Decision Time

[cycdude6]

Brief saga of an '04 Ballabio:

1) Test ride...bike broke down, bought anyway!

2) Bike in shop 3 times, numerous issues, much lost riding time.

3) More issues, diagnosed and repaired thru advice here. (clutch switch bullet connectors, other issues)

4) lousy gas mileage, low to mid 30's

5) Rear tire shot in 3200 moderate miles.

6) Adjusted tps (finally!) after much trial and error. Bike running ok, though it has run better.

7) Bike breaking up badly on highway test ride. Stop, rest a minute, bike runs ok for a bit then starts cutting out again. No fix in sight.

 

The dilemna: Will this nightmare (it's bothering the shit out of me) ever end? Is my bike a lemon among lemans? I fix one thing and something else acts up and I keep hoping (foolishly?) that this repair will be the last for awhile but I really doubt it will be. I'm coming to the conclusion that owning this bike is more pain than pleasure and I'm contemplating moving on....

 

Comments?

[Dan M]

Most here including myself love and trust (I'm knocking on my desk right now) these bikes but some things are just not meant to be. It does seem you are having more than your fair share of trouble. Perhaps Luigi and Guido were both hung over the morning yours was assembled.

I think if mine were as much trouble and I couldn't get it sorted I'd probably get rid of it. Who wants to be 100 miles from home and not trust their bike?

[Richard]

I had a similar quandary with my 1100i. Every time I would fix something, something else would go wrong, and every time it would be something expensive. I therefore got pi%&ed off with the bike and decided on selling it and buying a newer one. I ended up selling the bike to my father and buying a V11 Rosso Corsa. Since 'selling' the bike two years ago we've not had the problems we used to with it *touch wood*, and I've bought another good bike. I kept riding the 1100i on occasion, and have realised that due to the problems that I was having, my view on the bike was tainted. The reason that my father bought the bike off of me was because he had so much fun riding it that he didn't want to see it go and now I would agree with him, so much so that I have bought it back off of him. I suppose that I am getting round to saying that if you stick with it you can end up with a lovely bike which you don't want to get rid of, you just need to sit back and take stock for a little while. However, it does take time, patience and money. If you are lacking in any of those, then I would think about another bike.

[Guest ratchethack]

Sell it.

 

You've listed normal tire wear and being operated in a poor state of tune (with resulting bad mileage) as complaints. A V11 is a bad fit for you. You need a Honda and a Honda dealership to do your service. No doubt someone is looking for this Ballabio right now, who has a mindset to see that it's tuned and maintained properly, and who's willing to stay ahead of minor things as easily remedied as an "infant stage" wiring connector fault, relays, keeping the battery charged, and other such trivia. He will pay a nice price for one of Guzzi's most sought-after V11 "classics".

 

http://www.v11lemans.com/forums/index.php?...mp;#entry129304

 

EDIT: I thought I remembered you. It was from the link above, where you were looking at going after Guzzi with a Lemon Law suit. I'd laid out some ideas for you then and advised you to dump it if you couldn't get out of the mode of finding fault with Guzzi and your dealer and start using some of your own professional expertise and common sense to solve your relatively simple, minor roblems by the most expedient avenue. You've been complaining for seven months about stuff like a tire wore out at 3200 miles, and it doesn't run right -- evidently not having been tuned properly?! WHY ON EARTH haven't you sold it yet -- and WHY ON EARTH would you need someone here to tell you to do it??

 

Back last September you listed stuff falling off your kickstand and routine battery maintenance, along with a raft of the most minor stuff I can think of as complaints, the same kind of stuff you listed above. Most of us here would've prevented most, if not all of these things from becoming any kind of a problem in the first place. Sport tires wear out in 3200 miles, for cryin' out loud. And it seems you're a professional handyman having owned 20 moto's previously?? With this background, presumably you learned SOMETHING that would lend itself to making this bike a perfect fit for yourself?!?! Evidently not.

 

I'm aghast -- and furthermore, agog.

[gstallons]

Did (does) Wagner's have the AXEONE diagnostic tool for the MG bike? Also, have you looked at all connectors?I install shakeproof washers on ALL grounds!Grounds are ONE HALF of a complete circuit.

