V11 Sport

[R Doug]

I am convinced the V11 Sport or the Le Mans with an aftermarket exhaust is the bike Satan must ride.  

I’m just say’n.  

[photomd]

I had a close friend that had the V11: handling was telepathic and the bars were like trying to hold onto a Gatling gun on the throttle. Cool bike.

[R Doug]

very good description.  

[sagerat]

What did you expect from the Sport Tourer of the Decade?

All kidding aside, I do think the V11 LeMan is the most beautiful motorcycle ever made, just edging the /2.

[Orson]

I had a close friend that had the V11: handling was telepathic and the bars were like trying to hold onto a Gatling gun on the throttle. Cool bike.

hmm...mine isn't quite telepathic  

the earlier variants of the V11 Sport from pre-2001 had 160/60 rear tires & shorter frames, giving it less wheelbase and, some have said, a "twitchier" feel. These would be the red-framed greenie meanies.

As for the later versions, apparently Guzzi went to the 5.5" rim and 180 rear tires on later models. According to some Guzzisti, that was Mandello trying to make a fashion statement by going for the look of a fatter tire, and that the hot set up is a 160/60 tire on a 4.5" rim or a 170 tire on the existing 5.5" rim.

As I'm not interested in setting fast lap times, I've kept on using 180s, as I enjoy the stability in fast sweepers. It is a bit of work in the tight twisties, but only seems to increase the engaging nature of these beasts  

Edit: as for the sound...well, that goes without saying. I've kept my stock pipes and when it starts up inside an enclosed garage, the sound is sweetly mellifluous (a word only seen in the Moto Guzzi section)  

and while the Gatling gun reference might be a bit of an exageration, it's only a slightly accurate portrayal. I have no problems riding my V11 on 8 hour days. The vibes simply don't affect me at all  

[photomd]

Yep...his was a first year red frame, greenie meanie. It was the shorter wheelbase and it changed direction like I would imagine a 250 gp bike would: very quickly. He had slipons from guzzi (don't remember the name) with a power commander set up with an EGA and dyno. You could cruise and feel nice pulsations coming through the bars, but wind it up to the upper rev range and open the throttles and it was like shooting a Gatling gun. You could feel each pulse through the bars: very cool bike

[staedtler]

i had one with race M4's a crossover and a bmc filter... it was banned from hell after a brisk deceleration using the gears...

[EricJ]

^^^^^^^
Beautiful!

[Naked V]

Here's mine.

[desert_rider]

Here's mine.

That's a good looking bike.

[Naked V]

Here's a better picture,  

[velofishy]

Here's the bike that brought Doug to the dark side:



Early short wheelbase with a 150 on the back.  Frankly, I was awfully surprised that he liked it so much.  I thought it would be a letdown after the KTM duke thingy that he rode up on, but Satan's pull is very strong.

He also rode this one:



The consensus seemed to be that it was a good Italian UJM.   That's how I feel about it too.

fish

[R Doug]

Fishy, the Super Duke does not have the character of that V11.  And, that V11 is the single best sounding bike I have ever heard (period).

[atadaskew]

Outstanding work.

[kevin_stevens]

My ex-bike, now belongs to a friend (so I can still ride it!).

KeS