My Cali 3 cafe racer build

[Misterb]

Four years ago, I decided I needed a new project to keep me busy over the winter. Having considered many options I settled on a Tonti framed, carb model Guzzi. Early Lemans were already too expensive, even the boring touring models were getting expensive, except for one model that seemed to be overlooked by the classic mob.
 
The California Mk3.. it didn't have the looks of the earlier models, but was the last model to have carbs and the classic Tonti Frame. It also came with 18inch alloy rims and stainless spokes from the factory, a big bonus as far as I was concerned. Other folks had the same idea, and a few were being converted to Café racers or LeMans replicas, by fitting the LM lower frame rails and a LM tank.

I found my Cali one cold winters day, owned by a chap who races Guzzis. He'd made a start on converting the bike, but decided to sell as he didn't have the time to complete it. I couldn't hear it running, but it came with the all important LM frame rails and tank, and the documentation showed it had been used recently.. so I brought it home.

A previous owner had painted everything black.. very  badly

[Misterb]

The plan was to strip the bike down, get the frame powder coated, clean and polish everything, hopefully the motor wouldn't need much work.. rebuild it with minimum wiring, a single seat, a few upgrades here and there. such as delinking the brakes, braided hoses, make it lighter....and ride it. The engine in the Cali is tuned for torque rather than HP like the Lemans.. should make for a good everyday bike.

First step, strip the bike and lift the frame off the engine, a lot easier than lifting the engine from the frame. I took lots of photos along the way of every cable, wire, pipe, nut and bolt, all worthwhile when it comes time to put it all back together..

The LM tank and seat unit had a nice paint job, but on the bike the rounded seat didn't really match the angular tank, while the seat looked a bit too narrow to sit comfortably over the seat rails.



 

[Misterb]

With the engine out of the frame, I could make a start on the long tedious job of scraping off the old paint, polishing the alloy and replacing all old the fasteners with new stainless ones..



 

[swooshdave]

More pictures!!!!

Especially the seat and how it doesn't fit.

[Misterb]

Turning to the frame, the rear shock mounts were damaged, so had to grind them out, make new ones and get them welded into the frame..While the frame was being welded, I also took the chance to cut off a lot of tabs, I went a bit far, as later I wished I had kept a few of them 

With that problem solved, I decided to save money an paint the frame myself. I made a start with the swing arm, it turned out ok, just using rattle can smooth hammerite, but it took so long to do, I gave in and had the frame powder coated. Which was my next mistake. I'd normally use Triple S over in Yorkshire, but its half a day's drive in awful traffic, so I went to a local place who had been recommended to me. Well, I got the frame back and I wasn't impressed..

[Misterb]

More pictures!!!!

Especially the seat and how it doesn't fit.

They're on their way, have to resize them all before posting.

[Misterb]

The powder coaters hadn't protected the (new) head races when they blasted the frame, so they were scrap, while they also hadn't bothered to mask the frame number plate or the various threaded holes in the frame. Not such a big problem, except for the swing arm pivot adjuster threads, which I didn't have a tap for. Fortunately, a local machine shop I sometimes use (we'll hear of this place again later) had the right tap and let me use it for the cost of a packet of choc digestives.. a fair exchange 





 

[Andy B]

Will be keeping an eye on your build... will be starting a similar project at the end of the month, but on a efi cali (got a few more bits to hide than unfortunatley)

out of interest, did you make a note of the thread size for the swing arm?

had similar issues with the last powder coaters i used when building the other half's Ducati with headstock bearings and VIN numbers...   

has your swingarm been swapped out from a cali one too? looks a bit shorter than i remember mine being...

[Old Jock]

Good luck

I like the tank and seat unit, although it would probably look even better with a 750S style seat............... .but that's personal taste and God help us if we were all the same

Your scoot make it how you want and damm the nay sayers 

I'll be watching I like build threads fantastic to see somebody take the time and effort to turn something around and save it

John

[Misterb]

My first new part order.. Tarrozi rear sets, and a pair of alloy bell mouths .. so much for practical..

