Jock Guzzi

Nice picture of the bike available on the autotrader website. It's a bargain at £3999 !

The 156 GTA is getting a bit long in the tooth and a recent job change means a 90 mile round trip, so I'm having to go to the dark side and get a diesel. However the good news is that I'm sticking with Alfa and getting a 159, which has a 210bhp 2.4 five cylinder engine. It pushes out 295 lb ft of torgue so its not the worst diesel to far. If anyone wants to buy 5 five old Alfa 156 GTA with 65k miles on the clock for £6999 let me know. The car's in good nick, I've looked after it for most of it's life. Cheers, Mark

Thanks Guy, will be a real shame to loose it but selling seems the most sensible course of action given the circumstances. Hope you are well, and life in Newcastle during the week is not too boring . How's that little project of yours coming along. When will we see finished pictures ?

Ok here's the deal. I've moved in with my girlfriend, I hardly used the bike last summer, I've just sold my house, she's got no garage, so come 18th April i've no safe place to store a bike I don't use very often at the moment...and I need to buy a new car ! So it seems sensiible to sell the bike. I've not given up on biking or Guzzi's but it seems to make sense right now to move the bike on. Details are as follows : Registered May 06...one of the last new Ballabios in the UK 4k on the clocks Had the black bits professionally resprayed red so the whole bike is now red Have Guzzi titanium cans...sound great...but got the originals as well Front fender extender to keep the crud off Replaced the relays with proper ones from Dan Prusomething or other in the USA Garaged from new, so the bike is in perfect condition Want £4449 Pm me if your interested.

Don't buy that one, buy mine instead. All Red Ballabio (I had the black bits all resprayed red), registered in May 06 so it's one of the last UK bikes, garaged, 3000 miles, with Guzzi Titanium cans, proper relays that work and a black front guard extender to keep the crud off the engine...and it's in Stirling. Yours for a lot less than £6k, and it does not have the "paint will flake at some stage" crinkle finish. Pm me if you interested or reply with a contact e-mail address or phone number. Cheers, Mark

Great pics as usual Guy...but where's the pics of the Satan sSaves and their rides ? (bikes not molls, but if you have any of those as well feel free to include them).

Anyone know what the red bike in the background is in the picture of Ewan fiddling with the pannier ? Looks nicer than a Norge, is the new trailie ?

Guy, great pictures, there was only one thing missing...me ! Really sorry I missed the trip. I'm hoping a large bribe will get me on the list for next year. Hope to catch up with you soon. Cheers, Mark Ps Have not forgot I still owe you some cash for the Swiss motorway tolls. PPs The texts seem to have dried up. Put me back on the list. My favourite is still the nine volt battery / womans arsehole one !

Thanks for all your feedback. I've now got the bike going, it will only start with the sidestand up. As my neutral light is not working / coming on, I'm guessing from what has been said that this interferes with the sidestand engine kill mechanism. All far to complicated for someone as mechanically "blind" as me but I get the jist of it. Please feel free to explain how it all works, but remember to keep it simple otherwise you'll loose me. Looks like Stormsedge wins the diagnostic test. Thanks once again.

Need some help guys. Was on the bike last weekend, all was well. Went to run a few errands on Saturday, ignition on ok, lights etc all on but no whirly noise from the fuel pump and nothing when pressing the starter button. Checked fuses, all ok, am using Dan's relays so don't think it is a relay problem. Thought it might be a battery issue, as I had to put it on the optimate a few weeks ago to top it up after a winter of no use, but after doing this it was fine last weekend. Anyway stuck it on the optimate for a further 7 hours or so but still nothing from the fuel pump. Any ideas ? I'm due to head up to the Highland fling next weekend, so I need to get it sorted or I'll miss out on the fun. Cheers in anticipation.

Going

Given its an 04 there should be no major issues. I have a new one and there have been no issues other than the very common speedo cable break (after 2500 miles in my case). Other than that, build quality is good and reliabaility is fine. I did replace the relays with GEI ones bought from Dan ( somewhere in the USA you'll find plenty of info about these on here) but thats it. Buy, ride and smile. Its as simple as that.

