laverda_jota Posted September 21, 2009 Share Posted September 21, 2009 Hello, I have a request of any Winnipeg based v11 owners out there, if there are any? I am currently searching for a v11 but have never had the opportunity to actually sit on one and see if I fit. I did go down the path of a mid-90s Ducati 900SS but have found my legs just don't seem to bend that way anymore! All I am after is some friendly advice and an opportunity to sit on the bike ... no rides required :-) Any comments or help would be appreciated and feel free to use the email below. Thanks very much. Regards, Al Winnipeg, Manitoba laverda_jota@yahoo.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gstallons Posted September 21, 2009 Share Posted September 21, 2009 First:Are you left handed, own a Mac and or do EVERYTHING different from anyone else? If you answer Y to any or all of these ?s, you will fit the bike. p.s. Do you own a Jota? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greg Field Posted September 21, 2009 Share Posted September 21, 2009 What he said. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DeBenGuzzi Posted September 21, 2009 Share Posted September 21, 2009 how did you know I'm left handed? btw if you're ever in the twin cities I'll let you ride mine Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greg Field Posted September 21, 2009 Share Posted September 21, 2009 Everyday at work, I watch Guzzi customers sign credit card slips. About 40 percent are left-handed. I also watch people I've never seen before signing test-ride forms. The left-handed among them are almost always signing up for a Guzzi ride, rather than an Aprilia or trade-in of another brand. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skeeve Posted September 22, 2009 Share Posted September 22, 2009 Everyday at work, I watch Guzzi customers sign credit card slips. About 40 percent are left-handed. I also watch people I've never seen before signing test-ride forms. The left-handed among them are almost always signing up for a Guzzi ride, rather than an Aprilia or trade-in of another brand. Wow! Now that's an interesting observation! Back in college, we would have had fun building a term paper on this in my data analysis class: regression analysis of handedness vs. brand selection, etc. etc. blah blah blah... Just so I don't throw your stats off, I'm right-handed - but only because I was forced to switch at an early age, as soon as my dad spotted my left preference starting to display! So now I'm like the native police in colonial africa: I persecute the lefties more than the natural righties do! Ride on, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
laverda_jota Posted September 22, 2009 Author Share Posted September 22, 2009 First:Are you left handed, own a Mac and or do EVERYTHING different from anyone else? If you answer Y to any or all of these ?s, you will fit the bike. p.s. Do you own a Jota? Uh oh ... right handed (brother is left), only Apple is an iPod, I do some things different ... I subscribe to whole 'invented wheel idea'. Ha! Had the Jota for quite a few years but sold it to a fellow I know in Saskatoon a couple of years back (he has always wanted one). It was a '79 (post bad bearings), 180 crank, silver frame, orange body work ... beautiful and raunchy. Oh well. Good to hear I will fit ... thanks! A Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ponti_33609 Posted September 22, 2009 Share Posted September 22, 2009 Hi Al, FWIW...I have read from many posts here that those that were uncomfortable found great results with available foot peg lowering kits. I know MPH had pics of before and after so you can visually see the differences a kit. I am 5'10", 170 lbs with a 32.5" inseam and I am quite comfortable on mine. Best of Luck, Bob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve G. Posted September 22, 2009 Share Posted September 22, 2009 Hello,I have a request of any Winnipeg based v11 owners out there, if there are any? I am currently searching for a v11 but have never had the opportunity to actually sit on one and see if I fit. I did go down the path of a mid-90s Ducati 900SS but have found my legs just don't seem to bend that way anymore! All I am after is some friendly advice and an opportunity to sit on the bike ... no rides required :-) Any comments or help would be appreciated and feel free to use the email below. Thanks very much. Regards, Al Winnipeg, Manitoba laverda_jota@yahoo.com I've got an early V11. I'm 6'4", and I installed a footpeg relocation kit by Evolusione, now not available. It would have been a difficult long term ownership without the extra legroom. Steve Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greg Field Posted September 23, 2009 Share Posted September 23, 2009 Well, I think I have one of those Evoluzione kits in stock. They work well for folks who have big feet. Less well for others. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NakedV Posted September 23, 2009 Share Posted September 23, 2009 I'm 6'2" and at 47 no longer as bendy as I was but have no problems with the standard set up on naked sport. Right handed too! Regards, Mick. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
