Right then! Back to the Moto Guzzi V50..

Time to get back to the sadly neglected Moto Guzzi V50 project! It's been at least a couple of years since we got to this stage, and what was bought as a runner may have suffered as a result.

Possible design direction, although less of the lumpy tank. Long, rectangular classic racer look is the goal with inspiration from 70's sport and racing mopeds...

Rear shocks sourced:

Also have bought conversion kit to change from bicycle style ball bearing head set to taper roller bearing. Some inconsistent info on the web about whether you need to get a longer stem pressed in. We shall see...

Skinny front end will be further augmented with high quality FAC dampers. These forks run an internal damper much like modern cartridge systems. There are two choices, cheap standard or expensive FAC, The latter are supposed to be a serious improvement. As the V50 has a great reputation for fine handling, improving the existing set up seems a better bet than putting on a different front end that may affect trail, off-set etc.

 That takes care of the front end fundamentals although a fork brace may be added. On the electrics front, the ancient loom with weird fuses etc. and the high cost of getting someone to do a loom, starts to make this look like a good idea:

The Motogadget M-unit allows you to simplify your loom by getting rid of all relays and fuses and providing a central, programmable, point to run your wiring to. It's shock and water resistant and has no moving parts. Short circuit and overload protection is automatic and self correcting. This will form the hub of my new wiring. I already have a Dynatek electronic ignition kit to fit, and may spring for their coils too.

Plenty to do then, to get a rolling chassis and an electrical system together. In the meantime some serious decision-making, budgeting, and saving to be done with regards to the motor and shaft-drive. How much assessment can I handle myself? Can I afford a full professional re-build. Can I afford not to have one? And these Heron-headed, mild-mannered, hard to hot-up V50 engines, Can any sensible tuning be accomplished? I've seen stuff about lightened flywheels and skimmed gas-flowed heads.

Also carbs and brakes need re-conditioning. Currently proposing to stick with the linked brake system, after reading some accounts from people who seem to know what they're talking about, but we will see.  More to come soon....

Brothers in the Build.

I've just finished watching a recording of the Le Mans MotoGP with Mrs Cutter, about 8 hours after it happened. What a race!  Ducati are on the podium with Rossi  having had a smart consistent push to third aided by carnage and confusion at the front.  Rossi, Burgess, and the Ducati team are doing what they said they would, developing the bike. This result became possible after some "chassis" (that's an archaic word for what is really a carbon airbox that holds the front-end, engine and rear-end together) mods, but Barcelona brings a new engine which Burgess has made clear is an important part of improving the behaviour in corners. If it has more power that won't hurt either. I won't talk about the ironies of the Simoncelli, Pedrosa and Lorenzo, Dovizioso dust-ups, other to say that I feel sorry for Dani but enjoyed watching Simoncelli stuff it up Lorenzo who has been playing the pious champion mind-games off the track. Anyway back to C-Shack business..

Last weekend was a milestone in terms of the project bike, not just because a particularly daunting (to me anyway) stage was completed, but more because of the manner in which it happened. A fellow UK Monster Owners Club member, Sam, had arranged to swap his Mivv X-Cone cans for my Sils. This was a deal made in heaven, with Sam lusting after the oval Sils he had wanted for a long time, now in a position to make use of them as he de-caffeinates his 620 for a change in riding position. In turn I got what I had been secretly longing for, pipes that are really different, with a real cafe-racer megaphone look mixed with a bit of modern GP vibe.

True, the brushed steel X-Cones are a fair bit heavier than the carbon Sils which seems a bit of a backward step performance-wise, but they are still a lot lighter than standard.  However, they look phenomenal. I was worried the back end was going to look cluttered and low with everything in black around the back wheel, These swept slim cans will clean things up no end without my having to resort to high-levels which inevitably look too modern for a cafe-a-like, and on a tail-chop bike need shortening.

The Silmotors :

The Mivvs :

They look longer when in position due to the link pipes which continue the line back to the manifold.

You may be wondering what was so special about all of this, and what was daunting about exhaust pipes. The answer is nothing, what was special was that Sam, as well as travelling a couple of hundred miles to do the swap, also decided to help me out with the wiring job for the Motogadget speedo and associated LEDs. Yep, the wiring that has been worrying me for so long. He spent several hours doing a class wiring job just as a favour to a fellow Monster owner. He even had to be forced to accept a little lunch - the chickens pinned him down while Mrs Cutter force fed him Spag Bol. I have rarely met such a polite, kind, hard working and talented bloke and I owe him big time.

