Five and a half months later....

[O2 V11]

It all started about Christmas last year, like it does to some of us, I knew I just needed (not wanted) a new V11 Sport, which I was going to import into New Zealand from the U.S. Having previously owned a V65 and not having owned a bike for 16 years it really was time. I had my heart set on a Green 2000/2001, but it seemed I was too late for a new one. I did not want to buy a pre owned one. Eventually I decided to go ahead and buy one of the many leftover 2002 Sport Naked models which were designated 2003 by M.G. I settled on a grey coloured one.The driving force behind the decision to import was the value of our dollar vs. the greenback. At the time ours was on a 7 year high. So on Feb 12th I paid $7145 for the bike and freight to have it delivered to my shipper's yard in Sun Valley from Marina Del Ray, CA. So far no problems, my shipper who deals in car parts and travels regularly to the U.S. was a bit behind schedule so I asked they hold off delivery until he arrived. When it was time, the sales manager who has since left was very unhelpful, it took my man in CA at least 4 calls to get the delivery made (he was just too busy to talk at the time...). From the onset I had been e-mailing these people asking that all the sales documentation be posted to me in New Zealand and copies be delivered with the bike. You guessed right, the bike eventually arrived in N.Z with no documentation at all, I was told the M.S.O. had been lost somewhere between the shop and my shipper!! After e-mails and phone calls, I received a faxed bill of sale which satisfied our Customs people. I picked the bike up on June 18th. I could not register the bike here unless I had original documentation, no faxed copies thank you very much. One reply to an e-mail requesting original documents was unbelievable, basically the sales person was told by the G.M. that he couldn't send anything more. I eventually contacted one of the co-owners who said it would be sorted. In the mean time I had been talking to the entry certifiers here and they were happy with me only needing this documentation. Once the much awaited letter arrived I was off to the testing station only to find the guy I was dealing with had left.The new man had no experience in dealing with new bikes like mine only zillions of used Japanese cars which we import into N.Z. After another two weeks of waiting for him to get guidance, yesterday July 28th, I finally got the bike on the road. The biggest problem was the headlight, after changing my lens to the right hand drive BMW ($125 N.Z.) part, it still had on dim, a slight kick up to the right. In order to get the big tick on the checksheet, I had to rotate the lens to the left!

Today was spent removing all the pollution crap (including tip over valve) and fitting licence plate. No fun taking the tank off, after removing the fuel line only to find the tap was still dribbling fuel out. Had to get the pump pliers on to the tap and put real pain on it to stop the gas coming out. I'm smiling now... When I paid for my bike in Feb. I could have bought the same bike here for $23995, mine owes me only $13,300 excluding on road costs of $490.

Given the fact I had never seen a V11 in the flesh until I picked mine up. As well as having no warranty with the 2002 model (warts and all) I am very,very pleased. For me it is back to basically learning to ride all over again, first impressions after a 2 mile ride each way to the testing station yesterday were all good.

To the technical side of this post, do other bikes when initially started, drip water(condensation) from the exhaust where the muffler is attached to the crossover? Everything is tight and in the right place.

 

 

Rob

02 V11 Sport Naked

[jrt]

Glad to hear it all got sorted out in the end. Mine does not drip condensed water (I hope its condensed) out of the mufflers, but occasionally I do see some steam out the end of the pipe. I'd guess you have some water in the crossover- drive 50-100 miles to get it good and hot and dry.

Jason

[docc]

Sure thing. It looks like maybe shipping across the ocean caused the exhaust to gather water. Nothing a good blowing out on NZ roads won't fix!

 

Having only read about the roads there I imagine you have the perfect bike to rejoin your riding life. And with no warranty ( what no dealer in NZ??) , I expect we'll be hearing more from you here.

 

Good riding and look well ahead! docc

[al_roethlisberger]

....let me guess, you bought it from Orange County Guzzi didn't ya?

