zen_kick

Good tweaks to the question: Total miles on your V11 Years you have ridden it Miles on the clock when you acquired it Any major rebuilds/repairs and approximate mileage at the time?

I am curious who has the highest mileage V11 on this forum? I think there are two classes for this query - "pre-any-rebuild" and "Unlimited". I've tipped 2700 mi on my 04 Ballabio this week - a mere infant in comparison I am sure - although I started with 200 in May so it's not a bad showing for the summer so far. How many miles are on your V11?

Only caveat is if this is the one that came off my Ballabio after I ran over a siding nail with it. Prior to this mishap I found the rear tire to be a bit squirrley when accelerating out of turns. Some of this could be due to me getting used to a new bike but when Micha replaced the tires with the Michelins, the bike felt waaaay more solid tracking in turns. I am sure with your riding experience and penchant for swapping parts (multiple crossovers in a weekend!?!?) you should take a flyer on it and won't have any trouble.

Same here. Greg - did you ever get a workable template and do you have any plans to create and stock these at MI?

Pinned on Vashon. Props to the Sea-Town crew!

The second mod I put on my new Ballabio was one of the two-piece Stucchi steel racks. Although it's heavier than the MG model, it's black finish matches the grey/black motorcycle paint scheme and I think the lines complement the bike's tailpiece better. So far I have found the rack great for bringing home takeout teriyaki - the little posts underneath tie up a plastic takeout sack nicely - but not so great for larger cargo - couldn't strap the kids car seat to the rack without covering the tail light. Last night I found another great reason to have a solid rack on the back of my V11. My family recently moved out of the city. Our new house has a lovely large yard, trees, quiet etc. Upon moving we decided to convert the garage into a rec center. The idea being we need a place where the teenagers can be teenagers and not bug the rest of us - but still be close enough to parental eyes to keep out of real trouble. Without a garage, I have been parking my V11 on the front porch. The porch is two steps up, covered, and when parked there, the motorcycle is the first thing you see as you walk towards the door. Parking outside is proving a bit dusty but you can't have everything. To facilitate my entrances and exits I came up with the high-tech solution of a 4X8 sheet of plywood leaned against the top step with the last two feet of the board flush on the sidewalk. (The crack in the board allowing the last part to lay flat was a happy accident the first time I rolled the bike down the ramp) This solution has been functioning fine with the only problem being the kids using it for various wheeled devices - bikes, skateboards, unicycle (really) and leaving it a little high on the step causing me to scrape the crankcase bottom on the edge as I ascend or descend. As we unpack the house and continue getting settled I am surprised each evening by whatever flotsam and jetsam the day brings to my parking spot. As I roll up the sidewalk towards the porch I may encounter packing crates, lawn tending equipment, dog beds, sports equipment or a forest of 5 gallon water jugs. Before I hit the ramp, I need to adjust my approach to be sure the whole bike makes it onto the porch so I can climb off and clear a spot to park. Last night it was a weed eater and dog bowl sitting in my way and I made the mistake of slowing on the way up and stopping to chart the best path forward. Unfortunately for me I had stopped with the front tire on the porch and the rear tire on the ramp. After identifying the best spot to aim, I *slowly* (yeah right) let out the clutch to make it over the last part of the ramp. Of course I forgot to calculate the effect of my Ballabio's awesome torque when applied to a sheet of plywood sandwiched between the friction of a sticky Michelin Pilot and the relatively less sticky wood and concrete of the porch. The rear wheel shot the plywood backwards and I found myself high-centered on the top step, balanced on the crankcase. As I was assessing my situation, my wife, realizing that she had heard me come home but not shut off the motor yet, came out of the house followed by the kid who is helping us unpack. They grabbed the rack on the back of the bike and with a "1-2-3 heave!" we very handily got my motorcycle out of it's embarassing predicament with no damage to the bike and only a single cracked plank on the deck. Looking the Ballabio over for breakage, I realized that without the rack, the MG tailpiece really doesn't have a good solid place to grab in situations like these and we would have had to try a more risky back-down strategy with who knows what results. Thank goodness I got a rack.

Finally unpacked the camera.

I'm sold! Thanks for the info.

Multiple endorsments for the MG bag. Greg has one in stock and I need to pick up some other stuff from him anyway. Feels like destiny. Does the MG bag come off easily to carry with me? How about mounting - do I have to take off the tank to secure straps?

At least it gives keeps these delinquents off the street. Without lighbulb forums they might be doing drugs, knocking over old ladies or yammering on about Italian motorcycles...

Newbie trick. Posted in the wrong forum: Looking for a tank bag for my 2004 Ballabio. I don't need to pack for a week - just something to hold my 14" laptop, light rain gear, some extra tools, a headlamp and maybe a paperback. Would like it to be easily removed for security/carrying. Backpack straps not necessary. Have heard good things about the stock MG tankbags if you can find them (anyone have a source?) Have seen some Buse bags that are pretty cool. What have you used and loved?

