I have a Moto Guzzi V7 Cafe Classic, a reprise of the 1970's v7 Sport, which was one of the first super bikes from Europe. After 40 years not having a bike, it's the perfect fit for me as it's not crazy horsepower, but handles really well in the curves as that's the kind of roads I have here, on the coast of California. It's a bike I understand, no surprises, and lets me live my youth again, much to the chagrin of my wife!

I owned the first incarnation of the 850 Le Mans in about 1979 it was a series 2 with the rectangular tail light. I looked in the store window and thought I just gotta have that beast, hell, it looked like it was doing 120mph on the stand. This model was never the Mk1. it was just 850 Lemans. In looks it was streets ahead of anything the Japanese had on offer. A friend owned a Laverda Jota at the same time. It was the heyday of the Italian super bikes the afore mentioned plus the Ducati 900SS. My Guzzi cost a pound or so shy of 2000 pounds, while the Duke was about 2,300 pounds......It rocked to the right when you blipped the throttle...The carbs sucked in birds if they flew too close to the bell mouths .happy days posing....Hay! girls look at my machinery!!

Guzzis are so cool. They sound like a small block V8, which is awesome.

A Moto Guzzi Le Mans 3 and a Norton Commando MK III - believe me, this is a fantastic garage 😉

One of best looking bikes ever made IMO.

Had a LeMans III in Norway, LeMans IV as a US Guzzi dealer and now have a Norge 8VGT. Definitely connected with this video.

Just picked up a LM1 last week. One of the first shipped to the USA in 76. One of the few 70s bikes that is dependable and rideable today. Good brakes, power and handling.

Truer words never been spoken. Motto Guzzi Moves the soul.

Thanks Mike, I've always had a soft sport for Moto Guzzis, especially the Le Mans.

I love it every time he says 'moto goosie'

Those V11 Sports are really nice. I bought one of the 2001 limited edition V11 Sport Rosso Mandello models brand new. I rode it for 17 years and sold it to a friend (Surj Gish, editor of CityBike) in San Francisco in 2017 to raise money to buy my 1950 Vincent Meteor. I first test rode a V11 Sport in Holland at Teo Lamers (we had no Guzzi dealer in San Antonio). I remember signing a release form in Dutch in order to ride a demo bike they had. To this day, I have no idea what I gave away in signing that release - they probably own my house. In any case, I loved the bike and bought the Rosso Mandello from my closest dealer (MPH in Houston). Magni in Italy makes some wonderful sinuous black megaphones for the V11 Sports. They sound extremely raucous. Thanks, as always, to you and Dave for sharing!

Never fancied or thought to much about MG, but that doesn't stop me enjoying listening to Dave & Terry talking about theirs. Thanks to them for making it to 'The Cul-de-sac' history book, & thank you Mike for stitching.the footage together. atvb t ..

When I was setting up the ignition timing on my MkII Le Mans the flywheel marks were annotated D and S. Thankfully we were taught Latin in school, and Italian for Right and Left is just about the same. You never know when an education in the Classics will come in handy.

My first V11 was green exactly like yours .Kermit 🐸. The V11s are such a great bike

My first bike has been a 2004 MG Nevada. Boatloads of fun, snarls like a wild cat on bad whiskey, and makes me fight to get into first gear almost every time, unless I get her rolling just a little bit first. We fight now and again, and I take wrenches to her insides, then we make up and play some more. Best relationship I've had in years. I have friends with Harleys, friends with Valkyries, who tease me for only having 750 cc's, but you know what? My Guzzi and I are the only two like us in town; a touch of class and a handful of mischief.

A nice pair of Guzzi's. Certainly unique in their configuration. I remember reading about the legendary Moto Guzzi V8 in the magazines back in the late 60's, and fantasizing about ever seeing one for real. Like the saying goes, " variety is the spice of life".

モトグッチ、大好きバイクです。観てるだけで　心　踊りますねー。良い映像をありがとうございます。

That V11 is fine! ... and he is right -- Italian bikes... I learned how to speak some Italian when I owned Ducati's, so I could talk to her and tell her how beautiful she was in her native language

I had a LeMans 3 for many years. Finest of the LeMans marque.

