Author Topic: Cali 3 to V7 Sport conversion  (Read 19616 times)

Offline rutgery

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Cali 3 to V7 Sport conversion
« on: March 26, 2018, 06:28:45 AM »
I've bought a Cali III that needed some work. The bike had some very nice parts (spoke wheels, lafranconi exhaust, stainless bolts, alu alternator cover) which made it a very good deal. The plan is to convert this bike to a V7 Sport. I'm trying to get as close as possible to the original without breaking the bank. The braking system will be retained, as will the wide(r) tyres and front end.

The bike when I bought it:







As the front end is 40mm instead of 35mm on the V7, the replica V7 parts cannot be used. I've decided to change my parts to get the look of the V7 sport. One of these parts is the fork top clamp. The handlebar mounts are shaved off, holes welded shut, rounded and painted in a black wrinkle finish.










I've detabbed the frame, removed the footrests and removed a bit of the upper support for the steering head to make room for the fuel tank. My dad helped welding for the side covers, steering damper, seat and the upper steering head. 







While the frame was away for a fresh powder coat, I've rebuild the front end (the inner tubes were worn through the crome layer). My engine recieved a nice le mans camshaft to drive a mechanical speedo, because the original cam doesn't have the tacho drive at the end of the cam. A different distributor cover was also installed, for the same reason.

The frame powdercoated RAL 3020 red with the engine installed, and the cali 3 swingarm replaced with one from a LM1000.







I've decided to run a T3 front fender, as the 1000s fenders are inpossible to come by. The front fork is reversed to get the look of the older guzzi's with the callipers in front. To be able to mount the fender, some support brackets had to be made (I used 1mm stainless plate). The fender fits nicely underneath the fork stabiliser.










The handlebar mounts are currently in progress. A little sneak peak:





The braking system is installed on the frame, and I'm currently working on the wiring. The current issue is a place to relocate all relays to. The RH side cover also need modifying to fit over the braking system, and they both need mounting pins and holes drilled to fit them to the frame.






« Last Edit: March 26, 2018, 06:29:31 AM by rutgery »
'82 Moto Guzzi G5
'89 V7 Sport replica from a Cali 3

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Re: Cali 3 to V7 Sport conversion
« Reply #1 on: March 26, 2018, 08:24:32 AM »
Interesting project!

That's the first time I've seen a "polizia" fairing meant for a Loopframe Guzzi mounted to a Tonti guzzi.
Charlie

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Re: Cali 3 to V7 Sport conversion
« Reply #2 on: March 26, 2018, 02:12:51 PM »
I have just spent the last 2 winters going over every piece of a v7 sport, and I must say that your top triple clamp modification  resembles one for a real v7 sport very closely.

Offline wirespokes

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Re: Cali 3 to V7 Sport conversion
« Reply #3 on: March 28, 2018, 03:13:03 AM »
I LIKE it! But I think it would have been easier and cleaner leaving the calipers behind the forks, and not needed the extra fender brackets.

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Re: Cali 3 to V7 Sport conversion
« Reply #3 on: March 28, 2018, 03:13:03 AM »

Offline rutgery

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Re: Cali 3 to V7 Sport conversion
« Reply #4 on: March 31, 2018, 09:20:37 AM »
Interesting project!

That's the first time I've seen a "polizia" fairing meant for a Loopframe Guzzi mounted to a Tonti guzzi.

Yeah, I hadn't seen it before either. For anyone interested, The fairing was mounted with two brackets at the handlebars (see attached picture) and two simple L-shaped brackets at the headlight.




I have just spent the last 2 winters going over every piece of a v7 sport, and I must say that your top triple clamp modification  resembles one for a real v7 sport very closely.
That's great to hear! Thanks

« Last Edit: March 31, 2018, 09:29:05 AM by rutgery »
'82 Moto Guzzi G5
'89 V7 Sport replica from a Cali 3

Offline ramarren

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Re: Cali 3 to V7 Sport conversion
« Reply #5 on: March 31, 2018, 09:57:27 AM »
Fun project! I look forward to seeing the completed bike.

