Moto Guzzi S3

I've made some good progress with the S3 - Replaced the mesh for the air filter, fuel pipe and stripped the starter motor cleaned and re - greased relevant parts and now it's functioning perfectly.
  Also repaired the seat hinge for flip up mudguard
  I changed the oil and filter and the sump was pretty clean indicating a good service record.
    Took the bike for a quick spin to warm up the gearbox and drive box oil (ready to change) albeit very cautiously, as the workshop is surrounded by farms etc, the roads were damp. muddy and the tyres are 22+ years old. The bike felt great and so decided to take it that little bit further to a stretch of road that has a very long, relatively traffic free straight stretch. Sure enough it just confirmed how good the bike feels and the engine just wants to go like a dog on a leash!  I guess that the short stroke motor maybe helps but I'm wondering if it has something like a P3 cam fitted?  If  I can get my hands on the Classic Bike article on this particular bike then maybe that would reveal such details?
   The owner of the bikes is suggesting that we wait until the end of Jan / Feb to advertise them unless anybody makes a reasonable offer in the meantime. 

Moto Guzzi S3 and V7 Sport

The S3 and V7 Sport arrived as expected on Monday and after a quick wipe over and a squirt of oil down the bores I fitted a small battery of mine. The Sports lights worked and the engine turned over very strongly on the button - pretty good for a starter that hasn't moved for approx 21 years.
  The S3 lights worked as did the horn and idiot lights but no response from the starter button which probably just needs some connectors pulling off, cleaned and put back?
   It was interesting to discover from the V5 that a good friend of mine, Joe Caruso (well known Guzzi enthusiast) actually was the first to own the Sport when it was imported into the UK from Italy in 95'. He already had one Sport at the time and after a while realised that he wasn't getting on very well with the r/hand gear change of this latest purchase and so swopped it at Conquest m/c's for a Le man 1 and Le man II. The current owner then purchased it from Conquest in 98' and so only 2 owners since it's been in the country. It's also believed to be all original factory finish and it does look like all of the correct parts are in place and less than 23,000 km - a shame that it's suffered from a couple of years of poor storage whilst in it's current 21 years of ownership. 
 The S3 has also suffered though less so, probably partly due to having had it's frame powder coated at some point in it's life. The previous owner in 97' was Classic Bike mag editor, at the time, Phillip Tooth and I remember reading about it all those years ago when I bought such magazines.
When up and running they could make great ride 'as is' bikes or maybe a bit of light restoration?
   If anybody is interested in the V7 Sport as a non runner then it's up for £8,500.

V7 Sport or S3 for Christmas Sir/Madam?

Removed from their loft space and on the trailer ready for their trip up to Bristol on Monday. Not too sure whether they are to be sold 'as is' or to get running at least, so I'll find that out in a couple of days time.

Crank sludge trap

As is normal when everything is stripped right down it makes sense to clean out the sludge trap. Although the the threaded plug came undone relatively easily - not always the case - it was tight when removing and after cleaning out the crank the new plug didn't want to screw in as after a few turns it would lock up. My basic thread cleaning tool didn't help much so I had to wait a couple of days for a M22 x 1.25mm tap to arrive and all is back to normal

Guzzi (sort of) le man project engine, gearbox clean

I had quite a lot of repair work to do to engine casings etc to get a acceptable finish for vapour blasting. A couple of broken studs had to be cut out completely and areas built back up, a couple of fins repaired and a number of helicoils.

More gearbox woes

Once again more gearbox problems from my friend Tony, out of a different bike - affectionately referred to as *hitbox. He'd been aware of something untoward for a while and after some minor investigation found that the output shaft nut was loose causing a noise/sound something akin to a slide hammer in action. He tightened this up to discover that the box was even less happy and so the bike was stripped apart. Pricing up used parts and a gasket kit those alone were going to be approx £200 so he's put the rebuild on hold and is going to use a spare gearbox

Orville Peck - Brighton (the Green Door Store)

Had a night in Brighton last Sunday which brought back many memories having lived there for a period of approx 6 years back in the mid 70's to early 80's. I have been back a few times to watch the Speed Trials / Sunday Ace cafe gathering but this time more memories were triggered.

    Anyway I'd guess that some people would be immediately put off  by Orvilles 'masked' look but what a great gig it was with a excellent band / sound - 3 guitars, bass and drums. They only played for an hour but I expected that as he only has one 40 minute album but did a couple of great 'covers' duetting with guitarist/singer Bria Salmena. Brilliant also that the venue is very intimate and old fashioned/basic  - a pair of thick black heavy curtains divide the bar from the music area. The floor is like a cobbled street, a couple of very high up huge big girders supporting a concrete slab ceiling which in turn is some part of Brighton Railway station flooring as that is where the venue is situated  - under the station. 

The Green Door Store

The Prince Albert and nice pub to have a pint
-just across the road from the venue.
The mural is excellent with great likenesses

The Prince Regent was obviously happy to spend a few quid!

Including the stable block!
I saw The Cure and Bauhaus play here back in the 70's

If you need a car park there's a Council one under here at £18 for 24 hours
which is significantly cheaper that the NCP a five mins walk away at £31!

The British Airways i360 tower / viewing pod

Guzzi Le Man (sort of) Project

A short while back I decided to sell the 850T / 750S lookalike (it went to a very good home - my friend Pete's son Jack bought it, even though he can't legally ride it until halfway into next year) with my thoughts being that I could make some space out of my spares by building something with the same period feel. Some 8 - 10 years ago I bought a number of spares, including a le man 1 tank, rear mudguard/seat pan, fairing and T3 front mudguard all in matched paintwork. Admittedly the paint isn't perfect with scratches etc inc a reasonable sized dent in the tank, but I really like colour so want to keep it as is. I also didn't want the usual black frame or silver / black wheels. So impressed with the 850T engine with it's P3 cam that I will probably go with a similar spec engine rather than a le man spec item - not even sure that I have a spare set of le man heads to use anyway. 
  I shouldn't really have bolted this all together yet (not even started the engine or gearbox) but I was keen to see how everything worked together.

Lissie at St George's - Bristol

This was a bit different from the last time we saw Lissie as it was showcasing her most recent album  - When I'm alone: A piano Retrospective.

Mandello

My friend Pete was at Mandello the other month for the anniversary and here are a few of pics