Project motorcycles Moto Guzzi V1000 I-Convert

2008 Feb 18: Purchase and disassembly (3.00 hours)

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The previous owner delivered the convert to me this afternoon. We did the deal, took a couple photos, and then I proceeded to begin disassembly. Overall, I am quite pleased with how well things came apart. There were no rusty, crusty, stuck bits and even the exhaust slid apart like a dream. Good stuff. I think the bike has sat outside for the last couple months here in Phoenix. But, it most certainly did not spend the last 11 years outside. It is in too good of condition for that to have been the case.

I discovered a couple of surprises along the way...(1) an extra Dyna ignition! and (2) the wiring to the Pacifico fairing only tapped into existing wires...leaving the original wiring and connectors intact!

2008 Feb 19: Disassembly (2.00 hours)

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• Pulled the petcocks from the tank and drained the old gas. Petcocks were not clogged (although the inside of the tank certainly needs to be coated).
• Pulled and disassembled the carbs. They'll need new kits, but they don't appear to have been clogged.
• Pulled the heads...they look terrific!
• Pulled the right cylinder and piston. It is Nikisil and looks brand new. It is in fantastic shape.
• Pulled the left cylinder and piston. The oil ring is broken. Appears one end may have gotten hung up during reassembly and snapped off. All the nikisil plating is gone from this cylinder. It appears to be easily re-platable. I certainly cannot run it the way it is.
• Drained the engine. Normally cold oil drains pretty slowly because it is so thick. But, this stuff shot clear past the center stand almost to the rear tire. It had been diluted with gasoline that had leaked past the petcocks. It made a nasty, stinky mess.

2008 Feb 21: Disassembly (5.50 hours)

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• With a lot of help from Mike Tiberio over the internet, I was able to determine:
  • My pistons were originally designed for an 850T/T3. The previous owner had remembered them being 850 Le Mans pistons and he had added a spacer between two base gaskets to provide sufficient clearance. I no longer have to worry about that...nor about trying to get 850 Le Mans pistons to work well with small valve heads.
  • My block is from an 850. This is a good thing as I wanted the 850 cylinders to have a slide-in fit into the case with the proper case-cylinder clearance.
  • This means that somewhere along the way, the original convert engine was replaced with an engine from an 850. Probably an 850 T3.
• Both master cylinders were mostly dry (just a little damp brake fluid residue left in them). I filled them up and did a quick bleed of the brakes. Some pistons work fine, others are pretty stiff, and I've got a leak where the hose connects to the rear master cylinder (that explains the missing paint on the frame in that location much better than battery acid). These will need some work. Brakes cannot simply stay good without being used regularly.
• Pulled the rear wheel. Splines look good.
• Pulled the rear drive. There was silicone goop between the swing arm and the rear drive. The silicone goop was dangerously close to getting in the rear pinion bearing, but seems to have been spared that fate. I removed the pinion carrier and the pinion teeth look fantastic! I am very pleased the rear drive isn't trash.
• Pulled the front wheel and front fender.
• Removed the swing arm. U-Joint is in perfect condition.
• Drained as much ATF fluid as I could from the lines and reservoir.
• Removed the frame. I used the crabbing technique to do this. This was my first attempt at crabbing a Tonti frame. For the most part, it went rather well. It did get a little dicey when I removed the frame from the engine/transmission. But, no damage to any parts :>
• Separated the engine from the transmission and drained the oil from the torque converter.
• At this point, the garage is a bloody mess. ATF fluid everywhere from spills. I've not had this messy of an experience in a long time. I've got some cleaning to do.
• Tore the engine down close to studs. No measurements yet, but everything looks to be in fantastic shape. Mains and big end bearings look new. Crank is in fantastic shape. Cam journals are in great condition. Cam is in good condition. Cam followers are in great condition. This is all very great news!

2008 Feb 23: Disassembly and cleaning (1.50 hours)

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• Removed the swing arm bearings and races.
• Removed the U-Joint carrier bearing.
• Removed the only remaining bits off of the engine case: oil pump and distributor. The oil pump is missing its bearing. I thought perhaps it has fell out when I was moving and rotating the case around. But, I searched everywhere (including the trash) and could not find it. I'm glad this engine only saw 15 miles after rebuild...that missing bearing could have done some real damage.
• Removed the gasket material from the rear main bearing flange.
• Cleaned the front and rear main bearings.

2008 Feb 24: Cleaning (2.50 hours)

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• Scraped all the stuck on gasket material off of all the engine parts. Always a joy.
• Cleaned many of the engine parts. Case turned out very nice.
• Tom Short (Arizona MGNOC rep) came over part way through and we had a good time chatting for a while.

2008 Feb 25: Disassembly and Cleaning (1.00 hours)

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• Disassembled rear drive. Ring and pinion are in fantastic shape. Bearings have some light rust on them. I'll try to clean, but I believe they are bin-worthy.
• Cleaned all the parts. Case turned out very nice.
• Heated the rear drive in my turkey roaster until the outer race fell out. I love this technique. Painless and no damage to parts!

2008 Feb 26: Clean up (0.75 hours)

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• Spent some time cleaning up the garage of all the disarray that had begun with the disassembly of the convert. No real progress, just getting things in order.

2008 Feb 27: Measuring (1.50 hours)

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• Spent a bunch of time measuring fasteners. I'll be putting together a fastener spreadsheet similar to what has already been done for the loop frames, so I wanted to take the time to document the I-Convert fasteners.

2008 Feb 28: Cleaning (0.25 hours)

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• Did the final cleaning on the rear drive case (inside had been soaking in degreaser for several days) the large bearing, and the needle bearing. I was pleasantly surprised to find that the bearings cleaned up quite nicely. I believe that I'll be reusing them.

2008 Feb 29: Polishing (0.75 hours)

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• Polished up most of the chrome and stainless bits. The chrome isn't perfect, but it isn't horrible, either. It will suite me just fine not to replace it.

2008 Mar 01: Measuring and cleaning (4.50 hours)

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• Measured the main bearings and the big end rod bearings. Everything measured out very well.
• Took the plug out of the sludge trap in the crank and cleaned it out. It had a little bit in it, no where near full. But, since the engine is this far apart, it only makes sense to clean it completely.
• Disassembled the footboards/lower frame rails and cleaned up all the various bits.
• Removed the brake disks from both wheels. Cleaned up the discs and fasteners.
• Removed the cush drive from the rear wheel. Cleaned up the pieces.
• Removed the front and rear tires from the wheels. Cleaned up the tires and wheels.

2008 Mar 03: Disassembly (2.50 hours)

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• Removed the rear fender.
• Removed the complete wiring harness, labelling each connecting as I went. It'll still take some work to get it properly sorted when I put everything back together, but the labels will help.
• Removed the handlebars and the complete brake system.
• Removed the steering stem and drove out the bearing races. The bearings are notchy. I'm not sure if it is due to hardened grease or worn out components.
• Removed the VIN tag by using a rolling head pry bar inside the steering neck to pry each rivet outward. Once the rivet popped loose, it was a simple matter of grabbing it's head with a pliers and twisting it out. No damage done to the VIN tag.
• Removed the steering head lock. I didn't have the key, so I drilled it out.
• Frame is now completely bare and ready to be blasted and powder coated. I need to gather up a few more bits and pieces and make sure I have everything together before I make the run down to the powder coater.