I have noticed a similar problem with my Ballabio but have decided that I can live with it. While I did think of the option of moving the screen onto the handlebars, I thought the simplest solution would be to cut the screen down by 2 or 3 inches. By my reckoning this would drop the airflow down away from the helmet onto the chest just enough to stop the turbulence. My main gripe is actually the seating position, which is great for up to about an hour and a half, but therefater the combination of all the weight being on ones arse and a hardish seat mean that things start to get a little uncomfortable. I'm actually considering clip ons so that there is a bit more weight on the wrists and less on the arse. I found my original V11 to be very comfortable because of the more balanced weight distribution. Good luck with which ever modification you decide on. Perhaps you could let me know how effective your preferred solution is. Cheers.

Sounds like a cool trip. Never mind the biking stuff, tells us about Les going bananas. In this context, bananas is a great word and one I use often, though usually predeeded by the F word. It kind of just says it all. I love going bananas, especially when it involves football matches (soccer to the colonials) alcohol and of course woman. That reminds me, I've been living a bit quietly recently...I'm due a bit of banana time.

I use Optimax in my Ballabio but the dealer who sold me my Triumph advised that I just use the standard stuff in it. Am I wasting money using Optimax in a Guzzi. Should I just use the standard stuff (though I would not buy a supermarket own brand petrol). Thoughts appreciated.

I'll be picking up bike no 2 on saturday (no1 = Ballabio no 2 = new Triumph Sprint ST 1050) and I'm starting to wonder why, apart from having a mid life crisis, do I really need 2 bikes in the garage. Obviously I've convinced myself that the Ballabio is great for thrashing around the Highlands of Scotland whereas the Sprint will take the strain out of the European trip in Sept, but is two really just a waste of cash. Help me guys, I need advise, I'm feeling guilty and wondering if I have been a little implusive. PS, while I love Guzzis and hopefully will always have one, you can't beat a motorcycle that pulls the old arms out of their sockets. Nothing beats knowing that you can pretty much cream most things on the road

I'm afraid I must make a small but very important correction to your original post Ratchethack. You mention the word British in your introductory comments but the artical quoted went on to discuss the English football team. Given your colonial status it comes as no surprise that you could make such a basic error. Great Britain is indeed made up of 4 separate countries, Scotand, Northern Ireland, Wales and England. Those of us who are not English do on occasions get very irritated when this basic, but often made, error occurs. Closer to home I'm led to believe that Canadians suffer from similar feelings when people assume they are Americans. To cut a long stort short, when it comes to any sport related topic the English are a bunch of wankers and the rest of usually always support whoever they are playing. Had it been the Scotland football team loosing you would have found no tears on the park as Scottish men don't cry. Indeed further proof of our nations manlyness is that official records show that there are no homosexuals in Scotland at all...our gene pool is such that this is impossible. However, it will come as no surpise to anyone in Scotland, Northern Ireland or indeed Wales, when I tell you that there were 11 homosexuals in the English football team that day. I hope this has been of some help to you.

For what it's worth, my new Ballabio came with Metzler Sportec tires on it. The center section of the rear tire was down to 1.6mm after on 2200 miles though a nail finally forced a new purchase. To get longer life I chose a set of Metzler Roadtec tires which are fitted on Grisos and Breva 1100s. Personally I much prefer the Roadtec tires despite them being a sport touring tire as opposed to the softer compound Sportec which is claimed as being suitable for the track as well as the road. I find theRoadtec tires turn in much more quickly and for me they seem to give a less jittery ride which in turn gives a lot more confidence. Aligned to at least twice the life means I'm delighted with them and would recommend them.

I got home ok. On the way, got pulled over by a couple of cops who were doing some kind of Bike Safe initiative. Once they saw I was on a Guzzi they just wanted to talk about the bike. They did comment on how they heard me coming but thankfully the Guzzi Titanium exhausts have Moto Guzzi in big letters on them, so I'm guessing they assumed they were standard kit. Just as well as it would be a right pain to have to turn up at the the station with the original cans on. Cheers for the pictures. Only one small observation for you Guy, next time take a close up picture of my bike, which is easy on the eye, as opposed to my face, which is not. Any ladies who disagree, please feel free to get in touch by sending a picture and some brief personal details. It goes without saying that a relaxed moral outlook is a must have requirement

Given that I live in Stirling and have taken the Friday off, I was thinking of heading off to Spean Bridge around lunchtime. Anyone want to hook up en route and enjoy a wee thrash up the road. There's always the option of getting a cup of tea and a pee at my place or we could meet elsewhere, it's not a bother to me. Any views ?

