'82 Moto Guzzi v50 Rebuild/Redesign

gheorghe said:
Check this out : http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=UTDctiyUa9E

He bought his cells off eBay. If you search on eBay a bit you will find multiple vendors selling the cells you need and some will even solder them up for you in your desired shape. This is the rout I plan on going for my future build.

I buy mine from motydesign.com - great customer service, but they cost more than buying them from some dude with a soldering iron and some confidence. There is a guy here who, rather than soldering them, made a wooden box with tabs affixed so that when he closed the box the cells lined up in series - I can't find it for the life of me, though.
 
I finished up the modified frame hoop yesterday.

I had a local tubing bender prepare these pieces according to my chicken-scratch drawings:
e4c6ae51-b81c-46dc-8982-a07e7ecf407b_zps6c0af0a7.jpg


I machined some hollow plugs to back the joints and hold everything in place. Then I welded it all together:
b7f4beb1-dc40-47de-815f-dc31e56c9c5b_zps206efb9f.jpg


Lastly I filled all of the welds smooth to make it look like it came from the factory this way. What frame modifications?
44e59f42-6d69-4042-8d61-5772db15b412_zps17cba098.jpg



The next project is going to be figuring out a way to relocate the rear brake cylinder. This isn't going to fly with the look I am going for:
427cfc59-cc1e-4c54-b01d-2a039c50c3a7_zps683bd6d9.jpg


I was going to chop those tabs and make some inserts that allow the cylinder to mount right up against the frame. Open to other thoughts.
 
zachattach said:
The next project is going to be figuring out a way to relocate the rear brake cylinder. This isn't going to fly with the look I am going for:
427cfc59-cc1e-4c54-b01d-2a039c50c3a7_zps683bd6d9.jpg


I was going to chop those tabs and make some inserts that allow the cylinder to mount right up against the frame. Open to other thoughts.

Are you planning on keeping the linked brakes?
 
Regarding the brake cylinder relocation, I've also been wondering if it would be possible to locate the cylinder up under the tank, and then to run the actuation up along the frame through a system of some stainless cable and bearing pulleys like this:
actuation_zps05a41661.png
 
Yes, was planning to keep the brakes linked for the time being. Never ridden a bike with linked brakes before. Thought I'd give it a whirl.
 
Yeah, you'll probably like it; I was impressed with how well they worked on my V50 Monza. I ended up delinking mine anyway though since I wanted some consistency between my bikes. I rarely use my rear brakes on the other bikes I ride and the single front on the Guzzi was marginal at best.

If you do end up delinking them, just be aware that the factory rear M/C is too big to function with just the single rear caliper; you'll need to come up with a different solution. I have a rear M/C from a Monster that I'm planning on using, I just haven't figured out an elegant way to mount it yet.
 
Not to be a know it all but I would change to a smaller rear master cylinder, that one looks Harley-ish way too big. A sport bike M/C or as I'm doing on my current project bike a thumb brake. This is a master cylinder mounted on the left side handle bar and actuated with the left thumb. First you mount the M/S backwards so that you push rather than pull on a lever. You'd run a custom length stainless steel line directly from the M/C to the rear caliper, no foot lever at all. I've done this on my custom Yamaha XS650 it's way fun and works well. Mick Doohan used it in Moto GP when he broke his right ankle. I cut off the lever and weld a paddle (triangle shaped) lever on the stub to be pushed with the thumb.
Cheers, 50gary
 
Staggerlee said:
Yeah, you'll probably like it; I was impressed with how well they worked on my V50 Monza. I ended up delinking mine anyway though since I wanted some consistency between my bikes. I rarely use my rear brakes on the other bikes I ride and the single front on the Guzzi was marginal at best.

If you do end up delinking them, just be aware that the factory rear M/C is too big to function with just the single rear caliper; you'll need to come up with a different solution. I have a rear M/C from a Monster that I'm planning on using, I just haven't figured out an elegant way to mount it yet.
I've de-linked mine...the recommended master to use is the front, to keep the braking ratios close. It also fits the same mounting pattern. There is lots of info in "Guzziology"
It's a worthwhile purchace
 
Work has me headed to Europe for the summer, and leading up to my departure I put a lot of hours into the project in an attempt to get it the major modifications completed before my departure. Here are the final steps of the seat pan construction (sorry I didn't down size the images. my current internet connection is awful)

Bending and forming the aluminum to make all of the lines match was a trial an error process that was frustrating to go through, but extremely satisfying in the end. Here is a shot of the first facets welded in place:
c33a3e1d-2885-4fa0-8368-df903a632306_zps897bb4f6.jpg


Once all of the facets were welded up from the outside of the cowl's shell, I welded the seems on the inside as well and then filled off the external welds:
C8A0D6BE-CCDC-4F18-8E17-33A8F84AE20C-2660-000002A2B30D15FF_zps0dbe63c4.jpg


and

390A437B-8306-4DC6-B67C-D9C4EA83A0A4-2660-000002A2BAB3FCF1_zps4f513175.jpg


I am very pleased with the final result. The cowl looks a bit oversized at present, but I think once the seat foam builds up the gap between the tank and cowl, the profile is going to come together perfectly.

