Marelli digital ignition handles the fire, and a super sexy two-into-one under tail exhaust gets rid of the burned gases. Peak horsepower is quoted as 122 @ 8000 rpm, with torque quoted as 83.2 ft. lbs @ 6400 rpm. This makes it immediately clear the big red Guzzi’s power is going to be made in the upper echelons of the rev range.

Motor in place, the team then went looking for a six speed gearbox and came back with the V11’s tried and trusted unit. To handle the significant amount of extra horsepower now being made, a new sintering double disc hydraulic drive clutch was sourced.

Power is transmitted to the rear wheel in typical Guzzi fashion by shaft drive, and it spins the rear hoop without upsetting the bike. Lightweight five spoke OZ forged wheels wear conventional sportbike sized rubber, and our test unit came wrapped in super, sticky slicks.

As a spotty youth, my first serious sport bike had been a bright red Guzzi Le Mans, and my passion for the big throbbing twins has never gone away. So, when my first chance to swing a leg over the coveted beast coincided with a cold, damp racetrack and a serious bout of the flu, the occasion was somewhat anticlimactic.

Pulling back into the pits after just four laps, feeling enormously thankful not to have crashed the only running example in the US, I was not happy. The bike felt horrible, and had me convinced I was going to tuck the front end every time I leaned into a corner. My weight felt too far forward, the bike seemed to vibrate awkwardly and cresting either of Barber’s two blind rises induced a very unsettling head shake, so I parked it and headed back to my hotel to sleep.

The problems were due to a rear Ohlins shock spring that would have been too stiff for a 400-pound Gorilla. It just had no movement and was pushing the front end so hard it was darn right scary.