77 convert

[Antietam Classic Cycle]

The clutch runs dry, I'm guessing you mean that you drained the gear oil from the high/low gearbox section. Metal fillings could mean that someone has been shifting on the fly, hopefully that's all.

[fotoguzzi]

Notice the additional non-factory brazing around the center mounting boss, at the juncture between the ~2-in diameter boss and the flywheel pan. This is what I did on my '77 Convert, in an effort to still use the lighter failure-prone flywheel. People said you could feel the difference between the lighter flywheel and one of the heavier later versions, but I couldn't. It is really amazing that MG let the lighter flywheels leave the factory without this critical reinforcement. Seems to me it would have been MUCH cheaper production-wise to just add this bit of reinforcement, rather than commit to machined-aluminum flywheels.

i had that done, I believe it is actually brazed not weld so the pan wouldn't warp with the heat. I had a pro welder do it, it's also strengthened on the in side. Then had it balanced before using it.

If any one wants to try that I have a couple nice light stamped flywheels for your attempt.

[twodogs]

Thanks Charlie, that is what I was talking about, the po did not know the history of the bike except that it came out of a auction in Ohio.I did ask him if he ever shifted on the fly and told me no, he knew about that. So what does everyone think about running a full synthetic 10w60 in a convert? I know 1 member runs full synthetic but not 10w60, I have about 50 50 saying no it will leak all over and the other half saying it won't hurt a thing, the only reason I ask is I have 8l of the motul 7100 sitting around. I have the rotella t4 in it now 
Bruce

[JayDee24ca]

Bruce, stick with the Rotella T, its an old flat tappet bike, and the newer oils are lacking in a few essentials for the older machines.

[Antietam Classic Cycle]

Bruce, stick with the Rotella T

That's what I use. Now called T4. Tried Valvoline VR-1 20w50 and my mpg dropped by 3! Back to Rotella this change.

[Irishflyer]

That's what I use. Now called T4. Tried Valvoline VR-1 20w50 and my mpg dropped by 3! Back to Rotella this change.

Interesting on the mpg, I am using the same oil on a 96 Cali, mpg is around 40-42, depending on Nebraska winds..

[herk5]

Bruce, glad to hear you found a convert. Now I don’t feel guilty not selling you mine. 

[twodogs]

LOL herk5, as soon as the dot figures it out and titles the bike I'll ride it down so you can have a ride and check it out 
Bruce

[herk5]

Sounds good, Bring Carl with ya. Looks like fun project.

[Kiwi_Roy]

I'm following this thread closely since I picked up a 76 on the island.
Mine has been repainted from a blue to black, the painter left a patch inside one of the side covers blue.
I'm still trying to figure out what milage it has done, everything looks to be in similar condition to yours, odometer shows just over 15,000 miles.
The front Avon tire has an 1987 date code.
I pulled all the coloured plastic bezels out of the dash and rubbed them on 800 grit sandpaper. it made them a little better to see but I think I will switch the lamps to LEDs as soon as I get some time, I did that to all my older Guzzi's.

[twodogs]

Hi KR, I'm still waiting for Ia DOT to get their heads out of their a#@&= I've registered several bikes in Iowa that did not have a 17 digit vin. I'm not sure what is going on but it has been more than 2 weeks now  now that I figured out the charging problem the bike seems like it is ready to go. I will probably go to led lites once I put some miles on it, plus the hex piece update, but I'm not real sure about that one yet or really what to do about it, my dash lights were bright on mine so far and the mileage shows 9010 miles at the moment, hope to ride it soon, good luck with yours and I hope you enjoy it.
Bruce

[twodogs]

Finally after 4 weeks and 1 day I finally got the call that the title and plate is at the DMV, so I'm heading into town to pick it up, the only bad thing is I have to head to southern Missouri and won't be back till tues or Wed, sick friend.

[Antietam Classic Cycle]

Someone mentioned losing 3mpg with a fluid switch. That's a good indication of slipping. 