I've got one question, however: How do you have the frame powder-coated without taking the engine out of it? Far as I'm aware, to powder-coat something you have to spray it with paint powder after cleaning and treatment of the metal surfaces and then bake it until the paint-powder melts and fuses into a tough, bonded finish. I don't know how you can do that without taking the engine out!

I had my 850T frame, center stand, and swingarm powder-coated red once upon a time when I 'Sportified' it. It required a complete tear down, stripping to the metal, etc, and then a complete build up and reassembly. Came out great looking with a very very tough finish. I wasn't going for a full "V8 Sport" lookalike, however, just the ergonomics for the 850T since I liked the bike pretty much as it ran already and wanted something a bit more unique. :-)

Offline rutgery

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Re: Cali 3 to V7 Sport conversion
« Reply #6 on: March 31, 2018, 09:58:53 AM »
A test fit of the tank, seat and side covers brought to light some small issues. All easely solvable though. The right side cover had to be cut at two places to make room for the rear brake master cylinder and the brake rod. The relays on the LH side of the bike have to be relocated, I'll probably attach them to the rear lower mudguard. The exhaust crossover had to be shortened a bit to bring the mufflers forward, and some stainless brackets have to be made to hold the mufflers to the rearsets (the original brackets are about 2cm too low).









The first clip-on part machined and fitted:




I'm also having some issues fitting the side stand, as the forward engine bolt isn't long enough. the engine bolt is about 27cm, and with the side stand fitted, the bolt is flush with the side stand bracket. Does anyone know where you can get a longer forward engine bolt (preferably in europe)?
'82 Moto Guzzi G5
'89 V7 Sport replica from a Cali 3

Offline rutgery

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Re: Cali 3 to V7 Sport conversion
« Reply #7 on: March 31, 2018, 10:03:16 AM »
Fun project! I look forward to seeing the completed bike.

I've got one question, however: How do you have the frame powder-coated without taking the engine out of it? Far as I'm aware, to powder-coat something you have to spray it with paint powder after cleaning and treatment of the metal surfaces and then bake it until the paint-powder melts and fuses into a tough, bonded finish. I don't know how you can do that without taking the engine out!

I had my 850T frame, center stand, and swingarm powder-coated red once upon a time when I 'Sportified' it. It required a complete tear down, stripping to the metal, etc, and then a complete build up and reassembly. Came out great looking with a very very tough finish. I wasn't going for a full "V8 Sport" lookalike, however, just the ergonomics for the 850T since I liked the bike pretty much as it ran already and wanted something a bit more unique. :-)

Thanks for the kind words Ramarren! You are right about the powder coating. I had the engine removed and frame/swingarm plugged to get it coated, and installed the engine again before I took the picture. I've heard great things about the toughness of the powder coat finish! Your 850T sounds quite unique! Do you have a picture of it?
'82 Moto Guzzi G5
'89 V7 Sport replica from a Cali 3

Offline ramarren

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Re: Cali 3 to V7 Sport conversion
« Reply #8 on: March 31, 2018, 02:18:54 PM »
Thanks for the kind words Ramarren! You are right about the powder coating. I had the engine removed and frame/swingarm plugged to get it coated, and installed the engine again before I took the picture. I've heard great things about the toughness of the powder coat finish! Your 850T sounds quite unique! Do you have a picture of it?

LOL! Yea, it was just the wording you used that was ambiguous. The pedant in me cannot help it... :evil:

I'm hunting for pictures of my 850T. It was a lovely machine, and a delight to ride; probably my all time favorite motorcycle to date (although my Racer is coming on strong in that department now). The 850T is now moved one circle of hands past the folks I know so I don't know what's become of it since about 2015. Unfortunately, the photos of it that I once had were lost in an apartment renovation around 2002 or so, but I'm hopeful that a few have survived somewhere if I can only find them.

Offline gentlemanjim

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Re: Cali 3 to V7 Sport conversion
« Reply #9 on: March 31, 2018, 09:36:53 PM »
Nice work.  Where did you get the fuel tank?  I'm doing a similar project on a V50.  Got my tank on eBay from India.  fairly poor quality, but is going to do.

Offline rutgery

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Re: Cali 3 to V7 Sport conversion
« Reply #10 on: April 02, 2018, 09:02:51 AM »
Nice work.  Where did you get the fuel tank?  I'm doing a similar project on a V50.  Got my tank on eBay from India.  fairly poor quality, but is going to do.

