2001-2003 California 320mm disks fit a Convert wheelz?

[Lesman]

As the title says : will they fit ? I have a copy Guzziology. I can't find a mention of it.




Thanks,
Les

[rodekyll]

It depends on what you're trying to do.  The forks are set differently between the two bikes, and the hub width is different.  If all you want to do is bolt up 320mm rotors to the wheel, and they a 6-hole hubs, that's probably a direct bolt-up.  Beyond that you'd probably need some spacers to align the rotors to the calipers, regardless of which way you were going with the wheel.  I put a Lester mag from a Convert in my EV and had some interesting gymnastics happen to make it all fit.

[Lesman]

Converting an Ambo front end to disk brake Eldo setup. I have an Convert front wheel & rotor. Trying to find out if the rotors fit off a California and will clear the fork legs. I am going to run 4 piston Brembos or Tokicos/Nissins. Spacers, modified axle and caliper brackets are not a problem( I have a few gifted friends).

[swooshdave]

Converting an Ambo front end to disk brake Eldo setup. I have an Convert front wheel & rotor. Trying to find out if the rotors fit off a California and will clear the fork legs. I am going to run 4 piston Brembos or Tokicos/Nissins. Spacers, modified axle and caliper brackets are not a problem( I have a few gifted friends).

With a few gifted friends anything is possible!

[rodekyll]

Converting an Ambo front end to disk brake Eldo setup. I have an Convert front wheel & rotor. Trying to find out if the rotors fit off a California and will clear the fork legs. I am going to run 4 piston Brembos or Tokicos/Nissins. Spacers, modified axle and caliper brackets are not a problem( I have a few gifted friends).

I worked on this trying to put a Lester mag on an EV front end (same problem/different fork).  I tinkered with a lot of stuff.  If my year of aggravation can be condensed into a single paragraph it would be:

For a Skookum dual-disk setup with the least amount of heartburn, use the P08 calipers -- I believe the disk eldo fork and fender stays are already set up for it and they are completely up to the task of hauling down an ambo.  Use the oem rotors unless you can find something with the proper hub bolt spacing (hard to do) AND proper offset.  Use a 19mm Nissin radial M/C.  If the forks are too wide, try shimming the caliper first.  The limit is when the caliper hits the spokes or rim.  Try spacing the bearing carrier only if you have to.  Remember -- there's a spacer inside the hub between the bearings.  It must be the perfect length.  You'll need to make one if you make spacers.  You will also need to make a new axle spacer for centering the wheel.  If the fork is too narrow, your only choices are to find flatter bearing carriers or flatter rotors.  You don't get to add shims anywhere.

MISC:  there are different oem bearing carriers for lemans, Convert, T5, etc.  You might be able to find one already the right size.  There are also oem spacers that I see on auction sites from time to time.  Different Guzzi 6-bolt rotors have different native offsets.  Some combination of all this stuff could get you where you want to go.

If this is some weird 5-bolt setup nevermind the above except for general theory.

I have some tokico calipers left over from my year of brake pain.  If you decide to go that route, PM me.

Hope this helps

[edit]
I almost didn't respond to this topic because of the "z" on wheelz.  Pet peeve.   

[mtiberio]

answer is no. The rotors on that era California are what is commonly referred to as the "yamaha" standard, as in they first appeared on yamahas, and ducati and the industry later adopted them. They have a tight bolt pattern, no way it will bolt up to a convert hub. They also have a shallow offset (near flat at 5mm I believe), and so would cause all sorts of issues. OEM (or equiv) rotors are the way to go. The 6 bolt pattern on the convert rotors was an industry standard back in the 70's. The 25mm offset was also a standard. EBC makes some nice floating rotors that fit this application (I discovered them as listed for a Laverda). I believe MG Cycle now sells them. Biggest thing you need to fit Convert sliders and wheel/rotors to a loop front end is a 10mm spacer on either side in between the rotor and hub piece. The Convert front end was 195mm center to center on the fork tubes. The loop front ends are 20mm wider, thus 10mm per side to get the rotors aligned under the calipers...

[guzziownr]

Here is the EBC brake on an Eldo:

[Antietam Classic Cycle]

Converting an Ambo front end to disk brake Eldo setup. I have an Convert front wheel & rotor. Trying to find out if the rotors fit off a California and will clear the fork legs. I am going to run 4 piston Brembos or Tokicos/Nissins. Spacers, modified axle and caliper brackets are not a problem( I have a few gifted friends).

On my "Ambovert" disc front end build, I have a Convert wheel and discs with 10 mm thick disc spacers I machined myself.