2008 Mar 05: Shipping, organization, and disassembly (0.50 hours)

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• Shipped both cylinders to Millennium Technologies. One certainly needs plating. I'm having them verify the other one.
• Moved some parts around the garage for better storage.
• Removed the front wheel bearings from the front wheel.
• Removed the rear wheel bearing carrier assembly from the rear wheel.
• Started disassembling the clutch from the transmission. Made almost zero progress there.

2008 Mar 06: Powder coat prep (0.25 hours)

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• Cleaned up the frame to get ready to take to the powder coater: filed down sharp edges, straightened small bent parts, etc.

2008 Mar 07: Trip to powder coater, disassembly (3.00 hours)

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• Delivered all the parts to the powder coater. Gloss black for the frame and associated bits. A chrome gloss for the rims (really looks like aluminum).
• Disassembled the clutch. Things look very good inside.

2008 Mar 08: Disassembly, cleaning, measuring (5.00 hours)

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• Disassembled transmission completely. Things look very good inside.
• Cleaned up all the transmission and clutch components. Everything cleaned up very nicely.
• Measured up all the bearings and seals and O-rings.

2008 Mar 12: Disassembly, cleaning (3.00 hours)

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• Cleaned up a lot of remaining parts. Pretty much everything is cleaned up now.
• Disassembled both master cylinders and all three calipers. The master cylinders are in certain need of new seals. One of the calipers has been updated to the anodized pistons; the remaining two still have the steel pistons. I'll upgrade the steel pistons to anodized and install new seal kits on everything. All the pads are in good shape. Going to this much effort (not to mention expense) really makes me glad that I replace the brake fluid in my Quota once each year. Cheap and easy insurance compared to all this effort.

2008 Mar 13: Order parts (0.00 hours)

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• I placed orders today for the vast majority of parts I'll need to complete this project. There are a few outstanding things I've yet to order, but I've got the main stuff coming.

2008 Mar 14: Fixing (2.00 hours)

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• Straightened up the fins on the oil cooler.
• Disassembled, cleaned, and resolder connections for the throttle, kill switch, and starter button.

2008 May 07: Assembly (0.50 hours)

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• Cleaned excess powder coat off of the rear wheel and drove the rear wheel bearing carrier back into place. I applied anti-seize to the bearing carrier to make future removal easier.

2008 May 08: Assembly (0.50 hours)

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• Cleaned excess powder coat off of the front wheel and drove both bearings into place, with the spacer in the middle. I applied anti-seize to the bearing holes to make future removal easier. I liberally greased the exterior of the bearing spacer to prevent corrosion.

2008 May 10: Clean and paint (0.75 hours)

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• Cleaned up the brake rotors and painted one side them with high-temp matte black paint (BBQ grill paint). I thought about going with a gloss, but I think I'll like the matte finish against the gloss wheels.

2008 May 11: Paint and powder coat clean up (2.00 hours)

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• Painted the other side of the rotors.
• Chased all the threads in the parts that had been powder coated.
• Cleaned up all the over spray in the powder coated parts.

2008 May 26: Acid cleaning and engine assembly and tire mounting (4.00 hours)

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• Cleaned all the cases with Eagle One Etching cleaner. It did a great job on the engine case. The remaining cases must be comprised of a different alloy mix. They cleaned up well, but just not as well as the engine case (and all cases were prepped identically).
• Cleaned the sidewalls of both tires with Bleche White. It worked very well at removing the brown gunk that had settled on the sidewalls.
• Installed the camshaft and cam followers.
• Installed new plug into the sludge trap of the crankshaft, secured with high strength thread locking compound and peened into place.
• Fit the front main bearing. The pivot plate for the timing chain tensioner was fitted as well.
• Removed old outer race from the oil pump bearing.
• Installed inner and outer races of the new bearing for the oil pump.
• J-B WELD the cam plug.
• Fit the crankshaft in the front main bearing.
• Fit the rear main seal in the rear main bearing.
• Fit the rear main bearing. A new gasket was fitted, coated with Permatex Super 300 Form-A-Gasket Sealant. The threads on the bottom two bolts were sealed with ThreeBond 1184 semidrying liquid gasket.
• Fit the oil return line from the breather, with new crush washers. A Schnorr washer was used at the securing bracket.
• Assembly lube was used on all applicable surfaces.
• Converted the rim to tubeless. The powder coating took care of the internal sealing needs; a valve stem took care of the rest.
• Mounted tire on rear wheel. Tire went on easily, but I struggled to get the bead to pop into place. Plenty of tire mounting lube, more than a bit of struggling with a ratchet strap, and I finally got it done. Took 1 hour just for this.

2008 May 27: Tire mounting (0.50 hours)

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• Mounted tire on front wheel. Tire went on easily. I struggled a bit to get the bead in place, but it went a lot quicker than the rear tire.

2008 Jun 01: Wheel assembly (3.25 hours)

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• Installed the brake discs on the front wheel.
• Installed the brake disc on the rear wheel.
• Discovered I failed to chase the 6 mm threads that secure the cush drive retaining plate in place. These are the three threaded holes in the hub. So, I chucked my tap into my cordless drill and proceeded to chase each hole. I've done this many times without any trouble. This time however, on the last hole, I snapped the tap off in the hole. It took 3 hours to extricate it from the hole. Then I repaired the damage with J-B WELD. What a frustrating time waster. I should have known better. Ugh.

2008 Jun 02: Wheel assembly (0.25 hours)

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• Drilled and tapped the repaired hole in the hub.
• Completed assembly of the cush drive.

2008 Jun 04: Engine assembly (2.50 hours)

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• Installed the oil pump.
• Installed the timing gears and torqued retaining nuts.
• Fit a new bow-style timing chain tensioner in place.
• Tested the oil pressure relief valve for its blow-off point. Discovered it was leaking a lot at very low pressure and would blow off at 40 PSI. Not good. I used valve grinding compound to lap the valve for a better seal at low pressures. Then, I set the valve to blow at the prescribed 60 PSI.
• Installed the oil pan using stainless fasteners, a new filter, and a fully greased gasket.

2008 Jul 14: Engine assembly (0.50 hours)

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• Installed the transmission oil pump in the timing cover using a new seal and o-ring. Torqued the retaining bolts.
• The transmission oil pump drive gear is in good, reusable condition, so I am reusing it.
• Installed the timing cover using a new seal and gasket. Fit all new stainless fasteners coated with anti-seize and torqued in place. Gasket was fully greased except for bottom part (up to the first holes on each side) to which Permatex Super 300 Form-A-Gasket Sealant was applied.

2008 Jul 20: Brakes (1.00 hours)

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• Rebuilt all three brake calipers with anodized pistons, new seals, and new bleeders. One caliper already had anodized pistons, and I reused those. I used the Brembo grease to coat the seals, pistons, etc. Caliper halves were secured with new bolts and torque to the proper specification. Brake pads are well within specs and were reused.

