pete roper

I think we have at least one owner on here.

While people like to go on the rant about ‘Plastic’ the simple fact is that apart from its lightness it also is not only cheaper than *metal* alternatives but it is ideal for making complex shapes like petrol tanks. Manufacturing tanks like the V11, Griso or TV-4 would be hideously expensive. Blow-moulding them, (Or however it’s done? I’m not sure.) is quick, cheap and efficient and as long as the correct material is used, long lasting and robust as well. Its interesting to note that the Guzzi arm of Piaggio obviously knows it’s market pretty well as the V7 series smallblocks predominantly sold to either hipsters or those pining for imagined ‘Glory Days’ of yore and the Cali 1400 series both are/were fitted with steel tanks. At least in part because the early V7’s had plastic tanks and this produced towering, spittle-flecked rage among ‘Those of a certain age and demeanour.’. These are of course the same people who became apoplectic when incandescent light bulbs were phased out and when they were encouraged to get dual-flush toilets! Luckily both the V85 ‘Adventure’ bike and the V100 which appeal to a different market segment are free of such constraints and have sensible plastic tanks, albeit in both cases fitted with external ‘Skins’ made up of detachable panels and in the case of the V100 those ridiculous ‘Wings’ that stick out like dog’s balls when you hit a certain speed! At least you can turn them off!

In the US old ‘Touring’ Tonti’s may still be commonplace. Over here? Not so much. They are currently much sought after and a decent, unmolested one is very hard to find.

OK. So they ‘Design and machine countless custom parts’. Why then do all their bikes look exactly the same? Few, if any of them, have any air filtration and their HP figures are the usual fantasy bullshit to mug the punters. I’m sorry, it’s been done to death, again and again and again. Sure their execution is better than Joe Blow brush painting his ruined SP but it’s still the same shit. Sorry. I hate it. What makes a bike like Phil’s, or Paul Minaert’s outstanding is the attention to detail and the ‘Outside the box’ thinking and effort that goes into them and they still look outstanding and WORK! The usual response to me criticising things like this is that “You couldn’t do it yourself”! Damn f*cking straight I couldn’t! I have neither the skill or the patience to embark on such a project. I did, back around the middle of the first decade of this century build a short stroke roundfin that produced 80+ hp on a couple of Dino’s but it was only 891cc and it had to rev to nearly 10,000 RPM to do so. At those sorts of engine speeds, even though the MEPS was fine it torched its big ends regularly through oil pump cavitation! In 2006 I bought an 1100 Griso and it did everything my little hot rod did but was a turn-key machine! It also handled better, even without work on the suspension, and didn’t run its big ends with tiresome regularity! Looked far better than those tiresome two wheeled ‘Artworks’ too. Look if you like that sort of thing? All power to you. I’m sure that whoever runs that business is far richer than I’ll ever be. I prefer just finding problems and solving them to make a good product better rather than making fantasies for rich dimbulbs who will probably ‘Ride’ their bikes once or twice a year. Im strange like that though……

They all look exactly the bloody same. They’re all ‘Built from a catalog’ cookie cutter versions of the same thing. I used to like a nicely executed ‘Cafe’ Tonti but then they all became as dull and formulaic as those Harley’s that have been ‘Accessorised’ from the ‘Screaming Eagle’ catalog. Back in the early 2000’s I used to get an endless stream of these gurning numpties coming through the shop. They’d buy something like a lovely old SP1000, tear the fairing off, paint the frame, (With a brush and without taking the engine out!), throw away the airbox and put pod filters on the same tiny carbs so the engine didn’t run right and then to make it truly ‘Individual’ they’d do something like saw the flange off the bevelbox, shorten the rear mudguard and paint the sidepanels maroon or something equally gross! They all had clip ons and a stupid tail light and every single one of them was an unutterable pile of shit! When I expressed my feelings their owners would always flounce off in a huff! No skin off my nose as none of them ever had any money! It went hand in hand with the lack of talent! F*ckwits one and all.

To my mind similarly hideous.

I think Fulvio’s bike is as ugly as a hat full of farty arseholes. No doubt it produces some improbable amount of HP as well. MTPGA! (Make these people go away.)

You never got the Bellagio un the USA. Your loss as they have a lot going for them. They were all, from the get-go, a sort of parts bin special. Sort of like a Tonti at the front and Cark bike at the back. A sort of ‘Mullet’ motorbike! The strange thing is that they chose to stick the ‘Flaccid Whale Penis’ tank off the Cali 1100 on it along with high risers and pull back bars. It also used an odd combination of the W5AM controller and the earlier Cali type throttlebodies and linkages. What makes a Bellagio fantastic though is that 940cc motor. It is, without a doubt, the best 2V big block ever made! It is the shortest stroke of any big block ever made and despite being adequately torquey at the bottom is an insane rev-hound that is happiest bouncing off the rev limiter! The complete opposite of what you’d expect in something designed to look like a ‘Cruiser’/Bar-Hopper. Couple that with the earlier 3 shaft six speed and you’re on to a winner. Over here they are holding their price extremely well but I think a lot of that is down to their more ‘Traditional’ styling to most of the CARC series. Several people I know, and several I don’t, have ‘Cafe’d’ Bellagios. The usual way is to mount a V7 tank and add clip-ons. This version seems to have had the wonderful Bellagio motor swapped out for a Griso/Breva 1100 motor, a mistake in my opinion. It also has the completely unnecessary oil cooler retained and stuck up under the steering head. What would be interesting to know is how they mounted the alternator? All of the CARC series bar the Bellagio use the high-mount 600W alternator that sits in the valley of the motor. The crank doesn’t have the ‘Nose’ for mounting the Ducati alternator. Either it is using a V11/Cali1100 crank or they’ve built an adaptor. Not my style of bike, but interesting.

