For Sale: 1986 Moto Guzzi 1000 Lemans
Like all Italian hardware, this Guzzi LeMans 1000 looks terrific in red. Given, the mono-chromatic paint scheme does reek a bit of the ’80s and has a bit of “Crocket & Tubs” to it, but you can forgive such dated cues when you recall the long history of this brand. It wouldn’t surprise me a bit to find that Noah had a pair of Guzzis in the original ark. After all, Guzzi is the oldest continuously operational motorcycle manufacturer in Europe. Resistant to change, Moto Guzzis have exhibited the same quirky features for eons: transverse v-twin, air cooled, shaft drive, and lots of crankcase webbing on the outside of the cases. While the Japanese brands moved to internal webbing to clean up the looks, Guzzi forges on with what they know. Fortunately, it works very well and seems to last forever.
The heart of the matter is all right here: lots of torque thanks to two valves, a decent flywheel effect and two 500cc slugs loping in those nikasal-coated bores. While the power and torque are satisfying, any Japanese hypercycle larger than 400cc need not fear. Guzzi motorcycles are more like GT bikes – made for long distance, high speed touring (like you might do on the Autostrada or Autobahn). Despite the 16″ front wheel to invoke quicker steering characteristics, the long wheelbase and relatively heavy stance of the LeMans dampen the “cut and thrust” manueverability; meandering roads are your best path to enjoyment.
From the seller:
Riding these great machines gets more difficult as I get older, so I’ve begun to pare down the collection. I had a full set of all 5 LeMans’ and my 2 favorite remain; an early Mk I and this terrific Mk 4. I purchased this bike from the original owner, a true enthusiast who meticulously documented every service, jet change and replacement part. It had 24,700 miles on it 10 years ago when I bought it. The clock now shows 25,826 miles. It’s wearing the original paint with only a few minor chips here and there. It is completely original with the exception of the Bub replacement silencers. It now sports K&N filters, Dyna coils, braided lines and a few other upgrages but the original coills, lines and the air box come with the bike. Also included are several point sets, oil filters, gaskets, fuel lines, extra Ferodo pads, miscellaneous parts and a number of jet changes for the higher altitude runs. I’m 6’3″ and my knees would touch the cylinder heads so I had Sargeant build up a seat to eleviate the problem. If the reserve is met, both seats go with the sale. Tires are probably 50/60% and in fine shape. This classic has not been buggered up or wrenched on. Three years ago, I did replace the clutch, pressure plate and throw out bearing along with a new cable. Does have a fresh battery and a high intensity headlight, but again, original is included.This LeMans rides, brakes and handles wonderfully. It is a fun ride. Included in the sale is the original factory brochure, decals, owners manual, shop manual and a MGNOC newsletter cross-reference manual.
Like most Moto Guzzi LeMans models we see, this one has had long-term ownership and has been well loved. This is typical; Guzzis, like Beemers, then to be long-term relationship type of bikes. This might be because of the longevity, or because while they do not do any one thing in spectacular fashion, they do everything reasonably well. It helps that they are overbuilt and last for what seems forever; with 25k on the odometer this particular bike is just getting broken in.
The investment market has not smiled on these later generation LeMans models like it has for the Series I bikes. The upside is that prices are very reasonable for a competent machine such as this one. The auction is currently at $4,050 (reserve not yet met) with moderate bidding. There is still much to play for, and you can check out the details and photos by jumping over to the auction. Good Luck!
MI