As I posted above, I lost 3 mpg by switching from Shell Rotella T4 15w40 to Valvoline VR-1 20w50 in the engine. When I switched back, my mpg went up by 3. Nothing to do with "slipping".

[twodogs]

Good advice all, I drained the type F the po had in it and went with the valvoline max and the t4 for the engine. I'm not going to beat it, just putt around and go from there 
Bruce

[twodogs]

Ok I finally got my tags, I went to the local BP and put straight premium no ethanol in her, then I went for a 10 mile shake down run and everything seemed in order till I caught a light, sat there for a little less than a minute and went to take off and it didn't really want to go, let off the gas and then tried again and she took off like normal, any ideas from you folks? I'm waiting for the wife and as soon as she is ready I'm going for a longer ride, so far all the fluids are up and no leaks anywhere 
Bruce

[twodogs]

Real sluggish, pull in the clutch and blip the throttle and release the clutch and everything thing is normal, only happens when I sat at a light for 30 seconds or more,  slowing down and stop for a second and take off,no problem, oh by the way. Welcome back.
Bruce

[twodogs]

Thanks rodekell, there was no foam and the cooler and tank was not hot but it is at the top mark on the dip stick and I'm going to take it down to the bottom mark and report back, thanks for the info.
Bruce

[twodogs]

Well I dropped the fluid down to the add mark and did a 70 mile stop and go ride (painful) and it only paused for a split second once and seems to take off better now with no hesitation, now I need to dial the carbs in, stalls once in a while, seems to be out of sync, trying to remember where the starting point was.

[twodogs]

Well I took the convert out with a couple of riders to to a cool shop about 45 miles away with speeds up to 70mph and everything seemed great, marked it's spot at the shop with a drop from the breather tube and on the way back at about 15 miles it started slowing down like it wasn't getting gas, kept playing with it to another shop and pulled the plugs and they looked pretty good, so went ahead and change them with new and took off, the last 30 miles it would not run above 50if I gave it any more throttle then off idle and then ever once in awhile it would run up to 70 and then start all over again like it was not getting fuel, so I went through town at slower speeds and limped her home. Back to the drawing board.
Bruce

[jwinwi]

Well I took the convert out with a couple of riders to to a cool shop about 45 miles away with speeds up to 70mph and everything seemed great, marked it's spot at the shop with a drop from the breather tube and on the way back at about 15 miles it started slowing down like it wasn't getting gas, kept playing with it to another shop and pulled the plugs and they looked pretty good, so went ahead and change them with new and took off, the last 30 miles it would not run above 50if I gave it any more throttle then off idle and then ever once in awhile it would run up to 70 and then start all over again like it was not getting fuel, so I went through town at slower speeds and limped her home. Back to the drawing board.
Bruce

Tankbag on the tank? I've had the neoprene tank bag pad seal off the vent on the gas cap which caused similar symptoms...

[twodogs]

Newer petcocks and new fuel filters, opened the cap going down the road, no real change, atf tank and cooler felt good,warm but not hot, no tank bag, was going to get it back on the lift and drop the float blows and take a peek inside, the fuel lines look fairly new, I refueled it just cause so I'll have to drop some fuel if I take the carbs off if something shows up in the floats and I'll drop a petcock and check the screen on the carbs, after that I'll probably be lost if I don't find something.

[twodogs]

Petcocks were on and it did not make a difference if switched to reserve , fuel filters on correct, I have to drop almost 6 gallons before I pull a petcock, no place to put fuel yet then I'll check the screens, my mower and gas cans are all full and I just mowed, so I'll take it out tomorrow and try and burn some fuel off, seemed to run good till today's blast so I'm hoping I can just putt around for a bit and go from there. I really appreciate your input rodekyll, I look at it that you have your masters degree and I'm just starting 1st grade, but I am willing to listen and learn.
Bruce

[moto]

You can time the flow with a measuring cup to see if it is sufficient. For example, to go 70 mph at 35 mpg would take 2 gallons per hour. That's 32 cups of gasoline per hour, or a rate of 1 cup every one-thirtysecondth of an hour. Using 1 thirtieth as an approximation, that's about 2 minutes to fill an 8-ounce cup. If both petcocks together can't do that you may have a problem.

