Distributor drive gear pin removal

Moto Guzzi V700, V7 Special, Ambassador, 850 GT, 850 GT California, Eldorado, and 850 California Police models

Updated: 2008 March 31

Thanks to Charlie Mullendore of Antietam Classic Cycle for providing me his methodology in a private communication.

The pin that holds the distributor drive gear in place can be extremely difficult to remove. Charlie shares his methodology:

Just removed two pins very easily last week doing this same exact swap. Here's what works for me:

1. grind the peened head off one end.
2. tap the pin in from the other end with a hammer and punch (helps you to see the pin on the ground end for the next step).
3. center punch the pin and drill the remaining head off (I used a ³⁄₁₆ inch bit IIRC). You don't need to drill very deep, more a countersink.
4. using a good quality ¹⁄₈ inch punch, drive the pin out.

Re-installation is very easy, tap the pin in and peen both ends. Here's a few shots of the crude fixture I made for the job out of ³⁄₈ inch thick steel.