2002 Moto Guzzi Le Mans Ride Report, take 2

Posted August 30, 2002

Introduction

I first rode a Moto Guzzi Le Mans in early 2002, on a whim. I thought they were cool-looking, and thought to myself, "what the heck." You can read my initial impressions in this report. Overall, I liked it, but there were a few things that needed to be changed. Most notably, and a deal-breaker, as far as my willingness to own the bike, was that the ergonomics, particularly the seating position, were very uncomfortable.

So, I logged it off as a good idea that wasn't quite there, and got on with my life.

Some months later, in mid 2002, I just happened to hear that ergonomic modifications were not only available, but easily performed. My interest was piqued. I checked into it more, and after a goodly bit of hand-wringing over whether I could afford, I signed up for a loan and bought a 2002 Le Mans in Red and Silver.

Modifications

The stock seating position on the Le Mans cranks me way over, and ended up being very uncomfortable after only 20 minutes. The first order of business was to fix that.

The actual modifications are detailed on this page. Basically, I asked for a set of Two Brothers' Racing bar risers to be installed, and the footpegs to be lowered by way of stock plates from a Moto Guzzi Centauro.

These modifications proved to be very successful. I am now capable of comfortably riding the bike for an hour or more (the furthest I've gone so far). The cockpit looks a bit more cluttered now, but this is a very small price to pay in order to enjoy riding the bike.

The stock mirrors are fabulous at showing me my elbows, so I've installed a set of Napoleon bar-end mirrors. They vibrate badly enough above 3000 RPM that I'm looking for a different solution. The picture is usually fuzzy enough that I can identify when a car is behind me and closer than about 200 ft, and a bit further if its lights are on. Identifying the type of car is difficult at best. It's really a marginal solution.

I found the stock toolkit to be entirely substandard. It was composed of too few tools, of an inferior quality. So, I replaced them. I spent about $100 at Sears and acquired a good set of open-end wrenches, ball-end hex keys, a multi-bit screwdriver, a set of "Robo Grip" pliers (we'll see how those actually work in practice), and a sparkplug socket with a little breaker bar. It all just barely fits into the tiny tool tray under the seat, but it does fit.

I've made other modifications so far, and will be making more in the future, but they're much more common. In particular, I've installed a Gorilla bike alarm and a hardbag mounting rack (but am still awaiting the bags, over a month later), and will be shortly adding a VDO Cockpit White clock. I expect that at some point I'll be adding at least one BMW power outlet, and probably two: one for a GPS, and one for a heated vest.

Engine

In my previous ride report, I was effusive about the engine, praising its power, sound, and character. I remain very nearly as pleased as I was initially.

The engine is a 90 degree V-twin which is arranged perpendicular to the length of the bike -- oriented 90 degrees away from where nearly every other motorcycle manufacturer does it. Only Moto Guzzi and BMW (that I know of) orient their engines this way, presumably to facilitate using a driveshaft rather than a chain.

It's a 1064cc engine, which puts it into the 1100cc class (I'll never understand that, but I guess it's marketing hype). Moto Guzzi claims it puts out about 91 HP, and Cycle World claims it puts out about 77 at the wheel. I strongly suspect Moto Guzzi's claimed power is at the crank, so they basically agree. With a claimed dry weight of 498 pounds (let's call it about 530 wet), that puts the bike's power to weight ratio at .145, or about 6.9 pounds per horsepower. This compares quite favorably to my Honda Civic's 2178 lb curb weight and 102 HP -- .047 P:W and 21.35 lb/HP.

I have only just put 600 miles on the bike (it's at 603 miles on the odometer as I write this), so I've been limited to the 5000 RPM break-in limitation. I've accidentally surpassed that limitation once or twice, and can tell you without reservation that the engine really picks up past about 5000 RPM. I'm quite looking forward to being able to go past that borderline.

The engine's character is a trait that may not be ignored. This is largely positive. This character I speak of manifests itself in the form of a distinctive rumble in the exhaust, a certain shaking -- but not unpleasant -- vibration, and certainly in appearance. Some riders have modified their Les Mans with different exhaust and ignition components, but I've found it to be almost completely to my liking in its stock form.

One downside that may or may not go away is that, so far, the gas mileage sucks. I've gotten from 26 to 29 MPG in my four fillups so far, although that's almost all been in-city riding, and the mileage will certainly go up with freeway riding. Other Le mans owners have reported anywhere from 32 to 49 MPG, but no one has mentioned having mileage as low as mine. Moto International suggested that it may just be excessively rich, which will be corrected at the 600 mile service.

