Craig
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Posts posted by Craig
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I still see everything I posted. Is there something else you wanted? I haven't been around much recently but the Laverda/Guzzi is still with me.
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The generator in my Ballabio ate itself. Before I drop $400+ from Harpers is there an alternate that might be less expensive? It is a Ducati part but there is no part number stamped anywhere I can find.
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First rule of internal combustion engines: If it has fuel, spark, and compression it will run, maybe poorly, but it will run.
Sounds to me like you identified spark as a problem. Clean all the grounds and inspect the coils. Make certain that the case is well grounded to the frame. You must have metal to metal all the way. If you have any paint under a ground strap it is no longer a ground strap. See if you can find an inductive timing light and put it on each plug wire to see if it actually sparking.
Next check compression. If you don't have much compression you could be off by a tooth or two on the timing chain. When the Guzzi specialist looked at it did he pull the timing cover off and look? When I timed my engine recently it was pretty simple but I did actually put a dial indicator on a cam lobe to verify it. Easy to be off by a tooth.
Good luck. When it finally fires up you'll feel great!
Edit: I didn't read the last two pages. this is mostly redundant, but make sure you check the grounds between the engine and the case.
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What the heck is that thing? My shifter doesn't have anything like that cantilevered fitting. That is just a disaster waiting to happen.
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Everybody should hold a live plug wire at least once in their life. Czakky, it is your solemn duty to initiate your younger brother.
Ooh. It's been a long time. I think it even had points and a coil. I wish I could say it was the worst shock I ever had, but it wasn't.
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I have an RD-400 in pieces in the garage. Was going great guns before my Guzzi engine disaster last year. I plan to have the RD frame back up on the bench this week. Going for really light weight cafe with modern suspension parts.
I always found it funny that hot rodders put new engines in old cars and motorcycle customizers like old engines with new legs...
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Aye.
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I keep close track of this stuff, because engineer. I have never run dry unintentionally. I did it intentionally once to calibrate my tank.
In the 25 fillups prior to my engine disaster I averaged 202 miles before the fillup, 5.0 gallons filled and 40.8MPG. The light comes in around 150 and I have about 2 gallons left until empty. This was from 2015-08-08 to 2016-08-10.
My max fillup has been 5.49 gallons.
This is mostly highway commuting, but I am not particularly gentle.
Too soon to tell anything with the rebuild, but so far things look close.
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Well said. I can't tell you how much I missed Gretchen (long story) while her engine was spread across my work bench the last 8 months...
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Just got through fine tuning my shifter linkage after all the improvements. I actually did all of the hard work last winter while I was waiting for engine parts. Now that the bike is on the road the eccentrics needed to be adjusted so that it would actually shift properly and not hang up.
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Done. She runs, and runs well. I have an AFR that I am keeping a close eye on to make sure I don't run too lean while I am breaking in the new motor. I haven;t really been able to try out anything, just a nice gentle road test.
Pictures or even better, video?
I will get some up. She is very dirty. All this work was on the inside!
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Done. She runs, and runs well. I have an AFR that I am keeping a close eye on to make sure I don't run too lean while I am breaking in the new motor. I haven;t really been able to try out anything, just a nice gentle road test.
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I am going to call this a false alarm due to jitters. I put in a Bosch filter, prefilled it as I normally do then just let it crank for about 90 seconds and oil pressure came up to about 80 PSI at the gauge just using the starter. I will finish assembling the bike and actually start the stupid thing this Thursday if family commitments do not interfere.
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After turning anti-clockwise at around 400rpm for somewhat like 1-2mins, I had oil at the rockers!
I think the is the key. I was expecting to get some pressure after 10-15 seconds of cranking. Nothing like 1-2 minutes. I think I will pull the timing chest and spin it up with a drill.
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What about before installing the front cover and oil pump drive you use a piece of rubber FI hose on a battery drill to spin and prime the pump, the oil cooler and at the same time check for flow to the heads. Then put the drive on the oil pump and the cam chain etc and button it up?
I may end up doing this.
The mystery has deepened a bit. I dropped the sump and pull the filter and regulator assembly.
