Another one ?? says the wife.

[cookie]

Lot of dosh though

i think that's the most expensive le mans i've ever seen. looks like the last proper rebuild was done by moto corsa. they do good work, so that should be the last major job it ever needs. all paul's bike are really nice.


hope it's a sign prices are on the up. mine might get to the stage where it's worth more than it owes me

 

[(RIP) pastyman]

Now Ive thought long and hard about sticking my head above the parapet on this thread and I can see that there are a lot of people who think these are the DB's.......... I may be a heathen but Im sorry, I dont get it.. I dont remember these bikes being much thought after in the 70's, certainly never saw much of them, Laverdas were far better thought of . So why all of a sudden is this such a desirable bike? Is it just nostalgia. I mean any bike with a loud exhaust will attract attention, sometimes so that the rider thinks its admiration when in fact its more a case of " who is that tit". I found that out when riding a Hardly D.
Sorry Proff?Sid and all you others, I can think of a dozen other bikes I would have first.

But aint that the beauty of bikes

 

[cookie]

Now Ive thought long and hard about sticking my head above the parapet on this thread and I can see that there are a lot of people who think these are the DB's.......... I may be a heathen but Im sorry, I dont get it.. I dont remember these bikes being much thought after in the 70's, certainly never saw much of them, Laverdas were far better thought of . So why all of a sudden is this such a desirable bike? Is it just nostalgia. I mean any bike with a loud exhaust will attract attention, sometimes so that the rider thinks its admiration when in fact its more a case of " who is that tit". I found that out when riding a Hardly D.
Sorry Proff?Sid and all you others, I can think of a dozen other bikes I would have first.

But aint that the beauty of bikes

your memory is playing tricks.

in the 70's, the most sought after bikes were: ducati 900SS, laverda jota, le mans, or for if you were really unimaginative, kawasakis Z1 (a much cheaper option). if you were really old, you might have bought an R90S.

the ducatis handled the best, but fell apart, the jotas were the fastest, but were a constant wrestling match to ride, and the le mans fell somewhere in between. faster than a ducati, but not such sweet handling. slightly slower than a jota, but miles nicer to ride.

oh yes, many people think they look quite nice too, though i will admit the more modern styling has dated more than the other two.

i might be biased though, and i have come to appreciate the beemer

 

[Rob Farmer]

The le Mans were never well thought of round here. It was Laverdas, the odd Duke. I only knew one person who bought a Le Mans and he only kept that for a week. Guzzis were always pretty thin on the ground and generally ridden by folk music loving real ale drinkers.

My Jota wasn't a wrestling match it handled well but it was an 80 with the better frame and forks. I never liked the cerriani forked models with the upright shocks, far too harsh. 900 dukes handled beautifully on smooth roads but pitched like crazy on bumpy bends, best sounding bike I've ever owned, you forgave all the niggles when it fired up.

 

[Crapaud]

I've got a stack of late 70's bike magazines here that Oblertone dropped around for the Airhead Weekend. The Guzzi Le Mans was the bike winning the Production bike racing at nearly every round in its day, only occasionally being beaten by the Ducati 900SS. It blew away all the Jap stuff as it could handle well. It was similar to the way the Ducatis dominated BSB and World Superbikes a few years ago.

In Jersey where I lived, there were lots of Ducatis but the Guzzi were much rarer. My best mate had a Mk1 Le Mans and to me it was the ultimate bike. When I was a teenager, I had a poster of one on my bedroom wall alongside the obligatory posters of Debbie Harry and Farrah Fawcett.

I rode a friends Laverda 1200 once and hated it. It felt like it had a concrete mixer as an engine, roughest bike I've ever ridden and all the weight high up like an early Hinckley Triumph. Even in those days, it was hard to get spares for the Laverdas.

On one trip to the South of France to the Bol D'Or at Ricard in 1982, we were passed by a well ridden Le Mans. We were all on Jap fours (Suzuki GS1000, Kawasaki Z1000 etc) and none of us could keep up with this Le Mans through the Massif Central south of Clemand Ferand. The more we pushed our Jap bikes the more they wobbled whereas the Guzzi just went around corners "as if on rails".

The styling of the Mk1 Le Mans is so pure and so Italian. It is like a classic Ferrari, it is an art form.

A few of my mates in Jersey still have garages filled with late 70's Italian exotica including Laverdas, Ducatis and Moto Guzzis but I would always pick the Le Mans as my all time favourite bike.

And its not the level of the noise, its the quality. Any bike can be noisy but the Guzzi is so much more than that, it is tuneful. It makes an earthly rumble that can't be described in print. You have to hear it and more importantly, FEEL it. I can't believe any real motorcyclist could hear the Guzzi being revved up and not feel some great emotion.

