"Moto Guzzini" (1995 Moto Guzzi 750 Nevada) Cafe Racer Build

motoguzzini

New Member
Hi All!

During a weekend trip to Lisbon I walked past a beautiful bike sitting for sale on the marina. After oohing and ahhing for a few moments with my girlfriend I walked off and enjoyed the rest of my trip. However, after coming back to Blighty the bike was on my mind... I managed to find the owner and after a few emails it was mine! This is my first bike and I haven't actually got a license yet ??? Little did I know what a can of worms this would be!

After calling a few different companies Moto Transport gave me a great quote to collect and it was with me the same week :D

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I naively thought I would be able to get it registered, jump on it (once test passed) and have oodles of fun - but after taking a look under the seat and tank to decide how best to fit some indicators it became very clear that it was going to be much more work! The wiring was quite confusing and I actually found a clump of dash lights taped together and hidden under the tank! :eek: So, I took it upon myself to strip the old harness out and I decided that a nice new Motogadget M-unit with all the associated goodies would do the trick. On the way I will be carrying out some maintenance on the engine and carbs, fitting a new the ignition and cleaning up the bike with a nice small battery and de-tabbing the frame.

I have a to-do list and if anyone with any expertise on Guzzi's has any advice I would very much appreciate it!

Rewire - Looking to go with a Motogadget setup with the m-Unit v2, 2x m-Switch and m-Blaze Disc indicators run through the m-Button and the motoscope classic speedo. This would be paired up with an Antigravity AG801 battery.

Ignition - This model has the Digiplex ignition system which is a fairly large box in the battery compartment. As I will be getting rid of the lead acid battery and will likely relocating the small Antigravity out of sight I would also like to replace the Digiplex with a new ignition system so I can get that see through under the seat look :) From doing a brief bit of research there seems to be two options here, Silent Hektik or the Elektrik Sachse. Does any know of any pros or cons of either system?

Carbs - The airbox has been removed and the carbs (PHBH30) have been fitted with some K&N style pods, I believe the jetting has not been changed however (102 main jet) so this will need looking at. The left carb also has the choke plunger stuck in the body, no amount of pulling has got it budge but I am going to leave it for a nice long soak in a ultrasonic cleaner to see if it loosens up. Both carbs look like there are some gaskets missing so I will give them a full clean and rebuild.

Engine - Check the valve clearances, change oil and filters. There doesn't seem to be any oil leaks or anything at the moment so I will leave the gaskets for the time being.

Oil Breather - As the airbox has been removed the oil breather isn't connected up as it would have been from factory. There are two pipes coming from the heads to a plastic housing behind the top tube, however there is no pipe returning to the sump. There is a pipe coming off the sump breather with an air filter on the end. I assume with this setup the system will gradually loose oil quicker than usual?

The space where the breather housing is would be great to relocate the battery and fit the m-unit,
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Would it be possible to make a smaller breather housing so it be be relocated elsewhere? I have read that the newer Guzzi's have it located in the top tube!? Does anyone know if this could be done here?

Bars & Throttle - I have ordered some Tarozzi Ace Bars from Disco Volante Moto as the original were solid and wouldn't allow for the m-Blaze discs. Looking at a Tomaselli throttle but if there are any other alternatives I would love to hear!

Lights - I would like to upgrade the headlight and taillight to LED, have not had a chance to look into this in any depth yet.


Thanks for reading and I will be updating with some better pictures of the build when the parts start arriving. In the meantime here are some pictures than the seller sent me of the initial build.

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Can't be TOO many Guzzis in this World !!!

Nice looking bike - my only critique ? I would fit a much smaller [depth ] headlamp. Guzzi do a 7" unit with a "flat back" which allows the headlight to be placed closer to the triple trees - not "Struck out in the breeze". Just my opinion. ;)
 
alemonkey said:
Wow, that thing is a beauty.

Thank you sir.

beachcomber said:
Can't be TOO many Guzzis in this World !!!

Nice looking bike - my only critique ? I would fit a much smaller [depth ] headlamp. Guzzi do a 7" unit with a "flat back" which allows the headlight to be placed closer to the triple trees - not "Struck out in the breeze". Just my opinion. ;)

Thanks for the critique! It is a huge headlight, an ancient Lucas unit. I will have a look to see if I can find a nice 7" one to make the front look sleeker. I will hoping to hide some of the electronics in the back of the headlight and possibly the front brake distributor (not sure if I am being over confident in my engineering skills there however!).
 
Re: "Moto Guzzini" (1995 Moto Guzzi 750 Nevada) Cafe Racer Build

Great transformation! I like it


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Re: "Moto Guzzini" (1995 Moto Guzzi 750 Nevada) Cafe Racer Build

Fantastic bike!
I would definitely get your CBT done and then test in first.
It might even be worth buying a Chinese 125 to drop a couple of times and build up some miles, this works in parallel with the work on your Guzzi


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Re: "Moto Guzzini" (1995 Moto Guzzi 750 Nevada) Cafe Racer Build

Alex jb said:
Fantastic bike!
I would definitely get your CBT done and then test in first.
It might even be worth buying a Chinese 125 to drop a couple of times and build up some miles, this works in parallel with the work on your Guzzi

Test was booked for May but I broke my collarbone skiing a couple of weeks ago so postponed until June. A cheap bike to learn on would certainly be a good idea, thanks for the advice!


