850T Renovation

[Hahnda]

So I have an 850T renovation going on but I decided it really not going to look so much like an 850T when its done. More on that as it develops and parts arrive.

Bike only had about 5000 miles on it but was in kind of sad shape as far as rust and corrosion. It was in pieces when I got it, saved me some work. ;-T

Frame is powdercoated red but will be going to black.





Vapor blasted parts just came back today. They look great, casting flaws included.

[Idontwantapickle]

 ;-T
Is there anything more fun than making an old Guzzi new again? Well, besides THAT?
Hunter

[Curtis Harper]

I've heard of vapor blasting, but no one around here does it. Can you learn me a little about it? Those part look great.

[Hahnda]

I've heard of vapor blasting, but no one around here does it. Can you learn me a little about it? Those part look great.

This is the fifth time I have used vapor blasting. Its kind of like bead blasting only much better. With bead blasting the beads can become embedded in the surface sometimes. With vapor blasting the surface is almost a honed finish. It does not absorb oil or show greasy fingerprints like some blasting processes. The honing process closes the pores of the aluminum which is what makes less likely to absorb anything into the surface. Vapor blasting uses water mixed with the media so it is more gentle on the surface but still scours away years of grime and corrosion. You still need to make sure all the media is cleaned out but nothing like grit blasting which can hang around until the aluminum heats up and then drop into oil circulation.

I'm definitely sold on the process. The parts come back looking like new. Obviously if the parts were damaged or scratched then I guess they still will be, but you get the idea. The only pain is packing it all all well for shipping. I use a place in NC called Rice Relics. http://ricerelics.com/6.html They also sell vapor blasting equipment.

[acogoff]

     Looks to me that this is the way to go.
Keep us posted if there are any difficulties with residue removal or other problems when you get it up and running.

[Hahnda]

    Looks to me that this is the way to go.
Keep us posted if there are any difficulties with residue removal or other problems when you get it up and running.

I have done 4 other (non guzzi) engines that were vapor blasted. No issues so far. You still want to confirm oil passages and threads are clear but this process doesn't embed the media like others do. At least that is what I have seen. Very popular process in other parts of the world, just slow to catch on here in the US.

[Penderic]

Looks like a lot of fun!  ;-T

Take lots of pics!

Groove on!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YAtffm40dEQ&feature=player

[NCAmother]

those parts look beautiful vapor blasted.  I do have a question, are you going to assemble without a clear coat, do you think powder coating a clear would be a good thing?  Those parts just look too pretty!!!!!

[Hahnda]

those parts look beautiful vapor blasted.  I do have a question, are you going to assemble without a clear coat, do you think powder coating a clear would be a good thing?  Those parts just look too pretty!!!!!

I will not be clear coating them. Powdercoated or painted engines always seem to end up peeling and flaking after a couple of years. This process pretty much takes it back to its original surface, possibly even better. With minimal cleaning and upkeep one should be able to keep this clean appearance for quite some time. If you go running through the mud and let it bake on or let oil leaks go unchecked then yes, it will probably end up just like when you started.

Here is a Triumph engine that I had vapor blasted. Side covers were polished a bit.


Here is a '76 KZ900.

[Chuck in Indiana]

Oh, yeah.. nice project!  ;-T I've done some vapor blasting back in the day.. it works.

[fotoguzzi]

WOW, those parts look beautiful!

[canuck750]

Looking great, very nice workmanship :+1

[Hahnda]

A few of the parts arrived.

[Hahnda]

More parts. So by now you can probably tell which general direction I am headed. Its going to be a 750S tribute bike.

Trans back together with a few fresh parts and carefully shimmed. Rear drive also back together. I had other shims on hand but was good to go with the one it had. Both still need the new stainless hardware.




Forks rebuilt. New tubes. Currently loosely put together with stock damper and springs but will be updating springs and using FAC dampers. Actually the pictures shows one refreshed and the other not.



New tank, seat, and Silentium mufflers. Not quite sold on the chrome mufflers yet, may go with black. So far the frame is still red. I was for sure going to go with black like the 750S was but the red does look sharp.



Still have to decide.....

Orange?



or green?

[canuck750]

Orange!

I am building a green version, paint work should be done this month.

Cheers

Jim

[Hahnda]

I was actually leaning a bit towards orange.  ;D

I hit a bit of a snag with the rear fender. At first glance I thought I was going to be able to run the T fender and just make a couple minor mods to the seat like removing the part for the rear fender hinge. As it turns out the T fender and the seat want to take up the same space. I looked around for a repro V7/S/S3 rear fender and it looks like everyone is out of them.

