Thats an alarming prospect or consequence, the mind here has a varied interpretation of "hung" well or otherwise.... shall leave it there, chastened j....
Paul LeClair new project and 1982 Mirage 1200 TS Series 2 FOR SALE
- Thread starter Paul LeClair
- Start date
Steve G.
Hero member
Legs
Hero member
- Location
- Adelaide Hills
Along with hipsters
You do hang meat don't you?
- Location
- Calgary, Alberta, Canada
a bit of cleaning and dis assembly so I can figure out what parts needed in my first parts order.
a surprising number of rusty fasteners and some rust on the wheel bearings, the rust has gotten into the wheel bearings and made them a bit crunchy.
no major surprises yet, though looks like there may be some bodged electrickery connections. Have a fairly lengthy parts list of minor bits to order, fuel lines and gaskets and fuel filter, brake pads and tires, and full service/tune up/cam belts etc.. Not sure yet how to service the drive shaft and universal joints, but will remove them and figure it out. Also need to figure out best spark plugs etc.......
a surprising number of rusty fasteners and some rust on the wheel bearings, the rust has gotten into the wheel bearings and made them a bit crunchy.
no major surprises yet, though looks like there may be some bodged electrickery connections. Have a fairly lengthy parts list of minor bits to order, fuel lines and gaskets and fuel filter, brake pads and tires, and full service/tune up/cam belts etc.. Not sure yet how to service the drive shaft and universal joints, but will remove them and figure it out. Also need to figure out best spark plugs etc.......
Attachments
- Location
- Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Hi Vince
any and all rusty bits and bobs will be removed and replaced, going to use all stainless fasteners as usual. The wheel bearings appear to be easily available standard sizes. The bike was imported in Canada from the USA, but no idea where in the USA it lived, might have been near an ocean....?
Dellortoman
Hero member
- Location
- Tasmania, Australia
All those red insulated electrical cable connectors next to the steering head are not supposed to be there.
It appears as though someone has taken the whole front end off the bike without disassembling the electrics. They've just cut all the cables, then re-joined them again using spade connectors. A stupid and lazy way of doing it.
It makes me wonder if the bike had a front-end crash and has been repaired by taking the fully assembled front end off another bike (perhaps with rear end damage) and grafting it on. If that's the case, then it was apparently done by some cowboy mechanic who couldn't be bothered taking it apart to disconnect the wiring at the various instruments, lights, etc. If it actually is the front and rear of two different bikes, then the mileage shown on the speedo may not match the mileage done by the back half of the bike. It might be interesting to delve a bit deeper into the bike's history. Not that it really matters where the various parts of the bike came from, so long as all the components are good.
If it was my bike, I'd be getting rid of all those connectors. It's all too bulky as it is, and it's in a position where the harness flexes as the steering is turns, so the spade connectors will eventually work loose and cause problems.
I'd suggest the most practical option to make the best of a bad lot would be to cut all the crimped connectors out and splice each cable back together with solder and heat shrink insulation. Then wrap the whole bundle in a sheath for protection. It's still not ideal because you'll have a short length of stiff soldered joints where the wiring harness has to bend. But the only way of avoiding that would be to replace all those wires with new ones. That would be a hell of a lot of work. You'd basically have to strip and rebuild the wiring harness. And that's assuming you'd be able to source all the same cable colours, wire sizes, terminations for the Guzzi multi-pin plugs, etc.
It appears as though someone has taken the whole front end off the bike without disassembling the electrics. They've just cut all the cables, then re-joined them again using spade connectors. A stupid and lazy way of doing it.
It makes me wonder if the bike had a front-end crash and has been repaired by taking the fully assembled front end off another bike (perhaps with rear end damage) and grafting it on. If that's the case, then it was apparently done by some cowboy mechanic who couldn't be bothered taking it apart to disconnect the wiring at the various instruments, lights, etc. If it actually is the front and rear of two different bikes, then the mileage shown on the speedo may not match the mileage done by the back half of the bike. It might be interesting to delve a bit deeper into the bike's history. Not that it really matters where the various parts of the bike came from, so long as all the components are good.
If it was my bike, I'd be getting rid of all those connectors. It's all too bulky as it is, and it's in a position where the harness flexes as the steering is turns, so the spade connectors will eventually work loose and cause problems.