Thanks! Your project's looking good! I've got my fuel tank from India as well.. Have to agree with the quality, but nothing that can't be fixed. Did you paint the tank yourself?
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'89 V7 Sport replica from a Cali 3

Offline gentlemanjim

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Re: Cali 3 to V7 Sport conversion
« Reply #11 on: April 02, 2018, 09:12:30 AM »
Yes I do it all myself - That's the fun of it.

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Re: Cali 3 to V7 Sport conversion
« Reply #12 on: April 03, 2018, 09:17:45 AM »
Looking good, watching this now!
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Offline rutgery

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Re: Cali 3 to V7 Sport conversion
« Reply #13 on: April 08, 2018, 12:13:46 PM »
Looking good, watching this now!

Thanks Groover!

The wheels are installed, with some new, less bulky axle nuts. Rims and spokes cleaned and the calipers actuated by the foot brake installed. The front calliper brake line needs to be shortened to fit nicely.










As you can see in the picture, the inner fender doesn't quite fit right. It seems the upper frame ''brace'' was moved to a few cm the rear. I'll probably attach it with a bracket fit to the battery plate.

The clip-on parts are also machined and fitted, but I don't have handlebars so I can't install the switchgear just yet..




As for the speedo and tacho, the original items are very rare (and very expensive!) so I've bought a T3 dash and removed everything but the lower plate to attach the dials to. The rubber sleeves for the dials are still available, but a hole had to be made for the trip meter knob. The bolt holes of the instrument light panel from a V7 Sport where a bit further apart, so the lower plate holes are filed out to fit the panel bolts.






The front engine bolt was too short to fit through the frame/engine and a side stand, and longer replacement bolts were rediculously expensive, so my dad helped by welding a piece of steel in between the bolt. This piece is welded in a part covered by the frame and engine, so you can't see it when it's installed. The side stand is mounted and the bolt just clears the exhaust downpipe.






The lafranconi exhausts need new brackets to fit them to the new footpegs, so I've installed the exhaust system and supported it with some wood. The brackets will be made from 3mm thick Stainless.






A Guzzi dealer in the Netherlands organised a bbq for Guzzi riders yesterday, and while I was there I had a look in the workshop. There was a very nice original V7 Sport in for maintenance with almost the exact same colour sceme I'm using for my build. It even had the rare aprilia turn signals in perfect condition!





 
'82 Moto Guzzi G5
'89 V7 Sport replica from a Cali 3

Offline rutgery

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Re: Cali 3 to V7 Sport conversion
« Reply #14 on: April 30, 2018, 04:49:55 AM »
Progress has been slow the last couple of weeks, but the exhaust is now attached properly with the brackets to the rearsets. Which means there's no more wood underneath the bike to support anything!






I fitted the instruments, but when looking at the bike from the side they didn't look very good. So I've lowered them to fit more closely to the headlight. this is the old setup:




Aand with the instruments lowered:




I got some nice bell crank phf 36 carbs to put on the bike, they were in rough condition so cleaning them will take some time. I also got some le mans 3 heads with bigger valves (44/37 valves) to go with the carbs, So the engine will essentially become a 950cc LM3. I still need the pistons though..








Those ''medium'' valves look quite big!




The original v7 sport indicator lights are both way to expensive, and impossible to get all the colours of. So I chose an alternative to install on my replica, Lucas indicator lights! They look very simmilar to the original lights but are much cheaper. My supplier unfortunately sent me one red light in stead of two, but The other light should arrive later.






Those voxbell horns on the original v7 look very nice, and I'd like to use em on my replica. But they are surprisingly expensive, and I've already got a set of working horns so I chose to install my horns on the same location of the original voxbells.




The tank and side covers didn't have the mounting hardware (correctly) installed on them, but that's another thing that's fixed now. Two mild steel plates are welded to the front part of the tank to ''hook'' it to the frame, and the rear will be attached with a rubber band (the same way as on the original). To attach the side covers to the frame, I turned four brass pins. These are silver soldered to the inside of the covers, and hook to the tabs extending from the frame (with rubbers in them to dampen vibrations). I still need to drill one hole in each side cover to attach them more permanently.










