This maybe should be in the Swap Meet, but the bike itself appeals to a wider audience whether they're in the market or not. It's a piece if Guzzi history as well as a bike for sale. I'm doing the pictures. Tex can give the history.
Grease, Ken Hand's first Moto Guzzi, is up for sale. Read on. His asking price is at the bottom. He'll consider reasonable offers.
Tex bought this 1971 Ambassador new, and the last tabs are 1985. Tex claims the odometer has turned over twice, so let's just say it's well broken in. He also says he parked it when he got a Cal II and got used to it. Sot it's been in a barn since. Nothing has been removed from Grease over the years except the battery and the fuel. As far as I know, the old oil is still in the engine.
The tinwork is all remarkably straight, given Tex wasn't particularly so back then. There's a little wow in the front fender, but we're including a replacement that is straight, needs refinished:
Otherwise what I can see looks like it needs to be stripped and redone, but I can't even find tankslapper dimples in the tank. The bags are very nice Wixoms, although the rivets are rusty. No battle damage that i can see. There may have been bumpers on them at one time that were removed and the holes filled. Likewise the Wixom Ranger fairing seems to be in good condition, as is the windscreen. There is a set of lowers included.
The paint is intact, but I doubt that it is all original. It's got a case of the patina. Likewise the oem chromework may or may not be restorable. We've included front fender stays in better condition as well as a better rear fender bumper. The gas cap is rotted. So are our spares.
Tex, being who he is, did some improving and customizing to Grease over the years. Turn signals were optional when the bike was sold, so he added his own. The control is from a school bus or a Kenworth. He doesn't remember exactly.
Also visible in this picture is the tank, or maybe the air filter for a master cylinder on the left handlebar. I think it pumps up the rear shocks, but I can't tell if they're hydraulic or air. The red canister is the air horn compressor. An oil pressure and amp gauge is in the fairing.
Other personal touches:
The saddle has a very nice cover although the foam has perished. The bike also has a large alternator in place of the generator.
Ken chromed the side covers, tool boxes, valve covers, belt cover, brake plates, and the front hub cover. They did not hold up well in the barn. The metal is straight, but the chrome is peeled and pretty awful.
We're including normal vented valve covers, brake plates, the hub cover, and tool boxes.
Fender stays and the rear fender bumper are rusty. We're providing some better ones, as well as the oem tail light, a better rear rack, one NOS muffler, NOS fork shrouds, and a grab bag of other bits. There are two extra engines (also chrome bore) and two extra four-speed gearboxes, two normal wheels and a 16" rear wheel, brake plates and shoes, u-joint, starter, bits and pieces of pillboxes and perches, boot guards (the rubber kind),vented valve covers, and muffler clamps. Tex said to put lots of stuff with the bike, so I did.
As I said up top, the bike is complete and has a clear title. The engine turns over, as do the two spares. None of the modifications can't be undone, and we've included the parts to undo them in as far as we have parts to include. This would be a good loop restoration project
The asking price is $2250 for Grease and everything Guzzi in the pictures. Ken will consider serious offers, especially if the offer involves adding loop parts he may have in the stash raqther than reducing the price. Want to make it an 850 eldorado? 5-speed with that cool sump rear drive? Disk brake rear maybe? we might could fix you up.
This is an as-is, where-is, what is, u-haul sale. Ken warrants only that it is a complete used project bike that is not currently running and needs a going through before it will run. He warrants that the bores are chrome. He also warrants that all included spares are used cores unless specified as NOS. Shipping is entirely the responsibility of the buyer. Although we might be able to help load it up we will not transport it as part of the sale. I have not asked him, but I suspect that for a reasonable fee, he might be persuaded to do a road trip in a limited range.
Thanks for reading!
