Greg Field

Yes.

I have the Moto Intl. weights with the CRG mirrors. Great combo that quells vibes and gives an exceellent and clear pic of what you've just left behind.

Daayyuumm, that sucks. I have three Guzzis of my own, plus Jen's leaky Honda Dream and Buell Blast, plus houseguest for the summer Karen's Scarabeo scooter, all lined up on one side of the garage. I have to move them all the time and fear that one day I'll slip on the Honda's oil and the carnage will be like in that scene from the movie PeeWee's Big Adventure, where the bikes fall like dominos. In your case, maybe this is actually an opportunity. We all know that the LeMans fairing is big and ugly and useless, so maybe it's time to go naked? I know a deserving guy in Seattle who would be happy to recyle that fairing for you . . . .

They move the pegs forward about 1-3/4 inches and down 1-1/4 inches. They cost $300 and replace all the pegs, levers and linkages. Very nice and very adjustable. My knees give me fits, even on the footboard-equipped Eldo, after about 400 miles. I did over 600 in a day and 1,688 in four days on the Motobits-equipped Billy Bob without any leg pain a few weeks ago.

Ballabio bars can be added to a LeMans. Then add the Motobits foot controls, and you have a machine that's comfortable for 600 miles and beyond.

If you get the squish right, you can eliminate pinging. Jason at MI built a monster motor from a 98 EV engine. He used V11 Sport pistons with the medium-valve heads from the EV. He carefully set it up for squish and proper clearance. Compression ratio was way higher than with FBF pistons in a V11 Sport. Horsepower was very near 100, by my seat dyno. I'd pull like a freight train from 1200 rpm on up, with no pinging. One moral of the story: A properly set up engine with higher compression can actually be far less prone to pinging than a poorly set up lower compression engine, on the same gas.

Our website is probably the most lacking of all. I think it is www.motointernational.com. Rocketman is likely at the Oregon Guzzi rally, so you probably won't hear back from him until tomorrow. He has a classified on this site. If it's a LeMans you want, his is really nice.

There're lotsa these high-comp pistons running out there—the ones Moto Intl. used to sell, the FBF ones, and Mike Rich ones—that are ridable on street gas. The guy who developed the Moto I version has probably 100,000 miles on his. That implies that there is something wrong with this particular machine that prevents use of high-comp pistons. I'm suggesting that it's mechanical and fixable, but will require a skilled builder/machinist, not a progammer. I'd bet looking for and correcting any problems (defect with the pistons, wrong gaskets, burr in the chamber, burned or bent valves, partially clogged injector, bad crank sensor) and then setting squish will go a long way toward making it rideable. Perhaps a change in riding style (not pinning the throttle below 5,000 rpm, for example) would cure the rest? Dual plugs would almost certainly fix it. Talk to Ed. He knows Guzzi engines and has the skills. Squish depends on motor configuration. I would trust whatever Ed is comfortable with.

I work at Moto Intl. in Seattle. We have 3 Ballabios left, plus one Cafe Sport. I have a mutant Ballabio and recommend the model without reservation. It is a nice motorcycle, with loads of character, and you can ride it long and hard and fast without too much pain. If you want a really nice LeMans, Rocketman, a poster here, has one for sale in Oregon. It's a beauty, and you could not go wrong buying it. As for problems, the '04 and later models are a whole different animal compared to the early V11 Sports. They are back to being what Guzzis traditionally were: Bikes you can just ride the hell out of, needing only regular changes of fluids and filters.

If someone hasn't, they need to go inside the engine and see what's wrong. Measure the squish, and set it very tight and the same on both sides. I may be wrong, but I'm guessing Todd did all his work with digits and maps. This is a job for a machinist.

RH: Bike is in SoCal, right? Have him take it to Ed Milich, and pay Ed to set the squish right on both cylinders. I'm betting that'll bring the pinging down to manageable levels. Or, if he wants to bring it to Seattle, I'll do it.

G323: Try removing the edging from the shield. This may reduce turbulence enough to make the noise tolerable. With Ballabio bars and a Coppa Italia fairing mounted to swing withy the bars, my helmet's in nothing but clean air. I'm 6'3". Mr. Bean: If you don't want the Laminar Lip, I might be interested in it. I could pay or make a trade that could include a shield with intact edging.

The business, or the man? The man now lives in Austrailia. We stuffed him on a plane Wednesday, after he spent a month riding to Alaska from Seatle. The business is in Nijmegan, over toward Germany way. Clue one: Aafter riding o Alaska, he looks like Jerry Garcia.

You throw away that silly prow that holds the headlight now, replacing it with the headlight holders from a V11 Sport, or make your own from aluminum strap (really easy). Mr. Bean from this list has a Laminar Lip on his Ballabio. Perhaps he'll chime in.

Yes! Same thing happened to me when I took off the sump of the Sport 1100i engine to make Enzo's plate. Luigi at the factory used tomato paste to make sure the bolts would never come out.

