1979 Moto Guzzi V50 II Cafe

Re: Moto Guzzi V50 II Cafe

Thankyou gentlemen! :-D

Picked up these NOS Moto Guzzi Pedal rubber...



I plan on potentially putting rearsets on at some point... but in the meantime, Ive been refurbishing the stock setup.

BEFORE:



AFTER:




New bushes were machined into the lower rails, and there's zero play now.
I actually kinda like the retro simplicity of it all.
If they're in a comfortable position, I may just keep it this way...

Re: Moto Guzzi V50 II Cafe

Funny Dale...I did my foot controls in black too. You can see in my pics the position of the Monza controls.

Re: Moto Guzzi V50 II Cafe

Hi Dale.

Fellow V50 owner here, and what a sweet project you got going. Love the craftsmanship!

One question, what are those footrests? Did you change/grind the stock mounting tab? Cant seem to find any pedals that will fit the stock tabs

Re: Moto Guzzi V50 II Cafe

Sure v-pilot, the original chrome finish on the levers stands out a bit too much for me.

Hi Kanten - I modified both the peg as well as the mounting brackets on the rails slightly... A small amount of grinding off both, being careful to get the angle of the cuts right in order to have the pegs mounting perfectly perpendicular to the ground when fitted...



Started fitting various components onto the frame.

Here's the new rear brake master cylinder and battery base plate...




Tripple clamps... new bearings packed in... and riveted the identification plate back on...





Air

Managed to get a replacement air filter box collector. They're made from rubber, so time has perished the unit I had.




Cleaned up the tins, and finished them in cold galvanising spray.
Soaked the plastics in silicone spray for a few days to revitalise the plastic and rubber.




Stock paper filter vs a high performance and durable cotton K&N filter...




The whole lot put together.




Airflow

A lot of right angles going on there...




So was thinking, by making up a simple circular plate, and bolting it to the leading edge of the air filter, I can remove the cylinderical air box and have the K&N filter completely exposed...
What do you guys think?

Like this:





The tank mounts over the filter, and good amount of protection is there.

Re: Moto Guzzi V50 II Cafe

You'll probably lose power without full airbox, it can only 'suck' hot air from between cylinders.
It may be possible to find moulded pipe to change shape (dryer hose, plumbing fittings?) and extend intake in front of cylinders

Re: Moto Guzzi V50 II Cafe

Probably won't loose power due to sucking hot air, you'll have plenty of air flow. The problem is 90 deg v-twins make a lot of torque down low. If you free it up too much, that's where all your power will be...high in the rev range making the power delivery not so linear, that's why racers run open velocity stacks...high R's If you plan on running it to within an inch of it's life, free it up. Torque=horsepower @ 5250rpm, always without exception. The two curves pivot at that point. This head design(herron) can only move so much air, that is where you are limited. My Le Mans is free(dual k&n's and drilled pipes)...It's a hemi head and doesn't come to a boil until 4500-5000, then you need to hold on tight...red line comes quick. It is a big valve setup and that doesn't help the low end either. The Special edition was their out of the box race bike, has straight cut close ratio trans. My tuner wanted the stock setup on the 50 but it wouldn't fit with the bigger carbs...next best is to have both carbs breathing through the same filter...bigger is better. I'm sending my tuner the Le Mans in April for a stock intake retrofit setup...I'd like it to be a bit more tractable down low, not that the "house of fire" isn't fun, it is...just sayin'

Re: Moto Guzzi V50 II Cafe

Guys, thanks for the great feedback.

crazypj, my initial concern was also the heat issue. But secondly, I'm thinking its also not smart to have the filter exposed like this, as any kind of moisture getting in there (the filter would be clamped from both sides and sealed with sealing grease) will cause problems I don't want.

v-pilot, so your tuner guy suggested the stock airbox as the best option?

What I want is a smooth running, reliable setup. This is no race bike. Its a 498cc motor. Ive got other bikes that you ride on the bleeding edge. This is not the case for this bike.
We always think we know better than the manufacturer. I guess its because they err towards the conservative. And in this case, this is where I'm at. I think you've convinced me to go stock. The K&N fitted into the stock airbox will provide better flow than the OEM filter anyway...

Thanks again!

Re: Moto Guzzi V50 II Cafe

It's these explorations and gems of wisdom revealed that make following builds on here such a worthwhile distraction from doing work

Re: Moto Guzzi V50 II Cafe

Erskine said:

It's these explorations and gems of wisdom revealed that make following builds on here such a worthwhile distraction from doing work

Click to expand...

Amen to that, brother!

Re: Moto Guzzi V50 II Cafe

Hi Dale - love the red tank - my 1979 v50 mkII has the horrible massive black plastic cap which serves as fuel cap + cover for master brake cylinder

did you change your mkII tank for a different model to get that cool chrome cap to fit?

