The Moto Guzzi 850 LeMans II took the marque’s sportiest offering from the ’70s and updated its styling and technology for the new decade. What had been born in the mid-70s as the high-compression, big-carb version of Guzzi’s familiar v-twin standard was updated with air-assisted forks, linked brakes and Nikasil cylinder walls.
The 850 LeMans II also got a new wind tunnel-tuned half fairing, that now encased a square headlight and integrated turn signals. Little else changed with the big Goose’s styling, but the front-end revamp was striking enough to suggest this was a new machine.
The 850 LeMans II is fairly rare in this country, with the American market being saddled with the LeMans Mark II CX100 in this bike’s stead. The CX100 punched the big vee out to 1,000 cc, but is generally considered the more ponderous and compromised of the two bikes, displacement notwithstanding.
This example gets ridden regularly in the spring and summer, according to the seller, though never in rain. It has covered just 11,000 miles in its 36 years, and is in impeccable shape. The paint and soft parts are not faded or damaged, though the bike does not look factory fresh.
From the seller:
The 1981 Moto Guzzi Le Mans II that you see in this ad is a bike as we understand it that was not generally imported into the United States. Most people are familiar with the Le Mans I 750 but many collectors here in the United States have not had the opportunity to see and ride a Le Mans II 850.
This 1981 Moto Guzzi Le Mans II is part of a very serious automotive and motorcycle collection in Chicagoland. The collection has many post war Italian highly collectible motorcyles from the 1970s and 1980s. The owner of the collection has said that all the Italian motorcycles sound and handle terrifically but the Le Mans II is superior in the handling to just about all the other Italian sport bikes. It not only sounds great but has that extra 100 cc over the Le Mans I that gives it a little more boost off the line and top end. And as the current owner says, “it just reads your mind” in terms of what you would like it to do in terms of handling.
This bike is kept on a trickle charger and is only filled with aviation fuel and currently has between 50 and 200 miles put on it per season. It is always available to be instantly started twelve months a year but of course is only taken out in summer months and never when it is wet.
The detailing and fit on this bike are exceptional and it is hard to find a single mark on the mufflers considering they are a flat black finish; they could easily be scuffed if somebody were neglecting total care of the bike but are still near perfect. This bike has been babied its entire life and is a very rare bike in the motorcycle collecting world and deserves the continuing care that it has had over the last 36 years. The owner does want the bike to go to a good home and if you are interested in talking further about it, call 847-668-2004 cell from 10:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. CST we would be happy to discuss details and price. An extremely rare piece of history.
To get your hands on this piece of rare and collectible Italian motorcycling history, reach out to the seller at the above number or by email: adreply514@gmail.com
