In 2 months time the Bellagio I bought brand new from Corsa Italiana (then in Colliers Wood, SW London) will be 14 years old. A couple of years ago I’d toyed with the idea of a V85 TT, it was mainly the size of the bike that put me off, plus most of my rides are 1-2 hours on B-roads around Berks/Bucks/Oxfordshire/Surrey and unlikely I would be doing long range touring.
I liked the V7 Stone and also Special version when they were launched but neither had grabbed me sufficiently enough to pull the trigger. However I did like internet pics I’d seen of the Stone Special Edition so I popped into Scootercafe in Maidenhead yesterday morning to ask the ever helpful Mike to give me a shout if ever he got one in. He then pointed to a lovely Stone Special in the corner of the shop!
Mike dragged it out of the corner so I could have a better look and also sit on it whilst he took the Bellagio out for a test ride. The V7 Stone Special looked and felt great. I went back home to have a good think, returned late afternoon and we shook hands on the deal. I’ve selected the '23 registration number so looking forward to first week of March.
p.s. centre stand will be fitted along with a third party USB and phone holder.
I collected my '23 reg on Wednesday, loving it! 120 miles already but suspect won’t get much use over next couple of weeks with weather turning and salt on the roads etc
Yes it was a weird feeling saying goodbye to the trusty Bellagio after all this time. Once I had made the decision to part-ex it then that made it easier.
Quick update 5-6 weeks after collecting new bike. I’ve done 630 miles so 900-mile first service hopefully only a few weeks away.
Dealer installed a USB socket on handlebar, I’ve since fitted a quadlock for phone, FOBO tyre pressure monitors and a Dart flyscreen. Dealer will fit centre stand at first service.
Hi Mark,
I’ve still got my Bellagio, I too thought of px for the new V7 special but in the end I couldn’t part with my Bellagio. I thought the easy option was to simply buy a V7 tank and seat which I did as this was far cheaper and I was concerned at dropping 10bhp. Do you notice a difference in power between the V7 and Bellagio?
Tank and seat and side panels on your Bellagio look great! Were they an easy fit or did you have to make brackets etc?
Initially I thought the power of the V7 850 was down a little bit compared with the Bellagio. But soon got used to it. V7 deffo feels lighter than the Bellagio.
Continue to enjoy the 940 and nice to meet you
p.s. how old is the CX in the background? Think it’s the 500 version. Must be coming up for the free road and tax and no MOT needed in the next couple of years?
Cx500 is 1978 so yes, no tax or mot needed, cheap as chips to insure them both at £120 per year. So low running costs.
The Bellagio just needs a couple of brackets to raise the tank 2". Then turn the seat bracket around and unfortunately cut a little out of the back underside of the V7 seat and raise the seat catch.
Had to remove the air filter box and fit k&ns but all fairly easy. There are several YouTube videos of people who have turned them into cafe racers with clipons, but i haven’t gone that way yet!
Happy with the result so far and cheaper than part exchanging it, plus it makes it different. I haven’t parked next to another one yet.