2008 Jul 22: Brakes and polishing (2.50 hours)

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• Rebuilt the front master cylinder with new seals, piston, spring, etc. I used the Brembo grease to coat the seals, pistons, etc.
• Polished the front master cylinder body and lever. The original finish looked bad. I used a wire wheel to remove the original finish and then gave the aluminum a quick polish.
• Removed some paint from the top and bottom triple trees, revealing the underlying aluminum. I plan to polish the aluminum up a bit. It should give the front end a bit of a lighter look.

2008 Jul 24: Transmission (2.00 hours)

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• Began rebuilding the transmission.

2008 Jul 26: Transmission (4.00 hours)

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• Completed the rebuild on the transmission. It is now ready to bolt on. Fit new seals and O-rings throughout as well as all new ball bearings (both roller bearings were fine).

2008 Jul 27: Engine and transmission (5.00 hours)

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• Mounted the flywheel to the crankshaft. Used the proper high grade bolts, Schnorr washers, and medium strength thread locking compound...torquing the bolts to the proper value.
• Secured the torque converter to the flywheel. Used a dial indicator to ensure the run out for the seal was less than .001 inch (as per spec). Secured the torque converter with Schnorr washers...torquing the bolts to the proper value.
• Fit the transmission to the engine.
• Checked the new rings for the right piston for end gap. They were all within spec.
• Fit the new rings to the piston.
• Fit both pistons to the connecting rods...then discovered the pistons were different. One uses a longer wrist pin than the other. That ain't gonna fly.
• Discovered transmission fluid leaking from the bottom of the transmission. I disassembled the transmission only to discover the leak was coming out the hole that it is supposed to be coming out of. Duh! Fit the banjo bolt with a new hose.

2008 Jul 28: Frame and swing arm (2.00 hours)

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• Installed the VIN plate on the steering head...reusing the original rivets.
• Installed the front tank mounts on the frame. The original rubbers were in fine shape, so they were reused. I fit new stainless bolts, but reused the original plated steel spacers and special oversized washers.
• Fit new races for the steering head bearings (the original bearings were ruined).
• Refit the original swing arm races and bearings back into the swing arm. The originals are in fine shape, and I simply repacked them with grease after a very thorough cleaning. I fit new seals for the swing arm bearings.
• Fit a new carrier bearing into the swing arm.
• Fit the u-joint into the carrier bearing. It was a nice interference fit. The previous owner told me he put in a new u-joint and it certainly feels and looks brand new. It is in fantastic shape!

2008 Aug 14: Starter (2.00 hours)

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• Tested the starter and discovered it engaged and cranked ok, but not as good as I would have liked.
• Disassembled the solenoid and found the contacts to be in near perfect shape. I wiped them off with cleaner and reassembled, no trouble there.
• Disassembled the starter. Brushes are in fine shape, but the commutator needed to be cleaned a bit. Also cleaned up some general gunk and muck from the entire inside. I took a look at the field coils and found that the rubber insulating material was in pretty bad shape. It had cracked in many locations and a direct short seemed inevitable. Not good.
  • I used the following technique to remove the field coils:
    1. Placed the starter body in my drill press vice with the drill press vice secured to my drill press table.
    2. Fit a drag link socket (heavy duty screwdriver blade) in my ¹⁄₂ inch drive breaker bar.
    3. Fit the drag link socket to the field coil securing screw.
    4. Placed considerable downward pressure on the top of the breaker bar (immediately above the drag link socket) with the drill press arm.
    5. Loosened the screw with the breaker bar.
  • I had a spare set of new field coils I planned to swap for this old set. But, the new field coils had a different internal size where the securing bracket fits. So, the new field coils could not be used (I believe the new field coils were for an older Bosch starter off a loop frame).
  • Instead, I removed the old rubber insulation and then reinsulated the field coils with 3M #27 glass tape.
  • I re-installed the field coils, using medium strength thread locking compound on the screws.
• I reassembled the starter, greasing the bushings along the way. I used medium strength thread locking compound on the solenoid securing screws.
• With everything back together, the starter works great!

2008 Oct 07: Pistons and cleaning (1.00 hours)

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• Removed the pistons from the connecting rods and the rings from the pistons. You'll recall I discovered the pistons were not identical after I initially installed them (one used a longer wrist pin than the other).
• Spent some time with a wire wheel removing some of the black paint from the triple trees and rear brake caliper mount. I plan to leave those aluminum bits unpainted.

2008 Oct 08: Heads and cleaning (1.25 hours)

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• Spent some time with paint remover removing some of the black paint from the triple trees and rear brake caliper mount. This is taking way too much time. I need a vibratory or rotating tumbler.
• Pulled the valves out of the heads. There was way too much play in there. Bummer...now I'm in for head work, too.
• Started to clean some on the heads...soaking in degreaser.

2008 Oct 09: Cleaning (0.50 hours)

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• Continuing reapplying degreaser to heads.
• Removed the carburetors from the intake manifolds (had to place the intake manifold in a vice, protected by blocks of wood). Then placed all the small carb parts and one carb body in my bucket of carb cleaner.

2008 Oct 10: Carburetor assembly (2.00 hours)

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• Cleaned and assembled one carb. Took quite a bit longer than usual as I am documenting the process in photos for my website.

2008 Oct 13: Carburetor assembly (0.50 hours)

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• Assembled the other carb.

2008 Oct 14: Cleaning and polishing (1.50 hours)

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• Polished up a bunch of the small aluminum parts.
• Cleaned up a bunch of steel parts with the wire wheel...these will be re-zinc plated.

2008 Oct 16: Cleaning and polishing (0.25 hours)

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• Cleaned up the alternator a bit. Realized I needed to figure out how to test it. Decided to spend the rest of the morning cleaning up in the shop. Will try to figure out how to test it today.

2008 Oct 17: Cleaning and polishing (0.25 hours)

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• Spent a few minutes cleaning up the valves on the wire wheel. Found a complete set of new valves and guides I had snagged off ebay a while back. I'm thinking about having someone install K-liners in the existing valve guides. I need to look into prices, longevity, etc.

2008 Oct 18: Alternator testing and assembly (0.50 hours)

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• I spent some time reading about testing the alternator's rotor and stator in the Moto Guzzi Workshop Manuals. Then I performed the following tests:
  • Rotor field winding resistance: should be 3.4 ohms; mine fluctuated between 3.3 and 3.5 ohms.
  • Stator winding resistance: the text indicates that the resistance between all the stator winding exits (U-V, U-W, V-W) should be equal; mine were all between 4.9 and 5.1 ohms.
• With these tests passed, I thoroughly cleaned all the terminals and secured with new lock washers and nuts.
• I mounted the rotor to the front of the crankshaft, I spread a coating of grease on the tapered shaft and thoroughly coated the threads with anti-seize.
• I mounted the stator to the front of the timing chest cover, each bolt was thoroughly coated with anti-seize.

