Author Topic: 1948 Airone - restoration  (Read 23246 times)

Offline Canuck750

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Re: 1948 Airone - restoration
« Reply #180 on: December 16, 2021, 08:20:52 PM »
After the better part of a week sorting the electrical I ignored the ‘original’ wire connections in the headlight bucket, started from scratch, it’s only lighting and a horn after all, and armed with the schematic re-ran new connections, previous owner(s) had so buggered up the few connections there are that a lack of a dedicated ground wired to the headlight components and jerry rigged switch connections had resulted in the circuits trying to find a ground through the path of least resistance; the city light.

After adding a dedicated ground back to the frame and following the schematic, the lights (city, high and low beam, tail light) horn and dynamo plus horn / high low switch are all behaving as they should. I had this problem before on a V7 Sport where poor rear signal light grounds forced the circuit to seek ground through a hit connection resulting in fuses slowly burning out and signals not working.

Lesson learned, again, always check for good grounding.
48 Guzzi Airone, 57 Guzzi Cardellino, 65 Benelli 200 sprite, 66 Aermacchi Sprint, 68 Gilera 106 SS, 72 Eldorado, 72 Benelli 180, 74 Guzzi 750S, 73 Laverda SF1, 74  Benelli 650S, 75 Ducati 860GT, 75 Moto Morini 3-1/2, 78 Moto Morinii 500

Offline SED

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Re: 1948 Airone - restoration
« Reply #181 on: December 16, 2021, 10:42:57 PM »
The disappointing part is the solder cylinder ends for the clutch and brake levers are really to small, I will probably replace them.


Those small cable ends may be made for the weird little caps that fit over the cable end and into the levers.  IIRC the cap acts as a retainer so the lever can be made without a slot for the cable (instead the cable end is inserted and the cap put over it).  Here is a picture of the small cable end with the cap over it.  The OD of the cap is the size of the hole in the lever.

While it looks clever, the clutch cable quickly failed by wearing against the slot in the cap.  I've now got larger ends on both brake and clutch cables and they wear much better.



1983 LeMans III
1981 Monza
1947 Ariel Red Hunter
1939 Ariel Red Hunter
1937 Guzzi GTV

Offline Canuck750

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Re: 1948 Airone - restoration
« Reply #182 on: December 17, 2021, 05:59:14 PM »
Those small cable ends may be made for the weird little caps that fit over the cable end and into the levers.  IIRC the cap acts as a retainer so the lever can be made without a slot for the cable (instead the cable end is inserted and the cap put over it).  Here is a picture of the small cable end with the cap over it.  The OD of the cap is the size of the hole in the lever.

While it looks clever, the clutch cable quickly failed by wearing against the slot in the cap.  I've now got larger ends on both brake and clutch cables and they wear much better.




Thanks for the info, I think I will get custom inner cables made
48 Guzzi Airone, 57 Guzzi Cardellino, 65 Benelli 200 sprite, 66 Aermacchi Sprint, 68 Gilera 106 SS, 72 Eldorado, 72 Benelli 180, 74 Guzzi 750S, 73 Laverda SF1, 74  Benelli 650S, 75 Ducati 860GT, 75 Moto Morini 3-1/2, 78 Moto Morinii 500

Offline Canuck750

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Re: 1948 Airone - restoration
« Reply #183 on: December 28, 2021, 07:59:00 PM »
A parts order arrived from 'Retro" in Italy, hopefully the last parts order for the Airone.

A reproduction tire pump, final drive chain, a reproduction speedometer, speedo mount and telescopic cable kit, a couple nuts and bulbs



The mount needs to be drilled for the speedo lugs, bulb and the hole for the steering stem needed to be enlarged from 18mm to 25mm



I should have thought this through more, aligning the gauge on the center line of the frame results in a major kink on the speedo cable



I will rotate the mount to the right but will need to redrill the gauge stud holes to keep the instrument face horizontal



That will leave extra holes in the mount, I think I will turn an aluminum cup to cover the extra holes and give the underside of the mount some thickness

The telescopic speedo drive kit needs to have the mount brackets chrome platted and the telescopic cylinder body painted

The throttle slide kit has a guide pin larger than the handlebar slot,



some grinding and file work of the handlebar required





now to make up a throttle cable and fit the rubber handle cover



I have to give a big THANK YOU to Retro

http://www.guzziretro.com

info@guzziretro.com

Piazza della Stazione 13 Abbadia Lariana LC 23821 Italia

The Retrò is a shop born in 2013 here you can find thirty years of passion for classic motorcycles of Ciabarri’s family.

