Little Green Wing - Aermacchi Ala Verde

[cliffrod]

Is there a difference in diameter between the top of fork shroud and where you may cut them?   There is often enough difference that a shroud or headlight ear that is only shortened from the top has a very noticeable if not dysfunctional mismatch where it meets the clip-on handlebar.  With the taper that’s often present  on both crs or cast alloy parts, it takes more creativity to make it look good. 

At least those are crs, so hopefully the Aermacchi parts are more forgiving to modify.  I’ve learned that comparable parts on other marques aren’t.

[Canuck750]

Good points Clint, when I get the clip I-ons I bought I will start taking measurements and come up with a plan. It’s a good challenge, plenty to learn about sheet metal I think.

[cliffrod]

You’ve got me wanting to do the same thing with this sprint lump I have, Jim.  So I’ll be watching. 

Dropping the shrouds and trimming the bottoms sounds like the better plan, especially if the headlight ears are removed & relocated towards the top.  Even if the ears need some modification near where they are spot welded(?) to the shrouds, it would probably be the quickest and least difficult path. 

[Canuck750]

I asked the fellow I bought the center stand from in Italy to post some detailed pictures of his father's Ala Verde fork shrouds and clip-ons, some good pictures should help.

I got the bottom end assembled today, there are so many little differences over the model years to these 250/350 motors that a factory Service manual is essential. HD / Aermacchi changed the cranks and bore in 1967 - 1968, then in 69 they went to the 350, There are differences in clutch, gear shims etc for various series of these, a bit confusing but I think I got the clutch basket, crank pinion and cam gears properly installed and end float shimmed to tolerance. I bought a of shims recently for the Benelli motors, they sure came in hand on the Aermacchi as well. What is it with Italian motors and shims?

[Canuck750]

The tale of two different fork shrouds, the 1961 HD / Aermacchi Wisconsin type with 17” front wheel and typical handlebars clamped onto the top of the upper triple.



Picture of an original 1961 Ala Verde from an Italian owner sent to me this evening.



The signal lights have been added by the owner and the original flat clip-ons replaced with upswept clip-ons



I am looking forward to figuring this out.

I think the best plan is to drop the fork shrouds lower on my bike by increasing the slot in the fork shroud at the lower triple clamp and then welding in a closure piece of sheet metal to return the slot to a stick look, then trim down the bottom of the shroud. I could also trim down the top of the shroud and weld in a new steel cap I can make on my lathe with an I.D. Of 30mm to let the fork tube to run through.

Thank god fir motorcycle enthusiasts all over the world!

[Canuck750]

This week I tried my hand at some sheet metal work, the rear fender I am using is off a Sears Gilera 106, it is the closet thing I could find to match the Aermacchi Ala Verde rear fender, like the Gilera the Aermacchi has a 17" rear wheel so the radius and clearance to the rear tire works with this fender. The problem with the fender I have is it is pretty beat up, the rear of the fender is cracked and a lot of rust at the edge and the sides are flimsy and cracked as well.

I decided to cut out the side panels and replace them with solid metal cut from 22 gauge sheet stock. A card paper pattern



Cut out the old steel



I folded the top edge of the patch panel to rest on the lock seam of the main fender



Then welded in the patch



I bought a couple tool steel rods, 1/8' diameter and welded these to the inside of the patch to make a beaded lip



I blended the rod to the original folded lip



I had an Aermacchi rear fender I was not using and cut out the rear of it to patch into this Gilera fender





welded the patch from both sides and ground down the welds



I think it all turned out quite well, I will lead fill the joints and and though it will weigh a lot more than original it will do the job



I got the engine head studs back from the plating shop and torqued down the studs and installed the piston, waiting on the machine shop to finish the head

[Canuck750]

A nice used set of clip-ons came in the mail today from Flagstaff AZ, they were described as coming off an Ala d'Oro and look very similar to what I have seen on the Ala Verde bikes.





A nice fellow in the States sent me an Ala Verde (61 Harley Sprite) center stand with the only request I make a pdf file of it o that others could replicate it. The stand is very corroded but salvageable, the legs are cast, welded gussets and center tube







I have made CAD files to try and get some pieces water jet cut and fabricate a copy

[cliffrod]

Looks great, Jim.  How are you planning to replicate the cast I-beam cross section pieces- weld & grind or mill the centers of a thicker piece of steel?  I’ve got a coach builder friend who welds and grinds a lot of pieces to replicate obscure castings on high end projects.

[Canuck750]

Looks great, Jim.  How are you planning to replicate the cast I-beam cross section pieces- weld & grind or mill the centers of a thicker piece of steel?  I’ve got a coach builder friend who welds and grinds a lot of pieces to replicate obscure castings on high end projects.