The upper shell of the whole seat pan set up slips between the frame rails to rest on the lower seat pan (depicted in previous posts. After completing the upper shell, I finished the back of the lower one by welding in a piece of aluminum fender at an angle such that the back of the lower pan includes a recess that follows the modifications of the frame rails to accomodate the full travel of the rear wheel.

C0D1FEDA-F918-4AA8-8E16-FDC328D886EC-2660-000002A2CBA57B2A_zpsc58e5b38.jpg


Completely assembled, the two seat pans together create an sealed enclosure in which the electronics will hide. This was A LOT of work, with a good deal of learning envolved. I cant wait to see it finished with paint and upholstery!
 
Also,
Does anyone recognize these mufflers? If anyone knows more about where I could get a set of these I would love to know.

bikerfest2013102_zps58f0966f.jpg


6573ae2f-be2e-474b-80d0-b03cc3d0da18_zps9fae09ee.jpg


Found on Cafe Race Culture: http://www.caferacerculture.net/search?updated-max=2013-05-15T07:00:00%2B02:00&max-results=7&start=42&by-date=false
 
Zack I don't know if you know that those mufflers are shorties. It also looks like those are MTM shorties. Maybe you could search them on google.
 
Yes, that is exactly what it looks like on the inside! Well, mine has different pistons with a far more sophisticated relief in the top of the piston. This must be from one of the earlier small Guzzi models.

EngineGuzzi_zpsd6b04ee1.jpg
\

Can't wait to get back to the project; although, it might be another month or two before this happens.
 
am loving this! i am in the process of making a V50 mk2 into a cafe racer and have followed Dale's thread with great interest and then came across this. i have a thread in a UK forum but may put one here also. i haven't completely finished reading this but love what you have done with hiding the electronics under the seat...i am struggling where to put a large gel battery as i also want to be able lose the side panels and have an open frame.
 
Well, the progress of the project has suffered over the latter part of this year, but I thought I would post some of the work I have managed to get done.

The latest part of the project to receive my attention has been the brakes. The easy part was stripping, coating, and rebuilding, the calipers and rear master cylinder.

f60620da-423c-44fc-b673-8fec3bc689de_zps241a7dd5.jpg


451d0a9e-c9c2-40b9-9fa5-55186930fdf3_zps1749fda0.jpg


I used ground and brushed stainless bolts in the rebuild of the calipers. The originals and the ones provided in the rebuild kit were grade 8. I hope the stainless ones don't pop under load...

I have also tackled the relocation of the rear master cylinder (technically front and rear given that it is a linked system). As I wanted to keep the frame open, I needed a place to hide the cylinder. The bottom side of the central frame rail under the tank seemed like the idea location, so I set about making this work.

The brackets the hold the upside-down cylinder were the easy part.
IMG_1657_zpsd95e0d18.jpg


Routing the cable that now drives the cylinder was a different story. I had to bend this 1/2 tube, and turn the bung that holds the cable housing back on the bottom side of the frame housing on the lathe. You can see it held in place above.
IMG_1656_zps4d6a96a5.jpg


While this picture is of the system finalized, this gives you an idea of the new brake system on this end of things
IMG_1647_zps47aeec41.jpg


The system is now more or less complete, and I will add photos of the completed system once I restart the project in the new year.

While I had the frame apart I also redid the bottom engine mount bracket. With the removal of the battery tray the bracket was unnecessarily long, and I couldn't live with the nasty mig welds along the seam from the original time I trimmed the bracket.

Original:
IMG_1691_zpsff158c62.jpg


Timmed:
IMG_1701_zpsaf231564.jpg


Then with the some creative brazing and filing, I hid the weld and blended the bracket into the frame.
IMG_1702_zps3a460045.jpg

Not that anyone will notice, but it should look beautiful below paint.

I also cut some head guards. The ones commercially available for the v50 don't really fit my tastes. These wont protect the spark plugs in the event the bike is dropped, but the will protect the irreplaceable parts. If anyone wants the cad file for these LMK.
IMG_1654_zps917d522f.jpg


Here is how the project stands at the moment.
IMG_1703_zps6d75a916.jpg


Also, I really want to simplify the gauge cluster by buying one of these:
msc_8k_black_new_800_4_zpsa6aeb0d7.jpg

I always loved the way my friends 911 put the tach in the center of the instrument panel. I feel like it appropriately focuses your attention on what one should be concerned about while driving.

Happy holidays everyone. I hope to have the project hit the road in 2014!
 
Back
Top Bottom