By us you will find spare parts for Moto Guzzi for the first models of 1921 up to the 1980 models through those three-wheeler of the legendary Hercules, the rare pieces of 3x3 (mechanical mule).

With our qualified staff we are propose to answer of every your request.

By us you can find Spare Parts new, original old timer, restored, used, rebuilt.

We offer for our client a service of restore, chrome plating, coating, frame straightening, remaking engines... practically we offer our customers a 360° fully addressed our passion for vintage.

As well as a selling point, the Retro is an international meeting place where they can share the same passion.

48 Guzzi Airone, 57 Guzzi Cardellino, 65 Benelli 200 sprite, 66 Aermacchi Sprint, 68 Gilera 106 SS, 72 Eldorado, 72 Benelli 180, 74 Guzzi 750S, 73 Laverda SF1, 74  Benelli 650S, 75 Ducati 860GT, 75 Moto Morini 3-1/2, 78 Moto Morinii 500

Wildguzzi.com

Re: 1948 Airone - restoration
« Reply #183 on: December 28, 2021, 07:59:00 PM »

Offline Canuck750

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Re: 1948 Airone - restoration
« Reply #184 on: December 29, 2021, 09:09:57 PM »
I rotated the speedometer bracket to align the speedometer cable vertical clear of the headlight, this requires re-drilling the bracket Retro sent me, too many holes now so I drafted up a new bracket with the holes where I want them and sent the pdf and Autocad file to a water blast cutter shop to cut out a couple copies for me in 3mm steel plate rather than the alluminum the original was cut from.

Once I bend the bracket to get the offsets I will probably weld up some stiffner gussets on the underside and see if I can figure out how to attach another anchor strap to meet an existing fastener on the fork assembly

48 Guzzi Airone, 57 Guzzi Cardellino, 65 Benelli 200 sprite, 66 Aermacchi Sprint, 68 Gilera 106 SS, 72 Eldorado, 72 Benelli 180, 74 Guzzi 750S, 73 Laverda SF1, 74  Benelli 650S, 75 Ducati 860GT, 75 Moto Morini 3-1/2, 78 Moto Morinii 500

Offline Canuck750

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Re: 1948 Airone - restoration
« Reply #185 on: December 30, 2021, 08:19:29 PM »
Finished the throttle control today, the outer shroud length and inner cable length figured out and trimmed, I used a clamp style cylinder end to lock the cable into the handlebar slide





a small set screw locks the fixed end of the throttle to the handlebar, needed to trim 1mm off the end of the handlebar to align the grub screw to the bar opening, then tighten the screw until it almost touches the rotating cylinder, peen the set screw to the handlebar and then file the head of the set screw flush to the handlebar outer face



and the bar end is finished, the outer cover tube includes the rubber grip and is secured to the rotating cylinder with a bolt and an internal compression spring





choke and throttle ends secured into carb



Installed the final drive chain and put the repro tire pump on its frame mounts



Almost ready for the fenders, leg shields, oil and gas tanks and tool boxes, can't rush my painter but I hope he finishes the pieces before spring.
48 Guzzi Airone, 57 Guzzi Cardellino, 65 Benelli 200 sprite, 66 Aermacchi Sprint, 68 Gilera 106 SS, 72 Eldorado, 72 Benelli 180, 74 Guzzi 750S, 73 Laverda SF1, 74  Benelli 650S, 75 Ducati 860GT, 75 Moto Morini 3-1/2, 78 Moto Morinii 500

Offline Canuck750

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Re: 1948 Airone - restoration
« Reply #186 on: January 14, 2022, 09:43:05 PM »
My painter called yesterday to tell me he has the fenders, gas and oil tanks, tool boxes and leg shields ready to pinstripe and the pinstripe artist would be at his shop today to get started. I asked if I could meet the painter and watch some of his work and after given the Ok I drove out to my painters rural shop and watched the magic.