In love. . . watching twice.

Mike Battle As far as Italian bikes, I have owned a ducati 860, moto morini 500 camel, laverda 3cl 1000, cagiva 650, and currently have a 1989 Moto Guzzi Mille GT 1000 and a 2013 Moto Guzzi Stone 750. Have owned several German bikes to include BMW and Zundaps. Grew up with British bikes--meaning Triumph and BSA. Have never been interested in Harley. Owned several Suzuki's to include 2-stroke models and the Wankel rotary 750. The Moto Guzzis have been my favorite above all the rest. Quirky, reliable, tractor-like in that the Japanese "refinement" is not there--but if you love just being connected to machinery and sound--Moto Guzzi! 1 year ago Own a 1989 Moto Guzzi Mille GT that carried me 130 miles on one cylinder at highway speed (even passed other cars) when a plug wire crapped out on a Sunday morning and no options for replacement. Also own a 2013 Moto Guzzi V7 Stone and love its handling, lighter weight, and quality of manufacturing. Have owned Kawasaki, Suzuki, Moto Morini, Laverda, BMW, Triumph, BSA, Zundapp, Indian and will ALWAYS STAY WITH GUZZI!!!

Hy from Germany to Ontario! You drive 850 Le mans, I' m 850T3 Cali from 1978. These bikes are brothers. Just beautiful! Enjoi your rides! Thomas

Still at the drooling over everyone else's Guzzi's Just managed to find my poor man's Guzzi, a 1982 Honda CX650 ! But keeping my eyes open for the right Guzzi for what I am looking for ! Two gorgeous bikes gentlemen ! Thanks for taking the time to share them with us !

Great video and it’s fantastic to see some Guzzi action! Lovely pair of bikes. Have to say there’s something very smart about that MkIII!

Oh MY ! Feel the rumble... Yes I understand the Italian fever! All to well. After a week of wrenching and riding my Brit iron, I think I will take the 900SS out today for a shot at the twistys. Thanks Mike for another great entry and an enjoyable cuppa on Sunday morning.

What a treat.Rode an 850 T3 back in the 70's.Like the self retracting sidestand on the Le Mans.Reminds me of my '55 AJS Model 18.Really good editing Mike.

Big Brit and Guzzi fan here. Owned a lot of both and older Harleys. Still have my very non std T140 i bought new in in 1979. Thats 41 years and counting. Still have my 1989 very non std Guzzi Cali lll i bought around 1999, thats 21 years of ownership. A big regret was selling one of those 8V Centauros that i had, with that BRG gorgeous paint. Another was a 2001 V11. Identical to this one. Red frame, lime green tank, flyscreen, aftermarket pipes, seat cowl, wonderful motorcycle. Sigh.

This is an awesome video Mike - thanks for posting! I know I had mentioned the '84 LM III in a previous video and think Terry really captured the essence of owning a MG when he stated "MG captures the soul"...I watched with quite the sentimental tear at my heart for my red 84 LM III in the final shots as he pulled away. I've never got over owning that beaut more than 30 years after letting her go. Thanks again for posting this - it made my Sunday morning even more glorious that it usually is...

Keep 'em coming please Mike. Mille grazie.

Thank you Gentlemen, to own a early LeMans has always been a dream of mine. 🇺🇸🏍

Thanks for the Guzzi fix. My last new bike was a MG 850 Stone Metal. Great bike

Guzzi’s are cool! Especially with the starter motor that looks like it belongs in my Chevy truck.

The Le Mans is prob the best looking motorcycle ever ...mind you that seat would have to go !

I just love Guzzis!

These kind of films... what a brilliant idea

Had a Guzzi in the 70's for eight years. Soon after began my affair with Harley Davidson. Hay! Nobody's perfect! Another good one Mike. Thanks

Great Video, Both fantastic machines and very nice to ride.

Nice Moto Guzzi's and I have a Moto Guzzi 850 LeMans 2 1980 White Black original color, and renewed this Winter the ignition parts and inside the gas tank cleaning !