1. It was a HiFlo filter, not UFI, the o-ring looked plenty thick and it felt like it was sealing against the o-ring not a metal to metal seal. That said, the filter was empty. It had a bit of oil on top but nothing IN the filter. I reassembled the engine about two weeks ago, but did not fill with oil until yesterday. So the filter would have started empty, but if the pump was moving anything it should have filled the filter. I will get a new filter tomorrow at the FLAPS just in case there is a problem with this one.
2. The regulator and thermostat valves were very clean, either I cleaned them back in August and forgot I did it, or there was no debris.
Since I haven't found anything conclusive I am going to install a new filter (primed with oil this time since that is my normal practice) and try pressing up with the starter motor. If that doesn't work I am pulling the timing chest and going in for the pump. This is a brand new pump and I can't imagine there is a way to install the thing wrong and still get the timing gears (yes I have Caruso gears) to fit. But spinning up the pump with a drill would give me a one more ways of checking things. Maybe somehow I left out the key on the oil pump shaft. I don't have one lying around, but the only way I can see to make a pump like that fail is for the shaft to crack or the gear isn't engaged on the key.
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am also wondering whether or not my pressure regulator got stuck open with debris from last years disaster.That *can* happen. I'd be looking there, cleaning and testing it whether it's the problem or not. I'd just *assumed* you'd gone through the oil system..
I did, but given the amount of debris in there I could have missed something. I will pull it out and check again.
No oil out of the sender hole = no oil pressure, or a passage way is blocked and the block was not correctly cleaned out.
Yep. Really don't want to re-re-buld this engine...but may have no choice.
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I've been telling you guys about UFIs..
Get yourself a Bosch 3330 or Wix or Hi Flo, or something. Maybe not a Fram.. 
If it's *not* the oil filter, you may need to pack the oil pump with lithium grease. That's what VW recommended on the air cooled engines to get them to prime..
Oh.. and.. Have you checked to make no sh!t sure the oil pressure sender is working?
At this point the lithium grease I had packed in there is completely gone. Not going to go all the way into the oil pump except as a last resort.
Somehow I missed the memo on the UFI filter. I will get a different filter.
I am also wondering whether or not my pressure regulator got stuck open with debris from last years disaster.
Scud, unfortunately that is exactly what I did, went and watched a really bad King Arthur movie with number 3 son. Somehow, watching Keira Knightly in a two piece leather bikini using a broadsword against linebacker sized Saxon warriors didn't fix the bike or improve my mood...
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Somebody had a problem like that recently and I think the o-ring on the UFI filter was too thin - not making contact. What filter are you using?
UFI. Of course. With hose clamp on this time! Nothing like dropping the sump again full of fresh new oil...but that is probably where I am heading.
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OK, Everything is finally back together after my oil catastrophe last year and I have convinced myself I am ready for the first start. I hate this part. You can understand my concern about oil pressure. Everything sounds fine while I am cranking but I can't get any oil pressure.
- I am cranking the engine to try to get the oil pump to prime. There are no plugs in and no fuel. I don't want it starting until I know the oil system is all right.
- I have a gauge attached up at the oil pressure sender it doesn't budge off zero.
- I pulled the sender out and cranked and no oil came out of the sender hole.
Anyone have any hints? Is there a better way to prime the oil system?
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I feel guilty, I look up parts on Harpers, then order from MG...
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I admit they look good, but I don't need to make oil changes even more difficult.
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Thanks for the reminder I just sent 25 euros...
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Found it. Thanks for the pointer.
Fitting a Laverda 750 SFC Fairing
in How to...
Posted
No. I fabricated my own fair mounts from scratch.
I started from a Ballabio. I modified the wiring harness for the front turn signals removed the handlebars and installed clip-ons. There is no way to make the fairing work with normal Guzzi bars, even LM is too high
I used the headlight mount and added structure to it.
Biggest issue is fabricating the fairing mounts. The front mount is a welded steel truss that is probably way over built. The side mounts are 1/8" thick aluminum that bolt onto the valve covers. I can send you pictures of anything that you can't see, but I don't do "step-by-step".