Gmc28

if you can afford it. crazy.

absolutely a "multi talented" product, but sometimes used wrong, and it shines as a water displacement product. and Phil, i just got off a zoom call with fellows over in your part of the world, 3 guys from CASA. They were rubbing it in what crappy weather I'm having here in Oregon at the moment. I rode to Portland intl airport last week to park the bike there for a week while I went to Tucson (sunny and 84f...), and had to shove my wet gear into a side case and let it mildew there till i got back for the not-so-pleasant ride home. Got lazy and spoiled over the summer, but its officially very over now.

agreed on it being used wrong most of the time, while water displacement is the right thing. that said, hadn't occurred to me to do this to inside of a tank... I like it! For now its full of non ethanol gas, and based on how i'm getting more interested in getting this project going than i had planned at first, maybe thats all i'll need. but if I do extend this project longer, like i should (to finish other, more boring stuff...), then the wD40 approach could be the ticket. New "old" rear fender was shipped today. From a good fellow on wild guzzi. the other little pastime has been even more ongoing education on which motor this is and how all the models laid out progression wise. the Engine number indicates by some sources as a 750S, while others say 850T (it has the taller cyclinders, plain to see), and charlie on wild guzzi says 850T so thats where i'm putting my conclusion. But then it has a right side shift 4 speed trans. so its a mix and match setup there... newer motor, older trans. And now I've paid attention to the fact that it has a generator up on top, in the V, unlike what i'm told (reading) most 850T's had with their low/front mounted alt's. still reading/asking/learning on that topic.

gas isn’t nearly as expensive here, though the ethanol free stuff we use for these kinds of machines is the most expensive stuff we can get, at least out where i live. Some states don’t have the premium on ethanol free… don’t know nor want to bother my brain with what madness that’s all about.

Sounds good. Mostly what I had assumed, but good to get some confirmation. Ran a different, basic question or two up the pole on wild guzzi, and the astute Charlie noted a couple things right off the bat that I had missed from not paying attention.... He pointed out details on the motor that resulted in my enlightenment that I have an 850T motor in the loop. Still need to look inside the cylinders, but so far I'm on a different but not undesirable path with this machine.

still in the phase where i’m in theory not going to really tear into this machine till next winter (2026), but biding the time noodling the process. A question of the day is in regard to the pods on this machine. I know some greatly disfavor pods on the V11’s, and lean toward the stock air intake myself, but thats for running reasons. So for the V7, i’m assuming i’ll source the missing parts to return back to stock style air filters, but at the moment its more because I think i’d prefer that “look”, as the pods look odd on this machine the way they’re currently installed. Then for running purposes, I’d prefer it run well, but is there much of a discernible difference on these bikes for “pod vs stock”? lower rpm, no ECU, carbs vs FI, etc, i’m thinking may make the running question a bit less poignant? or perhaps not….

If anyone knows of a set of gilardoni's sitting around in a garage, i'd be interested

@HRC_V4 Is that your ambassador?

Being new to messing with bikes of this age, it seems that using engine numbers is a common thing to do in lieu of a VIN nbr for titles. Won't know for sure till spring when i drag it in to the DMV for VIN verification, but thats what i'm gathering. and learned I have Amal carbs on this one. thought i had del ortto's, but finally looked closer. the whole deal happened fairly quick, from "no thanks" to having it in my shop, so finally going back and looking more closely. but also appears the PO paid a bunch of money to have them gone through. Almost no miles, but a few years have gone by since then, so not sure what time alone will bring to the Amal status/behavior.

agreed. even the more hardcore mtn bike community seems to be more embracing. My "little" brother lives in Durango, a biking mecca and crawling with world class off and on road bikers, and lots of them now have an e-bike, or so my brother says. speaking of ride modes, in France last month the hotel we were at had nice e-bikes available to take, but when i went to grab one to visit a champagne maker further down in the village, the super nice proprietor lady said "mais non..." because the batteries were all on the charger and not ready yet. "i'll be fine, its only a couple miles", and off i went. the return to the hotel was all up-hill, of course, and that "townie" e-bike cruiser without juice, and weighing a bloody ton, was quite the pig to peddle back! came back all sweaty, and trying not to look out of breath in front of the lady who advised me not to go...

