Greg, You may be correct ,but the main point I was making is the non existent 1/2 year thing. There MAY have been some 73s with 4LS ,but the EBay idiot insisted there were NO 1974 4LS . There were NO 1973 1/2 in any event. My first "Big Twin" motorcycle was a 1962 BSA 500cc Royal Star Unit construction. The BSA unit twins were for the 1963 model year. My 500 was serial number A50B0000068 ,#68 in the model run built and sold in 1962 . Back then most states titled bikes in the year sold. By the early 1970s Model Year designations for safety and emission regulations were by application to the Federal Government. I have yet to see a title with 1973 1/2 for the year.
Greg Field wrote:
Gary:
I propose a little experiment online to find out whether there really were 73 1/2 Eldos.
Everyone who has a 4LS Eldo, please write in with the build date and the model year listed on the data plate.
Here's what I have noticed: many have May, June, or July 1973 build dates. These bikes would be late-1973 models. I have seen at least four of them.
Why did they exist? Because Guzzi discontinued production of the 2LS front end, which by them was used only on the US models because the 850 GTs had the 4LS.
The ebay idiot may not have been so stupid. I was told by some Berliner folks that Berliner sometimes had the leftover bikes refitted with new data plates that listed the current model year, rather than the old. Also, when they had shortages of Eldos, they brought in a bunch of leftover 850 GTs, some outfitted with Eldo sheetmetal, some not. Most of these had the 4LS and were sold as 1974 models
Whether there were legit (as in not rebadged and not originally built as an 850 GT) 74 Eldos with the 4LS, I'm not sure, but I know there were 1973 Eldos with the 4LS front end.
Let's see what the experiment reveals. . .
GF
John, The early 1974 model Eldo had a 4LS brake, the later 1974 Eldo came with the disc brake . There is no such thing as a 1973 1/2 Eldo . As you may suspect it is one of those terms erroneously applied that after years of use becomes a "REAL TRUTH" . They are titled as 74s because they are 74s. My Chevy truck was built in October of 1997 , it IS a 1998 truck . My Eldo Civilian was built in Oct 1973 it IS a 1974 and is plainly marked on the Federal ID tag 1974 MODEL YEAR as well as the title. I actually had some Ebay idiot try to tell me all 1974 Eldos had disc brakes and only late 1973 bikes had 4LS brakes ,and that if I knew a certain Guzzi dealer on the West coast I too would be as enlightened. Never mind the fact I helped a local dealer prep a brand new 4LS brake AMAL NEW 1974 model Eldo late in 1973.
Yes ,when set up properly they are excellent stoppers . I prefer them over the disc front for effectiveness AND they look better too (IMHO) . I do have a set here that are going on my 1971 Police model Eldo . At the same time I will be putting a 2LS rear and cush drive from a Guzzi "T" on the bike. Rich Zink wrote:
I'm curious, Do those 4LS frontends actually stop? That would be different. I spend a lot of money on my 'flintstone' brakes that I use on my Ambo ;-)
Rich
---------- From: John Sutton [SMTP:jsutt-@hotmail.com] Sent: Friday, February 01, 2002 12:59 PM To: Loopfram-@topica.com Subject: Re: 4 shoe Front end Eldo/Ambo
Yes, mine is a 4 shoe which origionally was outfitted with Amal carbs. This is why I refer to it as a 73.5 and call the disc brake version a true 74. I don't think Guzzi made changes based on a specific time of year. Also, I have noticed that these 4-shoe/Amal equipped bikes were usually titled as 74's. John S. 73.5 Eldo Civ.