The speedo, complete with it's micro switch, sensor, four internal warning lights, and the three extra LEDs I'm mounting (for the remaining required "idiot lights"), are all functional. All I have to do is tidy and route the wiring, put in a in-line fuse for the 12v supply, and bracket-mount the speed sensor and switch. The wiring was scarier than it looks below where it's pretty much finished, with some changes having to be made in the loom at the back end of the bike as well as at the front. However it wasn't at all scary for Sam, who pulled of the neat trick of making it look easy without ever making me feel like the talentless chancer I am!

More news just in, this weekend -  apart form sorting Kriega luggage for Mrs Cutter's 695 and my VTR, as well as a RAM mount and charging socket on the latter (all this in prep for Silverstone and Assen GP visits) -  I found some time to look at the final drive on the M900. I'd been uncomfortable with how close the sprocket nuts seem to be to the swing arm, and as usual instead of noting the obvious (studs seemed a bit short - how could that be?) I was making up all kinds of panicky theories. Powder coating affecting tolerances, 750SS sourced wheel not right, sprocket carrier different or not seating properly, spacer in the wrong way round, Resolving to play around with different sprockets and swap to the old carrier to see what was what, I realised I'd put the sprocket on the wrong way round - it has indentations on one side that allow the nuts to screw further down the studs. Just a couple of mm. difference but enough to now look right.

Wth everything going so well I decided to try and put the chain on, which really needs a side-plate pressing and rivet-end squashing tool. These usually come as a multi-function jobbie that breaks the old chain too. A bit of web searching came up with some alternative methods and I tried to improvise:

This is some kind of car tool which, with a socket used to keep it's jaws open, makes a good pressing tool. This would have been fine if the instructions on the chain packet had mentioned that you need to have the side of the plate with the writing on facing outwards ( it says "Japan" unlike every other link that says "DID"). Or if I had enough sense to know that, to work as a press-fit, the holes need to be tapered, and therefore direction of application is important. I soon realised though, when my pseudo-press bent the plate instead of pressing it on. I straightened it in the vice (should be OK as all strain is lengthways) and resolved to try again later or maybe borrow the right tool from my mate Roly if he's got one. Sometimes it's best to take a breather and re-group.

I'm feeling very up because the project has so much momentum now. I need to ring a seatmaker.....

Forza Ducati! Roll on Silverstone and Catalunya!

Splurge

There are still some pretty big items cost wise before this project is complete. In terms of expense, paint job is probably the biggest, fork rebuild ties for first place or is a narrow second, saddle customisation comes third. Floating around the £100 mark are little luxuries like chain and sprockets and other consumables that you don't think about because they are a bit boring, but can end up bankrupting you....

However time and time again in articles I see specials builders saying, if you see a special component that's rare, or rare at the right price, buy it. One of my other items for completion was an electronic speedo/dash. I was looking at one of these:

http://www.trailtechproducts.co.uk/acatalog/copy_of_Vapor_Stealth.html


The Vapor (not to be confused with Veypour who also make digital dashes) is light, capable and reasonably economic at around £90 without the plastic dash and lights shown here.
 However, since I started researching for the bike I fancied one of these with its stepper motor and hidden LED readout and lights:

http://www.motogadget.com/en/frameset.html

It's the Motoscope Tiny, from German company Motogadget who make some amazing instruments including an almost microscopic digital dash. As you can see from the coin in the picture, it's very small. This is a digital speedo with a stepper motor reading out through an analogue display. It includes hidden LED warning lights and LED readout which displays a variety of info.

Aesthetically it's bang on for the retro/techtro look I want. It's extremely small and light (though not as light as the Vapour). It doesn't have a rev counter like the Vapor's nice bar display, but then the original Monster dash doesn't have a tach. either and it's not really needed on a big air-cooled twin. These go for around £200, but one turned up new but ex demo on the bay last night for £140 so the decision was made. Let's hope I can get the warning lights hooked-up and the speed sensor in a happy location. Sure the expense pushes back the forks and paint, but it was needed and it's right. Feels good...