Subject: RE: First Loopframe miles - Whining (me and my transmission)
Author: Keith Ruff
Date: Jun 3, 2002, 10:17 AM
Post ID: 1710366306
Hey Darrell,
Glad to hear you are road ready! Looking forward to some pix. As for
the 4 speed, whiny? Mine doesn't whine so to speak, it revs. I really
love the 4 speed too, the taller gears makes for great pulls through the
long RPM range, I like to rev her up through all of the gears. She
definitely loves 3rd gear too, I like to use 3rd at 55 mph or so and
below, 4th gear drops her way down in RPM's and it seems to lug a bit
when cracking the throttle vs immediate response in 3rd at that
speed/RPM. As for brakes, I have learned to love the front drum after
taking the MSF course. I guess mine is set up perfect because at lower
speeds I can grab a fistful and stop on a dime without locking the front
wheel, not sure about higher speeds though. As for the clunking, having
owned 2 1978 vintage BMW R-bikes (boxers), the clunking during shifts
was natural (I kinda like it, nice solid feel and reassurance it's in
gear, also adds to the "character"). Even the flywheel kick effect was
natural to me, same as the BMW, nice kick to the right while sitting on
the bike at a standstill and cracking the throttle.
These bikes do ooze character (glad to see yours does too!), but really,
they have a ton of character and soul. I have never owned a bike that
has such character and personality. I just love staring at it or the
pix I have hear at my desk, there's just nothing else out there that has
the cool looks of the loopframes, they look like what a motorcycle
should look like, masculine, solid, rugged, etc... And they've got an
awesome exhaust note to boot! Cam and I had 2 Guzzi gents checking out
our bikes during the Italian Bike Night last week, they wanted to hear
them run and also wanted to crack the throttle. They smiled and said,
"the new ones just don't sound like these old loops do".
Keith Ruff
71 Police Ambassador - NJ
Darrell Dick wrote:
| After years of wrenching, I finally got my chance to actually put some miles on a Loopframe. If you guys remember, my brother bought my built from a basket Ambo/V700 before I even rode it, prompting me to replace it with another truckload of project Guzzis (OK, 2 truckloads!) a couple of months ago. I have gotten the most complete example running and on the road. It is a '72 Ambo, pretty much all stock, complete w/Wixom bags. I cleaned the carbs, tuned it up, changed all the fluids, fixed the hacked up wiring system, replaced some spokes, bolted on a Harley solo seat, rubbed out the paint and chrome, put in a new garden tractor battery, spooned on a fresh "chicken skin" on the back. A new set of bars and the cool spotlights I got from Keith rounded out the package. Voila! Ready for the road after years of sitting. I'll try to get some pics on the net. I'll have to admit, for the first 50 miles or so, I was pretty unimpressed. My '75 850T is a modern sportbike compared to the old Ambosaur. I own a bunch of bikes, all of them 1975 or older. The Ambo feels the oldest. After a while, it dawned on me. That's the point! The Ambo is a comfortable, reliable, enjoyable, anachronism. It is just oozing character (I'll show you the spots on the floor). I just needed to drop my performance expectations a couple of notches. I think the gearbox is the biggest part of the defecit, or one of the greatest contributors to the "character" depending on how you look at it. The Guzzi 5 speed is a big improvement in terms of shift quality and noise. Speaking of noise, this thing whines like an old dump truck in top gear under acceleration. It is almost embarassing. Do you other guys running 4 speeds hear the same thing? I've heard that the 4 speeds are loud and clunky, but pretty much bullet-proof. What do you think? This bike is only showing 11,000 miles on the odo. I just put in 750ml of nice fresh BelRay gear lube. It had a pretty fresh looking Metzler Laser 100/90-18 on the front. I put on CS Metzler rip-off on the back 120/90-18. It goes down the road real stable like (no shield) even up to an indicated 150mph (I think my speedo is reading a little high). For my reference, 4000 rpm ought to give me what? Maybe 60mph? It seems to handle pretty well in a lumbering sort of way. In SE Michigan the curves are few and far between. I don't think I'll be pushing the old Ambo too hard through the twisties, but I think that would be mostly because of the front brake. It works OK, but it sure isn't real confidence inspiring. Anyway, I think we're starting to bond now. Darrell Dick Imlay City, MI |