Another Bloody Tractor (guzzi 1100 Sport)

Can't even get the title down without lying.

FIRST..............................Apologies to those who puke at the mention of the "G" word.

Its actually a Magni Sfida 1100, but as they are not well known outside Guzzi circles then I'll call it a Sport 1100.......................Guzzi & Sport = Oxymoron.

Cost me quite a bit, more than I like to admit but I like Guzzis having lived with them a long time. BHP/£ is appalling compared with a Ducati but they use stone axe technology so simpletons like me can quite happily bodge away work on them and I am not immune to their different charms.

The bike is heavily (in all senses of the word) based around an 1100 Sporti using the engine, gearbox and final drive. The frame although improved by Magni is again close to the Guzzi Spine (or beam if you prefer) design.

I've had it for 5-6 years stripped it down then life sorta got in the way, so building it back up now.

I need to see what I have picture wise from way back then gradually bring it up to date to where I am now................as it stands there is still a ways to go.

 

So lets start with how it was when it arrived, I have posted this up before elsewhere, some members are still recovering from the eye surgery required after seeing it






It looks fine it the photos but it wasn't loads probably over 50% of the fasteners were seized, bits of the engine tucked away were badly stained and some light corrosion. As for the frame the powder coat was coming off in sheets

Example



More to follow shortly

 

Only a B+ for observation Nelson you missed the second one



The UJs appear to be fine, no play I cleaned them up and re-greased them and despite all the abuse they still appear to be servicable. It took me quite a while to find the correct tool to fit onto the absolutely minute grease nipple mind

I should also add that the prop shaft runs scarily close to the bottom swingarm, there are 2 and the shaft runs in between them.

 

So after what I thought were loads of pictures to understand how to put it back together (FAIL) I stripped it down

Frame bits off to the local powder coater, who are great and then into the injun and gear thingy. Stripped them down until I could strip no longer, with many lessons learned from the 1000 refurb and some fun along the way. For instance trying to source a 32mm socket long enough to work on the Titanic's engines from the surface just to get the nut off the crank. The casings went off to Dave Smethurst, for cleaning.

Motorcycle and Automotive Casting Renovation Service

He does an amazing job, he has a big bath full of vibrating ball bearings (Oooo Errr Missus) I believe he uses to peen the open pores of the Al casings to seal them better. It worked a treat on the 1000 so I used him again for the 1100 and wasn't disappointed

I won't bore you with the engine gearbox build, the main mods apart from all seals and O rings, some (but not all) bearings, were the input and output bearings on the gearbox, a sloppage plate in the sump, a RAM clutch and a set of timing gears.

I'll explain a little about each
The gearbox support bearings for both the input and output were originally a 14 ball double row all metal caged type. Guzzi went from them to a 9 ball single row phenolic cage without changing the part number.............gotta love accountants. The phenolic type have been reported to start breaking up, especially if synthetic oil is used in the box. Not a certainty but it has happened

The Sloppage or Windage plate is simply a large plate that bolts between the sump and the crankcase, it helps reduce crankcase pressure by (somewhat) reducing the oil getting thrown up into a foamy frenzy by the whirling crank above and by also trapping the oil at the base of the sump. When the bike is cranked over (on the broad sump engines) the oil can spill to the sides and partially uncover the pump suction in the center, not the most desirable of design features. Mind if you've seen my chicken strips you'd know this is not going to be any sort of an issue.



The RAM is a single plate diaphragm spring clutch, which splits a lot of opinions. They can wear out VERY quickly on some bikes and last for over 50k miles on others. They need to be set up properly BUT they lighten the pull on the clutch. The standard clutch pull is appalling, I laughed my tits off when I got my 1098 and owners were complaining about the heavy lever, have a shot on a carbed Guzzi, Olympic weight lifters complain about the controls on these bikes.

Finally STEEL timing gears. Originally Guzzi used Helical gears I think, on the V7s. Then went to endless chains which are CHEAPER, they do work well enough, then some idiiots came out with the idea of resurrecting gears as an aftermarket farkly. Not so fine as they made them from playdough (Ok I made that up Aluminum) after installation it was a race to see what wrecked the engine first, a gear breaking or the shards of Aluminuimumum (I still cannot spell that word) filling the sludge trap and blocking the crank oil ways.

So I got me a set of steel ones from Joe Caruso, not cheap, but very nice and are fitted to many Guzzi racers Another Oxymoron.



Right that's enuff fer now

 

I built up the injun





Last year I finished the injun/gearbox








Then it lay for another 3 months or so until I put the frame on

 

So coming more or less up to date

Frame sundries, headstock, swinging arms, rear shock and oil cooler all on




Other sundry pieces like sidestand, rear sets, engine breathers etc:



The engine breather was a BIY by me to replace the Orrid rubber hose, the silicone end pieces are getting replaced with Fluoro types as Silicone hates oil apparently, its the silver and black doo dahh in the center.
Another mod/bodge was the remote pressure switch and take off from the injun, I disliked the standard set up and the switch is a bit pants. The new switch is just ahead of the coils. On the coils a mate made me a new SS bracket as the standard one had cracked in 2 pieces.




