000

Yes he was/is very happy ! I wasn't sure that I was going to go but he was the tipping force that pushed me to drive the 3 hours each way. Telling me that he's really interested in the V11's. Mind you he has one of the new V7 Racers with the chrome tank, leather seat & glorious sounding Agostini pipes. As a justification we said the worst that could happen 'was it's an adventure', which getting there was with a really dangerous storm on the drive. On the way my mate tells me he's never been to an auction before. I try to give him an idea of what to expect & how not to loose your head in the excitement of bidding... At the auction as well as the Griso there was the Greenie, new & shiney & two 2002 V11 LeMans' both needing only minor parts to get them on the road. Two 1100 Sports, a 1984 LeMans 850, the ones that I'd see the dispatch riders in London racing around on that were soo desirable & the memory of which brought me back to Moto Guzzi. Then a 1987 LeMans 1000. Yes there were many others but those were the ones I had my eye on. The bidding starts with some gas tanks, BSA, Norton, Guzzi & Ducati, mostly reasonable prices but one new in the box Ducati tank went for $2250 ! It's an auction, the prices are all over the place, too high for banners & dealers metal signs. So by the time we come to the bikes we couldn't tell what was going to go for what. A 1969 Triumph T120 went for $6500. Mind you most of these bikes had no title. Then a 1969 Velocette Venom $7000. A 1972 Honda CB750 $3250. A 1975 Honda 400/4 $2500. A 1979 Moto Morini 500. Brand new only had a statement of origin $4750 ! A 1978 Ducati 500 Sport 9 miles $7000. Then the Guzzi's came up; I'm looking at the catalog & realise that my friend is bidding; not on the V11's but on the Griso! I couldn't talk to him mid way through, in the heat of battle, just had to let him do his thing Turns out he had seen the Griso & decided that was the object of his desire, immaculate & untouched. That the V11's needed more work that he was able to do, but hadn't mentioned it. The guy he was bidding against happened to have the same upper limit $5000, but he was the one with the last bid . Blair was in shock for the next 5 hours. Ha !

2006 1100 Griso 13 miles. Didn't have a battery, still had the plastic over the dash, very clean, new & shiney

I’ll get sme more pictures up tonight. Just had to unload the ‘New’ Griso for it’s happy owner.

Yesterday at the auction, the Greenie went for $3000, which surprised me. I was thinking that it would go for twice that as earier a Ducati gas tank went for $2000 & the dealer signs were going for stupid money as well. My mate, who currently has a V7 Racer, the one with the chrome tank & brown leather seat, picked up the 2006 red Griso which surprised him, for $5000. He was somewhat in shock for hours !

Congratulations on the Silverware

There's a lot of nice stuff. The mileage on some of the machines indicates they had hardly been used. I didn't see anywhere that indicated bids would be taken over the internet. Its all cash or check. It would be fun just to go and see........but auctions are dangerous places. One minute your thinking to yourself ' That V11 is only going for that much !!!!!!!' Next you're explaining to your wife how you have another 'fixer-upper'

I know this is posted on WildGuzzi but as a non forum friend passed the information on to me, I thought I'd post it here so we all get a look. This is the link to the Auction house. I've only had a quick look but I thought there were 3 V11 Sports in there. http://braunandhelmer.com/?es_feed_target=http%3A//www.GoToAuction.com/feed/es_c1002.php%3Fes_id%3D1333%26id%3D43601%26feed_type%3D200%26es_cfid%3D3522

While the Guzzi is a pretty little thing, I was hoping to hear of some oil or water cooling & re-engineering that would take Guzzi further into the future. Shrug !

I can't seem to find any Guzzi's with girls !

Did you hear it running ?

I can see why you are drawn to this bike each time you visit. Nice workmanship.

Thanks Milar, I appreciate the explination about the last of the pushrod V engines. And the 'two step 8v' power delivery. Lets not jump to declaring a winner so fast; my vote goes to the Griso 8v. Milar makes a good description in that it is a 'power cruiser', but that doesn't mean it can't be alot of fun through the corners. Better riders than me will have their opinions but I'm still enjoying learning how to make my V11 & Griso go smoother & faster through the corners.

Scura for sale http://www.ebay.com/itm/2002-Moto-Guzzi-Scura-/222660847993

Guys, I'm curious about the 1200 Sport, educate me on the bike & it's engine; where did it come in the evolution from the V11 Sport ?

As someone here said ' best return on my money, when adding stuff to my bike, was always the suspension components'

Matt, was describing what components he would put in the Marzocchi's but it was abit over my head =( Yes he said the old components aren't available for the V11's but as he works there he could add this from this bin & take that from here ... Not cost effective for us outside the industry but something he could do. I'll ask him to e-mail me his ideas for the Fork re-vamp.

For you 'Flying Brick' fans

A few pics of interest; Indian have a modern Bill Munro bike they are taking to the Salt Flats

Matt said he registered the Scura here, but other than that doesn't 'follow the forums' That said he currently has the original clutch /flywheel & we were talking about replacements. Your name did come up having gone through the same process & that you carefully documented the experience. So I found the thread & e-mailed it to him. You never know, he may join us now & then. It was interesting to talk to him about what he has done to the Ohlins on the Scura, about what he can do within the restrictions of the original equipment on the bike. Mind you what he can do with his access to parts as opposed to those of us outside the industry where we have to pay retail. Can make the improvements cost prohibitive. He told me of an early experiance with the Scura, the RH boot came loose, the TB's moved back & to the left. Jamming the throttle fixed bar under the TB's against the Rear preload cylinder! A 'tense' moment! So he replaced the preload cylinder with & updated & shorter unit. My bike with it's 43mm Marzocchi forks, he said the internals can be replaced with more modern Ohlins technology. Which after a few other improvements will get on the Wish List. Something Docc advised me to do 3 or 4 years ago. I have heard this before but he said that a growing share of their industry is coming from Mountain bike suspension. Which apparently is a hobby of his as well.

I have been talking to Ohlins USA in NC about servicing a rear shock I'm going to be putting on my Griso. The helpful tech there, Matt, seemed to know his stuff. This weekend the American International Motorcycle Expo was here in Columbus, OH, so on Saturday morning I got there early, before the lifestyle bikers, to poke around. Turns out the show was geared more towards dealers & wholesale purchasers than riders ; I was talking to a nice salesman from Pakistan about a gauntlet knuckle reinforced leather glove. When It came to cost he asked how many units & freight terms. Mind you he also gave me a quote of $16.53 for a goatskin glove ! Towards the back of the Hall I found the Ohlins booth and co-incidentally the tech I'd talked to, Matt. It was early & traffic was low & we had a chance to talk. Turns out he's had a few Guzzi's and currently is cleaning up a neglected Scura. As well as being knowledgable about the Ohlins componets that fit on our beloved V11's, he had a good grasp of the influence on Guzzi & Italien bikes generally, of cash flow, Piaggio & Aprilia over the last few decades. All in all I came away feeling like I had found a friend, someone who understands why we love the flawed individualistic amazing machines we do. And another great place like Harpers, MG Cycle, Moto International etc where we can talk to a knowledgeable Technician.