WitchCityBallabio

I have an 04' Ballabio and love it. I rank it as about the most enjoyable all around motorcycle I have ever owned, and I've owned a few. I have had nearly zero issues with it. No problems with the relays, no problems with the shifter spring etc. Nothing. I've got nearly 30,000 miles on it and it's been very dependable. With all that gushing, I will say though, that it has one of the worst speedometers I have ever had on a motorcycle. There are options for it though. I paid about the same money with about the same miles as the one you're looking at, so the price seems reasonable. Have you driven it yet? I'm sorry to tell you that once you drive it, you'll be hooked. Good luck.

Yes Todd... It's the large tank from HT Moto and that's our friend Dan the Man! How's the new 1000S?

Hey! I work with one of the guys/part owner of the Guzzi hack. They have returned to it after a little hiatus and get more competitive with it every time they race. I spent the day in their pit on the Vintage days the Monday after Bike Week. It was a lot of fun. During that event, the only Guzzi's racing were the side car and one other LM1. The guys that race the Guzzi hack, also coincidentally race RD400's and are very competitive. Good riders. We should rally the Guzzi folk to go up and support them during one of those races. There were tons of Beemer folks there supporting the BMW hacks. For those who'd like to see the hack... Enjoy I'm also toying with the idea of picking up a V50 or V65 for vintage racing. Guzzi's need to be better represented!!

Hal, Yes, they are the Lafranc Comps. I was also trying to keep it old school for the most part and get something fairly upswept. Also, I wanted to be able to hear this things music!

I kinda like that. I may have to consider that. It still has some color, but has some polished bits.... Interesting. This is the most recent shot with the pipes on now....

I am actually. I thought long and hard about it, but there are a lot of Guzzi's running around with polished aluminum tanks. The color is going to be a "Kandy Black Cherry" from the House of Kolor with the gold wings from the LMIII tank decal. This will give you an idea of the color....

I'm hoping just a couple more weeks. The guy that's going to build the wiring harness has told me it only takes him a couple of days. I have no idea how long the painter will take, but hopefully not more than a week. I really want to bring it to IMOC, so barring any major mechanical issues, it should be there with the Ballabio.

I was thinking the same thing about Hayden yesterday. That was some fantastic racing between Rossi and Stoner.

Guzzirider, How's the project coming along? Any recent pictures? I'm getting closer.... Lafranconi exhaust is on (not shown in this picture), rear fender is on (not shown) just have to finish the brakes (using Brembo gold double pots on the front) just wire and paint. Wiring should commence this week. This picture was from about 2 weeks ago. More to follow. It's getting exciting now. Can't wait to drive this thing...

Who let that Teutonic Titwillow on the track???

Good luck Jaap! I also spent this past Monday at the Vintage Races in Loudon NH and have been bitten very hard. I am considering racing a V50 next year (Need time to get racing license, some spares, one piece leathers etc)

The Vanson factory is kind of hit or miss. Sometimes they list stuff on their website that is on special, but more often than not, you just have to go down and look through the racks. Last time I was there getting the wife fitted for her jacket, I picked up a pair of Sport rider leather pants for about 2/3rds what they list on their website for so you never know what you'll find. You could try calling them, but I'll bet with our hot weather coming, your best chance of a cheap perf jacket from them would be in October.

I second that. The Vanson perf jackets are awesome.

I have approximately 23000 miles on my Ballabio at this point. I say approximately because my odometer packed it in last fall. My Ballabio runs better and stronger today than it did when I bought it with 7500. If it's anything like my project bike, I expect a lot of miles. My project bike engine has 74000 miles, doesn't burn a drop of oil, runs strong and was remarkably clean inside when I disassembled the top end to replace a leaky head/base gasket and remove the Bub sump.

Sadly, I didn't measure the sag. I had the springs installed and the sag set by the excellent mechanic at the shop I take the Ballabio to, so I'm unsure of the numbers before and after. I could call him and get them if you need them. The HyperPro spring on the Sachs has yet to bottom out from what I can tell and I've been driving some pretty awful roads in and around Boston. Sorry I couldn't be more helpful.

I have to say, I have them on my '04 Ballabio as well and the bike never rode or handled as good as it does right now. It soaks up the small choppy bumps with ease, and never has the hard shock feel that it did. Dive during braking is greatly reduced and cornering especially on imperfect surfaces is vastly improved. The HyperPro spring on the Sachs shock also did wonders for ride and handling. Thanks too to Todd Eagan and Guzzitech for his suggestions and help selecting the proper springs for me. I could not be happier with the Ballabio's handling right now.

I have to agree. I've put 500 mile days on my Ballabio seat (with a pillion) too and have been fairly comfortable. Perhaps its the riding position of the Ballabio.

