Sorted? Not Too Far Now…

Okay, so the last time I posted there was a problem with the Guzzi firing only on one cylinder.  Fuel was clearly coming through the carburettor as the flame in the exhaust and the rather loud misfire was testament to.  So a couple of days ago the left hand spark plug was pulled out and held against the engine with it being started to check on the strength of the spark which on inspection was considered very good.  So today the float bowl was taken off again to check that the float wasn’t set too low and running lean.  It was fine.  We changed the spark plugs over and checked their gaps too to find that one was way out…could this be the culprit?  Indeed it was as we are firing on both cylinders and the exhausts are hot on both sides whereas the left one was previously stone cold.  Sorted!

The next issue was the intermittent starter motor which was requiring a ‘tap’ with a screwdriver handle to ensure the solenoid engaged properly.  The starter motor can be seen below picked out in a lovely shade which will need re-painting…or replacing!

So the starter was taken off and the solenoid taken apart to inspect and clean the contacts which are the likely cause.

 

 

Once back together tapping on the solenoid casing was still required, however it then started to engage as it should without any tapping needed.  I am hoping that this situation continues and that a new starter is not needed…it could be that the contacts have bedded in slightly from their earlier cleaning.

Next up was a bit of fabrication and welding for the seat pan…none of which I have the skills to do, so these tasks were handled by my brother-in-law again who has done a smashing job as usual.  Now the seat pan will be secured in the middle and has an extension at the front that was welded on today that hooks under a lip at the rear of the tank.

  A piece of box section welded to the underneath of the seat pan raises the hook enough for the pan to be correctly seated…

…and temporarily fitted…

…along with the rear light and number plate mount which requires a little adjustment to centralise it.

The gear lever needed some adjustment as I had positioned it too high originally, but as these lovely rear sets have plenty of adjustment potential I am sure I can fine tune it as required.

And finally…away she goes!!!

So, what’s left then?  Well, some adjustment to the seat pan to centralise it better and in due course a lovely leather upholstered seat will take the place of a small square of race seat foam!  But for the purposes of the MOT the foam will suffice.  The bar end mirror needs milling down a tiny fraction to go inside the clip-on tube.  There is a problem with the front right brake calliper binding on so the front wheel is going to be coming out again to try and find the cause…then it will be MOT time, hopefully within the next couple of weeks or so.

I Have Seen The Light…

…in the form of a Metal Inert Gas (MIG) welder, wielded by someone who knows how to use such a beast. 

Yesterday was a pleasant three hours tackling the seat fabrication mainly and adapting a throttle assembly.  Naively a couple of blogs ago I thought the finish line was within touching distance.  I liken this to the same way I find that it is the last mile to any unknown destination when using a Satnav that is the hardest to navigate; so it seems is completing a motorcycle.  To be fair, what I am learning now is that when deviating even a little from the original specification will no doubt require quite a bit of problem solving for the seemingly smallest of tasks.  Greater planning at the beginning of the next project, as there will be a next project, will hopefully be tackled with more forethought.

 

It was decided that in order to mount the original seat pan securely it would need a bracket to be welded to its underside for the most forward mount.  So a spare piece of flat bar that used to be the homemade regulator/rectifier bracket on this very bike was pressed into action as a seat mounting point.  Skilfully, my brother-in-law used the MIG welder to fill a previously drilled hole that was in the wrong place, so that a hole could be placed in the right place, allowing this bracket and therefore the seat to mount to the frame.  Welded to this were a couple of captive nuts for the locating bolts to attach from underneath the frame into the seat.  I describe this as I forgot to take photos of this bit but will post some next time.

 

…welding on the captive nuts.

 

…some grinding to prepare the seat to accept the newly made flat bracket.

Another bracket was formed to hang from under the rear of the seat that mounts the rear light…curiously not seen in this photo!

A new, supposedly ‘twin-pull’ RFX throttle assembly had to be modified as it was not a twin pull...it was a ‘push-pull’ type.  So another channel for the second throttle cable was formed in the assembly with an angle grinder making the cables both go in the same direction, transforming it into a ‘twin pull’.  As the assembly has the correct 90° bend in it, the cables will be routed correctly behind the headlight and along the main frame tube neatly.  The length of the plastic grip was also not long enough so the sealed end was cut off to all the throttle to meet up with the front master cylinder.

And just to be sure that the cable barrels/nipples I got last week, a quick solder proved they fit this throttle assembly just fine.

 

…and fitted securely in the throttle twist grip.  Brilliant.

So, what remains to do now?

• Clean out the carburettors , adjust their float levels and balance them if required.
• Clean out the remaining shot from the petrol tank when it was shot blasted.
• Use shorter fuel pipes from carburettors to the petrol tank taps, possibly with an additional set of glass fuel filters.
• Mount the rear seat to frame bracket with any welding if required.
• Continue with bleeding the front brakes.
• Put fluid into the rear brake system and bleed.
• Finalise the routing of throttle cables and ensure they work smoothly in the new assembly.
• Upholstering the seat is going to be left to a professional.
• Ministry of Transport Test!!!