Subject: Re: First Guzzi Ride & She's gettin a few mods..
Author: Greg Field
Date: Apr 9, 2004, 8:40 AM
Post ID: 1716514959
| I'm getting used to mine too; I'll ride the Eldo three or four days, then ride the Centauro and realize what a difference 23 years of technology makes. Doesn't make the Eldo any less fun though. |
1-inch-longer Konis in the rear, and you'll be amazed at how
transformed the handling is. It updates the bike by 10 years.
| I've taken it down for a bit though. The controls and switches just weren't right. The starter button was mounted too far back, couldn't reach it with my hand on the throttle. The Tommaseli front brake lever clamp was slid way too far up the handlebar because the switch mounts wouldn't let it get closer. The turn signal switch couldn't be reached without taking your hand off the grip. |
master cylinder from a Ducati Monster (which has a mirror mount. Slide
it close to the throttle, and mount the starter button on its pinch
screw. Then you can just thumb it without taking your off the bar.
By the way, I have a strong respect for the cops that used to ride these bikes 90 MPH weaving through traffic chasing speeders, or those stuntriders in Magnum Force spinning donuts and stuff. I guess it's just experience and familiarity and a pair of bronze goolies. |
composed at 100 mph. Windshields can affect this greatly, though. Mine
has the policia fairing and is totally steady to over 100. With the cop
shield, it got a little squirelly.
You asked earlier about the stealth edging. It works OK, but a better
solution is their winglets, which really work. Problem is, they
transfer all the force to the shield's top edge, and it will bend
alarmingly at high speed. I made a set of aluminum plates that let you
shift the whole shield upward a few inches. I may still have them if
you want to try them.
| 3) Find a better mirror and put two of them on. The one I have has a good, long, solid shaft and pivot and a good clamp, but it's old and has gone dark on me. Is there a decent brand of clamp-on mirror that's not one of these cheap $13.95 Emgo types that dangles like a dead sunflower after 2 months? I use Napoleon bar-ends on my other bikes but those won't work on the police bars. |
Lannis:
Your Master cylinder has a threaded hole for a mirror. Mount one there.
Your clutch-lever perch has an unthreaded hole. Tap it, and you can
mount the left mirror there.
4) Take the starter off and have it looked after. When cold, she'll spin all day long. When hot, you have to bump it 10 times to "rock" it over compression and then she'll fire in half a turn. The timing's spot-on per the strobe, clean solenoid contacts, clean wiring, new relay. It's a Bosch, and my VW bug guy tells me it looks exactly like a VW starter, so I'm hoping the local starter rebuilder (who's done hundreds of veedub starters) won't choke at the sight of it. |
They're easy to take apart and lube. That's probably all it needs. Then
rattle-can it silver.
Hey, who's that bidding against me for those Wixom bags with Eldo mounts on Ebay? I'm costing someone some money. I didn't hear back about a tank bag, so I'm bidding on one of those too. |
Not me. I favor Buco bags or the nifty cop bags. Both are commonly
available on ebay. For the former, search buco. Look for the Twinmaster
bags, not the smaller fiberglass scooter bags or leather ones. I have
picked them up for $70, but people are catching on to how cool they
are, and prices are going up. For the latter, search "kawasaki police"
"police saddlebag*" and "KZ* bag*" These go from $50-150.
The bucos look '60s funky. I just painted up a set in black/white
two-tone, and they look absolutely bad-ass. The cop bags look cop-like
but are super functional. They were made in both molded plastic and
fiberglass. The plastic cop bags are sturdy enough and very light.
Also, they are unpainted plastic that can usually be polished up much
cheaper than a paint job.
Bucos come with mounts that can easily be adapted to Guzzis. Cop bags
require the Guzzi bag rack or custom mounts, which shouldn't be too
hard to make. It's also possible you could adapt the very sturdy Kawi
mounts to a Guzzi. I have a set if you need them.
Eldo'll be down for a bit, but lots of miles planned for this summer... Lannis =========================================================== Let University of Phoenix make 2004 your year. Evening, weekend or FlexNet� classes � over 130 locations. Look into our programs and get the degree that gets you going! http://click.topica.com/caab6aBb1dfltb6KFeCf/UOP =========================================================== |