The parts are painted in base coat and will be pin striped and have the decals applied prior to clear coat finish. I took many detailed pictures of the parts prior to refinishing and used a paper tape measure and a caliper to note placement and width of stripes.

The gas tank with the first black stripe done



It was a real treat to watch Dave apply the stripes, he has been doing this for almost 45 years, he has detailed thousands of cars and motorcycles. Dave used a masking tape guide line for the fenders only, by hand/sight for the rest of the pieces.

a leg shield with the gold and black stripes



I should have all the parts completed and back with me in a week or two, I think its going to look very smart.

48 Guzzi Airone, 57 Guzzi Cardellino, 65 Benelli 200 sprite, 66 Aermacchi Sprint, 68 Gilera 106 SS, 72 Eldorado, 72 Benelli 180, 74 Guzzi 750S, 73 Laverda SF1, 74  Benelli 650S, 75 Ducati 860GT, 75 Moto Morini 3-1/2, 78 Moto Morinii 500

Offline soybeanspuppisa

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Re: 1948 Airone - restoration
« Reply #187 on: January 15, 2022, 09:26:38 AM »
Nice. I have one in the garage, but I don't really understand restoration. Now I'll take a look around the forum, maybe I'll find some good advice :) 
« Last Edit: January 15, 2022, 09:27:21 AM by soybeanspuppisa »

Offline blackcat

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Re: 1948 Airone - restoration
« Reply #188 on: January 20, 2022, 09:35:21 AM »
I haven't looked at this project in awhile and of course it is just great work.  Does Retro mostly sell old parts or do they also have parts for later models?
1968 Norton Fastback
1976 Lemans
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1993 1000S
1997 Daytona RS
2007 Red Norge

Offline Canuck750

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Re: 1948 Airone - restoration
« Reply #189 on: January 20, 2022, 10:05:16 AM »
I haven't looked at this project in awhile and of course it is just great work.  Does Retro mostly sell old parts or do they also have parts for later models?

Retro does not have an online catalogue but he will respond to email. I think his specialty is the pre V Twin bikes.
48 Guzzi Airone, 57 Guzzi Cardellino, 65 Benelli 200 sprite, 66 Aermacchi Sprint, 68 Gilera 106 SS, 72 Eldorado, 72 Benelli 180, 74 Guzzi 750S, 73 Laverda SF1, 74  Benelli 650S, 75 Ducati 860GT, 75 Moto Morini 3-1/2, 78 Moto Morinii 500

Offline Jorg66

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Re: 1948 Airone - restoration
« Reply #190 on: January 20, 2022, 12:19:13 PM »
Very Prime, no Parts spared ,really enjoyed how you captured and explained everything . Takes me back  34 Years, when I [ We / help from a friend with painting] restored a Nuovo Falcone Militare and turned it it into a Polizzia.
the Red gives it the xtra 'kick'  :thumb:
Now 2019 California ,,2018 [ New] V7 III Carbon Dark
Ex  1979 Kreidler Florett, 1980 Z 550 , 1969Nuovo Falcone/ Polizzia,2006 VTX 1300 C ,1982 Honda CB 125 S

Offline Canuck750

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Re: 1948 Airone - restoration
« Reply #191 on: January 20, 2022, 07:59:08 PM »
Thanks Jorg, this one has been a challenge tracking down parts and dealing with the badly rusted rear fender. I just hope I can get ito run reliably.

Jim
48 Guzzi Airone, 57 Guzzi Cardellino, 65 Benelli 200 sprite, 66 Aermacchi Sprint, 68 Gilera 106 SS, 72 Eldorado, 72 Benelli 180, 74 Guzzi 750S, 73 Laverda SF1, 74  Benelli 650S, 75 Ducati 860GT, 75 Moto Morini 3-1/2, 78 Moto Morinii 500

Offline SED

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Re: 1948 Airone - restoration
« Reply #192 on: January 22, 2022, 12:35:42 AM »
Beautiful work (and documentation!).  It looks great.  Your posts on assembling the spiral throttle remind how complicated and fiddly it is.  Amazing it was ever used!