'82 Moto Guzzi G5
'89 V7 Sport replica from a Cali 3

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Re: Cali 3 to V7 Sport conversion
« Reply #15 on: April 30, 2018, 05:01:39 PM »
The bike looks great, very well done.   :bow: :bow: :bow:

Offline Turin

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Re: Cali 3 to V7 Sport conversion
« Reply #16 on: May 01, 2018, 12:15:37 AM »
That looks great!
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Offline helmetbolt

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Re: Cali 3 to V7 Sport conversion
« Reply #17 on: May 04, 2018, 01:42:14 AM »
That really is looking good.

Offline mgmark

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Re: Cali 3 to V7 Sport conversion
« Reply #18 on: May 04, 2018, 09:29:44 PM »
Your bike looks really good, excellent progress! I did almost the same thing with my ‘85 Lemans, and used Cal III forks to get the front wire wheel. I went with the 70s short swing arm to get the rear wheel centered under the rear fender. I used an early rear wire wheel and laced up a matching rim for the Cal front wheel. Your 40mm swan neck mounts look a lot like the Verlicchi ones I found used for my bike, well done, you. I removed all of the Lemans foot pegs and controls, and went with the early style more forward parts.
I really like the stainless front fender on your bike. I’m going to do that to mine so it matches the rear!

Here is the link for my bike if you’re interested.
http://wildguzzi.com/forum/index.php?topic=88567.0



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Offline rutgery

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Re: Cali 3 to V7 Sport conversion
« Reply #19 on: May 05, 2018, 04:41:29 PM »
Thanks for the kind words guys!

Your bike looks really good, excellent progress! I did almost the same thing with my �85 Lemans, and used Cal III forks to get the front wire wheel. I went with the 70s short swing arm to get the rear wheel centered under the rear fender. I used an early rear wire wheel and laced up a matching rim for the Cal front wheel. Your 40mm swan neck mounts look a lot like the Verlicchi ones I found used for my bike, well done, you. I removed all of the Lemans foot pegs and controls, and went with the early style more forward parts.
I really like the stainless front fender on your bike. I�m going to do that to mine so it matches the rear!

Here is the link for my bike if you�re interested.
http://wildguzzi.com/forum/index.php?topic=88567.0





That's a real nice project bike! cool to see all the different makeovers it has had. Did you install the older type swingarm for the slightly shorter length? because my wheel seems quite centered underneath the fender? The older swingarms also don't support as wide rear tyres, what rim size did you use for the rear?

The 36' dell'orto carbs are installed and barely fit, I had to use the left carb on the right side and vise versa because the throttle levers hit my fuel taps. Also the RH fuel tap had to be rotated to make some more room. I do plan on using some oval air filters (like Mark) to reduce engine wear. Also, I need cable actuated chokes, because the flip up levers I installed cannot be used when the throttle cables are installed...








One of the hardest parts to get for a reasonable price was the rear fender. Some stainless repro fenders were made but unfortunately are unavailable as the manufacturer stopped making them.. Because of that, I had to import one from the US. This fender now is the only true original V7 sport part on my bike, so I guess that's kinda cool. The fender I bought was slightly damaged and was missing the ''box'' thingy that attaches to the rear seat. So just like many other brackets, I made my own. The bracket is made from 1mm thick stainless steel, just like the rest of the fender. The repro rear light and light holder fit nicely as well. I do need to add the weird thumbscrews, the fender is now secured with normal bolts.








« Last Edit: May 05, 2018, 04:43:52 PM by rutgery »
'82 Moto Guzzi G5
'89 V7 Sport replica from a Cali 3

Offline mgmark

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Re: Cali 3 to V7 Sport conversion
« Reply #20 on: May 06, 2018, 02:44:50 PM »




I used the short �70s swingarm for the shorter wheelbase. If I remember I tried my original Lemans mag rear wheel with a 130/80 rear tire and it just cleared this swingarm. The Lemans swingarm is shorter than the California swingarm and is popular with guys wanting to convert Cals to a retro look bike. I first mocked up my bike with the stock Lemans swingarm and the rear wheel was maybe 1-1/2� too far back for the wheel to be centered under the fender.
I�m running 2.15� rims front and back on my bike, like in the 70s.