Hi Clint, I was thinking I would get the legs water jet cut then try milling out the centers with a ball end mill then heat and bend the 7 degree kinks in the legs.
The thing is I got this stand offered to me for free if I made up plans to replicate it and I offered to try and fab one for the guy who donated the stand but stretched for later model Sprints with 18" wheels. A couple days later a fellow in Italy responds on Facebook he has a good spare one to sell along with a bunch of other things I needed like a rebuilt pair of shocks, triple clamps for the clip-ons. I will go ahead and try my hand at making the longer stand for the guy who gave me the original, with a jig on a steel plate it shouldn't be too difficult.
I did find on Italian Ebay what I think are another pair of fork shrouds that I can rework for the clip-ons and keep the originals.

[cliffrod]

Your generous offer situation sounds familiar..  I’ve gotten into a couple of deals like that.  The Italian connections sounds great, especially the center stand and triple tree.  Having spares won’t hurt.

I was looking at your pics, trying to see the likely spot welds attaching the ears to the shrouds.  I was thinking the headlight ears might be reproduced before you cut them from the tubes by making a mold, then casting a positive to use as a hammerform. Some parts are better suited for hammer forming than others.  They would only grow by the thickness of the metal you’re using if you pull a mold from the outside.

[Canuck750]

Your generous offer situation sounds familiar..  I’ve gotten into a couple of deals like that.  The Italian connections sounds great, especially the center stand and triple tree.  Having spares won’t hurt.

I was looking at your pics, trying to see the likely spot welds attaching the ears to the shrouds.  I was thinking the headlight ears might be reproduced before you cut them from the tubes by making a mold, then casting a positive to use as a hammerform. Some parts are better suited for hammer forming than others.  They would only grow by the thickness of the metal you’re using if you pull a mold from the outside.

I have not got the extra fork shrouds yet but what I am hoping is I can mill off  3 ~ 5 mm from the underside of the upper triple clamp and the cut down the fork shroud to the top edge of the headlight bracket, if it works there would be enough room to fit the clip-on between the underside of the triple and the top of the shroud and leave just enough room to fit a new steel cap into the top of the shroud and tack it to the sheet metal of the shroud.

Once the parts arrive its time for some careful measurements.

[Canuck750]

All the parts I bought recently to convert the front end to Ala Verde spec are now in hand
The rear shocks are very nice restored originals, super pleased with getting these parts.



Next to get to work on modifying the fork shrouds, first to separate the headlight ears from the shrouds, shorten the shroud, make new top caps and then re-weld the ears. I am looking forward to this step.

I sent the rest of the frame parts off to be media blasted and given a coat of primer powder so I can reassemble for the dry build.



The machine shop I use is having a problem with cutting the valve seats so the head is off to another shop tomorrow that tell me they won’t have a problem as they have the correct stones and shaft to fit the valve guide, fingers crossed

[Canuck750]

This is what I need to modify, the clip-on bar neck is 30mm tall so the fork shroud needs to be reduced in height the corresponding dimension. It is not a simple matter as cutting the fork shroud down 30mm as the welded on head light ear is attached less than 30mm from the top of the shroud and the upper half of the shroud is tapered.



So the plan is to remove the headlight ear with an Autobody reciprocating saw and the re-weld the headlight ear lower down the shroud and make a new steel cap for the shroud through which the 30mm diameter fork tube passes. I made a steel tube section to fit inside the lower shroud section and chucked the shroud in the lathe with copper sheet as a buffer to the chuck jaws and I turned a piece of aluminum to fit into the 30mm hole in the top of the shroud.



Saw and cold chisel to split the spot welds. Then I cut 33mm off the shroud in the lathe.



From a steel billet 50mm diameter I turned new caps that sit 3mm above the cut off shroud and 6mm stepped inside.



I then welded the new cap to the shroud and repaired by weld any damage to the shroud from removing the headlight ear.

The rebuilt shorter shroud next to an original



And mounted in the triple clamp with 30mm O rings either side of the clip-on bar.



It worked out very satisfactory and I finished the second shroud to match. Next to repair and revels the headlight ears in place. I have a second set of shrouds with identical headlight ears but different shroud dimensions that I will carefully cut the ears off and then weld to the shroud.

The center stand and shock absorbers along with the triple clamps I bought from Massimo in Italy have made this Ala Verde tribute possible.

[Canuck750]

removed a set of headlight ears from another set of shrouds, drilled out the spot welds, straightened up the sheet metal and welded the headlight eras to the shrouds, it will be convincing enough, I like the stance of the bike with the clip-ons but its going to be a bear to ride for an old fart like me.

