1980 900SS rebuild...

Not much progress today!

Wow! I managed to fit the Malossi manifold heat barrier & manifold.
DSCF7468.jpg


But it does give me an excuse to show off my shelving and powerpoints now attached to my workbench. Just the tongue & groove to give me a lower shelf and it's pretty much done. My garage is my shed ;-)

DSCF7466.jpg
 
Dropped the frame & brackets in for stoving today at Vulcan Stove Enamelling Ltd, will be buying new tyres so I can skid off on the first corner (only joking I hope!) and it is all looking very exciting again.

Been held up with work and a parallel project.

Starting the 'one last push' and also my V Twin rally ticket has arrived :-)
 
Tyres...

Let's just stipulate that we are talking ancient machines here, not modern stuff.

I am a great fan of Michelin tyres, I find them predictable and unrelenting in grip.

Breaking my own rule about modern stuff, fitting Pilot Sports to my Gixer totally sorted once and for all it's ill-tempered vicious, mean, bite-the-hand-that-feeds-you handling which it turns out was inspired by Bridgestone rubber. It would spin up at every opportunity and hit every cats eye and wobble and gave the rider the impression that every hedge was it's target. I also felt if it had spat me off if would have wiggled it's bottom with glee and disappeared up the road without me. I have never ridden a nastier bike until I upgraded the tyres :eek:. Even a full Steve Jordan suspension fettle couldn't help until I binned the tyres.

So let's have it, what is the best tyre for a bevel? No prizes for the first joker to suggest Bridgestone ;-).

Good suppliers would be useful too, please.

Bought these from openeo - free postage too at £144!
Avon AM26 Roadrider 100/90-18 56 V Front/Rear TL Quantity: 1 x 69 GBP
Avon AM26 Roadrider 120/90-18 65 V Rear TL Quantity: 1 x 76 GBP
I hope they are up to the hype!
 
Last edited:
hope you get on with the Avons ok... they were always first choice for my Guzzis, however i'm not sure if theyve changed them somehow as the latest ones seem to get a bit twitchy over uneven surfaces... I thought it was just me but others in the Guzzi club have had the same, and t'other halfs Hinckley Bonneville fitted with them feels the same.. most odd... I bought a set of BT45s for the Darmah but at current workrate they'll probably be rotted before i get round to trying them out!
 
ShedBob said:
Running my Jota on Avons in those sizes. No worries.
With the tyres anyway......
Click to expand...
Yum! I have bike envy. I road tested a 180 1200 left hand gear change Mirage just before I bought my first Duke, an 860GT. I had the best holiday in the South of France on the GT which did what Dukes always do, on the way to home to the boat it promptly went 'bang'.

Some enterprising individual had forgotten to replace the rubber oil filter receiver back in the sump after a rebuild and inevitably a small shard of what I guess was gear entered the oil pump - which stopped and the shock stripped 1/3 of the teeth from the oil pump drive gear. Game over, powned by t-w-a-t.

I still think I missed a trick not buying the Laverda; I still want one.
 
Yippee!

Frame(s) and all brackets now back from Vulcan Stove Enamelling.
DSCF7682.jpg


Had the FPS wheels refurbished too, and had the tyres put back on. Here is the front:-
DSCF7688.jpg


and rear...
DSCF7687.jpg


I am not quite sure which shock to use. Sadly my Marzocchi ET85's did not make it; They were zero milers that had sat on the bike for twenty five years. One was perfect but one shaft rusted & pitted. My attempts to save it failed so I am looking for a good ET85 for spares.

I do have fantastic Fontanas and Kharmic Koni's. The Fontana's were in lovely condition (read: zero miles, 25 years old stored carefully) but had signature red springs like this:-
DSCF5223.jpg


The Koni's are in absolutely perfect super smooth working order but had been left a bit too long:-
DSCF7330.jpg


With a bit of elbow grease and re-finished springs, here are the dial-a-rides & Fontana's now:-
DSCF7689.jpg


Which do you think are best of the rest for the SS? I am angling towards the Koni's; I am thinking I'll stick the Fontana's on my GTS still under wraps and comprehensively in bits.

One really nice surprise was the quality of the black paint on the oil filter cover, quietly hiding the monster oil pump/invisible full flow conversion...
DSCF7686.jpg


If I get the chance, The bike might be back in one hopefully coherent group of connected pieces by the weekend of the 10th. Gives me two weeks before the V Twin Rally on the 24th August; I am hoping some of you might make it down, it's a great rally in beautiful countryside.
 
MartinW said:
Lovely stuff. I think the Konis are tricker.
Click to expand...
I always wanted a set of Koni's; Without the springs their action is really smooth & controlled - not that my biceps are much of a test.

I have had several sets of Fontana's, made by an old retired boy somewhere in Italy and they are *beautifully* made, completely indestructible but repairable if needs be.

