Talking Italian.......

[Chriswilly]

Owned a T3 California for years - went everywhere - on road - off road - until my first trip on the M5 - big screen (sail) 'Bow waves' you can imagine the 'fight' I had.

Bought a California 1200 and could never set it up correctly - also weighed a ton

Several V50's - superb commutors - especially with those linked brakes - so easy to work on.
Love them!
'Luv Em'

[350TSS]

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Lovely, always wanted a lemon, never even ridden one, but it looks fast on the stand.
Maybe one day

[emzedder]

Years ago my mates T3 started knocking just before leaving for TT. he changed the big end shells in situ and did the TT fortnight no problem !

[Flip]

Wow!!!

What a response- thank you all!

Collectively you have made me really 'need' to ride a Guzzi and luckily for me there is a dealership a few miles away in Chichester who may have a demo or two.

Originally Posted by alan s4

Gratuitous opportunity to show pic of my Guzzi 1100, opposite side of the spectrum admittedly, Bloody loved mine, goes into the "wish I had never sold" category........

Yeah that will always be a lovely looking beast.

There's a funny little independent shop in West Chiltington. When I say shop I mean like a shop where parts for sale are in sideboards and Oak dining room cabinets who have had a few Ghezzi and Brian bikes in over the years which I think used that motor.

https://www.dimarino.co.uk/

Originally Posted by Doggy

Never had a guzzi or ridden one. Now I feel like I'm missing out!.

Exactly how I have been feeling for a while

[Flip]

Originally Posted by rbt1548

Hi Flip.
I have had, up til now 5 Guzzis,

My £75 Mk1 Le Mans
V11 Le Mans
1000S
Bellagio
T3,

Each one is different, but inherently the same, if you know what I mean. They are all fairly easy to work on apart from a clutch change as it's a bit of a pain to get to but you can 'crab' the frame, (unbolt bottom rails and a few other bits and lift the frame up leaving engine sitting there!), not so hard as it sounds. People mention Italian Electrics, they are no worse of than any other bike if you look after them, ensuring connectors are clean and not damaged etc. Relay's can be a bugbear but change them for some from Pyro Dan in US, dirt cheap and really good quality.

I am going to contradict myself here, on the Bellagio, and possibly I think the early Griso, Grumpy may confirm more, there can be instrument panel gremlins, I think it's to do with dampness but there is a workaround by drilling a couple of wee holes in the bottom corner of the cluster. If you go for an early one change the switch gear for Triumph starter on the right and Yamaha for lights etc., as the early switch gear, (lego), is not very sturdy at the least! I have wiring diagrams to do this but it's simple.

As mentioned they will go on for ever if, like everything else, they are looked after.
If you are looking for a comfortable tourer an early Cali or variant, but stay away from those with chrome wheels as they put the chrome on top of the alloy rims and the chrome flakes, I can't remember what years but I can find out easily.
The big Cali, the 1400, is exactly that, BIG, and from reading reports it take about 2 hours to remove the rear wheel as a lot of the bike has to be worked on.

I know of a couple that are probably for sale, a lovely Ballabio at a decent price and a Daytona similar to Alan s4's.

My head if full of useless gumpf regarding Guzzis sorry,and there are few good forums, http://www.guzziriders.org/forums.html being one, and there are others too some worldwide.

The spares situation is very good with mostly enthusiasts running spares shops, Gutsibits in UK springs to mind.

Sorry about my droning on!, and sorry for, like Alan, a gratuitous link to my 1000S on the day I sold it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lEu0...ature=youtu.be

Some great information there- thank you!!!

[Flip]

Originally Posted by Mr Gazza

Don't know much about the contemporary ones but the oldies are very rugged classics. Now a V7 Sport in Lime green would be the one!!

That is beautiful, in the same way an original (drum braked) Laverda 750 SF is and much like the SF I should imagine fetching serious money these days.

I actually really like the look of the newer V7's and the earlier reincarnations are without ABS and rider modes I believe and also don't seem to fetch a fortune so there is a possibility there if a Cali proves too much of a heavyweight.

Originally Posted by Dukedesmo

Can't comment on the later Guzzis although I'd quite like a Griso but as a teenager, I lusted after (amongst other things) an 850 Le Mans which I thought was just the coolest sports bike ever.

Had to wait a few years to realise the dream and, even after all these years it doesn't disappoint.

Seems like a good opportunity to post a gratuitous pic;

Always loved the Le Mans too and always happy to see a photo of yours- thanks again for posting.

So that is my mind made up, I am definitely going to get a ride on one somewhere, not overly bothered on the model to begin with as I want to know what that motor feels like.

