sctt2525

Finished now, and shifting fine. Only problem was when dry fitting for trial, I put the shifter on a spline or two off and only had first and neutral, as the shifter hit the frame behind it before going into second. Also for first timers: watch the routing of the braided shock res hose when reinstalling. It is dangerously close to the hot cable serving the starter. Nearly had sparks here. Thanks, belfastguzzi!

No. But I thought it was just 2002 bikes had wrong size post? The springs break anyway. Seems to me that it just happens a lot quicker on the 2002 bikes that have the wrong sized parts (mine went after only 1k miles from new). Chances are that the Ballabio spring has gone the natural way of all the other broken springs (if that's what has indeed happened). Sctt, you'll most likely only need a new spring, not the arm. As Baldini says, the arm/boss is probably the correct size. A new spring will (should) have a bigger coil anyway, to work with the bad arm as well as a good one. Sounds good. New spring is already on it's way from TX.Should probably call and have them send another one to keep for insurance. Is it going to be a problem to seperate the gearbox cover if the tranny will not go into neutral?

Mine went today...at least assume so. Ballabio is stuck in second gear (and of course a LONG way from home); will get her home tomorrow. Confused if I need just the spring or the entire arm- Is there a way to tell before cracking open the gearbox case? (ie. frame #)

So sorry I didn't make it. Between the job(s) and the girlfriend(s), I had trouble with the scheduling. Besides, I'm starting to think that my NOT being there helps to ensure better weather for those who are. Maybe next year. Scott

That was me on the Ballabio- Scott. Was looking for some nicer wheels for the new Tacoma. Then made my way over to Mike's (very nice) Outfitters. Also wanted to look up the lodge as I'm gonna try to make it this year. I've missed the last couple of years due to work (inexcusable I know), but have since learned the power of a sick day. S

I'm predicting serious rain......from this far out! he he he

Funny, I'm going to look at a KLR650 tomorrow. Keeping the Ballabio. S

Thanks all, for the level-headed response that I've come to expect from this group. To get back to a few of you: Stogie, the "arm" is operated by a magnetic card; there are also 2 sensors, like at a red light, that senses a vehicle. The first of which must "sense" a vehicle, or the card reader will not work. The second, a bit further, tells the arm when the vehicle has left, and time to drop. I think it was the second that missed me. Make no mistake- I'm not looking for a payout here. ALL I want is to see the situation fixed before someone really gets hurt bad. I'm convinced if this thing had gotten me in the neck, I'd be hurt bad or even killed. No med. expenses THIS time, I've had worse. I don't expect an apology (might be nice tho') from the parking guy- he's already set his reputation around there. Ride safe Y'all, Scott

A little background: I used to post here on a regular basis, but about a year ago I got a second job.....and never got rid of the first one. This has led to seventy (+) hour workweeks, seven days a week since then. The second job is at the airport, and offers a lot in benefits etc. (thus I'd like to keep it) Things had been as well as can be expected till last week. As I was leaving the employee parking lot (Where the MARKED motorcycle parking spaces are at), the parking gate- the striped black and white "arm" that controls traffic in and out of the lot- landed on me. It caught me in the left arm leaving a bruise the size of a baseball on my bicep. Luckily the Ballabio was unscathed, and I managed to not drop her. Much worse than the event itself has been the airports reaction to it: They flatly refuse any responsibility citing the small sticker on the machine that does say autos only, no motorcycles trailers etc. I'm having a hard time with this tho', as the MOTORCYCLE SPECIFIC parking space are in the same lot. Also, when I started the job, I was told "If you ride a motorcycle, you HAVE to park in that lot" as the only other employee lot requires tags that hang from the rearview. I met with the parking manager and was told (more yelled at) "I don't want to hear it, you can't sue because of that sticker". Incidently, I hadn't threatened to sue, at this point I hadn't even spoken to the man. Oddly he went on to tell me his advice on how best to make it through the gate, "goose it" he said. He also told me this has happened several times before, and he doesn't much care. I met with one of the admin. staff and was told "Unfortunately there are no provisions for you to ride here". He then tried profusely to change the subject into when he used to ride in the seventies etc. (went nowhere). I meet next week with the president of the airport. Any advice from you guys? Oh, before anyone suggests it, the "arms" are too long to just ride around them- I had already thought of that. Scott

If Andy can put in 1200 miles to be there, I suppose I can ride down the street. Gotta bring Bill some beers anyway S

OK, so I got the new cable mailed to me. Lubed it a bit and put it on. Worked great for about 180 miles. Now a whole new problem. The speedo works, and seems to register accurately. But the odometer has now puked- registerd about 9/10ths of a mile over about a 20 mile ride. Any thoughts Scott

