po18guy

Hmmm... let's see: air cooled cylinder, high cam, short pushrods opening valves via rockers - something about it is just so familiar. Ah yes! It seems that Giovanni Parrilla might have had the idea first. But bevel gears* (see correction - thanks Pete) and shaft was his choice of drive. Back in the day, I lusted after a 250 Wildcat scrambler.

Well, I stand corrected! Thank you. As always seems to happen, I should have specified that my experience is limited to V8 car engines.

Way old thread, but back to timing setups. First cup of coffee musing here. HQ gears should last the life of the engine, but such gears - think transmission quality or above - would cost near the value of the bike. Straight cut gears are more efficient than helical (no thrust), but give you that "NASCAR" V8 sound. Lovely for around town, but tiring when droning along. Alloy gears? If we go back 60+ years to the Studebaker car V8s, we find a fiber cam gear! And I know of no failures driving 16 valves for 100K. Rather mild cam profiles I'll grant you, but their performance "Avanti" cam gear was helical alloy. The engineering on the Studes was such that there was crank gear directly meshing with cam gear - nothing in between and no tensioner needed. Where does that leave us? I tend to think that racing engines (fairly frequent tear downs) need gears, while street engines need a good tensioner. Being an owner, have prowled the Kawasaki EX500 forum for many years and cam chain tensioners were a big issue on the gen1 ('87-'93) motors. Fortunatel, the bulletproof gen2 unit swapped right on. They have the silent hy-vo chains and many of them go 100K miles if properly maintained. Says something about the chains in what was essentially a commuter/throw away bike. And this is with the lumpy 180º/540º firing interval they have. I am of the mind that a good aftermarket tensioner will serve me well. Timing setup that Andy Granatelli used to go 168 MPH in a 1963 Avanti. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YG8pdR6VAXw

I note that my ''04 Ballabio has distinctly limited steering lock. Makes U-turns quite interesting and something to practice. At full lock, there is at least 12mm/ one-half inch of clearance between forks and tank. Could it partially be the slightly longer frame? Suspension adjustments can make a huge difference. Due to too many back surgeries, I softened the rear dampening and it made quite a difference - but do one adjustment at a time and ride it.

+1 I signed up and have not been disappointed one bit. Once you are used to it, it's a breeze, doing almost all the work for you.

Either way, having a spare is a good thing. I don't care if they're $20 each. What is the value of not having to tear the bike down? Of not being stranded in a single gear?

There is a DOT manufacturer's date code molded into the sidewall of the tire. It will usually say "DOT (1743) or similar - the parentheses actually being a wide oval into which the tire's date code is molded. In this example, the first two digits are the last two of the year (2017) the tire was made, and the "43" being the week within that year: October 23-October 29th, 2017. Examine the sidewalls and tread of the tire. If you see any weather checking (cracking), time for the tires to go. Any sidewall bulging or suspicious cuts/repairs in the tread would mean the same. i have the Guzzi shop manual for my bike, but it is Italian somewhat translated into British - so us Yanks have to scratch our heads until we can determine what some of the terms mean. Never seen a Haynes for the V11, but it might be worth a look. Dust cover, sun cover or rain cover (in L.A. right?)

Time for a few photos in the dedicated thread. After a fairly good sprucing up. In addition to the LED headlight, it now has LED signals with an electronic adjustable-rate flasher. Once my acute bronchitis fades, more miles are waiting.

Gotta ditto on the Avons. I have ridden Avon bias ply tires on my Kawi and they are especially good in the rain. If the ShinKos on his bike are reasonably fresh and he is riding conservatively until he's accustomed to the bike, I would wear them out and look for a deal on some major brands. Unless they scare him - then all bets are off.

All great ideas. Perhaps attach a voltmeter/multimeter to the battery and note the voltage when the light is on and see if it changes when the light goes off. It "may" point to a rectifier problem. The toggle? The bike may have had aux fog lights or??? added and the toggle would control them. Oh, and the rattle with clutch in? That helped me figure out why I like Ducatis: with their 90º exhaust cadence and rattly dry clutch, they remind me of a Guzzi!

I think that Guzzis are somewhat like Colt pistols and revolvers: more the exception than the rule, with each being one-of-a-kind. It seems as though the assembly workers simply grabbed whatever was nearest and bolted it on. Mine has a different ign switch, but it's still somewhat puzzling how to get to lack/park positions without some monkey motion. The toggle? Flip it and see if the charge light remains on as long. Someone with greenie experience will chime in. Back in the 1960s, Ducati singles had a mystery toggle switch on the tailight mount. No one could ever determine what on earth it did, so we assumed that it was Italian law that each motorcycle had to have a toggle switch somewhere. ShinKo tires are probably very good for a "sports-touring" app. I think they would go away on a track day - but that is not their purpose. The universal joint? Virtually every American and most European cars with U-joints left them open. Better to shed any heat buildup, easier to clean and to maintain. A leather cover would be really cool - covering only the fixed (silver) part. Underseat looks very good - not messed with. Funny that my '04 Ballabio has no chin pad on the tank, so they painted a faux chin pad on. Now that's Italian!