To quote a well informed guy called Phil on the Laverda Forum,
Hi John - I used to import the "Fontanas" in the late eighties/ early nineties. I use quotation marks as they really never were "Fontanas". Bernie Adey of "Spares'n'Repairs" was the original entrepreneur who learnt Italian, got in his van and met all the Italian distributors. You may still have the "FAC" stickers on your units which stands for "Fabbrica Ammortizzatori Cremona" - translated it simply means "Suspension unit factory at Cremona". Bernie thought FAC was not a good name for the UK - so cleverly marketed them as "Fontanas" (Italian for fountains).
They were partially hand made - almost single handedly by an "old Boy" in Cremona, he sort of retired in the mid nineties, then offered to trickle out units a few at a time, the increased price, and transport costs, (I used to bring in 25 pairs at a time) made this too expensive. I thought these units were well made and they turned out to be very durable. They seemed to have the ability to allow more "Sag", hence coping with hollows and bumps a bit better than others - more like a monoshock. I still have a couple of repair kits - I never sold a single one !
Not sure if you (or others) find these sort of "History Lessons" interesting on this forum as probably they don't mean much to owners who were not around in earlier times. - Regards - Phil
Click to expand...
 
and Fontanas di Cremona are what I seem to have. marvellous.
BTW does your dog have any other power tools?



quote '...It's the dogs!'
 
MartinW said:
...BTW does your dog have any other power tools?
Click to expand...

Nah, she still at the 'using a stick to bash your legs' stage as she runs past ;-) If she automates, I'll be worried although she has shown interest in a powered tin opener at dinner time.

P1060246.jpg
 
Last edited:
If you want the old shocks refurbed you could ask Falcon.
They rebuilt my 907 monoshock including making new damper rod & snubbers.
 
Thanks ShedBob,

I have called Falcon, after a chat they wanted to sell me some of their own shocks which I am sure are much better; However they were missing the point in that I would have liked to have enjoyed the benefit of my brand new (but shagged) ET85's as they are OEM.

The ET85's are not in the same league as either modern Falcon's, Fontana's or the well tasty & British QRS's, or Koni/Ikons; However they are standard equipment and quite functional as long as you don't mind riding a bedstead.
 
Last edited:
Engine in...

Finally, some progress.

Whilst Vulcan Stove Enamelling did a fantastic job, preparation work is still needed make sure all the threads are grot free.

I normally install Duke engines with a lot of swearing, a hydraulic jack and the front end lifted 'quite high'.

Some seem to think you can install a bevel engine in and SS frame without removing he clutch & alternator covers and without scratching anything. I tried a new (for me) way of doing it by raising the engine on wooden blocks, pre-installing the centre stand and dropping the frame onto the engine.

I still can't get the engine into the frame without removing the clutch & alternator covers; So accepting the situation, I removed the covers and attached the frame to the engine by dropping the frame onto the engine. This was quite easy until my youngest daughter appeared and started playing 'fetch the tennis ball' with Dolly around where I was working.

Next job was fit the yokes, forks & front wheel so the bike is stable.
DSCF7772.jpg


Here is the engine installed..
DSCF7776.jpg


And a close up of the just refinished fork yokes...
DSCF7777.jpg


Another shot from the front nearside...
DSCF7773.jpg


Some decent progress at last!
 
Weekend's Progress...

Made blindin' progress on Saturday, only to realise I had installed the forks without installing the clip-ons. Hey Ho. Got up on Sunday morning at 5:00 and rectified that problem so I was back where I should have been on Saturday night.

Spent time clearing out the threads, with the best will in the world and careful masking, some grinding residue is left behind.

Joules , a good mate of mine poled up at around 13:00 and we cracked on; He was very helpful pointing out the mistakes I had already made '...Errrr, will you be able to get that swinging arm pinch bolt in now the engine is in the frame?'. The answer was no, not without loosening the front & top engine mounts and rotating the engine whilst supported with a trolley jack.

The good news was that we continued to make mistakes together and after several assembly/disassembly's managed to fit the swinging arm, together with the crankcase protector and upper Delrin swinging arm protector...
DSCF7781-MarkedUp.jpg


Followed reasonable swiftly by the Konis' & rear wheel.
DSCF7785.jpg


I finished off with the calipers...
DSCF7787.jpg


The plan was to get the bike on both wheels so I could get it across to the guy painting the tank so he could apply the stickers at the correct angle rather than shooting for the stars as per last time. We Popped 'round to see Jan-Willem who kindly offered to take the bike on his trailer to the painter's, but I am still pigged off about the Cape Canaveral tank stickers from last time and have decided sticking the bike on a trailer is way too much to ask Jan Willem and indeed to do myself.

So I will do the stickers myself and if I make a mistake, it will cost me a set of stickers. The painter does not see the grossly incorrectly applied stickers as his problem so we don't see eye to eye on that one.