At 6780 miles now on my BillyBob. Was on my way home from work today and looked down to check my MPHs and noticed there weren't any. I'm sure this'll be the speedo cable as I've seen on here many go out about now. I was wondering though, since I don't have a decent dealer, would it be possible to UPS this cable to a good dealer and let them claim the warranty work and send me the new cable? Scott See newest problem below

I love mine- had it just over a year now. I've put about 6600 miles on it since I brought it home new. No major issues to report. I do all my own work on it and have thus far been really pleased with reliability. Enjoy, Sctt

Bill, Killboy didn't get us; I think Moonshine and dragonslayer did tho' You know I ride slow enough that they could shoot, develop and hand me the pic. as I ride by! Scott

I've had mine off & on a few times since installing the shims and have found that these small leaks usually occur when one of the two "slots" in the shims are aligned with one of the three "slots" in the header pipe. I usually just take the whole thing back apart and start over keeping an eye on this. Hope this helps. Scott

Thanks for the pics Bill. Love 'em! A few thoughts on next year- NO raw sausage biscits from Cracker Barrel (Why the HELL do they do that?) I think that's what did me in Sat. MUST be in a "wet" county or bring more booze in from civilization. I'll stay at the hotel with you guys (even if it's right here in town) to avoid riding in those damn hurricane conditions. Bring a video camera to blackmail you guys with when you sober up. Hope you all made it home OK! Scott

I know you've got to be on the road by now, so this might be a moot point. The weather is looking like Hell!!! 75% chance of crap on Saturday. No doubt this is because you invited me, as this sort of luck seems to folllow me around. I'll be in Sweetwater anyway, as I owe Bill a beer S

Checking in on a few things here: Bill, Yep some other riders can make Deals Gap downright dangerous ("riders" is too good a word for these people) LEO presence is a non-issue- they promised another crackdown this year as usual, but in the handful of times I've been up there this year I've seen one county mountie and I'm convinced he was asleep in his car. Foothills Parkway is a great ride; I've probably done it hundreds of times in my life (not counting the times I've spent there drunk as a teenager) and can't remember a bad ride. I was trying to find a route that would wind up here in Friendsville, but some health issues and home improvement projects gone awry have shelved the cookout till next year. Sorry. Anyone interested in a ride into Knoxvegas Friday evening for supper and a walking tour of downtown chime in. Look forward to it, Scott

I concur completely! You should have at LEAST two! I'm expecting to add a KLR 650 soon to keep the Ballabio company. One to keep really nice and one to thrash to bits. Scott

Oh yeah..... docc says we "kick the tires and light the fires" (leave) at 9 AM Saturday- Sweetwater S

I've been PMing with docc and I think we may have hammered out a route for Sat. Looks like Sweetwater- Hwy68 to Tellico plains; Cherohala Skyway over the mountain to Robbinsville NC; US129 to Deals Gap (The Dragon) towards Maryville; Foothills Parkway to Walland; and there a big argument as to where to go next. Anyone with better ideas please chime in- as docc has threatened to make me lead, and this could be a bad thing. These are great roads (I rode them on Sunday) for anyone outside the area, but may be a bit "routine" to those of us local. As to how they compare to N Ga I'm afraid I don't have much experience there, so please chime in with other ideas. Scott

July 2nd will make one year since I came into the fold and bought my Guzzi (after two years of looking at motorcycles)*****STILL have not received my roadside assist paperwork **** How long have you had your Guzzi? Sctt

CK, Bbq paint would have held on MUCH better. Heck, Kmart cheap stuff woulda held on better. With 85 miles on it I'd say well over 10% is gone already. It wasn't price so much, but convenience, as to why I went with these folks. You see, I pass by this place twice a day on my way to work. This made it seem like a breeze. I'm thinkin maybe steel wool the rest of this crap off and send them to Jet hot in the fall. BTW, I didn't say nearly enough about how nice your sport is- REALLY does look great! I couldn't find it in the gallery though. Where did the pics go? Sctt

Guys, This stuff flakes off like really old paint....on glass. I'm told maybe a problem with the way it was prepped, I dunno, I'd be happy now to get it back the way it was. I looked into Jet-hot, but was really looking forward to keeping this local- turn around, shipping costs, handling problems etc. I talked to the guy this evening, typical response- wants to call the mfg. We'll see I guess. Lesson learned, sctt

After seeing the BOTM two months ago (really sweet silver sport with matte black ceramic coat pipes) I was happy to fork over the $125 to get my pipes coated. Got them back Saturday, waited till Sunday to install (per the guy's instructions) and ran them for 1 Hr (per the guy's instructions). This morning (Tuesday) pulled the Billybob out of the garage and noticed about ten percent of the coating missing. You can actually just rub this stuff off with your thumb. Was this a high dollar spray paint job or what? Anybody with a similar experience? Oh, I'm going back this PM to get (perhaps beat) my $$$ back from the guy. Sctt