Eldo on Ebay sold by DB cycles

[guzzista]

The Eldo on Ebay sold by DB cycles looks interesting. http://www.ebay.com/itm/Moto-Guzzi-850-ELDORADO-/151907824272?forcerrptr=true&hash=item235e697290:g:TVAAAOSwu-BWQUCr&item=151907824272  Something is goofy with the paint outline on the tank, looks like a crease. Not much is mentioned 'cept that the bike is an earlier resto. The pictures show well, at least on my Macbook. With the seller offering free 48 States shipping, it could be tempting. Anyone on the board know a bit more on that bike?

[Groover]

Looks pretty nice

[George_S]

Right in the description he mentions the tank lines. He says its not a dent.

[Tom]

Needs a personal inspection if buying.  Drum brakes.......yeehaw ........  You want excitement in your life.  You don't need a larger engine aka Cali 1400.  Buy an 850 Eldo or 750 Ambo, ride it at current speeds on the interstate and do a panic stop.

[guzzista]

Needs a personal inspection if buying.  Drum brakes.......yeehaw ........  You want excitement in your life.  You don't need a larger engine aka Cali 1400.  Buy an 850 Eldo or 750 Ambo, ride it at current speeds on the interstate and do a panic stop.

Right you are. Back in the late 70's my Ambo on Nor Cal mountain roads thought me how to corner with more speed as the brakes took a while to slow the bike down when ridden at a brisk pace . Asides from that , they can be made to work very well . A pair of F08 Brembos biting on 300 mm rotors can be more reassuring , of course, but the look of Loops with drums is for me what looks " right ", especially the V7 Sportish  4 shoe setup

[Tom]

Engine braking comes into play with the Loops and the heavy flywheels.  Always wondered about the drum brake Loops with sidecars.  Yeehaw............  Oh....I said that already.

[Arizona Wayne]

Engine braking comes into play with the Loops and the heavy flywheels.  Always wondered about the drum brake Loops with sidecars.  Yeehaw............  Oh....I said that already.

Engine braking w/a 4-spd. tranny, long shifting throw, needing a very well trained hand lever to avoid chirping the rear tire when doing is not really a good combination for quick/smooth use.    With a sidecar on it's a little bit easier but then you have to manhandle the front end when it wants to change direction either way at the same time.  BTDT.

[Cam3512]

Try following Charlie M. through the twisties on his Ambo one day.

[mtiberio]

putting together a disc brake front end from parts for a buddies eldo. he knows there will a time when he will need to panic stop and wont be able to. Toughest part to source is rotor spacer. other than that everything is easily done.

[JoeW]

putting together a disc brake front end from parts for a buddies eldo. he knows there will a time when he will need to panic stop and wont be able to. Toughest part to source is rotor spacer. other than that everything is easily done.

Disc brakes are the way to go on a Loop

[guzzista]

It would be nice to find out a bit more on that machine or perhaps from the folks that have purchased  bikes  from DB Cycles. got plenty Brembo stuff around( 'cept hub spacers) if the bike ends up under the Xmas tree...

[wymple]

That ebay bike has some serious looking blue on the pipes. Other than that, I'd ride the sh*t out of it !!

[Cam3512]

Says nothing about cylinder replacement.  Figure another $1K if they're still chrome.

[Perazzimx14]

Disc brakes are the way to go on a Loop

But those EBC floaters just look wrong.

[BillinPA]

I know nothing about the bike..other than it looks good!  just an FYI the seller used to be a Guzzi dealer. Sport Cycles of Avon NY0

[EldoMike]

Disc brakes are the way to go on a Loop

Damn you Joe, you know I want Lumpy's old bike 

[Chuck in Indiana]

Says nothing about cylinder replacement.  Figure another $1K if they're still chrome.

I know of a very bad experience with that seller, FWIW. At any rate, I would tread carefully. Can I say that?

[jmac851]

Didn't the 1974 Eldorado had a disc brake up front?

[Chuck in Indiana]

Didn't the 1974 Eldorado had a disc brake up front?

From memory  early 74s had 4 shoe, late had a single disc.

[V7Sport73]

Looks pretty nice

Looks like the tank was rebuilt.  Defiantly something is strange about the tank.  Older restoration.  I would look at the bike in person and test ride it before I spent that kind of money.  There are a lot of things to look out for.  Transmission leaks is the first thing that comes to mind.  Also, if the spokes are not true and tight and the shocks are in bad shape the loop frame had a tendency to wobble at high speeds.  Not the mild wobble you get from the Cal Vintage.  This is more like a hang on for dear life death wobble.  Trying to slow the bike down with those old drum brakes only made the wobble worse.  Loop frames are great bikes but like any old vintage motorcycle you should inspect it closely. 

[Antietam Classic Cycle]

I know of a very bad experience with that seller, FWIW. At any rate, I would tread carefully. Can I say that?

 :1: 

[Chuck in Indiana]

Ok, I'll say again. I've had a couple of more PMs. Beware.

[Cam3512]

Ok, I'll say again. I've had a couple of more PMs. Beware.

Good advice.

[guzzista]

Thanks, everyone for the feedback. I was feeling pretty much the way y' all advised.  Seems like I need to look at the bike closely, while humming the mantra ... Gilardoniiiii.... and look for other non kosher stuff on it. Cheers

[Tom]

Engine braking w/a 4-spd. tranny, long shifting throw, needing a very well trained hand lever to avoid chirping the rear tire when doing is not really a good combination for quick/smooth use.    With a sidecar on it's a little bit easier but then you have to manhandle the front end when it wants to change direction either way at the same time.  BTDT.

You'd chirp the rear tire if you let the rpm's drop too low.

[slopokes]

oh boy--senior moment--the guzzi rider from pen yan,ny--ask him about db.i need a v7

[Antietam Classic Cycle]

oh boy--senior moment--the guzzi rider from pen yan,ny--ask him about db.i need a v7

That would be Andy and/or Steve Hill?

[Arizona Wayne]

You'd chirp the rear tire if you let the rpm's drop too low.

I'm saying the fact it's a 4 spd. instead of a 5spd. and if you don't know the Guzzi clutch plates grab as soon as they make contact, if you don't deftly let the clutch lever out just right, you are going to chirp the rear tire down shifting.

Unlike multi-plate clutches, 2 plate clutches engage right now when down shifting.   The 1st time I rode my 1st Guzzi (CX100) and learned how different it's clutch was from Jap. bikes, I thought, do I really want to own this thing?  That was 30 years ago. 

[Tom]

Still have to watch your rpm's and the combination of brake usage and release of clutch lever while shifting.  So in a way agreeing with you.  Takes more riding skill than the present 6 speed trans w/girly hydraulic clutch and disc brakes.

[keuka4884]

I don't know if Andy Hill blogs on Wildguzzi, don't know his "screen name". And I don't know if he would have much to say as he does his own tinkering.  I can say this though. He's a good man and always has a garage full of Guzzis. I have a pic of "Isabella", an Eldorado that he owned. Beautiful. I'm the other rider from Penn Yan. I bought a 78 T3 from DB Cycles many years ago when he and a partner had Sports Cycles near Avon. He later did some work on the bike. Minor stuff like new ss brake lines. I haven't had him do any work in years. I contacted him last year about changing out the carbs to get a lighter spring return. He couldn't be bothered or give me the time of day. Very different attitude like I pissed him off asking a question. He hung  up on me. There are several other riders from the Rochester area that post here and probably know him better.
I would tread cautiously there too. I'd have to inspect it and ride it first. His not mentioning the cylinders is suspect to me. He seems to not want to connect with the Guzzi community much now. He does get primo prices for his Guzzis.