Thank you Joe. I will keep his contact information in my address book and use it if all the test people suggest on this board cannot get the Guzzi to idle.
Gerard
joe jump wrote:
Gerard, Karl Engellenner is a machinist in Sacramento. His business is called Motorcycle Machining Specialties (916) 395-8471. He has been known in Ducati Bevel Drive circles as one of the best. I had him do a bore & the heads on my 750 Sport (Ducati). One learns pretty quickly when working with businesses that cater to the bevels that these guys are rather, shall we say...eccentric. I'm happy to report that I had no such nonsense in my dealings with Karl. He's a straight-up kind of guy, does excellent work with much attention to detail, and has the work done
when he says it will be. His prices are not cheap, but they are fair, and he will take the time to answer any and all your questions with courtesy & respect. And he loves Italian machines.
Economics has driven him to do a lot of HD work lately (that's where the money is), but I'm fairly confident that he could help with your machining needs.
Hope this helps,
Joe in St Louis "Junkyard" 850T-Powered Ambo
gerar-@netzero.net wrote:
Hello Loopframers-
A while back I posted about my El Dorado's difficulty idling steady. A group of guys fed me with steady advice. Thanks again, all of you who responded with suggestions.
I finally ordered a copy of Guzziology, and on page 3 of the 'basics' chaper, always humbling, the author suggested the use of a leakdown test
over a compression test. The author explained that Pre 1980s big twins can suffer from leakdown figures in excess of 65% while still seeming to
run fine. However, they have difficulty settling into a steady idle.
I pumped air into the Guzzi's spark plug hole at TDC compression with the valves within spec and I could feel air coming out of the oil drain plug hole. It was not even hissing which worried me. Incidentally a vintage BMW friend came by and we took compression tests as a hoot. 175 psi, both cylinders. I have to be suspect of the compression reading.
I'm looking to milk all information I can about good machinists in the Sacramento and San Francisco areas. I would like to do as much as the teardown myself as I can. I am fully aware I will have to take a whole lot of time and a whole lot of reading, and will probably have to do the
job twice, but I figure nothing quite beats the most 'intimate' of relationships with a bike.