Lario rehab project begins. What we've learned..

[Chuck in Indiana]

One more little trick to show you. Back in the day, I built a street rod, and an old friend painted it for me. When it was done, he gave me his pin striping brush for filling the inevitable paint chips. Like most painters in the Imron era, he died too young.  :(
This fairing was pretty beat up, and since Beardog was my Ebay troll,  ;) I figured he'd find me another one eventually. Sigh. That's on hold right now, so it's time to fix some of these things until he's back on stream. So, I gave the bike a bath in Dawn to get the wax off of it, and had at it.
Here's a typical chip.

For whatever reason, some DPO decided he didn't like the blaze of orange on the fairing, so he just removed it. With a hammer and chisel.  ~;

You can make stuff like this go away, too..

A striper's brush is designed so that as soon as it touches the surface paint starts to flow. If a guy is good at it (I'm not) he can fill the chipped area, and pull the brush out at the right time so you can barely see it.

Like so..

Now, all we have to do is be patient, wait a week, take some (really) fine wet or dry to it, polish it out, and wax. It'll be as good as new. good enough for a rider.. ;D

[Unkept]

Cool tip Chuck. I NEED to get some cosmetic work done on my LeMans, perhaps this will be my next "skill" I need to work on.  ;D Too bad I'm sure it's not good to paint in frigid temperatures... as I only like to take my bike apart in the winter months, and I don't have a heated garage.  :-\

Glad to see you are pretty'ing up the Lario for my next test ride.  ;-T ;)

[IceBlue]

Golly Chuck - this Lario is going to end up looking like it just rolled off the assembly line.

I'd say you have fallen seriously in love with this garl  :BEER:   Not that I blame you. I suffer the same happy love  ;) ;-T  buuuut, she can be demanding like any other garl  ;D :D ;)

Now my rear tire us up for replacement - I got 8000km out of that Metzeler Perfect, not sure I like that tire. Going for a Heidenau 120/90x16


Ciao

[Chuck in Indiana]

Thanks, Brian.. but it's a long ways from looking new.  ;D So far, I'm pretty happy with it, though. It *has* been and still is a work in progress. I thought it was pretty well sorted, but Unkept was here over the weekend, and I sent him out on it. I heard it drop a cylinder about a half mile away,  :o and he came back saying it isn't very fast on one.  ;D I need to talk to my mechanic.  ;)
We're taking it to Maine/New England to put some serious mileage on it shortly. I'll bet it does fine.

[IceBlue]

Looking forward to hear about that trip. The China valves must be broken in soon  ;D

Running on one cylinder is not a Larios finest hour - I have had one drop beats when the engine is very hot.
I replaced a condencer today - I'll be looking at coils next, if it persist. No fun having it miss a few beats doing a corner or curve  :o ;D ;)  Other than that she's a darling.

Looking forward to a ride report on the serious miles  ;-T
My China valves on my Lario still works great, even during hard pushes, and even on a gear shift glitch hitting 9000rpm, but you know that. No nicked valves.

Cheers
Brian

[Unkept]

Running on one cylinder is not a Larios finest hour - I have had one drop beats when the engine is very hot.

I'm sure that was it, it was a very hot and humid day...

A 325cc 4 valve engine wasn't quite what I was expecting!  ;D

[Chuck in Indiana]

I'm sure that was it, it was a very hot and humid day...

A 325cc 4 valve engine wasn't quite what I was expecting!  ;D

Naa, the dummy that put the carb together  ::) apparently didn't make sure that the cable was properly trapped, and it came loose. Apparently when I cut the safety wire on the spring the end moved. Ignition is ok, but I *do* have a couple of new coils I could zip tie to the frame if necessary.  ;D
Onward through the fog!

[Unkept]

Naa, the dummy that put the carb together  ::) apparently didn't make sure that the cable was properly trapped, and it came loose. Apparently when I cut the safety wire on the spring the end moved. Ignition is ok, but I *do* have a couple of new coils I could zip tie to the frame if necessary.  ;D
Onward through the fog!

Carbs ... always a problem!

Not like that fancy fuel injection!  ;D ;)

[Chuck in Indiana]

Pffffft. Fuel injection is fer sissies.. <snapping suspenders>  ;D

[Offcamber1]

Carbs ... always a problem!

