PhillipLarsen

I am also looking for an original paper one for my 2004 Ballabio. Have been looking for many years, have posted here before looking for one as well. So far no luck.

I have 04 Ballabio as well. You might consider booster cables to a known working car battery to eliminate battery as issue. I think with clutch lever pulled in it should turn over even if not in neutral? Also confirm kick stand cutout is not a problem ( only active if in gear ), and should still turn over with clutch lever pulled, with kickstand down. If does not turn over with above, may want to look into starter relay issues.

Hamish is one cool cat. Maybe he could teach Lulu to hunt😂

This is probably the wrong thread for this but @docc asked! It was at Halloween Eve Party 2023 at Vancouver’s Notorious and Famous 1960s “Peace House” where I was fortunate to capture a photo of a Chinese Police lady arresting a Nurse for allegedly forcing the famous Princess Lulu to dress up as a Witch, a great offence to her status as the matriarch to another famous Lulu entity. The Peace House is notorious and famous for many things including being a commune in the 60s, a movie star in 1968 and where all the after concert, all night parties for the Rock Bands playing Vancouver in the 60s took place. Some of those that were there were The Grateful Dead, Jefferson Airplane, Cream, and many, many others. https://evelazarus.com/vancouvers-peace-house/ Today there are more Motorcycles than people calling it their party place including some Moto Guzzi’s🙂 I was trying to get arrested or hurt enough to need medical treatment😂

@docc is correct😂 I did suggest that some leather gloves maybe fitting for their social media video shoots, but those model ladies are hard to convince of anything. Luckily they insisted on the Moto Guzzi V11. They passed on the CBX, the Stelvio, the VF1000R, a Ducati & Norton 850 that I had available. Even though they do not know anything about motorcycles, they said it represented the “style” they were looking for. I was thinking to suggest @docc’s idea, but didn’t! The Halloween costume photos they showed me as a Policewomen and Nurse (they are 2 cousins) were great !

The old Anvil from my grandfathers farm shop with the two holes described now in my basement shop (1908 home) and used occasionally, nearby the phones from same place, and the late 1800’s snooker table that I used to have in my hangar (no place large enough to set up).

Replaced the standard size Michelin Pilot Power 2CT’s (Front had 12k Kms. (7200 miles) Rear 10k Kms (6200 miles) with Road 6’s 120/70ZR17 and 180/55ZR17. Have had it for a couple rides from Vancouver to Whistler return on Sea to Sky Hwy (sea level to 2200 ft) 150 miles round trip of nice twisty road. The 2CTs were finished, but I had really liked how sticky they were. The Road 6’s seem very nice handling, but comparing new to old is not really a fair evaluation. The Road 6’s are pricey compared to other option but wanted to try them to see how they do.

Yes, it is from 2004. Not sure but I think MG sold them in that 2003 to 2005 era.

You might also want to check that the master cylinder is working correctly and does not have any small pieces of debris contaminating the very small holes. One time my 04 V11 had a case where it started with no brake one time, like you mention and within a couple miles and uses of the rear brake had the brake on slightly all the time, overheating the pads and disc. If I had not noticed I think the disc would have turned red. The pads had started to break down from heat. The issue was a piece of debris in the small orfice where the 90 degree fitting comes out of the master cylinder. Looked like a tiny piece of black seal material. The brake had worked perfectly since new up to that time. I rebuilt the master cylinder, caliper and new pads and worked like new since.

2004 V11 Ballabio

2004 Ballabio around 18k miles on it, recently replaced the Gianelli exhaust with the original exhaust still new so could take the wife for a ride ( she insisted as wanted a video to show friends, both her and her cousin). The bike has always been serviced regularly with all 3 oil changes, filters (air and oil), drive shaft off for greasing, calipers and master cylinders rebuilt, brake pads, etc. Getting new Michelin Road 6’s this week (has pilot 2 ct2+ that are finished). Found there was a slight hesitation or misfire sometimes when rolling on the throttle between 1800 and 2200 rpm. Seemed more frequent when hotter out, and becoming more frequent over a few hundred miles. Decided I should prepare to do the “Decent Tuneup” and while I assemble the needed items I would proceed with step 1. Spark plugs and tappet clearances. A real surprise. Plug gap was about .040/ .041 with the plugs looking in good shape ( likely about 6 k miles since last look) Tappets .011/.013 Int / Ex ( likely 10 k miles since last checked) Installed new plugs .028 (have a box of them). Set the tappers to .006/.008. Went for a 150 mile ride. No more misfire or cough at low engine rpm throttle roll on. So nice.

Agree with @Lucky Phil I still have and ride the 45 year old CBX that I have had since new with about 71,000 KM (owned a Honda dealership back then). Had it out for a ride a couple days ago. During my ride I was thinking about what attracts people to this bike as it is not very pleasant to ride. I have the Euro bars/ foot pegs option that was available in Canada, better CB900F rear shocks, and much better Pirelli tires than originals, but it rides and handles not well, much like many 1970s motorcycles. My 1975 Norton 850 is a nicer, lighter, better handling bike. But if I make the mistake of stopping by the local motorcycle Starbucks for a coffee, it is swarmed by the other bike riders, and the non riders that recognize it, etc., more so than some of my other old bikes that I think are much nicer. I don’t like to answer all the questions, so avoid doing that. If you like that kind of attention for your bike, the CBX can do that.

Docc, Great idea and am going to do it on my Ballabio next, rather than waiting for it to start showing fluid, same for Ducati 916.

Used the Seal Mate on my 2012 Stelvio today. It has about 32,000 miles on it. It started weeping a slight but visible film on both tubes a few days ago. Surprised how much debris came out. Cleaned them, pumped forks a few times, cleaned again ( a little more came out second cleaning), pumped them, cleaned all up. Took it for about 80 mile ride, with no sign of any seeping. I suggest this is worth trying if the seals are not too old and hard ( like the ones I changed out on my 49 year old Norton). Phillip

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