Moto

[twodogs]

1st round, I pulled the right side while sitting on the bike fuel line and measured about 6 ounces in 15 seconds with a stop watch then went to the left side and measured a hair over 5 ounces in 15 seconds, there was no water or debris in the gas that I could see after letting each time sit for about 3 minutes, so I'm not sure if the petcock screens have debris on them, seemed to me to flow pretty good to me, what do you folks think? I think I'm going to take it out and see if I can replicate the problem and then do the flow test again if it acts up again, I've run the bike for 220 miles so far with only the last 30 with the problem of not being able to get fuel, that feeling anyway, plus when I take it out again and burn more fuel off it will help if I have to remove the tank, who thought that about 6 gallons in a tank could weigh so much 
Bruce

[moto]

1st round, I pulled the right side while sitting on the bike fuel line and measured about 6 ounces in 15 seconds with a stop watch then went to the left side and measured a hair over 5 ounces in 15 seconds, there was no water or debris in the gas that I could see after letting each time sit for about 3 minutes, so I'm not sure if the petcock screens have debris on them, seemed to me to flow pretty good to me, what do you folks think? I think I'm going to take it out and see if I can replicate the problem and then do the flow test again if it acts up again, I've run the bike for 220 miles so far with only the last 30 with the problem of not being able to get fuel, that feeling anyway, plus when I take it out again and burn more fuel off it will help if I have to remove the tank, who thought that about 6 gallons in a tank could weigh so much 
Bruce

The rate I calculated was 2 gallons per hour, to support a (dismal) 35 mpg at 70 mph. Since there are 128 ounces in a gallon, that rate is 256 ounces per hour, or 4.27 ounces per minute, or 1.07 ounces per 15 seconds. So your flow at the petcock is five or six times as great (on each side) as your actual total requirement at that speed. It is also more than enough to support 100 mph at any reasonable mpg figure.

But what about the flow rate after the fuel leaves the petcock? For that, just take off the drain plugs at the bottom of each carburetor in turn, and turn on the petcocks without trying to start the engine. If you again see flow rates of multiple ounces per 15 seconds through each carb, then your problem isn't fuel flow. On the other hand, if you get down near or below 1 ounce per 15 seconds in either carb you can suspect a clogged filter or float valve or other obstruction in the flow below the petcock.

It is barely possible that you could have a flow problem that only manifests itself when both carburetors are demanding fuel. To check for that, open both the drain plugs at once and measure the combined flow. Anything above 1 ounce per 15 seconds in total supports 70 mph at 35 mpg, but you should really see substantially more than that for higher speeds.

Moto

[twodogs]

Thanks for the reply moto, I could not get to the left side because of the stock air box so I did both sides after the fuel filters I put on and I was thinking that they were the problem, anyway I forgot to mention I put sea foam in it yesterday, so I took off this morning just to see if those filters were the problem and I got about 1 mile out of town and it would not go so I turned around to nurse it back home and it started picking up, so I turned back around and gave her hell in 1st and it run like a scalded dog (vert) style anyway, so after about 15 miles of that I stopped and put it in 2nd and rode for another 55 miles at 70 and then backing off and charging back up to 70 and it never missed a beat and then the speedometer cable broke, so I got a cable coming and I will try it again,plus I need to tighten the neck bearings up a little, gets a little weird above 70. I always thought seafoam was all between the ears but maybe it knocked some crap loose and just took it awhile to work, don't know for sure but after I take care of the neck bearings and speedo cable I'll take her back out and try it again. Thanks for the help folks.
Bruce