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1974 V7 Sport wheel Options??

Stephen Richardson

Tuned and Synch'ed
Joined
Oct 25, 2021
Messages
27
Location
Magnolia TX
Hello All,
I’m new to the forum so pardon me while I find my feet.

I have acquired some Guzzi parts that I would like to use as a starting point for a café racer project. Thus far I have:

1/ 1974 V7 Sport complete engine, gearbox, Swingarm and rear drive (drum brake model)

2/ A Tonti frame from a 1977 Convert.

I need help with wheel options. I would like to know what rear wheels (if any) are compatible with the V7 sport rear drive and also front-end options. I have little to no chance of acquiring the original drum drake Borrani originals. They appear to be very rare and financially uneconomical if found So, I assume disk brake wheels would be a possibility. I’m open to cast wheels also. I have prior experience building British bikes, this is my first Moto Guzzi build.

Any help would be appreciated.
 
For the rear, 850T rear wheel and brake components should work. Also the 850T brake linkage and brake light switch would be needed and possibly the lower frame rails. For the front it depends on the forks your acquire.
 
For the rear, 850T rear wheel and brake components should work. Also the 850T brake linkage and brake light switch would be needed and possibly the lower frame rails. For the front it depends on the forks your acquire.
Yes, there lies the rub! 850T drum brake wheels are not easy to find either. I was hoping to discover a way to use a later model wheel and mate it to the existing drive...I thought about using a later model rear drive but I'm not sure if there are any that I can use with my 750 engine / swingarm?
 
Yes, there lies the rub! 850T drum brake wheels are not easy to find either. I was hoping to discover a way to use a later model wheel and mate it to the existing drive...I thought about using a later model rear drive but I'm not sure if there are any that I can use with my 750 engine / swingarm?

The rear drive isn't the issue. Later wheels use disk brakes and the V7 swing arm doesn't have the necessary lug. If you get a T-5. LeMans, or G5 swing arm, then disk brake wheel is usable.
 
OK, that makes sense! Do you think those swingarms will bolt up to my existing gearbox and rear drive unit? If so, that would give me more options on wheel selection.
 
If you use a later swingarm for disc brakes you may need a spacer between swingarm & pinion carrier at 2mm Or 4mm. Can't remember which but the axle holes don't line up. If you are on a budget, better expand it. Better check fork lowers too if doing disc brakes. Good luck w/project .
 
OK, that makes sense! Do you think those swingarms will bolt up to my existing gearbox and rear drive unit? If so, that would give me more options on wheel selection.


No problem connecting to the gearbox. Steve mentioned possible shimming out the rear drive so the axle will line up. I'm not sure if this is needed, but Steve has done a few switch arounds in his career. Possibly because the older bikes used gaskets on each side of the pinion carrier and the later bikes use o-rings.
 
Thanks guys, this is all very useful info makes me feel a lot better knowing I can utilize most of what I have. …looks like acquiring a swing arm and 2mm spacer is a good starting point!
 
One more question:do you know if the internal parts are the same for both swing arms? G5 swing arms are available on eBay as complete with internals or just the swing arm alone…thanks!
 
One more question:do you know if the internal parts are the same for both swing arms? G5 swing arms are available on eBay as complete with internals or just the swing arm alone…thanks!


Get the drive shaft as the G5 swing arm may be a bit longer. If the U joint and coupler are available it wouldn't hurt to have those as well. With this you will need the G5 brake components too, caliper, caliper bracket, lines and master cylinder. You will also have to decide if you want integrated/linked or separate braking system as components are different.
 
Drum brake swingarm takes a different ujoint than the disc brake swingarm.
I try to stay with disc brake models. But there is a guy on here that mixes the older ones up, Charlie.
I was going to do this back in the early 80's but ended up gutting some webbing out of newer drive boxes and installing taller gearing in them instead of making different rear drive boxes work. Thinking about it, may even be a smaller axle in older box. That's an easy fix w/punch out center & replace with newer one.
 
If you want to use your existing swingarm, then the easiest to find and least expensive rear wheel and brake is going to be from a "Loopframe" (V700, Ambassador, Eldorado). Virtually identical dimensions to the V7 Sport wheel, but the brake is only single-leading-shoe instead of the V7 Sport twin-leading-shoe. I don't see that as a bad thing.

As Steve mentioned, if you use a later disk-brake swingarm (T3, Convert, G5, etc.) and the early rear drive you already have, then you'd need a 2 mm thick "adapter"/shim between the swingarm and rear drive. Later rear drives have a thicker pinion carrier flange than the earlier ones. If you want to use a drum-brake with a disc-brake swingarm, a tab for the torque rod would need to be welded on.

For the front end, one from a T, T3, Convert, G5, SP, etc. would fit as original.
 
If you want to use your existing swingarm, then the easiest to find and least expensive rear wheel and brake is going to be from a "Loopframe" (V700, Ambassador, Eldorado). Virtually identical dimensions to the V7 Sport wheel, but the brake is only single-leading-shoe instead of the V7 Sport twin-leading-shoe. I don't see that as a bad thing.

As Steve mentioned, if you use a later disk-brake swingarm (T3, Convert, G5, etc.) and the early rear drive you already have, then you'd need a 2 mm thick "adapter"/shim between the swingarm and rear drive. Later rear drives have a thicker pinion carrier flange than the earlier ones. If you want to use a drum-brake with a disc-brake swingarm, a tab for the torque rod would need to be welded on.

For the front end, one from a T, T3, Convert, G5, SP, etc. would fit as original.
Thanks for all the info!! Looks like I have some great options available.
 
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