It will be a beautiful bike.
1983 LeMans III
1981 Monza
1947 Ariel Red Hunter
1939 Ariel Red Hunter
1937 Guzzi GTV

Offline blackcat

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Re: 1948 Airone - restoration
« Reply #193 on: January 22, 2022, 10:10:26 AM »
Retro does not have an online catalogue but he will respond to email. I think his specialty is the pre V Twin bikes.

Thanks, I assumed it was for the older bikes but worth asking.
1968 Norton Fastback
1976 Lemans
1981 CX-100
1993 1000S
1997 Daytona RS
2007 Red Norge

Offline Canuck750

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Re: 1948 Airone - restoration
« Reply #194 on: January 22, 2022, 05:46:07 PM »
Beautiful work (and documentation!).  It looks great.  Your posts on assembling the spiral throttle remind how complicated and fiddly it is.  Amazing it was ever used!

It will be a beautiful bike.

Thanks Shawn,

the throttle is 'interesting' nice clean exterior appearance but overly complicated compared to the typical designs.

I seem to be waiting on parts for every project I have on the go, been spending my time trying to aquire some basic skills on the lathe and mill, I think machining itself is another rabbit hole I could easily fall in to!

48 Guzzi Airone, 57 Guzzi Cardellino, 65 Benelli 200 sprite, 66 Aermacchi Sprint, 68 Gilera 106 SS, 72 Eldorado, 72 Benelli 180, 74 Guzzi 750S, 73 Laverda SF1, 74  Benelli 650S, 75 Ducati 860GT, 75 Moto Morini 3-1/2, 78 Moto Morinii 500

Offline Canuck750

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Re: 1948 Airone - restoration
« Reply #195 on: January 25, 2022, 09:07:19 PM »
The painter is done with the Airone's painted parts, there was a lot of metal straightening and shrinking on the leg shields and the rear fender required a proffesionals hand to fix my attempts at merging two fenders into one, new metal was pieced into the side skirts, again plenty of shrinking and shaping, the painter I use has 45+ years experience as a red-seal autobody mechanic.



The gas tank is a new chrome reproduction I bought from Valenti a couple years ago, paint is base clear, stipes are hand painted.

[/url

The fenders were in very rough shape, I am very happy with the surface finish, hardly any bondo on these parts

[url=https://postimg.cc/jnwFZtm9]


This is one RED motorcycle

I need to let the clear harden for at least a week, I may just mount the oil tank so I can get the oil lines fitted and work towards getting the engine running.
« Last Edit: January 25, 2022, 09:15:46 PM by Canuck750 »
48 Guzzi Airone, 57 Guzzi Cardellino, 65 Benelli 200 sprite, 66 Aermacchi Sprint, 68 Gilera 106 SS, 72 Eldorado, 72 Benelli 180, 74 Guzzi 750S, 73 Laverda SF1, 74  Benelli 650S, 75 Ducati 860GT, 75 Moto Morini 3-1/2, 78 Moto Morinii 500

Offline Antietam Classic Cycle

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Re: 1948 Airone - restoration
« Reply #196 on: January 25, 2022, 10:09:30 PM »
Beautiful!  :thumb:
Charlie

Offline Canuck750

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Re: 1948 Airone - restoration
« Reply #197 on: January 26, 2022, 05:58:52 PM »
One small job I can do while the clear coat hardens, I made up some pins for the tool box lids, 3mm (1/8") diameter galvanized spokes (Benelli spares) fit great, I left the threaded end intact, cut to length and then using a hacksaw made a slit in the cut off end to fit a small flat blade screwdriver.



