1000 SP Spada

[Pandamonium]

Looking at adding a 1979 1000 SP into the stable beside the V11 Café Sport. Does anyone have one, or had one and can point out some known issues/things to look out for?

Cheers

[pete roper]

My first big block was an SP1000, I’ve owned a couple more over the years.

They are yer basic, small valve, short head Tonti from the late seventies/early eighties and have one of the best and most effective fairings ever put on a motorbike. They are a mile muncher par excellence and will sit all day at 85-90mph.

Most important thing to remember is that they are now all 40-45 years old and, unless they have been loved and refurbished, will invariably need work. Most likely things are frame bearings, all of them and a UJ support bearing and possibly a UJ. Fork dampers and shocks will need replacing if they haven’t been already. A camchain and tensioner for the motor at a bare minimum and the carburettors will be shagged out. Expect to buy a wiring loom from Greg Bender and replace the original that will likely crumble to dust when you touch it!

My last one I built a mid valve 950 motor with a K cam in it and ran 36mm PHF carbs. It had an 8/33 bevelbox and an Eldorado flywheel. It was an absolute hoot! My mate Steve from Moruya owns it now. It’s a peach!

[Chuck]

What Pete said, of course. I rode one out to SoCal several years ago to leave out there and ride in the canyons. It needed rewired, and that was maybe 20 years ago. (!) It's a great traveling machine, and the old Tonti frame was awesome for the day.

[docc]

If I recall the lore correctly, that faring was the last outcome from the iconic Mandello wind tunnel.

[pete roper]

Oh, one other thing. Unless the rings are bedded perfectly or the bores have been changed to Nicasil it will need a sump extension and the oil moved away from the crank otherwise it will pressurise the case too much and fill the airbox with oil. After a few miles at higher speed it will suddenly go B-l-a-a-a-a-hhhhhhhhh! and slow down while producing a cloud of smoke like a WWII destroyer laying a smokescreen! It’s very disconcerting when it happens.

First time it happened to me was on a motorway in blighty! I thought it had blown up! I pulled over, waited a few minutes and it fired right up, the smoke cleared and it was like nothing had happened! I rode off and a few miles later it did it again! I had no idea what was happening, I was only about 22 at the time and new to Guzzi but luckily someone showed me the breather system and explained it and it all made sense! After fitting the sump extension it never did it again.

Crankcase pressurisation has long been a Guzzi bugbear. It effects the 1200-8V’s as well and they too will pump oil out if you try to keep it at the ‘Full’ mark on the stick.

[Pandamonium]

Thanks for the replies. Im told it had has 'Extensive revamp last winter by MG UK club member including new head bearings, brakes/forks re-sealed and electrics sorted. Koni Dial-a-Ride rear shocks. Mods include PHF36 Dell'Orto carbs with K&N filters, Sache electronic ignition, full stainless exhaust system, stainless brake lines, centre-mount propstand'. The electrics do look to have been upgraded but the fairing has been removed. It is there but needs work. There is only 33000 miles on it. I have asked about the sump extension.

Thanks

Mark

[pete roper]

It’ll still need a decent camchain tensioner and you’d be mad not to throw a chain at it at the same time. The fork dampers will be #@$&@#@ if they are the original sebacs, they used to blow as they rolled the bike off the end of the production line. Throw a set of FAC’s into it.

[audiomick]

3 hours ago, Pandamonium said:

... Sache electronic ignition...

That would be "Sachse", I think. Has a good reputation in Germany. 

https://www.elektronik-sachse.de/shopsystem-3/en/Digital-Ignition-Systems/

 

EDIT: just so it doesn't look like I'm advertising, I have a Silent Hektik ignition and alternator in my V35 Imola, and am absolutely happy with it. Sachse has its fans, but I'm not converting. 

https://www.silent-hektik.de/

Edited September 14 by audiomick

[Pandamonium]

Well its in the back of the van so I guess well know more in the coming days. Will give it a good once over and get a few miles on it and see how it goes.

Thanks

[motortouring]

Often a much underestimated motorcycle, I really love the SP1000 and had quite a few friends riding it on day trips that would take us 3 days on a V11 Sport. It was one of the favorit bikes for the "Amstelario" 1300km consistency tour from Amsterdam to Mandello (from 70ties to 2002).

Over here in the Netherlands we have an affordable electronic ignition that is mounted on the existing tower, it includes the advance and has no wasted spark. The link is: https://swf-ignitionsystems.nl/ . I would really advise this system. It works robustly on my California 2 for more than 110.000km.

I use Electronic Sachse as well on a LM3, but the wasted spark (it is on the cranckshaft) results in occasional back-fires (and losing the carburator :-) ) . It is working all right, but in heavy rain the back-fires increase. Maybe a rubber flap at the end of the front-fender would reduce the spray on the generator cover. ES is a bit less suitable for all weather conditions. There are however different advance curves that you can choose and it has an elctronic output for a rev-counter, all of this is not needed for the SP1000.

My earlier experience with the 850 LeMans II standard ignition was not bad, but later in the '00 the quality of the contactbreakers became poorer because the runners are not nicely parallel to the nock. The wear in the beginning (500-1000km) was very large. This LM2 is from the same production era as the SP1000. I would say the later square fins are made of better aluminium. I have put helicoils in practically every M6 hole of the head and sump (and yes I used a special calibrated 10Nm torque wrench )

The PHF36 carburators do not fit automatically to the SP1000. It is made for the VHB30 carbs. Are you sure it is not a PHF30 that is mounted? Otherwise, I would assume the previous owner replaced the cilinder heads as well. 

I thought the original SP had steel cilinder liners (or cast iron). When only 33.000 miles on the clock they could still be in. 

The sump extension and every other thing to improve the breathing of the engine block for volume pumping is good to do (the LM2 and 3 have a Agostini breather box that has twice the volume of the original). But still I have occasional blow-outs when riding 5500rpm at the highway for a long time. The best solution that works for me is a vent tube from the breather-house that is only going up, to prevent a siphon effect (is that correct english). I let the tube end at a 1/2 liter oil can.

I did change the camchain and spanner of the Cali 2 at 180.000km, but actually only the plastic of the spanner was hardened. After cleaning it became flexible again (?). Of course I trhrew it away for I don't like these unpredictable behaviours, but the question is what the cause of this hardening would have been. No further problems, except that I heard a rattling from the cam chain that triggerd my mechanical nerve.

I think you will have a lot of fun with the SP1000, an unbreakable machine 

[motortouring]

On 9/14/2025 at 1:31 AM, pete roper said:

It’ll still need a decent camchain tensioner and you’d be mad not to throw a chain at it at the same time. The fork dampers will be #@$&@#@ if they are the original sebacs, they used to blow as they rolled the bike off the end of the production line. Throw a set of FAC’s into it.

FACs or Bitubo's, FACs have a lower compresion damping than the Bitubo's. FACs are imho nicer when riding a bit sportive and in tight turns. Bitubo's are more comfortable for relaxed-touring.