Well, one thing you cant avoid with these old bikes is polishing old alloy and cleaning up rusty parts. So best get started..
One thing I like about the Guzzi is that it comes apart so easily, with no tricky assemblies or special tools required.

These are the front disc spacers/mounts, they polished up ok, I didn't spent too much time on these, as I didn't want to build an over restored show bike, but a usable road bike ..

The fork tops were looking very tired, so I skimmed them in my mates big old lathe and filed and polished the sides by hand..

Multiply the work in those fork tops by the rest of the bike, and it takes hundreds of hours..but that's ok, keeps me occupied..

I cleaned up the wheels and discs and fitted new Bridgestones, the previous owner had even sprayed the spokes and hubs black, and try as I might I couldn't get all the old paint off the hubs with the spokes in the way. Oh well, its not supposed to be a show bike I told myself, but still, it annoyed me more than I'd admit, as I have to have my bikes as good as I can manage, and leaving those hubs in such a state wasn't really good enough, as indeed was the very average powder coating on the frame.
     

[Misterb]

Will be keeping an eye on your build... will be starting a similar project at the end of the month, but on a efi cali (got a few more bits to hide than unfortunatley)

out of interest, did you make a note of the thread size for the swing arm?

had similar issues with the last powder coaters i used when building the other half's Ducati with headstock bearings and VIN numbers...   

has your swingarm been swapped out from a cali one too? looks a bit shorter than i remember mine being...

Dont know if the Swingarm is original, I assumed it was, but cant be sure. I think the thread was M18, I did make a note, so will check later.

[swooshdave]

When I got my Norton frame powdercoated I sent clear instructions WITH pictures of what to mask off. Unless you're standing there don't assume they know or care.

[Misterb]

After far too many hours cleaning the engine cases, painting the barrels and replacing most of its fasteners with shiny new stainless, finally it was time to lift the frame back on the engine, I managed it on my own and didn't even scratch the powder coat..

I had a change of heart about the bevel box that I'd carefully prepped and painted months before. I had intended to paint the engine too, but didn't in the end, so now the painted bevel box stood out.. so I stripped it again.. pity as I'd done a nice job on that..

[Rick4003]

Very nice, will also be following the build, I have built something similar but started with a t5 instead.

also as some of the other guys say, more pictures!

Also the swingarm pivot thread is m20x1

Happy building!

-Ulrik

[Misterb]

A still summers day, ideal for painting the starter motor and a few brackets..

The bike came with this aftermarket alloy battery tray, which didn't fit. By the time I'd got it to fit, drilled it and bevelled all the mounting holes it would've been quicker to make one from scratch..

Cleaned and fitted the rear brake master cylinder, this usually activates the rear caliper AND one of the fronts too, but I've got rid of that and will run them delinked. The front master cylinder was damaged, so fitted one from a Yamaha R1, which should be big enough to work the front calipers.









 

[Misterb]

Now its time for the rear sets saga. I'd left them in their packaging till it was time to fit them. Checking all the parts, there seemed to be some missing..

And there were, quite a complex linkage for the gear change, a simple link rod for the rear brake and some kind of bush where the levers pivot through the frame rails. Since the kit was designed to fit a Lemans, I guess they assumed I already had these missing parts, as they'd be OE on a Lemans..

I checked the photos I'd taken of the Guzzi race bike owned by the previous owner, and saw I needed an extra linkage, which eventually came from a Guzzi breakers in France, thank god for the internet.

Need some kind of bush, where the rearsets pivot through the frame, a Guzzi dealer wanted £7 for each bush, sod that! I got mine for 0.79p from an online bearing shop..

On the brake side, I used a pair of stainless rose joints, measured how long the link rod needed to be, and went over to my mates workshop to make it.. this is about the limit of my machining skills..

Cut a piece of stainless rod..

Machine down each end,

Cut a thread for the rose joints,

It looks a few mm too long, but can always shorten it if needed.

[Misterb]

Now its back to yet more polishing... the yolks (Triple trees)and stanchions needed a days work.. I was going to polish out the casting seams too, but decided to get a life instead..

And the rocker covers, stainless downpipes, headlight brackets.. on and on, how I hate polishing stainless, its far worse to work with than alloy..