Snug fit, turned the pins in, then a dab of touch up paint



The pins are not going anywhere and the lids pivot nicely



48 Guzzi Airone, 57 Guzzi Cardellino, 65 Benelli 200 sprite, 66 Aermacchi Sprint, 68 Gilera 106 SS, 72 Eldorado, 72 Benelli 180, 74 Guzzi 750S, 73 Laverda SF1, 74  Benelli 650S, 75 Ducati 860GT, 75 Moto Morini 3-1/2, 78 Moto Morinii 500

Offline berniebee

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Re: 1948 Airone - restoration
« Reply #198 on: January 27, 2022, 09:41:56 AM »
What an ingenious throttle assembly! Thanks for showing the details.

Offline Jorg66

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Re: 1948 Airone - restoration
« Reply #199 on: January 27, 2022, 04:40:59 PM »
Very nice, ... for Metal and Paint to come out like that .Looks awesome .
Now 2019 California ,,2018 [ New] V7 III Carbon Dark
Ex  1979 Kreidler Florett, 1980 Z 550 , 1969Nuovo Falcone/ Polizzia,2006 VTX 1300 C ,1982 Honda CB 125 S

Offline Canuck750

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Re: 1948 Airone - restoration
« Reply #200 on: January 27, 2022, 06:25:47 PM »
Thanks Jorg, I can't take any credit for the paint, Craig Cooksley in central Alberta has painted all of my bikes, he is a real pro, only paints motorcycles.

I made up a pair of rear axle nuts on my lathe and mill - M15 x 1.25, unobtanium from any nut and bolt supplier.

Start with 1048 25mm steel rod, drill and tap a section,



test fit the threads to the axle



make the flats on the mill, rotate each side 60 degrees using a big nut as a referance face, clamped the round bar direct to the mill table,



cut the nuts to length on the lathe with a parting tool



Chemical blackened and coated with ACF-50



« Last Edit: January 28, 2022, 06:21:23 PM by Canuck750 »
48 Guzzi Airone, 57 Guzzi Cardellino, 65 Benelli 200 sprite, 66 Aermacchi Sprint, 68 Gilera 106 SS, 72 Eldorado, 72 Benelli 180, 74 Guzzi 750S, 73 Laverda SF1, 74  Benelli 650S, 75 Ducati 860GT, 75 Moto Morini 3-1/2, 78 Moto Morinii 500

czakky82

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Re: 1948 Airone - restoration
« Reply #201 on: January 29, 2022, 09:23:53 AM »
Wow! That’s a lot of work for a couple of nuts. Well done.

Offline Canuck750

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Re: 1948 Airone - restoration
« Reply #202 on: January 29, 2022, 06:07:55 PM »
Wow! That’s a lot of work for a couple of nuts. Well done.

Thanks, it was easier to do than I thought.

I got the water jet speedometer bracket back and test fitted it, then made a coule bends to raise and tilt the instrument





the speedometer fits so the cable is clear of the headlight



test fitted the reproduction telescopic speedometer lower section, a complicated design when a longer flexible cable would have done the job



The reproduction steel two piece clamps do not fit that well, the telescopic speedo section is too close to the bottom of the fixed fork section, the gap between the fork tube and the speedo shaft should be wider

I think I will try and make up some better fitting clamps out of stainless steel and make some press dies to form them

Now to take it apart and paint the bracket and the bare steel shaft of the telescopic unit


« Last Edit: January 29, 2022, 06:11:06 PM by Canuck750 »
48 Guzzi Airone, 57 Guzzi Cardellino, 65 Benelli 200 sprite, 66 Aermacchi Sprint, 68 Gilera 106 SS, 72 Eldorado, 72 Benelli 180, 74 Guzzi 750S, 73 Laverda SF1, 74  Benelli 650S, 75 Ducati 860GT, 75 Moto Morini 3-1/2, 78 Moto Morinii 500

Offline Canuck750

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Re: 1948 Airone - restoration
« Reply #203 on: February 01, 2022, 10:21:42 PM »
My first attempt at making a press die to form new straps to suppport the fork mounted speedometer telescopic unit. I made the two part die from 32mm wide aluminum blocks used the lathe and the mill to form the pieces with guide rods to center the pieces. The straps are made from 1.9mm thick stainless steel, 19mm x 125mm, I have a small 8 ton counter top hydraulic press, it worked fine



