po18guy

Time for a few photos in the dedicated thread. After a fairly good sprucing up. In addition to the LED headlight, it now has LED signals with an electronic adjustable-rate flasher. Once my acute bronchitis fades, more miles are waiting.

Gotta ditto on the Avons. I have ridden Avon bias ply tires on my Kawi and they are especially good in the rain. If the ShinKos on his bike are reasonably fresh and he is riding conservatively until he's accustomed to the bike, I would wear them out and look for a deal on some major brands. Unless they scare him - then all bets are off.

All great ideas. Perhaps attach a voltmeter/multimeter to the battery and note the voltage when the light is on and see if it changes when the light goes off. It "may" point to a rectifier problem. The toggle? The bike may have had aux fog lights or??? added and the toggle would control them. Oh, and the rattle with clutch in? That helped me figure out why I like Ducatis: with their 90º exhaust cadence and rattly dry clutch, they remind me of a Guzzi!

I think that Guzzis are somewhat like Colt pistols and revolvers: more the exception than the rule, with each being one-of-a-kind. It seems as though the assembly workers simply grabbed whatever was nearest and bolted it on. Mine has a different ign switch, but it's still somewhat puzzling how to get to lack/park positions without some monkey motion. The toggle? Flip it and see if the charge light remains on as long. Someone with greenie experience will chime in. Back in the 1960s, Ducati singles had a mystery toggle switch on the tailight mount. No one could ever determine what on earth it did, so we assumed that it was Italian law that each motorcycle had to have a toggle switch somewhere. ShinKo tires are probably very good for a "sports-touring" app. I think they would go away on a track day - but that is not their purpose. The universal joint? Virtually every American and most European cars with U-joints left them open. Better to shed any heat buildup, easier to clean and to maintain. A leather cover would be really cool - covering only the fixed (silver) part. Underseat looks very good - not messed with. Funny that my '04 Ballabio has no chin pad on the tank, so they painted a faux chin pad on. Now that's Italian!

It seems that some others and I are late to the game. The price you were charging, while a great benefit to the members, seemed to me to be way too low for the time and effort you put into the project. If no MG aftermarket supplier or even MG itself is not interested, then you should be properly compensated. I would willingly pay much more than you charged for the peace and security of knowing I would not have to limp home in who-knows-which gear. p.s. Love your Piper. It looks meticulously kept. Dad was a pilot - rebuilt his 1941 Luscombe 8C by himself. Bro and I climbed into the fuselage to buck rivets, as we were the only ones who could fit back near the tailsection. He re-covered the wings and doped the fabric in our back yard. Painted it and started the wingless plane up in our driveway. He had to chase the neighbor kids away when they came running to see what all the commotion was about!. He flew it from Canada to Mexico, and we went to many fly-ins. Ah, those were the days!

My eyes are crossed after reading this thread! Chuck, you deserve a free vacation to Mandello del Lario! My '04 ballabio came with a spare spring, but I think it's in Guzzi wrapping. Will have to look - but I'd rather buy a new and improved spring.

Congrats! They are like no other motorcycle. An acquired taste some say, but torque suits every palate. The only thing I see that needs immediate attention is BNP. Badly Needs Pipes.

I hear you. Am giving the Ballabo a pre-flight, removing all of the 'Disney' (Mickey Mouse) parts as well as stuff that tried to turn it into a sport tourer. Bags and mounts set aside. Forward set pegs replaced by OEM. Faucet washers between fairing and headlight mount. Binned. über tacky stick-on horse trailer reflector on rear fender. History. Full LED makeover with a 36W fan-cooled LED unit in the headlight, LED projector beam turn signals (with adjustable rate flasher), along with a clear lens over the LED taillight (was smoked). Surface rust around the drain holes and screw holes in the headlight rim neutralized with KBS Rust Blast and then sealed forever with KBS Rust Seal. Iridium plugs for faster starts. She's getting there.

Welcome, Kane, from another new guy. Although only recently becoming a Guzzi owner myself, I long ago formed the opinion that Guzzis are not so much a motorcycle as they are a project which involves a motorcycle. Maybe better stated is that they are an adventure involving a motorcycle. Not in the "Then Came Bronson" genré, but then again... Being long of tooth and having cheated death various times in recent memory, I came to the conclusion that if I was to own one, I'd better buy one, and relatively soon. Was looking at an '02 LeMans because, I posted at that time, "no one was selling a Ballabio." Never went to see it, as it was about three hours away. Well, my hesitation was well-timed, as an '04 Ballabio came up on CL. Also three hours away, but I went to see it. I was seduced by the Italian siren wearing red, as I bought it without even riding it. The sheer redness of it all, as well as the music emanating from the Staintunes weakened my resolve. I pulled the trigger. And, as docc said, I am now in the process of making it just so. Am also refreshing my memory of Italian curse words that I earned from my neighbors as a child. As you noted, forum members here most likely know more about Guzzis than Guzzi does. Bottom line: It's not so much ownership as it is a relationship.

