V50, Monza, cl atlanta

[chuck peterson]

http://atlanta.craigslist.org/wat/mcy/5522702100.html

Didn't see this listed yesterday

[Chuck in Indiana]

Wow! They're coming out of the woodwork.. haven't seen any for years, now 2 in 3 weeks.

[Tobit]

That one is very clean too.  I had one for a while and they are wonderful little Guzzis.  Just a blast to ride down a cold curvy road then gaze at in appreciation over a steaming cup of coffee at a roadside gas station. 

Tobit.

[Chuck in Indiana]

I've been corresponding with a friend that used to have one. He has been telling me things to look for, etc.
an excerpt:
It’s a corner carver unlike any other Guzzi you have ever driven.  Nimble, with the
right power band to amaze big twins in the tight stuff.  I used to blast with Jr. and
the crew in the hills out by Eagle Cave in Richland Center, WI area back in the days of
the first Guzzi rallys and I prolly could have easily have led the pack if I was as good
of a rider as I am today.

[pehayes]

An investment!  Mine was $2500 out the door in 1981.

Patrick Hayes
Fremont CA

[Perazzimx14]

I've been corresponding with a friend that used to have one. He has been telling me things to look for, etc.
an excerpt:
It�s a corner carver unlike any other Guzzi you have ever driven.  Nimble, with the
right power band to amaze big twins in the tight stuff.  I used to blast with Jr. and
the crew in the hills out by Eagle Cave in Richland Center, WI area back in the days of
the first Guzzi rallys and I prolly could have easily have led the pack if I was as good
of a rider as I am today.

I think he's remembering it a little better than it really was. I had a V50 MK-3 and it was a fun bike and really the only bike I have missed since selling. It handled okay but my Quota could easily out handle the V50 in even tight technical stuff. As much as I hated the Quota for the trerrable wind moise, buffeting, adn less than stellar spruatic fuel economy it handled amazingly well for a big bike.

[not-fishing]

V50's and Monza's!  Funny thing is they all seem to have around 10-15,000 miles.

The one thing I like about my V50 III is because it has much less power than my Griso I don't have to worry about "getting in over my head" 1/2 as much on the twisties.

[Perazzimx14]

V50's and Monza's!  Funny thing is they all seem to have around 10-15,000 miles.

The one thing I like about my V50 III is because it has much less power than my Griso I don't have to worry about "getting in over my head" 1/2 as much on the twisties.

Yep even holding the thottle WFO its had to get in over your head. Great little bikes actually I would have preferred my V7 Racer sold and then I would have kept the V50. Someday I'll have another

[lucian]

  Every time I ride my daughters v50 I come home with a big grin. Brings you straight back to the good ol days , will cruise at 70 mph all day and always fascinates everyone who see's it out. Definitely a keeper. Seem' s as though they are getting pricey-er when they show up for sale. Seems like a good time to re post this one.

https://youtu.be/p_zaK7Vqs4w

[Unkept]

Good time to be motorcycle shopping I guess! Wish I was.

[kevdog3019]

There's a reason I put big $$ into my (now) 55hp Lario with real suspension and brakes. I put it on a diet also. It runs circles around my stock Lario in every way. CARVER in the true sense. As much as I like the look and idea of a Monza, it would only disappoint. It's unfortunate as I do like them.

[Chuck in Indiana]

it would only disappoint.

Dawg.. yer fulla  sh!t.. 

[Antietam Classic Cycle]

I've thought about a V50 a few times, but there's always something in the "fleet" at the time that does the same thing. First my MZs (Saxon Country 500 & Silver Star 500) and now the Morini 350K2. I've ridden a customer's V50 Monza and the Morini back-to-back and they're pretty darn close in performance and handling.

[kevdog3019]

Dawg.. yer fulla  sh!t.. 

Fun to get a rise outa you Chuckie!  I doubt that bike weighs much if any less, has the same basic frame (small spiney), yet has (best guess) similar stock forks and single pot brakes as a stock Lario. It's hard to imagine a comparison to an upgraded more modern version of the old sb. What am I missing, you tell me?  Panache??  It's a beauty but an upgraded version of a small block Guzzi with similar weight and geometry with GP racing goodies (suspension, brakes) , and almost 20hp at the rear wheel is bound to do things a little more (shall we say) eagerly. I didn't say it's not a gem of a bike that Monza. I hope you do yourself a favor some year and get a new front end on that Lario so you understand what that bike is capable of. Who cares about the hp. You'll transform that bike and won't look back with how solid it feels. You can lead a horse to water...   :Beating_A_Dead_Hors e_by_liviu
edit: I believe the antiquer in you is fighting the customization and upgrading that (I've learned) helps these bikes significantly.  You can say what you like, but you're willing to live in the 80's and I'm not.  FWIW... I can't ride my stock lario anymore either so I'm pretty certain the Monza would collect dust unless I did surgery.  I think the Monza is a better looking bike!   

