NEW GUZZI G5!

[Chicagoairhead]

Hello! I am brand new here. I have owned a '69 V700 for some years.

A couple of weeks ago an acquaintance asked me to look at a friends v1000 G5.
She had discovered the bike while rummaging at a garage sale at the house next store - nestled in the back of the garage was a grimy, dusty old Moto Guzzi! The home's elderly previous owner had passed away and her husband (who had owned the bike) died 10 years before her. The new home owners had no idea what the bike was or what it was worth, so they sold it to her. The G5 has a little over 28k on it, and looking at it carefully, I am confident that this is original mileage. It came with a huge and heavy homemade faring mount holding up a Windjammer faring, also bolted to the beast were a set of Bates bags with an equally heavy mounting "system". This bike was covered with what appeared to be grease - and lots of furry lint like crap! It was easiestly the most filthy bike I had ever seen.

I rinse the bike off to see what it looked like, then dumped the thick black goop that passed for oil - looked like raw crude to me! I pulled the plugs and added some Marvel Mystery Oil to the cylinders letting them sit for a couple of days, then put the bike in gear and gently rotated the rear tire by hand - what started as a tight engine loosened up in short order and rolled in gear easily! I flushed the tank, then ran a new fuel line with a filter inline to the carbs, place a good battery from my daily rider in, and was ready to see if she would run! Ends up the cable from the battery was shot. I ran a jumper from the battery to the starter and it turned grudgingly but quickly loosened up after two short cranks and fired nicely. I was not able to get the thing to fire at this point, and had to call it a day.

When I talked to the acquaintence who had asked me to look at the bike, he seemed surprised by the list of things that would need sorting out, and the rough estimate of the costs. I was just going to see what it needed, and the state of the engine, nothing more, and was doing this for FREE. He called me back the next day to say the the owner decided she didn't want to spend the money to resurrect the Guzzi, and would I like to buy it? We settled on a price of $400, and it was mine!

It will need a title, who knows what happened to the old one - but the old man had it plated and paid the road taxes back in 2000, so at least we know it wasn't stolen! I removed the faring and the bags, which all told had to weigh 80+ pounds! I de-greased the bike and gave it a bath - which help incredibly! It looks good and solid - no silly mis-matched fasteners or weekend mechanic mistakes, aside from the duct tape on the air plenums and the tractor parts employed to mount the faring.

I have yet to get the engine to run, though I am confident I am close - just haven't gotten back to that yet.

Any ideas where I might find a stock headlight for this bike? All I seem to be missing is the headlight and front turn signal assemblies. Anybody have these collecting dust on a shelf? Please let me know and what you'd like for them. I am excited to see this baby healthy again!

 

[fotoguzzi]

first, welcome!
second, what a cool story.. that will make a really good project. probably need a full brake caliper re-do the the rust on the rotors is no big deal. soak the carbs, get some new tires and ride it.. then get FAC dampers and new shocks.
after that go over and give the lady a ride..

 

[Tonerjockey]

CAH, welcome!

I too lived in Chicago and rode a Guzzi. A great bike for that area... no one would steal it.

I just completed a G5 that originally had a Windjammer on it. I got the bike W/O headlight assy too. It is a police model though. Is yours?

Ebay provided the headlight bucket. I used a standard bulb.

The Molex connectors I got from Fry's .. a local computer franchise.

One of the more difficult tasks was making the harness correct. I got an electronic manual and color coded the wiring harness pics.

Let me know if you would like the complete file.

Your bike sat for maybe 10 years or so. Mine sat for over 30 and it had probs. I've got it all sorted out now except for the hard shifting. I need to R&R the trans again to get that straightened out @#$%^&*(

Nice bike though. Powerful enough to get ya through traffic, light enough to handle in tight spots, and at that price cheap enough to use as a daily driver.

Comgrats!

Al

 

[Tonerjockey]

BTW I also have the non-police wiring cartoon... in B&W if yer interested.

Al

 

[Chicagoairhead]

@ Fotoguzzi - Great idea taking the woman for a ride! BTW what is a FAC damper? I am planning on rebuilding the calipers - what are your fav suppliers for parts?

