Lucky Phil

Yes tubular structures are hard to paint without missing sections. I once painted my Ducati TT2 race bike frame and it was even more difficult. Esp when you do the second coat,its easy to have some colour on there but you miss the second coat and the primer is just showing through. Ciao

No you could clear over it in a gloss or matt clear but I'm tired of the painting process. If I had a large indoor area I could make into a sort of spray area like Chuck did in his hangar I'd be more enthusiastic but after painting all the engine cases and baking them then the side plates and front frame and now the swing arm in the open and needing to wait on conditions to be right etc I'll call the painting done. Considering the conditions and my level of expertise its come out rather well but the arm could be better. 8.5 out of 10 on the arm. Painting is often a make or break on a restoration and it looks great when it's done well but it's a lot of work to get the really good results and its a major help if you dont need to worry about wind,temperature,airborne dirt,locking up the dog,washing on the line,over spray annoying the neighbour etc. Ciao

Got the swingarm and battery tray and remote reservoir painted in 2 pack again. I wanted them in satin black and this is a little less matt than I wanted but that's what happens when you dont get to add the matting agent yourself and do a test spray. I am painting outside under a shaded deck and although the dust aspect has been surprisingly fine the contrast in the light has caused some difficulties. One direction I'm looking into the daylight and the other I'm looking into the shade. The shade direction allows you to see better than into the open and this caused me to get the paint on a bit thin in a couple of areas which was very annoying. So next day I went back and gave those areas another hit. Here's a problem you get with any 2 pack non gloss paint, a variable degree of matt finish depending on paint/hardener/thinning ratio and weather conditions, especially humidity. I got a slight variation in the level of satin with the second attempt. Its not a hit you in the face or that noticeable but to those that are going to paint in less than gloss you need to get it done in one go. I knew about this and was a little annoyed when I realised I'd missed a few spots but there you go. others can avoid the mistake. Anyway its about 200% better than what it was. Trying to decide whether or not to Paint the bevel box the same colour as the engine or leave it in silver. It's a big ugly thing and I'm concerned painting it grey might exaggerate its size next to the silver wheel. Ciao

Hmmm, interesting issues here. I have nothing to offer I'm afraid. Ciao

Probably the Basement in Sydney docc. Jazz/blues club. They had some hits a while back.2 sisters and the brother. I believe they got their break when they were invited to tour with Bob Dylan years ago. Perth band I think and just recently reformed after a break for babies etc. Biggest hit commercially was London Still I think. That's all I got docc but I have always liked their stuff. Oh fun fact, their granny used to call them her little waifs and that's where the name originated. Ciao EDIT...def the basement in Sydney Australia. They mentioned being in a night club in Kings cross the night before...that's in Sydney as well.

This is good on a few levels. Esp if you appreciate a good looking woman blowing a harp Ciao

You may be onto something there, I hadn't considered that. The extra 20 mm might come in useful with regards to fitting everything in although I dont know whether the earlier front frame mount from the short frame that's needed will fit the longer frame. Ciao

Here you go docc along with my shiny side plates. Ciao

Maybe. It would only be an issue if at all when stopped in traffic. I'll do the infa red heat gun test on the oil line spot after its hot and been idling a while and compare it to the rest of the line. I dont really expect it to be an issue though. I have some heat shrink also to go over the hoses wherever they are likely to chaff. I'm preparing the swingarm for painting at the moment in expectation of some better weather in the next 4 or 5 days so thats the priority at the moment. Going to remove that poxy bent tab brake hose holder while I'm there and drill and tap the arm for a nice P clip to do the job. Ciao

Thanks docc. The issue with the new engine is the old oil lines dont fit now because the cam drive housings get in the way. I've seen distant images of these conversions where they appeared to somehow make the originals fit but I cant see how and it would be a horrible look. I've just decided to bite the bullet and make up some new lines. The left side will be routed pretty much as in the image and the right side will come across and tie to the fwd engine mount and down to the sump outlet. Main compromise is 10mm exhaust clearance but I'm comfortable with that. Ciao

With the bike level I run the sight glass in the middle. My rational with sight glasses is to have a reading where they are NOT showing completely covered so you know its not over filled and also so if you have a leak you can see visually how much it has dropped. With a full sight glass you never know how much over fill there actually is. Also just about every engine/transmission I've ever owned has been better served by being slightly lower than full. Ciao

3 bar rated reg. Gates barricade 5/16 fuel hose is the gold standard. Ciao

New oil cooler arrived today along with the inserts for the swingarm hugger mounts. All mine were toast in one way or another.The cooler is just part of the spares stock as it was so cheap. The inserts are horrid bloody things and are something like $5 ea from Guzzi. Picked them up for $1AU each eventually. If anyone is interested I can let people know what they are as they are an odd design. You cant just replace them with a regular nutsert as instead of the std 7mm hole for a 5mm bolt the Guzzi item uses a 10mm hole so you need the original style. The wiring is coming along and may even finish up neater than the original. Its all basically in place I just haven't tie wrapped in position yet. Also working on the new oil cooler lines and getting the routing looking clean and nice. My titanium rod showed up a few days ago so I can finish off the tank mounts. The engine is in place and bolted up now as well. Ciao

I'm about to tempt fate here but mines been fine for 42,000 klm. Ciao

Lightly oiled or a smear or grease. Support with a piece of wood directly under the seal boss on the opposite side and tap in with a socket of the appropriate size until bottomed. A press would be better but when needs must. Ciao

Stylish mufflers, should have made them longer though bro. What every Italian motorcycle needs desperately...Fishtails:) Ciao

Looks very nice. Ciao

You need the angle drive unit for the gearbox. Mine clears by miles. Ciao

Green or red loctite is your friend in this matter. Ciao