Near to another happy ending! i agree its only a motorcycle, and a relatively (mercifully) simple one compared to some (though worse than others). My habit on these vintages of bikes to just redo the wiring like Pressureangle noted. Whether its the connections or the quality of the wire itself is a question for some, but just replacing the whole mess with good wire & connections , at some time when the bike is apart anyway for work, just removes the issues from the equation. Grounds, connections, wire quality, relays (1st), reg/rec... just remove those actual or potential challenge areas, at fairly low cost. Then Lo and behold, the temperamental italians transform into a more reasonably reliable forms of wheeled transport. I wonder if in all the info on this topic over the years if there are many, or any, records of folks doing that and then having more or ongoing electrical issues (except where an obvious flaw was found)? Just curious. (ps - love the motobatt plan. just sayin.)

Touche! Like some others, the e-mountain bike thing at first annoyed me. For one, they were expensive, and if looking to work out my opinion was "then just peddle", or if you want to go fast then get a "real motorcycle", and... having "less fit" bikers go smoking by me on their e-bikes before I knew what they were was hard on my delicate ego :-> But now i'm over all that and am all in. Takes me a while sometimes. Now just figuring out when to cough up the money to get one. I'm jealous

oh my, they've added some zing to their lineup from when i last viewed what they had. The missus wants one, but as you pointed out they're not giving these things away cheap. Even the higher end electric mountain bikes are brutal on the wallet. But I did love the e-mountain bike i rode over in Courmayeur, it was a hoot. Not in the same shape I used to be in, though even then I wasn't peddling straight up ski slopes in the summer, but that GasGas e-mtn bike made it still a workout but totally doable, and a lot of fun. then from the top they've got the downhill mtn bike course you can jump into. Good livin'. Godzone country? I'm out of touch. looks like the Zero's were made in Cali, then moved the X-line to phillipines and china, while the HQ moved to netherlands?

I won't argue the logic of that, just indicate that I think all three of the V11's i've had got the same treatment, which is a bit of overkill but easy to do, and involved upgrading the wiring, connectors, and the reg, with the reg going back in that same spot near tail (oh, and of course the ground connection to battery, and relays). Same with the Cagiva's, and not to imply direct cause-effect for the various elements of that process, but all have been trouble free since. (correction... I lied. I did not change/move the rec on the greenie. just for the record :->)

As I recall the Shindengen fits pretty slick, back under the seat, toward the back, with just a little creativity.

City life and "non city" life... I agree, i'm too far out in the woods to have such short range, but for city or suburb living, as a "towncar" type of scoot, similar to a scooter, could be a nice niche for it too. Was riding in the backwoods in WA this summer on Enduro bikes, and came across some "good ol' boys", packing their pistols and looking the part of folks who don't care about saving the planet, but they were having a blast on their converted E-bikes, Zero's if i recall, which they had lightly modified for playing off road. Heaver than my Husky 501, but not much. Less range, but for a typical adventure ride it would probably fine on range.

I think there’s an enzyme in the one, like in Startron. That’s what I do for the V11’s, which mostly sit all winter, but will definitely get ridden again by spring. All good, and can do same here with the loop, but that gas may sit longer. Seems as though a good fellow on wildguzzi has a rear fender for me. So the process is moving very slowly, but it’s moving. looks as though MGcycle is out of stock on the solo seat they carry, but cycle garden has some. Still giving thought to recovering the saddle I have, but it’s a mess, not stock or even remotely like stock, and I don’t think I like it. Also thought about a lower, non stock style seat. Probably not, but have seen some nicely applied on the V7. Don’t need to stick with stock on this machine, so that’s not a key criteria, but a consideration. I love the stock restorations, and I love many of the well done custom builds. Partly based on what I’ve got to work with, I’m inclined to depart from trying to go back to original/stock, but keep it in the subjective area of “respecting the stock style”. Whatever that means…. We’ll see.

makes sense, and thats what i've done in the past, but never for as long. was just wondering if there were any other nifty hacks for that kind of thing. i'll drain and refill with fresh petrol... Probably the best habit to establish for this machine anyway, as it presumably will never be a regular rider bike, even when i've done what i'm going to do with her.

