More thanks

Before I forget I have to mention 2 very important people who have helped me. Mike Rich for his fine head work and patience for my million questions and Charley Cole of Zydeco Racing fame who has given me endless hours of advice and pointers. He spent 7 years successfully campaigning a 750 Guzzi and is an absolute wealth of knowledge which he shares unconditionally. He also rebuilds Guzzi gearboxes and rear drives. Top guys, both of them.

First start and it didn't blow up

Finished

And the rest of the story

Engine with transmission/frame brace

Tach and oil pressure gauge

Nice milk crate

Braced swingarm

Engine

Anyway, where were we.

Lemans 3 tank kindly donated by Moto Guzzi Classics

T3 wheels

Lemans 3 frame

38mm SP3 forks reworked by Maxton. I made a major mistake at this point. I sent them off and had Maxton do their magic and then realised that the caliper locations are designed for smaller rotors than I planned on using. Luckily Ed Milich knew of a set of Marzocchi Strada forks that I was able to buy and use the lowers after some minor machining.

More sexy bits

Guest post by the girlfriend with a camera phone

What you will see if you catch Andrew unawares at his shop...

How does he love Guzzi? Let me count the ways...

Comic relief

 It's time to introduce you to the local cast of characters who have helped me with the Guzzi. Ralph, great friend and partner in crime who I race with on a regular basis who even when I show up at his shop when he's crazy busy never gives more than a shrug and a "sure" when I have some crazy project I would like him to help with. Mark and Sean who despite being complete piss takers are good guys and have been very generous with parts and time. Just don't show up at 4.45 on a Saturday afternoon. Daniel an old friend of 17 years just showed up one night and wouldn't leave; one of the most talented and infuriating people I've ever met. Ed who paved the way and had more confidence in my riding ability than I did.......

Ralph Hudson, ex-AMA racer, Bonneville record holder and ace fabricator.

Marky Mark Ethridge owner and president of Moto Guzzi Classics.

Sean Fader, head wrench and only sane(ish) person at MGC

Daniel Lynn, crazy genius mechanic and fabricator, prodigious chip eater who sadly passed away last year, seen here studying brand new Chinese made jumper cables that we discovered were defective at 3a.m before my first race.We had been trying to start the bike for 3 hrs thinking there was an ignition problem......

Mark again showing his more sensitive side.

Ed Milich at some place in Florida where bikes go round and round.

Sexy bits

The idea was to build good, reliable power without going too crazy. Carrillo rods for security, Megacycle X10 cam (not the most powerful but great for mid range), Mike Rich stage 2 heads, coated bearings and lifters, balanced crank to 51%, 41mm carbs. Timing chain was retained. The Sport 1100 flywheel and clutch were kept as they are pretty light in stock form (about 8 lbs all in if I remember correctly). It's always tempting to build the biggest, most powerful engine but the limiting factor in my first season on the Guzzi (2008) was my riding ability, not the power....

Engine

Ed Milich at guzzitech was kind enough to sell me one of his stashed Sport 1100i motors. The engine is fairly easy to put in a Tonti frame: a Tonti timing cover with a seal from the Sport is all that is needed. The boss for a distributor is still cast into the case and I had this finish machined and I'm now able to use a Dyna ignition,distributor and Megacycle cam.

The build........

Nerd heaven.

The story so far........

Welcome to Team Guzzi Nerd.

This blog is about building and racing a vintage Moto Guzzi. Due to my pathetic typing skills and lack of attention span I'll be posting often but in small doses. Whew, I'm worn out already.

Where do I start....... I've owned Guzzis for about 15 years and enjoy going fast. Finally in 2007 I put the 2 together and decided to build a racer. Actually the idea started formulating a few years earlier and in 2006 I helped out a very fast racer, Will Harding, at Willow Springs raceway here in Los Angeles. The bike was owned by Stan Friduss and at the time was an 1100cc engined MK 1 LeMans. (see picture below).