10: 2005

Another winter has passed and since I had to do something the following was fixed/changed:

• The seal by the neutral indicator has been replaced.
• A complete set of Lafranconi Competizioni mufflers – including 40 mm front pipes.
• Brembo Goldline calibres with 320 mm discs in front.
• A front fork bridge. Big fat block that cannot flex in any way.
• A new steering damper has been installed – the old one didnt work at all.
• Side stand. New console. Now the bike is much more stable when parked .

All in all – once again it exceeded my first plans. But it has worked like a dream. It brakes fantastically and furthermore the brake discs look not at all bad. The new mufflers look sweet and Lafranconies sound great! My wife dont agree on the sound part, but so be it.

Nye brake dics, triple clamp for fork, Lafranconi's - and just washed and waxed.

Various minor problems:

Oil leaks once again. Leaks from the gearbox. Turned out to be the ventilation hose that had crumbled. Replaced by a piece of gas hose.

It sheds a bit of oil where the cardan connects to the rear drive. The back wheel had to be cleaned quite often – not that it took a long time, it was just annoying.

A friend of mine – who naturally also owns a Guzzi – offered me to help take the thing apart. I gratefully accepted. Had picked up a new O-ring at De Voss. When everything was apart we found no O-ring – just the sad remains of a silicone gasket cement. Not strange that it wouldnt stay tight. The problem is solved. It took about 90 minutes to take apart and to reassemble, including a smoke or two.

The one hose transporting oil fumes from the cylinder heads seems to be dying. From time to time I must remove a drop of oil. They will all be replaced as soon as possible. By then there cannot possibly be anywhere left on my bike able to leak oil???

Symptoms, Faults and Casual Relations

This might be a strange heading but it is dawning on me that the fact that the engine coughs for instance, is not a fault – it is a symptom that something is not working correctly. When you have read the below mentioned you will probably get the idea.

Carburettor – it finally happened. I had to figure out why it wasnt “crisp” at low revolutions. If I opened the throttle too quickly it protested either by coughing or by farting in the carburettors.

This can be caused by several things. Ignition is one of them. Last year it was set far too early at the ignition – blew off a carburettor for instance – but I adjusted the ignition by instinct without bothering to check the points I had so thoroughly measured out. It got better – but never real good. I finally pulled myself together and checked the ignition – it was adjusted exactly (!) according to the marks. Not bad for an amateur mechanic. Moved the ignition a couple of degrees to see whether it could be the case anyway – but I couldnt feel any difference at all.

Another thing that can cause “flames in the carburettor” is a lean mix. All in all: time to read up on carburettors. Read all I could find about the subject. A guy who has a Le Mans like mine, with the same modifications, has had his checked on a dyno to find out which jets to use. I tried jetting my carbs with what he had figured out worked for his bike – 62 idle, 125 main jet and K18 needles.

Fantastic pull from approx 3000 revolutions till the red mark (even in 5th gear). But at low revolutions there was no difference. One thing that surprised me was that the new K18 needles have 4 notches till the clip while the old K5s had 3 and were fixed at the middle. To start with I fixed the new ones at the second notch from the top.

Some time went by while I was thinking things over. Then one Saturday night after a fine dinner and red wine, I had a sudden inspiration. Went out to my shed and moved the clips to the lowest notch – meaning that it gets more fuel. Sunday morning when the red wine had evaporated I had to test it. Suddenly it had lot of pull even at low revolutions. The poor little engine had been starving……..

Actually it was strange that I hadnt figured it out before – after having started the engine and having the choker on the first 100 meters it was working well even at low revolutions – but I suppose there is a reason why I havent become a rocket scientist……

The problem is nearly solved. I now need to figure out whether a needle that feeds a “little” more petrol makes it better or worse. And then I need to adjust the ignition according to my marks. And to synchronise the carburettor.

Okay – a K18 needle with the clip at the lowest notch wasnt enough. 2 K19 needles were bought at De Voss. Started out with the clip at the second highest notch – it was better, but…… by moving the clips one notch down it has become “alright” to express myself moderately. Or in other words – no need to work more on that.

The main jets might be a little too small – but it doesnt suffer from lack of pulling power. I am, however, a bit worried whether it gets too lean a mix at wide open throttle – that is whether the main jets are too small. Rather too fat than too lean a mixture. For now I leave things as they are.

And then the carburettors were synchronized – much needed. I cannot recommend strongly enough to synchronize the carburettors on a regular basis. My manometers work perfectly for BMWs, Nortons and Yamahas.

The petrol consumption has dropped to 18-23 km per litre which I think is pretty normal for a large Guzzi. Perhaps my brother in law will finally quit pestering me about driving far too slowly.

My Guzzi is now more harmonic than ever before. It pulls in a heavy way, sounds great and brakes like a dream with the new discs/calibres.

The paint has become a bit dull to look at – scratches here and there. A friend (who doesnt ride a Guzzi, poor lad – but I suppose he sees the light someday) gave me a demonstration of how it is done. Turtle Colour Back (red tin) to buff/clean the paint and after that some Turtle Was with PTFE (Teflon?) (blue tin) – makes the paint look amazingly smooth and shiny. I strongly recommend it.

The seat was faded in places and on the back a previous owner had had various stickers. Gasoline is great for removing old glue and dirt – and after that you use black shoe polish. It ended up looking almost new.

In all we spent 45 minutes.

I still need to make the electric parts. But at least I have been preparing the work. I have bought cables as well as a fuse box and some relays.

The gear box needs shimming this winter. See: gb_en_complex-technical_gearbox-shimming-pictures.htm

I am a bit tired of the extra neutral between the second and the 3. gear. Not that I hit it often – but when I do it is very annoying.

My front wheel has to be fixed. It is impossible to make it look alright. Old paint is cracking everywhere and dirt is piling up. So next winter is has to be bead blasted and repainted.

The last thing worth mentioning is that I have had another friend who works with stainless steel make me a luggage carrier. A very fine one made in stainless steel. Cost me 200,- DKK for the materials plus a crate of canned beer. Natural economy at work!