2008 Oct 22: Cleaning heads (1.25 hours)

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• The heads have been setting on a piece of cardboard since my last application of engine degreaser (just the cheap stuff Walmart sells in an aerosol can). While I wish cleaners and degreaser would work without manual agitation with brushes and the like, I know all too well that they don't. There is no substitute for elbow grease...at least nothing I know about or can get my hands on very easily. So, I cleaned both heads in my vat of purple degreaser (the kind you buy in gallon containers)...much scrubbing and brushing. When finished, they looked pretty good. Not perfect (especially inside the exhaust port), but very presentable.
• With the heads thoroughly degreased, I rinsed them in water and then sprayed on a coating of Eagle One Etching cleaner. After 5 minutes I rinsed, flipped the heads over, and reapplied the Eagle One Etching cleaner. 5 minutes later I performed a final rinse. The heads look quite nice now and I am pleased.
• I plan to take my daughter Darby down to the machine shop today to see what I can have done with the guides. Liners maybe? We'll see...
• ...Ended up taking Abraham with me to the machine shop. This was Abraham's first trip out with just Daddy and only fitting that we visit a machine shop. He did quite well. As for the heads, the machinist will install guides and give the existing valves a grind. Should be ready next week.

2008 Oct 23: Rear shocks (1.75 hours)

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• Disassembled the rear shocks (down to the damper...the damper is a permanently sealed unit).
• Dampers felt good. I removed all the old paint with the wire wheel and then gave them a coat of primer and gloss black paint.
• Aluminum adjusters just needed to be cleaned up. I gave them a bit of a polish, too.
• Top and bottom chrome spring caps are in terrific shape. A quick cleaning is all they required.
• The chrome springs were in nice shape, but there was a bit of surface rust on the inside of the coils (like they all get with use). The problem with cleaning up the inside of the spring is that it is very difficult to reach. I've found a solution that works very well:
  • Wrap a piece of 0000 Steel Wool around one of the coils.
  • Next, wrap a folded plastic bag around the outside of the steel wool, sandwiching the steel wool between the plastic bag and the coil.
  • Now, when you pull the plastic bag and move it around the coils, you'll be pressing the steel wool into the chrome and steel wool will last much longer than if used without a plastic bag.
• I'll wait a few days to let the paint cure some before reassembly.

2008 Oct 24: Rear shocks (1.75 hours)

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• Disassembled the left side handlebar switch gear, cleaned and lubricated all the contacts, and reassembled. These aren't the easiest switches to refurbish, but they are definitely restorable without damage if one takes care.

2008 Oct 25: Pistons and front forks (4.00 hours)

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• The matched set of pistons from Mark Etheridge of Moto Guzzi Classics arrived in Thursday's mail. Mark sent me a great matched piston and I am very pleased.
• Although I've not done it before, I decided to send both pistons out to Swain Tech Coatings to have the dome coated with a ceramic Thermal Barrier Coating (TBC) and the skirt coated with a durable piston skirt coating (PC-9). I'm certain this isn't necessary, but it can only help and it doesn't cost very much to try. I removed both wrist pins, boxed up the pistons, and mailed them out later this morning.
• Removed the paint from each front fork leg using my wire wheel...this was a lot of work.
• Just barely started polishing on one front fork leg. Decided I was tired of fiddling with fork leg polishing and quite for the day.
• I'm more convinced than ever that I need to build myself a vibratory polisher or a rotating tumbler polisher.

2008 Oct 29: Rear shocks (0.25 hours)

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• Fitted the rubber bushes inside the eyelets on the end of each shock.
• Press fitted the inner metal bushes inside the rubber bushes.

2008 Nov 06: Pistons (0.00 hours)

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Pistons arrived back from Swain Tech Coatings today. Quick turn around and the pistons look good.

2008 Nov 22: Pistons and cylinders (2.00 hours)

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Although the pistons from Swain Tech looked great, the coating was too thick to fit inside my cylinders. This was a mistake on my part as I miscalculated the required clearances. Removing the coating is not possible as the skirts were bead blasted before the coating was applied. Were the bead blasted area become exposed, that would be a bad thing. What to do? I suppose I could have had the bores enlarged and then recoated with nikisil (expensive and a complete waste of the existing nikisil coating). So, I decided to source another pair of pistons and use them. This morning I spent my time thoroughly cleaning the pistons and ring grooves, then measuring the ring groove clearances, etc.

2008 Nov 23: Pistons and cylinders (1.00 hours)

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• Fit the rings to the pistons
• Fit the pistons to the connecting rods
• Fit the cylinders to the pistons

2008 Dec 04: Pistons and cylinders (0.50 hours)

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• Played around with determining the squish with no base gasket in place.

2008 Dec 05: Pistons and cylinders (1.00 hours)

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• Decided playing with the squish wasn't worth the effort.
• Pulled the cylinders off, and fit new base gaskets and cylinder stud O-rings.
• Fit both cylinders.
• Fit new head gaskets.
• Fit heads and valve gearing, with new cylinder stud O-rings.
• Adjusted valve lash.

2008 Dec 20: Brakes (1.50 hours)

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• Rebuilt the rear master cylinder with a new kit from Brembo. The anodized coating on the exterior was in poor condition. So I removed it using a wire wheel; leaving a brushed aluminum sheen that I like.

2008 Dec 22: Brakes (2.00 hours)

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• Attempted to restore the original rear master cylinder reservoir cap. The cap leaked, but I was pretty sure I'd be able to to fit a new rubber seal to address that. But, the bigger challenge was getting it to reliable report low fluid levels. I cleaned up the terminals and the screws that held the terminals in place (both were filthy). But, the connection between the terminals was still quite sketchy. So, I attempted clean the disc on the end of the float rod. I didn't have any luck and it appeared to be loose. I then attempted to pull it out of the bottom (as it had to get inside there somehow) but I lost the disc inside (pulled off the rod). At this point I gave up, stashed the parts in a bag for a later day, and fit the new cap and bellows I had on hand.
• Cleaned up all the brake lines, loosening all fittings for new crush washers, etc.

2009 Feb 05: Assembly (2.50 hours)

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• Fit intake manifolds to the heads, complete with new stainless fasteners and freshly powder-coated knee guards with cleaned original rubber pads.
• Fit swing arm to frame, coated splines with Amsoil 5th Wheel lubricant, fitted a new rubber boot and reused existed clamps. The swing arm had already received new bearings/races/seals, but I was sure to coat the pivot pins with grease and the pivot pin threads with anti-seize lubricant. I reused the original jam nuts.
• Secure the lower frame rails in place with new stainless fasteners. For now I am forgoing the front crash bars. I may fit them later, but I've chosen to leave them off so they don't get in the way during assembly.
• Fit the oil cooler bracket to the front of the frame with new stainless fasteners.
• Removed powder coat from the upper shock mounting studs on the frame and fit the left shock absorber in place just to keep the swing arm in place. I used a strip of cloth-backed sandpaper. In order to protect the surrounding paint, I first applied blue painters tape to the immediately surrounding areas. Then, I took a flat piece of plastic (from some packaging) and cut a hole in the middle of it with a hole punch. The hole just fit around the stud and the plastic protected the surrounding paint. It is important to use painters tape behind the plastic as the plastic will move a bit and rub marks will be seen in the paint if you don't. This method worked very well.