[Chuck in Indiana]

Well, Kev, seriously I can't say. I've never even ridden it, but several people that I know have ridden and loved them. They all sing it's praises. The right size, power, balance. In the right hands it's fast enough, but fast is not what I'm interested in. I enjoy antique machines, and the Monza is supposedly one of Guzzi's best. The Kid was a racer at one time, and says that I'll love it. I'm betting it "won't" disappoint. Oh, it weighs a lot less. I think 335 lbs is the spec. Feels small compared to the Lario.
Now about the Lario. It's my every day go to and "touring" bike. It has bags on it, forheavinsake. I haven't built it for speed, I've built it for "reliability." I've mentioned before that if I wanted a track bike, I'd graft an upside down Gixxer front end on it complete with brakes. Even at that, I have a dollar that sez the reliable Aero engine will give your built 4V a go. <shrug> Oh, and no matter how much you think spending money on the Lario engine will make it more reliable, it seems to me that you've made it less reliable. *I don't know* of course, I don't think anyone does, but when they drop exhaust valves that makes me think it is heat related. Certainly, finning is minimal on the Lario heads. They don't have the "fangs" in the valve covers for the oil to condense on and drip on the valves like the 2V small blocks.. another strike against them in my book. Hopping it up adds more heat. <shrug> Seriously, I wish you the best with your super Lario. I'm just not interested in doing that sort of thing.
I have the MZ for California now. It is a *seriously* good handling motorcycle. Big Paoli forks with Terozzi clip ons, really stiff and light twin spar frame, Yamaha race bike swing arm with rising rate monoshock. Handling wise, I'd say it is head and shoulders above anything a guy could do to a Lario. Oh, and it's cheap, too, a good quality.  Do I like it better than any Guzzi I've ever ridden? No. Make that hell no. Different strokes for different folks and all that.. 

[Guido Valvole]

No way is a Monza (or any V50) 335 pounds. Closer to 375-400. Still 100 to 150 pounds less than any post 850 LM I big-block. I have a BSA B40/SS90 that stated to be 300 and probably is. The V50 and Monza feel huge and heavy in comparison. But have brakes and start with a button instead of a broken ankle… 
cr

[kevdog3019]

The Monza weighs 353 lbs (160 kg) according to my manual.  That's a great weight and I'm certain it's one of Guzzi's finest no doubt in the handling department.  I'm simply saying that FOR ME it wouldn't get the nod compared to what I have.  I hope you understand why and it's not a dig on the Monza.  About the reliability issues of the lario (since you opened that can of worms), you, I/Ed M. are in a different camp.  I'm not saying it's failsafe, but we stuck some pretty nice things in those heads to at least give it a prayers chance in hell of surviving.  Nobody else I have heard has done this!  IS THAT CRAZY!!!  Ed knows a thing or two about heating up a bike also and uses the same valve-train.  He took a look at the Chinese valves I sent him (new) and he said they were junk (to put it mildly).  The stock valves didn't look any better I put in my other bike (new).  Hmmm... you've heard all this before, but heat with shitty valves doesn't make sense to me either.  So your idea of heat seems logical in one sense. The upgrades to suspension, ergos, and braking is what really put this bike in a different category, not the engine.  I bet the weight is very close to the Monza's now and I don't think you'd scoff @20 extra ponies. You talk about the balance of the Monza (from what you've heard anyhow) with regard to weight/handling/hp and I think you're probably right for a more sedate ride.  It sounds like a good stocker.  The offer always stands for you to come up and give the little beast a ride.  It would be good for you to know and not just speculate.  We haven't had very many tinkerers in the Lario world so I have no backing other than my experience with having both a stock and seriously tweaked version.  I'm really on my own about all this and my name aint Roper, so it's gonna take more than me to make a dent.   

