Smashing Speedometer Stories

I recently decided I'd had enough of my Guzzi S3's Veglia blue-faced speedometer reading at least 25 miles per hour over what it should at standstill, let alone at speed, and sent it to Andy Barraclough at Speedy Cables (www.speedycables.com) to get it overhauled properly - and what a fabulous job they did - see the pics below. 

Speedy Cables sent it back fully stripped, overhauled, recalibrated at 1600 revs/mile, mileage set to what it was when it went in, and has been treated to a new bezel, glass and speed cup. In fact, the beautiful restoration even looks a bit too smart compared to the scruffier rev counter next to it, but doubtless once the bike racks up some more miles it'll start to weather a bit. I'd never bothered too much about the speed because I've always ridden it just getting a feel with the revs from the motor and the gear I was in, but after using a sat nav on the bike a month or so ago (report soon..), I realised it was actually useful to know what speed you're going at, some of the time.

There's a story behind the low mileage though....see further down the page

Back in 2004, I was living in Italy, in Tuscany. Bit of a long story, but I ended up lending my S3 to an American to take part in the Moto Giro that was taking place in Sicily that year -on the strict understanding that if he crashed it, he'd have to pay for it. Three days after he left for Sicily, I got a phone call. American drawl on the other end of the line. "I'm in a hospital in Palermo, with a broken collar bone, arm in plaster and severe bruising. Sorry. It was a hairpin, and I took it too quickly. Ended up going straight on and over the bank the other side of the bend. The bike flipped over a couple of times. It's badly damaged, and the speedometer has just disappeared..."

The important thing is that he was okay, just about, and to be fair, he paid out for me to get the bike to how it was before his mishap. He discovered that Guzzis are not made for taking fast, tight hairpin bends. So, the S3's original kmh speedometer that was on the bike when I bought it, and was showing approximately 45,000km was last seen just before flying off into a grassy meadow somewhere near Marsala, Sicily, Italy. It's probably still there.

The end of the story is that I bought a replacement 160mph speedo in excellent condition and with just around 2,000 miles on the clock from Motorworks UK, who in those days sold Guzzi spares. It read fine for a few years, until it decided three years ago that its needle would sit at 25mph at standstill. Now that's been sorted, finally.

Testing times

If you read the blog or the mag, you'll know that I have a thing for Moto Guzzis, and one in particular, my 1975 750 S3 which I bought about 23 years ago. But even my patience and loyalty has been tested severely and to the limit for the past few months by a niggling problem that has meant the bike running on two cylinders one moment, dropping onto one, not starting properly - basically, rendering the bike unuseable, and if i can't use it I don't really see the point of it sitting around. Problem is, I've always worked on my own bikes, and I also don't have the available cash to drop it off with someone and say "fix it no matter what the cost".

Anyway, without going into tedious detail, it's had over the last few months a new battery, new points, new coils, carbs rebuilt, new plugs and caps, new condensors, new HT leads, coils substituted, loads of wiring repairs and connectors replaced, compression and valves checked, ignition timing checked (and double-checked by Paul at Corsa Italiana) - so the only next possible step is to rewire the bike from scratch.

But - by last week, after lots of time over the weeks spent by myself, and friends, trying to sort the issues, it was finally running well enough to be taken for its annual MOT test, and a 40 minute ride after the MOT (which it passed, no problem at all...) showed that the bike seems (touch wood etc.) to be running 95% perfectly, which is great compared to it not running at all. There is STILL a glitch somewhere which I can feel, but it accelerates well, so for now, I am just going to try and ride it, put some miles on the clock, and try to ignore the feeling I have (and have never had before) that the Guzzi is now a little unreliable.

I get my bikes MOT tested down at Dave Rogers Motorcycles, which is a 15 minute ride through beautiful Chiltern scenery from my place, and it's always a pleasure to go to Dave's - in fact, we're very lucky round here to have a bike shop run by such a nice guy and who loves old and unusual stuff. In fact, every time I go, there's always a mixed bag of motorcycles outside his shop. Here are a few photos of what was there the other day, including a 'barn find' BMW R75/5 that someone has bought at auction and wants it put back on the road (last used 1980, check the road tax), a nice BSA bobber type thing, Dave's own BMW off-road outfit and his nice red GS, and of course, you couldn't you ask for more than a three-wheeler Robin Reliant full of old motorcycle parts or an ancient Staffie Terrier shop hound. See photos below....

If you're in the Buckinghamshire (UK) area and run an older bike, it's worth seeking Dave out for MOTs and servicing. He doesn't advertise (doesn't need to), so his details are as follows: 

Dave Rogers Motorcycles, tel: 01844 346998 - http://southbucks.net/wpbdp_listing/d-c-rogers/

Guzzi visits Norton

After far, far too long of not being able to ride my Guzzi 750, I managed to finally sort it out on Saturday morning, having woken inexplicably bolt upright at 5.30am and not being able to get back to sleep. Inspired and energetic (for half an hour at least..), I found the cause of the bike's lack of charging, a broken alternator brush holder (see pic below). Swapped it with one from another bike, hey presto, sorted, though the battery was pretty flat. Anyway, after a brief carb balance (I'd rebuilt them earlier this year), and then breaking down outside my house again, managed to jump start it, then threw caution to the wind and thrashed it over to the Norton OC Oxford branch café racer meet that they do every year at a nice little old fashioned boozer in the middle of nowhere on the other side of Oxord. There was a very eclectic mix of Nortons and other bikes present, including a great rat BSA twin alloy tank thing, and a beautifully engineered and very shiny Norvin. There was also one of the new Nortons, built at Donington, lovely motor but the rest a bit contrived for my taste. Was hoping to see John W of Motonero, but he'd gone, not surprising as I'd earlier sent him a text saying the bike wasn't working. The nice chaps at the Norton O.C. also gave me a certificate for turning up. Luckily the Guzzi started again. Thrashed home, and bike ran beautifully apart from a weird little cough here and there. 

Then, Sunday, decided to go along to my local Guzzi club meet just for an excuse for another ride, got soaked on the journey there (but it's good to ride in the rain again, otherwise you forget how to ride in it, or would never go out). Worth it to see an old guy who lives 500 yards across the pub where the bikes meet ride his 1972 V7 Sport helmetless across the road to show us. He bought it direct from the factory in 1972 when he was working in Geneva, and has recently got it back on the road. It's heavily modified for him, with additions and changes here and there, but great to see someone own a bike so long and still enjoy it. And no, it's not a genuine 'TELIO Rosso', as the guy in the hat on the right kept calling it.

Anyway, brilliant to be back out on the bike, just as one of the best summers we've had for years is coming to its end..