1979 Moto Guzzi V50 II Cafe

[Dale]

Hey there.

So I started looking for a Guzzi last year. Ive always had a weakness for Italian machines, especially if there's a V-twin involved. I was initially hoping to find a LeMans, but every one I found that was in fair condition was out of my price range. A couple of Monza's and other V50's cropped up every now and again, but I wasn't sold.

Then I saw a post on BikeExif on Axel Budde's LeMans Racer, http://www.bikeexif.com/moto-guzzi-3 and that for me was the tipping point. I couldn't afford a LeMans, but I could make a small block Guzzi into something. I was determined.

I had seen a Monza for around $800, but the crank wasn't good. The rest of the bike seemed ok. I figured, I could do worse so went to see if the guy still had it. He had just sold it. Anyways, I eventually found a MKII, not the best variant, but the bike looked in good order. It wasn't running, but all the signs were there that it was ok, and importantly, it wasn't butchered. So, in late August, the guy trailered the bike onto my drive.

Man, I couldn't resist. I wanted to get the bike running, ride it a bit, and make my decisions from there. But, I would say to myself, "Ok, I'm just going to take this apart, check it, and then put it back. etc. Come Saturday, and well, I just went too far. "Screw it, I'm taking this thing apart."

I'm really glad I did, because, had I run it, I would have trashed the rear drive. It had been "serviced" by someone who clearly didn't have a clue. This was my green light to drop the "...I'm gonna get the bike on the road first..." idea, and make it "...Im going to have to check everything and fix it..." idea.

Ive got some pics of the "plan" for the bike on my Members Introduction thread: 
http://www.dotheton.com/forum/index.php?topic=21591.0




[edit > Ill just pop this pic here anyway... more on the intro if youre interested...]
 







  Saturday Morning (Early Sept 2010) - So Ill call this the "01_Stripdown"



10 minutes later....



An hour (maybe) later...





Guzzi Frame up on the tressle table. Motor on the left ready for inspection!

[Dale]

The Motor.

(02_My Inspection)


So I opened up the motor. You always hope its going to be perfect right? Theres always that optimsitic, "Wow I found a real winner here!" thing going on in your head. But I was to be dissapointed. :-/

1. One of the pistons had siezed in the barrel. Not a heat sieze, - water had gotten in there (bike stood for a couple of years), and it had rusted. Luckily for me the inside of the cylinder is ok.
2. So - piston rings rubbish
3. Main bearings shot
4. Big End bearings shot
5. Clutch plate sitting in a sea of oil due to seal failure.

Managed to get everything I needed. Big Ends and Main bearings - totalling around $400 for the 8 halves! Hey you cant cry over this stuff! Its part of the risk you take, but it can still hurt.

Big End Bearings: (a small fortune)



- Decided that the lack of hp on the 500cc unit could do with some encouragement by gas flowing the heads and skimimg, amongst some other mods I'm going to do.

- Also had the crank balanced.

- I'm still waiting for the heads to come back, due to the general December slowdown.

[Erskine]

Bloody brilliant.
I can see why this http://www.bikeexif.com/moto-guzzi-3 tipped the scales!
I'll be following your build for sure.
The other bike in your workshop ........ can you tell me more about the tank on it? looks rad.

[Dale]

Hey Erksine,

Yeah, that's a beautiful Guzzi.


As for the tank on the other bike, I was originally going for a very industrial look on the bike in general. A good friend of mine suggested using a fire extinguisher as the tank. :-) I really liked the idea, and so I mocked up a light-weight version of the extinguisher he brought to my house. After a while I decided to refine the basic cylinder shape a bit and add a curve to the top. So what we've got now is this:



I use a technique whereby I pre mould thick card pieces which, I then wood glue together. This gives me a good symetrical shape. I then fibreglass over, and smooth. A mould is then made and I produce the part from that mould.

The fender on the bike designed similarly -

[Erskine]

I thought it was a fire extinguisher! It's something that has crossed my mind as a fuel cell, and it's great to see it actually done. How did you fabricate the channel underneath for the top tube? Or did you weld in a channel cut out of an old tank?
Thanks for the inspiration, I've a friend who is always salvaging old extinguishers to make stuff out of.

[Slice]

Dale - I have a feeling this bike is going to be EPIC... Im stoked to see what comes next!

[Dale]

Done exactly the same as the top - fibreglass over the card. Makes up a very strong shape. The channel fits snugly on the frame, with a high density foam layer

• cushioning it. There's a tab at the base where the seat starts where it bolts into the frame.
  
  Using "actual" extinguishers are cool conceptually, if that's the thing you're after, but they're damn heavy, and you don't really want that weight up there, and that's why I don't think its a good idea...

[Dale]

Dale - I have a feeling this bike is going to be EPIC... Im stoked to see what comes next!

Hey Slice thanks man!

Now if only I had a Persian carpet to build it on - like someone else I know! :-)

[Dale]

(03_Rear Drive)

So this bike was designed in 1974.
The motor is a stressed unit that makes up the rigity of the motorcycle. Sound familiar? Design wise, pretty forward thinking for the time.

So, prioritising what needed to be done, I figured at this point, with the motor being worked on, my next step would be to look at the swingarm and rear drive hub.

As I started loosening the hub bolts, oil started flowing out of the bolt holes! Basically, a bolt had come loose in there and pretty much unleashed mayhem, tearing up some of the aluminium casing internally. Not only that, someone had "fixed" it all up. No shim spacers, no gaskets, I was convinced that the crown and pinion wheels were not lined up properly. Thankfully it looked like the bike hadn't run since the "repair".
Later when I tested the unit with Engineers Marking Blue, my fears were confirmed. The dumbass who worked on the bike had just tossed the shims away! WTF!?


This is another unit I got from the guy I bought the bike from. (complete with the necessary shims this time)





Replacement unit: Cleaning up and setting up.




New bearings. Painted up.



.

[treitz]

Wow this is going to be awesome. Love the bike!

[gpreciado]

man, i love guzzis i really like the 748 you have sitting in the background!!

[Dale]

Cool thanks gpreciado! Yup I love that bike. I still remember the first time I saw a 916, and I always dreamed of getting one. Then I stumbled on this 2000 748R a few years ago, and really liked the revvy engine and the fact that it was an R model – some really special stuff on it compared to the basic 748 model. Done a lot of performance upgrades on it too.
 
 

Moto Guzzi's are just on another level for me, cant quite put my finger on it though. Love the Ducs too though...
.

[Slice]

Haha, those carpets put me in the dog house with the wife for a week when she saw what was going on... Keep up the solid work bro.
-Slice

Hey Slice thanks man!

Now if only I had a Persian carpet to build it on - like someone else I know! :-)

[Dale]

Are you kidding! HAHAHA! Man youve got balls! :-)

[Dale]

( 04_Swingarm )
 
Beautiful, cast aluminium swingarm housing the drive shaft, with integarted rear disc brake in the drive hub. Italian Engineers are Designers and vice versa. Form follows function is taken to incredible levels in so many aspects. You have to admire this. Fanboy guilty as charged.
 
I smoothed out the casting marks and seams, and then painted it up with a few coats of Hammerite. Pics here are not final paint.
 
Straight off the bike. Not bad.
 

 
First pass...
 

 
First couple of layers... (still a few imperfections)
 

 
 

 
Just couldnt resist... my new shocks arrived... :-)
 

 
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