[Misterb]

With the forks polished, I went to my mates bike shop and picked up a bottle of 15 weight fork oil and asked him to give me a price on a pair of Hagon shocks. I'd looked at various options for rear shocks, from cheap and cheerful Hagons through Ikons to Maxtons (£550 for a custom made pair), right up to Ohlins which are now over a grand for their basic set ! I did have a mint set of original Konis which were the right length, but the lower mounts were completely different, so couldn't use them.

At the bikeshop, I was asked if I'd considered a set by YSS ... who?? I was handed the catalogue to browse, and they didn't look bad at all, erm, but were they just some cheapo chinese copy?? Apparently not, they make components for some of the big name brands and are now being assembled in the UK to your spec. They'd sold a few already at the shop and had been impressed with the quality, the clincher was the price, less than the basic Hagons... so I ordered a pair, be here next week. Here's a link to the company.. http://www.yss.co.th/

They arrived soon enough, and despite the low price they looked to be good quality.. wasn't long before the Cali was back on its wheels at last..


That seat will have to go..  Notice how the forks look too long, not sure why, but it gave me the chance to drop them and fit the clip ons above the top yoke. My damaged shoulder will thank me ..

So far this thread has been about tidying up an old bike, soon things get a bit more interesting, an of course I've condensed about four months work in a few minutes, anyway  time for a tea break now ..

[Misterb]

Along with new stainless nuts an bolts, I also bought new oil lines for the engine. Checking the cam chain tensioner, it looked pretty lose to me, so I bought an aftermarket tensioner, but turns out the camchain wasn't too loose after all, so didn't need it in the end.

Next, cleaning up the calipers.. stainless pins would've nice, but I may upgrade the calipers for more modern 4 pot Brembos, not sure yet,so I just rebuilt these for now.

I tried to rescue the throttle, as its integrated with the switch gear housing.. a weird design, but it is Italian  ;) In the end I couldn't save it, oh, and I'd like 'Syrens' too 

[Misterb]

I was looking for alternate seat units.. I found this site,

http://www.raggededgeracing.com/22.html

which makes a typcial cafe racer-ish seat for Guzzis.. an easy option, but a bit boring, and not quite what I'm looking for. But they also do lots more too, including a Rickman copy, which I ordered, as I felt the more angular style of the Rickman seat unit would be a better match for the LM5 tank, a tank which isn't one of Guzzis finest. The seat arrived within a couple of weeks, its well made for the price, though the hump in the base may have to go..

At this time, the Guzzi went to my mates workshop to have its braided brake lines fitted. It was a bit out of sync, as I had wanted to sort out the exhaust system first, but he offered to collect the bike so off it went..

[flangeman_70]

Along with new stainless nuts an bolts, I also bought new oil lines for the engine. Checking the cam chain tensioner, it looked pretty lose to me, so I bought an aftermarket tensioner, but turns out the camchain wasn't too loose after all, so didn't need it in the end.

Next, cleaning up the calipers.. stainless pins would've nice, but I may upgrade the calipers for more modern 4 pot Brembos, not sure yet,so I just rebuilt these for now.

I tried to rescue the throttle, as its integrated with the switch gear housing.. a weird design, but it is Italian  ;) In the end I couldn't save it, oh, and I'd like 'Syrens' too 

Like your work and effort so far 
Put in the Valtek cam tensioner, that one you have in there is a waste of time and you'll be disappointed you didn't do it first time round :Beating_A_Dead_Hors e_by_liviu

[Misterb]

I'm not sure of its make, but the chain tensioner I bought is spring loaded, its still sitting in its packaging on a shelf somewhere in my garage. I do want to go with a cam gear conversion at some point, but that's an expensive mod and there's still plenty more to be done on the bike yet.

[Misterb]

Back home again, the next item on the to-do list was the exhaust. The connecting H pipe that fits under the gearbox is a known weak point, and sure enough mine was cracked, so I got it welded up, and then played around with a couple of stainless cones I had left over from a previous project. I used the design as I had before, looking back now, its not  right for the Guzzi, its something that needs to be changed.













