Guzzi Cali Cafe - Build Thread

Kamn said:
well, now that you have shown us that picture of the engine he has started building and making, you will have to keep us updated of any headway or work done to it. It cant be unseen now
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That's an old pic of the billet engine, its gathering dust in Jeff's workshop for the last couple of years. Some day it may get completed, but it wont be anytime soon with so many other projects to do.

Off the top of my head, he's got the Spares Bike to do, along with the Nitro bike, his old blown CB350 to rebuild, a mono shocked Yamaha XJR1200, a big bore Zed 1000J in a thousand pieces, and of course idiots like me who need try his patience regularly..

I do have lots of pics of the builds that I'm involved with, not so much of all his other projects, though recently I've started to help him put together a blog of all this stuff, not got very far with it yet.
 
Thanks for sharing. that is some impressive work.
 
Back to the Guzzi... a big day today, a parcel arrived.... like a kid on Christmas morning, it didn't take long to open it and see its contents :)

My Endurance racing alloy tank had arrived from TABII in Wales..
 

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Fitted the frame no problem, just need to sort out a rubber strap for the rear mount.. very pleased with it..

Shall I paint it, or leave it polished? decisions, decisions...
 

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Also have to decide on what style of seat to go for, its a tricky decision as there are half a dozen options I'm considering. One complication is that the seat rails of the Guzzi Tonti frame are very low, so any seat unit will have to sit an inch or more above the seat rails. It wont be easy to get right, without it looking awkward, or resorting to a thick foam seat, which may be comfy, but not look the part ..

See how these race bikes all have their seat units mount way above the frame..
 

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Folks will vehemently disagree, but polished aluminum has been done over and over... For Jebus Sake Pain it!! :eek:
 
I agree. Paint it. Maybe incorporate some polish into the paint - like knee indents or a stripe.
 
Its probably going to get painted, polished alloy looks good when its new, but its so delicate, soon gets scratched and marked and takes a lot of tlc to keep it looking good. As suggested I may keep the knee cut outs unpainted. As for the colour..it'll have to the colour of speed... red, very red..
 
Paint it but leave some polish. Give it a good top coat to save it from the elements. You've got a great base to do polished pinstripes or a racing stripe.
 
I'm not sure how well clear lacquer will stick to polished alloy... I've had conflicting opinions, though some of those ma be out of date concerning modern paints?
 
Personally, I would leave the tank unpainted.

It will dim and get scratched, yes... but that's only scars of a well-used motorcycle and shows it has been ridden.

On the other hand a big alloy tank is very dominating to a relative small bike like the Guzzi

If you can't live with it why not paint the knee dents only - black maybe? They may be the most exposed parts for scratches and will give some nice contrast.

Just my 2 cents...it's a beauty anyhow if you decide for paint or not
 
The seat unit I finally went for should arrive today, it'll be an expensive mistake if it doesn't look right on the bike. I did take its dimensions off the internet and used that to make a simple copy in cardboard, which helps to get an idea how it may look, better than just looking at pics anyway.

As for the paint job, the alloy tank looks good now, but the finish is so delicate and easily marks, and also its a bit too 60's Triton-esque left polished, which isn't the look I want. It also makes matching the seat unit and mudguards more difficult too. It only really works if you go polished alloy for everything.. (Too much bling for me), or everything else is black.

One option I'm thinking about is to leave part of the tank unpainted or clear lacquered (though not sure how well clear top coat would stick to polished aluminium?) . Maybe leave the knee cut outs polished, the rest painted. Guzzis from the 60's / 70's had a similar arrangement, so it has some link to Guzzi history..

Perhaps we should have a vote on the paint job?

But no, this aint a democracy :p
 

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Republic ? noooo This is a Kingdom :)

My seat just turned up, it'll need some careful work to mount it correctly, its 1/2 too narrow to fit over the frame rails, which I already knew... another addition to the Guzzi To Do list..
 

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