@ Al - I think mine is a civilian model - Stainless fenders and a different tail light assembly from yours - otherwise how can I tell if it is a PD model? I would really appreciate the wiring diagrams if that wouldn't be a bother - thanks! I love the paint on your bike - I want to eventually add side cases like yours and a similar windshield - As I asked FG above, where are your fav sources for parts and bits?

Thanks for the kind words and support guys!

 

[Tonerjockey]

The paint was done by a local hot rod painter : Sky
The cases I silk screened... 1st attempt at silk screening. Lemme know if ya want more info.
Looks like yours is a civilian model. The handle bars are relatively short... do you have a switch assy on the right bar? I think this is for the siren and radio. Two rockers and two push buttons. (The red dot is my starter button):

I had to ditch the stock throttle and switch assy as it was crap.

I'll see if I can send ya the wiring diagrams via the messages portion of this forum.

Al

 

[Amboman]

what is a FAC damper? I am planning on rebuilding the calipers - what are your fav suppliers for parts?

I want to eventually add side cases like yours and a similar windshield Thanks for the kind words and support guys!

FAC is a brand of front fork damping cartridge, the best available for older Guzzis at the moment but not inexpensive.

Many times the 6mm bleeder screws twist off on the original calipers, if that happens you're better off replacing the caliper. By time you add up the cost of the seal kits, new anodized pistons (replace the chrome plated steel originals), hardware, bleeder screws and pads, plus add in the time it'll take, you've spent the same amount as a new caliper. New calipers have 10mm bleeders, come fully loaded (pads, hardware, everything) ready to bolt on.

Every thing you'll need is available from the "usual suspects" - Moto International in Seattle, WA, Harper's in MO and MG Cycle in Albany, WI. I buy almost exclusively from MG Cycle: http://www.mgcycle.com/ due to better service and reasonable prices. They have reproductions of the original saddlebags, mounts and windscreen.

 

[Tonerjockey]

I too prefer MG Cycle.

Since yer in Greater Metropolitan Chicagoland, give 'em a call, and ask to drop by for pickup. They are in beautiful downtown Albany... on the corner of town and corn.

Bring good beer. Great guys.

Al

 

[Rafael]

Welcome! MG Cycle is my primary source for old guzzi stuff, they have the best web page for information and easy shopping. The shop & parts manuals and electrical diagrams are all available on line.

Some items to pay attention to for getting an old guzzi out of storage besides changing all the fluids. Change those old tires (safety first). There are plenty of vintage sized tires out there. I recommend the Dunlap GT501's or the Avon RoadRiders if your local freeways don't have rain grooves. While the rear wheel is off make sure that the drive splines on the rear drive are greased; very important - use Wurth spline grease - this will prevent expensive damage if rust if present. Make sure none of the brake caliper pistons are not sticking. Sticking pistons will damage your rotors over time.

Improvements:
I say get rid of the Bosch starter and put on the updated starter that guzzi now uses; the Valeo - less problems all around. Beware there are Chinese Valeo knock offs out there. I found out after purchasing one, but have not had a problem with it. The Valeo will allow the use of a smaller maintenance free battery as well as giving better performance. Or you can use the ol trusty and cheap lawn mower battery (size U-1 or U1R).
If the bike does not have electronic ignition its worth getting. There are two types available for this bike; the Dyna III and Saches available thru EME. I say take a chance on the Saches, it eliminate the distributor with the advance weights. I have a RITA and a Dyna. The RITA has had less problems and give better performance but is no longer made. The Saches uses a similar technology to the RITA.

As for the headlight bucket:
That assembly came on the 850-T, T-3 and G5 ( V7 Sport too?). You'd be really lucky to find one. But you can almost use anything else and still look original. The original bucket functioned as a wiring junction box as well. But this can be resolved by making a mini wiring harness to stay outside the bucket and have a separate feed for the head light bulb. I've seen some Tonti's with Windjammer fairings in which the installer snapped off the bracket arms from the headlight bracket, miraculously the originals are still available from MG Cycle along with the bushings.

Good luck, wish I had found a G-5 for $400. :mrgreen:

Keep posting, it's nice to see an old guzzi come back to life.