Also,after playing with these bikes, install a fresh set of plugs. I don't care how new or how good they look you will be cooked to know you had a bad spark plug !!!!!!!!! And Powercommander has a dealer and tuning center in Danbury and Putnam, Ct. I don't know where you are located or if there is anyone located closer?

[rocker59]

You should've made this a poll.

 

I'll vote with Ratchethack and say "move on"...

[jhh]

Sell it then. The last three or four bikes posted in the 'For Sale' section here sold within a week or so. Please note in your post that it hasn't been maintained well and adjust the price accordingly, and you should be rid of it quickly.

 

Problem solved!

 

Edit: Never mind, just saw your For Sale ad. Ignore me.

[gstallons]

The epiphany!!

You mentioned "Christine" would not start at times w/out turning the front forks. WELL,maybe your intermittent is around the steering head. Please check it.

[cycdude6]

Hey Rachet,

Thanks for the vitriol, I asked for it, didn't I?

And I appreciate all the help and advice I've recieved, too.

I just didn't realize I'd purchased an AMF era Harley Davidson.

I've maintained in total all my previous motorcycles with only minor setbacks and to date have found the Ballabio to be thrilling yet unreliable in all sorts of ways. My complaints about the tire usage and mileage are well within the profligate profile of the V11, as you maintain. I just wanted more.

John

[ptrkbeam]

Sell the thing already.

Might want to lower the price just a bit.

 

( I thought I saw a "for sale" listing from you months ago? )

[cycdude6]

Sell the thing already.

Might want to lower the price just a bit.

 

Ok, I will, Kelly Blue Book is $6995.

 

( I thought I saw a "for sale" listing from you months ago? )

 

Nope, wasn't me.

[rocker59]

My complaints about the tire usage and mileage are well within the profligate profile of the V11, as you maintain. I just wanted more.

John

 

"Wrecklessly wasteful" ??? You have got to be kidding!!!

 

3,000 miles out of sportsbike tire is the norm. Why didn't you just replace the tire with a Metzeller ME880 or a Dunlop Roadsmart and get about 10,000 miles of riding out of the tires if "touring" is your angle ?

 

Just curious to know what you were riding before trying to make the Ballabio your daily ride ?

[cycdude6]

"Wrecklessly wasteful" ??? No, I said "My complaints about the tire usage and mileage are well within the profligate profile of the V11, as you maintain."

 

3,000 miles out of sportsbike tire is the norm. Why didn't you just replace the tire with a Metzeller ME880 or a Dunlop Roadsmart and get about 10,000 miles of riding out of the tires if "touring" is your angle ?

Actually, I wish there was an ME880 for the Ballabio, I'd buy it. I don't consider the V11 a true "sportsbike" but more like a GT or a standard like the 1200 Bandit. I think the Ballabio is way too slow and heavy to be considered a "sportsbike" like a Ducati 998.

Just curious to know what you were riding before trying to make the Ballabio your daily ride ?

This is my first Moto Guzzi and first GT standard type bike. I wish I knew now what I thought I knew then!

[rocker59]

Profligate :

adjective

1. immoral and shameless

2. extremely wasteful; recklessly extravagant

 

 

 

Metzeler ME880 : 170/60 R 17 M/C 72V TL.

Many people run the 170/60 size on thier late-model Sport/LeMans. Me included.

 

 

 

"True Sportsbike", "GT bike". Jeez!!! No one here is comparing a spine-frame Guzzi with a Ducati Superbike... Are you saying that's what you came off of when you bought the Guzzi?

 

As far as tires, hell, BMW sport-tourers come with Bridgestone BT-014s and believe me, there are people that just wish thier K1200s would get 3,000 miles from the factory-installed tires!!!

 

Good luck with whatever your next bike is. I hope you sell your Ballabio quickly. I'd try Ebay, too. (Keep in mind that KBB is notoriously optimistic with Guzzi prices).

[BRENTTODD]

Sell it buy a VFR trouble over

 

good by good luck god speed

Brent