Thank you Mike what a beautiful pair of Guzzi’s

Hi Mike, recently discovered your channel and I have really enjoyed every episode. Though I personally don't ride motorcycles I have worked on many of them over the years as most of my family does ride. I love the mechanical aspect of them and your series on restoring your Vincent Rapide was very good. Be safe and keep the videos coming!

Great video both bikes look really nice stay safe 🇬🇧👍🏻

Great Guys..Love their bike 🏍..V11 reminds me of the Early Speed Triple, Colour and tail- Piece.. Another great entertain video..😎🏍🇬🇧🇺🇸🌏

Gotta love a Goose. Love my LMIV.

Good morning Mike something different today .. I went touring with a guy to the pyrenees and he was on a sport same as Daves. Hero, lol take care 🙂

Beautiful beautiful bikes! Red one for me.

Ufffffff BEAUTIFUL BIKES NICE CLEAN 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻

I think the 2001 green sport is the best looking Guzzi ever. I have 2 a 2020v7 and v85tt. I really enjoy the Guzzi bikes.

When I was in my teens in the 1970's, before I could legally ride, the ONLY bike I wanted was a Guzzi, the T3 not the Le mans, oddly (although my fantasy involved immediately bringing the T3 engine up to Le Mans spec/tune). Never happened in the end :-(. However, a friend of mine's brother bought a black/gold Le Mans II (1980?) and then promptly returned to his native Argentina, leaving the bike in Alex's shed (nice and dry). Alex also rode bikes but just wasn't interested in the Le Mans at all (I just couldn't understand it), he had more of a penchant for cruisers. So guess what? I ended up borrowing the Le Mans for weeks and months at time. Loved it's rude'n'crude nature, and It was something of a babe magnet, I have to say.

This is easily better than praying, Mike. On any Sunday! Australia saw a lot of Guzzi’s introduced after many riders liking the power, speed and reliability but not the handling of the Japanese super bikes wanted a cross between the two markets. Something between the English and Japanese bikes and who also did not like the “0utlaw” tag, or attention the Harley riders got. The police here had also moved to the Japanese super bikes and these big Italian motorcycles: Guzzi, Laverda & Ducatti etc could still out pace them. Along with the big English triples and the big 850 Commando they were all unofficially considered at that time as a motorcyclists motorcycle.

That LeMans sounds pretty nice but i finally bought a Moto Guzzi that sounds fantastic! It's a 2003 California Stone, cruiser style but i love it. Has LaFranconi mufflers. All S.S. exhaust including mufflers. Just wrapped the first section of pipes a few days ago.Bought it north of Seattle and rode it back to the Portland area only in Washington along the Columbia river. Only 5,800 miles on it. A startling change from my 1976 i convert which i have not rode in a few years but i remember well how it was to ride. Now i am slowly doing a semi restomod. I am amazed at this Cali Stone and so glad i didn't wuss out and buy a Honda or something with actual dealers a resonable distance away. Well, to pick sort of an orphen brand in the parts and service realm i think i did good. Sure runs like it will keep doing so forever. IT IS AN 1100cc and to me it has great power and i own an 1100XS Yamaha from 1980. Honestly this feels as strong almost and exceeds what my initial expectations were in every way. Oh, almost forgot. it was just dropped from $3,500 to $2,800 on Facebook Marketplace just a couple of months ago. At 68 it was time to stop dreaming about uncomfortable crotch rockets and i like this a lot. Except that it is one of the lower Cali models. Which i like the simplicity but not so much the lower level of trim. I have chrome spoked rims where as the Cali EV and a few others have spoked alloy Borrani wheels like my i convert i think. No ABS or rider modes which i don't miss. Having never had a bike new enough before. For $2,800 my experience riding south nearly 200 miles was not that different than if i had bought a new or very late model for over 10K so to say i am happy is an understatement.

Gootsie as in footsie. Wish I still had either of my Mk2 or Mk3 LeMans'.