2009 Feb 06: Zinc plating (2.00 hours)

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• I'd been putting off zinc plating for a while now, partly because it is quite time consuming to do and partly because I wanted to try and do everything that needed to be done at once. Hopefully I accomplished that today. I hadn't used my zinc plating set-up since we lived in Florida...probably on parts for the Eldorado project. Before we moved, I properly disposed of the acid, pre-rinse, and post-rinse baths at a local hazardous waste collection site. Those baths are inexpensive to replace and I was probably due for a fresh start on them anyway. I did move the plating bath in the bed of my pickup. Late last year a Moto Guzzi acquaintance of mine offered to give me his HeathKit power supply. This was a huge blessing because up to this point I had been using a 12 volt battery with a battery charger continuously connected (not ideal). Needless to say, the HeathKit power supply made things go much more smoothly. In addition to the Convert parts listed below, I also plated a bunch of parts for my Dad's Ambassador/Eldorado police footboards that I am fixing up and selling for him (add another 3 hours to time listed above to cover the footboard parts). Here, then, is the list of Convert parts that got a fresh layer of zinc plating:
  • Engine mounting bolt (and nut)
  • Transmission mounting bolt (and nut)
  • Spacer that goes on the front axle
  • Passenger foot peg pivots (onto which the bars mount)
  • Passenger foot peg bars (which attach to the pivots)
  • Transmission shift lever (complete with the special bolt and both jam nuts)
  • Transmission shift linkage (rod, both clevises, and one clevis pin)
  • Center stand spring plates (both of them)
  • Side stand stop tab
  • Fuel crossover
  • Carburetor clamps, special bolts, and special nuts
  • Mirror bars and special nuts

2009 Feb 07: Assembly (1.35 hours)

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• Fit the front and rear engine mounting bolts.
• Mounted center stand and fit springs.
• Mounted side stand.
• Mounted battery tray.
• Mounted carburetors and K&N pod filters.

2009 Feb 08: Zinc plating (1.50 hours)

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• Fit the plastic lower rear fender
• Loosely fit the right side fuse panel bracket
• Identified a bunch of tiny little parts that needed to be cleaned, cleaned them up, found a couple that need to be zinc plated

2009 Feb 10: Miscellaneous cleaning and assembly (3.50 hours)

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• Used a wire wheel to remove the existing paint off of the oil cooler and the oil tank.
• Primed and painted the oil cooler and oil tank.
• Zinc plated both the special fasteners that secure the bottom of the side covers in place.
• Mounted the right side bottom side cover fastener.
• Mounted the right side fuse panel bracket, complete with wire retaining clips and fuse holders.
• Cleaned up the existing wiring loom and associated components. Removed the add-on harness for the Pacifico Fairing.
• Cleaned up the dash, inside and out.
• Removed the anodized finish from the left side clutch assembly. The original finish was half missing and I wanted a uniform finish.
• Lubricated the speedometer cable.

2009 Feb 13: Miscellaneous cleaning and assembly (5.00 hours)

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• Mounted the oil tank.
• Mounted the oil cooler.
• Mounted the footboards using new zinc plated hardware. I've decided to use zinc plated steel in the application, rather than stainless steel, for the greater elasticity of the metal under stress. I'm not sure it is needed, but thought it would be a good idea.
• Cleaned the powder coat off of the brake pedal pivot, shift pedal pivot, and parking brake pivot. I used the same technique I described earlier: I used a strip of cloth-backed sandpaper. In order to protect the surrounding paint, I first applied blue painters tape to the immediately surrounding areas. Then, I took a flat piece of plastic (from some packaging) and cut a hole in the middle of it with a hole punch. The hole just fit around the stud and the plastic protected the surrounding paint. It is important to use painters tape behind the plastic as the plastic will move a bit and rub marks will be seen in the paint if you don't. This method worked very well.
• Fit the brake pedal using the original oversized washer (still in good shape), but with new stainless steel lock washer and bolt.
• Fit the shift pedal using the original oversized washer (still in good shape), but with new stainless steel lock washer and bolt.
• Cleaned and fit the rod that joins the shift pedal to the shift mechanism.
• Fit the parking brake pivot.
• Thoroughly cleaned and lubricated the parking brake cable. Fit in place.
• Disassembled, thoroughly cleaned, and reassembled the parking brake. Fit to the parking brake cable.
• Fit the side stand switch bracket to the frame rail.
• Disassembled, thoroughly cleaned and lubricated, then reassembled the side stand switch. I was amazed at the construction of this switch. The inner micro switch was in perfect functioning condition. The push actuation rod was very gummed up with old grease and wouldn't move freely at all. A bit of cleaning and lubricating and it was good to go. No, I don't necessarily plan to hook-up the cut-out feature of this switch, but I do want to have it mounted for the sake of originality.
• Thoroughly cleaned and lubricated the clutch cable. Fit it in place at the transmission end.
• Fit the speedometer cable in place at the transmission end.
• Fit the spring to the side stand.
• Cleaned the aluminum spacers that go between the frame and the rear fender.

2009 Feb 14: Polishing (1.50 hours)

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• Spent some time on my wire wheel carefully cleaning up the fork lowers and triple tree plates. They are now ready for the buffing wheel and some shine!

2009 Feb 19: Cleaning and assembly (3.00 hours)

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• Thoroughly cleaned the rear fender, disassembling the tail light and all wiring.
• Inspected wiring, installed fresh grommets, and loosely reassembled tail light to rear fender.
• Installed rear fender.

2009 Feb 20: Polishing (0.50 hours)

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• Did some more fiddling with the tail light assembly, installed new bulbs, etc.

2009 Mar 13: Polishing and assembly (3.00 hours)

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• Finally got both triple trees and both fork lowers polished. Took me 2 hours and they turned out pretty nice. I hate to polish, and I'm glad this bit is behind me.
• Assembled the triple trees with new bearings (greased).
• Fit new stainless pinch bolts to the triple trees, using anti-seize of course.
• Fit handlebars. I used new stainless bolts for the rear bolts. But, the two front bolts are a bit special. I reused the originals (which were in good shape).
• Fit the dash in place.

2009 Mar 14: Ignition switch (2.00 hours)

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• I completely disassembled the ignition switch, cleaned and lubricated all the components, and then reassembled the switch. I works very well now and I'm quite pleased with the results. I did not disassemble the tumbler assembly as it was in great shape. I simply cleaned it out with WD-40 and then thoroughly lubricated it with a good graphite lube I have.

2009 Apr 13: Front forks (2.00 hours)

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• I completely disassembled, cleaned, and inspected the forks. They have the single springs with yellow (heavy duty) paint. The original dampers are shot, though I will try to change the oil in them to see if that improves things.

2009 Apr 15: Front forks (0.50 hours)

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• Drilled out the top of each damper, expelled the old fluid, and replaced with ATF. No change in damping or flat spots.

2009 Apr 16: Front forks (0.25 hours)

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• Expelled the ATF from one damper, replaced with 30 weight fork oil (thicker). Damping improved, but no change in flat spots. Will definitely be ordering new dampers.

