1970 Ambassador Restoration

[KJDub]

Hi All, I recently purchased with a good friend a 1970 Ambassador.  Found in northern Michigan while visiting family and friends.  Bike runs, albeit poorly.  10,004 miles on the odo.  Bike is heavily patinaed, having spent substantial amount of time outdoors, but is essentially complete. Came with a Calafia fairing sans screen, panniers of unknown provenance, and a metal egg crate.  Bet that latter is worth some cash!  I'd add a pic but couldn't figure out how to make that work.

Price was right so picked it up and had it shipped west to home, wet home in central WA state.  Our plan is to address mechanical/electrical issues and not worry about cosmetics just yet.  Just getting going on it, will do some initial investigation this weekend.  PO claims to have had cylinders replated and new rings installed.  Plan to start with the top ends and carbs. First question, what would be the expected compression pressure for this bike? Should it be done cold or after warming it up?

Thanks for any help offered.  Looking forward to working on the bike and being part of this community.

Ken

[oldbike54]

 Moved to General D , will receive more attention here .

 Curious about the claim PO made about having the cylinders plated , seems double checking what was done or not done would be wise.

 Welcome to WG .

 Dusty

[brider]

  10,004 miles on the odo.  Bike is heavily patinaed, having spent substantial amount of time outdoors,
Ken

Arrrrrggghhh! Even in 1970 the Loops were SOOO much cooler-looking that their British or Jap counterparts, How in heaven's name could anyone leave one with so few miles out in the weather to rot? Sorry, this has been beaten to death before, it's just one of my MAJOR peeves with motorcycle owners.

I was born a Yooper, whereabouts were you visiting? I had a cousin-by-marriage show up at a reunion about 20 yrs ago in Kinross on an Eldo with a set of dual solo saddles on it. He was a Harley/brit bike guy and had no clue about the bike we was currently riding.

[Kiwi_Roy]

Welcome to the forum, you will find your old loop is very endearing, lots of charm.
You are just down the line from us, you will get all the info you need on here.

Mine was pretty rotten after 20 years in a damp garage with the heads off.









You would have a hard job prizing my fingers from the grips now though.

[yogidozer]

Here, didn't want you to fall over. 

[giusto]

Hi All, I recently purchased with a good friend a 1970 Ambassador.  Found in northern Michigan while visiting family and friends.  Bike runs, albeit poorly.  10,004 miles on the odo.  Bike is heavily patinaed, having spent substantial amount of time outdoors, but is essentially complete. Came with a Calafia fairing sans screen, panniers of unknown provenance, and a metal egg crate.  Bet that latter is worth some cash!  I'd add a pic but couldn't figure out how to make that work.

Price was right so picked it up and had it shipped west to home, wet home in central WA state.  Our plan is to address mechanical/electrical issues and not worry about cosmetics just yet.  Just getting going on it, will do some initial investigation this weekend.  PO claims to have had cylinders replated and new rings installed.  Plan to start with the top ends and carbs. First question, what would be the expected compression pressure for this bike? Should it be done cold or after warming it up?

Thanks for any help offered.  Looking forward to working on the bike and being part of this community.


Ken

Hi Ken,

Great find and welcome....you'll be happy you found it and this site
I have to ask where did you find this bike? also show us some photos. 135 - 150 would be reasonable compression for this motor.

I'm in NW Lower MI

Cheers

Giusto

[John A]

Ambassador's are great bikes, I bought my first one in'77,put about 140K on it, bought another and put 130K on that one, by that time it was a mix of both bikes, the best of both that my wife rode and started getting trophys for the oldest bike. It was traded in on a leftover V65C that we still have. I got stuck on Guzzis because I sure enjoyed those Ambassadores as I think you will. A couple things I would change would be the generator mount and a more powerful front brake. If they had made the generator mount with the two bolts into the case crossways from what they are, it wouldn't have been a problem so there are a few fixes for that.

[KJDub]

Thanks for all of your responses.  What a great group!
Brider, I was up in the Keweenaw peninsula (pronounced kee-wa-naw, emphasis on the first syllable, for you non-yoopers). My family hails from there. The bike was parked on front of a restaurant in Calumet.  Turns out it was the restaurant owner's.  He found it parked in a back yard.  The PO was no longer able to ride so parked it.  The guy I bought it from got it running, then was ready to move it on to the next owner.  He didn't want to see it go to a junk yard.
Checked compression today, 155 in the right, 90 in the left. Looks like a teardown is in the future.  Drove it around a bit to warm it up first, love that torque curve, even with a half-dead cylinder.

I've figured out how to add a pic.  Here's one.

[oldbike54]

 Cool . That fairing greatly resembles a model that was made in Tulsa in the 70's and 80's .

 Dusty

[Turin]

That looks pretty nice. I'd check the valves on the side with low compression.

[KJDub]

Here's another pic, after I removed the fairing and luggage.  And washed the worst of the grunge off as well.

[KJDub]

Kiwi_Roy, Looks like you did an amazing job on that resto! Are you in the PNW as well?

Guisto, I've spent some time in your neighborhood.  When kids were younger I would meet my brother and his fam in Empire, south of you .  We'd rent a house, enjoy the beach and visit family in the area.  I have family scattered all over Michigan, from the Keweenaw to the Motor City.

Turin and Dusty, I plan on pulling down the top ends to determine if the plating was actually performed and also to inspect pistons and rings.  Will check valve clearances prior to teardown.  PO said it was locked up when he got it.  Put new rings in but used old pistons.  Also claims had a valve job done.  Makes me suspicious of the pistons.  Don't think he was a detail oriented kind of guy, not into measuring things with a micrometer, etc.  But he did save the bike from a worse fate, so can't complain.