No, it doesn’t. Chances are some previous gnumb-gnuts removed it and then glued it back on with some form of gorilla snot. Make sure ALL the peripheral bolts are out and then use something to apply gradually increasing force on something, even if it is a screwdriver through the already buggered hole. Don’t try and shock it and don’t try to chisel it. If it’s really obstinate? Get the blowtorch out and heat around the flange of the sump, try and do it evenly, eventually it’ll part company but I don’t envy you the task of cleaning the mess of gorilla snot and gasket off the mating surfaces. When done though reinstall the new gasket either dry or a very thin smear of grease and you won’t have the issue again. For the stripped thread? I’d recommend a time-sert.

This goose is a prime example of why I’m so very glad I’m not in the trade any more. Yes, the tune and the change in exhaust didn’t cause a casting to fail. How could they? But, at the same time he proves himself to know absolutely nothing about engines, tuning, or modern engine management systems and then is upset when the manufacturer of the machine denies warranty! Did he not consider such a possibility before embarking on any changes? Does he believe that he should be able to do anything, unsuitable or otherwise, to his machine and if it all falls in a screaming heap somebody else should pick up the pieces? What a bloody Galah! And the pouty, spoilt little boy reaction after it’s fixed! “I don’t like it any more. I’m going to get another toy, I don’t even want to ride it again! Wah! Wah!” F*ck these people! They are one of the main reasons we can’t have nice things! Look, if I’d sold it and it snapped a casting like that it would obviously be a casting fault. I can’t see how it could be anything else. I would have explained it was just bad luck, (It’s not like they can x-ray every casting for faults!) and slapped a warranty claim in for the rocker carrier, gaskets and anything else needed, perhaps a pushrod? There would have been no need for Piaggio to know about any changes because they would be irrelevant to a failure like this. If I was a dealer and had another model on the floor I probably would have cannibalised the entire rocker assembly off it and got old mate back on the road in an afternoon. Swapping the rocker gear off a smallblock is scarcely brain surgery, you could do it in 3/4’s of an hour max. You don’t even have to take the bloody petrol tank off FFS! Perhaps the reason it all became such a drama was because he’s a pathetic, snivelling, self important ignoramus and cut up rough at the shop? I dunno? It all seemed like a full-on whine-a-thon to me….. But what would I know……..

My comment about them not crashing well wasn’t so much a criticism as a simple statement of fact. They don’t! Thing is they aren’t designed to be crashed so in terms of their performance and ability as a motorbike it’s an irrelevance. If I was a few years younger I’d be seriously looking for a V11 now but I’m old and unhealthy and don’t have much money for fripperies and toys any more since I retired and with my current stable of bikes I certainly can’t justify another one! The biggest issue with the Spineframe series to me is that they were designed and built at a time when the factory was very cash strapped and therefore some of the design features, (The outrigger bearing in the bevelbox casing is a good example.) are a bit ‘Poverty Pack’ and poorly thought out. Other parts though like the four shaft gearbox are a delight! I wish that had been carried over into the CARC series as a good one is a real joy to use! Look, they are what they are. The only way to know if you want to buy one is to ride one. So what are you waiting for?

Is this the same? http://www.eaglescreens.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/M17Pricess.jpg

Do Eagle Screens do one? I think it’s the same screen used on the Balabio and Titanium amount others. Eagle may have a mould or whatever. Can you post up a pic? I can enquire after the weekend if you wish?

Oh it rains. Generally though the Canberra region is one of the driest areas on the driest inhabited continent on earth! Most of our rain comes in spring and autumn, although this autumn has so far been very dry. Both summer and winter tend to get dominated by large high pressure systems that sit over the continent and winter especially is characterised by incredibly clear, still, days with bright sunshine and few clouds. As soon as the sun drops below the horizon temperatures plummet and overnight temps of -5*C are common, we can get down to -8 occasionally! As soon as the sun comes up again though temperatures climb rapidly and by 10.00AM it will be well above freezing and by early afternoon it can be in the mid to high teens. Sure, when we do get winter storms from the south west it can be utterly miserable but really it’s quite a pleasant climate and we have year round riding and no salt on the roads. What’s not to like? Some of the best riding roads in the country are also only an hour or two away.

Wot he sed