[Canuck750]

The Ala Verde tribute dry build continues ....



I opened a box of reproduction rubber parts I bought from Italy and the foot rests stamped "Aermacchi / Harley Davidson" will not fit the riders foot rests that came stock on the North American market Aermacchi bikes. The Harley marketed machines have a robust foot peg that folds up and has a complex mount bracket to the frame with notched mating parts to adjust the height of the pegs, very nice!



Just when I think I have the Ala Verde thing figured out a new glitch pops up...

I have learned European market bikes have a rigid foot peg, the shaft is about 5/8" diameter,

My friend in Italy who has recently provided me with some rare parts for this bike sent me these pictures today of the Ala Verde foot rests



Massimo is going to send me detailed pictures of his Father's 1961 Ala Verde foot rests and close ups of the frame mounts.

I can make copies of the European foot peg easily enough.

I also found out I don't have the seat mounting rear bracket correct, the Ala Verde doses not have the exposed vertical straps at the rear, only a single bolt trough the top of the rear fender.



I am getting closer to solving the puzzle.

[Canuck750]

I made up a copy of the Aermacchi center stand, a version for bikes with 18@ wheels and a copy of the original for 17” wheels



I made plans in AutoCAD and had the plate pieces water jet cut from 10mm plate and 5mm plate, the center dowel is 19mm solid rod. I made a welding jig using an original stand to make the jig.



I cut the recesses into the side plates on my milling machine



Lots of fiddling, grinding and welding



Needs some finishing of welds but it’s a decent facsimile of the original

[cliffrod]

That’s a lot of progress- looking great, Jim!

[Canuck750]

That’s a lot of progress- looking great, Jim!

Thanks Clint!

I have found what I think are the last bits I need from Sonny’s Aermacchi Sprint in MA. I need to make custom length push rods to adapt the pre 67’ head to the 68 short stroke bottom end but I think that will be straight forward

[Canuck750]

The Ala Verde foot rest brackets differ from the typical Sprint style, to begin with they do not fold up nor do they rotate on their mount to change position.

These are the stock US Import style, very well built and clever design how the castellated mating pieces allow for easy peg height adjustment.



The Ala Verde type cast pieces, provided to me once again by my friend Massimo in Italy! Thank you so much for sourcing these for me. 







and with the reproduction Ala Verde type foot peg rubbers





little details, but they all add up, I feel like I won a lottery lately finding these Ala Verde unique bits.

[cliffrod]

These details are fantastic, Jim.   Thanks for clarifying and posting so many of them. I bet those solid foot pegs are a lot nicer for serious riding than the typically super floppy footpegs on regular Sprints.

[Canuck750]

These details are fantastic, Jim.   Thanks for clarifying and posting so many of them. I bet those solid foot pegs are a lot nicer for serious riding than the typically super floppy footpegs on regular Sprints.

Thanks Clint

Next job is to take the seat cover off the frame and make adjustments to the steel perimeter frame and add a curved rear loop and a hoop section to better support the hump. I saw a photo of an actual Ala. rede seat frame, my seat frame is from a Benelli ( I think), the cover is a proper Ala Verde reproduction but I think I can get it to look better. From Sonny’s Aermacchi I got a hold of a set of original NOS Harley Sprint early 60’s cables that have the clamp on ends that I can cut to suit to fit the clip-ons.

[Dave Swanson]

Wonderful project.  I've been enjoying it.  I have had a 73 SX350 around for a long time waiting it's turn.

[Canuck750]

Wonderful project.  I've been enjoying it.  I have had a 73 SX350 around for a long time waiting it's turn.

I like the 73 ~ 74 HD Aermacchis a lot, electric start and the dual pipe exhaust is a real plus.

Getting parts for the Aermacchi bikes is getting harder and harder, if you think your Aermacchi may need something I suggest you scoop it up while stock is available. Ebay and Sonny's has been the best source since Moto Italia and Lancaster Aermacchi shut down last year, Pool's Cycle in Hamilton Ontario Canada is another good place to check on Aermacchi parts, long time HD dealership since the 40's has some hard to find NOS parts for me.

[Dave Swanson]

I like the 73 ~ 74 HD Aermacchis a lot, electric start and the dual pipe exhaust is a real plus.

Getting parts for the Aermacchi bikes is getting harder and harder, if you think your Aermacchi may need something I suggest you scoop it up while stock is available. Ebay and Sonny's has been the best source since Moto Italia and Lancaster Aermacchi shut down last year, Pool's Cycle in Hamilton Ontario Canada is another good place to check on Aermacchi parts, long time HD dealership since the 40's has some hard to find NOS parts for me.

Duly noted!  You have spurred me into action.   And it's a 71 not 73.  I always forget.