Love my Guzzi's and love my Nortons, they definitely compliment each other

love them, I have a Moto Guzzi V7iii special and I'm leaving on Thursday to travel through Europe on it

Splendid Sunday morning movie . I remember back in the 70s Guzzis were popular with people with short legs . Love the Le mans though ..

I rode a buddy's red mk3 like the one there in the mid 80's and I was impressed,I think it had integral braking.

Nice one🙂

So true, the quote..." if you're a bike guy and you sell a bike you're definitely buying guarantee another bike with the most ey. You don't save it. "

Great pair Guzzi’s, nice to hear a bit of their histories. Always fancied a Le Mans mk2. I worked in a Honda main dealers, which was a Triumph (Hinckley), Ducati and Moto Guzzi dealers as well, spent many a hour servicing these wonderful machines 😀 They indeed move the the soul 🙏 Pity about the ad half way through 😏 Have a great week Mike, all the best to you all 👍

2 BEAUTIFUL BIKES GOD BLESS BOTH IN THE ROAD 🙏👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻

Great bikes with plenty of character. Fewer vibes, less oil leaks and more reliable than the British bikes. I toured around Europe in the 80s on a mk1 and mk3 and agree with Terry, they were the best looking Le Mans.

The best looking motorcycle in the history of the universe is the Moto Guzzi lario/1986.. it is a Lemans style, but they gave it a different name because it’s a 650.. I have had for Moto Guzzi’s since 1979.. they ain’t perfect. They have their little glitches, but, I have never been stranded, or had to wait for parts. One of the machines in this video is the V11 sport.. I had one. I love the motor. That’s why I bought it after the first test ride which lasted about 15 minutes. I should have taken the machine for an hour at least on that first test ride, because, that was the most uncomfortable motorcycle I ever had. I have never had problems with my kneew ever, until I bought that V 11 sport. I could not ride that machine for more than an hour at a time, and when I got off of it, I had to walk around for a few minutes to revive my knees. I know that the foot pegs without rubber on them to absorb the vibes had a lot to do with it.It’s amazing how just having a rubber on the foot pegs does isolate you a lot. I tried everything to civilize that machine. I eliminated the clip on bars, I drilled the upper triple clamp and installed perches. For low handlebars, I had a set from my old CB 400 F that I put on there. I bought a Corbin seat. That seat put my balls to sleep within 10 minutes because their seat had a hump the roads to meet the gas tank for some reason.I installed Buell Ulysses foot pegs which bolt right on,They are about 1.5 inches lower which helped out a lot. I put a small 14 inch fly screen windshield on, I installed foam grips....All of these mods helped a great deal, but that machine is a knee Buster. I don’t know what it is about that machine, maybe it’s the angle combined by the width and the vibes. I have owned sport bikes before, I road raced for eight years,rds,tz250,ect, so that writing position is not something new to me, but I tried for two years to symbolize that machine and I had to give up. I ended up buying a Norge, which is one of the most comfortable motorcycles I have ever owned. I have owned dozens of motorcycles ..The V 11 sport is by far the most uncomfortable machine I ever rode. Anyone considering buying one, make sure you take it out for at least an hour test ride. You will probably not find one that has high miles on it.. As for that Le Mans. An acquaintance of mine is also a Guzzi fan..He has a mid-1980s LeMans. He is a good rider..He bought the machine new. He takes it on track days, he goes out with the guys to try to find the gnarliest most technical roads. He swears that he redlines that machine every time he rides it.. he has never had the motor apart, it has over 100,000 miles on it..

Beautiful Guzzis😊😊 love them.. great vid brilliant bikes. I ride a V7 😊 Pete

Great video, never had a Guzzi had a couple of Ducatti's, loved them, might be time for a new bike? All the best Lenny, Leicestershire Uk

Bellissimo!

Love that Le Mans 3, other than the LM1 bike best looking in the series for me. Looks great in red, maybe even better in white

There’s nothing like the sound and looks of a sporting Moto Guzzi.

Saw a Guzzi 850 Le Mans in 1977/8. the original Le Mans in the front window of a London bike shop.....next day I went in and bought it its price was 1,999 pounds ....

Dave, please listen to Terry - it's pronounced "Goot si".

