I've never felt the need myself, but then my warning lights are in the speedometer. I'm sure there are other sources, but when I need LEDs, I buy here: http://www.superbrightleds.com/cat/ba9s-ba7s/
Whoo Hoooo Just like Christmas, a little box of delights arrived today from those nice guys in Germany, all stamped up with Gilardoni, guess what I shall be doing over the Easter break... I am excited, can you tell?
guess what I shall be doing over the Easter break... Aye, Whatever the wife tells you heh heh, Rgds DB
I Have been down in my lock up all day today, having a go at the heads on the Guzzi, I have a tale to tell here, and some pictures for you guys to look over, but right now I am freezing cold, I need a hot bath, and a beer But first I need to ask you guys a question, with regards the Gilardoni piston rings.... Now as you look at the picture above, the info for the V7 range is down the left hand side. So starting at the bottom oil ring, this is easy as it is nothing like the other two, and etched into the ring is the word "top" so you know wich way up irt goes. Next is the middle ring, this again is easy as it has a cutout "scraper" and again the word "top" etched into the ring. But here is the rub, the first ring, at the top of the piston is shown to have a taper, but mine is square, and neither side of the ring was etched with "top" as per the others? this was the same in both kits. So my question is, were yours all etched, or were they square with no etching on the upper ring.?
So today I pulled the top end down, and it would seem not a moment too soon, but more on that later! First it was time to track down the cause of the annoying oil leak I have had since owning the bike, and today all became clear.... :eek1:eek1:eek1 That was the worst of it on the left hand side, the barrel and piston were fine with no signs of wear, and no flaking from the bore. so everything was cleaned, and bolted back together with the new Gilardoni kits fitted. I then moved to the right hand side, and there were signs from the outset that not all was well on this side! The exhaust header clamp was lock wired to the cylinder head, the reason soon became clear, the threads into the exhaust port were mullered, stripped and cross threaded, I have no idea if this can be repaired, so I may be looking for a new head. Also the barrel wall was beyond further use, as at some time in its life the wrist pin had come loose and scored the barrel beyond use, but a previous owner had refitted the wrist pin with a new circlip, and carried on using the barrel. luckily it had not stripped the chrome from the bore? don't ask me how, as I don't know. So what to do about the head, I am not sure.
Hmm. Not so good Kev but I suppose as with airhead BMWs it's probably goin to be a fairly common problem. It was the first thing I checked out wi the Ambo when I got it. Anyway done a bit of digging and found a repair kit here, http://www.harpermoto.com/parts-by-...orcycles/ambassador-1968-72-750cc-page-2.html Will probably need machine shop to fit also I suppose. Make it a few beers after the bath mate. Rgds, DB.
Hey Kevin I just looked at my kits and would agree with you that the lower two rings are easily identified as to which way they go in but the uppers are very questionable. Hope I don't get them in wrong!
On the 2 dozen or so sets I've installed now, the top ring did not have a bevel and could be installed either way.
Kev, The first thing I noticed is the diagram you provided. All the models indicated on it are small blocks, the Ambo is a looped frame big block. V7 relates to yours, (old school) and the new V7 Classic series. I'm wondering if that diagram is relevant to you at all. All small blocks are heron heads. Maybe they sent you the wrong ones? Don't know, just being cautious. Rod
Cylinder heads are relatively cheap over here.....probably depends on how much a good machine shop would charge you for the repair.
Hey Rod I thought the same thing as my instructions are exactly the same as Kevin's. My kits are for a big block too. I think they just include them in everything. Must be the same for both...I HOPE! ? !
they are just generic intsrtuctions, good for all models. \I am quite interested by the amount of info stamped into the pistons though, I wonder what it all means? Not a pretty sight, and I could not see anything amiss with either the old piston or rings, so I am guessing it happened and was rectified, but a previous owner just put the problem right, and left the cylinder as we see it. Luckily for me, there is no sign of the chrome flaking away from the bore, just this heavy scoring.:eek1 Well I spent today messing with all those little jobs that never seem to get done, the rubber boot on the front brake cable, the new indicator lamps, in the dash, I also fitted new "correct" rubber hoses to the breather box, to replace the odd ones I found before when looking for the oil leak. So it is all up and running again now, but I need to sort out the head problem. Are all the heads the same size across the three V7's are the valve sizes the same, as there is a nice V7 700 head on US ebay right now, but I am unsure if it will fit my 750?
Nope....stay away from the V700 heads.....single valve springs if i remember right and intake ports use a adapter....Charlie probably can tell you more...
Hey Kev I'm a little concerned about the look of that cylinder. Did you check the bearings on the big ends of the rods? The issue where something scored the cylinder length wise is bad but it looks to me like the speckles in the chrome bore are like mine were and my bearings were garbage. Anyway just saying...good luck Tim
Yep. Single valve springs, smaller valves, different guides, larger intake port diameter so the reducer is necessary, top head nut is different. Almost a completely different casting. There are a bunch of variations of heads, check this out: http://thisoldtractor.com/gtbender/moto_guzzi_loopframe_engine.htm#gtb_cylinder_head_comparison Post a photo of how the fins on your are shaped around the sparkplug. I may have one and if not will help find one if you'd like.
The digital picture make it look a lot worse thah it looks to the eye when holding the cylinder, you can't feel the scoring with your finger, even though it looks real bad here, and I never saw those two outer score marks until I saw the picture? so I have no idea where they came from. Also, the speckled effect, that doesn't show when holding the cylinder. I checkedover the oil when I changed it, and will do so again this weekend, but I never saw anything that looked like chrome in the oil. The bike is all back together again now, so I am not sure what to do about the situation. Charlie thanks for the cylinder head help offer, I will get some head info shots today... I knew my first walk in Guzzi land would not go smoothely, that is not how my karma works.:huh
Bummer about the head Kev, it was all going so well up until you found that. Get in touch with richie Moore about the exhaust thread, there's a kit more to richie's work than the BMW stuff we know about. He does a lot if Brit and Italian bike engine work as well. I'm sure he will be able to sort it out for you. I have a norton commando head sitting in the garage that I need to get to him to sort the exhaust thread out. He does a nice repair on these so there shouldn't be any reason why yours cannot be sorted in the same way.