front brake is an option?

[JBU]

I was just checking out the guzzis on ebay and noticed an 850 T3.  Looked kinda nice until I read the description.
" and front brake handle was removed, to give it a clean look"  Really?  I understand the idea of shedding weight on a bike and making it more streamline, but removing the front brake handlebar?  Am I missing something?

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Moto-Guzzi-T3-/251946172036?forcerrptr=true&hash=item3aa9297e84&item=251946172036

[twhitaker]

The guy was probably planning on operating all three brakes from the foot pedal. Worth noting, the right front caliper is AWOL.

[ratguzzi]

The rear master cylinder also feeds one of the front brake calipers. Not sure if he switched the other front caliper into the rear brake system.
Fine and dandy, it will stop fine but if a brake line goes, you lose all of your stopping.
JB

[canuck750]

Sounds dangerous and just plain dumb or lazy to me, perhaps the front master cylinder or RH caliper was seized or both, but to remove the front brake completely, really???

[Chuck in Indiana]

When running the bike ran on both cylinders,

Dang! That's a nice feature.. ;D

[Vasco DG]

Would you want to buy, or trust, a bike that had been owned by anyone who thought it sensible to remove a brake in the interests of 'Looking Clean' and whose main interest seems to be being 'Cool'. Using that sort of philosophy he may well of drained all the oils out to avoid leaks! ::)

Pete

[Kiwi_Roy]

$1,500 provided he has all the missing bits.
The seat is about shot.

[Lannis]

Would you want to buy, or trust, a bike that had been owned by anyone who thought it sensible to remove a brake in the interests of 'Looking Clean' and whose main interest seems to be being 'Cool'. Using that sort of philosophy he may well of drained all the oils out to avoid leaks! ::)

Pete

And might have bent the valve stems so that the bike would be quieter.

Clean, quiet, and leak-free.   A bargain!

Lannis

[rodekyll]

Judging from the peeling paint there's a lot of rattle-can-over-rust in the patina.  "Starter button hidden in sidecover" = "There's a wiring problem I can't find so I further butchered the harness to make it go".

"Front brake handle removed for clean look" -- it's the wrong brake caliper removed.  He went through more trouble to re-plumb the linked brake to the wrong side Why the partial brakectomy?  Was it the hand pump or caliper that stopped working?  What does that say about the condition of the rest of the brakes?  And if he was as clever as he thinks he is, wouldn't he be extolling the benefits of the unsprung weight shed when the caliper was removed?   Wait -- he can't or he'd have to explain why that rotor is still there.  Better to not mention how much 'cleaner' the bike looks with the lever and caliper missing, the rotor remaining, and the nice, clean, fuzzy layer of rust scale covering 300mm of 'hubcap'.

It's a bitsa bike, good for parts.  The bidding is already way past its value.

[Perazzimx14]

Would you want to buy, or trust, a bike that had been owned by anyone who thought it sensible to remove a brake in the interests of 'Looking Clean' and whose main interest seems to be being 'Cool'. Using that sort of philosophy he may well of drained all the oils out to avoid leaks! ::)

Pete

I bought a Convert with only a rear brake pedal to operate the linked brakes. The rest of the brakes, cables, caliper, e-brake, levers (shift, clutch, front brake lever and MC) had all been removed. The only thing on the bars is two grips and a twist throttle. The only foot control is a brake pedal and two placed to hang your feet.

So in a word............yes!

[rodekyll]

I tossed my Convert's clutch, shifter, and foot brake.  I rerouted the rear brake control to the left handlebar.  My floorboards are clear of obstructions.  But I still have all my brakes.

I took the trike project a step farther.  I tossed the transmission completely.  I also added brake pedals and plumbing to the floorboards for isolated rear 'steering brakes' in addition to the handlebar controls described above.

But I've not gone backwards on the bike's ability to safely stop or go.

[ratguzzi]

I suppose setting up a dual master cylinder or two separate cylinders, one plumbed to the front and one to the rear actuated from the rear brake pedal would be a "safe" alternative.
Like a car......
JB

[dilligaf]

" and front brake handle was removed, to give it a clean look" 

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Moto-Guzzi-T3-/251946172036?forcerrptr=true&hash=item3aa9297e84&item=251946172036

Dam it, why didn't I think of that.  :BEER:
Matt

[Lannis]

Would you want to buy, or trust, a bike that had been owned by anyone who thought it sensible to remove a brake in the interests of 'Looking Clean' and whose main interest seems to be being 'Cool'. Using that sort of philosophy he may well of drained all the oils out to avoid leaks! ::)

Pete

But you know, that's been the whole philosophy for 60 years behind "choppers" and "bobbers".   

Strip off everything useful so that the bike will look "clean".

Take out the rear suspension and ride on a rigid frame.   Put a tiny back wheel on to "lower" it.  Run a "spool" front hub to eliminate the brake.   Weld a "jockey shift" handle onto the shifter and use a direct suicide clutch.   Take the fenders off - it's not going out in the rain anyway.

The sycophants say "Oh but he rides his chopper EVERYwhere!"   Every bar maybe.   I ride my bikes everywhere for real, and, with the exception of a few mad Europeans doing a "Captain America" crossing of the US, there is a noticeable paucity of "choppers" being ridden far from home .... !

Lannis

[Sasquatch Jim]

  Install a louder horn.  Who needs brakes?

[nc43bsa]

Who was that Brit who was credited with the saying "Good brakes encourage bad driving"?

[Luxexterior]

Foot pegs/boards also appear to be an optional extra! ;D

[Doppelgaenger]

Like when people told BSA that their headlight sucked.

They said, "gentlemen don't ride at night"