 

 

If so, yeah there's a "price to be paid" for their bargain-basement prices I guess

 

I, along with a lot of dealers will be much happier once they sell out of the infamous "Wal-bikes". I've actually heard a class-action lawsuit is in the works against MGNA and OC from a few other dealers with regard to the under-the-table deal OC got on the batch of bikes, such that they can sell new bikes out the door for less than the cost other dealers pay for the same bike <_>

 

Then because OC's follow-on service is so poor(or the buyer isn't local), guess which shops get the loss-leading warantee work?

 

...and of course, the bargain basement pricing does wonders for resale

 

Sorry for the rant, but if this bike is one of the infamous "OC stock", a lot of buyers have had similar experiences with poor follow on service. It's too bad really.

 

 

But, for those that got a great deal, regardless of where the bike was bought

 

Glad to hear you finally got it all sorted out though, and are finally on the road Sounds like you went through the wringer

 

al

[Guest IanJ]

Rob, I spent two weeks in NZ in February, and let me just say, I envy you. I spent a lot of time driving with my parents in their Toyota Windom (imported from Japan, naturally). What a big pig of a car for those lovely NZ roads. I spent the whole time desperately wishing I had my Le Mans or even my EX250. Anything with two wheels.

 

I think I need to go back to NZ some time in the future, and bring a bike, a wad of cash, and about a month of free time. It'd still be just a taste, but ever so nice.

 

Glad to hear your cheap-as-cheap-can-be bike is working out. Don't worry about the condensation, just ride the bike for an hour or so, and it should clear up. If it comes back after/before every ride, then you can start worrying.

 

My (not yet complete) description of my trip

[O2 V11]

This morning dawned fine and frosty. Once the frost had lifted I took a 65 mile

ride. Certainly took care of the condensation problems. I certainly am a bit rusty on the corners but the bike is really nice to ride. Having read so much about handlebar changes I was expecting something different to ride, no problems at all. Being 6 foot tall with a 30" inseam, I seem to fit the bike well. Bit early to make a call on handlebar vibrations. This time of the year in the south of N.Z. even on a fine day if it gets to 10 / 50 degrees we are doing well. More temperature related than anything else. Heaps of grunt and unbelievable engine braking, spent all the time between 4 and 5 k doing 60 to 90 mph. Very enjoyable.

I just can't wait for summer...

In my post I said I have no warranty, this is because firstly M.G.N.A. never replied to my e-mail requesting a transfer of the warranty. The warranty that came with the bike covers North America and the E.U.only. Secondly I contacted a representative of the N.Z. importer and he politely told me that as he was an individual importer he did not think M.G.N.A. owned by M.G. would re-imburse him for any work he would do. Translated roughly, if I had spent a lot more cash and bought from him I would have a warranty.

al, I didn't buy from OC but yes,the service and price was the same as

theirs by all accounts.

I'm pleased you enjoyed your stay in N.Z. Ian, I'll be checking for the rest of your posting. We live at the bottom of the South Island, a lot less people and more sheep than Auckland has, ..baa... Yes, I intend to leave a little bit of sidestand on

Queen Charlotte Drive myself one day. Really interesting your perspective on Kiwi drivers, we just make do with what we've got and get into it.

Another interesting thing, one day while in my shed I leant my bike way over to

the left and when I put back on the sidestand I noticed this really rusty puddle on the floor and a few dribbles on my bike. At the time I couldn't for the life of me

see where this rusty water came from. Yesterday, after removing my canister I could see where it came from. It was from inside my swingarm, you can see in the picture where the crud dribbled down the swingarm as I leant it all the way over.

 

Rob

[O2 V11]

I missed sending the picture with the last posting, I'll try again

 

Rob

[docc]

Looks like the bike must have gotten really wet in shipping. Maybe they straped it down on the foredeck?

 

At some point you might want to check the rear drive splines, shaft splines, u-joints and the swingarm bearings for grease. The bearing seals can be opened and frsh grease put in. better this than waiting for something to seize.

[jrt]

Docc, that's a really good point. Since Rob just had his bike shipped, there's a good probablility that there was no 'setup' for the bike. Rob, 4 or 5 hours invested now will save you many more hours and dollars later.

J