America may have talent, but it’s the Italians who have Style. Whether its the super sexy shape of a Bimota, the hypercycle approach of Ducati, the engine-first stance of a Benelli, the unconventional-but-standard look of a Laverda, or the iconic “stick your cylinders out like you just don’t care” of a Moto Guzzi, Italian bikes…
Update 6.17.2020: This bike has SOLD! Congratulations to buyer and seller! -dc The 2001 Moto Guzzi V11 Sport may smack of a Ducati Monster killer on a quick glance, based on stance, nationality and number of cylinders. But to buttonhole the 1,100cc v-twin bruiser that way would be to handicap it. As reviewers at the…
While we here on RSBFS tend to favor the original over the modified, sometimes there is a clean enough project bike that deserves some attention. I believe this V11 is one such bike, and I think you will by the time you get to the bottom of this post. Pull up a chair, grab some…
In spite of its shaft drive and pushrod valvetrain, the original Moto Guzzi Le Mans went head-to-head against bikes like the Ducati 900SS. Unlikely as it might seem, it held its own, but later generations gradually lost ground on the competition. A new platform and six-speed gearbox introduced in 2000 on the V11 Sport was…
Guzzi is one of the oldest and most storied motorcycle manufacturers in existence, but they’ve drifted pretty far from their sporting roots in recent years, owing to their purchase by Piaggio, a move that has kept them afloat, but forever relegated to building vintage-styled and cruisers to prevent them competing with more sports-oriented bikes from…
Much like the Ducati 900SS FE we featured last week, today’s reborn Moto Guzzi V11 Le Mans is a bike for riders who value a bit of history and real-world performance over high horsepower numbers, racetrack manners, and the newest technological acronyms. And when I say “legacy,” I mean legacy: the longitudinally-mounted 90° v-twin found…
Set the way-back machine for 1975 and attend EICMA (Esposizione Internazionale Ciclo Motociclo e Accessori) in Milan, there you’ll see the original bikini-faired Moto Guzzi 850 Le Mans, the iconic basis for the long line of Le Mans-badged machines. The torquey long-wheelbase heavyweights were ( and are ) the cornerstone of Guzzi’s line-up. 2003 Moto…
Moto Guzzi created the Coppa Italia in celebration of Moto Guzzi taking part in the Italian naked bike championship of 2003. All the special bits you would expect were used on the bike, Brembo brakes, Ohlins suspension as well as lightweight Brembo wheels. The bike also has got a rather tasty tri-colore paint scheme that…
