Trying to save this '91 Le Mans 1000

[Antietam Classic Cycle]

Last Tuesday my friend Simon called to ask if I'd like his (wrecked) '91 Le Mans. The previous Friday he'd collided with a car in his neighborhood, just before he was planning to leave for the PA Guzzi Rally. Of course I wanted it. On Saturday, with the help of AJ Howard, I picked the bike up in Jessup, MD. Simon bought the bike new, so it was kind of hard for him to see it go.

The front end is trashed, but so far it looks like the frame has made it through unscathed. Will need careful inspection and measuring to be sure. Fairing is cracked but repairable, fender is toast. Woody's may be able to repair the wheel. Still quite a few parts I will need. I believe it's a worthwhile endeavor to repair it - only 17 were ever imported to the US.

Photos Simon sent me, taken at the tow yard:







A few I took yesterday while preparing to unload the bike from my van.

[wirespokes]

Wow!
She took a hard hit! I've never seen a slider snapped in two.
And I've never seen a fork tube bent so radically at the tree. I'd be amazed if the frame isn't bent. I'm sure the triple trees are at least tweaked.

I love the LM4 - glad it's going to get resurrected.

[Antietam Classic Cycle]

Wow!
She took a hard hit! I've never seen a slider snapped in two.
And I've never seen a fork tube bent so radically at the tree. I'd be amazed if the frame isn't bent. I'm sure the triple trees are at least tweaked.

I love the LM4 - glad it's going to get resurrected.

The third from last photo, this one: https://ibb.co/jkVS48d4 is sighting from one side of the lower triple to the other, and to the "naked eye" it doesn't look like it's tweaked. Of course, once it off for inspection, it might actually be. I'm not seeing any frame damage either. Again, once everything is out of the way, it may actually be. The fairing mount is bent for sure. The collision speed was fairly low.

[Turin]

Frames can be straightened, other things fixed. It's a worthy endeavor in my opinion!

[sdcr]

I agree with Turin. Certainly worth an effort to save one of 17.
Parts may be challenging to obtain.
Hope that  Simon fared better than the bike.

[Huzo]

I am NOT an expert here, but I’ll confidently suggest that if you need to straighten anything around the headstem, if you get it in a jig and heat EVERYTHING that matters up to red/yellow hot, you’ll doubtless succeed.
The bike will have a great history once to bring it back.
Please take us with you on your journey….

[guzzisteve]

Wow Charlie, I better call Simon. He was worried about service last I talked to him cause you are semi retired. I serviced that bike from new till 05, it would really get with the program. He was going to update it w/new suspension & freshen it up to keep touring on it. I built his wife a nice Monza girls bike. It's a nice bike that's mostly stock cept for jetting in carbs.

[nc43bsa]

To put things in some context, some friends of mine raced a Lemans 850 in the WERA Endurance Series in the 1980s.  At the Texas World Speedway 24 hour event, the bike flipped end over end about 4 times during the nighttime segment, wiping out the forks and some of the bodywork. The team "borrowed" the forks from a teammate's street Lemans, put the bike together, and finished the race.

The frame wasn't bent.

I wasn't there, but this is the story that was relayed to me by one of the team founders.

[aklawok]

 I got curious after comment of how rare these are and seeing the vin plate with G B M as manufacturer, not Moto Guzzi.
What I found was Giovanni Battista Martinis est. 1962 as as a scaffolding company. Is there some story behind this?

[Pescatore]

Lol. It stands for Guzzi Benelli Moto.
The DeTommaso era.

[jrt]

I hope your friend Simon is ok.  Sounds like it- -  good luck with the rebuild.  If I can help with a part, I'd gladly donate it. 

[wirespokes]

That's a pretty wild story that a bike could flip four times at high speed and sustain no frame damage. Of course, those 850LM 35mm fork tubes imparted less force to the steering head. I recall someone mentioning in the airhead world that the early airheads normally had no frame damage in a crash. When the fork size increased, then there was damage to the frame.

I've got a late 90s Cali frame that was in a crash. Don't they have 40mm forks? As I recall, it was an in-town accident, probably 35 or 40 mph. The rider went down and then the bike hit something solid. The headstock is a mess! The rider wasn't hurt - at least not badly.

[Antietam Classic Cycle]

Wow Charlie, I better call Simon. He was worried about service last I talked to him cause you are semi retired. I serviced that bike from new till 05, it would really get with the program. He was going to update it w/new suspension & freshen it up to keep touring on it. I built his wife a nice Monza girls bike. It's a nice bike that's mostly stock cept for jetting in carbs.

Not "semi-retired" yet, I wish I could. Maybe after I work through the backlog of jobs. He mentioned that you serviced from new and until he moved north. I installed FAC dampers and Wirth springs a few years ago and he's put quite a few more miles on it since. Now at 78k miles.

[Antietam Classic Cycle]

I hope your friend Simon is ok.  Sounds like it- -  good luck with the rebuild.  If I can help with a part, I'd gladly donate it.

Simon spent 24 hours in the hospital, but is doing well now. Dislocated left arm/shoulder, two broken ribs, the usual aches and pains.

[guzzisteve]

Thanks Charlie, haven't been able to get him.   He takes good care of his bikes.

[rocker59]

I got curious after comment of how rare these are and seeing the vin plate with G B M as manufacturer, not Moto Guzzi.
What I found was Giovanni Battista Martinis est. 1962 as as a scaffolding company. Is there some story behind this?

