Subject: weekend
Author: Zerhackermann .
Date: May 7, 2001, 2:22 PM
Post ID: 1706629879
Man I busted ass this weekend.
Friday night I spent 4 hours working on the Guzzle. Mostly just poking here
and there and figuring out what I have left to do.
Saturday was the whopper. I spent the day riding from store to store,
hunting and gathering. Guzzi shop for instrument bulbs, misc gaskets and to
find out what is still being carried over from europe by carrier pidgeon.
Thankfully nothing crucial. Then to the hardware store for another bucket of
stainless fasteners. Then to the auto parts store (small local chain of like
3 shops with folks that have some sort of clue) and picked up various
nostrums and fluids as well as the 133db horns. Nearly getting run over by a
homegrocer.com truck made a believer out of me. and tried to figure out what
to do for a gasket in the un-rebuildable gas cap. Then a stop for a couple
beers, couple coffees and then the 30 mile ride home.
That night Missus was going out to tie one on with the girls. I got Max into
bed by 8:30 and I was off to the garage.
First I fixed up the clutch/gear controls. This tool longer than expected.
Once I tried to get all the levers on the tranny in place, they inerfered
with eachother. %$-@!. Apparently there isn't a lot of Ambassador police
models out there (floorboards) so what I had was a pile of parts from at
least 3 different bikes of which were two different models and only a vague
notion of how it goes together. After a lot of fiddling and refitting I got
it all working.
Then on to the electrics. I am proud to say that I got all the wiring done
right the first time. I turned the key and I had idiot lights! I turned the
key further and the motor cranked over!!!!! WAHOOOOO!!!
It didn't start because I have no gas in and the tank is stripped. The I
wired up the lights. I lost crucial peices for the original control box
(off/lo/hi lights and horn.) so I rummaged and found a unit from a 60s/70s
japanese bike. It is a turn signal/hi/lo/horn unit. Now I also have fog/spot
lights on this bike. SO I got a flash of inspiration and wired it thusly:
turn signal controls the headlight instead of L-off-R it is now low-off-hi,
allowing me to turn off the headlight when I start the bike. Then I wired
the spots into a relay and into the hi/lo switch. Hi is on Lo is off. and
the horn runs the dual 133db units.
I only ran into a small snag. Tne original light switch also supplies the
hot for the tail light. I could have piggy backed it into the switch, but it
was easier to give it it's own hot off the fuse panel. SO now the key turns
on the tail light. I may re-visit that. I also didn't have any 10 guage
wire, so the starter circuits are kinda light. I will re-visit that.
There are a couple issues to be dealt with. A handlebar start button. easy
enough. the battery is WAY to light for the bike. I grabbed a 140 cca
battery. It cranks the motor over but one crank leaves the battery half
drained. not good. I'll go back to wal mart wednesday and exchange it for a
heavier duty one. The other is that the brake light blows filaments. it goes
on for a spit second and blooey. I must be using a bulb that is too weak or
I have the light wired backwards so that the running light filament is being
hit by the brake current? but that doesn't make much sense.
So left to do:
Sand the body filler on the tank and paint
re-gasket the gas cap
clean up the wiring
tires
get a license plate
fill with fluids
ride.
Oh I forgot to mention that when I quit work on the bike was when Missus
came home. It was 4AM. I was jazzed and jumping around the shop. She's all
tired, bleary and jagged out on coffee (after getting kinda drunk) and the
bike is up on a stand and she's in front of the bike
"look honey look at this! The key goes on than the motor cranks!"
"oh that's nice"
"And look...low beams!"
"oh ow! nice honey"
"And High beams!"
"Aagh! Honey..."
"Fog lights!"
"AAAAGGH!"
"and the horns!"
BLAAT!
"ow ow ow stop that!"
I love all nighters in the garage. It's peaceful, the problems are right in
front of you. No one is breathing down your neck. All the other crap from
the week just disappears for a while and the only worries are: is there
enough beer? got enough smoke? and where the HELL does this go?
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