Sunday ride on my V11

[HRC_V4]

I got up Sunday morning and de-glazed my rotors on my V11 Sport, greased my pad pins, found my rear pads in need of replacement, ordered new ones, then went out for ride anyway. About 30 miles into it, I see an old metallic red bike in a front yard with a for sale sign, first thought was a Honda Dream, but as I got closer I see it is a Guzzi, spin around, meet the owner, chat awhile.  I finish my ride, have lunch, hook up the trailer, and go collect it.  I have my next project.

[nobleswood]

 Tell us a bit more

[docc]

I am so jealous! All we found today was a badly marked intersection   and an incoming squall line.

 

You absolutely have no excuse to pass on this year's South'n Spine Raid!

[HRC_V4]

I don't have an excuse, so I will be there, or make every effort to get there.

 

1971 Ambassador 750 (same age as me), very complete, it has been off the road a long time, uni pod filters fell apart when you touched them.  He had the stock air box, it needs a full restoration, he said he road it to Stuggis twice, Speedo shows about 26K, but cable was broken, so no telling how many miles.  I am getting relocated about 3 hours away for work for the next two years, so I am going to use this to keep myself entertained after work and on weekends.

 

My current dilemma is do I do a 5spd conversion and front disk conversion, or do I just leave it stock?  I am leaning towards stock.

 

It will need new bars, exhaust, rubber bits, mirrors, probably and engine rebuild just for fun.  I plan on powder coating the frame and rebuilding everything I can.

[Chuck]

I'd leave it alone except for new cylinders. Nice find of a "period" piece. That'll give you many happy hours of restoration/bonding..

[68C]

I agree, leave it as original as possible, just make it legal and functioning.  In another forty five years the next owner will be glad it was not 'restored'.

[Kiwi_Roy]

I got up Sunday morning and de-glazed my rotors on my V11 Sport, greased my pad pins, found my rear pads in need of replacement, ordered new ones, then went out for ride anyway. About 30 miles into it, I see an old metallic red bike in a front yard with a for sale sign, first thought was a Honda Dream, but as I got closer I see it is a Guzzi, spin around, meet the owner, chat awhile.  I finish my ride, have lunch, hook up the trailer, and go collect it.  I have my next project.

Buy the red bike, a nice 72 Eldorado if I'm not mistaken, loads of fun

[HRC_V4]

OK, seems to be some opinion to do a "rolling restoration."  I can do that, I will snap a few pictures of it this evening and show some of the issues.  I guess Nikisil lined cylinders are a good idea, what about head rebuilding?  I need to clean the tank, I am hoping I don't find any holes, it does have a few dings. There is some rust on the airbox side covers.  I will put the Original airbox back in, new tires, handle bars are very pitted, one mirror lost it reflection, rebuild the folks, maybe new shocks, original style bullet exhaust.  Any issues with powder coating the frame? or should I just touch up the rusted areas?  Re-seal the dif, engine and  transmission.  Electrical stuff I can handle, what about an ignition up grade?

[68C]

Sounds like you are going for a restoration. It is a shame as these bikes are only original once, just clean it and protect with WD40, dings in the tank are part of its history. If it did not have Nikasil barrels when made why change them? If you want a faster more reliable bike get someting else. Restoration should only be done on bikes that are in a very poor condition. Perhaps you could find a cheaper trashed Eldorado to restore.

[Chuck]

Ah, well.. after all it's your bike. And.. it's a Guzzi. It'll never be an unmolested Crocker or something like that, value wise.   If it were mine, rusty wouldn't get it, but powder coat is a little over the top. The stock ignition is as reliable as sun down. Greg Bender (thisoldtractor) makes new harness, and it will most likely need it. For some reason, you'll find more electrical bodges on old Guzzis than any other.. 

What I'd do if it looks as good as the pictures show, is repair as necessary to make it completely reliable, get rid of the rust.. i hate rust.. and ride it. 

[Scud]

The bike does look good in the one picture you've posted - but close-ups can tell a different story.

 

I like the idea of keeping it original. Like Chuck, I don't care for rust, but I'm also not a fan of other people's dents. Once you start powdercoating, you're moving toward an expensive, show-quality restoration. 

 

In my experience, a rolling restoration is a lot of work. You end up removing/reinstalling the same parts multiple times as you chase various problems. In the long run, stripping the whole bike and re-assembling it once will be a time-saver. You can inspect/clean/replace/restore each part based on what you find. After sitting for so long, there will be surprises. I think some of the older bikes had chrome bores, which caused a lot of problems - other models were trouble free.

 

Advice?

1. Consider starting a project thread over on WildGuzzi to benefit from the collective experience over there. 
2. This might be the time to buy a copy of Guzziology from Moto International (if you don't already have it).

[Chuck]

^^^ Wat Scud sez. I basically did that with the Lario Rehab thread on WG. Tore it down once and replaced but mostly repaired (not restored) over a few months of Winter. There are many that know those bikes intimately.. you'll learn a lot about it, and end up with a completely reliable bike that you would ride anywhere. 

As I've mentioned more than once, "If you look for trouble on an old machine.. you *will* find it."    Even as nice as it looks, I would expect to put a minimum of $2500 in it. If you pay someone to do the work?? You could buy a new bike instead.

[HRC_V4]

OK, here are the pics, it is like a Picasso, looks good from a distance, but is a mess up close...

 

 

 

 

[HRC_V4]

And more, it can be saved, but it is going to take some work.  I like the idea of spending more than a few months taking it apart and putting it back together.  I think $2,500 is on the low side, I bet I will have more than that in it doing the work myself. I will start a thread on WildGuzzi when I get moved and get the bike ready to go.

 

 

[HRC_V4]

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