Maybe Chuck is on a...low carb diet?

[kevdog3019]

 :+=copcar

Maybe Chuck is on a...low carb diet?

He's cut his carbs by half.    ;D

[Cal3Me]

Chuck,,,, you could have snipped back the throttle cable casing and got your needed slack and still use the metal elbows. I got a chance to see the Lario in person the other day and it looks even better in person.  ;-T :bow


,,,,,Tim

[IceBlue]

Pffffft. Fuel injection is fer sissies.. <snapping suspenders>  ;D

 ;-T :D

[Chuck in Indiana]

Chuck,,,, you could have snipped back the throttle cable casing and got your needed slack and still use the metal elbows. I got a chance to see the Lario in person the other day and it looks even better in person.  ;-T :bow


,,,,,Tim

Thanks,Tim.  ;D.. a guy's gotta know his limitations.  ;D :BEER: I'd nick that inner cable sure as the world. The only way I'd feel comfortable doing it would be to cut off one end, cut the cable, and put a new end on it. If "I" am going to do that, I'll just make up new ones.  ;D After our Maine, Vermont,NH trip, I may do that. Or not... ;)

[kevdog3019]

Thanks,Tim.  ;D.. a guy's gotta know his limitations.  ;D :BEER: I'd nick that inner cable sure as the world. The only way I'd feel comfortable doing it would be to cut off one end, cut the cable, and put a new end on it. If "I" am going to do that, I'll just make up new ones.  ;D After our Maine, Vermont,NH trip, I may do that. Or not... ;)

This isn't the reason it slipped out.  It turned when you snipped the wire.  No need for an elbow.
-Kevin

[Psychopasta]

Just wanted to say thank you for this great thread. I'm working on a Monza rebuild, it has been very useful to me. Thanks!

- Mark

[Chuck in Indiana]

Just wanted to say thank you for this great thread. I'm working on a Monza rebuild, it has been very useful to me. Thanks!

- Mark

Good deal..  ;-T

[Chuck in Indiana]

Well, some projects are never really done, and I suspect the beater Lario is one of them.  ;D My kid gave me a bad time for the ridiculously loud "mufflers" on the Lario. He said it was like following a straight pipe Harley when we went to the Wisconsin rally. I told him that he needed to get ahead, then.. ~;  ;) At any rate, I've been looking for mufflers. I'd *love* to have some Agostinis, but I'm not about to double the price of my motorcycle with a pair. Milich is parting out a Lario, and had some Bubs on Ebay. They were sorry looking things, so I emailed him and asked if they were rusted out on the inside. "Nope." Good enough. Send em. Kevin has been waxing poetic about the sound of Bubs on his super Lario project.
These actually are for a Monza, and had been bodged (surprise surprise) to fit.

So let's see if we can save them. Marking where to cut with a silver pencil. I've mentioned all along that having the right tools is 2/3 of the job most of the time. These silver pencils were designed for marking on blueprints.  ::) I'm down to my last two antique pencils, so I googled them to make sure they are still available before I told you about them. Yep. Silver 753. They are great for marking on steel and stuff..
So we'll mark what needs to be cut off.

Saw off the excess..

Hit the end on the disc sander to even them up.

That just took a few minutes. Then I rummaged around in my good junk stock and found some 1 1/2" dia. Drill rod to use as an anvil and drove it in there..

A couple of minutes with a body hammer..and the ends are good to go.

Decided to let this slide.. it's where the Distinguished Previous Owner didn't look at what would happen when the suspension compressed.

I'm betting the axle just cold formed this area, so I'm not going to bother welding a patch over it.
Now, it's time for bead blast. I hate bead blasting on a hot sultry day like today, but a guy's gotta do what a guy's gotta do. Even my industrial strength compressor will get hot and make water in the air lines on a day like this. Water going into a sand blast cabinet is not a good thing, so a guy needs to stop occasionally and bleed the water traps to keep that from happening.
Here's number 1 after some "shoe shine boy" emery cloth work. If a guy was anal, he could make them look pretty good from here. Just paint, sand, paint, sand all afternoon to fill the rust pits. I'm not.  ;D They'll look ok when finished.