   

[kevdog3019]

No way is a Monza (or any V50) 335 pounds. Closer to 375-400. Still 100 to 150 pounds less than any post 850 LM I big-block. I have a BSA B40/SS90 that stated to be 300 and probably is. The V50 and Monza feel huge and heavy in comparison. But have brakes and start with a button instead of a broken ankle� 
cr

Yes... the Monza is wider and longer than the lario... wheelbase a bit shorter however.

[not-fishing]

No way is a Monza (or any V50) 335 pounds. Closer to 375-400.

Maybe-so but that's not the problem.  The problem is I'm not 190 lbs anymore but closer to 240.       

Mark

[Chuck in Indiana]

The offer always stands for you to come up and give the little beast a ride.  It would be good for you to know and not just speculate.  We haven't had very many tinkerers in the Lario world so I have no backing other than my experience with having both a stock and seriously tweaked version.  I'm really on my own I feel about all this.   

Maybe we could meet somewhere in the middle sometime this summer/fall and swap bikes? I know you don't do rallies, or it would be simple.

[Guido Valvole]

not-fishing -- I'm sub-120 and it fits me fine. But nobody home under 5000 rpm, especially in 3rd, 4th, and 5th gears. Last week I rode down to the Salinas area for Easter, nasty traffic and worse wind, couldn't pull 5th once I got south of Gilroy because of the wind. Going from Salinas to Monterey that Monday on 60 into the wind it was 5000-5500 in 3rd, 50-55 mph. Hmmm, wasn't 5500 the aero engine cruising rpm? I try not to exceed 6000 for too long, don't know if I'm being overly protective and conservative or not.
cr

[Chuck in Indiana]

Hmmm, wasn't 5500 the aero engine cruising rpm?

Yep.

[kevdog3019]

not-fishing -- I'm sub-120 and it fits me fine. But nobody home under 5000 rpm, especially in 3rd, 4th, and 5th gears. Last week I rode down to the Salinas area for Easter, nasty traffic and worse wind, couldn't pull 5th once I got south of Gilroy because of the wind. Going from Salinas to Monterey that Monday on 60 into the wind it was 5000-5500 in 3rd, 50-55 mph. Hmmm, wasn't 5500 the aero engine cruising rpm? I try not to exceed 6000 for too long, don't know if I'm being overly protective and conservative or not.
cr

Oh, that sounds a little rough going on the V50 and you're only a buck twenty. The Monza is about 27rwhp since the Lario is 38.
On another note, Cafe Racer magazine told me today my bike should show in one of their future publications. Maybe I'll get a subscription again. That's how they get ya.

[huub]

these are nice little bike , i can ride the lario and monza back to back. a friend has a monza.

the monza feels tiny compared to the lario.
due to the 18 inch wheels has a amazingly stable and predictable handling for such a light bike
i love the 4 valve engine of my lario, but the monza is the better package
lighter, nimbler better handling, 

compared to the monza the lario is a confortable all rounder, with a torquey engine.
the monza needs to be flogged to get the best out of the engine

[Chuck in Indiana]

these are nice little bike , i can ride the lario and monza back to back. a friend has a monza.

the monza feels tiny compared to the lario.
due to the 18 inch wheels has a amazingly stable and predictable handling for such a light bike
i love the 4 valve engine of my lario, but the monza is the better package
lighter, nimbler better handling, 

compared to the monza the lario is a confortable all rounder, with a torquey engine.
the monza needs to be flogged to get the best out of the engine

That's what everyone has told me, and why I've been looking for one for over 10 years. 
I'm going to have a really hard time waiting for clearance from the cutter to ride.




Probably won't make it..

[Guido Valvole]

Chuck, you'll make it just fine. But if you want real slow, get a V50 II. Nothing quite like dinky valves and tiny square-side Dell Ortos to make a Monza feel like a fast bike  . Otoh the lower-geared V50 works much better on really tight roads, and the common garden variety V50 III could be the best bet for anywhere other than the slab. Which is terminally boring anyway.
cr

[Chuck in Indiana]

Chuck, you'll make it just fine. But if you want real slow, get a V50 II. Nothing quite like dinky valves and tiny square-side Dell Ortos to make a Monza feel like a fast bike  . Otoh the lower-geared V50 works much better on really tight roads, and the common garden variety V50 III could be the best bet for anywhere other than the slab. Which is terminally boring anyway.
cr

In my quest to sample all the Guzzis  I had a barn find Mark III for a while. Fun little bike, but it wasn't a Monza. <shrug>