The new pieces shift the telescopic tube about 2mm further from the fork leg, no longer kinking the shaft



holes drilled for the through bolts, edges rounded off in the bench grinder



One piece needss a pin to keep the telescopic shaft from rotating, I used a press rivet like the ones used to secure the Guzzi Loop Frame steering lock cover



These new pieces fit well and the stainless means I don't have to pay for chrome platting



Painted the speedo bracket and fitted the instrument and flex cable



One more job done



48 Guzzi Airone, 57 Guzzi Cardellino, 65 Benelli 200 sprite, 66 Aermacchi Sprint, 68 Gilera 106 SS, 72 Eldorado, 72 Benelli 180, 74 Guzzi 750S, 73 Laverda SF1, 74  Benelli 650S, 75 Ducati 860GT, 75 Moto Morini 3-1/2, 78 Moto Morinii 500

Offline SED

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Re: 1948 Airone - restoration
« Reply #204 on: February 05, 2022, 12:03:06 AM »
The paint and pinstripes look excellent.  Really like the spoke as hinge wire solution - great idea with the rolled threads.  The 15x1.25 nuts look great.  Strange that you could find a tap, but not the nuts.   Also appreciate seeing your press form.  I would have guessed the aluminum would distort too easily pressing on stainless but worked great.  It is a treat to see your solutions to problems like these.  Thank you.
1983 LeMans III
1981 Monza
1947 Ariel Red Hunter
1939 Ariel Red Hunter
1937 Guzzi GTV

Offline Klinkhammer

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Re: 1948 Airone - restoration
« Reply #205 on: February 05, 2022, 01:51:26 PM »
Wonderful!
I'm into the 70's bikes but this is really inspirational. Maybe I should get an older bike...?
850T Endurance racer lookalike 1974
992 Le Mans III Agostini 1983
V1000 ConverT 1976
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Offline Canuck750

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Re: 1948 Airone - restoration
« Reply #206 on: February 05, 2022, 05:38:58 PM »
Also appreciate seeing your press form.  I would have guessed the aluminum would distort too easily pressing on stainless but worked great. 

Thanks Shawn, the aluminum press form worked great, very little pressure required to bend the 1.9mm stainless, I had the steel supply shop cut me 3/4" x 5" long strips of stainless, that made the job much easier. After forming 12 pieces there was some wear at the sharp corners of the die. I should have radiused the transition from flat to curved.

On a side note I watched several Youtube videos of dies made with 3D printing using a hard plastic. I was surprised to see the plastic two part dies stood up very well, some complex shapes were formed and they looked great.
48 Guzzi Airone, 57 Guzzi Cardellino, 65 Benelli 200 sprite, 66 Aermacchi Sprint, 68 Gilera 106 SS, 72 Eldorado, 72 Benelli 180, 74 Guzzi 750S, 73 Laverda SF1, 74  Benelli 650S, 75 Ducati 860GT, 75 Moto Morini 3-1/2, 78 Moto Morinii 500

Offline Canuck750

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Re: 1948 Airone - restoration
« Reply #207 on: February 05, 2022, 05:53:09 PM »
Wonderful!
I'm into the 70's bikes but this is really inspirational. Maybe I should get an older bike...?

I have been into the 70's Italian motorcycles as well, this is my first full blown restoration of a 40's vintage (30's design) bike and I have really been enjoying the process. Parts are harder to get but still an amazing selection of new, used and reproduction parts are available out of Italy, parts manuals, service and owners manuals are all available online and the Moto Guzzi Singles online group is a great source of help.

I like the design quirks of the 'Bacon Slicer' Moto Guzzi's, plenty of very smart engineering as well as real basic contruction methods.

I started to assemble the rear sheet metal today, I got the rear fender, rear rack and tool boxes installed, as well I put the 'right size' rear tire on a 3.00 x 19 (bike came with a 3.50 x 19), the new tire now has sufficient clearance to the swing arm.