I still want to ride a Hardly~Ableson just because I never have. I have been up to a big main dealership near Guildford with the intention of taking out one of their many demonstrators. I know loads of people love them but I just haven't been able to get past the 'Mr Ben Fancy Dress Shop' part of it to let myself take one out.

I rode a BMW R nine T a year or so ago and liked it but from the factory it's not all day comfortable even with the optional comfort seat- I know it could probably be addressed but while there are other options to explore I want to see what grabs me.

In the Summer I test rode a Ducati Scrambler which again was okay if a little underwhelming (my Monster has a lot more character I thought), plus the tank range is (like several Harley's) ridiculously restrictive for going decent distances.

So I have some serious thinking to do as whatever I get I will need to juggle my garage around and I don't really want to sell any motorcycles to do it- the Monster (obviously) and my Vespa are definitely staying.

I don't particularly want to sell my Yamaha Thundercat as it's a bike I don't worry about leaving anywhere and if I need to commute in the future it would be perfect but if someone offered me a sensible price I might part with it.

But that only leaves my race bike and although I haven't raced for a few years it is a bloody lovely thing to have although part of me thinks it's a shame for it to only get run around the block instead of on track whereas another road bike would get used.

Maybe I'll put the 'Cat and the race bike on eBay in the New Year and whichever one sells makes my decision?

Oh the dilemma......

[jerry]

GuZZI V7 UK price about £8500

Thailand Price £ 17,500 !!!!!!!!!!!

Ducati Monster 797 in Thailand £ 10,400 made in thailand
Ducati Monster 821 in Thailand £12,500 made in Thailand

Triumphs are made in Thailand 3 factories here but they are 20% more expensive here than UK even though VAT is only 7%

mind u go in to Tesco UK for £50 you get 4 bags of shopping ,, in Tesco thailand ,, £50 will only get you 2 bags its now very expensive in Thailand everthing apart from fuel and property is a ripoff ,, mobile phone call costs and internet ar 3 times UK costs ..

as u can see thailand is a ripoff with zero service or backup as well

If i did not have family here i would bale out and spend winter in Spain or Southern Italy ... many westerneres and Japs are baling out of Thailand its no longer a great place ,,

[crawsue]

I had a V11 sport "Rosso Mondello", lots of carbon bling as standard but although comfortable ,I never settled with the vibes. It had an unusual clutch action and the local Guzzi guy could never get the ECU set properly. It always drew admiring glances, but somehow I never "trusted " it....punted it to an Irish enthusiast who sorted the clutch ....he's still got it 10 years later.

[Dennis menace]

And for the shorter rider I have a 1985 V50 that goes well.
The bike has 16 inch wheels and I lowered the rear using shorter Hagon shocks without affecting the handling. The seat is standard. I had an inch removed from the centre stand (sleeved and welded) and now the bike fairly rolls onto the stand with virtually no effort. The Bosch starter is better than the Lucas one.
I would recommend the V50 for shorter riders, male and female.
Dennis

[Chriswilly]

My first Guzzy was a V50 11 in orange!
Second was a T3 California in black (of course)
A V50 Monza
A California 1100 which I could never ride properly - too short in the ass!

The T3 was a dream - did thousands of miles on her - not recommended on the motorway due to the monster FLAT screen.
Haven't had the pleasure of riding a modern Guzzy - yet.

[Darren69]

They made some badass tractors too!

https://mensgear.net/2015/12/moto-gu...meccanico.html

[Blah blah]

In my yoof, I really fancied a V35 Imola 2, something about the way they looked just hit the spot, and there's a guy at work with a pale blue 1980s V50 Monza (perhaps??) and Lafraconis and that looks and sounds lush as well.

Mind you, I quite fancied a Gilera Nordwest as well, so I may have no taste...

[Blah blah]

I hate these sorts of threads.

After remembering about the Nordwest and a quick search of the tinternet for them, I've now found the Gilera CX125 and Chrono so will probably spend the next hour looking at / reading about old Italian strokers (I shouldn't have sold the Benelli 2C...)

[Grumpy]

Originally Posted by Blah blah

In my yoof, I really fancied a V35 Imola 2, something about the way they looked just hit the spot, and there's a guy at work with a pale blue 1980s V50 Monza (perhaps??) and Lafraconis and that looks and sounds lush as well.

Mind you, I quite fancied a Gilera Nordwest as well, so I may have no taste...

There is something sweet looking about the Imola look on a Guzzi.
There was a V50 with Imola body work at the last Bristol Italian Day I attended about 5 years again. I stood and admired the bike for ages.

[jerry]

The small block guzzi sump is a bit small and oil level must be checked regularly or an extended sump fitted adds another litre + of oil