I've torn down my temporary paint booth, ca. 1999.. ;D to have more room in the hanger for working on my last antique airplane. I'm missing that paint booth already. So, I rigged up a *really* temporary place to hang them to paint.

I'm low on high temp paint, so it's off to the hardware store. It's *much* better to have too much paint than almost enough. Stopping in the middle of a paint job is a recipe for disaster.. back later. Need any tomatoes?  ;D :BEER:

[tusong200]

You Dog!!! How did I miss those Bubs!!?? I've bought quite a few items from Ed over the years for my Mario.... Kicking myself.....

[Chuck in Indiana]

You Dog!!! How did I miss those Bubs!!?? I've bought quite a few items from Ed over the years for my Mario.... Kicking myself.....

I have the bay set up to tell me when a new Lario item comes up for sale. It was on there for a nano second or so.. ;D

[Chuck in Indiana]

Well, we had our seemingly obligatory evening thunderstorm last night, so I drug everything back out and spritzed it this morning. I'ts really humid, so I expect them to not be as glossy as they could be. <shrug> Who cares, when you are putting lipstick on a pig?  ;D Drug them into the shop to finish drying before it rains again..

[Phil_P]

Just spent the best part of a day reading this thread from top to bottom, and enjoyed every line.

I don't have a small block, I have a Sportie, and the only reason I'd get one would be to sort it for SWMBO.

Nevertheless, what a great read for anyone who wants to get a Guzzi on the road.

Very many thanks, Phil.

[Chuck in Indiana]

Just spent the best part of a day reading this thread from top to bottom, and enjoyed every line.

I don't have a small block, I have a Sportie, and the only reason I'd get one would be to sort it for SWMBO.

Nevertheless, what a great read for anyone who wants to get a Guzzi on the road.

Very many thanks, Phil.

Thanks for that, Phil. I appreciate it. Just found out that I get to show how to heli coil a spark plug. ;D Oh, boy! Something to fix.. but it'll have to wait. "We" are loading up the plane to go to the National Antique airplane fly in as we type. Stay tuned....

[ssscruz]

Hey Chuck... for a little NGC, can you show us a pic of your plane?

 :PICS!: :PICS!: :PICS!:

[tusong200]

"We" are loading up the plane to go to the National Antique airplane fly in as we type. Stay tuned....

Sounds like fun. AAA? Is the Fly In still in Ottumwa IA? Flew in there many times as a kid (in the 60's) with my late father. As well as the EAA meet when it was still in Rockford IL.

[Chuck in Indiana]

Hey Chuck... for a little NGC, can you show us a pic of your plane?

 :PICS!: :PICS!: :PICS!:

Can do. Loaded and ready. Now if the wx will just cooperate..

[Chuck in Indiana]

Sounds like fun. AAA? Is the Fly In still in Ottumwa IA? Flew in there many times as a kid (in the 60's) with my late father. As well as the EAA meet when it was still in Rockford IL.

Yeah, AAA. It's at antique airfield, Blakesburg, Ia. I used to go to Rockford, too. Not many of us left.. :o

[ssscruz]

Can do. Loaded and ready. Now if the wx will just cooperate..

Nice, thanks!  Now I can live vicariously as you fly off to your show...

[Chuck in Indiana]

Soooo, getting ready to helicoil this spark plug.. lets pull the head off. I realize that it is possible to open the exhaust valve and stick a vacuum cleaner set on blow while doing this to keep chips at a minimum. As easy as it is to pull the head on a small block, let's do that instead.  ;D

Pulling the rocker assembly off, I find this. Uh, oh.

The lash caps aren't hard enough. I'd reset the valves a couple of times, and they were always loose. I thought, "well, at least they aren't tight, so the Chinese valves aren't stretching."
One was worn through. :o

These are from RD valve spring, the source that Brian posted back when he was getting the new valves made. I'll give them a call after a bit and have a chat. Maybe I'll need to source some OEM Guzzi lash caps. That'll no doubt be fun. Maybe Mrs. Eish.. she sometimes has obsolete Guzzi parts..cheap.  ;D

[huub]

or have a look at elefant foot adjusters.
i read somewhere the husaberg adjusters have the same thread as the lario rockers .
i havent tried them myself, so i dont know for sure if they fit