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Great post, do like the Moto Guzzis.
A few years back I restored a Moto Guzzi V11, posted progress here with lots of interest ,not really a bike that's vintage in years but a bit of Classic before it's day has come really . Anyway I've done another two that have just been completed and some of the work is detailed here for anyone that's interested .
Old school engineering, weight and general lack of performance compared to the Japanese contenders of the same period meant that the V11 was fairly short lived in production terms for a Guzzi. However what it lacked in outright performance terms it more than made up for in style and character .Contary to popular belief , Italian bikes don't always break down......kiss of death for me .........but honestly in mechanical terms Guzzi has stuck to the same sort of engine design of the cross frame mounted 90 degree V twin for years, the engine like BMW's opposed boxer engine is a dinosaur, that has just been refined and improved over many years. It's completely over engineered, as is the frame and both will serve you well forever if looked after. The electrical systems were the weak points as was finish in the early bikes, this is where investment was concentrated on later models . They are easy to work on and simple enough without any fancy electronic aids. Soulful engines that sound glorious with a deep thunderous tone even as standard. As I say it's got old school charm before it's old, and character that Japanese bike lack most of the time .
Moto Guzzi has had a troubled history and in the early 2000's Moto Guzzi was sold to first Aprilia and then piagio group . During the Aprilia reign , the V11 was the flagship model sports bike of Moto Guzzi and Aprilia invested a lot of money and build quality of the later V11's , post 2002 was vastly improved. The bike was produced from 1998 till 2005 with the last remaining stock being knocked out over 2006/2007. During this time they produced a number of limited edition bikes that came with full ohlins suspension , brembo gold line brakes, carbon fibre panels and various other goodies and these bike now command a higher premium over the standard bikes . Some models are very scarce in the U.K. And both the bikes you see here are less than 10 originally imported to the UK , both these bikes had to be imported from the EU.
You will note that one of these bikes started life as a limited edition Cafe Sport model, in a brown and grey metallic paint scheme. Only 8 were imported to the Uk . Though this bike was originally intended as a ltd edt of 500 The story goes that due to the Colour it didn't sell to well world wide and they changed the last 100 bikes, that originally started out as Cafe Sports into what they call a Coppa Italia model. None of these made it to the UK , mainly sold in Japan and Australia with 47 going to the USA. Being as I needed to do extensive work on the Cafe Sport I imported , I decided to change the colour scheme to the Coppa Italia colours as I much prefer that look. After reading up on it and calling just about everyone I know in the Guzzi community, there was confusion about the original colours for the Coppa Italia , was it red , white and green or red white and silver ? I've been to the Guzzi museum and seen an original in the flesh and I've even got pictures of it, but it's not clear. Well after talking to Guzzi it was confirmed that the white, is pearlescent and gives the impression of being silver in certain light conditions, it's Italian flag colours they said ( obvious really ) so anyway I have tried to reproduce the colours as best as possible. You will note that originally Guzzi did little more than change the colour scheme to convert the remaining Cafe Sports into Coppa Italia models and that's all I have done.
Anyway here they are guys, sorry this is video heavy .......
This is how they started, Cafe Sport .......and Rosso Corsa ......it should be noted that I bought both of these blind basically so I didn't see them before they arrived at my door !
upload pic
Here is video progress from the start on both bikes up to completion .....some of the audio is crap on the first few videos but the later ones are better, if you can connect to a decent sound system to watch these the engines do sound unite nice in my opinion .
https://youtu.be/QqBV_4dVoOc
https://youtu.be/q3tMRD95tYQ
https://youtu.be/Z7WBoZooyEQ
https://youtu.be/msps57LvPKE
https://youtu.be/g2CBD7s7z4A
https://youtu.be/M7Yyb_FW6zo
https://youtu.be/BJGKDrvMq00
https://youtu.be/VQty5PhITi4
https://youtu.be/RFwOntBjPNA
https://youtu.be/a4zpYKNW2AQ
https://youtu.be/j2ZPda9IhF0
https://youtu.be/wFvravJrLE8
https://youtu.be/JXrfXRStyw0
https://youtu.be/DQjuBCUfYOg
https://youtu.be/6BgmA0FhIiY
https://youtu.be/xYZ9PSxHPbI
https://youtu.be/t_EHhJ0wmMk
https://youtu.be/FvlqPMwjV-k
upload pic
Last edited by BryanEbru1512; 23rd October 2019 at 02:40.