2009 Apr 20: Rear drive (2.25 hours)

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• Did a final cleaning on the rear drive.
• Fit a new outer (smaller) seal.
• Reused the original needle bearing wear ring as it was in good condition.
• Pressed the outer race for the needle bearing into place. Reused the original bearing as it was in good condition.
• Pressed the large ball bearing into place in the cover.
• Secure the crown wheel to the crown wheel carrier using medium strength thread locking compound and new Schnorr washers, torqued properly to spec (31 foot pounds).
• Disassembled the pinion carrier, cleaned the internals thoroughly, and got a good start at setting the bearings.

2009 Apr 21: Rear drive (2.00 hours)

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• Finished setting the bearings on the pinion carrier (needed to remove one .1 mm shim.
• Checked the interface of the pinion and crown gears with some blue paste. Everything looks fine there, and since the teeth already look very good, I reassembled without making any critical shimming adjustments to either the crown wheel or pinion.
• Fit a new inner (larger) seal.
• Fit new gaskets (greased on both sides for easy future removal, as I do on nearly all gaskets).
• Cover torqued to 18 foot pounds.

2009 Apr 28: Front forks and rear drive (2.00 hours)

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• Mounted the rear drive the the swing arm, coating the splines with Amsoil 5th Wheel lubricant: very sticky stuff.
• Reassembled the front forks using new seals, crush washers on the drain plugs, dampers (original type because the manufacturer/manufacturing process was recently changed and when compared side-by-side to the FAC dampers, the quality is fairly close), springs (Moto Spezial one piece springs), dust covers, etc.
• Mounted the front forks to the bike, inserting the headlight ears along the way with new rubber rings.

2009 May 04: Front fender and brakes (1.25 hours)

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• Cleaned the front fender and brackets, loosely assembled brackets and fender to forks. Loosely assembled brake calipers. Need to order a few extra stainless steel fasteners and then tighten everything up.

2009 May 07: Tank (1.00 hours)

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• Set up the tank for electrolysis cleaning. This procedure is described elsewhere on my website...suffice to say it is working well.

2009 May 14: Front fender, wheels, brake calipers (1.00 hours)

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• Finished mounting the front fender with the stainless fasteners that came in the mail.
• Mounted the front and rear wheels.
• Ended up painting the rear caliper holder with a black paint that has a hammered finished. It looks good, though I really wanted to have been able to have the raw aluminum as the final finish. I should have had my powder coater remove this paint chemically when they removed the paint from my wheels. Oh well, not the end of the world.
• Mounted the front and rear brake calipers.
• Mounted the rear parking brake and got it adjusted. It may need some final adjustment when the bike is off the lift and I can test the center stand.

2009 May 16: Tank and hydraulic hoses (1.50 hours)

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• Tank is finished de-rusting. I thoroughly rinsed it with water, then sloshed around some rubbing alcohol to displace the water, and then dried with hot forced air.
• Started making new hydraulic hoses.

2009 May 17: Hydraulic hoses and brake lines (2.00 hours)

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• Finished making the new hydraulic hoses.
• All hydraulic hoses are now test fit in place.
• Mounted front master cylinder and test fit the brake lines.
• Mounted the rear master cylinder and test fit the brake lines to the rear wheel.
• Connected the rear master cylinder to the brake pedal; fit stainless hardware to the brake pedal.

2009 May 23: Fuel tank (2.00 hours)

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• Treated the tank with POR-15. I went through the entire process following the instructions to the letter (as I did with my Ambassador in 2002). The process takes longer than 2 hours (as there are times when the tank must sit in various positions or be dried with forced air, etc), but I'd guess about 2 hours of active involvement whilst I was working on other projects in the garage.

2009 Aug 22: Wiring (1.75 hours)

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• I finally found some time after working on a customer's bike for the past 3 months. The time this morning was spent getting wiring organized, generally laid out on the bike, and refamiliarizing myself with what all needed to be done.

2009 Aug 29: Wiring (2.00 hours)

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• Test fit the remaining few brake lines.
• Mounted the regulator bracket and the regulator.
• Connected a number of wires.

2009 Sep 04: Wiring (1.00 hours)

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• Bits of wiring here, bits of wiring there. Just a lot of this and that trying to get things properly sorted.

2009 Sep 05: Wiring (1.00 hours)

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• Some fiddling with wiring.
• Spent considerable time polishing the contacts on the low fuel level indicator so that it would reliably indicate contact when the float made contact. I achieved success on the bench...lets hope it translates into actual success in the tank while riding.

2009 Oct 18: Wiring (2.50 hours)

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• After a week's vacation in Colorado for my nephew's wedding followed by 2 weeks of taking care of the rest of the flu-stricken family, I finally got out to the garage and completed all of the electrical connections. I've still got some routing of the wiring to do, but all of the connections have been finalized. When I disassembled the motorcycle, I had labeled the electrical connections. I should not have. Sufficient customization of the wiring over the past 30 years had resulted in more than a little confusion when it came to verifying connections.
• Verified the rectifier (diode board).

2009 Oct 24: Wiring (1.00 hours)

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• Installed an Odyssey PC 680 battery. The battery sits on top of an acid-neutralizing mat (Battery Mat). The acid-neutralizing mat sits inside a small plastic tray I purchased from Walmart (originally intended for use as a pencil box or food storage container). The plastic tray sits on top of a rubber mat (old inner tube cut to size). The rubber mat sits on top of the battery tray. Seems pretty safe to me!
• Installed new positive and negative battery cables. I purchased 4 gauge cables from the local auto parts store, cut to length, and then fit new terminals at the battery end. Proper red and black colors, a nice overall length, and terminals at the battery that are nicely sized.
• Fit 16 amp fuses to each fuse location and began testing all of my wiring connections. So far, so good.

2009 Oct 29: Seat (0.50 hours)

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• Fit a new seat grab rail/pivot that I purchased off eBay. While the chrome isn't perfect, it cleaned up very nicely and will look good on the bike. I nice find.
• Fiddled around with the seat pan trying to figure out how to get the front of the seat frame not to dig into the motorcycle frame. Sent off a message to the Yahoo Convert group and had some good feedback quickly.

2009 Oct 30: Brakes and wiring (2.50 hours)

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• Fit new stainless steel lines from a Frentubo kit I purchased through MG Cycle. Very nice lines. I didn't need to put these on, and I could have saved some money reusing the old lines, but these look much better and will firm up the brakes.
• Fit the front crash bar. I also fit the rear crash bars, but decided to leave them off for now. I can always bolt them on later.
• Rerouted some of the wiring since I've been able to look at the photo of the original and unmolested G5 that LeRoy (Robert Sharp) sent me.

