81 Lemans

[John Todd]

Hi this is my first Moto Guzzi, although I rode and worked on the bikes back in the 70's and 80's. I have been riding for 50 years and owned quite a few different bikes, but my favourite type of bike seems to be twin cylinder roadsters. Not sure what I will do with this one, it has an 81 Lemans frame but the body work is certainly off earlier models. It runs really nice with no apparent mechanical issues, but as can be expected the wiring harness bears evidence of the slings and arrows of all sorts of misfortunes, so that will be job 1 when the road is covered with ice and snow.

 

[John Todd]

almost a year of ownership, I've kept it licenced and ridden every month at least once a week for 40 minutes...I have a good straightaway and some curves close to work so I go there at lunchtime and pretend I'm in BOTT for a minute. I managed a few 4 hour long rides over 300 kms too.

On the mechanical side I have addressed the issue of blue smoke shortly after cold starts by retorqueing the head bolts and replacing the o-rings. Or have I? After retorqueing I still had smoke for a few more weeks, then just as I decided to try again the smoking stopped.

I had to coast it home one day, luckily this happened across the street from an old tramway which has been repurposed as a cycle/pedestrian corridor, conveniently 4% grade downwards in a straight line. I rowed with my legs, it was busy with pedestrians. 2km, at the bottom, it bump started and I rejoined road traffic for 200 meters. The cause? the possibly original sparkplug wires were bleeding most of the voltage out onto the cylinder fins. I replaced with a big fat red cable from a GM HEI ignition. The NGK connectors on the bike permit wire changes.

It does refuse to say how fast we are going. I know why, the brass ferrule that holds the cable in place at the tranny has loosened up, and I'm planning to fix it one of these days, or tell it to the judge, whichever comes first.

One fine Sunday morning during the summer I had planned to ride out to the Stave dams with some fellow employees. For the first time ever it refused to start. Instead of riding that morning I did a major overhaul of the electrical harness under the seat and side panels, replacing the old glass fuses with modern ATO style, tightening loose spade connectors and applying dielectric grease. And of course, because of my previous remarks about not liking group rides because of other peoples mechanical failures, and failures to show up, I had to lose a little face too.

I would say that I ride it fairly hard, in terms of accelerating and gear shifting, and at no time do I feel that the engine hesitates or the drivetrain feels weak or fragile. It acts like a big dog, full of confidence and barking with authority. I am curious about the temperature in the final drive, because it is warm to the touch after 30 minutes.

I love this bike. It has the most personality of all the bikes I've owned in over 50 years. And I love that I don't have to deal with key fobs, OBDII connectors, ISO/SAE specifications, ECU and electronic gizmos, CANbusses, antilock brakes or stability control. Or chains and sprockets. Just crazy Italian old-school which is a language I can speak.

 

[Moto-Uno]

I'd start by changing the rear end oil and checking it for any debris (or being very dark,unless it has one of the dark Motul oils) .
Being warm doesn't sound out of the ordinary , Hot however demands further inspection . Peter

 

[scottmastrocinque]

…and applying dielectric grease…

Ugh. If I could make 1 thing disappear from the Earth right now, it would be dielectric grease.

Nobody I have ever met, actually understands what this stuff really is and what it is supposed to be used for.

Everybody thinks it is for electrical wires. It is not!

Please read the post I made here about this issue by clicking the hyperlink below.

Dash display acting up

This past winter I decided to remove my canister following the excellent directions on this site and all went well but this spring when Riding season started my dash display began cutting out going blank or freezing up so I pulled the dash to check connections and cleaned up the pins in the plug...

www.guzzitech.com

 

[John Todd]

Ugh. If I could make 1 thing disappear from the Earth right now, it would be dielectric grease.

Nobody I gave ever met, actually understands what this stuff really is and what it is supposed to be used for.

Everybody thinks it is for electrical wires. It is not!

Please read the post I made here about this issue by clicking the hyperlink below.

Dash display acting up

This past winter I decided to remove my canister following the excellent directions on this site and all went well but this spring when Riding season started my dash display began cutting out going blank or freezing up so I pulled the dash to check connections and cleaned up the pins in the plug...

www.guzzitech.com

I thought it was used to keep moisture out of the spade connectors. I realize it doesn't enhance conductivity. I live in a wet climate and we also get brine on the roads when temperatures are freezing. Have been using it for years and it seems to prevent corrosion on connectors.

 

[John Todd]

I'd start by changing the rear end oil and checking it for any debris (or being very dark,unless it has one of the dark Motul oils) .
Being warm doesn't sound out of the ordinary , Hot however demands further inspection . Peter

Thanks Peter. I drained it out and there was nothing in it of note, a bit of rust coloured sediment. It is a rather light colour. Do you recommend any particular brand or weight? I believe it is 90 in there right now

 

[scottmastrocinque]

…I realize it doesn't enhance conductivity…

Have been using it for years and it seems to prevent corrosion on connectors.

It PREVENTS conductivity. Stops it entirely if you get enough of it on the connectors.

It’s principle usage was on spark plug boots to lubricate the inside of them so that they would not fuse and stick to the porcelain insulators on spark plugs.

There are many things people who come here have done for years. Abusus non tollit usum.

I can only share the information with you. What you choose to do with the information is entirely up to you.