Today the carbs got stripped and cleaned in a ultrasonic cleaner with isopropyl and water for 60 minutes @ 80c. The carbs were extremely dirty with residue all over the internets. The cleaning solution was a dark brown soup once done. The carb bodies did not shine up very well so I will be soda blasting them for a nice finish.

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The rear plastic splash guard was removed along with the Digiplex. Radical Guzzi make a very nice aluminium replacement or I may fit a fender ala Kaffe-maschine. It will be a shame to loose that beautiful view of the twins from the rear however.

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The bike has a neutral switch fitted but it isn't wired up. I have not seen this connector before, does anyone know what it is called or how to attached a wire to it?

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Always felt the smallblock, Tonti-frame Nevada would make a pretty decent cafe - looks like it's well on its way.

Stop by the "Wild Goose Chase" Moto Guzzi forum - the [mostly] friendly, helpful, knowledgeable group there will get you through just about any technical issue you might have with any Guzzi. http://wildguzzi.com/forum/index.php

Looking forward to your progress, & welcome...
 
Re: "Moto Guzzini" (1995 Moto Guzzi 750 Nevada) Cafe Racer Build

motoguzzini said:
The bike has a neutral switch fitted but it isn't wired up. I have not seen this connector before, does anyone know what it is called or how to attached a wire to it?

]

just use a standard connector-or use an insulated one and slot it for the "senterpin"
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Of course things like the headlamp are just a matter of opinion - whatever YOU want is the right one !

I used an original 7" flat backed Guzzi unit - similar to the 6" Japanese units. You certainly wouldn't hide any additional items inside that one.

That Guzzi was one of many bikes that fall into the " I wish I'd kept it" folder.
 
hidn45 said:
Always felt the smallblock, Tonti-frame Nevada would make a pretty decent cafe - looks like it's well on its way.

Stop by the "Wild Goose Chase" Moto Guzzi forum - the [mostly] friendly, helpful, knowledgeable group there will get you through just about any technical issue you might have with any Guzzi. http://wildguzzi.com/forum/index.php

Looking forward to your progress, & welcome...

Thanks for the info, I have signed up and made a post. Seems like a wealth of knowledge there.


furu14 said:
just use a standard connector-or use an insulated one and slot it for the "senterpin"

Thanks furu14, seems simple now you have shown me.



I bought a basic soda blasting kit to spruce up the carbs but it didn't make a blind bit of difference! I purchased some metal float bowls to replace the plastic ones and the difference looks a bit odd to say the least ;D

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I will get the bodies vapour blasted to make everything match nicely.


Today I began removing some unnecessary tabs from the frame to tidy up the space under the seat.

Before
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After
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Just need file the cuts smooth now and touch up with paint. Next job is to fabricate a plate to mount the battery, ignition and m-unit, I have decided to locate everything in the space under the spine. I will be welding this on top of the horizontal tubes as per picture below.

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Nice looking machine you have there :) Can't understand why your soda blaster didn't work out ??? I bought the el cheapo soda blaster and used it on all the ally parts including carb on a Greeves I just restored. Did you try it on any other parts?
 
johnu said:
Nice looking machine you have there :) Can't understand why your soda blaster didn't work out ??? I bought the el cheapo soda blaster and used it on all the ally parts including carb on a Greeves I just restored. Did you try it on any other parts?

I tried it on the rocker covers and painted inlet manifolds and it didn't seem to have much umph getting rid of the grime there either, no doubt I am doing something wrong here as I have seen others with great results. I found a guy doing vapour blasting at a great price (2x carbs and manifolds for £15/~$20) and I am astonished by the results, it is like a factory finish. Just waiting on a few replacement jets to arrive as some of the original had chewed heads.

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One question I have is how to connect the fuel supply lines to the carbs. The tank has two petcocks, can I join each petcock directly to each carb and leave it as that, or do I have to have a pipe joining both carbs by the way of a double inlet union? The carbs come with double unions attached but they don't appear on the factory diagrams (the factory tank only had one petcock with a T union spiting to two pipes however).


The support for the electrics has now been attached. Rather than have a pan over the complete space under the backbone I have made just enough behind the top tube for the battery to sit. I had doubts about the whether it would have been weatherproof enough to mount the more important (m-unit, digital ignition) stuff so I have decided to make a platform under the seat which should be much more water tight.

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Behind the top tube
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All of the new parts are going to be sanded and painted to look seamless to the frame.

I indulged in a new headlight last week after much deliberation, a 7-inch JW Speaker 8700 Evo 2 with DRL in chrome. The original bucket was too large so I have purchased a side mount Lucas bucket, cannot wait to wire this up to see how she glows!