Update: Borrowed the Cafe Sport one last time while the Ballabio was getting a new fuel pump. Now that I have some time in on both bikes I see the benefit of the tit exhausts and Ohlns. Ballabio feels less solid - higher exhaust note and slightly bumpier ride. Of course I don't have he suspension dialed in yet... Rumor has it that the Cafe Sport will be sold soon. Hope the new owner digs it. I can say I have no regrets.

Thanks for the advice. The MI wizards declared it a bum fuel pump and I do say that the new one appears to work much better - including cold starts. Weather has cooled down here though so the true test will be when we hit the 80's again - for two whole days in August. This means I am back on the Ballabio again - 1600 miles in a month.

I'll second the endorsement for the pilots. Replaced the stock metz shoes with these after I ran over a nail on the front side and found a world of difference in the ride. Way stickier and solid feeling. The metz tires felt squirrelly in the corners to me.

I love this post. Glad to hear you walked away realatively physically unscathed and mentally better prepared for next time. When I got married, my wife agreed that I wouldn't give up my bikes and that she would learn to ride her own bike. I had to concede no riding from Nov 1 - March 1 (Seattle rainy season) and that I would always wear good gear. We also agreed that expenses on riding safety gear upgrades are *always* justifiable without a debate. I ride nearly all the time with overpants and coat of some kind. Summers I have vanson pants and a coat with zippable perforated panels and vents everywhere and just wear shorts and a t-shirt underneath. Sure it's warm but feels good when I get where I am going and can peel off the outer layer. I have a good friend who would be dead if he wasn't wearing full-face and armor and have seen several other drops where the padding made the difference between riding away or being carried. Sweat hurts way less than road rash, broken bones or head injuries.

I have an absolutely new 2004 Ballabio. 1500-ish miles on the clock. Tuned at 850 miles (late for my 600 mile service). Love the ride, way comfortable, reliable etc. I am finding as of last week, my new 2004 Ballabio stuttering and losing power when riding on hot days. Is this a problem anyone else has seen? The wizards at MI are looking into it but I wanted to get informaiton from the commuity to see if anyone has seen and solved this problem already. More details: Last week the heat finally arrived to Seattle. I rode home in stop and go traffic at about 75-80 temperature and, once I got off the freeway, the Ballabio exhibited intermittent stuttering behavior whenever the throttle was opened all the way home. Figured maybe the "tank-suck" problem wasn't really fixed by 2004 and I let the bike cool off wanting to check it in the morning. Morning came and the Ballabio sat in the driveway in the sun while I took care of some chores at home. About lunchtime I hopped on to get a sandwich and found the problem again. Open throttle, bike stutters, really open throttle and it feels like it tops out on acceleration at about 4000 rpm. If it was a carburetted bike I would assume something was blocking a jet on one side. I took it to Moto International and a couple of the techs rode it. They figured out that the problem really shows up climbing hills. Rolled the bike inside, pulled the tank to be sure there were no kinks in the fuel lines, found nothing wrong. Reset the computer, test rode it again - worked fine. Rolled the bike out front (because it looks so stunning it just begs to be shown off of course!) where it heated up in the sun for a couple of hours until I could come to collect it. I hop on, head for home and of course bog down on the first hill I try. Seems to be heat related. Seems to be a fuel flow problem. Anyone have trouble running their V11 in the heat? If so, what was the behavior and what did you do about it?

I'll bite. What's a "Sloppage Sheet"? Can you tell I'm a newbie?

Picked up the Ballabio last week (and dropped off the Eldo - sigh, will it never end). World of difference between the new tires, longer footpeg/controls *and* clutch lever adjustment. I hadn't realized it but the pulling point was pretty far off the grip. I didn't notice since the borrowed Cafe Sport was adjusted the same way. I got the bike back with the pulling point just off the grip and driving is a totally improved experience. I liked it so much in fact I briefly considered getting rid of my old 76 /6. The Ballabio is nearly as comfortable - I just need to install touring grips and a cruise control.

Track day is a good call. I can also *strongly* recommend looking into local motorcycle education classes. In WA state the Evergreen Safety Council holds a beginner class for getting your endorsement and offers an advanced rider safety class after one year of riding experience. http://www.esc.org/Motorcycle%20Training-shell.htm I took the advanced class - morning in classroom, afternoon on the course - after 10 years riding experience and drove away wondering how I ever managed to survive that decade. Using your own bike, the instructors walk you through an ever-increasing set of emergency situations - stopping in a turn, quick swerve, quick brake etc. - and give you feedback as you work through each exercise. The immediate feedback and he experience of practicing each of these manuvours on your own bike does wonders for your confidence back on the street. I still hear the course marshall reminding me to keep my head up when quick braking or tight cornering. When I can talk my wife into signing up I'll probably go through it again on the Ballabio just to help with the muscle memory on that bike.