It seems that some others and I are late to the game. The price you were charging, while a great benefit to the members, seemed to me to be way too low for the time and effort you put into the project. If no MG aftermarket supplier or even MG itself is not interested, then you should be properly compensated. I would willingly pay much more than you charged for the peace and security of knowing I would not have to limp home in who-knows-which gear. p.s. Love your Piper. It looks meticulously kept. Dad was a pilot - rebuilt his 1941 Luscombe 8C by himself. Bro and I climbed into the fuselage to buck rivets, as we were the only ones who could fit back near the tailsection. He re-covered the wings and doped the fabric in our back yard. Painted it and started the wingless plane up in our driveway. He had to chase the neighbor kids away when they came running to see what all the commotion was about!. He flew it from Canada to Mexico, and we went to many fly-ins. Ah, those were the days!

My eyes are crossed after reading this thread! Chuck, you deserve a free vacation to Mandello del Lario! My '04 ballabio came with a spare spring, but I think it's in Guzzi wrapping. Will have to look - but I'd rather buy a new and improved spring.

Congrats! They are like no other motorcycle. An acquired taste some say, but torque suits every palate. The only thing I see that needs immediate attention is BNP. Badly Needs Pipes.

I hear you. Am giving the Ballabo a pre-flight, removing all of the 'Disney' (Mickey Mouse) parts as well as stuff that tried to turn it into a sport tourer. Bags and mounts set aside. Forward set pegs replaced by OEM. Faucet washers between fairing and headlight mount. Binned. über tacky stick-on horse trailer reflector on rear fender. History. Full LED makeover with a 36W fan-cooled LED unit in the headlight, LED projector beam turn signals (with adjustable rate flasher), along with a clear lens over the LED taillight (was smoked). Surface rust around the drain holes and screw holes in the headlight rim neutralized with KBS Rust Blast and then sealed forever with KBS Rust Seal. Iridium plugs for faster starts. She's getting there.

Welcome, Kane, from another new guy. Although only recently becoming a Guzzi owner myself, I long ago formed the opinion that Guzzis are not so much a motorcycle as they are a project which involves a motorcycle. Maybe better stated is that they are an adventure involving a motorcycle. Not in the "Then Came Bronson" genré, but then again... Being long of tooth and having cheated death various times in recent memory, I came to the conclusion that if I was to own one, I'd better buy one, and relatively soon. Was looking at an '02 LeMans because, I posted at that time, "no one was selling a Ballabio." Never went to see it, as it was about three hours away. Well, my hesitation was well-timed, as an '04 Ballabio came up on CL. Also three hours away, but I went to see it. I was seduced by the Italian siren wearing red, as I bought it without even riding it. The sheer redness of it all, as well as the music emanating from the Staintunes weakened my resolve. I pulled the trigger. And, as docc said, I am now in the process of making it just so. Am also refreshing my memory of Italian curse words that I earned from my neighbors as a child. As you noted, forum members here most likely know more about Guzzis than Guzzi does. Bottom line: It's not so much ownership as it is a relationship.

And in a strange twist of fate, Indians are no longer imported to the US as they were in the 60s and 70s, but made in North America. Meanwhile some Harleys are made in India. And then there's the new 338cc "Charley", made in China. Corporate life, reflecting politics as it does, often makes for strange bedfelllows.

Well corporations do what they gotta do. Not exactly the same, but GM screwed Pontiac and Oldsmobile. Ford screwed Mercury and Chrysler the same to Plymouth. "Indian" has more cred than Victory. As nice a bike as the Victories are, it seems to me that their focus was too narrow and their demographic (me) is dying off. Indian has more bases covered. Back to Erik, I wonder if a V11 will fit a Buell XB frame. 90º turn on final drive and... Just daydreaming. Anyway, the Ballabio is my last bike. I don't have many laps left and would hate to breathe my last regretting not having owned a Guzzi.

Apologies to any owners here, but I would never buy an HD. What they did to Erik Buell was criminal. I would buy an Indian, all things considered.

A few pics now that the Goose is spiffed up a bit. The headlight was almost opaque when I got it. Some Midway USA "shooter's swabs", a little Windex, SprayWay cleaner and some cotton balls cleared it up nicely.

Well...

Says title status clean. Hmmm. Was he ripped off by a bad dealer who swapped out the good stuff?

Oh, you got the fever, and bad, errr.. I mean good. Was thinking about having my cowl painted, but the tailsection is the midnight/azurre/sunset-over-the-Italian-Alps blue that occurs nowhere else on earth. And I'd lose the Ballabio script.

Just looking at it, what I would like to see is intake snorkles that extend further forward from the OEM airbox and do not pick up cylinder or oil cooler heat. Maybe a bit larger, or even a 3rd snorkle. In the Kawi EX500/GPz500s world, the thing is to add a 3rd snorkle to the OEM airbox (which is 7 litres capacity as is), but the Kawis use CV carbs and some intake restriction is needed. Used pods back in the 70s and while they simplify and clean up the intake, they can certainly complicate tuning.