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All of the electronics have arrived now so I have spent today putting together a wiring diagram. I think I have most of it sorted but I am a little confused about the Alternator/R&R wiring. The original wiring diagram shows 4 cables going into the R&R;

2 Yellow from the Alternator (Saprisa)
1 Blue for the generator light
1 Red/Black that goes to ignition switch

The setup (Motogadget motoscope classic) that I have does not have a generator light so where does this go? Here is what I have so far.





I am a complete beginner at this and it will be the first bike I have wired, any advice or tips would be very much appreciated!
 
This is quickly snowballing into a nut and bolt rebuild. I decided to completely strip the frame and have it blasted and powder coated, it now has a lovely satin black finish. I was worried that the blasting and heat of the oven would cause the 2-pack bonder to give way but it held up well and looks great.

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The heads and cylinders are currently being vapour blasted. I was so impressed with the finish on the carbs I couldn't resist giving the same treatment to the engine too, pics to follow!

I do have a question about the gearbox. Are you supposed to be able to cycle through the gears whilst it is on the bench? I am worried that I might have caused some damaged at a failed attempt at trying to open it up (so I could vapour blast the case). I unbolted it all and tried to open it up the wrong way AKA by sitting it on the bell housing and pulling the universal joint end out. I am worried that I have done some damaged and I do not want to reassemble the bike without having tested the gearbox on the bench at least. I have tried moving the gear selector, which moves up and down fine but it doesn't feel like it is clicking through the gears. When I turn the main drive or universal joint spline they are engaged and rotate freely.

Does anyone have any ideas? I would kick myself if I have done something terminal to it!
 
Well if all the gears are nicely lined up, you should be able to shift through the gears (my experience with jap bikes).
If the gears are not lined up, you should be able the shift through the gears whilest turning (directly or indirectly) the primary gear shaft.
 
Wow, nice looking bike. Those carbs did clean up well.
I am pretty sure that the gears should engage when you operate the shifter as you turn the output shaft. Once engaged, it should get difficult to keep turning the output shaft.
Are you moving the shifter enough? With the wonky linkage that those things have, it can be tricky.
 
japstar said:
Well if all the gears are nicely lined up, you should be able to shift through the gears (my experience with jap bikes).
If the gears are not lined up, you should be able the shift through the gears whilest turning (directly or indirectly) the primary gear shaft.

Thanks for the suggestion japstar. It doesn't seem to want to shift through the gears with a static or rotating primary gear shaft.

Oh if only I had the foresight for my first bike to be something well engineered like a jap bike ;D

Rusnak_322 said:
Wow, nice looking bike. Those carbs did clean up well.
I am pretty sure that the gears should engage when you operate the shifter as you turn the output shaft. Once engaged, it should get difficult to keep turning the output shaft.
Are you moving the shifter enough? With the wonky linkage that those things have, it can be tricky.

Thanks Rusnak, can't beat that vapour blasting for a lovely bare metal finish. Got the heads and swing arm being done as we speak.

When I rotate the output shaft the input shaft rotates also, so it is meshed in gear OK but it doesn't seem to be shifting at all. When I move the shifter I get good resistance from the spring but I feel it reach the top and bottom without any sign of it shifting gears and I cannot find neutral.

When I move the shifter fully down and then fully up (and vice versa) I do feel a slight notch but it isn't a gear change. The output shaft seems to rotate with the same force applied and neutral cannot be found.

I might have to chalk this one up to me being a bit gung-ho with the rubber mallet.... I have taken a look at how to dissemble the gearbox and it needs a few specialist tools that are rather expensive, it might be worth taking this to get looked at professionally. The silver lining is that I can get the gearbox case fully vapour blasted once stripped!
 
After a year I managed to get a replacement gearbox sourced - it was cheaper to get a replacement than having the old one rebuilt. I believe the issue in the end was that I adjusted the shift indent too far and the spring popped off, no way to sort that without stripping the box. Live and learn! Luckily there was somebody breaking a Nevada for a trike build on the Moto Guzzi MGC UK FaceBook group, picked up the gearbox and a driveshaft/rear drive for spares.

I forgot to snap some pictures reassembling the freshly vapour blasted cylinders and heads but here is the block with the replacement gearbox attached.

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Frame bolted on with a tank shot.
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Triple tree and stanchions on.
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Annoyingly I noticed that I did a hack job putting the timing chest back on and ruining the cam seal. New one ordered...

Next jobs on the list are to fit the clip-ons and clutch/throttle cables and figure our the rear sets. I purchased some Tarozzi rear sets and figuring out how to fit them has me a little confused. The brake side is simple enough however I can't quite get my head around the gear side. I will put up a post of a prototype idea shortly for critique.

In other news I found a Cafe Racer Nevada on eBay that looked very well built, I couldn't resist it! Something to ride whilst I am working on this.

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Also, if I am honest it provides a template to put the original one back together again ;D
 
Looks like things are going well there again, glad to see it. She's looking pretty good!

Your "stand-in" Nevada does look pretty well done. And having an assembled "template" to look at is a good idea - I always had an extra VW or two around for reference when I used to take them apart regularly....

Keep on keepin' on....
 
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