Subject: Bringing an Eldorado to life.
Author: Ken Smith
Date: Jul 19, 2005, 7:49 AM
Post ID: 1719172170
Greetings to all,
I have recently acquired two Moto Guzzis, a 1971 Ambassador still
slumbering and a pretty nice
1973 Eldorado with quasi police setup; floorboards, LAPD side stand, a
trunk box. I have lusted after the
MG Vtwins since my Air Force days, but didn't scratch that itch until
about a month ago.
I am having midrange acceleration issues with the Eldorado that I can't
seem to conquer. I have timed it, at idle and at speed
according to the manual, removed, inspected, cleaned, remounted the
VHB30s and balanced them at idle. The previous owner had
reinstalled the accelerator pump pistons incorrectly and after I
corrected that, the bike ran much better. The bike starts right up
when cold, most of the time- about 80 degree F where I am- and runs
well through the gears as long as I don't try to blip the
throttle or accelerate past 3200 to 3500 RPM. If the throttles are
opened too much or pushed beyond the 3500
RPM "limit" the engine gasps bogs down, obviously either fuel starved
or, perhaps, unable to advance the
distributor far enough to provide spark. It seems like fuel starvation,
but I am, obviously, not sure. An MG mechanic
friend says there may be an issue with fuel tank venting, so I'll check
that, as well. Any advice would be welcomed.
Issue # 2 is electrical. Seems the coil/distributor circuit loses juice
or has a voltage loss at times. Could this
be due to the relay going to ground? The charging system works , as the
starter always cranks fine and seems
to have plenty of current for the start circuit, but, on testing, at
times, there will be no current to the distributor.
I will be rewiring the bike with an MG Cycle loom in the near future,
unless someone has a better suggestion
other than building my own loom. Comments on this issue are welcome as
well.
Thanks to everyone in advance. I have enjoyed the posts I've been
receiving and hope to contribute someday.
Ken Smith
San Rafael, CA
On Jul 18, 2005, at 8:03 AM, Greg Bender wrote:
| Your free subscription is supported by today's sponsor: ------------------------------------------------------------------- Need Emergency Cash? Get Up To $500 Now! No Credit Checks, Easy & Fast Approval Cash in you account Overnight! http://click.topica.com/caadHk3b1dfltbPVLlAa/911PaydayAdvance ------------------------------------------------------------------- Hi Charles, It is very simple to drill the look-alike choke lever. Just measure carefully and then drill away. Alternatively, since it does not come with a pin, you may be able to tighten it down sufficiently to not need a pin (but I think it will probably always want to move on you). On my Ambo, I drilled the hole and then fabricated a little washer/pin mechanism that works quite well. If I had to do it over, though, I'd simply JB Weld in a short length of steel rod to act as a pin. A fuse box is critical if you want to avoid melting all sorts of wiring, etc. If you don't have fuses, and get a short, wires will melt and catch fire and throw sparks and do all sorts of nasty stuff. Even if you don't have the stock fuse box, you need to run the current through fuses. If you don't believe me, get a 12 volt battery, and connect the positive and negative terminals directly with 12 gauge wire. That accidentally happened to me the other day when I was testing a light bulb...lot's of excitement for a few seconds as I scrambled to unconnect my now-welded leads and melted wires. :> I've been working with the Waytek company to find a replacement fuse box that will fit in the headlight shell. I'm still putting together the order, but will let everyone know if it works out. I think an old Volkswagen Beetle fuse box MAY fit in the headlight shell. At least, that's what I've heard. I've never tried it, though. As for a handlebar switch, I really like this one: http://www.mgcycle.com/HANDLEBARSWITCHES.HTML 120030 KS left side switch - headlight on/off/park/hi/low, horn, flash, push to cancel turn signals - $58.95 It is nowhere close to being stock, but is infinitely easier to use and available at a very reasonable price. If you really want the pillbox switches, call Mark Etheridge or keep a close eye on ebay for some crusty ones you might be able to rebuild. Regardless of which switch you choose, I recommend using individual relays for the high and low beam circuits (wiring diagrams for this are available in Guzziology and my website). Charles H wrote:
Regards, Greg Bender 1971 Ambassador 2000 Quota http://www.thisoldtractor.com/gtbender Florida MGNOC website http://www.thisoldtractor.com/fl_mgnoc Minnesota MGNOC website http://www.thisoldtractor.com/mn_mgnoc Your free subscription is supported by today's sponsor: ------------------------------------------------------------------- Erase wrinkles without painful injections with Nexiderm SP. Nexiderm SP is clinically proven to reduce wrinkles by 68% Click here to get your 30-day free supply. http://click.topica.com/caadHlnb1dfltbPVLlAf/Nexiderm ------------------------------------------------------------------- |
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