I had a problem as the cones were welded to the bends without the bike, they looked perfectly symmetrical when we made them, but on the bike they were miles off. I think the down pipes aren't level either side. Not sure, as I didn't like them anyway, so I haven't bothered to fix it.

[bmc5733946]

The problem with the style tensioner you have is that the rubber material can separate from the steel and plug oil feed passages including crank shaft and rocker arm shafts and thoroughly wreck your engine.

Brian

[Misterb]

I had to consider the electrics now, I hate electrics, couldn't put it off any longer. The battery was going to live under the Rickman seat hump, plenty of space under there, while everything else needed to be hidden away as neatly as possible. I made a cardboard template for a shallow tray to fit between the seat frame rails, and got it made by the local welder in stainless steel plate. I then added mounts and bolted the rectifier to its underside to keep it in the breeze..

At the same time, I had him cut me out a plate to strengthen the seat, and let me raise it up a little, as I soon found the riding position was impossible with the seat resting on the seat rails.. the Tonti frame is low, no wonder all the race bikes I see online have their seats raised up off the frame so high, they look awkward, but I understand why now.

[Misterb]

At this point, I have to admit I wasn't at all happy with the bike, it didn't look right, the quality of finish wasn't what I wanted, and truth to tell, I'm not one for a cheap and cheerful project, I hate cutting corners, and I didn't like what was in front of me. I parked it in the corner of the garage, through a sheet over it and over the following two years built two different bikes from the ground up.. first a Norton featherbed with a Harley Ironhead engine, then last year a big inch Harley drag bike...

With those done (for now.. project bikes are never finished..) I dragged the poor neglected Guzzi out into the sunlight and decided to press on and just get it running even though I didn't really like it. Perhaps it was best if I sold it once it was on the road, and forget the old Guzzi?

   

[Misterb]

The first job was to do something about the seat unit, how to mount it to the frame and make a seat base to be upholstered.
When I cut off the old frame brackets and tabs I went a bit far and now I wish I'd left the seat mounts in place, as they would've made life much easier. The best option would be to strip the bike down again, get the frame welded as needed, which would then require it to be powder coated again, then finally put it all back together. All that's a lot of hassle and more importantly more expense, so I had to look at alternatives.

But first the lump moulded into the Rickman seat unit had to go, it didn't take long to cut it out, I'll fibreglass over the resulting hole later. To lift the seat a bit without welding brackets on the frame, I cut up an old foam floor tile and sandwiched and inch or so of the foam between the underside of the seat unit and the stainless plate I'd made ages ago to strengthen the seat. This lifted the seat unit just enough. Then I had the seat upholstered and rattle can painted the Rickman seat.. didn't look too bad. 









Then on to the seat itself, as usual I made a template in card and had it replicated in steel by Geoff the welder for £25, after which I decided to add an extra piece to run up the back of the box like tank, similar to an early Lemans. I'd like to use an alloy endurance tank, but that will have to wait..

[twodogs]

   :1:

[Misterb]

I want to use a lithium battery on the Guzzi, hiding inside the seat hump which would need to be mounted to the frame somehow. While the seat unit itself would need supporting too, all without welding any extra brackets to the frame...  :P

soooo I had an idea ...make two threaded bungs, slightly tapered for a very tight interference fit into the back of the frame rails (which had been cut and shortened when I had hacked up the frame back when I first started this project many years ago..). After spending the night in the freezer and with the frame rails gently warmed, they were knocked into place, and look like they aren't going anywhere..

[Misterb]

At this point, I discovered a problem, which turned out to be a blessing in disguise...

Remember the frame powder coating which caused me a few problems, and wasn't that well done to boot? Well, despite the bike never seeing the road yet, the powder coating was starting to blister and flake in places, with rust showing through here and there.

There was nothing to be done except to have the frame powder coated again, this time by my preferred place, which in turn meant dismantling the bike. Normally, I'd be bloody annoyed by all this hassle and cost, but not this time. It was the perfect excuse to start all over again, and build the bike I wanted, the way I wanted, and if it took twice as long and cost three times as much, then so be it.. so lets begin again... and do it right this time.