Moto Guzzi 850 Le Mans MK1 V-Twin 1st & 2nd serie - Simply beautiful :-)!

[@milanstefanovic3854]

Just one word. MAGNIFICENT.

[@g.g.6362]

A very fine pair......And being that they get mentioned on many Mk1 and 11 videos,the calipers on my old Black and Gold Mk11 were behind the fork legs. Same as on a Jota,I once had,too.....Oh,to still own them!

[@marcob4630]

Great Italian classic bikes: sturdy and so easy and stable to drive! Just incredible : that's the reason why they have been used in California for the police!

[@sohu5141]

Salut .... Il y a 44 ans la même en rouge avec sa selle dure comme du bois surtout à l'arrière pour le passager, une vraie torture pour les fesses mais un son envoûtant !

[@lillo639]

Grande 850 LM che nostalgia

[@brianperry]

I owned a Red Guzzi 850 Le Mans in 1977/8... correct! there wasn't a Mk 1. This bike felt so 'long legged 'at motorway speed, fantastic on swopy bends. Not many people know, the Le Mans had a linked braking system. One Front plus the rear.... It was and still is the most beautiful of the seventies super bikes...

[@manxman9630]

yes I remember you would apply just the rear foot brake and the front brakes would partially activate -- the bike would 'Squat' - it was an unreal sensation

[@pdm2201]

Better looking than the vast majority of motorcycles… period.

[@davidmacgregor5193]

Moto Guzzi never produced a Mark 1 Le Mans, it was simply called the Moto Guzzi Le Mans 850. As correctly said above there were series 1 and series 2 versions of the Le Mans 850, the series 1 had a more rounded tail light and the series 2 had a rectangular tail light. When the model with the larger three piece fairing was introduced, it was named the Moto Guzzi Le Mans 850 Mark II.

[@frankbutaric3565]

The three piece fairing was first used on the CX100. It was the worst of the LeMans series. Small valves and 30mm carburetors.

[@christianszilagyi2146]

Moto Guzzi 850 Le Mans 1. 1976 new price in Germany 10.500 mark look like Ferrari Dino the same time in 1970s. Werry beautifull.

[@lordbountifulitsme7919]

Hi, I had the blue one back in 1980 🏆💯🙏

[@AlanWhettonUKGUYINLV]

I thought that the 1st year series 1 LeMans didn't come with the trip clock re-set... I'll have to re-read Ian Falloon's Bible....

[@marco-58]

Iv'e got an early Mk1 MPH speedo on my import Mk2, (to replace the KPH original), No trip meter.

[@mikefry6765]

Beautiful, stunning bikes a credit to the owner

[@bigred8438]

If these are your bikes, can you remember what the typers were on them, they look like pirellis on one and michelins on the other?

[@amp2amp800]

Not my bikes, but I agree. Look like Pirelli phantoms on the series 1. Don't be tempted with a 120 rear. Handling is better with the 110's on. I have a broken collar bone to testify to that! I'd also recommend a discreet fork brace. These were the first to have plastic mudgards, and there's quite a lot of flex in the forks. MkII's had a steering damper, I dont think that did anything for the handling either way.

[@paulj6662]

Beautiful, the later model with the 2 bulb rearlamp was nearly perfect. Just one thing to do, swap the forks around, to get the calipers behind the legs, for 3 good reasons...

[@alanlake5220]

Which are ?

[@paulj6662]

@@alanlake5220 So glad you asked! 1, The centre of gravity, the weight of the caipers trailing the steering axis. Causing less wobbles. 2, The fixings are in compression, rather than tension, the calipers cannot move, even minus the bolts. 3, There will be less water on the pads/discs in the wet, with contact before the muguard mounts gutttering onto the leg/disc. And tidier hoses.

[@alanlake5220]

@@paulj6662 thanks for the info very interesting cheers

[@davidmacgregor5193]

I used to own a Laverda 1200 which had twin Brembo calipers in front of the forks and I never had any of the problems mentioned., for the sake of originality it's best to leave the calipers where they are, in front of the fork legs.

[@amp2amp800]

@@davidmacgregor5193 Pictures in Mick Walker's book Moto Guzzi Twins shows that the factory changed over sometime around 1980. Mario Colombo's book confirms this for many models including the small V35s & 50s The V35 switched mkI and mkII in Nov 79. T3 above/T4 behind. G5 above/SP behind. Likewise LM Mk I's left the factory with the calipers above. By the time the MkII came out they were all behind. But its never so clear cut. Interestingly, there's a picture of the mk III prototype "factory hack based on MkI cycle parts and the pototype MkIII engine in 1979", and a picture of the "US version of the MkI" with an ugly version of the nose fairing and other "small changes" , and they both show bikes with the calipers behind. Paul J is definitely right, but in practice you'd be hard pressed to notice anything. Lots of people switched them around. I did too, to make my MkII look more like a MkI while replacing the beat up fairing with a cheaper option - a round one. Sacrilege! I agree with your point on preserving originality with such a clean example, but I really wouldn't be surprised if I heard that some series II Mk I's left the factory with calipers fitted behind as well. That was the way the wind was blowing and after all the series II already had the LM II rear light. Sorry, that's enough "trainspotting" for one night!

[@garypeatling7927]

Room to mount super charger on front in v