Ken

[lti_57]

Dang that looks like a good score
I would enjoy  having that
enjoy

[Rod]

Great find! You will love that bike. You would have had to re-do the cylinders anyway, it's a must do. Gardiloni kit with cylinders and pistons run about $400 ea. I had to rebuild my Ambo, basically had the same experience, didn't quite know what I had bought. Now I have two loops.

Your link to the large photo got broken somehow. Should be: https://ibb.co/mJoT50

[Kiwi_Roy]

Kiwi_Roy, Looks like you did an amazing job on that resto! Are you in the PNW as well?
 

Not really, I didn't try to make it back to original, it was too far gone, I just rebuilt it it how I wanted. The white paint was the original colour though.
Most of the chrome was rusted away, I just repainted with POR 15. Yours looks like its all there.
Mines an Eldorado a 72
New Westminster BC, a suburb of Vancouver

[KJDub]

Not really, I didn't try to make it back to original, it was too far gone, I just rebuilt it it how I wanted. The white paint was the original colour though.
Most of the chrome was rusted away, I just repainted with POR 15.

Love what you did! What mufflers did you put on it?

[Kiwi_Roy]

Love what you did! What mufflers did you put on it?

The bike came with something like old Brit mufflers with no baffles
The mufflers you see are Guzzi branded, they were on a Lario I bought.
I found the original Lario mufflers which freed them up.
You seem to have the correct ones on your bike, the paintwork patina is wonderful.
You will soon find out the old girl will attract lots of nice comments whenever you park it.

[KJDub]

That looks pretty nice. I'd check the valves on the side with low compression.

Thanks for the advice Turin.  I did a leakdown test, the right leaked 4%, the left leaked 90, whistling out through the carb. Popped the rocker cover, exhaust clearance in spec, intake clearance is zilch. Reset the clearance, left now leaked 15%, compression up to 130 psi from 90. Those numbers seem borderline, mabye the valve was damaged slightly?  Anyways, bike now sounds like a twin and definitely has more power. Still not up to snuff, carbs all gummed up.  Onward and upward!
KJ

[pehayes]

Make sure you join the discussion forum for LoopFrame_Guzzi over on yahoo groups.  And reference all your needs on Greg Bender's site at:

http://www.thisoldtractor.com/moto_guzzi_loopframe.html

Patrick Hayes
Fremont CA

[brider]

Brider, I was up in the Keweenaw peninsula (pronounced kee-wa-naw, emphasis on the first syllable, for you non-yoopers). My family hails from there.

My Father's family is in L'Anse, and I have an aunt that lives in Baraga. Mom's side is from Rudyard, strung out between there and the Soo (Sault St. Marie, for you non-Yoopers).

I rode my old Convert over the Mackinac Bridge and up to the Soo one year, and also my old '74 Eldo across the bridge in October in a later year, in a snow squall, Had to be escorted across the bridge because the winds were so bad. Sadly, never turned to the west across the bridge to make it to the L'Anse-end of the UP.

[Chuck in Indiana]

Thanks for the advice Turin.  I did a leakdown test, the right leaked 4%, the left leaked 90, whistling out through the carb. Popped the rocker cover, exhaust clearance in spec, intake clearance is zilch. Reset the clearance, left now leaked 15%, compression up to 130 psi from 90. Those numbers seem borderline, mabye the valve was damaged slightly?  Anyways, bike now sounds like a twin and definitely has more power. Still not up to snuff, carbs all gummed up.  Onward and upward!
KJ

Here's a trick you can try. Bring the left back up to TDC and hook up your leak down tester. While pressure is on, take your copper hammer and smite  that intake valve rocker a few times. Aircraft mechanics call this "staking" the valves. Many times it is just corrosion and carbon on the valve and seat, and this will blow it out. I *have* brought long dormant engines with low compression back to normal this way.

[WitchCityGuzzi]

Everyone knows that 1970 was the best year for Loops.   



They're great bikes to work on. You're gonna love riding it.

[Kiwi_Roy]

Who sells the side mount reflectors we see in the stunning example WCG posted?
I had some cheap Chinese ones but they have all dropped off over the miles.

[WitchCityGuzzi]

I got those from Moe @ CycleGarden

[th_01]

Every year loop is great

[Don G]

If your looking for reflectors, check out the British bike guys, Lucas reflectors.  DonG

[Kiwi_Roy]

If your looking for reflectors, check out the British bike guys, Lucas reflectors.  DonG

Thanks for that it seems Lucas RER25 is the standard model Amber in front Red at rear

Led me to this
http://www.thisoldtractor.com/moto_guzzi_loopframe_fender_reflectors.html
Roy

[Don G]

Roy try British Cycle Supply in Wolfsville Nova Scotia, they should have what you need.  DonG

[KJDub]

My Father's family is in L'Anse, and I have an aunt that lives in Baraga. Mom's side is from Rudyard, strung out between there and the Soo (Sault St. Marie, for you non-Yoopers).

Hey Brider, I had breakfast in L'Anse on the way down south.  My brother and I poked around north of L'Anse up towards Pequaming looking for property. That's my brother's hobby, he never actually buys any! Many decades ago I spent weeks wandering around the UP on my Honda CB 500 four, a $350 special that didn't run when I bought it.  A few hours of work and it was ready to hit the road, never left me anywhere.  Passed through the village of Slapneck (Ha!  Mosquitoes must be bad there) while exploring the top speed capabilities of the bike.  Locals probably just thought it was a big one passing through!  Great memories.
KJ

[KJDub]

Hey WitchCityGuzzi, where did you get that seat? Looks real slim, like it.
Ken W