I have been using the Pirelli Diablo Corsa III's on my V11 Sport Ballabio. I can't say enough about them. They work fantastic on my bike. Stick like glue and heat up quickly. I averaged about 7000 miles per set. Currently, I have the Metz. Z6 Roadtec's that came on the bike when I bought it. They were nearly new, and after I wore out my last set of Pirelli's at the end of the season last year, I figured I'd throw them back on to finish out the season. It turns out that it was a mistake. I find the Roadtec's to be about the worst tire I have ever ridden on. They take quite a bit longer than the Pirelli's to warm up and have caught them "stepping out" on corners when too much throttle is applied before properly warm (which seems to take forever). They probably last a long time, as the compound seems hard, but I'll never know, because they'll be off as soon as my next set of Pirelli's arrive. I was at a Guzzi breakfast ride a couple of weeks ago and someone asked me how I liked the Z6's. I told them not much and he proceeded to tell me he found them so bad that he contacted Metz. North America to complain. Some may have had good luck with them, but I'm not one of them. Good luck with your search.

I don't care that it's the small motor etc. etc. I think it's a great entry level bike for Guzzi. It looks nice and bet it's a nice bike to drive. There. I said it. I like it.

I run (usually) the Diablo Corsa III's and I think they're the best handling, fastest warming tires I've ever ridden on. I currently am running the Metzler Sportec Z6's as I wore out my Corsa's (2nd set) near the end of the season and thru the set of Metz's on that came with the bike when I bought it. They are/were almost new and find they feel greasy compared to the Corsa's. I typically get about 7000 miles out of a set. My

I took the Ballabio out of it's winter storage today. Started instantly and without the battery needing a charge. I had forgotten over the last 3 months just how sweet the thing sounds. Driving it again brought the love affair back in full focus. Driving down the road at legal speeds it seemed to say..."What's this? I've been waiting all winter to go, so let's go!" I brought it quickly up to 100 and the sound was pure music. Let the riding season begin!!!

Whereabouts Ouij? Hopefully the weather will start improving and I'll pull the Ballbio out of mothballs.

I had that exact VFR that you had pictured. I also owned a V65 Sabre back in the day, which had waaayyy more grunt than the VFR had. Truthfully, even though I did a cross country on the VFR, I found it rather bland. Personally, I also found it sounded more like a Chevy than a Ferrari. The performance numbers seem fairly similar to the V11, however I found I had to constantly shift the VFR to keep it in the sweet spot. I also think the V11 pulls nicer out of the corners. The VFR sure was purty though.

Are you saying there are no performance/reliability limitations to a 1000-1200 cc air cooled V twin? There's a fine line that Guzzi is treading. Do you abandon the trademark V twin in the name of performance and lose your identity to become another also ran in the hp race, or do you keep the engine that has literally defined them in recent history? It's a risky proposition. You're asking them to move forward and not stand still, and by most peoples estimation, they have. The CARC system is supposed to dramatically better than the setup we have on our V11's. The fuel injection is supposed to better sorted. They are putting 4 valves per cylinder again for performance gains. People have said that the Griso is the best handling Guzzi that they have ever produced. Most agree that the newer Guzzi's ARE more reliable. They have offered a very competent sport tourer, a pretty decent attempt at an adventure tourer etc. That to me signals an effort to move forward. The newest little V750 classic may not have been the performance machine hoped for, but it looks to be an excellent entry level introduction bike to bring new riders into the Guzzi market. That seems like smart marketing to me. No it doesn't mean it doesn't count, but race bikes have never been absolute exact replicas of the bikes that you go into the showroom and buy. Racing success sells motorcycles and it was good for Guzzi and I'm glad for it. I was not saying that water cooling isn't better, but rather that I'm personally not interested in a water cooled Guzzi. I like the simplicity and clean lines of the air cooled twin without ugly radiators hung off the front. It's no different than it is with me with the current crop of Porsche's. I've owned air cooled 911's and even though there is no comparison performance wise to the newest water cooled 911 offerings, they are most definitely not as inspiring a car to drive now and as such, I have no interest in them now. They are overly complex, heavy and have lost the edginess that was their trademark. I just don't want to see the same thing happen to Guzzi. I might not give up my V11 for a Breva, but I would consider the 1200 Sport and definitely consider it for an 8v Sport. I think the Sport is a nice looking machine with a more modern look without giving up what makes a Guzzi a Guzzi. I guess sales figures for that bike will determine if it's a hit or miss. I guess after re-reading your posts, I'm not sure where you want Guzzi to go. What exactly do you think they should be building for the "great leap forward"?

Hmmm....someone's been bitten hard. Beautiful bike. I'm very partial to the green with red frame Sports. The first Guzzi I ever drove was that same model and color. Congratulations on your most excellent purchase. I hope you love yours as much as I love mine.