Picture as requested on a previous post. Been too busy riding the thing hence the slight time delay. Maybe not the best picture but it's all pretty tidy.

Miles thanks for your feedback, reassuring I guess that it's not just my imagination. Your right about the fixed headlight assembly but this could be removed and replaced with a headlight and speedo / rev counter bracket from a non faired V11. The screen could then be mounted closer to the rider and hopefully the problem would be solved. I'm going to speak to the guys who I bought the bike from and see what they think and if the parts can be ordered and at what cost. In the past I would probably have got pissed off by this but having the problems and finding a solution is all part of the fun of owning a Guzzi. I'm sure I'll get there in the end. Mdude, I'll take the picture tomorrow and post it on here. The micro indicators come from Oxford products and seem pretty good quality compared to some of the rubbish you can buy out there. Jock

Thanks for your feedback guys. Velofish...sorry but not done enough miles to suss out any differences the longer wheel base make Tom M...read the breakin stuff prior to getting the bike and after taking various bits of advise I've decided to stick to the reccomended procedure... but I am making sure I'm up and down the rec range a lot and no lugging the engine Randy...rear footpeg bracket seems secure enough but hopefully won't have to carry passengers too often Orangeokie...I will attach a picture in another post Mdude...I think you are right about the turbulence. I may have to change the whole set up to a handle mounted fairing which will mean a new headlight etc. I'm going to try completely flat bars to start with to see what difference that makes. Cheers

Got my new Ballabio delivered on Sunday morning so I though I'd drop in a picture and give my first impressions versus my first V11 which was a 2000 model. While of course both bikes are pretty much the same, the Ballabio has the sit up and beg riding position which I much prefer (for some reason I'm much happier chucking it around corners when sitting up). I'm also pleased that I spent £200 getting the tail piece and front mudguard sprayed red as it now all looks the right colour. Having only done 150 odd miles on Sunday afternoon I'm keeping the revs below 4000 but one thing I did notice was that at 70 mph plus the buffetting from the screen was actually pretty intrusive. I tried leaning forward and also leaning further back but it was pretty bad either way. Now given that I'm 5ft 10 (and thererfore pretty average) I was a bit surprised by this as you would have thought that it all would have been tested for average height etc. I can't decide whether a set of flat bars might just give me enough futher lean forward to sort this out. Not sure changing the screen is an option as I have not seen any aftermarket stuff availble anywhere. Any advise on thsi would be appreciated. Having the titanium cans and accompanying ecu certainly gives the impression of a much crisper throttle response and more free flowing on the revs front which I am impressed with given that I had mistrals on my last bike so I would reccomend the MG kit, it seems to have made a significant improvement and boy do those cans look good. Did notice a wee spot of oil on the garage floor tonight so I gues something somewhere needs tightened, I'll have to do a bit of investigating after my next ride to see where it's coming from but no big deal, it is a Guzzi afterall and would be dull if it was absolutely perfect from new ! Look forward to seeing some of you at the V11 Buell weekend at the end of May. Should be nicely run in by then. I was floating around the Trossachs on Sunday afternoon and it was very frustrating trying to keep things below 4000 rpm. At one stage I had 5 or 6 bikes behind me on a lovely wee winding road and normally it would have been fun keeping the Jap crap pack at bay but there was a tear in my eye as they all went storming past on the straights. Stopping to get some petrol later on there were a few smirks from some of the boy racer brigade but we'll see next time, there's plenty life in a Guzzi...once it's run in

While I can appreciate what benefits a taller screen may offer, what are the percieved benefits of firtsly the small fairing moving / not moving and secondly it actually being closer to the rider. Is it just a personal preference thing or are there benefits. Just curious as I've not yet picked up the Ballabio that I've bought and I did not realise that the fairing was fixed (as it looks like the fairing on a Monster, I just assumed that it moved with the handlebars / headlight)...not that it matters much either way to me as I like the look of it.