Suspension

For suspension, Moto Guzzi equipped the bike with a White Power rear shock, adjustable for rebound and compression damping and preload, and a set of Marzocchi front forks, adjustable only for compression and rebound damping.

I have found the suspension, in its fresh-from-the-factory configuration, to be adequate, if a bit harsh-riding. I would like to start playing with the settings, but am not going to head down that path until I have time to do it right, by recording stock settings, and keeping a certain volume of notes.

In particular, I want to try reducing the compression damping in front, and possibly reduce preload in the rear.

Brakes

The brakes on this bike are fabulous. I'm not a hooligan rider at all, so I haven't had much chance to really exercise them (I've also managed to avoid having anyone cause me to utilize the brakes to their full potential). They provide a nice feel with good feedback, and manage to bite very effectively without being grabby.

I have no complaints whatsoever about the braking system.

Transmission and Clutch

Cycle World reviewed the Le Mans and proclaimed that it might have the best transmission of any production bike in the world right now. I think that's going a bit overboard myself, but it's a pretty good transmission.

Gear changes are quick and effortless (almost too effortless sometimes -- I'm not sure if I really changed gears or not). There's still the occasional need to drag the clutch a bit to get it from neutral into first gear, but that's to be expected of any constant-mesh transmission design.

The clutch is similarly very good. It's a dual-plate dry clutch, which is very much like the clutch on a VW Bug except made with modern materials. I find it to be a good compromise between instantaneous grip and mushy, "is it done yet?" sponginess. That is to say, it's a positive-feeling engagement, with a good progression to full-lock. I would actually prefer a slightly crisper engagement, but you can't have everything.

Handling

My impression in my later test rides of this bike was that it felt as if it was forged from one solid piece of metal -- no flex at all. This was in comparison to my BMW R100S, which is a notoriously rubbery-feeling bike.

I find now that the bike handles quite well, but bumps mid-corner can upset it a little bit. I suspect that some judicious suspension tuning will help that.

I am quite a conservative rider, and only last week finally managed to get up enough courage to touch down the sidestand in a curve. The bike felt solid as a rock, a nice change from the BMW. I'd probably be testing the handling more aggressively if I didn't live in a city where the nearest thing to a twisty road are some off-grid 30 MPH streets.

Quality Control issues

If you read much of the V11 Le Mans Message Board, you'll quickly realize that the current version of the Le Mans suffers from some significant QC issues. People complain of oil leaks, bolts falling off, parts incorrectly tightened, cracking expensive fairing pieces, etc. I even made up a list of problems for new buyers to check out. It seems somewhat incredible that a modern, well-funded motorcycle factory could suffer from such easily corrected problems.

So far, I've only had two of the problems mentioned. My transmission oil level sightglass (actually a large bolt with a glass-covered head) started weeping oil, and turned out to be only finger tight. My valve covers (all both of them) are leaking oil, although the bolts all appear to be tight. I expect, however, that I'll have to deal with one or two more before I'm done.

I can't really say that I'm pleased with this. I knew these things would probably happen before I bought the bike, and I bought it anyway, but that's because its good traits greatly outweigh these QC issues. I was also taking the gamble that my bike wouldn't have all the problems others had seen. (People seem much more likely to complain when they're unhappy than to write about their happiness and contentedness.)

We'll see, after a few thousand miles, how my gamble works out.

Final Thoughts

So far, 603 miles in, I'm pretty happy. I'm still sorting out a few niggling problems, like finding a good set of grips (I'll have to try gel grips next), but overall, I'm pleased with my purchase.

I'll be quite happy when I get my hard bags from Hepco & Becker, although after over a month waiting, I'm not getting too wound up about the delay any more. Apparently, asking for a non-standard style of hard bag places a considerable strain on the exporter's abilities.

It's a spendy proposition, getting a brand new motorcycle ($300 600 mile service, anyone?). New bikes also commonly command a premium price for insurance (although I'm not doing too bad, at about $450 per year for excellent coverage through State Farm).

But, in spite of all the problems, I'm very happy with the new bike, and look forward to riding it for some time to come. I think I can honestly recommend the Le Mans as being a worthwhile purchase, but obviously you'll have to make that determination for yourself.

Created by Ian Johnston. Questions? Please mail me.