And in a strange twist of fate, Indians are no longer imported to the US as they were in the 60s and 70s, but made in North America. Meanwhile some Harleys are made in India. And then there's the new 338cc "Charley", made in China. Corporate life, reflecting politics as it does, often makes for strange bedfelllows.

Well corporations do what they gotta do. Not exactly the same, but GM screwed Pontiac and Oldsmobile. Ford screwed Mercury and Chrysler the same to Plymouth. "Indian" has more cred than Victory. As nice a bike as the Victories are, it seems to me that their focus was too narrow and their demographic (me) is dying off. Indian has more bases covered. Back to Erik, I wonder if a V11 will fit a Buell XB frame. 90º turn on final drive and... Just daydreaming. Anyway, the Ballabio is my last bike. I don't have many laps left and would hate to breathe my last regretting not having owned a Guzzi.

Apologies to any owners here, but I would never buy an HD. What they did to Erik Buell was criminal. I would buy an Indian, all things considered.

A few pics now that the Goose is spiffed up a bit. The headlight was almost opaque when I got it. Some Midway USA "shooter's swabs", a little Windex, SprayWay cleaner and some cotton balls cleared it up nicely.

Well...

Says title status clean. Hmmm. Was he ripped off by a bad dealer who swapped out the good stuff?

Oh, you got the fever, and bad, errr.. I mean good. Was thinking about having my cowl painted, but the tailsection is the midnight/azurre/sunset-over-the-Italian-Alps blue that occurs nowhere else on earth. And I'd lose the Ballabio script.

Just looking at it, what I would like to see is intake snorkles that extend further forward from the OEM airbox and do not pick up cylinder or oil cooler heat. Maybe a bit larger, or even a 3rd snorkle. In the Kawi EX500/GPz500s world, the thing is to add a 3rd snorkle to the OEM airbox (which is 7 litres capacity as is), but the Kawis use CV carbs and some intake restriction is needed. Used pods back in the 70s and while they simplify and clean up the intake, they can certainly complicate tuning.

Same difficulty here. With me it is touch-up for the gray-blue frame side plates. Going to hit the fingernail polish rack and have a look. As to the muffler, it is rash, a crinkle or just a pushed-in dent? If the latter, any of the really good Paintless Dent Removal guys can handle that.

Well, my Ballabio is an '04, so it sounds like that may be the first year(?) Now as to concern over proper throttle cable adjustment: I noted that what i did was a "field expedient." The rubber sheath/molding covering the throttle twistgrip end of the cable is rather petrified appearing, having apparently been untouched for 15 years. It is going to need a good soak in ArmorAll before I can hope to remove it in one piece. And, as to push-pull throttles, that is exactly what the Kawi EX500s I own have, so I have been adjusting them for 20 years, as of this year.

Aprilia attorneys must have insisted on two cables as a fail-safe in case of a failed return spring. p.s. stumbled upon the adjustment procedure in the shop manual. Will have to adapt to the particular linguistics in said document.

Sorry guys, I forgot to turn notifications on. That's pretty noob-like. I appreciate any and all wisdom. Probing into the new-to-me bike, the last thing I wanted to do was break something that would require Carlo to be bribed out of retirement in Mandello del Lario to make a replacement part. I see it's a simple setup - much like the dual cable setup on an EX500 I own. However, I came up with a field expedient: I put the dial calipers on the ferrule of the cable at the throttle body end. 4mm. Broke out two 4mm nylon washers from the stash and split one side of each with a utility knife. Slipped them over the cable itself, then pulled the housing free of the bracket and slid the two washers over the ferrule. Popped the ferrule back in place and done. They are captured in place and no fiddling needed. Virtually all slack now gone (good idle from lock to lock) and even if one or both washers come adrift (can't imagine that), it simply defaults to the prior slack. I have noticed a ton of both torque as well as engine braking. First hyd clutch, so some getting used to the whole thing. Have ridden shafties before, so that part is familiar. Very little else about the bike is familiar, accentuating that Guzzi personality, I guess. I much prefer slack-less throttles, as both upshifts and downshifts can be done more smoothly - at least by this klutz. The pic shows the washers in place. This was so easy that I fear what comes next! Actually a Roper plate at oil change is probably next, but that is relatively straightforward. I've already solved several jigsaw puzzles in removing the Hepco &* Becker mounts, swapping the Motobits controls for stock and pulling the fairing and headlight to do an LED swap.

There's a YouTube vid of a fellow in Europe doing a track day with his Corsaro. At one point he almost lost as it was wheelying mid-corner. Not that is some kinda torque.

Reasonably available where? Reason I ask is that I reside in the poor old US. None of the "really good" bikes that we watch from across the pond. Case in point: the revived Moto Morini's 1187cc Corsaro. 87º V-twin. 120HP and Torque. Sigh... .

Being a complete noob, but hating slack in the controls, I am wondering at which end slack is removed from the pull throttle cable. I know that, like carbed bikes, some slack is needed to allow for changes in cable tension when steering. Still, I would like to minimize it for smoother shifting on my part. Any and all help would be greatly appreciated.