Moto Guzzi V50lll
Discussion
Following my can you bump a shafti question :::::::
I bought it, collecting in the morning, little 500cc guzzi, not run since 2004
Boy is it rough, no key, no logbook, in Liverpool, no ignition, destroyed seat base, can't open fuel tank, exhaust held by wire, throttle not held at all, original tyres, flat and split, rear mudguard and light unit cracked and not on, ditto side panels, the list goes on.
It's been outside for a while, not seized though and it's not stolen.
It belonged to the sellers dad who passed away and left his son a couple of bikes, the story does add up as he is a long term mate of my friend who has confirmed everything.
It should be a nice project and is costing me £160 😁
no pics until collected
I bought it, collecting in the morning, little 500cc guzzi, not run since 2004
Boy is it rough, no key, no logbook, in Liverpool, no ignition, destroyed seat base, can't open fuel tank, exhaust held by wire, throttle not held at all, original tyres, flat and split, rear mudguard and light unit cracked and not on, ditto side panels, the list goes on.
It's been outside for a while, not seized though and it's not stolen.
It belonged to the sellers dad who passed away and left his son a couple of bikes, the story does add up as he is a long term mate of my friend who has confirmed everything.
It should be a nice project and is costing me £160 😁
no pics until collected
crofty1984 said:
Brilliant! As long as the engine and frame aren't f
ked you'll be able to make that into a nice little bike.
As it’s now in my lockup I can confirm that the engine seems good, fuel tank is not rusty and the frame is perfectly usable ked you'll be able to make that into a nice little bike.
Edited by waynedear on Saturday 17th February 13:48
waynedear said:
crofty1984 said:
Brilliant! As long as the engine and frame aren't fked you'll be able to make that into a nice little bike.
As it’s now in my lockup I can confirm that the engine seems good, fuel tank is not rusty and the frame is perfectly usable ked you'll be able to make that into a nice little bike.Edited by waynedear on Saturday 17th February 13:48
I have already been offered more than I paid, as for the what am I going to do with it question, I’m not sure.
First thing is get the tank open, clean carbs, check points, work out where to join the ignition wires to get it live then hook up a battery, no wait I forgot, reconnect the throttle cables.
Then see if it runs.....
After that, well I really want a cafe racer, we’ll see.
As for the forks, one is good, as for the other, when I slid up the gaiter it was full of oil and water, I shall be investigating as soon as I knock up a stand.
First thing is get the tank open, clean carbs, check points, work out where to join the ignition wires to get it live then hook up a battery, no wait I forgot, reconnect the throttle cables.
Then see if it runs.....
After that, well I really want a cafe racer, we’ll see.
As for the forks, one is good, as for the other, when I slid up the gaiter it was full of oil and water, I shall be investigating as soon as I knock up a stand.
waynedear said:
After that, well I really want a cafe racer, we’ll see.
Guzzis make great cafe racers. 
As for the fork gaiters, I bought a bike many years ago with them fitted, it had been standing for a while and they were both full of water. I ended up cutting them off as they were just a water trap.
Gunk said:
waynedear said:
After that, well I really want a cafe racer, we’ll see.
Please don’t, you’ll fk it up, they’re such a nice little bike it just deserves a simple sympathetic restoration.
A guzzi cafe racer has been my dream since 1979, I will build it, use it and love it and you have my word I will not at any time be sporting a hipster beard.
My old employer had one of these twenty years ago, it had the worst gear change I have ever encountered.
We tried to improve the linkage but it was never acceptable, the engine was gutless too, so disappointing as on paper it had everything needed to make a good bike.
Put me off Guzzis for life, perhaps did me a favour?
We tried to improve the linkage but it was never acceptable, the engine was gutless too, so disappointing as on paper it had everything needed to make a good bike.
Put me off Guzzis for life, perhaps did me a favour?
I only have experience of old Guzzi gearboxes which are definitely 'agricultural', my Lemans has a second neutral between 2nd and 3rd that it only finds if you're trying to shift quickly, so best to be firm and steady - it's not like you're going to win a superbike race and so need to get through the gears quickly anyway!
Mine's not helped by the fact that I've reversed the shift so there is a bit more to the linkage than normal. 1st gear can be tricky to select until the engine's warmed up but you get used to it and it's not like you need 1st or 2nd often anyway as it will pull from very low speeds in the higher gears.
The good thing for the OP is that they are very simple and solid mechanically so it's likely the engine will be fine, but they're easy to work on if not as they have a removable sump and so changing big ends etc. can be done easily without splitting the cases or even removing the engine from the bike.
I believe the original V-twin engine was designed for a small 3 wheeled/half-track agricultural/military vehicle...
Mine's not helped by the fact that I've reversed the shift so there is a bit more to the linkage than normal. 1st gear can be tricky to select until the engine's warmed up but you get used to it and it's not like you need 1st or 2nd often anyway as it will pull from very low speeds in the higher gears.
The good thing for the OP is that they are very simple and solid mechanically so it's likely the engine will be fine, but they're easy to work on if not as they have a removable sump and so changing big ends etc. can be done easily without splitting the cases or even removing the engine from the bike.
I believe the original V-twin engine was designed for a small 3 wheeled/half-track agricultural/military vehicle...
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