laverda_jota Posted September 23, 2009 Author Share Posted September 23, 2009 There may be an obvious answer but I need to ask. As I mentioned above, in my pursuit of returning to 2 wheels I have also been looking at mid-90s Ducati’s and wondered about the maintenance of a Moto Guzzi? I do have access in Winnipeg to a local Ducati dealer if required but am unaware of a Guzzi presence here and as a result would have to do most of it myself. I would like to perform some (most?) of the maintenance myself where possible. Does anyone have any experience with the regular maintenance of the 2 brands? Is the Guzzi much more 'user friendly' than a Ducati? All I have to compare this all to is a 1979 Laverda! Comments welcome. Thanks again. Al Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ponti_33609 Posted September 23, 2009 Share Posted September 23, 2009 mid-90s Ducati’s and wondered about the maintenance of a Moto Guzzi? FWIW - I am a return to riding guy (after 25 years) who also loook and lusted after a Ducati. I am not a mechanic and I soon discovered thru my research that Duc's need to be serviced professionally and more freqeuntly and Guuzi's can be kept well running much easier and by even a non mechanic like I am. This was a major factor in me choosing a Guzzi. 2+ years of ownership and have done everything myself and found it to be very easy with little more than a 3/8 ratchet, metric sockets and hex set. Another thing I learned and liked was the many folks have > 100K miles on their Guzzi. I saw a quote here by someone "how many ducati's do you see in your travels with more than 30-40K miles on them?" or something like that. Best of Luck, Bob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve G. Posted September 24, 2009 Share Posted September 24, 2009 There may be an obvious answer but I need to ask. As I mentioned above, in my pursuit of returning to 2 wheels I have also been looking at mid-90s Ducati’s and wondered about the maintenance of a Moto Guzzi? I do have access in Winnipeg to a local Ducati dealer if required but am unaware of a Guzzi presence here and as a result would have to do most of it myself. I would like to perform some (most?) of the maintenance myself where possible. Does anyone have any experience with the regular maintenance of the 2 brands? Is the Guzzi much more 'user friendly' than a Ducati? All I have to compare this all to is a 1979 Laverda! Comments welcome. Thanks again. Al I curently own an'81 Laverda Jota, since 1991, own a V11 Sport since new, 2001, and have owned 2 Ducati's, both 2 valve models. My experience is direct. The V11, the early ones, had teething issues, most had to do with cheap parts outsourcing, the list is long, and in the first 2 yrs, it was embarrasing owning this thing as it was quiting almost regularly. All of it was super easy to figure out, which made it all the more hard to take because M.G. should have taken care of it at the factory. Now that proper relays have been very inexpensively installed, fuel lines properly heat shielded, and vibration incapable parts retrograded, the thing is as trouble fee as my FJR Yamaha. Valve tappet adjustement is super easy, and as yet, have not gone out of adjustement @ 48,000kms. Your lack of dealer support could only be an issue if you needed to do a tune up which needed an ECU hook up. My Ducati experiences were difficult years, as the machine is tougher to do the top end adjustement, which must be done regularly, and is expensive at the dealer. They are fragile in the scheme of things. Ducati ownership almost swore me of Italian bikes!! The machines are vastly superior road bikes with peerless handling and balance, but there's a price. Laverdas are very tough mechanically, and because they out sourced the best equipement available when they made them, irregardless of country of origin, their reputation as solid machines is backed up. In 75,000 miles, my Laverda has yet to cause any issues mechanically, only a Nippon Denso regulator/rectifier which fried a good battery has reared it's head. I think the M.G. engine may be slightly tougher as far as 'extreme' mileages are concerned, more to do with the different bearings Laverda and Guzzi employ. We're still talking about Laverda engines regularly going 200,000kms between crank rebuilds, vs stories of Guzzi's going 300,000kms, worthy bragging rights, but how many really go that far in a riding lifetime. Not sure of the slightly higher state of tune of a V11 is going to alter engine lifespans. Steve Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
laverda_jota Posted September 25, 2009 Author Share Posted September 25, 2009 Thanks for the thorough answer Steve, appreciated, great comparison. The more I read the more likely a Moto Guzzi is in my future vs a Ducati if it is to be a one bike family ... and it is :-) My next hurdle is the whole 'import to Canada process'. The RIV inclusion list is quite explicit and I am wondering if models like the Scura, Ballabio are considered 'children' of v11 Sports or are they there own model? I have corresponded with a Ballabio owner and his title lists the series body as Ballabio and the model as blank ... which may all be moot as this Ballabio is a 2004 which seems to be RIV compliant. I did get the VIN ... is anyone aware of Moto Guzzi friendly VIN decoder tool/app? Nothing but questions! Thanks again. Al Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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