[Lesman]

Thanks I appreciate the help.I didn't pay attention to the offset of the rotor before starting this thread. The reason for asking about 2000-2004 California disks is that they are 320mm and at times reasonable. I have also thought about radial calipers. I don't know if they would clear with the Convert Rotors vs the bigger 320 MM rotors. I have a Ambo Roller. The Engine/Tranny/Swingarm are off. I want to do the conversion pretty soon.
I have the ELDO lowers, Convert? Inners, and a Convert wheel with one disk.  I want to run a dual disk setup. I have a 2 piston Brembo caliper for the initial fitting. I'm 99.99% sure I want the original gauge setup . I'm still on the fence about the front fender. I want to retain the rear fender.
I have a Quota wheel with a cracked rim. It seem to fit perfectly on the existing hub/swingarm. I had concerns about the width of the rim. I initial  thought is to lace a 18" Borrani rear rim to the Quota Hub. I have looked at a few Eldo's with rear disk brakes. All of those conversions changed the rear end and or swingarm from a later model Guzzi that had disks. I am also looking at placing the MC on the left side of the bike vs the right. Doing this way would require a "push" MC vs a "pull" Guzzi MC. I'm trying to finish all frame modifications at this time(rear hoop was cut off).
I apologize for the "Z" on wheels. It was a wrong punched key.  I thought that I was the only one that gets annoyed  with over  substitution of the letter Z in our culture
There are not too many motorcycles that allow easy repurposing of various parts. I've enjoying being a Guzzi guy for the last 5 years.

[rodekyll]

Noooo, if you use a radial m/c you just flip it to use on the left side.  It has a remote fluid cup so you can mount it anywhere.  I plumb it as normal and put a bleeder banjo on the line on account of the normal bleeder is down instead of up when you flop it.  I run the rear brakes on the left bar of my bikes.  Works good.  I avoid the brembo radial m/c's because they are not rebuildable as a rule, and because you can pick up the Nissins by the pound or the piece.

[Antietam Classic Cycle]

Noooo, if you use a radial m/c you just flip it to use on the left side.  It has a remote fluid cup so you can mount it anywhere.  I plumb it as normal and put a bleeder banjo on the line on account of the normal bleeder is down instead of up when you flop it.  I run the rear brakes on the left bar of my bikes.  Works good.  I avoid the brembo radial m/c's because they are not rebuildable as a rule, and because you can pick up the Nissins by the pound or the piece.

Lesman said: I have also thought about radial calipers. I don't know if they would clear with the Convert Rotors vs the bigger 320 MM rotors.

[Lesman]

On my "Ambovert" disc front end build, I have a Convert wheel and discs with 10 mm thick disc spacers I machined myself.

The Conversion idea came from your conversion thread on Greg Bender's site. My original idea was a leading link frontend on the Ambo. I saw an incredible one on a Quota using twin Harley Softail shocks(just a beautiful well engineered front end that all my Special Gifted friends said was very doable but preferred not to do). The shocks were in back of the frontend near the engine.I can't Thank You enough for the well written idea. Right now I have been blessed to get the Eldo Lowers, inners and the Convert wheel for $250 ish range. I know I still need 2 calipers, MC hoses and another rotor before I finish this part of the project

[rodekyll]

Lesman said: I have also thought about radial calipers. I don't know if they would clear with the Convert Rotors vs the bigger 320 MM rotors.

I was answering this part:

" . . . I am also looking at placing the MC on the left side of the bike vs the right. Doing this way would require a "push" MC vs a "pull" Guzzi MC. ..."

[mar54]

To fit a 320 rotor on a convert hub you have to Mount this flange-spacer:





It's from a cali jacal-stone-alu-titan

[Antietam Classic Cycle]

I was answering this part:

" . . . I am also looking at placing the MC on the left side of the bike vs the right. Doing this way would require a "push" MC vs a "pull" Guzzi MC. ..."

I took that to mean the rear master cylinder, since in that paragraph he was writing about rear disc brakes. <shrug>

[rodekyll]

lol

I could very well be the one misinterpreting that.  It sounds reasonable either way.

[Lesman]

I am talking about the rear master cylinder. If I use the rod for the existing rear brake that goes through the frame to operate the MC. I would need a push type MC(like most Japanese Bikes) if mount on the left side of the bike. If mounted on the right side it need a pull type of MC(like the 850t3 MC).

[rodekyll]

Got it.  I didn't know we'd switched ends on the bike.   

[Lesman]

I did look at my front wheel last weekend. I noticed the offset the rotor. Till I actually take the frontend apart to convert into disk brake frontend. I will hold off looking for 320mm rotors. Right now I up chewing up my gifted friend credits with stuff for my Quota.I also looked at some of the rear m/c setups on This Old Tractor.I spent an hour looking at battery tray to hold the rear master cylinder on the left side. For the life of me I could not understand how one guy did this setup.I couldn't see how it would work with the clutch cable. So spent another hour looking at photo's and measurements.
Then it dawned on me . It won't work because I have an Ambo. The clutch cable is on the left side vs Eldo's and modern Guzzi's are on the right side set.Another consideration, on my Ambo I have a long brake pedal(the brake pedal pivot is located near the driveshaft u joint). All the examples of the Eldo's had floor boards and a brake pedal that was located nearer to the front of the transmission. Their setups utilized linkages.
So right now the rear master cylinder will be on the right side. It will be located on the bottom loop (area below the right tool case)
Easiest and least attractive setup is a standard push rear MC with a cover on it(vertical position)or using a Guzzi MC with a built in reservoir is more attractive setup(horizontal position).