They say "never meet your heroes" and I honestly thought Proff's bike might be a bit of an old dog so I was very worried about riding it and bursting the bubble. In fact it was even better than I could have dreamt of . Apart from the heavy duty throttle (which we may be able to address with new throttle cables) it is everything and more I could have expected. Given a straight choice between a new R1 or a mint Le Mans I would pick the Le Mans everytime.

I guess bikes are a bit like women as we all have very different tastes.

But yes, you are a heathen!

I wish less people liked the Le Mans as I might be able to get one cheaper.

 

[ChasF]

My Le Mans always had the legs on my mates Laverda 1200 Mirage on the Isle of Man. I think Mirages were a detuned version of the Jota despite being larger capacity. On the other hand another friend's 900SS was always better on a twisty road - the Le Mans is very good and stable just less nimble. I had a Z1 for a while (before it was nicked), very easy to ride with it's sit up riding position and soft springs but the power was disappointing and it soon tied itself in knots when you started to press on a bit.

 

[(RIP) Proff]

Went up Sids today.
Went up to the LeMan and switched her on, 3 twists of the throttle, choke on and press the button ...
Burst into life instantaneously, 30 seconds and choke was off and she settled into a beautiful steady tickover
I've lost over a stone in weight since I bought her, hoping that by May I will be able to ride the fecking thing I can actually sit almost comfortably on her now !!!
So look out Devon, the red meanie is about to be unleashed on the roads !!!!!

 

[brassmonkey001]

Went up Sids today.
Went up to the LeMan and switched her on, 3 twists of the throttle, choke on and press the button ...
Burst into life instantaneously, 30 seconds and choke was off and she settled into a beautiful steady tickover
I've lost over a stone in weight since I bought her, hoping that by May I will be able to ride the fecking thing I can actually sit almost comfortably on her now !!!
So look out Devon, the red meanie is about to be unleashed on the roads !!!!!

So when are you going to trike it?

 

[MattW]

Nice one Proff - hope to see you out and about on it when we're down there this summer

 

[Crapaud]

Went up Sids today.
Went up to the LeMan and switched her on, 3 twists of the throttle, choke on and press the button ...
Burst into life instantaneously, 30 seconds and choke was off and she settled into a beautiful steady tickover
I've lost over a stone in weight since I bought her, hoping that by May I will be able to ride the fecking thing I can actually sit almost comfortably on her now !!!
So look out Devon, the red meanie is about to be unleashed on the roads !!!!!

When he revved it up, the workshop shook so much that some old fairing panels that were on a shelf on the opposite side, vibrated and fell on the floor.

Got my new R100RS on the road yesterday (with help from my expert mechanic who has provided me with working brakes) so hopefully we will get this and the Le Mans taxed from 1st May and take to the roads.

 

[Richard A]

I'm limbering up to do a flywheel bearing oil seal job on my LM 1 during the next month (it involves dismantling most of the bike). Criminally, it's been sitting in the back of the garage for the last two years while I've been working on other stuff, but I pulled the dust sheet off it a couple of weeks ago (before I spotted this thread) and wondered why on earth it's been taking me so long to get my act together.

 

[cookie]

I'm limbering up to do a flywheel bearing oil seal job on my LM 1 during the next month (it involves dismantling most of the bike). Criminally, it's been sitting in the back of the garage for the last two years while I've been working on other stuff, but I pulled the dust sheet off it a couple of weeks ago (before I spotted this thread) and wondered why on earth it's been taking me so long to get my act together.

apologies if i'm telling you things you already know, but...

crank seal can be utter bastard to get in if you don't remove the bearing and carrier, and that needs a special puller and can still sometimes break the carrier.

next one i do, i'm going to get a tool made up to push the new seal into place in situ.

 

[Richard A]

apologies if i'm telling you things you already know, but...

crank seal can be utter bastard to get in if you don't remove the bearing and carrier, and that needs a special puller and can still sometimes break the carrier.

next one i do, i'm going to get a tool made up to push the new seal into place in situ.

Noooo.... it's taken me months to get myself psychologically ready to do this...

Seriously, thanks for the tip. I've been going through my Haynes manual and copy of Guzziology, but real life experience is always very welcome.

Watch this space (in a month or so)...

 

[cookie]

if you need any first hand advice, i'd be happy to help.

i see your location is New Forest, with me being near bournemouth that makes us practically neighbours

 

[Richard A]

if you need any first hand advice, i'd be happy to help.

i see your location is New Forest, with me being near bournemouth that makes us practically neighbours

Thanks, Cookie, I may well take you up on that.

 

[(RIP) Proff]

So when are you going to trike it?

OOOOOOOOOO I so wanted to slap you when I read that

 

[Kenny]

I've lost over a stone in weight since I bought her, hoping that by May I will be able to ride the fecking thing

Just 6 more to go then







Coat, door, slam......