Gregory Bender
Gregory Bender
Gregory Bender
 

Frame differences

Moto Guzzi V700, V7 Special, Ambassador, 850 GT, 850 GT California, Eldorado, and 850 California Police models

Updated: 

Not all frames were made the same. Here are a few of the key differences.

Siren mount

Siren mount.
Siren mount.

Photo courtesy of Gregory Bender.

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Rear fender mount

Civilian mount — note the lack of indents.
Civilian mount — note the lack of indents.

Photo courtesy of Gregory Bender.

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Police mount — note the indents.
Police mount — note the indents.

Photo courtesy of Gregory Bender.

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Coil mount

Early coil mount: coil mounted perpendicular to the frame.
Early coil mount: coil mounted perpendicular to the frame.

Photo courtesy of Gregory Bender.

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Late coil mount: coil mounted parallel to the frame.
Late coil mount: coil mounted parallel to the frame.

Photo courtesy of Gregory Bender.

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Side stand mount

Civilian frame with the front side stand mount.
Civilian frame with the front side stand mount.

Photo courtesy of Gregory Bender.

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Civilian frame with the mid side stand mount.
Civilian frame with the mid side stand mount.

Photo courtesy of Charlie Mullendore of Antietam Classic Cycle.

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Police frame lacking the side stand mount.
Police frame lacking the side stand mount.

Photo courtesy of Gregory Bender.

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Rear crash bar mount

Civilian frame lacking the reinforced holes for the rear crash bars.
Civilian frame lacking the reinforced holes for the rear crash bars.

Photo courtesy of Gregory Bender.

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Police frame with the reinforced holes for the rear crash bars.
Police frame with the reinforced holes for the rear crash bars.

Photo courtesy of Gregory Bender.

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Steering neck

Early V700 models had a shorter top frame tube and – correspondingly – less space between the front tank mounting hole and the steering neck. Subsequent models had a longer top frame tube and – thus – more space between the front tank mounting hole and the steering neck. Be sure to read Fuel tank fitment on various frames for real world implications of this difference.

To measure this, I started by lining up two frames side-by-side. Lacking a precision jig, I aligned everything the best that I could visually. It should be noted that the remainder of the frame components (aside from the steering neck) matched very well between both frames.

Alignment of the front engine mounts.
Alignment of the front engine mounts.

Photo courtesy of Gregory Bender.

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Alignment of the rear transmission mounts.
Alignment of the rear transmission mounts.

Photo courtesy of Gregory Bender.

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Alignment of the swing arm pivot holes.
Alignment of the swing arm pivot holes.

Photo courtesy of Gregory Bender.

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Alignment of the front fuel tank mounting holes.
Alignment of the front fuel tank mounting holes.

Photo courtesy of Gregory Bender.

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Alignment of the rear fuel tank mounting holes.
Alignment of the rear fuel tank mounting holes.

Photo courtesy of Gregory Bender.

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Alignment of the top crash bar mounting holes.
Alignment of the top crash bar mounting holes.

Photo courtesy of Gregory Bender.

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Alignment of the air box mounting holes.
Alignment of the air box mounting holes.

Photo courtesy of Gregory Bender.

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Alignment of the side cover mounting holes.
Alignment of the side cover mounting holes.

Photo courtesy of Gregory Bender.

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Alignment of the muffler mounts, shock mounts, etc.
Alignment of the muffler mounts, shock mounts, etc.

Photo courtesy of Gregory Bender.

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Then I measured the vertical and horizontal placement of the steering neck relative to the front tank mounting hole.

Early frame measures 100 mm down from the trailing edge of the top of the steering neck.
Early frame measures 100 mm down from the trailing edge of the top of the steering neck.

Photo courtesy of Gregory Bender.

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Late frame measures 105 mm down from the trailing edge of the top of the steering neck.
Late frame measures 105 mm down from the trailing edge of the top of the steering neck.

Photo courtesy of Gregory Bender.

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Early frame measures 50 mm back from the trailing edge of the steering neck tube.
Early frame measures 50 mm back from the trailing edge of the steering neck tube.

Photo courtesy of Gregory Bender.

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Late frame measures 75 mm back from the trailing edge of the steering neck tube.
Late frame measures 75 mm back from the trailing edge of the steering neck tube.

Photo courtesy of Gregory Bender.

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The steering stem on the later frame clearly protrudes further forward than the early frame.

Late frame neck (behind)protrudes further forward than early frame neck (in front).
Late frame neck (behind)protrudes further forward than early frame neck (in front).

Photo courtesy of Gregory Bender.

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I could not detect any real difference in rake (nor should there be any difference).

Late frame (behind) and early frame (in front) share the same rake.
Late frame (behind) and early frame (in front) share the same rake.

Photo courtesy of Gregory Bender.

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