Yes, the carbs are a very tight fit with everything else on these bikes. Mine has all the original Lemans parts, so I�m running the stock 40mm carbs and cables. I changed my chokes from cable to lever just to simplify things. I�m thinking maybe the fuel taps on your tank are moved a bit from an original Guzzi tank. I have an 850 Lemans I tank on my bike. The throttle cables are routed poorly as original, but there are no other options in that tight space.

Mark
« Last Edit: May 06, 2018, 02:46:43 PM by mgmark »
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Offline rutgery

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Re: Cali 3 to V7 Sport conversion
« Reply #21 on: June 02, 2018, 07:00:32 AM »
It's been a while, so I guess it's time for an update! The wiring is all done now, and the lighting works! The handlebars still had to be made, so a friend of mine helped me get some 22mm stainless tubes and had the bending equipment. A little while later and I'm very pleased with the result!








Because I find it very important the bike can actually be used instead of just looking pretty I installed the mirrors of my old Honda CB400f. They offer very good visibility and I think they fit the bike well. The handlebars can be lowered quite a bit, but that can be adjusted later. I'll do that when the bike's roadgoing again.

Some pod filters are also added, I used DNA filters (ID 49mm) because they seem to be well built with good reviews and were half the price of K&N's (!!). I should also mention I've stashed the 36mm carbs for now, and installed the 30's that came with the bike. When I get the higher domed pistons I'll install the bigger valve heads with the carbs.




The rear footrests are also finally installed. These are tarozzi folding units which I think are way too expensive, but they match my rearsets and are very high quality. The threads don't run the full length of the rearsets, so I've drilled 20mm of the treads out of the rearset brackets to be able to install them properly.




For the blinkers I've chosen to install the Hella ox eye blinkers, even though I have the original aprillia type blinkers used on the original V7 available. The reason for this is that the bike isn't original anyway, the hella blinkers are period correct and the aprillia's chrome is flaked so it'll take a lot of work to refurbish them.

I also had the bike out of the shed to give it a bit of a tan ;) Also I could test how the riding position was, the side stand, etc. During this I found the center stand cannot retract fully because it hits my rear brake caliper, and the crossbar hits the wheel. Apperently the center stands of the cali 3 and le mans bikes are different? In the pictures you can see the center stand sitting lower than it shoud. I plan on removing the center stand, but if anyone has a good suggestion to fix this my ears are open! The center stand cannot be modified anymore because that'll ruin the powdercoating..












The last of the small parts I recieved were some thumbscrews for the rear fender, domino handgrips, ignition lock holder and 90 degree elbows for the carbs. With them installed, my to do list is becoming very short. I need to check the ignition timing, turn some spacers for the rear handgrips (as the rear shocks have different mounting points than the le mans) and, of course, the fuel tank and side covers still need paint. I've not yet decited if I want to use paint from the V11, use Kia AE3 acid green (the same colour as gentlemanjim), order a paint sample from stein dinse and use that as an example or go to someone who has painted a green V7 sport before..











 

'82 Moto Guzzi G5
'89 V7 Sport replica from a Cali 3

Offline rutgery

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Re: Cali 3 to V7 Sport conversion
« Reply #22 on: June 20, 2018, 04:06:36 PM »
The paint for the v7 is almost done. I got some decals which were very close to the original v7 sport telaio rosso decals (the eagle is white in stead of gold) from ''https://pelders.nl/'' (this is a dutch site so maybe use google translate  :wink:) and v11 sport green paint from ''https://www.caferacernet.nl/'' (also dutch). The paint consists of two layers, the base is metallic silver, and the top coat is kinda transparent green. I used some spraymax 2k primer for the base layers, and will use spraymax 2k clear coat to cover the tank/side covers with decals. I've used spraymax clear before, and it seemed quite fuel resistant..















I also got a nice visit from someone with a real v7 sport, and couldn't resist taking a few pictures with both bikes!










'82 Moto Guzzi G5
'89 V7 Sport replica from a Cali 3

Offline Rick4003

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Re: Cali 3 to V7 Sport conversion
« Reply #23 on: June 21, 2018, 12:30:37 AM »
Looking very good Rutgery!