Nice had a moto guzzi calie mk3 in1976 great for long distances

Owned a mkIII Lemans mid 90, and have a V11 since 2010. V11 still has the character but with a hydraulic clutch and injection a much easier bike to ride. Remember everything on de LeMans being heavy, but a rewarding ride. But i really love my V11 cafe, really a keeper.

Stupende!

I have a soft spot for Italian motorcycles too, in the 1980's I owned two Moto Guzzi's. a 1980 V50 Mk2 and a 1979 SP1000 Mk1. I also owned a 1981 Laverda 1200 and I still have a 1980 Benelli 900 Sei Mk2 which I bought in 1986.

Getting One 😎

I love my push button Triumph. Nice bikes.

Thanks 4 this nicely video and many greetings from Mandello del Lario 🇮🇪🤚

Great! I am kind of a Guzzi-fan - I still remember looking to a 1981 1000 Le Mans and listening the Lafranconi open "silencers" in an empty car hall... It was for sale and I decided to wait a little to have a good bargain! Fail!

I rode an 81 La Mans for ten years.... Got in a lot of trouble having the best of times ( when it ran... it RAN, when it didn’t it needed a priest / not a mechanic...ha ha ha ....left it for 25 years of bummers... but still consider it the best bike ever.

My old LM3 around town you could never get it past 3rd gear - such a long legged bike

Mike thanks for the video on the Guzzi's They sound pretty good, but not quiet like the Commandos or Triumphs and BSAs. Still prefer the Brit Bikes! Thanks again so much to another Brit bike lover! Tom

Mike, I told you about the Ambassador. But on Friday I had spoken to another guy about a nice 87 MG Lemans 1000MK lV. I have the 2000 MG V11 Sport in the lime green and red frame.

LOVE Guzzi's

I have a black V11 Le Man's which is a fantastic machine full of character. People pronounce the name in different ways, goozie, gootzie but in Northern Ireland we call them Guzzys.... But hey it doesn't really matter. They're a fantastic machine...

I have the 2000 V11 Sport in. lime green .and 2001 California EV.

A little something different, thanks to the guys for the stories.

Hi Mike, a beautiful brace of guzzies, always fancied one of those things or maybe a Laverda, there’s just something about that type of V twin that calls to me. Really not a fan of BMW’s. nice video Mike. 😎👍👍👍🇬🇧🏍

Being of limited height shall we day, I have always had a soft spot for MG. Fine pieces of Italian exotica (except the Mk4).

Yes, when you see a double zz, its pronounced tt, not tee, tee, as in the T for Touch, Talk, got it. great - Oh, great as always and especially the Guzzi

NICE

Molto bene grazie. Very good thank you.

Nice

Interesting, I had a LM V with linked brakes and found the system to be very effective and user friendly. I also had a V 50, ditto the brakes. I've had bikes without linked brakes too, just fine.

True about the bleeding mate. I had a Le Mans 111. Le Mans 11 is my thing brother unless I can get my Guzzi paws on a *50 Le Mans

Probably if I'd the choice it would be the le mans for me seems a bit more analogue and interactive than the newer one,, might have a bit more work to do if it's left sitting though,,, from Northern Ireland greatly appreciated thank you and your mates ☘️☘️☘️☘️☘️☘️👍

Love my SP1000.

Great video! I had a 1981 V50 Monza. Also had a 1000 LeMans. Two more bikes I should have kept! Oh Well, perhaps I shall learn one day! NOT!!

The V7 first saw light of day in 1967, the 750 Commando in 1968, they were rivals. They were both 48hp, both long and lean. The original V7 evolved into the "big block" bikes you see here. The current V7 is the "small block" motor.

They should bring back the V11. Give Norton's 960 Commando a good run for their money.

Nive video. I have a 77 Lemans 850, had a 83 850 Lemans for 13 years when in a I sold it for a K75S.Dumb. Still miss that bike.

love the sound of the LM3 , i used to have LM1 but i could not warm up with the ergonomics being 6.3

nice rides.. those guzzi's are just "the sexiest females, of all bikes"