Jock Guzzi

Nice picture of the bike available on the autotrader website. It's a bargain at £3999 !

The 156 GTA is getting a bit long in the tooth and a recent job change means a 90 mile round trip, so I'm having to go to the dark side and get a diesel. However the good news is that I'm sticking with Alfa and getting a 159, which has a 210bhp 2.4 five cylinder engine. It pushes out 295 lb ft of torgue so its not the worst diesel to far. If anyone wants to buy 5 five old Alfa 156 GTA with 65k miles on the clock for £6999 let me know. The car's in good nick, I've looked after it for most of it's life. Cheers, Mark

Thanks Guy, will be a real shame to loose it but selling seems the most sensible course of action given the circumstances. Hope you are well, and life in Newcastle during the week is not too boring . How's that little project of yours coming along. When will we see finished pictures ?

Ok here's the deal. I've moved in with my girlfriend, I hardly used the bike last summer, I've just sold my house, she's got no garage, so come 18th April i've no safe place to store a bike I don't use very often at the moment...and I need to buy a new car ! So it seems sensiible to sell the bike. I've not given up on biking or Guzzi's but it seems to make sense right now to move the bike on. Details are as follows : Registered May 06...one of the last new Ballabios in the UK 4k on the clocks Had the black bits professionally resprayed red so the whole bike is now red Have Guzzi titanium cans...sound great...but got the originals as well Front fender extender to keep the crud off Replaced the relays with proper ones from Dan Prusomething or other in the USA Garaged from new, so the bike is in perfect condition Want £4449 Pm me if your interested.

Don't buy that one, buy mine instead. All Red Ballabio (I had the black bits all resprayed red), registered in May 06 so it's one of the last UK bikes, garaged, 3000 miles, with Guzzi Titanium cans, proper relays that work and a black front guard extender to keep the crud off the engine...and it's in Stirling. Yours for a lot less than £6k, and it does not have the "paint will flake at some stage" crinkle finish. Pm me if you interested or reply with a contact e-mail address or phone number. Cheers, Mark

Great pics as usual Guy...but where's the pics of the Satan sSaves and their rides ? (bikes not molls, but if you have any of those as well feel free to include them).

Anyone know what the red bike in the background is in the picture of Ewan fiddling with the pannier ? Looks nicer than a Norge, is the new trailie ?

Guy, great pictures, there was only one thing missing...me ! Really sorry I missed the trip. I'm hoping a large bribe will get me on the list for next year. Hope to catch up with you soon. Cheers, Mark Ps Have not forgot I still owe you some cash for the Swiss motorway tolls. PPs The texts seem to have dried up. Put me back on the list. My favourite is still the nine volt battery / womans arsehole one !

Thanks for all your feedback. I've now got the bike going, it will only start with the sidestand up. As my neutral light is not working / coming on, I'm guessing from what has been said that this interferes with the sidestand engine kill mechanism. All far to complicated for someone as mechanically "blind" as me but I get the jist of it. Please feel free to explain how it all works, but remember to keep it simple otherwise you'll loose me. Looks like Stormsedge wins the diagnostic test. Thanks once again.

Need some help guys. Was on the bike last weekend, all was well. Went to run a few errands on Saturday, ignition on ok, lights etc all on but no whirly noise from the fuel pump and nothing when pressing the starter button. Checked fuses, all ok, am using Dan's relays so don't think it is a relay problem. Thought it might be a battery issue, as I had to put it on the optimate a few weeks ago to top it up after a winter of no use, but after doing this it was fine last weekend. Anyway stuck it on the optimate for a further 7 hours or so but still nothing from the fuel pump. Any ideas ? I'm due to head up to the Highland fling next weekend, so I need to get it sorted or I'll miss out on the fun. Cheers in anticipation.

Going

Given its an 04 there should be no major issues. I have a new one and there have been no issues other than the very common speedo cable break (after 2500 miles in my case). Other than that, build quality is good and reliabaility is fine. I did replace the relays with GEI ones bought from Dan ( somewhere in the USA you'll find plenty of info about these on here) but thats it. Buy, ride and smile. Its as simple as that.

I have noticed a similar problem with my Ballabio but have decided that I can live with it. While I did think of the option of moving the screen onto the handlebars, I thought the simplest solution would be to cut the screen down by 2 or 3 inches. By my reckoning this would drop the airflow down away from the helmet onto the chest just enough to stop the turbulence. My main gripe is actually the seating position, which is great for up to about an hour and a half, but therefater the combination of all the weight being on ones arse and a hardish seat mean that things start to get a little uncomfortable. I'm actually considering clip ons so that there is a bit more weight on the wrists and less on the arse. I found my original V11 to be very comfortable because of the more balanced weight distribution. Good luck with which ever modification you decide on. Perhaps you could let me know how effective your preferred solution is. Cheers.

Sounds like a cool trip. Never mind the biking stuff, tells us about Les going bananas. In this context, bananas is a great word and one I use often, though usually predeeded by the F word. It kind of just says it all. I love going bananas, especially when it involves football matches (soccer to the colonials) alcohol and of course woman. That reminds me, I've been living a bit quietly recently...I'm due a bit of banana time.

I use Optimax in my Ballabio but the dealer who sold me my Triumph advised that I just use the standard stuff in it. Am I wasting money using Optimax in a Guzzi. Should I just use the standard stuff (though I would not buy a supermarket own brand petrol). Thoughts appreciated.