I like the home made swan neck clip-ons, that's a nice touch. All in all the bike looks really good! Well done!

A bit late, but before mine had decals put on the base coat was sanded so the clear coat would have a good bond to the paint. It is a bit hard to sand it properly around the decals.
« Last Edit: June 21, 2018, 03:21:24 PM by Rick4003 »
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Re: Cali 3 to V7 Sport conversion
« Reply #24 on: June 21, 2018, 08:11:20 AM »
That looks great! How does it ride? Does the shorter LM swingarm play well with the Cal III forks?
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Offline rutgery

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Re: Cali 3 to V7 Sport conversion
« Reply #25 on: June 25, 2018, 06:58:20 AM »
thanks for the kind words, the clear coat is drying as I write this. The handling should be like the LM1000's, as they use the same front end and swingarm. But I'll post here when I've tried it myself ;)
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'89 V7 Sport replica from a Cali 3

Offline Guzzi relic

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Re: Cali 3 to V7 Sport conversion
« Reply #26 on: July 01, 2018, 04:11:28 PM »
Beautiful work.    :bow:

Thanks for documenting and sharing your project.

Ken
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Offline rutgery

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Re: Cali 3 to V7 Sport conversion
« Reply #27 on: August 31, 2018, 05:41:44 AM »
After testing the bike the last few weeks some problems have occurred and have been fixed, I thought I should add those here for someone doing a similar project.

The rear wheel kept hitting the rear inner fender (that plastic bit) because the Cali 3 has the attach points moved rearwards for the longer swingarm. That's fixed by attaching the fender on the upper part of the frame, and "pulling" the fender towards the battery tray. A bracket is used to hold the lower part of the fender in place.

As the bike was fitted with pod filters, the jetting was way off. to counter this, the main jets went from 125 to 135, and the needle was raised one notch. The jetting definitely is not perfect, but especially from 3k on it pulls very well and it runs clean and smooth.

The starter motor had some startus interruptis problems, where it was clicking but not turning the engine. That was easely fixed by changing the wires to the starter relay, which supplies the starter solenoid. One wire on the relay was both the supply and switch current. Changing this to a setup with a supply current directly from the battery fixed this.

The least technical problem were the clip-ons. I copied the design of the v7 sport clip-ons where the rise is about 16cm. Because the headlight brackets do not allow the handlebars to be lower than the brackets on my bike, the handlebars were too high and the seating position awkward. I've cut the handlebar tubes about 10cm, making the rise 6cm. This would be very sporty on a real v7 sport, but the Cali 3 steering head is longer making the handlebars about 5cm higher as well. This makes for a nice semi-sporty seating position.

The paint on the side covers turned out very nice, but the paint on the tank has some weird wrinkling/ orange peel going on. This most likely is because the paint is of a different kind or I added the clearcoat too soon. Either way, I'll try sanding those spots down and repaint. If that doesn't turn out well I'll take it to a pro and add the correct telaio Rossi tank decals.

The ride is very nice, as the bike runs well and the steering is slightly slower than my G5 but sporty. The front end does leave something to be desired however, as it is surprisingly bumpy. I'll look into improving this.



'82 Moto Guzzi G5
'89 V7 Sport replica from a Cali 3

canuck750

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Re: Cali 3 to V7 Sport conversion
« Reply #28 on: August 31, 2018, 02:15:07 PM »
The bike looks great, real nice work!

Offline Turin

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Re: Cali 3 to V7 Sport conversion
« Reply #29 on: August 31, 2018, 08:46:30 PM »
What length of shock are you running? The bike looks a little low compared to the V7 sport. A longer shock will also quicken up the steering. I believe the lemans 1000 runs a 13.5" .
1997 Daytona RS
1991 Rennsport California III
1991 LeMans 1000
1987 LeMans SE Dave's Cycle Racer
1984 LeMans III
1985 Sidlow Guzzi
1974 850-T Sport
1969 A-series Ambassador
1996 Triumph Daytona 1200
1996 Triumph Daytona 900
1982 Alfa Romeo GTV6 Balocco SE 3.0

 

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