I have recently started to rebuild my mkII after it has been sat in my brother's garage for 10+ years

would like to swap experiences + ideas - I am thinking of some twists on the cafe racer theme - I have gone for a silver tank but silver metallic rather than the trad chrome alu tank

you can email me at email@mikematthews.org.uk

Re: Moto Guzzi V50 II Cafe

Airbox yes or no?
No. We drive two single K&Ns on every bike without a problem.
Torque comes from a good filling ratio, not from that piece of plastic between the two V cylinders.
Hot air isn t a problem when u drive... perhaps in the city stop and go, but with stock "airbox" even more i think.

Nice bike and work by the way, like it!

Re: Moto Guzzi V50 II Cafe

Hey Dale..... how is this project going? I finished my Cafe Duc, then bought a Guzzi V65 Lario and am working on it now. I love it......... nothing like gettin' goosed'. Hehehehe.

Re: Moto Guzzi V50 II Cafe

Jeezus!
Ducs, a Beezah, AND a Guzzi
You sir are truely admirable!

Re: Moto Guzzi V50 II Cafe

Well Hoosier...... I haven't posted any pics of my three HD's (Electra Glide, Ironhead Bobber, and Hot Rod Evo Sporty), Royal Enfield, BMWs, 80' Moto Morini 500 Sport (1700 miles) or the rest of my Ducati collection.........

Re: Moto Guzzi V50 II Cafe

**faint**

Re: Moto Guzzi V50 II Cafe

dewjantim said:

Well Hoosier...... I haven't posted any pics of my three HD's (Electra Glide, Ironhead Bobber, and Hot Rod Evo Sporty), Royal Enfield, BMWs, 80' Moto Morini 500 Sport (1700 miles) or the rest of my Ducati collection.........

Click to expand...

Nice, The little GTL? I was watching...you should finish the post

Re: Moto Guzzi V50 II Cafe

I didn't count it because it is still a work in progress....... will start working on it again very soon.

Re: Moto Guzzi V50 II Cafe

Glad to see you've picked up work on the Guzzi again Dale. Last time I looked in, you'd finished the concept, tore the bike down, built the seat. It was largely due to inspiration from your thread, and the concept pics that I pulled my V50 out from below a tarp in the shed and took it apart about this time last year

I was going well until I hit difficulties in freeing up the centre part of the frame from battery and carb air-box. Finding a battery to locate beneath the seat has proved problematic because of the size of battery necessary to cope with the current drain required by the starter motor. Despite the small capacity and lowish compression of the little V, the current requirements are bigger than most Jap V-twins of any capacity, and bigger than most big BMW twins as well. Seems down to the old design of the windings in the V50s starter motor. Not entirely unsurmountable, with either a very expensive battery, or possible a modified starter motor, but enough to give pause for thought.

The other thing worth considering is that despite not being the largest individual around (5'9"/11st) I find the seating position with clip ons tends towards being a bit cramped and uncomfortable - certainly with the standard pegs, and not much better unless you get your feet right back almost to where the rear pegs are mounted. I think it's because of the combination of short frame and high peg position. I can get comfortable on a friend's LeMans with the longer tank, and stretched out riding position, but just can't get comfy on the V50. For me, I might just have to back off a little and go for flat bars, or even a higher flat-tracker riding position - which would be a shame, because the little bike almost cries out to be cafe-ed. Curious to see how you find both the ergonomics and whether you find a better battery solution than I have to date.

Outstanding build and workmanship to date btw - I suspect you have single-handedly given rise to the rebirth of more V50s than any other human being on the planet to date

alan

Re: Moto Guzzi V50 II Cafe

MoToboX, thanks for the info. You guys are doing some very cool stuff there...

guzzi mike, I modified the V50 tank to take a Lemans cap. Page 24 of this thread.

dewjantim, great stuff on the V65.

-alan- Great stuff, and thanks for the kind words. I do sometimes think I may have inadvertently started a V50 awareness campaign somehow... I get a lot of emails from people all over the world on a regular basis. Before I started this project, I could hardly find anything of any kind of significance related to cool stuff being done with a V50, (and its variants) and now there seems to be some cool stuff happening...

--

So I should have an update in the next week or two. The tins will be back from my buddy Mario who's shot some BMW Diamond black on them, and a guy I met through cart racing has a CNC shop. I've designed some brackets etc on CAD, and he's going to make them up for me.

Re: Moto Guzzi V50 II Cafe

Got the tank, fender and sidecovers (just in case) back from Mario today. My brief to him was that I wanted it "Showroom". And he delivered! Its really one of the best paint jobs Ive seen. I'm super happy. Even the undersides are immaculate. These pics just don't do it justice.

Its BMW Diamond Black. In darker light, it looks pretty black. In the sun, it has a subtle purple/blue undertone. Its a metallic finish, and its adding just enough bling to the understated solid black that I wanted.