I’ll drain the old fuel out of the machine, as it’s apparently been in there a long time, which can make life more difficult with carbs (or FI). But whats the best option for long term storage… fill it with clear/non ethanol to keep the inside of tank less susceptible to moisture, or leave it dry? i’m in a moist wet environment, so have always defaulted to keeping stored bikes with clean fuel in the tank, but have never planned to store for more than a winter.

(new thread here to unclutter dave swansons thread) I may have accidentally ended up with this machine. Oops. A friend wanted to unload it, and offered it a few times over the years, with me declining, but finally circumstances, an adjusted set of desires, and price aligned, and now i have it. I honestly had thought it was a ‘72 V7 from just eye-balling it casually in passing a couple times, but it’s a ‘68 V700. Need to strip the paint and redo the tank (etc) paint scheme to something stock, or stock-ish, and am loving that red/chrome. the chrome would presumably be harder to reproduce. probably will be a while till i actually do much with it, as this was not a planned thing. Need to clear out some other projects first. Will be eye-balling stock or close-to-stock paint schemes, how to clean up the semi-hacked rear fender on this one, getting new fork seals in, ways to maybe enhance/improve the clutch activation, etc.

(thanks Docc for moving this thread over. I wasn’t thinking clearly when I dropped my little tangent onto Dave’s beautiful rebuild thread instead of starting my own.) I’ll be keen to get input on this machine. For instance, Daves pipes look great, and am interested in details on those. Etc. I’m new to the 50+ year old bike category, other than bikes i rode as a kid, so even things like any hacks for the clunky center stand that wants to fall down to vertical, or the clutch engagement which is beautifully simple but clunky… are there hot tips on any of that floating out there in this group? Link to @Dave Swanson's thread:

beautiful. I may have accidentally ended up with such a machine. Oops. A friend wanted to unload it, and offered it a few times over the years, with me declining, but finally circumstances and price aligned, and now i have it. I honestly had thought it was a ‘72 V7 from just eye-balling it casually in passing a couple times, but it’s a ‘68 V700. Need to strip the paint and redo the tank (etc) paint scheme to something stock, or stock-ish, and am loving that red/chrome. the chrome would presumably be harder to reproduce. Link to my "eventual project" . . .

up early on a weekend? Just back from italy (vacation), then heading out on road for work, and don’t think i can weasel out of work, but will rally if i can pull it off.

Years ago I bought an “Alaska sheepskin” pillion cover for my Cagiva, and have used now for almost 20yrs as a seat cover for longer rides. I got some nylon strapping and snap buckles from amazon, and each of my bikes has the under seat strap,mostly hidden out of sight, which i can just attach the seat cover to. pillion cover was how it was old, but its perfect for all my bikes on front/rider seat. gets wet and dries really quick. has a fairly tight texture, not so shaggy (not that the shaggy i’m seeing in these pics isn’t sexy!) i’m a big fan. will even roll it up and bring it on long fly-and-rides, if i plan to be in the saddle for 8hrs or more a day… a butt saver. that company that sells them is still there in Anchorage near Spenard. i think i still ads from them in the moto rags now and then.

you sure thats not an african graduated cylinder? it's all a matter of how you grip it... My beloved Red needs some of that TLC. Looking and running fine, but has been a dearth of V11 riding this year so far, so for me its "what have you not done to your V11 today", sadly. I watch your goings-on with some jealousy. But sounds like I may be back in Mandello, briefly, in September.