What should I bring?

[Mr. Bean]

The stars finally aligned correctly today and I was able to get the new Ballabio out for a good ride. Took the ferry from Edmonds and rode out to Neah Bay and back. My buddy and I seem to have this jaunt down as our break-in-the-new-bike route.

 

When we stopped for lunch on the way back I noticed that the front wheel bolt..yes the big one, had loosened and unscrewed itself almost completely off. Well, no biggie, glad I caught it in time I said to myself as I grabbed the stock tool kit to tighten it back up. Imagine my surprise when I find that the big wrench in the toolkit doesn't fit the bolt. Not exactly sure what that wrench is in there for now. Lucky and just a little bit embarassing, that the wrench that came with my buddy's Yamaha R6 fit the bolt perfectly and I was able to carry on with the rest of a great ride back to Seattle.

 

Of course this got me thinking on the way back, just what items (spare parts and tools) do you all tend to carry with you on rides. On my last bike, a MZ Skorpion Traveller, I always carried spare bulbs and a spare clutch cable. I used the bulbs a couple times, and never needed the cable.

 

I've read that some of you like to keep a spare spark plug and wire, and spare relay. Any other items I should get before I take any long trips..besides a wrench that actually fits?

 

 

Thanks,

 

Randy

[al_roethlisberger]

...can't help with the additional "list" of items, as it really depends, and I'm sure more folks will chime-in(and there's a thread here somewhere )... although the spare relay, spark-plug, and some fuses are always a good thing

 

But, you should have a hex "slug" that's about an inch and a half long in your kit that fits into the front fork and rear axle/bolt. It will fit into a socket, or one of the wrenches.

 

al

[Mr. Bean]

Thanks Al,

 

You've solved the mystery of what that hex slug was designed for. Only it looks like my kit might be for a different year or model of Guzzi. I looked up the service and parts manual and they show two different front wheel mounting methods. Mine is the one with the 30mm hollow bolt that screws on over the hollow spindle. Oh well, easy enough to get one. The local Yamaha dealer has them on the shelf and it looks like it will even fit in the little tool bag.

 

...And did I mention how utterly fun this bike is!

 

Randy

[jrt]

Hi Mr. Bean,

 

Glad you are enjoying your bike! They are a lot of fun. I think a spare relay is a good call- you might not use it, but it takes less space than a MZ cable. A spare plug is also a good idea, but I've not heard of plug fouling as a problem on the V11. I would put the crappy tools that came with the bike on a shelf to collect dust, then replace them with a decent tool kit, just replicate what came with the bike with better quality, and one of those multi-tip screwdriver tools.

 

Oh, if the front wheel bolt came loose, take that as a hint to check all the other fasteners you can get a wrench on.

 

Cheers,

J

[al_roethlisberger]

Thanks Al,

 

You've solved the mystery of what that hex slug was designed for. Only it looks like my kit might be for a different year or model of Guzzi. I looked up the service and parts manual and they show two different front wheel mounting methods. Mine is the one with the 30mm hollow bolt that screws on over the hollow spindle. Oh well, easy enough to get one. The local Yamaha dealer has them on the shelf and it looks like it will even fit in the little tool bag.

 

...And did I mention how utterly fun this bike is!

 

Randy

 

Randy,

 

...ahh, I didn't realize Guzzi started putting the hollow axle on the Marz forks for 2004. Maybe they have been reading this forum after all

 

But if so, yes the axle is different. However, on a brighter note, that nut doesn't really hold the axle on/in(OK, well sure it does ) as much as the cinch bolts on the fork legs pinch the axle. The nut is something of a safety, and also draws the legs together tightly against the bearings/spacer.

 

That's not to say the nut isn't important ....but even if it had come off, it probably wouldn't have been catastrophic for quite some time.

 

Glad to hear you have it figured out! All my fasteners are loc-tite'd

 

al

[Mr. Bean]

I took jrt's advice and went over the bike front to back...the only loose bolts I found were of course the cinch bolts on the front axel...I'm thinking I was pretty lucky afterall!

 

Anyway, all's well that ends well!

 

Thanks for the advice!

 

Randy

[jrt]

Well, I'm really glad you checked everything out. Loss of the front wheel would be exciting, to put it mildly. If you are feeling energetic, then you probably ought to 'Carl-Allison-ize' your bike by checking and greasing every electrical bullet fastener you can get hold of. The ones under the tank are particularly prone to oxidation, then they fail, then the bike does weird things and this guy starts showing up:

Not pretty.

 

Cheers,

Jason

[Mike Stewart]

Heck Mr. Bean, I retorqued all the bolts on my 00 V11 Sport when I bought it and never carried a tool kit with me for the first two years. Now that the wife rides her on bike (Ducati), I now carry a tool kit.

 

You might have a tool kit to an older model if the wrenches don't fit the axles nuts. Guzzi is Italian after all.

 

Have fun with your new bike!

 

Mike