Bon anniversaire mon ami

Hi all

Bellagio is still running well with no serious problems, will change tyres at next service at about 10,000 miles

After filling with fuel on saturday bike would't start, it had blown one of the 15amp fuses, replaced it with the spare one and all was well, have now bought some more just in case

All the best

Derek

 

Over A years ownership of the Bellagio. Rob’s thoughts.

Well clocked up around almost 3k miles. So getting to know the bike, especially having another bike to compare it with. It is nice to know that you have a bike that very few have. It’s a hard bike to describe. And seems to be confused about its gender, is it a cruiser, tourer or frustrated sports bike probably best described as a cross dresser!

For me the good points is it does not kill my knees, brilliant for commuting to work on, very good for pottering around, but equally good for giving it the beans. Handling is OK, not so sharp as other bikes with a shorter wheelbase, however I have found that the bike is sensitive to tire pressures, if they drop a bit it does affect the handling. I did have problems with the oil weeping out after a thrash, but that seems to have now stopped as the oil level has dropped and seems to have found its happy point. Still after all this time can not get used to the lean angle when putting the bike on the side stand though. My bike does have the rear rack and a Givi bag, which personally not that keen on the looks but find it invaluable for work to throw my junk in rather than a rucksack.

The problems: Mainly the electrics and the finish. To be honest for the cost of the bike I thought the finish should be a lot better. The paint is very thin and the matt lacquer is easily rubbed of. Also there are a lot of places that are now beginning to rust. Most of my problems I have had have been down to the electrics, or rather the connectors. These are very cheap and prone to corrosion causing intermittent faults; biggest one was failure to start due to the neutral switch corrosion.   Everyone laughs when I am asked, ‘oh you got a Guzzi, what problems have you had’, and I reply electrics!

So plans for this year. Have a go at servicing the bike myself, then:

Go on holiday with the financial controller ;

Change the seat to the sportier version, get a quill fitted, change the indicators and find away to mount them on the fork leg so I can use or not use the Givi screen as I feel fit. Then if the funds allow (financial controller, again) get the bike re-sprayed red and white like a Ducati and go for some bar end mirrors. I would like to put a lower shock on the back just to make it a bit easier on the legs to touch the ground with both legs but that is not a priority.

Well demostrated with the aid of pictures what a impact does to your forks.
And Yoke(now on order) Funny the italiians did not get the Yoke.Seriously they did not understand Yoke.
So playing the waiting game for the bits.

Cat jumps on the pigeons. Don't give it such a handfull when braking and don't try a sports bikes brakes!

Originally posted by Almost Cat jumps on the pigeons. Don't give it such a handfull when braking and don't try a sports bikes brakes!

I have and i dont.
But when you consider that a jackel weighs 30k heavier and it has a single front brake.
Why do you need such powerful brakes.With i think a loss of feel between lock up and no lock up.
So as a experiment i going to rebuild the bike with one front disc.If i dont like it i can allways pop the other back on.
To be honest i wish i could have the linked brakes back like on the cali,A far better braking system.

The zinging is down to sintered pads, personally I like the sintered pads for the feedback and the sound.

fiver difference in price,
more copper in the one set

A bit of an adventure tomorrow. Flying to Gatwick and hopefully riding home on a Convert. Twill be a bit chilly around the nether regions mind! The auto transmission will be odd I'm sure.

Originally posted by tonewuk Mate you will end up being banned,bloody racist Put a few ratings myself on the old Trip Advisor.My last on was the travel lodge in bangor last week. So run down and they wont spend any money on it. Pads on the list

...I use them at a push, particularly if they are near a petrol station, but most often i carry a bit of cash for the bacon sarnie/cuppa stop(s) from the layby vans. Triple decker saus/egg/bacon+black pud (if available) and mug o'char usually comes in well below a fiver....and they don't expect a tip either

Originally posted by jmee54 The Bellagio has serious competition now, for my affections.

I think I might be tempted too Tone  That policeman is asking for trouble there,if he were to put the side stand down she'd be over !

Bellagio written off in Aus. A lady crashed her Bella with HB crash bars and panniers. The cause of the write off was the rear brake bracket broke and the banjo bolt from the brake master cylinder punched a hole straight through the gearbox. That bolt is about a cm from the gearbox casing.

Originally posted by Almost S**t day in Surrey, did an oil change and at the moment i have no oil in my gearbox as I can not undo the filler plug. Believe it or not I broke an 8mm hex socket trying to undo it. Hopefully it was a faulty hex socket. anyway half a day spent and only managed to change the engine oil and filter.

You did not break the ball part did you and leave it in the head,Its a common mistake.