Here it is, last years doomed rebuild showing great quality paintwork, rubbish decal positioning...
DSCF5063.jpg


And here is an original tank, which Pietro kindly let me measure...
DSCF5545.jpg


and...
DSCF5547.jpg


and...
DSCF5559.jpg


I think I can see what he did, matched the top of the letters to the curve as the tank rises from the back-> front. Looks pants, all work ruined. Interestingly he showed me his portfolio which contained a 900SS perfectly done and his sales pitch was 'you get what you pay for and you wouldn't want the whole job ruined for the sake of a few quid'. I rest my case m'Lud.
 
Last edited:
Decals in place...

Not much done today, working.

The painter had prepared the tank, cut it back and removed the old stickers; I have placed the stickers and IMO the bike now looks correct.

I do have a few bubbles so I am going to give it back to him and see if he can improve & use it. At least he'll know where to put the stickers even if I have to buy yet another set.
DSCF7793.jpg


and here is what the painter did first time round, you decide which is correct.
DSCF5063.jpg
 
Last edited:
Starting her after a long slumber...

I quite like it! Apart from awaiting a few bits like the disks which are having the centres blasted & powder coated, it is all going worryingly well. The loom is 'on' but not yet 'in' and apart from another numpty moment where I have different clip-ons on each side which means yet another stanchion removal, I am close to filling her with oil and starting her.

Which brings me to my plans for getting good clean oil around her ASAP.

My intentions are to:-
  1. fill her with flushing oil
  2. prime the lubrication system by waiting until oil flows out of the crankshaft end plug (then tightening it ;-) )
  3. run her gently until she is nice & hot (say, 10 mins)
  4. drain her & get rid of any happy build detritus lurking in there
  5. replace the oil filter
  6. fill with running in oil which is Morris's V-Twin
  7. run her for fifty miles
  8. do another oil & filter change

Then leave it until 500 miles for her first real oil & filter change.

Any thoughts? I don't want to do any major work again for a very long time.
 
Last edited:
Did you (Mr. Cloggy) use any assembly lube? If you did, then that should help with the initial start-up and supplement the lack of anything additive-wise in the flushing oil. That procedure sounds to me to be typically well-researched and informed. Go for it!
 
Started the old girl today at around noon.

Loads of smoke! (FX: Cough!) The engine ran well and with the right noises for about 10-15 minutes at mostly less than 2,000 RPM and never more than 3,000. I filled it with flushing oil which I have now recycled at the council facility. I have refilled the bike with Morris's V-Twin with the first drink from my enormous 25 litre drum and swapped out the oil filter - and yes, I did remember to move the magnet to the new filter. I am going to pull the filter apart and see what it has caught.

Interestingly, it took 75 kicks to get the oil to plop out of the clutch cover crankshaft end inspection hole from a dry start. I gave it another 25 kicks with the inspection allen screw cover tightened in to feed the heads.

I put my carefully modified Verlicchi two into one exhaust on, and all the paint on the downtubes migrated with immediate effect to the floor! Might need to revisit the HT paint on those. But it did sound epic.

Bearing in mind I don't have a tank ATM, it was improvisation all the way. This bike will get its original 40mm Dellorto's but I think I am going to have them ultrasonically cleaned first. In the meantime, I will probably stick my new set on it, sadly with the plastic tops.

Other news is the loom is (quite obviously) 'in' rather than 'on' now and Andrew of Mdina Italia has sent off new gold decals to my painter. I may have to confer the 'order of the pint' on Andrew for exceptional services to a customer.

I am just awaiting the front discs which have had their centres blasted and powder coated and I have a complete bike.

Time to organise the MOT...
 
Last edited:
Thanks! It was excitingly easy to start.

It wasn't bad before, but slightly mercurial in particular when there was an audience. I was beginning to worry I had inherited Luigi, distant Italian cousin of Herby.

I am still having a worry, I watched the oil coming out intently and whilst it wasn't dirty it wasn't clean either, it was mostly clean with faint streaks in it. Might have been copaslip/ assembly lubricant, but nevertheless I kicked myself for not cleaning the exceedingly useful oil tray to within an inch of its life so I could have a really good look. Boroscope time ;-). The oil tray is well nifty as it also acts as a sealable oil container for taking oil for recycling.

The pressure mounts, I am guessing you aren't too far away either - and we still have some summer weeks left.
 
I don't feel any pressure because I know that I still have a long way to go and lots of work now with a big meeting in San Diego at the end of Sept. If you rush things you'll never be able to rest, wanting to go back again!
Having said that, I hope you make it to the V-twin Rally.
Martin
 
Vacant Possession said:
Started the old girl today at around noon.



Interestingly, it took 75 kicks to get the oil to plop out of the clutch cover crankshaft end inspection hole from a dry start. I gave it another 25 kicks with the inspection allen screw cover tightened in to feed the heads...
Click to expand...

Why didn't you just take out the plugs select a gear and rotate the rear wheel to pump the oil around the engine?








.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom