Advice on my old nostalgic guzzi

[Dukedesmo]

I thought $20k sounded harsh at first but, I can see why now that the pictures are up.   


Though I'm certain it could be done for much less if DIY-ing but that's a total rebuild job.


Unless you're able/willing to do it yourself, I'd recommend spending the 20 grand (or less) on a new bike and selling that as is to someone who wants a project.

[Dirk_S]

I don’t know what all the damage is inside (cylinders? bearings, gears, etc.), and I completely get that mechanics don’t want to be sucked into lengthy projects. Definitely should’ve mentioned the bike’s condition to give us a clearer picture.

I still think you could get that fixed up for less, but you’ll certainly have to find the right person who will WANT to dive into that. But if you somehow have the space at your residence in NYC, I’d be making this a project of love. I rebuilt a motor, and I’m not a mechanic; you just have to be thorough, careful (measure twice!), clean. Besides, you already have 3 shop assistants ;)

[Turin]

I still think you could get that fixed up for less, but you’ll certainly have to find the right person who will WANT to dive into that. But if you somehow have the space at your residence in NYC, I’d be making this a project of love. I rebuilt a motor, and I’m not a mechanic; you just have to be thorough, careful (measure twice!), clean. Besides, you already have 3 shop assistants ;)

Absolutely. DIY your bike. Post questions here. Help is available.

[Moparnut72]

I used to repair and service old and classic outboards that regular shops wouldn't. Like Harley dealers won't touch anything ten years or older. I had a guy that I had done a couple of motors for. He brought me a 40 HP Mercury that had a reputation as a dog and being troublesome at best. It had also been molested by the guy he bought it from. I told him I didn't want to touch it but he insisted. He also wanted me to install electric starting as it was a pull start.  When it was all done with even cobbling up an electric start as original parts were going to be a major expense, not so much the starter itself b as he had been a put all the related components. When I gave him the bill he was livid. I reduced the bill as he was a prior customer. I made less than $3 an hour on that job. The sad part was that before I started on it that I had a 4 cylinder model, a very reliable motor, ready to go that he could have for $200 substantially less than what I finally got.
I understand your connection to the bike but the only way to get it back on the road at a reasonable cost would be to do it yourself.
kk

[jcctx]

Looks like a BIG ole trotline weight to me. Not really even a parts bike. Buy one like it ready to ride, mount that on the wall for sentimental purposes!!!

[Tkelly]

This reminds me of a rate sign I’ve seen at cycle repair shops.75/ hour,if you watch 100/ hour,if you worked on it 200/hour.

[cliffrod]

I’ll add my btdt…. 

If you’re serious to keep THAT bike, another option is to buy much better bike as a parts bike.  Even if you have to get your original engine/trans rebuilt as a straight forward bench rebuild job by a shop or yourself, you can transplant everything else from a nice bike to your frame and engine.  It will still be “your” bike by the vin numbers and foundation of the bike but will be a much faster & easier project to do yourself and probably lots cheaper. Aside from the engine/trans rebuild and any cosmetic stuff, stripping your bike to the frame and then rebuilding it with all of the same parts from a nice bike is a relatively quick project.  It isn’t rocket science.

Painting it to be just like your bike is optional, just like how much you fix with 100% new parts along the way vs just making it safe and dependable to ride.  Afterwards, you’ll have a complete basket/project bike to sell to recoup a little $$.

A significant percentage of the good used vintage bike parts for sale online nowadays are from bikes that often needed relatively little to make them roadworthy.  But parting them out makes far more money than making them rideable.  You could probably buy a fairly nice identical SP for $3k-$4k to kit your bike.  Buying everything to bring your original parts back to same condition will cost a lot more than that.

[rocker59]

"It's a mess! It will take maybe 8K to get the clutch, rear main seal, brakes, ... essentially to get it running again. .... to get it 'nice', expect 20k... are you prepared for that???"

No, sadly, I am not!

What should I do?

Thoughts....

Thank them and pay them for their time. 

It's simply not economical to have a shop work on / restore old cars and motorcycles.  You really need to be able to do that work on your own for a motorcycle that's worth only a few thou in good condition.

Let it go.  Unless the sentimental attachment is too great, get rid of it and move on. 

When I worked at a shop 25-years ago we regularly had to break this kind of bad news to customers.  We also ended up with a number of abandoned bikes because the customers didn't want to move forward with the project, or come pick it up.

Finally, we quit taking in those kinds of jobs. 

[John A]

When I was a service manager at a big Kawasaki, Suzuki motorcycle dealer, I learned to go high on the estimate for these projects. If the customer still wanted to do it, which didn’t happen often, there was a chance we could break even. People refused to believe the man hours involved to make something safe and reliable. It’s the same in aviation, trucking, lawn mowers, etc. The advice of doing it yourself is sound .

[snobear]

I usually do a restoration project each winter to sell in the spring and tell myself I made a bit of money.  In reality I get my out of pocket costs back with a bit of profit NOT INCLUDING labor.  I probably make about 10 cents an hour on that.  It is a job for a retired person or someone with lots of spare time.

[twowings]

As an RN, I can tell you some patients cannot be saved...no one can wave a wand and undo years of neglect.

[SLDMRossi]

Long story short, the shop was apparently doing the right thing by accurately assessing would it would take to turn a derelict bike into a fully functioning, SAFE motorcycle. Based on commercial Labor rates and what will be a slew of quality, replacement parts...on a machine that obviously needs everything.

Better to start the project with an accurate, and fully transparent financial assessment. How many horror stories have you heard where instead...a shop takes on a project with a low ball number at the get-go, and then bleeds the owner dry by nickel-and-diming as things start to progress?

Steven Rossi

[kingoffleece]

You and I both know firsthand that the shop in question is beyond question.  Again, before the project even started the owner was advised that the project was ill advised and quite likely much too expensive to pursue.

[cliffrod]

To be realistic, the entire matter would have been received MUCH differently by all here if the first post containing the text describing the situation had also included all the pics of a duct-taped gas tank, boxes of loose, rusty neglected parts and more that were posted at a later time.    Why that didn’t happen, ? 

When the pics were posted, the entire situation made a lot more sense.

[Tom]

Some missing information....what's the mileage on the bike?  Is the clutch really gone or are you guessing?   

[guzzisteve]

To be realistic, the entire matter would have been received MUCH differently by all here if the first post containing the text describing the situation had also included all the pics of a duct-taped gas tank, boxes of loose, rusty neglected parts and more that were posted at a later time.    Why that didn’t happen, ? 

When the pics were posted, the entire situation made a lot more sense.

You got that right, glad I'm not doing it! I've done my share of like Guzzi's. Dealer must have seen pics.

[cliffrod]

You got that right, glad I'm not doing it! I've done my share of like Guzzi's. Dealer must have seen pics.

We had a seemingly continuous parade of bikes like that- including numerous seriously violated iron Sportsters and even a Nuovo Falcone(!)- come through the shop over the years.  Big ambitions with little else.    We would offer to help the owner do it themselves and avoid giving any kind of valuation or cost to fix it for them.  We would only say that it will be a lot more affordable if you do the work than if we do it.  Eventually, many would become available for purchase at actual $$value as reality set in and the parts room would be replenished.

Alas, we weren’t able to purchase the Nuovo Falcone before that pile-o-parts moved on to the next owner…

[Sprouty115]

Quality work costs money.

From the Cycle Garden website:

"Full frame up restorations, which presently average between $25K-40K, depending upon if you provide us with a bike or we pull a bike from our inventory to restore for you. Restorations take upwards of 4-12 months to complete."

$20k is not at all unreasonable for a bike in the condition shown.

[Bulldog9]

Don't want to be rude or pile on, but that is not a motorcycle anymore, it is a pile of parts.

I get that it has great nostalgia and meaning for you, but it it is a bit unrealistic to drop that off at a motorcycle shop and ask them to restore it with the expectation of a bargain budget, never mind to the shop you infer. They do fantastic top notch work, but not that kind of full restoration. And why would you dump your stuff there for a year?

I'd say keep it and work on it yourself over time. Plenty of parts and knowledge available. Choose between Cosmetic or Mechanical, and start!  Doing the cosmetics first has always kept me motivated to stick with the project to completion, but that's just me. Most important is to commit to getting one of the two sorted and back together. Take your time, diagnose, clean, repair, replace.

My version of your Guzzi is my 1979 XS1100 that I have owned since 1984+/- I took it off the road as a daily rider in 1996 with 130K + miles, and did a full restore. Too many miles sentiment and good memories to ever sell it. It has been in storage (dry/climate controlled) since 2013, but hope to wake it up this spring or next. I never let it get to the state your project is in, but I did do a complete down to the frame restore. **Of note, one of the main reasons I wanted to take it off daily riding was that one of the spark plug thread holes are buggered, and the next time I pull that plug the head will likely have to come off. Hope to get to that too as part of bringing her back to life. I changed the plugs every 10K miles, and had changed the other 3 plugs 2-3 times mainly because I didn't have the time or resources.

[huub]

perfect basis for a DIY rebuild.
i think a exerienced guzzi mechanic would have it running in a weekend (my personal record is 3,5 hours doing a V7sport clutch)
, but doing it yourself would make a nice learning experience.
with 100 euro/hour labor this will be a expensive bike when done by a mechanic.

[kingoffleece]

What?  It's in parts.  The carbs are trash.  3 hours?  Come on, man.

[Huzo]

As an RN, I can tell you some patients cannot be saved...no one can wave a wand and undo years of neglect.

Three words…
Fence Post Guzzi

You are asking advice and notional guidance on a subject that is an affair of the heart and as such, practical logic has no value. You don’t want to replace bits with those from a donor bike unless there is absolutely no alternative, the nostalgic nature of this pursuit dictates that you leave hard nosed economics at the door and dive in.
Similar to a human relationship that you wish to build…
If your best buddy constantly looks to you for help, you don’t dump him and get an “easier” one. When my Norge that has carried me over hundreds of mountain passes in Europe (and sat in warehouses for months on end waiting for me to arrive), dumped it’s preload in the bevelbox and shredded the internals, there where two main alternatives.
Buy another on e bay and hope for the best, or take the offer by Pete Roper to rebuild it with no guarantee of success. He and Michael worked with skilled precision and gave it new life 40,000 km back and I love it more than ever.
I think of their dedication when I look at it, there is more inside there than mechanical internals.
It does not have a “new” bevelbox…
It is now “my new bevelbox” and holds memories that cannot be bought with money.

The value of this bike will be a function of what it took you to bring it back.
Take the words of the great man who said…
“We choose to do these and the other things…
Not because they are easy, but because they are hard…”

THAT is why one country gets to the Moon and the others are too scared to commit to trying…

I’ll finish where I started.
Search “Fence Post Guzzi…”

[huub]

What?  It's in parts.  The carbs are trash.  3 hours?  Come on, man.

3,5 hours just for the clutch , and a weekend for the rest , not sure what part you missed
I cant judge the condition of the carbs from the picture , apparently you can.
my crystal ball is broken.
but reassembling them with a rebuild kit is not going to take ages.

[kingoffleece]

Well, if you can rebuild carbs with completely worn out bores and get it to idle you're better than me.
Again, one of the most respected Guzzi mechanics in the USA recommended the project not go forward due to time needed and expense but you'll do it in a weekend.
Open a shop then.

[bigbikerrick]

+1 what Turin said above .... clean that baby up, and get the parts organized,and in order. 
Rick.

[Sprouty115]

You are asking advice and notional guidance on a subject that is an affair of the heart and as such, practical logic has no value.
It is now “my new bevelbox” and holds memories that cannot be bought with money.

Solid advice.

[huub]

Well, if you can rebuild carbs with completely worn out bores and get it to idle you're better than me.
Again, one of the most respected Guzzi mechanics in the USA recommended the project not go forward due to time needed and expense but you'll do it in a weekend.
Open a shop then.

whatever , if you can spot worn out bores without even a picture of the carbs you are way better than me.
the thing was taken off the road for a clutch issue.
i said to have it riding in a weekend , not a complete rebuild or a museum quality restoration.
ive never had a dealer work on my guzzis, curently own 10 guzzis. 
financially the project makes no sense if you outsource the job, there is a couple of thousend euro of parts involved.
Any mechanic hates to work on vehicles where the owner made a start and gave up.
as a DIY project , and if the bike has sentimental value i cant see the problem.
these bikes are easy to work on.

[Huzo]

Just do it Man and take us with you on your journey.
It doesn’t matter if you over capitalise on something like this. All the refuell neck rubbing from the armchair economists can go in the bin…
Start the journey, enjoy the ride and make new memories from the old ones.
I’m always amazed at how guys can spend a lifetime buying, selling and back trading bikes, not once thinking about the tens of thousands of dollars they’ve pissed up against the wall, only to end up with something that is worth a fraction of their total outlay.
I did @ 15,000 km trip around Australia on a CT 110 Honda, when I had a V85 and a Norge at home in the shed. I did it BECAUSE it was stupid, the sillier it is the better it feels.

Ignore them all and just jump in, the best threads on this site are born from ventures like this….

[Dirk_S]

Just do it Man and take us with you on your journey…

After this pile-on, I’ll be surprised if the OP rears their head to even ‘like’ a post on here ever again. But I’m rooting for ‘em…so long as there’s been a small lesson learned in humility ;)

…sure would be the perfect bike for Fred Flintstone.

[cliffrod]

After this pile-on, I’ll be surprised if the OP rears their head to even ‘like’ a post on here ever again. But I’m rooting for ‘em…so long as there’s been a small lesson learned in humility ;)

…sure would be the perfect bike for Fred Flintstone.

Maybe it will help him to have a little more btdt support…

Aside from the existing old paint on gas tank, my V7 Sport was in comparable condition to the OP’s bike when I got it- abandoned & neglected with stuck engine, rat nest wiring, much disassembled in marginal condition and scattered all over the storage unit.  we hunted through literally every box in the place to find most of the missing parts.   Then I redid it myself with very little direct assistance or any previous Guzzi experience.  I made mistakes and learned a lot.   It’s been my favorite bike ever since I rebuilt it without exception, long after so many other bikes came & went.





More recently, much of 2024 was spent chasing parts to redo this very rough 1968 Ducati 350 Desmo twin filler.   Most of what I need is now here to address the restoration when I have time.  It isn’t a very budget-friendly or practical project, but I’m thrilled to have it  and to have the chance to do it..








Your bike, your rules.