2009 Nov 02: Brakes (2.50 hours)

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• Carefully tightened all the brake lines. I was especially careful at the aluminum junction blocks so that I wouldn't strip the threads.
• Bled the front master cylinder/right front brake. I used my Motive Products Pressure Bleeder for this (Motive Products part number 0100). I originally purchased this pressure bleeder for use with my Saab. I found the cap on my 2000 Saab 9-5 SE reservoir is the same as my cap on the Brembo front master cylinder. So, I just screwed on the cap and bled away. Very quick, very easy, no leaks. For reference, I pumped the pressure bleeder up to about 12 PSI and then opened each bleeder, one at a time. While the brake fluid was being pushed out, I would tap on the brake lines with a wrench along the entire length of the brake line...this encourages air bubbles to travel along and exit the system.
• Bled the rear master cylinder/left front brake/rear brake. Again, I used my Motive Products Pressure Bleeder. I did not have a screw on cap to fit the rear master cylinder. But, I used a clamp-on cap that I had purchased from Motive Products to bleed the brakes on my 2002 Toyota Tacoma (Motive Products part number 1101). This required that I unbolt the master cylinder from the bike so I could gain ample clearance to fit the adapter. It sealed perfectly and worked well.
• While bleeding the rear master cylinder, I discovered a leak at the rear caliper where the solid brake line fits to the caliper. Careful tightening didn't fix the leak. Looks like I'll be learning how to make bubble/ISO/DIN flares.

2009 Nov 05: Brakes, seat pan, coils (3.00 hours)

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• Created a new solid brake line for the rear brake caliper. Got it mounted and the brakes bled. No more leaks!
• Modified the front of the seat pan so that the front lip will clear the frame of the motorcycle. I'll be reinforcing the top with a piece of steel, then it is off to the powder coater.
• Spent a long time trying to figure out where to mount the coils. The smaller pair of Emgo coils that came with the bike were the wrong ohm rating. I thought about a pair of original Moto Guzzi coils, but they are expensive and don't have the best track record. Dyna coils were another alternative, but they, too, are expensive and have a tendency to self destruct. I decided for a pair of larger coils made by Pertronix, their Flame-Thrower brand. These coils have an excellent track record. But, that reliability comes at the price of increased size. I attempted all sorts of arrangements, but ended up fitting them behind the battery, immediately in front of the rear fender. I wrapped them in old inner-tube and banded them together. They form a nice little package that way and wedge nicely into the available space. We'll see how they work out.

2009 Nov 05: Transmission hoses (0.50 hours)

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• While the transmission hoses have been loosely fitted for a while now, I had not tightened them up pending brake line and wiring harness routing. This morning I tightened up all the transmission hoses and fittings, using new crush washers and stainless steel hose clamps.
• Topped off the transmission reservoir with Dextron III transmission fluid.

2009 Nov 06: Wiring (3.50 hours)

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• I spent nearly the entire evening working on how the wiring is routed. I had a nice set of large digital images from an unmolested G5, and those were very helpful. But, I had some extra wiring to deal with. Like most Tontis of this vintage, the front headlight is missing - long ago replaced by a Vetter or Pacifico fairing. Good used headlights are difficult to locate, expensive, and were never of the best quality to begin with. Furthermore, I moved from Police handlebars to Civilian handlebars - giving me some extra length in the wiring harness to deal with. Since I was no longer using the original coil mounting location for the coils, I had free space there. I used that space and routed the wiring accordingly. It took a good bit of time, but the end result is pretty neat and tidy - especially between the headlight and the triple tree. I also got the frame grounds taken care of. Rather than removing he powder coat at each grounding location, I simply used a bolt to secure all of the grounds together on the frame and then ran a ground wire back to the battery. This makes for a very clean installation and grounding is assured.
• Lubricated a new pair of throttle cables.

2009 Nov 07: Wiring and rear turn signals (3.00 hours)

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• Tidied up the rest of the wiring harness.
• Did the final mounting of the rectifier. Ran a ground wire directly from the ground side.
• Built a set of relays and heavy gauge wires for powering the headlight directly from the battery. This will yield maximum power delivered to the headlight and drastically increased switch life.
• Angela looked over a number of turn signals I had thought about using. In the end, she thought I should stick with the original turn signals - indicating they looked the best with the overall design of the bike. So, I cleaned up the rear turn signals and mounted them. I'll need to find source some front turn signals and mounts.
• Hooked up the battery again and tested the function of the wiring harness.

2009 Nov 14: Wiring and headlights and front turn signals (0.50 hours)

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• I purchased a new pair of turn signals for the front of the bike complete with stems. I modified the headlight bucket to accept the stems.
• Miscellaneous wiring with the headlight and front turn signals.

2009 Nov 20: Wiring and headlights and front turn signals (3.00 hours)

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• Fit the throttle and new throttle cables to the carbs.
• Completed wiring the improved wiring to the headlight.
• Completed wiring the new front turn signals. In addition to the positive feed to each turn signal, I ran an additional ground wire from each turn signal to one of the two main grounding points on my frame. It took me quite some time to determine that I needed to do this as one turn signal worked without any need for an additional ground while the other did not. I fiddled with the turn signal and already rebuilt switch gear and found no problem. Then I stumbled on the grounding problem and the rest was easy. By the way, I am very pleased with how I've run my grounding points. It has made things much simpler.
• Attempted to mount a spare new clutch cable without a switch, but discovered it was too short. Reverted to the original clutch cable.

2009 Nov 21: Coils (1.00 hours)

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• Began wiring the coils and Dyna Electronic Ignition.

2009 Nov 22: Coils and timing (3.00 hours)

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• Finished wiring the coils.
• Mounted the Dyna Electronic Ignition and ran wiring for it.
• Set the ignition timing following the instructions provided by Dyna.
• Pulled the bike off of the stand for the first time. It is now on two wheels again.

2009 Nov 23: Coils and brakes (2.00 hours)

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• Altered the electrical connections so that the bike will run even if the side stand is down. The dash light still indicates that the side stand is down.
• Discovered a leak on the solid brake line for the right front caliper. Built a new solid brake line and bled the front brake again.
• Cleaned the header pipe flanges in preparation for paint.

2009 Nov 24: Exhaust (0.25 hours)

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• Painted the header pipe flanges with high temp flat black. This was the original finish and I'm glad it is. Chrome plates flanges turn ugly in short order and are difficult to renew. Painted flanges can be easily and inexpensively renewed.

2009 Nov 25: Exhaust and initial start up (2.00 hours)

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• Fit the exhaust and mufflers.
• Hooked up a test tank to supply fuel to the carbs.
• Double checked that all fluids were okay.
• Lightly pressurized the sump to force engine oil into the oil pump and up into the passageways as far as possible. This step is easy to do and really saves on internal engine wear and tear upon initial start up after a rebuild. The last thing I want is a cavitating oil pump...despite my use of assembly lube.
• Attempted to start the bike. It was extremely difficult to get any kind of ignition. From time to time, it would act a *little* like it might start, but no go. I started to examine the coils, timing, etc. After more than a little time, I discovered the left spark plug was bad. A bad spark plug? I know it happens, but it is pretty rare. Of great interest is the fact that these were the spark plugs that came with the bike. They looked so new that I had decided to reuse them. Along with a missing oil pump bearing, broken oil ring on the right cylinder, and possible rust in the tank, this is another (and probably primary) reason the bike began running poorly for the previous owner after he ran it for 15 miles.
• With the bad plug replaced, the bikes started up and ran. The rear wheel was spinning like crazy, testifying that the automatic transmission is working. Wow, I can't wait to ride it! The timing is off, though, so I'll have to correct that first.

2009 Nov 29: Wiring (0.50 hours)

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• Improved the wiring for the starter relay.
• Fixed a broken wire at the starter button.
• Began fixing a melted wire in the kill switch circuit.