I'd suggest the most practical option to make the best of a bad lot would be to cut all the crimped connectors out and splice each cable back together with solder and heat shrink insulation. Then wrap the whole bundle in a sheath for protection. It's still not ideal because you'll have a short length of stiff soldered joints where the wiring harness has to bend. But the only way of avoiding that would be to replace all those wires with new ones. That would be a hell of a lot of work. You'd basically have to strip and rebuild the wiring harness. And that's assuming you'd be able to source all the same cable colours, wire sizes, terminations for the Guzzi multi-pin plugs, etc.
1200ts
Hero member
- Location
- USA - Riverside CA
I think the bike has been crashed and worked on by someone trying to get it back on the road and spending as little as possible so they can sell it. I see no reason to cut the wiring harness unless they replaced the entire front suspension. I will be surprised if the engine does not have problems. Before spending any more money, I would see if I could get the motor to run. The rusty wheel bearings would make me think the bike has seen water as washing the bike or riding in the rain would not cause this. I hope I am wrong and you have not bought a bike that used to live in the southern USA that went through a hurricane and was under water.
Last edited:
Exmoor beast
Hero member
- Location
- Minehead,Somerset, ENGLAND OF COURSE
I am going to suggest over jetwashing- seen this on our “courtesy “ bikes, they were jet washed sometimes twice a week by an old fart who spent an hour blasting water into all the bits you don’t want water in.
Ive also seen a multi connector that has gone green replaced in such a way- shortening the loom and fitting loads of terminals. Probably hasn’t been crashed.
Ive also seen a multi connector that has gone green replaced in such a way- shortening the loom and fitting loads of terminals. Probably hasn’t been crashed.
Jet washing is great for bearings.
I firmly believe that washing bikes isn't good anyway.
Paul
- Location
- Calgary, Alberta, Canada
I posted that photo of the wiring connectors at the steering neck purposely. Yes, with my recently found electrickery confidence arising from my dealings with Dellortoman (Cam) and making the wiring harness from scratch for the admittedly simple Gilera, I will rectify any wiring issues properly. I have the tools and supplies.
due to the way the bike came to me I do not have any history, but I will trace the back story in due course. There is a surprising amount of rust on various fasteners, but the upside of the bike being quite greasy and grungy when it came to me is that everything that was covered in greasy crap is spotless underneath when cleaned.....
With the wheel bearings being rusty, I will also pull the swing arm to inspect swing arm pivot, swing arm bearings or bushes or whatever it turns out to have, as the drive shaft is coming out anyway.
I have not even tried to turn the motor over. If it turns out to have problems, no stress, this is my winters project. Everything that wanders into my garage seems to find itself as a naked frame and naked engine cases sooner or later.
got the brake disc off the rear wheel. Having trouble getting the front brake discs off, some of the fasteners are seized. Once the discs are off, both wheels are going to a local powdercoater who does really nice work. I just have to pick wheel colour. Stock or something interesting or wild? Hmmmmmm. Powdercoater sent me a link to thousands of colours, overwhelmed me.
anyone have any suggestions re wheel colour? I am thinking either bright silver or maybe grey or maybe black...
due to the way the bike came to me I do not have any history, but I will trace the back story in due course. There is a surprising amount of rust on various fasteners, but the upside of the bike being quite greasy and grungy when it came to me is that everything that was covered in greasy crap is spotless underneath when cleaned.....
With the wheel bearings being rusty, I will also pull the swing arm to inspect swing arm pivot, swing arm bearings or bushes or whatever it turns out to have, as the drive shaft is coming out anyway.I have not even tried to turn the motor over. If it turns out to have problems, no stress, this is my winters project. Everything that wanders into my garage seems to find itself as a naked frame and naked engine cases sooner or later.
got the brake disc off the rear wheel. Having trouble getting the front brake discs off, some of the fasteners are seized. Once the discs are off, both wheels are going to a local powdercoater who does really nice work. I just have to pick wheel colour. Stock or something interesting or wild? Hmmmmmm. Powdercoater sent me a link to thousands of colours, overwhelmed me.
anyone have any suggestions re wheel colour? I am thinking either bright silver or maybe grey or maybe black...
Congrats on the Centauro! I always thought they were pretty cool. The V11 LeMans .com forum is a good source of info/contacts and is a pretty active forum. On a similar whim I found myself bidding on a "cheap" V11 Guzzi and ended up winning it. Drove to Fla. from Virginia to pick it up and it looked mint in person, less than 10 k mi. showing and had been sitting a few years. Cranked slow and didn't really try to start until I got it home.Slow crank turned to no crank, no crank turned to stuck crank. Turns out the oil filter came loose and it lost oil pressure and the sensor was undone. Filter inside sump so no indication anything was amiss until too late. Got a used lowish mile bottom end for $350 and it has become a great bike to ride! Good power/torque/handling and like a Laverda you don't see others like it when riding.
