BOLD STATEMENT: The big V-twin motor dominates the side view of the bike. Pictures: DAVE ABRAHAMS

Moto Guzzi V11 Le Mans – it's a grand tourer

November 25, 2003

By Dave Abrahams

I had set myself the goal of attending three events in 16 hours, separated by 600km of hard riding. I needed a genuine gran turismo motorcycle, something big and comfortable but capable of maintaining very high average velocities over long distances.

A phone call to Ashley Baud of Veloce netted me the loan of a Moto Guzzi V11 Le Mans, the latest incarnation in a famous line of road expresses. I hoped it would fit the bill.

The V11 has a 1064cc version of the venerable transverse V-twin motor that has seen nearly four decades of service in motorcycles. It now has fuel injection and an oil cooler but the layout is unchanged and the crankcases are the same as on my partner's 1981 Le Mans II.

I can see why the driveshaft is the way it is but would still have preferred the universals to be enclosed, as they were on the originals.

The front end has 40mm Marzocchi upside-downies, fully adjustable, and twin 230mm discs with Brembo four-pot Gold Series callipers and braided hoses. The brakes, given the bike's 226kg dry weight, don't work as well as they do on lighter machinery but a firm squeeze hauls the bike down with authority.

The styling is an odd mixture of very pretty and downright cobby; the fairing is superb, stylish and effective, the fuel tank is long and slim, almost austere, but still holds 23 litres. The switchgear is standard CEV "made for Honda" stuff identical to the early FireBlades; no complaints there, it's among the best in the business.

The instruments, mounted on a plain slab of carbon fibre, are so retro they look like a caricature. Two plain round dials with white faces are all you get but they are vastly easier to read at a glance than more modern instruments – and those on the test bike proved remarkably accurate, which is very unusual for Veglia Borletti products.

The wide, flat seat and bulbous tailpiece don't suit the rest of the bike but they make up a sumptuously comfortable office. Although not softly padded, the seat is broad enough for the pilot to move around as much as he wants, thus postponing the onset of the dreaded Numb Bumb Syndrome

I got on the road at Killarney, outside Cape Town, at ten to six on Saturday evening and headed for the Beaver Rally at Barrydale, 261km away. Just two hours and 35 minutes later I was taking pictures at the rally, which included a 15-minute fuel stop and slowing down drastically while riding through a thunderstorm.

Nearly all motorcycle motors have what is known as a sweet spot; a particular rev-band where they run smoothest. On the V11 this is right on the torque peak at 5800rpm,which equates to 160km/h. At those revs the Le Mans runs absolutely smoothly - if only it were possible to commute at that speed!

The bike's handling is a little odd; it seems a little twitchy in a straight line but soon settles down on long sweeps except for an occasional long, slow headshake. Yet the steering is remarkably heavy and I often found myself using real muscle to make the big Guzzi go where I wanted.

I needed to be back in Cape Town early on Sunday morning, so I left Barrydale at 4.55am and headed for Cape Town with the road to myself and the dawn coming up over my shoulder. Along the way, in the cool, dense pre-dawn air, the bike achieved an indicated 238km/h top speed; however, it also displayed a prodigious thirst, averaging 8.5 litres/100km for the entire 600km trip.

You need all of those 23 litres at speed; in fact the reserve light comes on after about 185km but you can still ride another 65km before you're in danger of running out of fuel.

Despite a long stop for fuel and coffee, I was standing at Cape Town's Waterfront at 7.30am, fresh, uncramped and relaxed. The bike had done what I needed it to do, safely, swiftly and with truly Continental style.

The Le Mans isn't a commuter and, at 226kg, is no sports bike but it's superbly comfortable for long periods at thoroughly naughty speeds; for those of us who feel the need to kill a lot of bugs before breakfast, man, it's a grand tourer.

Specifications:

Motor: Air-cooled 90-degree transverse V-twin four-stroke.
Capacity: 1064cc
Bore x stroke: 92 x 80.2mm.
Valvegear: Pushrod with two valves per cylinder.
Compression ratio: 9.5:1.
Power: 67kW at 7800rpm.
Torque:97.8Nm at 5800rpm.
Induction:Marelli electronic fuel-injection.
Ignition: CDI electronic.
Starting: Electric.
Transmission: Six-speed constant mesh gearbox with shaft final drive.
Suspension: 40mm Marzocchi inverted cartridge forks adjustable for preload, compression and rebound damping at front, nitrogen-charged monoshock with remote reservoir and rising rate linkage, adjustable for preload, compression and rebound damping with rising rate linkage at rear.
Brakes: Twin 230mm discs with Brembo four-pot opposed piston floating callipers at front, 282mm disc with twin-pot opposed piston calliper at rear.
Tyres: Front: 120/70 – ZR17 tubeless. Rear: 170/60 – ZR17 tubeless.
Wheelbase: 1471mm.
Seat height: 800mm.
Dry weight: 226kg.
Fuel capacity: 23 litres.