I ran out of original 6mm blots and washers so I used new mid grade 6mm bolts and in the lathe I turned the stampings on the bolt head off then dipped the bolts in muriatic acid to remove the zinc plating (zinc must come off to allow the chemical blackening to take effect), it works in seconds, rinse the bolts off in fresh water then dip the bolts in chemical blackening solution, rinse again and then soak in ACF-50 and towel dry. They come out looking great.





48 Guzzi Airone, 57 Guzzi Cardellino, 65 Benelli 200 sprite, 66 Aermacchi Sprint, 68 Gilera 106 SS, 72 Eldorado, 72 Benelli 180, 74 Guzzi 750S, 73 Laverda SF1, 74  Benelli 650S, 75 Ducati 860GT, 75 Moto Morini 3-1/2, 78 Moto Morinii 500

Offline Jorg66

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Re: 1948 Airone - restoration
« Reply #208 on: February 06, 2022, 07:32:04 PM »
Your press work ,detailing ,the mix of ,"if I can't get it ,I make it myself",plus all the pics /close up .To me a very enjoyable read .A 1 !
And I really like the Guzzi Single Banger ,everything out in the open .
Now 2019 California ,,2018 [ New] V7 III Carbon Dark
Ex  1979 Kreidler Florett, 1980 Z 550 , 1969Nuovo Falcone/ Polizzia,2006 VTX 1300 C ,1982 Honda CB 125 S

Offline Canuck750

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Re: 1948 Airone - restoration
« Reply #209 on: February 07, 2022, 09:25:14 PM »
Your press work ,detailing ,the mix of ,"if I can't get it ,I make it myself",plus all the pics /close up .To me a very enjoyable read .A 1 !
And I really like the Guzzi Single Banger ,everything out in the open .

Thank you Jorg, I am glad to hear you find the build interesting :thumb:

today I installed the oil tank, my painter suggested I rinse the oil tank out with muriatic acid to clean out any residue from the platting process, glad I did, some remenants of rust and who knows what else flushed out, rinsed again several times with hot soapy water and air dried. The plater did not adequatley mask off the oil cap threads, I had to work on the threads with a thread file for a good half hour.



I managed to get a couple of the oil lines installed, I had the lines chrome plated, two went on without drama but two others were bent all out of shape from the form that I had sent them to be plated. Chrome plating these lines was a big mistake, the plating is thick and it had hardened the copper lines, so much so that I can not reform the line shape, as I tried I just ended up splitting the lines, I will have to order a couple reproductions, dissapointing!



next job was installing the front fender, this should have been straightforward, just the front and rear fender stays and one bolt through a bracket at the top to the forks. I had replaced the fender stays from another fender * originals had been rewelded, poorly), re-attaced with new rivets, the stays appeared to be identical but it turns out they are not, slight difference in length of the rear stay.



this turned out to be a real headache!

I ended up slotting the mount holes on the rear fender stays by at least 12mm and machining back a ridge on the fixed fork bracket to shift the fender forward, otherwise the fender hits the motor :cry:
 
I filed away slowly for a couple hours until I was abale to get a clearance of about 1/4" between the rear of the fender and the cylinder head,



tight, but it should be ok. I still managed the scrape the fender but it looks like its in the clear coat so I can hopefully polish it out. I also machined off a bit of the rocker arm access plug to gain clearance



one other thing I did today was refinsish most of the nuts and bolts I unscrewed to fit the fender and oil tank, I had refinished them in the past but the surface of the metal was still rough, I turned the bolts head faces in the lathe and hand filed all the bolt and nut flat faces, then soaked them in muriatic acid, chemical blacken and soak in ACF-50, they look 100% better now. I will probably redo a bunch of other nuts and bolts that don't look that great,


48 Guzzi Airone, 57 Guzzi Cardellino, 65 Benelli 200 sprite, 66 Aermacchi Sprint, 68 Gilera 106 SS, 72 Eldorado, 72 Benelli 180, 74 Guzzi 750S, 73 Laverda SF1, 74  Benelli 650S, 75 Ducati 860GT, 75 Moto Morini 3-1/2, 78 Moto Morinii 500

 

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