Then the fuel system decided to bite back. Due to me blingy breather I couldn't fit the fuel filter where it originally lived, not that I was particularly bothered as it was a total bodgey after thought. So I start to think and plan.................never a good thing and came up with this



Finally coming up to date is just couple of shots where I had the tank on for a trial install to work out fuel hose lengths. In the picture is a luvley tank cap supplied by Oberon who I cannot rate highly enuff in helping to me to source one to fit first class outfit to deal with





Still a good bit away. Soon it'll be the harness going back on that promises to be fun NOT!!!

 

Hi Ian

Well that's the plan, if I don't get a hurry on I'll be too old to ride the soddin' thing.

The paint and everything is all done but I don't want to give too much away, just yet.

Only thing that might hold me up is a digital dash. The standard setup was fugly as hell. I settled on Translogic but they have stopped making their dash. They do however have a new model in development the big question is when it's going to be available.

As of right now that's really the only thing I can see stopping me having it on the road towards the Autumn, probably knowing my luck just in time for the crappy weather.

Be good to see if you're up here and you can see my bodges to the "tractor" in the flesh

John

 

Yeah @Arquebus its got pushrods alright its just a scaled up version of your LeMans.

It was the 4 valve head that had the belt madness and even it used a short pushrod

The 1100 2 V is down a bit on power from the 1000 4V but its more reliable and needs less intensive maintenance

John

 

Sorry Arquebus I know you're pretty intimate with all things Guzzi

I haven't managed to locate a deep sump for it, I don't think they are available, Guzzi went to a broad sump with these bikes so the standard deep sump won't fit.

I'm going to ask the question on Wild Goose and Guzzitech, thanks for the reminder

I have no idea why they aren't available, in the meantime I'll just need to make do with the sloppage plate

On the 1000 I have a nice Moto Spezial Deep V sump with an "outsider" filter

John

 

Your quite correct @Arquebus Deep sumps I know of were
1) G&G Deep Sump..........A Swiss mob with the filter on the bottom beautiful piece of work. All oil ways cast in the sump
2) Moto Spezial Vee Sump...........German sump with filter on the front and with or without oil level site glass. All oil ways cast in the sump (wot I av wiv site glass)
3) Bub Sump..............American POS with rubber oil lines and filter at the back

The broad sump has an inspection port on the sump sort of like the GG but not as good. It's sealed with a large O ring, unscrewing the cover gives you access to the cartridge filter without the 14 screws, sump and extension off milarky, loved by Guzzi mechanics the world over.

The broad sump engine already has an extender and a deep or Vee can be fitted via a Mocal extender. The consensus is its not needed as the broad sump addresses the issues that were a problem with the standard big block setup. The only thing that's a must have is the "Roper" plate I talked about earlier

John

 

Finally finished the fuel lines.
Look a dawdle but gave me a right old headache trying to work out routings and make it look halfway decent




The black section is a piece of silicone, although the lower, low pressure, hose is braided it can be distorted relatively easily. The silicone was an effort to prevent the cable ties from distorting the hose. The picture looks like the hose is bent inwards for a section before the silicone sleeve, its not its just a strange optical illusion, there is a very slight bend but again it looks way worse in the photograph than it actually is



Loom to follow, dreading it, these bloody hoses were bad enough!!!! :Nailbiting:

 

So after a less than successful wrestling match with the Hydra that Guzzi have the audacity to call a wiring loom, the loom won by 2 pinfalls.

I've nearly got all the loom and transmitters which are randomly scattered throughout the bike (and I do mean randomly) on and wired. The 2 small pieces of the loom left, will have to wait for the bars coming back from the anodizer

The loom travels up both sides of the bike and (sort of) joins at the front and back. Had it been a standard Guzzi it would have been bad enough but as its a Magni the loom length and component placement can be considered as a vague approximation

There was nothing I could do with the back, I really really tried but failed miserably



Between all the hoses for the breather and fuel system then the loom with its lightly drizzled transmitters, whose location on the motorcycle had obviously been decided on by a committee for the partially sighted after a heavy night on the Grappa, you really need to get quite creative, there is not a an awful lot of space. I must have added at least 20kg in cable ties trying to just hold all this shit onto the frame



However never mind all that wire lets get to the farkles, new HT leads and K&N filters, which even have The Carbon Fiber!!!





This is just a long shot



It'll be ready to pull the trailer for the tatties in time for the harvest if things keep going at this rate