2009 Dec 05: Wiring (0.50 hours)

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• After picking up some Molex terminals, connectors, and crimper at the local Frys Electronics, I finished replacing the melted wire in the kill switch circuit.

2009 Dec 14: Wiring (2.00 hours)

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• Ran the bike for 15 minutes to get the oil thoroughly circulated and the head gaskets a chance to get really compressed.
• Once again, the wiring in the kill switch circuit melted. I then thoroughly investigated and could find no direct short or improper wiring. I bypassed the kill switch and the wiring stayed nice and cool. I have to assume - even though I rebuild the kill switch myself - that there is simply too much current being pulled through that kill switch. Resistance = heat and I'm betting that this is the problem. Perhaps my Flame Thrower coils are drawing sufficiently more current to cause this problem? For now, I will lose the kill switch.

2009 Dec 15: Heads and oil line (2.00 hours)

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• Changed the engine oil.
• Retorqued the heads. Set the valves.
• Set the timing using my inductive timing light and the full advance marks on the flywheel.
• Replaced the crush washers for the oil feed line at the left cylinder head. Still leaks!

2009 Dec 16: Oil line (0.25 hours)

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• I made 4 paper gaskets for the banjo bolt and placed each paper gasket on either side of the aluminum crush washer. This time, no leaks! This is the most trouble I've ever had with leaking oil lines (recall that this is a solid line from a Loopframe and that this style typically has no problems). I'm glad it is fixed now.
• Bike is running pretty well now.

2010 Jan 30: Throttle and start button (1.00 hours)

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• I spent a lot of time fixing up the original plastic throttle, start button, and kill switch. Time wasted. In the end, the plastic throttle would simply not remain in a fixed position when I used the throttle. It would want to rotate regardless of the set screw. The start button never caused me any trouble after I cleaned it up, so that was a non-issue. The kill switch and associated wiring was simply a poor design from the factory (I've covered my problems with it already). I really did want to keep the original throttle assembly with the integrated controls. It is the original switch and the look is authentic. But when the original stuff doesn't function properly, a change was required.
• So today I fit a Tommaselli Daytona 2C throttle (chrome) and start/kill switch from a late model motorcycle. The Daytona 2C is a quality throttle and is period correct. Fitting it required a new set of throttle cables, which I already had on hand. It works great! The start/kill switch is off of a 2004 - 2006 Yamaha YZF R1. It looks identical to a late model start/kill switch off of a Ducati. I originally wanted a Ducati switch because it is Italian. But once I found the Yamaha switch looked identical and was about half the price, I bought it instead. It fits nicely and the buttons work a treat.

2010 Feb 10: Paint (0.00 hours)

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Pretty much the only thing left on the Convert is to fit the body work and the seat. The body work is in fine condition, including the silver paint. Yet, I couldn't stand the color. To me, it is the ultimate in blah and pretty much relegates the Convert to blah status. So, it had to go.

My first instinct was to paint it black. I like black. It looks nice and formal, contrasts nicely with aluminum and chrome, and is one of the two colors permitted on a motorcycle by Ed Milich (Wrenched, RED OR BLACK). My wife, Angela, stated that I already owned several black bikes and exercised her veto capability (extremely limited - as it is - inside the garage). So, I needed to come up with alternative colors.

My 5 year old daughter strongly recommended pink (fortunately, she has even fewer voting rights in the garage than my wife). I first thought of orange, specifically the Lamborghini orange that Charles Hamer painted his Eldorado. It is a fabulous color. I finally decided that that shade of orange just didn't sit well with the 1970's styling of the rest of the machine. I also thought of red. But, to me at least, red on a Guzzi is just another mediocre cop-out (Oh hey, look, another red Guzzi. Whoop-dee-doo).

So, I decided to paint it green. But what shade? I wanted a 1970's shade, but I didn't want to try to imitate a V7 Sport green. I finally settled on a lime green (different from the V7 Sport lime green) and set my painter to work. He sent me a photo of the green on the first couple of pieces and I was thrilled.

Then my good buddy, John Ulrich, sent me a photo of a 1971 Oldsmobile 442 that sold in the 2010 Barrett-Jackson auction here in Scottsdale, Arizona. I fell in love with the green on the 442 and immediately knew that I had chosen the wrong shade. I vacillated for a day before I made up my mind to have my painter do it over again (fortunately he had only painted a few pieces). Here are a few photos of my inspiration color:

2010 Mar 29: Paint (0.00 hours)

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My painter delivered all the painted parts today. I think they look fantastic! No pictures yet, you'll have to wait until the final unveiling.

2010 Jun 02: Reflectors (0.25 hours)

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Has it really been four months since I've done anything on the Convert? Good grief. I took a hiatus to do some major work on my Quota. Then, I have a customer bike here from Florida that I'm working on. It has eaten all of my time while the Convert is a breath away from complete.

Today a glued the red side reflectors back on to the rear turn signals. They came off at some point in time and the previous owner had included them in a box of spare parts.

2010 Jun 03: Foot board rubber mats, brake lines, etc. (2.00 hours)

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I've been needing some extra wrap for the stainless steel brake lines I fit. My buddy Gordon from MG Cycle sent me some. I fit it in place.

I cleaned up the foot board rubber mats and glued them in place. At some point in time, the original foot boards (not the rails to which they attach) were replaced with foot boards from a California 3. This style of foot board has big interlocking lugs and requires a special rubber mat. Normally I would purchase the new replacement rubber mat. But, they are expensive and special order only. So, I cleaned up the original rubber mats (which were in good shape, anyway).

When I fit the side covers in place, I noticed that one of my hydraulic hoses was routed improperly. By taking the top off of the carburetor, I was able to reposition it behind the carburetor and gain the proper clearance for the side cover.

2010 Jun 13: Seat (2.00 hours)

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I did a lot of test fitting of the seat pan, making sure it would latch properly and also hinge upward without fouling the tank. Of course, I fit the rubber bumpers and latch spring.

I did a massive clean up on the original seat cover. I used my variable speed dremel tool with a small wire brush to remove the old glue from the inside of the cover. This technique worked very well and the cover is now ready to glue back in place.

2010 Jun 14: Seat (0.25 hours)

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Glued the foam to the seat pan. Used DAP Weldwood contact cement. Good stuff!

2010 Jun 15: Seat (0.50 hours)

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Glued the seat cover to the seat pan. Used DAP Weldwood contact cement. Good stuff!

2010 Jun 16: Seat (0.25 hours)

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Mounted the finished seat to the motorcycle.

2010 Jun 23: Tank, etc (2.00 hours)

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Filled the tank with gas and checked for leaks.

Created two new wire guides (from stainless steel wire) for the front brake lines so that the brake lines wouldn't rub on anything.

Fit the spoilers to the front crash bars.

Zip tied a few cables and wires.

2010 Jul 27: FINISHED!

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Fit the badges to the tank and side covers. Rode it around the block. Yippee! Everything from here forward I'm considering maintenance.

Photos coming soon.

2011 Sep 26: Photos

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Good grief, it has taken me well over a year to finally take photos of the finished I-Convert. Here they are, enjoy...