Alzero
Hero member
- Location
- DaNang Vietnam
Are going to do a color change of the bodywork? You want the wheels to complement the paint. I’ve been looking at pictures and I think they look better with a dark engine and lighter paint. The yellow really pops, but there are other options to accentuate the curves and flatter the massive look of the motor. Do you like the rims to stay in the background or do you like them to “pop”?
I remember going into Pro-Italia in Pasadena and being stopped in my tracks by a yellow one with red wheels IIRC: I thought it was the coolest thing, but nobody else did unfortunately! Back in the day the Centauro had an unconventional look that now looks quite good.
Steve G.
Hero member
Looking at the pictures of the bike, I don't ever recall ANY spine frame bikes having such glossy shiny paint. Even my red framed green bodywork V11 Sport, the frame was not full gloss. A closeup of the headstock and particularly the rivets holding the VIN plate may shine light on the machine's history.
ksoholm
Senior member
- Location
- Bellingham, WA, USA
Congratulations on the Centauro. I have a fully maximized carbed Sport 1100 I will never sell, my second. Re the 8V motors, they can be fickle and need TLC. Please see to it that belts are fresh, and critically, that the oil pump is upgraded ASAP. The stock pump's gears had no bearings in the housing and start wobbling as they wear, which can lead to the gears crushing themselves to pieces with often fatal consequences for the engine. For many in the know, this is not an if, but a when. Fortunately a master machinist named Joe Caruso makes proper steel gears and updated oil pumps for Guzzis: https://woodburymotomedia.com/moto-guzzi-timing-gears-by-joe-caruso/
The stock 16M Magneti Marelli ECU is ancient by now and unloved for many reasons. Cliff Jefferies to the rescue: For years he's been producing top-grade update ECUs with greater tuning capabilities and a number of the stock M16 runability problems sorted. Highly recommended: https://www.myecu.biz/MyECU/index.htm
Finally, if you want to mess with power, Dynotec in Germany is the number one destination: https://www.dynotec.de/guzzi-pamphlet.en.html
Däs Mototec, Radical Guzzi, Stein Dinse in Germany are top suppliers of cool stuff, and MG Cycle is your place for most everything, great people. Teo Lamers in the Netherlands is also great.
Do be careful with regular top-grade oil changes. The heads run very hot, which was the reason why the original engine was so delayed - Dr. John couldn't find an alloy good enough to resist the heat. And 4V cylinder heads are very scarce. Just remember that not even Porsche could figure out how to make a reliable air-cooled 4V cylinder head.
The stock 16M Magneti Marelli ECU is ancient by now and unloved for many reasons. Cliff Jefferies to the rescue: For years he's been producing top-grade update ECUs with greater tuning capabilities and a number of the stock M16 runability problems sorted. Highly recommended: https://www.myecu.biz/MyECU/index.htm
Finally, if you want to mess with power, Dynotec in Germany is the number one destination: https://www.dynotec.de/guzzi-pamphlet.en.html
Däs Mototec, Radical Guzzi, Stein Dinse in Germany are top suppliers of cool stuff, and MG Cycle is your place for most everything, great people. Teo Lamers in the Netherlands is also great.
Do be careful with regular top-grade oil changes. The heads run very hot, which was the reason why the original engine was so delayed - Dr. John couldn't find an alloy good enough to resist the heat. And 4V cylinder heads are very scarce. Just remember that not even Porsche could figure out how to make a reliable air-cooled 4V cylinder head.
Exmoor beast
Hero member
- Location
- Minehead,Somerset, ENGLAND OF COURSE
No Nigusil - specific to Guzzi.
ksoholm
Senior member
- Location
- Bellingham, WA, USA
There were some problems with chrome-plated cylinders in the 1970s- the chrome would flake off particularly when not used for long periods, but Moto Guzzi starting using its own Nikasil called Nigusil in the early 1980s, and switched to Nikasil in the late 1980s; there have never been problems reported with either.
One more recommendation: I highly recommend Dave Richardson's terrific book "Guzziology," available on Amazon. It contains everything there is to know about all aspects of every Moto Guzzi from 1966-2011.