I've got H&B 30-liters on my Billy Bob. They're fabulous, but they will not work with high mufflers. Available at the usual Guzzi parts places, including at Moto Intl.

Okie: You can use the small LeMans headlight with the cf fairing. That's what I used in the first edition of resurrecting my crashed Billy Bob. It looked fine, and actually the small headlight throws a much better beam pattern than the larger Sport headlight. There are pictures somewhere on this site. If you really want the larger one, I may have one on the shelf, in chrome, though. I also have the CRG mirrors on my bike and love them. As for the headlight brackets, the only ones currently available are silver. That's what I used; I just sprayed them black. I think we have a set on the shelf at Moto I. Looks like you have a cf dash plate. All you need is the right-angle plate, and that was available last time I ordered one, about a month ago. And if you don't want your LeMans fairing, I'm in the market . . .

That's when I pull out my squirt bottle of water and wet their wick. That shuts them up . . .

Two options: 1) a Laminar Lip. They are on the web. 2) move the fairing back so that it swings with the bars, as on a V11 Sport. I did this to my Ballabio. Afterward, my helmet rides in clean air but also gets no protection. Looks way better, too, in my opinion.

Guzzista: The symptoms you describe could easily be caused by a slight leak at the exhaust crossover. Immediately after starting the cold bike (so you don't burn your hands) feel for leaks around the joints of the crossover. This was the problem with mine.

Any plans to sell the fairing? I'm in the market and have stuff to trade.

Skeeve: I hunt in the Washington rain forest in November and December, when it never stops raining, with a flintlock. I build them. They go off when I pull the trigger, and the elk then fall down. All the folks I hunt with use fake black powder, plastic sabots (even though they are illegal here), and fancy new plastic "muzzle-loaders" with illegal (here, anyway) shotgun primers. I can tell you without any reservation that I am at no disadvantage with my rock lock, real black powder, and patched round ball. Mine get ignition the same percentage of the time and have the same or better accuracy. It's kinda like me on my Eldo and what's his name on his humpy Honda crotch rocket: It's the man operating the device that determines its real-world effectiveness. . .

I spent a month in Scotland sampling and traveling. Haggis is basically a sausage—ground innards of an animal, plus other sundries, stuffed in a natural casing made from animal innards—nothing more, and nothing less. Given that there are really good sausages and really horrid sausages all over the world, one might surmise that there are really good haggises and really horrid haggises. This is indeed the case, according to my research. The same was the case with the Scottish distilled beverages. All of this research will soon culminate in the world's first and only "all-you-can-eat-and-drink" haggis and scotch restaurant. I'm looking for investors now. Anybody want in on the ground floor?

Sure. What would you like to know? The VME web site lacks detail—including the date, which is only published in the club newsletter and only in the newsletter immediately prior to the event, until people like me post it elsewhere—because if we publish details all over the event gets mobbed by the squidly types who thinks it is a real race and end up splattered all over the countryside. We are after quality, not quantity. We want real motorcycle enthusiasts, and we get them, including a lot of old racers. I figure it's a safe bet to invite the V11 types, as those drawn to Guzzis and V11s generally are of the type we seek. People gather for breakfast around 8:00 in the little town on Vashon. The poker run starts about 9:00, but I think you can get started as late as 11:00. It's kinda funny, those squids have even been known to goad some of the "geezers" in the VME into a race, not knowing that it could be a guy like the recently deceased Jim Pomeroy or other formerly national- or world-caliber racer, and get their R1 or Gixxer asses waxed by a gray hair on an old BSA. They slink off to the ferry saying, "That's gotta be a factory racer; there's no way a stock BSA could pass me in a corner." Never mind that even a factory BSA racer put out what 60 hp? On a normal year, it's just a really pleasant ride in a nice setting, followed by a bike show and field events at the Vashon Island Sportsmen's Club. Once on the club grounds, you'll note ice-water dripping from many a saddlebag. Yes, beer is allowed, if not officially sanctioned. You can walk around sipping on a cold one looking at all the great old bikes. The highlights of the field events is the Australian pursuit, a very challenging event on a grass track that usually sees the 80-plus-year-old eternal champion of the event punt more than a few aggressive young guys right off the track. Watch out challenging the geezers at the VME. Some of these boys have been competing, not just riding but racing actively, on motorcycles for 70 years. The best of them are from the Tacoma Ducks, which may just be the last REAL motorcycle club in America, excepting possibly the Rose City MC in Portland. Volunteers who work the event can camp at the Sportsmen's Club Saturday night. If anyone wants to volunteer, I can likely find you a job. I may or may not camp there. I may stay at home that night, depending on factors such as who might need a place to stay. Another option I might take is to camp at the Vashon Eagle's Club. They have really cheap food and drinks and camping. Anything else you need to know?