During the early '90s, Guzzi production was at a low point.  There were no imports in 1992.  The story is that a late 1991/early 1992  34-bike shipment to The USA contained half 1991 LeMans 1000 CI and half the naked 1991 1000 S.  Fourteen each.  The 1991 LeMans I owned had a production date in December 1991.

Special on these bikes is the black body paint, the red frame paint, and the dashboard fairing, rather than triple clamp mounted gauges of 1989/1990.  Some of the 1991s had the standard LeMans megaphone exhaust.  Some of them had the LaFranconi cans like showed up on the Daytona and Sport 1100.  Suspension and brakes are standard LeMans bits.

The tough thing to replace would be the fairing and its dash.  If those are OK, then most of the other parts are off the shelf LeMans 1000 parts.  Front Fender, Wheels, etc.

[rocker59]

  I believe it's a worthwhile endeavor to repair it - only 17 were ever imported to the US.
 

Nice ones still sell in the $7,000 range, so there is some value there.

Example:
https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1991-moto-guzzi-le-mans-1000-mark-v/

[Groover]

Following, I still need to get an SE frame straightened - there is (was maybe, was 7 years ago when I reached out) a place in TN that would do it, range was $400-$800 when I spoke with him over the phone. Let me know if you need that contact number, or, with the right tools and space, I agree, can/should be able to do it at home I would think if it even needs it; mine does as it's pretty obvious that it's bent. Pretty sure TLM may have all the parts you need there last I looked, and I "think" I saw a NOS complete front fork recently somewhere in my endless searches for things I never work on.. (it was complete with tubes, lowers, triples, etc.) - don't recall if it was for the 84-87 0r 88-91 though, and I'm not sure where I saw it. It was I think in the $1,500 range if I remember right. Not that any of what I have mentioned is cheap.. Definitely worth saving I think.

[Groover]

Sent you some links - hope that helps some.

[sdcr]

Nice ones still sell in the $7,000 range, so there is some value there.

Example:
https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1991-moto-guzzi-le-mans-1000-mark-v/

That was an extreme bargain, IMHO. I could kick myself for not bidding that day…

[MerleLowe]

Following, I still need to get an SE frame straightened - there is (was maybe, was 7 years ago when I reached out) a place in TN that would do it, range was $400-$800 when I spoke with him over the phone. Let me know if you need that contact number, or, with the right tools and space, I agree, can/should be able to do it at home I would think if it even needs it; mine does as it's pretty obvious that it's bent. Pretty sure TLM may have all the parts you need there last I looked, and I "think" I saw a NOS complete front fork recently somewhere in my endless searches for things I never work on.. (it was complete with tubes, lowers, triples, etc.) - don't recall if it was for the 84-87 0r 88-91 though, and I'm not sure where I saw it. It was I think in the $1,500 range if I remember right. Not that any of what I have mentioned is cheap.. Definitely worth saving I think.

There's also GMD Computrack in Fairmount GA that can handle frame alignment.

[SIR REAL ED]

A broken brake rotor!!!

Now that is impressive!

That has to be kept in a place of honor in your garage or man cave!!!

[Turin]

Publish a list of what you are needing. Time to Rally the troops!

[Moparnut72]

If the steering neck has been bent out of alignment to any great amount I would doubt that it could be put right with complete accuracy. I bought a 76 R90/6 that had been in a similar situation. It had been reframed with a lot of other parts. The threaded end of the crank that held the timing advancer had also been belt.
kk

[Mguzzi]

Simon and Evon(sp?) are top shelf. I was there the night Simon and Sergio were leaving from the US to S America. They road V65TT's. I'm pretty sure Simon hit a dog and bent the front rim, didn't stop him from going on! Good people.

[n3303j]

My Q&D check was to park the bike on the centerstand (or similar device to keep it vertical). Then drop a line (plumb bob) from the front and rear axle centers and mark the floor. Measure the distance between the two marks for wheelbase and see if it matches spec. If not something is bent. Then check fork for straightness. If it is straight then it's the frame.
Then use a level to check wheels for vertical to check for frame twist.
Finally a tensioned line or wire against the tire sides (front to rear) on both sides to be sure rear has a center line common to the front.

My '66 BMW was an inch short. Sent the fork out to "The Frame Man" and he found it bent and brought it back to specifications. Redid the measurement and wheelbase was correct. All other tests indicated straight. So frame was okay.

[Aldo]

Nice ones still sell in the $7,000 range, so there is some value there.

Example:
https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1991-moto-guzzi-le-mans-1000-mark-v/

There was one for sale locally to me just few months back for a mere $5K in gorgeous condition and period upgrades.  The owner was wondering if it was priced too high. 

I though it was an excellent deal, but I had just bought a '97 Sport 1100.

[Antietam Classic Cycle]

Started disassembly of the front end to assess the damage. Still not seeing any damage to the frame or triple trees.

The fairing is cracked in two places, but can be repaired.



Busted headlight, bent dash and headlight mounting bracket



Dash panel is largely intact, the metal backing plate is bent, and the panel is cracked around the voltmeter.



This bracket will be easily to straighten. 


The fairing mount might be a little harder, but still doable.



No visible steering head damage, other than cosmetic.



Lower fairing bracket dinged the tank.

[Bulldog9]

As if you needed another project....

If anyone can bring it back it is you.    Seems well worth it given its rarity.

[Groover]

Quote from: MerleLowe on September 24, 2025, 06:53:03 PM

  There's also GMD Computrack in Fairmount GA that can handle frame alignment.

I contacted GMD, and they do work on Moto Guzzi frames and said they can do it, I don't have a price range though.