Great post, do like the Moto Guzzis.
Started out with nothing. Still have most of it left.
Many years ago I managed to get my hands on a Guzzi Le Mans. It was probably the bike I loved most. Rock steady in corners and a brilliant twin. I've still got marks on my knees from where the left cylinder head used to bang into my knees. It was a sad day when I had to let it go.
My first bike was a Guzzi. Absolutely lovely sound. Agree they have bags of character. Good for you for giving both of yours a bit of ‘love’!
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My first "proper" bike was also a Guzzi. It was called the Stornello, 125cc single cylinder. I really loved it, coming from a vespa 2 stroke engine
Exactly like this:
http://www.owensmotoclassics.co.uk/w...Turismo_08.jpg
Previously a Beta 50cc moped, then a Vespa Primavera 125 (stolen), then this. At Uni it was replaced with a red Honda CB4 350cc, and a Fiat 500.
A momory evoker....my list is:Originally Posted by Franco
Francis Barnett 197cc field bike
FS1E
Fantic GT
Suzuki GT185
Guzzi 750
Then a whole series of BMs, Hondas, Classic Suzukis (GT380 and T500), Classic RD250LC, modern (ish) Triumphs and (finally) H-Ds (as age now precludes anything fast or forward-leaning...).
Still hanker after an old Le Mans......but unsure I'd fit now.
Remember well the LeMans 750 - one of the friends we went on holiday (Il Rombi) had one. His nickname was "Nonfrena" which means "he does not brake". He was convinced that the behaviour of his LeMans in a bent was so good that did not require any breaking, and he was indeed fast.
But also often having a cast on his arms or legs, and his girlfriends lasted never longer than a summer with him -partially for the bad passenger position, part for the accidents. Mytical figure, mytical bike.
The 750 from that era was the S3; afaik the Le Mans was an 850.
No matter though - all lovely bikes, with lousy electrics!!
You are totally right, it was indeed an 850, and it was just like this:
https://motoborgotaro.com/sold-motor...oguzzi-lemans1
My Le-Mans had a strange braking system. When you applied the foot brake, the back calliper and one front calliper worked together. The hand applied brake operated the other front calliper. This system caused me to come a cropper at one stage. I was riding down a cinder covered lane that was full of pot holes. There was a huge pothole coming up that couldn't be avoided so I had to brake. As the lane was cinder covered I decided the back brake would be better and not cause the front wheel to slide sideways. I'd forgotten one front disk would come on. The slide happened and the bike went over on its side. The worst thing, was the cylinder head hitting the ground and snapping a spark plug. Guess what? I didn't have a spare. Luckily a guy came past on an old BSA who had one under his saddle. I have one picture of the bike but to save my life, I can't find it. I did find a few Guzzi badges though.
The linked brakes were an interesting idea, and followed by Honda to an extent.
That Series One Guzzi, linked by Franco, would be very big money now. A friend has owned one from new, but he will never be persuaded to part with it....or his S3...unfortunately.
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Mine was a series 1 and in the same colour. I put rear-sets on it and electronic ignition. The lights and indicators used to fill with water when it rained and the Delorto carbs were also a weak spot in the rain.
Ahh the Mk1 ......that is my next project I believe, looking around there are lots of Mk2's about that have been converted to look like MK1's , so I might have to take that route if nothing comes up . In the mean time I will be enjoying these two, was out on one yesterday and the other today. Just shaking them down so to speak after the restorations, so far so good. Basically the same bikes, just with differing handle bar configuration and fairings. Both handle very sweetly indeed and the engine torque and exhaust note is so addictive .
Really lovely bikes thanks for sharing. I had a mate in Salisbury with an 1100 sport that was stunning, and he could make it shift! Really like Guzzis, they’re different from the norm and characterful bikes.
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