I'm addicted to things machinical

[cleatusj]

I've been tearing things apart and putting them back together for more decades than I care to admit to. Started with bicycles, then lawn mowers, cars and then motorcycles. Some have been blends of cars and motorcycles.

I have two Moto Guzzi's with homemade sidecars, one even has KTM 640 forks grafted on.

OK, I'll admit, at age 63 I'm putting together my first mini bike. I started with a '70's 350 Honda frame and removed the lower cradle, added a motor plate, mb200 triple tree and forks. I used a mill vice to hold a carbide lathe bit, to turn down the shaft, on a Subaru ex30, while it was running.

Added a china 30 cvt, 10t/60t on 20 inch tires. Next is to add a jackshaft with 14/10, to get me to 8.4 to 1 ratio. This should raise the acceleration to a point I can live with. If not I can go higher. After that add a swingarm and shocks.

I have been reading a lot, on here and another forum, to glen from others and their experience.

Thank's for such a great forum. Cleatusj

 

[tgus3]

better start late than never

we need pics

 

[Hellion]

First step on the road to addiction recovery is to admit you have a problem. Good show.

Bout time to start searching for some rusty classics: mini bikes and go karts from the "golden era" and drag 'em out of Bubba's yard. Don't pay too much though...

 

[cleatusj]

Pics after I grow wings, so I can get them off my phone onto my computer. I can put together computers, but I have a hard time getting them to do what I want.

 

[cleatusj]

See if this works.

 

[JTSpeedDemon]

YAY! Someone that knows how to post pics with the correct orientation!
And:

 

[itsid]

Hi and welcome

I'm a bit jealous.. I'd love to have a Moto Guzzi (well a v65 to be precise)
not a fan of sidecars though ... nevermind.

So, Guzzi pics please

'sid

 

[cleatusj]

The TCU purple one is a '76 Convert and the green is a '93 Calli.

 

[itsid]

a V1000 convert.. 1976 of all years...???
now I'm REALLY jealous...
that's the bigger brother of the v65 I adore
and since bigger is always better.. yeah you got me!
(I'd take the G5... but that's me being picky)
Awesome bike you got there

What I don't have is a pic yet though

'sid

 

[cleatusj]

For some reason the pics did not come thru.

 

[cleatusj]

Here's the purple one.

 

[itsid]

thanks

I love old Guzzi pushrods...
How's that Torque converter behaving btw?
can you really get going from a dead stop in second gear without even using the clutch?

I know it's a torque monster (2cyl @950cc is quite the bang per pop)
but from 0 to 180 km/h (what's that 110mph?)
without even touching the clutch once is still quite impressive.
considering the rather low rpms the engine revs at.

'sid

 

[cleatusj]

The Vert with that heavy aluminum body sidecar will still surprise some 1200 BMW GSA riders. I've been known to show up right on their back tire at 75mph on gravel.

 

[itsid]

hehe weight can be an advantage on gravel, especially with a third wheel
But I know what you mean..

when I take a trip through the region
I really enjoy watching those big twins pulling up a hill so effortlessly,
where my comparably small 750 wants 4.5k or more to even climb a noteworthy inclination,
twins of similar or bigger size with their impressive wheeltorques
just barely need more than idle speeds to pull up.

So yeah
But that doesn't answer my question really..

How does it compare to say the shifted variant of the California you have?
is it as smooth? smoother?.. kinda jerky just above engagement speeds?
Can it move the sidecar in second from a dead stop?
You feel it losing power after a long trip due to heat losses?
Or does it feel like your average automatic car transmission and just pulls through
all day every day w/o even touching the clutch for days?

Sorry, just a huge fan of the old Moto Guzzis and I can't help it.. I need to know

'sid

 

[cleatusj]

Have not had a clutch lever for over 20 years and it pulls smooth, even with the sidecar, in high range with no problems. It is a little quicker in low.

The Calli with the 1100 engine and only 70,000 miles is faster. Fifth is only good above 80 but fourth will pull to 100mph.