I too just recently picked up a V11 (2004 Ballabio) and I know of what you speak when you talk about feeling skittish throwing it into corners. My other bikes are a 76 /6 and a 74 LAPD and I can toss each around like it were a 200lb vespa (ok, I have one of those too). So far I am finding a few things limiting my sense of safety in handling on the Ballabio: 1 - Jumpiness of throttle - I don't yet have the muscle memory built (or levers adjusted correctly) for clutch pull point or thottle engage location. End result is I sometimes rev before engaging or lag a bit - both affecting the smoothness of my turns. Solution: tweaking the control settings, picking up a shorter set of levers (see group buy offer elsewhere in this forum), lots of practice until my hands remember how far to pull and twist to make the corners smoother. 2 - Tire type - bike came with stock Metzlers which, especially at cold temps feel slippery to me. I fortunately ran over a nail last week and toasted the rear tire. My local shop recommended a set of Michelin Pilots which I understand are up there with Pirelli Diablo's as the prefered tire of choice for this bike. I'll report back when they are actually on. 3 - Limited handlebar turn radius - I find that the Ballabio stops turing far before my other bikes do. I expect the thought is that turns should be made by leaning but I have to say it's a pain when trying to turn the bike around in a parking spot.

Interesting update to the decision. I dropped off my new Ballabio at MI last week about 300 miles late for the 600 mile service (not intentionally, just made the appointment and then fit in a couple hundred more miles in between). As a loaner, they let me take the used Cafe Sport while working on my bike. So after driving the Cafe Sport for a couple of days, the overall feel is more solid than the Ballabio has been - not sure if it's the Ohlns, the heavy throttlemeister bar weights, tit exhaust tuning, the more stretched-out position with the motobits footpegs and higher custom seat or just a by-product of having nearly 10k on the motor. That said, I realized after riding a couple of days that the custom seat is too high, the titanium cans sit at an angle that will make it difficult to ride two-up with my older boy and I still don't like the brown valve covers and wheels. On the upside, I love the throttlemeister - too bad it comes down to a choice between that and the CRG bar-ends. Bar ends win for the wider viewing area and lower profile. I pick up the Ballabio on Thursday and it will have been re-tuned, motobits added, bar-ends and heavier weights applied and - oh yes - new Michelins all around due to killing the rear Metzler running over a nail in the construction zone that is my front yard. I'll give an updated comparison report once I have a few days on the upgraded bike. And pictures too once I find a camera that works...

I was using an old photo of me in a wig, suit and bow tie when I played announcer at a local wrestling/art theater luca libra event. I tried updating to a cool photo of a Moto Guzzi moped I found on Ebay a year or two back but unfortunately the second upload didn't work. At some point I'll roll the fleet out of the garage, snap a shot and update to show off.

Great link. Bummer is that the bike had 198 miles when I got it (demo model) so unless MI routinely follows the three-rev model on all new bikes, my window of opportunity to optimally seat the rings is gone. Upside is that I won't worry so much about seizing. My /6 pulls best at about 4500 rpm. My wifes CB400 pulls and sounds best around 7500 rpm (redlines at 1000). My Eldo is an LAPD with the single gauge in the dash so I have no idea what it pulls best at. I suspect the V11 will have a different sound and pull right around 6000 rpm. Need to do another 300 mi though to really find out (got to watch that warranty).

As the proud new owner of a 2004 Ballabio with 300ish miles on the odometer, I was given careful instructions to not take the bike over 5000 rpm for the first 500-1000 miles (depending upon who I talked to and if I am remembering right). So far I have been good and carefully backed off or shifted as the tach needle neared the fateful digit. This is my first experience with a completely new bike. I have carefully broken in new vespa pistons and cylinders in my youth and watched pals partial or fully sieze when overtaxing their new equipment. I recently had someone tell me that new pistons and cylinders should be run harder at the start to seat rings correctly - unfortunately hard running can be hard on your gearbox and other components if there are any anomolies in the surface. If I didn't have to worry about voiding out the warranty, any recommendations about running hotter than the magic 5000 as a good thing in the early miles of my new Guzzi?

Yet another coined word I must appropriate! Reminds me of Phlebotomist. Ballabio has been a pleasure so far. I managed to fit in about 100 miles in between rain showers in the past week, my eldest boy has been after me all week to take him for a ride and all visitors to the house have expressed appropriate admiration for the lines and color scheme of the bike. Oh, and I managed to already buy about $400 worth of accessories to upgrade ;-} Once again, thank you all for the warm welcome to the community.