po18guy

Just how I came to be standing between timber and Pontiac escapes me. As Paul Simon sang... "Either way you look at it, you lose..."

One of the folding multi-tools, often for bicycle use w/hex wrenches, can be very handy. A Co2 tire inflator is good. Maybe 10/12 and 13/14 open/box end wrenches. 4-in-1 screwdriver. Maybe a 6" Crescent wrench. I'll have to dig my kit out and see what they put in there.

It seems that the '99-'01s ('02s?) have 53mm tubes and the later bikes have 54s. Got a message back from a fellow on eBay and his measurement was 53.25mm. I like the OEM bars, as they have that "safety bolt" which threads into the upper triple to keep the bar from rotating. Might be more show than go, but it offers at least some assurance.

Like to stay Guzzi, but Buell and some GSXRs (that I know of) also used 54mm bars. And Woodcraft is waiting in the wings.

If those are 54mm at the clamping surface, they are exactly what I am looking for. Also appears that they accept standard 7/8" bars?

Now, those bars you have on "Hi Ho Silver", are they the OEM clipons?

At 18mm, I suppose another 12-15mm, depending o the bars. I know that it would slightly quicken the steering, but I believe it was slowed a bit in the transition from short to long frame.

Am thinking of clipons atop the upper triple on an '04 Ballabio. This will necessitate raising the fork tubes in the triples. They are currently standing about 18mm above the upper triple. Apparently, there is no handling or stability deficit? Anyone have a set? Finish need not be perfect. Otherwise, I search the web.

A shock with length adjustment would be near ideal, as it would retain all of its travel and damping qualities. Then sliding the forks up a bit combined with a few seat mods would probably do the trick rather nicely. Moving up from a 400lb 500cc bike was quite a change for me, but the V11 carries its weight fairly low. Slightly clumsy at say 0-5mph, it quickly stabilizes and is enormously satisfying to ride your favorite twisty roads on. Now, my 500 has cheap suspension, but the V11 transitions from left-right more quickly and more precisely. That's what a real frame and real suspension do, I'm told.

Quite right. V11 Sports are known for quite good cornering clearance. Thus, one could reduce rear pre-load or go to a shorter spring, plus raise the forks in the triples to gain a bit. A good upholstery shop might be able to carve the seat foam and provide a lower or narrower seat. My Ballabio came with an aftermarket center stand, but it is poorly engineered. There is no tab or arm extending with which to apply some foot leverage, and the pivot is about 2"-3" too low, so that the bike must be lifted vertically as much as rearward. Not good with 500+ pounds and a twice operated on lumbar spine. It works acceptably only if the rear tire is up on the narrow side of a 2X4.

"Big Red" because "V11 Sport Ballabio" confuses them.

Since that line would be a feed (suction) line, rather than a pressure line, it need not have a "burst strength." That said, as a suction line, it must resist collapsing and starving the pump for fuel. Unless Guzzi plumbing is like their electrics, in which case all bets are off.

And me with near perfect vision now, and I cannot see a thing! Have often remarked to DW that I need both a T-shirt as well as a bumper sticker machine. In my case, either would be trouble.

There is a small washer that slips over the drive cable. Other than that, I am mot aware of anything else to beware of. Bought a spare for my '04 as soon as I could find one. Possibly the worst cable design ever. Same guy must have designed the shift detent spring. Cousin's company made them or something.

Just had eye surgery yesterday. I am squinting. Doesn't help. Don't you subscribe to ImgZeit? Reallllllly cool image host. Just coincidentally developed by a forum member I am told. But don't believe me - here's a favorable write-up on Dreddit. Did I spell that right?

Thank you. I had never thought about getting one until my BIL put his up for sale. For those of us who grew up in the 60s, the Dunstall Norton was the fire-breathing superbike. The EX is almost exactly as quick and fast. How times change.

I must admit that the Chinese brand names seem to be taken from Google Translate. As to accessory lights and light bars, etc. I think it was PIAA who determined that there is an upper limit - due to the retro-reflective street signs. LEDs can be made so bright that a driver blinds themselves. Undoubtedly, the Chinese will invent some glasses or windshield tinting that will prevent this - but not yet.

Well, one of the 85 or so watchers bit. Let's welcome them when they arrive here. As to maintenance, well, they're Italian. When I pulled the trigger on big red, I knew what I was getting into. It cannot - CANNOT - be worse than the French car I owned in the late 80s. It will sound and feel much better. It will produce smiles, even if only sporadically. It is the anti-Harley, anti-Japanese, well, anti-everything motorcycle. For many, that is enough.

Thanks to this forum :patonback: 81 are now watching. Maybe it should have been an auction instead of BIN/obo. EDIT: I contacted the seller, who is somewhat dismayed that no one is biting. He is stuck on 4 wheels for the foreseeable future and looking at the greenie sitting there is killing him.

A 1987 EX500A1 (GPz500S) that I bought from my BIL for $450 in 1999. He fell down at about 20mph in a paving area and never rode again. A few things straightened out and here she is. I put Progressive springs in the forks, tapered rollers in the steering head, jet kit/K&N, additional airbox snorkel, some well-made and long-lived Cobra F1 slipons and later on, a pair of WebCam 245 hard-weld cams. Dang near the ideal commuter bike, as it is quick enough to stay well ahead of traffic and the engine has a sweet spot at about 7K or 80mph/120kph. I know it will do 120mph. If it would do 121, I'd tell you. Actually a pretty roomy bike for 500cc, as the wheelbase is only 2" shorter than my Ballabio.

So goes my life, but it has been torrential downpours or 6 weeks of a 2 week virus which has almost completely frustrated my attempts to ride the new-to-me Ballabio. It came with a nice multi-reflector/clear lens unit that appears to be OEM(?) My thought is that lenses are asked to do too much when pressed into service as both lens and refractory/dispersal unit. I think the process is more clearly controlled when the multi reflector directs the light in small "bites" wherever the engineers place it, while the lens is clear and does nothing except transmit about 92% of available light. Here is the "Infitary" LED unit that I am playing with. The separate driver is compact enough to fit in the OEM headlight shell and the light unit itself can be rotated 360º until optimal pattern is achieved. As can be seen, the LED chips are sized and arranged to closely emulate the filaments in an incandescent bulb. That alone keeps the light from scattering all over the place. And, there are two machined-in shields similar to the halogen units. If one is patient, the units may be ordered from China for about $18/pair. I do not yet know their longevity, but at $8 per, not that much more than halogen units.

It looks it. Beautiful bike for those so inclined.

For most of us non-competitive, street guys, "hot-rodding" may be an exaggeration. "De-restricting" or "opening up" what is stuffed up probably nets the greatest practical increase for the money. A freer intake and exhaust will net a noticeable difference when one enters the second half of the rev counter. And re-flashing that which may not have been all that well flashed in the first place.

(Ahem!) Well, the runners are larger in the first 75mm/3 in. or so as they leave the box. So, might lop them off there and use 75mm silicone automotive turbo hose to just above the oil cooler (was going to say abreast of the cooler, but...) Fortunately, I have time to ponder this. Have an email into Uni-Filter, but no reply as of yet. I think their MG1 is for the 850-T and such machines. It is said that they flow as good and filter better than (brand redacted to prevent ...ummm...venting) the competing brand.

This just in. Found a NIB V11 air box lid on eBay. $32.95 shipped! I helped the seller out on shipping, as he was essentially giving me the lid. Now, to study it and ponder..