So it looks like I will be hacking up the T fender. The other possibility is that I have plenty of other rear fenders around from Honda/Kawa/Suzuki/Yam and may use one of those as a starting point and see where that gets me.

[canuck750]

Unfortunately the V7 Sport rear fenders seem to be unavailable at the time being, I have tried every contact I can find but no one seems to have one for sale. Eventually some one will make a run of them.

If you need pictures of the tank and tool box stripes send me a pm, I have taken lots of pictures of my S3 tank stripes and have taken measurements of my 750S original tool boxes before I sent them out for painting.

Cheers

Jim

[Hahnda]

Pictures and dimensions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

[canuck750]

Pictures of the S3 tank stripes, same on the 750S, the white stripe is tape







These pictures of an original 750S were sent to me from a guy in Italy who restored a 750S















These are of the original 750S tool boxes I found on German Ebay









Looking forward to seeing your progress

Cheers

Jim

[Groover]

Fun thread. Can you vapor blast an engine while it's on the frame, or is that not good? I'd like to get my engine half as clean looking at that one, but nothing off the shelf quite cuts it.

[Hahnda]

Fun thread. Can you vapor blast an engine while it's on the frame, or is that not good? I'd like to get my engine half as clean looking at that one, but nothing off the shelf quite cuts it.

Nope. It pretty much has to be completely disassembled to have it vapor blasted, or any type of blasting actually. I have seen where people have blasted assembled engines and said they taped and plugged up everything but I wouldn't trust it.

[Hahnda]

Little bit more progress.

[fotoguzzi]

since it's not the real thing.. why not keep the red frame and instead of orange or green use a matching red on the body work? or forget the stripes completely and have it a gloss black w/red frame..

[Hahnda]

since it's not the real thing.. why not keep the red frame and instead of orange or green use a matching red on the body work? or forget the stripes completely and have it a gloss black w/red frame..

Only the frame was powdercoated when I got it. Not the lower frame rails, the swing arm, or anything else. Might be hard to match. I also had to make a couple of repairs to the frame like fab and weld new seat latches and extract a couple of broken bolts so I had to take some of the powdercoat off.

Black its gonna be, BUT I have had thoughts of maybe mixing it up a bit and going with a green frame like the 1000S and maybe adding the small Lemans fairing.

[canuck750]

Go for the green frame, I am planning on the green frame to match the green 750S stripes.

[Hahnda]

Go for the green frame, I am planning on the green frame to match the green 750S stripes.

But then we would have matching bikes!

[Mayor_of_BBQ]

Black its gonna be, BUT I have had thoughts of maybe mixing it up a bit and going with a green frame like the 1000S and maybe adding the small Lemans fairing.

NOW you are talking! Great build whatever direction it takes!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[trumps]

Beautiful work bud, she will be a stunner when done! I agree with you on the vaporblasting, definately the way to go, all my casings came up as good as new, probably better actually!

Cheers
Craig

[Hahnda]

So I have been working on the 850T a little again. I have made it a roller and working out a few details. I was planning to run swan neck handlebars but have ran into a couple of problems. The 850T uses the same dash as the V7 Sport and 750S. BUT it mounts on the front of the upper triple rather than the top of the fork tubes (like the T3). I switched to FAC dampers but planned to pull the schrader valves and make a little adapter similar to the V7 mounts to mount the dash. I can't leave it in the original 850T location as it because the swan necks will hit the dash. My problem is that I forgot about the 850T having wider forks than the V7. The mounting holes on the dash are to narrow to fit the wider forks of the T. I thought about making some offset adapters but the hole offset is only about 8mm I think so making something clean and decent looking is a bit harder. The other issue with the swan necks is the need for the V7 style headlight mounts that are nowhere to be found at the moment.

One thought was to just make a set of swan necks from scratch that locate the bars on the outside of the tubes rather then in the front. Might look odd though.
Another thought is to just use a set of higher rise clip on bars. Then I could use a set of Tommaselli headlight mounts and have room for the dash in its original 850T location. I loose the look of the swan necks though. 

Has anyone tried to run swan necks on anything besides a V7 Sport?

[JoeW]

This was an 850T that I built and sold a couple years ago.

I ran super bike bars from Harper's on it.